Quite Possibly The Sweetest Dog on Earth

(But please don't tell Sadie and Charley, because I tell them THEY are the sweetest dogs on earth)

What do you get when you take these ears

and this nose




and these eyes




and this cute little peach patch on the top of the head




and this beautiful speckled peach and white fur




and this tail




and this tongue




and this head




and this smile



And you put them all together in one medium sized, soft, sweet package?

You get this cute, happy, wiggly, slightly shy but very social, beautifully raised, and very very loved Goodfish.








Yes, I slipped over to Karen's yesterday afternoon for a short while in order to say hi to Goodfish's adoptive parents and photograph Karen's former foster pup who was originally found near death up north (near Goodfish Lake, hence the name), was saved by a good hearted man and a patient vet, travelled around the bush of two provinces and a territory enroute down south, joined us on our Wednesday Walks, and eventually was adopted to a stellar home with Eunice and Leslie. Their love for Goodfish is obvious, as is her love for them.

Karen has a lovely piece of property with a huge, huge yard for the dogs to play in. It backs onto open fields with a view of the Mt. Sicker. We sat in the shade of some trees and enjoyed the light breeze which wafted across the open fields on an otherwise very hot day.

I only stayed a short while as I knew my brief respite from coughing wouldn't last long, but in that short while I took over 300 photos. I have spent the last 12 hours trying to choose my favourites. Here's a few more:














Goodfish is likely a yellow lab/sharpei cross. There are times she looks so much like my Emma it hurts,



and at other times one can clearly see the sharpei in her face (as well as in her curly tail).



No matter what her breed, she is quite possibly the sweetest dog on earth.

Thank you, Eric for rescuing her, Karen and Norm for fostering her, and Eunice and Leslie for adopting her. Each of you played a big role in saving her life, teaching her manners, caring for her, and loving her. She is one very, very lucky pup.

The Sunny Sunday Sadie Report

By Sadie, cub...er..pup reporter.

Well, my mama's cold is a lot better, but now she is in the final stage where the congestion is all gone but the bark bark bark is worse, especially when she lies down. So she sat in her chair in the living room all night long, barking barking barking right next to MY couch where I was trying to sleep. Hmmmph! I finally hoisted my fuzzy butt off the couch and stomped into her bedroom and slept on HER bed. That made mama laugh!

It is sooooo hot here. We spend the day indoors, where it isn't too bad with the blinds down and the fans going. In the evening we go for a nice walk and then come home to open up the windows and let the cooler air in. Charley and I are both blowing our coats - we did get groomed just last week, but still big tufts of fur suddenly appear sticking out of our coats, which mama just haz to pull out. We tell her she's pickin' on us, like a mama gorilla pulling nits off the babies! That makes her laugh, too.

Mama liked my little poetic line I wrote last entry, so I turned it into a poem for her:

Ya Can't Be Blue with a Canine Crew
By Sadie (c) 2010

Ya can’t be blue with a canine crew,
With dogs nearby to hound ya.
When you’re all stuffed up and you’ve got the flu
You need some dogs around ya!

Ya can’t be blue with a canine crew,
Even if your life’s a muddle.
When you’ve had enough and ya ain’t so tough,
We’ll lick yer face and cuddle.

Ya can’t be blue with a canine crew,
With wagging tails around ya,
Cuz fuzzy ears will dry those tears
When a crew of dogs surround ya.

Ya can’t be blue with a canine crew,
With our big brown eyes and wiggles.
We might eat your stew or chew your shoe
But we’ll give you lots of giggles.

Ya can’t be blue with a canine crew,
With furry friends beguiling.
Just have a smooch with your favourite pooch
And you’ll soon be back to smiling!

Well, that's all fer today. If mama stops coughing, she's going over to Auntie Karen's later, 'cuz our friend Goodfish is here for a visit. 'Member her? Mom wrote about her here. (Her name got changed to Alva for a little while, but her new mama and papa liked the name Goodfish, so that's what she's called.) If you live in New Westminster, you probably see her bounding along the Quay, saying hi to everyone she meets!

Yer pal, Sadie

(c) 2010.

