‎"I'm just a poor peasant dog, with nothing to put on my little head but flimsy tissue paper. Please give me some of what you have - maybe some cupcake, or a little avacado sandwich maybe - nothing too much - I'm just a little small poor doggie..."

Wow - a super uplifting pit bull story from Florida - Dolly

There is an amazing story about a pit bull named Dolly in Florida who was brought in as a stray and was adopted in 2009 - but in March of 2010 - she came back into the same shelter in Florida - to be surrendered by her "owners" - who told the shelter that she was fighting with her their other dogs - but it was apparent that she'd been used as a bait dog in a dog fighting ring, and the shelter thought they might have to euthanize her - but Dolly fought back, and lived. The shelter staff knew how kind and gentle a dog she'd been previously and kneww that there was no way she could have been a successful fighting dog - and she has since become a therapy dog - and lives now with other dogs - and is an ambassador for her breed.

She now has a video on You Tube that's going viral - and its a beautiful video that must be seen. You can watch it below and there's also a great news story about her at "Welsh.com"

The person who made the Dolly video has a 2nd video on their You tube channel - and it's also a super video - and it's called "a day in the life of a shelter worker" - and its another must see video - it's also below for your viewing pleasure.

Dolly also has a Facebook page if you want to go there and check her out!

Today's 1st Annual SPCA Bark In the Park at Seaview!

So today was the 1st Annual "Bark in the Park" for the Provincial Branch's shelter of the Nova Scotia SPCA - at the end of the function they announced that they had raised approximately $22,000 - so that was fabulous! I hope that was around what they had wanted to raise - this photo is of Brosa - who has appeared many times on the blog - his Mom has her blog and a couple of the photos in this post are hers, because I took some shitty photos today and she once again was the superior photographer - so thanks to Lisa for letting me use her awesome photos! haha!
Me and Buttercup got to the function a bit late - so this is one of Lisa's photos of the large crowd that was there before I got there when they were giving out some of the prizes - of which there were many - they had great stuff today -
They outdid themselves - and it looks like it was because they had tons of sponsors - The Bay, Basics & Beyond, Bredna's Dod Dudz, Casa Dante Hair Studio, Cove Sport Therapy, Fetch Inc, Wheatons, Pepsi, Pet Stuff on the Go, Urban Cottage - and about thirty or forty more!
I won a door prize too! I won a manicure set - for humans - so I was super lucky - and the swag bag was great too - it's a nice shopping bag - and they were also giving out 6 packs of Sprite pop too! In this picture the prize I won is right in the middle
The event was begun with a bagpiper leading everyone in - this was another picture that came from Lisa - I think at this point me and Buttercup were still in bed, or I was vacuuming - at the very least I was far, far away!
Here is Bark & Fitz's table - also one of the sponsor's for the day - a very philanthropic local organization
Another vendor who I see around a lot locally - a local artist Cameron Graves - I love her stuff - and at the booth is SPCA Special Constable Nancy Noel!
This is Bobby Mac from Q104 giving out the prizes - he's got 3 dogs!
And this is Scout - a Pet Therapy dog - the Saint John Ambulance group were there today with their displays
This dog was out having a walk-about and a good time
This nice little mastiff's name is Santana and his Mom's name is Donna - she works at the hospital with me!
this poodle and Rhodesian Ridgeback were having a very good time right in the middle of everything!
And so were these 2 border collies!
I think they might have been part of the Lietash Disc Demonstration that had been going on before I got there - and because they are border collies - they just couldn't stop!
This is Tara and Kano - I think they were part of the Lietash group too - Tara works at Lietash - but Kano definitely isn't a border collie!
This is a picture of Pocket - a dog who has recently made the trip down from Ontario - where she was of course due to be killed because of the way she looks - but in addition she was also going to be used for fighting - hence the absence of her ears - except for the fact that she isn't dog aggressive, so she was completely useless to her owners, and when she was then going to be used as a breeding bitch - somehow she was ferreted away - that's as much as I know of her story - luckily she's now being fostered here in Nova Scotia - and looking for a good home. She was having a good time in the middle of all her good friends today.
This is what Buttercup looked like for the 2 seconds she was down on the ground for the 2 hours we were there - at 16 years old she does NOT like to be on the ground at all anymore - so I guess I really can't blame her.
This photo was taken of me and Buttercup today by my friend Pat - I can hold Buttercup like this for hours - which is pretty lucky.

