Not made for farm living

I took poor Wyatt to the vet yesterday. Apparently he is allergic to well the farm! LOL! He has an allergy to the saw dust / cedar chip mixture I use for bedding the horses, dogs and goats. GREAT! I have to get him out of here ASAP. He is on medication and has a cone on his head. He is NOT HAPPY about that. I need to move him to a foster home ASAP, get him a bath and hopefully he will start to feel better.

Poor dog.

So, I guess that means a city home for him. LOL!

So it continues

HOLY COW! Can I rewind to last Thursday at like 5pm and just start over.. LOL!!

So, Friday night didn't go any more smoothly then Thursday night and Saturday morning was hell. The rest of the weekend was fine. Sunday the dogs were not bad but then last night..... Wyatt went after a chicken. I was able to grab him before he killed but I think the chicken is now retarded. And I am not kidding so stop laughing.. LOL!

Wyatt goes chasing after the chicken pulling out its' butt feathers, then shacking his head b/c his mouth is full of feathers and I am running behind him in the mud w/ a jammed or broken toe.. not really sure which just know that I can't bend it and it hurts like hell. I slip fall on my ass.. which I am sure it was funny to anyone watching this chain of events. I then chase him for a few more minutes and then catch him. The poor chicken is just laying there. I totally thought he killed it. Of course my father starting going Oh GREAT it is dead, I bet it was a hen. OMG SHUT UP! How about don't let the chickens out of their pen and they won't get eaten by stuff like dogs, cyotes and hawks (yea that is right a hawk took 2 small hens earlier this spring). UGH! He is always SO CONCERNED about the chickens but of course I pay for their feed, feed them, water them, make sure they are ok, my mom collects their eggs, etc. But he is all concerned about them...... whatever!

Back tot he dog........ I take care of Wyatt..... he some how hurt his eye. Which is why he was out of the fence. I needed to check out his eye. He didn't hurt the eyeball part just the eye lid all around it. It is all swollen, scratched up almost like rug burn but on his eye lid. I don't know how else to describe it. It totally doesn't bother him. He acts like nothing is wrong with it.

Anyway, I was getting him out of the fence so that I could give him Benydral and put eye medicine in his eye. Kind of looked like maybe a bee sting or something. He got away from me and who suffers the poor chicken.

After I take care of Wyatt then I go to the chicken who is laying in the same place Wyatt left it. I picked it up, totally expecting it to be dead. It isn't. It is injured but not dead. It can't hold it's head up. Poor thing.

I take it to the barn and my mom and I wash it off with cold water. Looks to have a bite to the head and a bite to the neck. Kind of hard to tell how bad it is hurt but the blood already started to clot so might not be that bad. I put the chicken in a dog crate with blankets a bowl of water and the crate is in a horse stall. I checked on it several times before I went to bed and it was still alive. The last time I checked on it, it was asleep and I startled it b/c I touched him. He tried to walk and honestly he looked drunk.

This morning he was up walking around the stall and I put down some grain for him but he didn't notice. He ran into the wall a few times. I seriously think it has brain damage or something.... Chickens heal really fast so we will see what he is like when I get home. Enough about the chicken.. ok so what other craziness was there this weekend........

Oh my hot water tank blew.. it was going on Friday and I totally knew it but I didn't have time to deal with it. I was in my friends wedding on Saturday so I was a bit busy! Saturday night I tried to take a shower with what was left of the hot water and was able to but couldn't wash my hair. TOO COLD. So, Sunday I just stuck my head under the faucet and washed it. Supposedly washing your hair in cold water is good for it but I think that is a lie.. LOL!!

THEN to top it off my friend's husband won't let her foster Daisy, the big dog any more... he has his days and apparently was having one yesterday. LOL! So poor Daisy is completely sad, she is such a good dog and LOVES kids so being at my house where she is kenneled and doesn't have kids makes her so sad.

I so wish she would get adopted soon. She is just an awesome dog.

