Dogs, dogs and more dogs

First up: Zuke!
Zuke, the pup who managed to injure his pelvis, is pretty much fully recovered! According to his mom, Elizabeth, there is "no more cone of shame and he's back to running and playing and being the good dog that he is. He sits down when Matthew approaches him as he does when meeting new dogs. I guess this is a submissive puppy thing. He listens well and stays close to the boys when they run ahead. He goes everywhere we go and is so much fun!"

Yay Zuke, good to hear you are back to enjoying puppyhood! Here's some photos Elizabeth sent along, posted with her permission:

And next up: Taleah!

Who, you ask? Well, remember those herding dog pawties that Deb, Sharon and I held with our pointy nosed crew: collies Charley, Sadie and Riley, and shelties Oliver, Belle and Crystal (and honorary herders, the whippet boyz and their mom Ellen)? We ran out of shelties, as all three of them passed away last year. Since no herding dog pawty is complete without a sheltie or two, Sharon is pleased to introduce her newest best friend, Taleah!

(Photos by Deb Strong, Cat & Mouse Designs, used with permission)

Taleah is 7 years old, a purebred blue merle sheltie who was looking for a new home. Sharon found Taleah through a member of the Shetland Sheepdog Club of BC, of which both Sharon and Taleah’s first mom are members. (While Taleah is not a ‘rescue’, the club does have a well respected rescue component that assists with shelties in need of help. In fact, they assisted with Belle’s medical needs when she was first brought to the attention of a rescue group).

Taleah was well loved by her last owner but needed a place where she could be a princess and have her very own personal servant who will give her lots of one-on-one time. So, after the appropriate interviews and paperwork and meetings, Taleah came to Sharon with her own crate, toys, blanket, food and lots of treats. She is a shy girl, a bit of a scaredy-dog, but under Sharon’s care is making great strides. The big white cement lions at the end of someone’s driveway freaked her out at first but now she just struts on past them, no doubt sending them a telepathic message that “Lions may be king of the jungle, but this ain’t no jungle, and on this street SHELTIES RULE!”

Move over big cats, you’ve met your match!

Taleah is working as hard at being a friend as Sharon is at making her welcome. She will happily demonstrate her fetching skills with endless games of ‘toss the stuffie’. She already has Sharon well trained in that regard!

Taleah not only lies with her sweet sheltie nose on Sharon’s feet, but when Sharon fell asleep beside her on the bed, Taleah hopped down, went to her crate, and put herself to bed. And I’m betting she even pulled a blanket over her new Mama Sharon and gave her a kiss on the cheek before she turned out the lights.

Welcome Taleah – I can’t wait to meet you. time for another herding dog pawty!

And lastly, an assortment of news on other dogs. Charley and Sadie are still trucking along - Charley much more slowly but still holding her own, Sadie with a weird and wonky right eye but she doesn't seem bothered by it.

Sadie wants everyone to know that I am a very bad mama - I forgot to celebrate her Gotcha Day which was on March 6th! Sadie came to me, via Okanagon Collie Rescue and the Quesnel SPCA, back on March 6th, 2008. Happy third Gotcha Day, Sadie. I'm sorry I forgot!

So where's my Gotcha Day treats???

In other animal news, Hearts on Noses potbellied pig sanctuary had an unexpected visitor - a hopelessly matted, little deaf lhaso-apso type dog that either found her own way onto the property or, more likely as she was trapped in the well-fenced yard, dumped there by some unfeeling and irresponsible former owner. Update, Janice - did she find a home yet?

Little lost - or dumped - doggy who landed with the pigs!

And another friend is searching for a home for a soon-to-be-dumped dog whose family no longer wants her and plans to move away. More info to come.......

The stories on unwanted dogs are endless. Some heartless soul on the free online classifieds is giving away a 12.5 year old standard poodle who "lives outside because she has some incontinence issues related to age" - and then they try to make out that this dog enjoys spending its last months or years outside by herself. I have to keep telling myself I can't save them all, we can't save them all....but how do you choose who to help and who to ignore?

And so some days we have to focus on the good news stories - Zuke's recovery, Taleah's new-found happiness, and - oh yes - Ruby a potbellied pig who was turned into animal control, and through Hearts on Noses and some fast work over here, is now living a very happy life on acreage with two other pigs and some mini horses on the island. Yay Ruby! (And yay Dawn for contacting Hearts on Noses in your search for a piggy!)

A dog pound is no place for a piggy!

Home at last!

And in the non-critter department, two-legged Charlie (my friend in Calgary) spent a couple of hours on the phone with me this morning, walking me through the steps to re-secure my wireless network (and on his phone bill, not mine!). Thanks Charlie!

And just to spice up the weekend around here, I awoke yesterday morning to the restless pacing of my dogs, who were reacting to men walking around on the roof of the house across the back lane. These men:

A chimney fire, safely extinguised by Crofton's great volunteer firefighting team.

Tomorrow, my friends Ann and Ken arrive for the week. The forecast is for rain, rain and more rain, but I am optimistic - weather forecasters are often wrong. Expect photos of sunshine and water and flowers and interesting people and places as I show off this beautiful island to my guests. But first I better move away from the computer and go clean the house. And do laundry. And make up a grocery list. Why do I always leave these things until the last minute? Oh, yes, I have dogs and a blog.

Have a good week, everyone.