I've been going to these SPCA - they used to call them "dog jog's" - since 2003 - the only year I didn't go was 2008 - and that was because that year me and some of my best friends were unceremoniously booted out of the SPCA by the provincial management at the time - but luckily SNAP Halifax went to the festitivites and took some pictures - so at least it got documented by someone - there's a nice smarmy picture on the SNAP Halifax site - GROSS! - so you go check it out! haha!

But for the other years - you can check the below links!

2009 Dog Jog - at Point Pleasant Park

2008's Dog Jog? Sorry! No can do - check out Snap Halifax's coverage - and that year it was called the "Royal Canin Dog Jog" - because the only way they made any money that year was because they got a fat cheque from that company!

2007 Dog Jog - at Point Pleasant Park

2006 Dog Jog - at Shubie Park - another very wet one!

2005 Dog Jog - there wasn't one - that was the year we had a huge outbreak of kennel cough locally - and they cancelled just about every dog event that summer

2003 and 2004's dog jog are covered in my post in 2007

Today's Atlantic Small Dog Rescue Yard Sale & Barbecue!

This is Spencer - who is being fostered by Atlantic Small Dog Rescue - me and Buttercup met him today at the yard sale and barbecue out in Windsor Forks - he's got a racing stripe on his nose just like Buttercup does!
These brothers are also being fostered by ASDR - Levi - and my brain has already forgotten the other guys name - but they were seriously cute. Unfortunately my pictures today were as shitty as my memory was too.

But at the point that I was there - they had already raised almost $200 - so that was a good thing - and at least I got a photo of that! haha! The lady who hosted the event, the blonde lady on the left, Sandra - has a beautiful property - so it was a great day for the dogs who came - a huge fenced in yard to fun around and play in - her 4 dogs are very lucky.

This is Buttercup fretting that someone (aka another dog) was going to get too close to me and might be coming home with us - which is a real worry at an event like this!!!!
Here is Tara with her newest dog - a chinese crested - Blondie.. AKA Debbie Hairless, and her friend's cane corso Kano - the designated large dog at the event!

You can also find Atlantic Small Dog Rescue on Facebook if you didn't click on the link at the beginning of this post....

Sukavati for 8 dogs

Yesterday we had a buddhist ceremony for 8 dogs that have recently died - we had a gathering of people, and lots of dogs and spent the evening remembering our lives together - after having let them go
Sukavati's are rituals that include fire - and we burned up photos of the dog's to symbolize Stella's, Ursa's, Peaches', Jackie's, Ruby's, Mitzi's, Trouble's and Saige's release from clinging to this live that they've lived with us - and on to whatever great adventure they're going to go to next.
Hopefully the dogs who came to the ceremony and the evening had a good time - I brought Charlie and Buttercup - and I know Charlie wasn't all that thrilled, especially since Janet cut his nails, and he'd rather chew on rocks than have his nails cut - and as the evening progressed, he began to show how he felt -
but I wanted them there so they could suck in any auspicious wafts that might be going around - with them both being so old - they need all the good vibes they can get right now, that's for sure!

During the ceremony, Coleen recited a couple of poems - one of which she only said one line of - but I have looked up the whole poem because it's a good one, and I'll put it here, and the 2nd one is more like a little Buddhist song - I don't know if it made it to the tape - I don't think it did, unfortunately - but here they are -

Here's the little buddhist song -

"all you sentient beings i have a good or bad connection with as soon as you have left this confused dimension may you be borns in the western sukavati and once you're born there, complete the boomis and the path"

And here's the poem - by EE Cummings -

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

Below is a video that I made of the ceremony, which is a distillation of it - I had to cut it down to 10 minutes because You Tube only lets you make videos of 10 minutes or under, so I had to cut out the chit-chat - but you get the meaning of it. I hope you enjoy it -

Lost dog in Quinool Road area! UPDATE FOUND!!!!