Oh, what else....hmmmmm.... Well on a positive note Lenny and Ralf got a home on Sunday. Sparky was adopted Monday and Mercedes adoption will be finalized sometime this week. I have 2 applications one for Nikki and one for Denny so I am praying and hoping they are awesome and can come before I leave on Friday.. I would love to get a few more dogs in homes before I leave on vacation.

Lets see......... I think that is about it. PAWS CROSSED FOR SOME MORE ADOPTIONS THIS WEEK!

Bad dogs

Holy cow, I don't know what was up with the dogs last night but UGH! My friend Kathy called and I answered the phone... do you want like 9 more foster dogs.. LOL

Yesterday work wise and day wise was fine. It all fell apart when I got home.

I got home an hour later then I was supposed to and that meant I didn't have time to go get my nails done for my friends wedding this weekend. I guess I have to get that done today.. which is stressing me out a bit just because I have so much to do today before rehearsal and I hate waiting till the last minute to get stuff done.

Anyway, so I got home and let the dogs out in the fenced area. They were all playing and running around. I played ball with them for a little bit. This was about 5pm. I had someone coming over about 6pm to meet a few dogs and pick one :-) YAY another adoption, all paws crossed.

She was supposed to come Wednesday night but the weather made her nervous. She said she didn't want to drive home in a rain storm with a new dog. Totally understand so rescheduled for Thursday at 6.

Well at 5:36pm she called to say that she had found a dog today at a shelter and it was on hold for her. YAY for her adopting but boo it wasn't one of my kids. I said oh no worries and congratulations on your new rescue dog!

I was so bummed out. But hey at least it was a rescue.

That started the bad evening. Apparently my father had opened the gate to the fenced yard but didn't lock it properly. The dogs figured that out so out the come running around in the driveway. UGH! REALLY! I get them all and put them back in the fence and close the gate the right way.

THEN getting out is fun so Carter with his skinny little tiny body goes sliding under the gate. LOOK MOM WHAT I CAN DO! He did that 3 times. Not that he runs away but we don't need to give everyone that idea. I had to fix / block up where he was getting out every time and he would just find another spot.

Ok, so finally got that all fixed. THEN this orange feral cat that hangs around decided to walk the fence. The dogs noticed and all hell broke loose. They were barking and jumping at him. Of course the cat just sits there are poofed up.. really how about jump down and run away. UGH!
Well after about 5 minutes of crazy barking and getting excited over the possibility of getting the kitty the cat jumps down and runs.

Eddie was like oh no buddy come here!!!!!!!! He squeezed out of the fence and "chased" and when I mean chase I mean fast walking.. he is overweight and has heartworm. Don't worry we are fixing both of that.

Well he decides to walk a circle around my neighbor's pound with me walking behind him saying "really Eddie! come on!" Then he walks back to the fence but I quick patched where he got out so the other dogs wouldn't follow and he looked at me like WHAT! So he walked between my cranky neighbor's garages and down his driveway. With of course me following being him basically talking myself. Well cranky was outside and I was walking my fence line but on his side of the fence and he said "Amy come here." HELLO you don't see me walking after a dog down your driveway? Seriously yet you sit in your drive to count how many I have and harass me, REALLY! UGH! So, I said "I need to get the dog XXX." and just kept walking. Eddie got to the end of his driveway which is basically the end of my fence. I think Eddie was just looking for away back in and laid down and rolled over like to say I AM SORRY MOM! Aren't I cute?

I picked him up and walked back to my driveway and put him back in the fence.

THEN THEN THEN! I was in the barn and heard some arguing between the dogs, I go running out there and poor Romeo is getting beat up. OMG Are you guys kidding me, I screamed. Bad dogs today bad bad dogs. Poor Romeo is such a wimp but I am sure he did something to make someone mad. I took Romeo out of the fence and let him just hang out with me while I feed horses, cleaned kennels and got everything done.

