I Was Right!

Remember last week when I told you our walks were never going to be the same again? Well I was right. Mom holds Annabelle and me in one hand and Sammy (that's his name) in the other. Annabelle and I usually walk out in front and Sammy usually walks right beside Mom.

The picture above was our first walk together. We almost run out of sidewalk because Sammy's so big. Annabelle always likes to stop and sniff everything. I like to tinkle at the corner of everyone's driveway.

Not Sammy. He walks like he's on a mission. Mom even walks him close to fire hydrants and most of the time Sammy doesn't even stop. What's wrong with the boy? Any good strong boy needs to lift his leg now and then. He's going to give Belle and I a bad reputation.

I tried to talk to Sammy while we were walking. "Slow down there big guy," I said to him. I glanced up to see if Sammy was listening to me and he wasn't. Mom says it's a guy thing and that they don't listen very well. Maybe she's right.

Oh well. We feel pretty safe when Mom takes us on our midnight walks now. Who's gonna mess with us when we're with Sammy boy? Yep...our walks are not the same anymore. Maybe someday I'll think they're even better. Give me a month or so!

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Sammy Sammy Sammy

Meet Sammy! He's our foster Newfoundland. If you look very closely you'll see little tiny Annabelle on the couch behind him. The girls are adjusting just fine. I'll have them tell you about Sammy with their own words later this week.


Sammy came to us on Friday. He'd been a couple places before he got here. One place had called him Mongo. The other Sampson. I tried both names on him and he didn't respond much to either. Since I preferred Sampson we stuck closely with that.

Why did we agree to foster such an enormous dog? Because we love Newfoundlands and frankly, I signed up with a Newfoundland rescue group to do what I love...have a Newfoundland in my life. I've told you all about Bud, our last Newfie. He lived to be 11-years-old and was just about the greatest dog on earth. Sammy isn't a traditional color. In fact he isn't recognized by the AKC. But Sammy is a traditional Newfoundland. Gentle, kind, clumsy, messy, and funny. Sammy's already won our hearts...all 100 * pounds of him.

Does he have any issues? Yes a few. He's really young (a year) so he came with no manners. He's already doing better. Sammy doesn't like it much when we leave. I have a feeling he's been left once too many times. We're going to work with Sammy to make him as confident as he can be. Then we're going to work hard to make ourselves let him go when the time comes.

By the way, my sister-in-law just visited a wonderful winery where she was greeted by MIRA, a Newfoundland. Go see her post and photos!

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Our Walks Might Never Be the Same....

We're making the photos small so we don't shock you too much.

But we have one thing to say:

She wants us to be all hugs and kisses on Mother's Day but EEEEEGADS! Look who's moving in with us for an undetermined amount of time! She's gone and lost her mind!

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Divine Intervention?

I honestly believe that sometimes things happen for a reason. About a month ago, my sister Julia, lost her beloved Georgia. Georgia was a beautiful Great Pyrenees with a heart as big as Texas...where my sister lives.

Julia was devastated, as we all are when we lose one of our family members. "I probably won't get another dog," Julia said to me. "There will never be another Georgia and cats are easier to take care of anyway."

Julia's cats are terrific. Each of them as their own distinct personality. And honestly Julia was/is right. There will NEVER be another Georgia. Never.

I wanted to help Julia through her grief but I know from my own experiences that you never really get over losing a dog (or cat) that is in your life. Somehow, you resume your normal life but it seems empty for awhile, no matter how full your house is with people or other pets.

After Georgia's death, Julia went to work as usual. I'm not certain of the timeline on this, but it wasn't long after Georgia's death that Julia began to notice a dog that would come into the parking bays where she worked. Julia took Georgia's food to work with her and began to feed and water the stray on a daily basis.

She even went back on weekends and when she couldn't go, she asked someone who worked weekends to cover for her.

It gets better. Julia noticed that the dog was flea infested. She took in the proper medication and applied it to the dog that now greeted her on a daily basis. "She's an odd looking girl," Julia said to me. "Her one ear flops down kind of funny."

"Are you taking her home?" I asked Julia.