UPDATE on Monday afternoon August 23rd, 2010 - Sirius has been found! He was found on Quinn Street - it was posted on their facebook group at 2:30pm - so he must have been fo und shortly before then. Yay! Good news is nice on a Monday afternoon.

*****************************************

Saturday August 21st - I got this email from Christine Greening who owns the pet store Bark and Fitz on Doyle Street in Halifax - a dog has gone lost in the Quinpool Road area Saturday night:

Sirius, the little black poodle who belongs to my groomer Sarah, got spooked and took off from a house last night around Quinpool.  Sarah is just beside herself with worry.  He is 2 years old, a friendly little dog, hair cut like a schnauzer, and wearing his name tag which includes a phone number as well as his HRM number. She has called HRM and will be calling the radio stations, but if you could help by sending out a general FYI to your emailing list or blog, we'd appreciate it.  ANY cross posting you can do would help!

If anyone finds his, they can call the store at 406-3489.

Trouble with a hint of Saige

This has been the worst summer for dogs dying - it's getting scary. This week this beautiful little dog who's name was Trouble - how can you say it? Doesn't have to deal with her aches and pains and bad days anymore.
She was another dog who had made it to 16 years old - and was having good and bad days - and the bad days outnumbered the good - and finally - her final day came last week.
I was really happy that for a Christmas present last year Trouble's owner Coleen got as a present from our friend Janet - me to go to Coleen's house and take a bajillion photos of Coleen and Trouble together - which was really neat to do - Trouble was always so photogenic and beautiful - always the most perfect example of a west highland white terrier with the deepest pink ears. She was really beautiful.
Looking back through my blog posts to make this post - it's really eerie that a post I wrote in 2007 - has 5 dogs in it - Trouble, Oreo, Harry, Tess, Ursa and they're all dead - and that post was only written 3 years ago. I'm glad I didn't include a photo of Buttercup in that post.
Luckily Trouble was a Buddhist dog - so hopefully there will be a Sukavati for Trouble like we had for Oreo in 2008 (and hopefully we'll also have one for Jackie and Ursa too) at the 49 day mark after their deaths - they were all pretty good dogs - so I'd say they all deserve to come back as humans next time.


And speaking of very good dogs - I was really sad to hear that one of the dogs - Saige - from the hugely well read and followed blog " 'Sploring Wolfies" has died.

I met Saige a couple years ago at a GPAC Pet Expo - and had begun corresponding with her Mom Janice a lot earlier - giant breeds are so tragic in their lifespans - and in Janice's "final post" on her blog she lays out that she is more happy that she was able to give Saige her freedom from pain by letting her go and doesn't want anyone to feel bad for her because of Saige's death - but the thing is that the thousands of people who read the 'Sploring Wolfie's blog are in deep mourning too and at some point of the journey Saige and Guiness became not just Janice and her husband's dogs - they became everyone who reads that blog's dog.

The deep beauty and the lush landscape that Janice showed us everyday - like other blogs do as well - became part of our lives - and are just as real as any other part - and Saige's death will be mourned by us in our own way, even if we never did meet her. And even if Janice says that she isn't mourning her - I know that I am sad that I will not see any more of her amazing adventures.