I then walked the dogs on leashes back to the kennels to put them away. There wasn't a snow balls chance in hell I was going to let them put themselves to bed like I do EVERY night because they were so bad I wasn't going to give them the chance to do something else stupid.

Oh and I forgot to tell you that Carter broke his collar some how crawling under the gate AND I get a phone call from a lady who adopted one of my dogs that she needs to bring her back. The dog hasn't done a thing wrong but her dog just doesn't like her and the issues are getting worse.

OMG! REALLY! I WANT TO CRY!

Congress considers cracking down on 'puppy mills'

By Rob Hotakainen, McClatchy Newspapers Rob Hotakainen, Mcclatchy Newspapers – Thu Jun 24, 4:50 pm ET

WASHINGTON — Should large-scale dog breeders regulate themselves or is this a job for the federal government?

The dispute is in the hands of Congress , which is considering a law that would require dog breeders who sell more than 50 puppies a year to be federally licensed and inspected.

It's called the PUPS Act, short for Puppy Uniform Protection Statute. It's aimed at cracking down on puppy mills, facilities where dogs often are forced to live in small cages. Among other things, the measure would force breeders to give their dogs the chance to exercise for at least an hour each day.

Backers say the legislation would clamp down on the most negligent and irresponsible dog breeders while closing a loophole in current law that allows thousands of commercial breeders to go unregulated. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate .

Under the current law, facilities that breed dogs for commercial resale must be licensed and inspected under the federal Animal Welfare Act, but puppy mills that sell directly to the public are exempt. As a result, large breeders can escape inspection and oversight by selling their puppies online, with consumers often discovering later that they've bought sick or abused animals.

"It can be very disappointing to see a family whose cherished pet has a condition that could have been prevented with more careful scrutiny by the USDA ," said Rep. Lois Capps , D- Calif. , one of the bill's co-sponsors. "So I think that it's very appropriate for us to deal with it here."

Dale Glazer , the owner of the Rocklin Family Pet Shop and Self Serve Dog Wash in Rocklin, Calif. , supports the legislation.

"There certainly needs to be oversight on the breeding of any animals, whether it's for food — like cattle or poultry — or for sale, like dogs," he said. Glazer said the 50-dog limit was too low, however, because breeders would comply by setting up multiple smaller breeding houses, which would help them evade the law.

Critics say the proposed law would be an unnecessary burden on legitimate breeders who take good care of their dogs.

"I don't think it will do any good, because they don't have time to enforce what we have," said Rosemarie Blood , the president of the Sacramento Kennel Club . "I think everybody should go by their own conscience and stand behind their dogs."

She also said that passing another federal law would be a black eye for all dog breeders.

"It doesn't make a good picture for those of us who are trying to breed quality and not quantity," Blood said

Last Chance to win!!!

Entries close June 27, 2010.

Your dog or cat's life instantly brightened the moment you took him home from the shelter or pound. But most pet parents say they also have benefited from that special relationship.

Hill's Science Diet, whose Shelter Program helps save about 1 million dogs and cats each year, ( HillsPet.com/SecondChance ) and Tractor Supply Co. want to know how adopting your rescue pet has benefited both of your lives.

The winning entry will receive a year's supply of pet food, $500 in pet food for their favorite animal shelter, and a featured spot in the Fall 2010 issue of Out Here magazine. Two runners-up each will receive a year's supply of pet food and a spot in Out Here. View contest rules.

Found a dog in Ohio

I feel really bad when some kind person emails me about this really nice dog they found because I know there isn't a darn thing I can do to help. I don't feel so bad when the people are NASTY to me about it!

I don't know if it is just the weather but I have received at least 10 emails in the last week about people finding what they think is a JRT and are un able to locate the owner.

I think it is funny (not funny haha but funny strange) because they feel the need to use the excuse of having too many dogs as the reason they aren't keeping the found dog. Like they need an excuse not to keep it, isn't their dog... at least someone feels responsible for the dog cause their owner sure doesn't / didn't.