"I'm gong to try to find her a home," was Julia's response on a Monday. "Well, maybe I'll take her home on Friday when I get the fleas under control," she went on to say.

On Thursday her story was different when she called. "I brought the dog home with me tonight," Julia said matter of factly.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked. "I thought you weren't going to take her home until you got the fleas under control?"

"She ran after my car when I started to leave last night," Julia said, "What could I do? I brought her home and put her in the tub and gave her a really good flea bath. She's a nice distraction," Julia told me.

I smiled to myself. My sister's nice distraction was not a dog she would have chosen. It was a dog that chose her. Sometimes life's simple that way.

Meet Isabella! She's a happy girl. Isabella is smiling with me!

My sister is terrific, don't you think?

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Hey There!

Our friend Tweedles just emailed me to ask me if I was tired of blogging. The answer to the question is a big NO! I told Tweedles that I feel guilty putting up a new post before I've commented on each and every one of your blogs...even though I DO read them. I would post everyday if I thought you wouldn't get sick of me!

MADDIE

Your blogs are all so beautiful and I love looking at all your wonderful photos and reading about your stories. When I first started this blog it was to connect with people like you and that's exactly what I've done.

ANNABELLE

As most of you know, I have two dogs now. Maddie and Annabelle. I lost my third dog last year...Kelly. Maddie is the only dog I have that isn't a rescue. She's a King Charles Spaniel. As most of you know, I have a horse named Tango. What you probably don't know is that I now have another horse named Tantra.

TANGO

I'm very involved in animal rescue. I was supposed to get in another Newfoundland this week, but it turned out the dog was an outdoor dog, so he went to another foster home. If you click on the google ads from my page, any money I earn goes towards my animal rescue...it amounts to just a few dollars, but it helps pay for food.

TANTRA

Oh! Here's something I just found out: Starting April 30th you can buy stamps at the post office that help to buy food for shelter pets. You can pre-order them online. I think this would be a great thing to spread around. http://stampstotherescue.com/thecampaign.asp

That's about it from me today. Now I'm going to go read your blogs! I'm going to get better at the photo thing really soon..I promise!

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An Email I Had to Share....

IF I DIDN`T HAVE A DOG OR CAT

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety. My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of hair. When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel. When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without wading through fuzzy bodies who beat me there. I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted, with out taking into consideration how much space several fur bodies would need to get comfortable. I would have money, and no guilt to go on a real vacation. I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians, as I put their yet unborn grandkids through college.
The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit, down, come, no, stay, and leave it ALONE. My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates or barriers. I would not talk 'baby talk'. 'Eat your din din'. 'Yummy yummy for the tummy'...My house would not look like a day care center, toys everywhere. My pockets would not contain things like poop bags, treats and an extra leash.I would no longer have to spell the words B-A-L-L,, W-A-L-K,, T-R-E-A-T,, O-U-T,, G-O,, R-I-D-E,, C-O-O-K-I-E

I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside. I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE dog or cat ties them down too much. I'd look forward to spring and the rainy season instead of dreading 'mud' season. I would not have to answer the question 'Why do you have so many animals?' from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel as they will ever get.
How EMPTY my life would be!!!

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Compare Walks!

She puts us to sleep just talking about it. Imagine that! Our mom talking!!!

We've been on plenty of walks lately because the weather's finally settled down. In fact, the sun's been shining for a few days in a row.

We've walked around the block. We've walked in the park. We've taken walks during the day and we've taken them at night.

In fact, just a few nights ago Christian and Alexa stayed all night. Christian was the great night leader. He carried a flashlight and we followed him and his bright light. The kid's pretty darn cute. Yes, we get to go on walks...but they're just walks.

Now, compare our walks to Tango's! Who do you think gets to have the most excitement.

We think we deserve a trip to Disneyland at the very least! Or better than that, if she'd just stop singing HAPPY TRAILS before she goes for a ride that would help. Her trail riding stories are getting old too!

It's our turn for something better...wouldn't you agree? The dog days of summer are just around the corner. We need to have a plan of action! Help!!!

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