Ursa

This is a hard post for me to write. I have known Ursa pretty much her whole life, and today she died.
She was only 8 years old - a purebred rottweiller - who had the highest and best quality veterinary intervention and care for the entire time that she lived, and she was let go by that same veterinary team in the comfort and safety of her own home - surrounded by the dogs and smells and family who loved her for the - mostly painful - life that she lived.
My deepest condolences go out to her Mom Janet Chernin and the 2 people who took care of her and own her brother and sister - Mark and Bena - they are currently devastated that Ursa was given such a genetically bad body.
Ursa had all the best personality qualites of the rottweiller breed - she was gentle, loving, patient - she had the most beautiful eyes that looked deeply into yours and felt like she was trying to tell you something important - and the best thing - she had the cutest wiggle butt that only docked tail breeds can show you.
But also unfortunately for Ursa - she had all the physical problems that large breeds can have - her anterior cruciate ligaments - almost from the beginning - were a problem, and by the time she was 2 years old - she was toe tapping, and by the time she was 4 - both back legs were done. One ACL was done the old fashioned way, and the other was done via a TPLO - total ACL replacement - which means that once it's done there's nothing else you can do. And for Ursa - her back legs never really got better, and hers was a life spent in pain.
Ursa was very stoic though - and soldiered on - but her Mom Janet knew that Ursa was in pain - and sent her to stay at her friends Mark and Bena's house - because they live on one level - and Janet's house is on 3 levels - so a lot of the time Ursa didn't get to spend at home in the end - which was really hard for Janet I'm sure, but she knew it was best for Ursa.
Ursa was certainly full of personality - as full as all the dog's in Janet's house - she had a thing for stuffed toy animals, she'd tear all the stuffing out of them - and this is the only time I've ever seen Janet be patient - Janet would actually let Ursa do it (people who know Janet would be equally amazed) - Janet actually indulged Ursa - she'd let her take the stuffees out of the toys - and then give her back the unstuffed animals to play with. I used to buy bags of toys at Frenchy's for a couple bucks and take them over and Ursa could tear them apart one by one.
Ursa loved all the dogs in the house - but she and Pickle had a special relationship - they'd suck on each other ears - I'd imagine that Pickle will really miss Ursa.
It's funny - almost all the photos I took of Ursa over the years - she's laying down in the them. In the end - her legs gave out - her front legs stopped working too, and her immune system started shutting down - so Janet let her go today. It is such a hard decision.

A dog can live really well with 3 legs, they can live pretty well with 2 legs - but with no legs - a dog can't really live anymore. Especially when they're in pain and there's nothing you can do but watch them be in pain.

When you choose to bring a purebred dog into your life - make sure you do your homework so that you don't cause yourself heartache down the road. Find out if the parents have been tested for hip and knee problems - and ask to contact other people who have purchased puppies from the breeders to see how other littermates have made out with their dogs. Any responsible breeders will be able to comply with your request.

Unless you're rescuing a purebred dog and don't have access to this kind of information and are willing to take on the risk of heartache down the road because the dog may have come from a puppy mill or back yard breeder - do your research - you and your canine life companion will thank you for it - and you'll both have many many years of pain free living - most probably.

Ursa didn't deserve to have such shitty body parts - she had such a beautiful spirit and personality - she deserved to live a long full life. It's such a shame that her body gave out on her only 1/2 way through.

Rest in peace, Ursa. We all miss you terribly, already.

My Cuteness & A new blog that's going to be SO CUTE!!!!

I am 3/4 of the way through Buttercup's haircut. I am not as resilient as professional groomers are - so I can only handle about 15 minutes of Buttercup being cantankerous with the clippers at a time, so I spread the misery out over several sessions - I still have to give her a bath and then finish her back legs, her pooping area, and clean up the body area before she's completely groomed - but she is looking very cute in the facial area. Sometimes I think that when I clip her she looks even cuter than what groomers do because I actually clip her the way I want her to look. Damn, she's looking cute now.
Here's a couple shots of Jackie tonight - you can really tell in these pictures that he can't see - they were taken right at sunset, so I don't have any lights on in the living room yet, and his eyes are all bugged out trying to figure out the shadows in the room - he's sitting down right next to me - and he's trying to listen to see what's going on - he had just gotten out of his bed underneath my desk.
It is hard to watch when someone you love completely loses some faculty that has been fading for a long time - and it finally goes - at least it waited until he was 16 years old - that's pretty good considering how his life has gone for him.


On very happy news - a lot of us locally know Lisa and her dogs Delta, Brosa and Oscar - they have started posting regularly to a blog that they have! I have posted about Lisa and her dogs regularly on this blog - and I've told Lisa over and over that she should start her own blog because her dogs are completely photogenic and she's always having great adventures - and she regularly fosters for Boxer Rescue Atlantic - so she's always taking in regular new dogs that add humungous hi-jinx to her life - so I am super happy that she's now going to (hopefully) be letting us into her world a little bit. I can't wait to add her blog to my regular surfing. Thanks Lisa!! The blog is at http://doglove555.blogspot.com/