I just always laugh when someone says "I work full time and have 2 dogs of my own, I just can't keep this dog I found." I feel like saying "wanna trade lives???" LOL!

Anyway, the laws in OHIO says I can't help them. I am not a government run agency so legally I am not aloud to take in real strays. I can only take in dogs either through the shelter or with a signed released an owner surrender dog. However, I don't take in owner surrender dogs because of how many shelter dogs their are and I feel "your dog, your idea to get it in the first place, you find a home for it." I know sounds mean at first but if people aren't responsible for their actions, if every time something does go as planned they can just get rid of the problem (aka dog) they will NEVER learn that an animal is more then just something you can throw away when you are finished with it.

Ohio (and probably other states too) view dogs as property. Just like a car or a CD or a cell phone. So, lets say a man walks up to you on the street and hands you a bag full of jewelry. He says her I found it but can't keep it. You take the bag of jewelry and find people to "adopt it" / take the jewelry. One day you are sitting at home and you get a knock on the door. It is the police! They are looking for the bag of jewelry and because of your ads in the paper or on the internet they know you have the jewelry. The jewelry was actually stolen (or claimed to be stolen) from a person's home.

Well same thing with a dog. If I take a "found" dog and find it a new home and the person who owned the dog was actually looking for it, I can get in big trouble for stealing. First of all I would have to prove that a strange gave me this dog. Let's say I know how to get a hold of the person that gave me the dog.. do you think if they think they will get in trouble for giving me the dog they are going to admit to it? Seriously??! I highly doubt it. So, that leaves me standing their holding the bag, as they saying goes.

Now here is the kicker! Let's say the owner of the dog makes up some incredible story of how valued monetarily the dog is... let's say they owner says $505 is the value of the dog. Well guess what? I AM GOING TO JAIL! Anything stolen over $500 is a felony! No more dog rescue, no more job, bye bye house, bye bye life.

So you tell me. If you were doing (or do) dog rescue are you willing to take that risk?

Oh not to mention you now have to contact the people you adopted this dog to and tell them they need to return the dog to the original jerk owner who let it get away, didn't really look for it and oh yea never had it fixed.

So again you tell me, is it worth taking in a found dog?

NO

I am hoping was your answer.

Yet when I tell people I can't help them by taking the dog into rescue and they need to contact the dog warden I get this nasty email back from them saying things like

"I was just trying to help. Didn't know no one else would care."
"I am not taking it somewhere they will kill it."
"I thought you were a rescue."
"Nice to know you care"
"Then why do you have a rescue if yo can't help dogs that need it."

I explain to people why I can't help and what they need to do. it isn't like they just get an email from me saying. Nope can't help. Sorry. Or no response at all. So frustrating.

And the one thing that makes me the most mad is when people 100% refuse to locate the owner. I just think it is absolutely MEAN, SELFISH, RUDE to keep a found dog. What if it truly was a mistake the dog got away? What if there is a family desperately searching and searching for their pet? You are so selfish and mean that you are going to keep this dog away from finding it's family? Really!!!??

I know if my dog got lost I would call the local animal control and put an ad in the paper. I would be totally devastated if one of my dogs got lost. And you know what they are ANIMALS and they do jump the fence, break the leash, someone comes to your house leaves the door open, etc. and accidents happen. Not everyone who looses a pet is a horrible dog owner. And I would hope that people would stop an thinking to themselves.....what would I do if I lost my dog?? And then do those things in hopes of finding the owners OR if they aren't wanting or willing to do that then they should turn the dog over to animal control.

So that is my thought for the day!

UGH!

This weekend totally sucked. I am so bummed out... Saturday was the adoption event. We got there at 10am to set up and people were waiting for us. I was like, I am sorry we don't start till 11 and it will take me a little while to set up. They were ok with that...