Sadie Stories

Dear readers. This is Sadie. I am going to write the blog for a few days because my mama is sick. She is bark-bark-barking nonstop. She is noisier than the sea lions we hear at night. Bark-bark-bark-bark-bark. And she’s always tellin’ ME to be quiet!!

Some of you may remember when I used to write a newspaper column called Sagacious Sadie. Now I am retired (just like my mama!) and taking life easy. I like retirement, but not when mama is sick because then we don’t even get to go to the offleash park and things get kinda boring. Well, except the other morning when we started to go to the seawalk and there were cops everywhere and yellow police tape blocking off all access. There was a suicidal man with a bunch of guns at the RV park near the seawalk and the police were here for hours and hours getting him to calm down. It all ended safely though. I think the man needs a dog or two or three, then he'd think life was worth living! Ya can't be blue with a canine crew! (Heheheheh - I'm a poet!)

Mama did take us down to the beach last night. It was a bootiful night, with the water all red and gold, and the mountains purple and pink.



We saw a river otter climb up on the wharf, right behind a group of children who were fishing. He was quite funny – I think he wanted the fish they had just caught. He was too far away for mama to get a photo though, especially as it was getting dark.

We stopped to talk to Benny's dad (Benny is a doggy friend of ours)and he told us there is a family of five river otters living in the brush where the creek runs into the ocean – a mama and papa and three babies. I hope our mama can get a picture of them with her camera some time soon. But that won’t happen as long as she’s lying on the couch barking.

Mama is eating frozen cubes of watermelon which help her stop barking. How come she doesn’t give me treats when I bark??? I don’t get it. And she doesn’t go to the vet, either, like we have to when we get sick. Double standard, that’s what I say. ‘Course, Oliver and Belle went to the vet and they died, so maybe I don’t want mama going there!

Get better soon, mama!!

Love, Sadie.

(c) 2010

Not about critters - but certainly about blogging

I was reading a blog in which the issue of copyright came up. I was bemused at the writer’s assumption that anything on the internet is “public” and can be used without getting permission as long as the original author is credited. This is a common misperception.

As a writer and a blogger, I am occasionally contacted by people or organizations wishing to use something they read on my blog. Some of my material, for example, has been published (with permission) in print and online newspapers and newsletters. I have also received requests via email from people wanting to use a single entry or an image for other purposes – and those requests have generally been granted. And I belong to a writers’ group in which I am currently reworking some of my blog entries and producing some new stories with the intention of eventually publishing a book or two.

Since my writing is important to me, and there is so much misunderstanding about copyright, I thought I would clarify how Canadian copyright laws apply to blog material.

Disclaimer: this entry outlines my understanding of Canadian copyright law and should not be used as your sole source of information. For a full copy of the Canadian Copyright Act (all 128 pages in pdf format), go to http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cs/C-42/ ) .

And therein lies the first lesson on internet copyright: if you want someone to read something someone else has authored, give them the link to the original document. But I’m getting ahead of myself.


In my opinion, the four most basic and yet most important points in Canadian copyright law, as it pertains to blogs, are as follows:

1. Copyright is automatic in Canada – as soon as an original work is written down, recorded or entered on computer, it is immediately copyright protected. You don’t have to “register” it. That said, you MAY register it, and it is advisable to add a copyright statement to material you publish online. You will find mine in the top corner of my blog.

2. The Canadian law of copyright applies to the internet: using internet text or images or graphics that have been created by someone else without their permission is an infringement of copyright law.

3. The owner of the copyright is the person who created the words or images, unless he or she has a written agreement giving copyright to someone else (for example, an employer may hire someone to write their marketing materials for them and have them sign a contract giving copyright to the employer).

4. In Canada, copyright protects intellectual property rather than physical property – that is, the words of a story are protected by copyright, not the actual book or paper it is printed on. That copyright usually lasts for the lifetime of the creator, and for 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the creator died.

