Show Me a Man Who Doesn't Like a Dog....

If you read my last post then you know that I remembered something my dad said when I was just a kid..."Show me a man who doesn't like a dog and I'll show you a man who is no good."

I thought about it a lot. My dad was very wise.

I guess because I'm a writer, that inspired me to look for more quotes about animals. Needless to say, I spent more than a few hours immersed in rich delightful quotations.

This one spoke to me:

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." ~ Roger Caras

I guess I might even change it to: "Animals are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

Do you have any quotes that speak to you about animals? Please share!

Also, my sister-in-law has a cute post on her blog and some wonderful photos of a cat fully engrossed in what it's doing. Hop over and take a look!

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I Remember......

I had pictures of Annabelle to post tonight. I had pictures of the coyote basking in the sun in the field behind my house. I had pictures of three deer grazing in the same field. Had them is the operative word here. I LOST THEM ALL! I don't know if it's me or the camera.

Anyway, after I realized the pictures were gone I decided to visit blogs instead of getting frustrated. I had just gotten started when I landed on DJan's blog. Somehow, the topic of fathers came up and I began to read the comments that were left at her blog. The comments brought back a flood of childhood memories that I had forgotten.

My dad died when I was nine. My mother was very sick too. Because it was such a painful time for me, I have unintentionally blocked out a lot of those memories. Tonight, when thinking about my dad, I suddenly recalled his great love for animals.

Tears came to my eyes and I could almost hear my dad saying, "Show me a man who doesn't like a dog and I'll show you a man who's no good!"

Wow. Thinking about people I have encountered during my life makes me honestly believe that my dad was mostly right. People who love dogs are almost always compassionate caring people.

My dad didn't just like dogs though. As I thought about my father, I remembered more and more. There was the time that we were driving down the road and he spotted a dead raccoon. Nearby was one live baby.

Dad brought our car to an abrupt halt. He was a tall masculine man - 6'4". I remember thinking how gentle he looked as he picked up the baby raccoon and put it in the back of our Ford station wagon. How could I have forgotten about this until now?

My dad didn't stop with just picking up the baby raccoon. He went home and built a cage for it and scheduled an appointment at the vet.

I remember going with my dad and watching as the vet pulled tick after tick out of the poor baby's ears. I remember watching the vet draw blood and give inoculations. It never dawned on me until tonight that most fathers probably wouldn't have gone to all this effort but mine did.

And I remember the November day my dad died. He was 39-years-old. Much too young to die but back then Hodgkin's disease had no cure. As always, we had a dog. She was a wonderful loyal boxer. Tawny never left my dad's bedside. He would reach down and stroke her head as she waited with him. Tawny was there as my dad took his last breath.

Is it any wonder I love animals so much? And isn't it amazing that a blog brought back all these wonderful memories for me? I'm still crying but not because of the loss of my parents at a young age. I'm crying because of the wonderful memories that are coming back to me that I had all but forgotten. They are a part of who and why I am.

I'm so thankful that I lost the pictures on my camera tonight. I found something so much more special....I found a part of me.

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OH PLEASE!

So they think I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree. They call me a ditz. Well, guess who gets a boatload of attention without having to do stupid tricks or even behave very well? WINK WINK! You guessed it....ME!

Kelly was smart. I'll give him that. He had a much bigger vocabulary than I do. And Annabelle aims to please. She does whatever Mom says. She's even got Dad jumping though hoops. I say, "Go for it Annabelle...you go girl!" When Dad gets on the floor to play with Annabelle, I go right over and lick the salt from his potato chips right off his hands. Annabelle makes it easier for me to reach him. Who's a ditz?

Then there's Tango. He does tricks to get treats. He bows. He kisses. He pushes balls and pulls ropes. He takes Mom on long rides. Then he gets all gussied up and wins ribbons at horse shows just to make Mom happy.

I don't have to do a darn thing but look cute and snuggle WHEN I'M COLD.

Who's not the brightest bulb on the tree?

YOU TELL ME!

Love from the true genius,
Maddie

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Seriously Tango!

I had to have a heart to heart with Tango yesterday. I've told you before, Tango thinks he's a dog. Really. Tango's as sweet as they come but because of his size...actually the size of his massive head...he can get downright pushy.