I had a couple there, really nice who waited for the rescue from Toledo who was coming to show up. She was running late so she didn't get there till noon.. which was fine but this couple waited from 10:30 - noon for her. Then after she got there it comes out they have 2 un altered pets... FOR BREEDING. Really? Because there aren't 30 dogs staring you in the face that need homes. INCLUDING 2 PURE BREED DOGS JUST LIKE THE ONES YOU HAVE AT HOME. UGH!
Ok, so whatever... I blew that off.

Then a women comes up and shooting loudly, although I think that was just her voice would point at a dog and say is that dog aggressive? Does it bite? Will it bite my kids? I am expecting another baby so I can't have an aggressive dog. Are you sure it isn't aggressive?

OMG LADY! I can understand being concerned but do you have to be so rude and scream?

The this poor little dog that Gloria brought was so scared. I think there were too many dogs, too many people and noise. This guy comes up to him and says he is cute and rushes up to the cage. Then dog out of fear growls.. not big bad deep growl but I am scared out of mind growl. So, what does the guy do GROWL back and him and stick his fingers in the cage to torment the dog. REALLY! Then when someone else walks up and says aww poor dog is scared he says HE BIT ME. I turned around and I said he did? He said YEP. I said well we put dogs down who bite so you sure. He said yep. I took the dog out of the cage and started walking him to the car, the guy says well it wasn't a bad bite.

WHATEVER! I saw what the guy was doing but I was too far away and SWAMPED with other people that I couldn't get to him fast enough. We aren't putting the dog down.. I was just trying to make the guy feel bad. I think it worked b/c he left after that.. LOL

Then I had a women say "you charge for these dogs. must be nice since they dogs are all donated." I said "donated? what does that mean'" She said " well don't people give you these dogs" I said first of all someone giving us their dog they no longer want isn't a DONATION. But NO we don't normally take in owner surrender dogs. 95% of the dog we take from shelters where they are going to be killed. The pound still makes us pay for them and then we full vet them and care for them" I then just walked away. She really pissed me off.

Ok, so not knowing how rescue works is fine but this lady was SNOTTY. Her body language her tone... she even rolled her eyes when she said "you charge for these dogs..."

Then someone told me $200 was too much to ask for a dog. I said really Pet Land sells UN VETTED dogs for $1,000. That is ok? He just stared at me blankly. Granted he was like the 3rd person to say that to me so I was a bit irritated.

After standing in the hot sun from 10 - 4... 2 dogs were adopted. :-( I wanted to cry. I still want to cry.

Then to top off my crappy Saturday. My friend who I should have know better to let him adopt a dog has found something wrong with the dog and must return him. Whatever! This will now be the 4th dog he has gotten / had and had to find a new home for b/c well something is always wrong with the dog. Drives me crazy. I thought this time no way.. this dog is too darn good but nope he found something wrong with it. Yea, that is what I needed another dog being returned. SO much for the ones in kill shelters that need out :-( Nothing I can do now.

Yesterday wasn't a bad day b/c of dogs.. yesterday was just a bad day of people being mean for other reasons. Just stinks you try to help people, you go out of your way for people and although some do recognize it 90% of them don't and that sucks.

Sometimes I wish I could be one of those rescues who doesn't care when people aren't happy... I wish I could be like that in my everyday life. I always feel like it is my job to make everyone happy.. why the hell do I feel that way? UGH I hate it. I literally get physically sick sometimes when people are upset.. I shouldn't say people I should say the physically sick comes when my close friends or family members aren't happy...

Anyways, mean people suck! LOL

Every day at the vet office

Seriously, I should own stock in my vet office.. LOL I was there everyday this week. I hope they love me. At my main vet office I spend nearly $10K a year there....

Well Romeo was neutered this week, Eddie started his heartworm treatment (and a DIET), Ralf was neutered and everyone was updated on their booster shots.

I got a new dog in on Monday, Darla. She is cute but totally a Diva dog who wants to be with you 24/7. She is cute so I am sure she will get adopted fast. I take her to the vet tomorrow because I am pretty sure she is already fixed. YAY! Love when that happens.