(The source of the above information is the Media Awareness Network, http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/legislation/canadian_law/federal/copyright_act/cdn_copyright_ov.cfmRetrieved August 10, 2010. )

It is generally considered acceptable practice to quote from another source, or to paraphrase that source (as I did above) without getting specific permission, as long as the full citation is given. For print materials this means providing the reader with the author, date of publication, title of article/book, place of publication and name of publisher. For online sources, the author and title (if available), full web address, and date retrieved.

It is NOT acceptable practice to take an article in its entirety and print it elsewhere, even if a citation is given, without permission. There are very specific and somewhat complex laws on what is acceptable, but a very general rule of thumb is that if you are quoting more than a few sentences, you probably need permission. Similarly, you can’t make a bunch of copies of an article you did not author, and hand it out (let alone sell it as part of a book) without permission of the author. To do so is an infringement of copyright.

The words written on a blog are owned by the author of the words, which is not necessarily the owner of the blog. For example, a while back I created a bit of a kerfuffle (kerfuffle - isn't that a great word?!!) when I wrote a story on my blog using excerpts from some entries I’d originally written as a contribution to another blog. I later learned that the owner of the earlier blog was furious. However, I was completely within my rights – those words were mine, I wrote them, and I never entered any agreement with the blog owner to give her copyright of my stories. The stories I wrote on that blog (and saved on my own computer) will forever be mine to use as I please.

Everything on my blog is my own except the comments of the blog readers and a few images which others gave me permission to use and where I have provided credit as per their instructions. On the rare occasion I have used a poem or song lyric whose copyright has not expired and which I did not author, I have provided a citation. Even where copyright has expired, I have provided the name of the author and the year of publication. It is the courteous, respectful and legal thing to do. I would hope that people using words or images from my blog would grant me that same respect.

There is no infringement of copyright if all you do is provide the link (for example a link to a youtube video or to another blog or website) as that is no different from recommending a book or a television show – it leads the reader to view the original work.

I hope this has been helpful to my blog readers, many of whom are bloggers themselves. Please note that Canadian and American copyright laws are considerably different and this entry refers only to Canadian copyright.

© 2010

Sunday Stroll at Swallowfield

Cooler temperatures today brought sweet relief and an urge to take the dogs for a nice long walk. I hadn't been to Swallowfield for a while - it is now too difficult for Charley and Sadie to walk all the way to the river, let alone the estuary, particularly in warmer weather. They have slowed down so much this past year, my two collie girls, and at eleven and thirteen years of age have stopped participating in most of the Wednesday Walks.

But the cooler weather and some wanderlust led me to load the dogs in the van and head to the Swallowfield area; we would just go as far as the fork in the path, a gentle tree-lined walk with blackberries to pick and flowers to admire.

And what a beautiful showing of flowers there were - flowers of every shape and size and colour, nestled among grasses and brambles, bursting from tree branches, and boldly swaying at the sides of the dirt track.













The mosquitoes were having a picnic, and thought we were on the menu - thank goodness I had put on long pants and packed my repellent. Charley found a patch of grass and had a nice long scratch.



When we reached the fork, I remembered a plum tree growing by the side of the right hand path, so we walked a little further in the hopes of getting some fresh juicy fruit. We found the tree but, alas, the plums were all too high for me to reach.



Grapes cascade over a nearby old stone wall, all that remains of a long-ago homestead.



We turned around to head back, but not before Sadie decided she'd had enough of this walking bit, and lay down for a rest.

I'm tired, Mom

A little fresh water in her portable dish and she was ready to carry on.

I waz thirsty!

Charley, however, declined any refreshment.

Eeewwwwww, Sadie spitted in it, Mom!!!

We returned the way we came, taking a couple of ducks and geese in a boggy pond by surprise though my fingers on the camera was not quick enough to catch them. A chat with another person strollling with their senior dog, a few more shots of flowers and berries, and it was time to go home.

Hey, quit crowding me!

We got home around dinner time. I had put all the ingredients for a hearty stew in the crock pot that morning, and the aroma filled the house. A bowl of stew, a chunk of grainery bread, a dessert of fresh picked blackberries with warm homemade custard, two tired dogs at my feet, and a good book to read for the rest of the evening - life doesn't get much better than this.

Corn through a circle of blackberry vines.