And because I got Tango when he was a baby he knows all the tricks of the trade. I can't help myself. I always have treats in my pocket and Tango knows it! I love to give him a peppermint after a good hard ride. I love to give him a sugar cube when he runs to me when I call him from the field. Who wouldn't want to reward a boy that's so obedient?

Well, my husband for one! I'm not too great with the camera yet, but as you can see, Tango has his head twisted around Chuck's body trying to get into his pocket. Chuck likes Tango well enough, but he's a little intimidated by his size. Who wouldn't be if they're not a horse person?

I decided go have another talk with Tango. Spider thought he join us for the conversation. He's much older and wiser than Tango. Since this picture was taken from a distance (Chuck was as far away as he could get) it's hard to see, but the reason my black vest is at an angle is because Tango pushed it up to get into my pocket again. That boy! Maybe Spider will try to talk some sense into Tango when I'm gone.

Maybe not.

MY BOY LOVES TO EAT!

I still think grass is a vegetable, but that's another subject!

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We Want to See You!

Way down at the bottom of this page I added a guest book. I got the idea from Riley and Star's place and loved it! The reason I added it to my blog is so that we could see all of your animals' cute faces and get to know you better. If you have time, please scroll way down and take a peek!
Meanwhile, I want to let you know how much fun I'm having talking to or about your animals...and mine. I guess when you write about what you love, you're bound to find people who share your passion. You are all awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your stories with me.

Jan

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With Love from Annabelle and Maddie

This is our cousin Jake. Mom babysits for him whenever our Aunt Dee and Uncle Mike go away. During football season, she goes over to play with him almost every Saturday. The good thing is, that whenever our mom and dad go away, Aunt Dee comes over and takes care of us!

The first thing Jake always does when Mom gets to his house is sit up so she can hold his paw. Jake loves to have his paw held. He sits up pretty darn good for a big guy, doesn't he? Jake sits like this for as long as my mom will hold his paw. He's a strong boy! Mom says he has a great back. Guess that's cause her back hurts all the time!

Click on this picture to get a good look at Maddie's face. I'm going to save it and use it for blackmail the next time I can think of a good reason! Maddie hadn't seen cousin Jake for awhile and you can tell by the look on her face that she's not as calm as me. I had to remind Maddie to use her manners. Good grief!

"The first thing you do when you visit your cousin," I told Maddie, "Is to give him a kiss on the cheek...that's what families do. Then stop with the terrified look...it makes you look like your eyes are going to pop out. You don't want to scare cousin Jake do you?"

"The next thing to do," I told my sister, "Is to turn your face just slightly so that Jake can lick your ear. That's what families do too! It's called AFFECTION," I told Maddie. "Then if you're lucky, Jake will let you go with him to his big backyard. You're going to want to do that," I told her.

Maddie went and sat by the fireplace for awhile and thought about what I said...she's like that. Jake waited patiently for her to get herself together. Finally she did.

Then we all went outside for a nice long walk around the woods. Mom left the camera in the house or we'd have pictures of that too.

In case your wondering why we're talking today instead of our mom, it's because we convinced her it was our turn. I told Maddie I'd talk this time. Maybe by next time, Maddie will be brave enough to do the talking. She's a little ditzy, but she's quite creative. In fact, she's a little like our mom, but don't tell her I said that!

You'll hear much more from us later. We're gonna give Mom the old boot from time to time.

Oh! Wait a minute. One more thing. Maddie said I am suppose to tell you to scroll down to the very bottom of this page. Mom added a guest book so we can see who you are. Maddie needs to put a face with a name. Go figure!

Love,

Annabelle and Maddie

P.S How'd I do?

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Creating Memories

The photo makes Tango and me look small...I LOVE IT! What I loved even more was spending the day riding with my granddaughter, Alexa. She's getting to be such a good little rider. I keep thinking I'll quit competing when she starts...maybe!

Alexa is riding Tantra. She's a pretty little quarter horse.

This photo was taken last week. Alexa was getting ready to start back to school and we figured we needed one more ride before the normal school time routine began. We had a wonderful ride even though it was hot and muggy. There's something about combining passions that create unforgettable moments. I think Alexa feels the same way. It goes way beyond grandmother and granddaughter. I just can't explain it. I'm at a loss for words and that's unusual for me.

All I know for sure is that I don't need a photo to remember the times I spend riding with Alexa. We're creating beautiful scrapbooks of memories in our minds and in our hearts.

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