We're playin' YOUR song!

Tomorrow (Friday August 6th) I'll be one of a group of SPCA volunteers answering telephone lines at Sun FM radio station in Duncan. As part of Sun FM's commitment to raise $25,000 for the Cowichan Valley SPCA, the radio station will be doing Pay-for-Play from 6 AM to 6 PM, in which listeners can phone in to request any song they want - anything at all from classical to heavy metal and from country to opera - which Sun FM will play in exchange for a donation to the SPCA. The number to call is: 250-746-0897.. I'll be answering phones from 2-6 PM.

You can also make your request ahead of time through their website and they will call you for your credit card information for the donation. You'll find their website at www.897sunfm.com and then click on "You pay it We play it", or click this link right here to go straight to the page.

And yes, you can get SunFM 89.7 on your radio dial in the lower mainland and Fraser Valley - I listened to it on my car radio last time I was in Abbotsford.

Sadie has a sad, sad day

Sadie was sad. Sadie hadn’t felt this sad since the day a couple of years ago when she lost her family and ended up in jail. She remembered feeling so alone even though she was surrounded by other dogs in other cells. Maybe it had something to do with Brutus, the one who said “BARK BARK BARK, That’s it buddy, they’ve dumped you and yer never gonna see the outside world again!” When she heard that, she did everything she could to claw and eat her way out through those cold metal bars, until her paws bled and her jaws ached.

But Brutus was wrong, because pretty soon she found herself with a new mama, living on a farm with lots of other animals. And though she grieved for her old family for a long time, she soon came to love her new mama and her animal friends. She had lots of animal friends. There were pigs that went OINK OINK OINK and SQUEAL SQUEAL SQUEAL. There was an alpaca who went chatter-chatter-chatter-chatter, especially when a bear came near. There were coyotes who howled and yipped, and of course, there was Charley who looked a lot like Sadie herself and spoke the same language – colliespeak.

Oh, and there was the cat, Allie. But mostly she ignored the cat.

And soon there were more dogs – Belle, the bossy little princess, and Oliver, the funny guy who liked to dance. And when the piggies and alpaca went to new homes, her new mama took Sadie and her canine sisters and brother and Allie the cat to a wonderful new home on an island where she could run on the beach and play in the fields and sleep on the couch and enjoy life with her friends and siblings.

But today, Sadie was sad. Something was wrong - terribly wrong. It began about two months ago. First the funny little dancing dog disappeared. Then the princess. And, today, mama took Charley out in the van and came back home without her!

Poor Sadie. She checked the back yard. She checked the mud room. She even stood up with her paws against the gate and checked the carport. No Charley.

She went into the house and told the cat. “I think Charley is gone. I’ve looked everywhere and there is no Charley. There are NO MORE DOGS! I’m allllll alooooonnnnnne!"

The cat, who had a little of the devil in her, whispered in Sadie’s ear. “Heheheh......yer gonna be next, furbutt!”.




Then mama went out again and Sadie thought “Maybe she’ll bring Charley back this time. Maybe Charley just went to for a visit somewhere.” But mama came back again, and still there was NO Charley.

This time Sadie was really worried. She checked the back yard. She checked the mudroom. She even stood up with her paws against the gate and checked the carport. There was NO CHARLEY!

She looked all over the house, but No Charley. She asked mama to let her back outside, but there was No Charley. She went over to the gate, and she lay down and put her sad furry face on her big furry paws. Mama called her to come inside but she didn’t move. Mama called her again but she still didn’t move. Mama called her a third time, this time in her no-nonsense “Lady Sadie, you-get-in-here-right-now!!” voice, and she still didn’t move.

Mama knew Sadie was sad and worried; Sadie never stayed out in the yard without her mama. In fact, she usually knocked mama right off her feet trying to barge through the door ahead of her. So if Sadie stayed outside, Sadie was sad.

All day, Sadie stayed by the gate, head on her paws, eyes watching the driveway. Finally mama said “Sadie, car ride!” which would usually make Sadie jump up and down with glee. But Sadie just became sadder.

“Ohhhhh noooooo,” thought Sadie. “Now it is my turn. I’m going to be taken to jail and I’ll never see my mama again!”

Sadly she plodded over to the van. She stood at the door but wouldn’t hop in. Finally mama picked her up, all 60 poounds of her, and put her in the van.

“Ohhhhhh nooooooooooooooooooo!” wailed Sadie. Sadie was so sad she didn’t even look out the window as they drove down the road.

Suddenly she sniffed something familiar. “I know those smells”, thought Sadie. “That’s Auntie Karen’s place! I smell Quinn and Drew and Amy and Kabuki and Dolly and Vimy....and......and....and....CHARLEY! Hmmmmm….she smells kinda funny. She smells all girly and clean.....not her grubby self that she has been for the past three months".

Sadie pondered for a moment, and then she jumped up on the seat. "Oh oh oh oh oh – I remembers! This is where Charley and me comes when we gets a bath! Auntie Karen is our groomer!!!! Charley has just gone for grooming! (Oh boy am I glad I didn’t have to go too).” And Sadie sat up tall, and looked out the window, and wiggled her furry butt and waggled her floppy ears and got a biiiiiiig grin on her fuzzy face.

And soon mama stopped the van, and she got out, and a few minutes later she came back with Charley, A beautiful, sweet smelling, shiny-furred Charley. Sadie hopped down from the back seat when the side door of the van door opened and she kissed Charley on the nose. Then she jumped back on the seat cuz if Charley was just fine, she sure wasn’t gonna give up her favorite spot in the vehicle! Then she jumped down again and checked once more. “Yup, that’s Charley. Charley’s fine. Oh good.” And she jumped back up on the seat.

Soon they were home where Sadie bowled mom over in her dash to get inside.
Allie came over to apologize to Sadie. Sadie said “It’s okay, cat, I knew you were only teasing!”



And they all settled down for a nice long nap.


The End.

The Brown Thumb Report

It has been more than a month since I planted, and posted about, my patio garden. (You can read that post here). At that time, I mentioned I don't have a great deal of success growing things.

I have been watering twice a day in this hot weather, I have fertilized with Miracle Grow as per the instructions, I have removed the dead blossoms daily........and this is what I have:

A sad state of affairs

Dying kalanchoe

Dying hanging basket

Dying fuschia

Ho-Hum fence basket

Ho-hum hanging basket

And more dying flowers

I learned, after the fact, that the planters I used on the fence should have been lined with plastic, at least at the bottom, and the cocoa fibre lining should have been submerged in water for an hour or so before using. Now why oh why didn't the instructions say that? So part of the problem getting flowers to grow there is that the water pours right through and there is no way to keep the soil moist. Live and learn.

Okay, things aren't quite as bad as those first pictures make it seem. They were taken about a week ago, and most of the plants have perked up a bit since then. Even a week ago, there were some vigorously growing, beautiful flowers on the patio:

I do have some lovely petunias :

And geraniums, too:



One of the baskets on the fence is doing pretty well, though the trailing geraniums on each end are neither trailing nor blooming profusely, perhaps waging war with the petunias when they might have prefered their own container:



The trailing geraniums which I planted with the petunias in the planters on the fence may not be trailing, but one flowerless potted plant (which I thought was also a trailing geranium but could be wrong) is trailing like crazy all over my patio. As you can see, it cascades down by the dog statue and then creeps along the ground:





The flowerboxes at the base of the fence are coming along nicely, though the white flowers I planted in the boxes have become suffocated by the red and blue ones


And the cherry tomatoes are doing well :


I've had some wonderful larger (Early Girl) tomatoes, too, even if the plant looks like it is ready for the compost at any time. I didn't photograph the plant - it is just too sad - but look at these:



My strawberries just keep right on blooming and berry-ing:



And, while not on the patio, my apple tree seems to be doing quite well:



The teacher in me says the project is running about a C+ right now - some good stuff, but some weak spots, and definitely doesn't reach the "outstanding" level. Enthusiasm and effort, though? Maybe that will bring me closer to a B. We'll see what it is like in another month.

Patio at end of first month

And...the hat trick

Or is it a triple play? I think this is the first time I've written three blog entries on the same day, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to wish Scotch and Soda's ten little piggies, those adorable characters whom I fostered for nearly two years, a VERY HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY!

From the wee little monkeys who emerged at midnight in numbers far greater than anyone would have predicted:



To the sweet, adorable, social young piggies who still run to greet me when I show up at the sanctuary:



You never cease to amaze me, to make me laugh, to bring a huge smile to my face.



Happy birthday, Whisper, Toddy, Derby, Rickey, Swizzle, Spritzer, Rob Roy, Lizzie, Fizzy, and Tom. You are the bestest little pigs in the whole wide world!


[For those who weren't blog readers during the time I was fostering the piggies, you will find summaries of their stories and some of my favorite photos of them here and here and here. Or just click on the label "pigs" at the end of this entry for lots and lots of stories and photos of my time with them.]

Tunie gets her wings

Some time ago I wrote about the first pig to ever win my heart, a potbellied pig named Petunia, who came to live at the first sanctuary I volunteered at. You can read about my experience with Tunie here.

While catching up on my internet reading today, I learned that Tunie was euthanized yesterday after becoming seriously ill and weakened by a suspected cancer. My heartfelt condolences go out to all who have truly loved Tunie. The barn at the sanctuary will not be the same without her.

Tunie, thank you for teaching me the pleasures of sitting in solitude in a barn on a hot summer’s day. Thank you for showing me that piggies can laugh and that they have a great sense of humour. Thank you for taking delight in my offerings of spinach salad with strawberries. Thank you for the many times we sat side by side in the shavings on the barn floor, me singing, you crooning, as the sun streamed in through the open window. Thank you for accepting me as your caregiver – I wish our time together had been much longer.

Thank you for teaching me about piggies, which ultimately led to my fostering twelve more – one of the highlights of my life. Thank you for being a Pig with Personality. You were my first pig, and I loved you very much.

Fly free, Tunie. And every now and then, check on my twelve at Hearts on Noses, and maybe stop by to see me, too. I’ll be listening for your quiet ha-ha-ha laughter. And perhaps I’ll feel a soft little breeze as you prove that pigs really can fly. Luv ya, loony-tunes. Now you are truly free.

Don't Leave Home Without It!

I shall never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever go on the ferry without my camera again. Never. Ever.

Yesterday, I went to the mainland. Rather than my usual two or three day stay, I was just going over for the day to visit mom, who has been moved to the rehabilitation ward of the hospital, and to meet with the occupational therapist about her assessment for returning to independent/assisted living. I packed my book to read during the many hours I would be in the ferry lineup or on the ferry, a healthy lunch of fruits and veggies and a tasty ancient grains salad, a very large bottle of water to keep me hydrated in this hot weather, and my Visa to pay for the ferry and the outrageous parking fees at the hospital.

I did NOT pack my camera. Correction - I packed the camera and then decided not to take it. It was, after all, a trip I'd made a thousand times. And I was only going over there for the day so would not be wandering parks or beaches or visiting the piggies. And in such hot weather, I didn't want to leave the camera in the car nor pack it around with me. And so I left it at home.

As I put it back in my office, I argued with myself. "You never know, Jean, you might regret leaving it behind. What if you see dolphins or whales, like the ferry passengers did a couple of months ago?" "Nah....not likely to happen. I've sailed that route a thousand times and never seen so much as a seal. Besides, aren't whales most likely to be seen in spring and fall?

On the return trip early yesterday evening, just ten or fifteen minutes out of Tsawwassen, the captain made an annoucement:

For those who might be interested, there is a pod of killer whales heading towards us, just off the starboard side. They're currently about a kilometre ahead.

And there I was, camera-less, as at least a dozen or more beautiful killer whales leaped and rolled and breached and made water spouts and raised their flukes through the ocean waters on a clear summer day. And there I was, still, as two adults with a baby between them gracefully rolled through the waves right in front of me. And there I was without my camera.

I shall never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever go on the ferry without my camera again. Never. Ever.

My deepest apologies for this photo-less blog entry.