Saturday is an adoption event and I am praying a few dogs get adopted because there are some REALLY CUTE JRT young dogs at Ross County and Fairfield County I would like to get out before time runs out. I check on them everyday praying they got adopted. I just really really hope they don't get killed before I can make arrangements to get them.

I am leaving for my vacation in a few weeks which makes me nervous because I don't want to leave my dog sitter with a million dogs. I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place... I need to spend time for myself without dogs but I feel like leaving is selfish because dogs could die.. I hate feeling guilty about leaving. I just look at those sweet faces and think how horrible it would be if something bad happened to them because of me.

All paws are crossed that the dogs I have my eye on either get adopted OR stay alive long enough for me to make some room.

Putting my dog to sleep...

This week has been FULL FULL FULL of people emailing me telling me they "rescued" a JRT from a bad situation, took a JRT from someone who didn't want it any more, found a JRT, etc. I don't know what is going on but it has been a crazy week for that.

Well to top off all those emails I get an email from a person whose friend is going to have her 8 year old female JRT put to sleep because she recently started dating someone and well it is cramping her style.

The women is trying to say that the dog doesn't like the boyfriend so that is why she is putting her to sleep. Ya know what lady... you might want to pay more attention to your dog... whenever my dog didn't or doesn't like someone there is usually a reason.

I offered to take the dog but the lady doesn't want to drive an hour to me to bring me the dog. I guess spending a $100 to kill your pet is way more convenient. People are SICK!

This weekend

I am a bit nervous about this weekend. I have an adoption event and I just hope it goes well. I really would like to have as many dogs placed as I possibly before I go away for a week.

Can you believe that 1 year ago this Sunday I was married. HOLY COW! CRAZY! Time sure flies when you are having fun.

Everyone says that the first year is the hardest. GOOD that means easy sailing from here. The first year really wasn't that hard. Adjusting to a bit to having to share closet space.. LOL but that is about it. Oh and my husband expected me to cook dinner... haha he has since gotten over that :-)

ALL PAWS CROSSED for some more adoptions! And for the dogs in the kill shelters to find homes.. I really don't need any more dogs.. LOL!

AWTA DEN TRIAL! Looks like fun

AWTA DEN TRIAL - held rain or shine
Saturday August 28th, 2010

Sponsor: American Working Terrier Association

Host: Fortunate Fido 27548 Royalton Rd. Columbia Station, Ohio 44028

Judge: Yvonne Moore, La Grange, Kentucky

Chairman: Karen Day, dahlia36@sbcglobal.net
Secretary: Ginger Alpine

Registration starts at 9am Judging starts at 10am

**Participation in AWTA den trials does not require membership, however to receive the
Certificate of Gameness(CG) the owner needs to be a member or become one within 30
days of the trial date. Membership forms will be available at the trial. First year
membership in the AWTA is $10.

Breeds recognized by the AWTA:
For the purpose of an AWTA den trials, an earth breed is one of the correct size and
character to enter a nine-inch artificial earth. The AWTA recognizes these breeds for
competition in den trials:
Australian, Bedlington: Border, Cairn, Cesky, Dandie Dinmont,
Fell, Fox, Glen of Imaal, Jack Russell, Jadg, Lakeland, Norfolk, Norwich, Patterdale,
Scottish, Sealyham, Skye, Welsh, and West Highland White Terriers, and Dachshunds,
Any individual Feist, Rat Terrier, terrier cross, Dachshund cross, or terrier of a breed not
mentioned above, that is suitable in size to fit into a nine-inch artificial earth may also be
entered.

Advance Entry: $13 per dog Advance entry must be received by Saturday August 21st
or gate entry rate will apply. Gate entry: $17 per dog Cancellations with full refund
accepted until August 1, 2010

Class Information:
(1) Novice A: Puppies up to 12 mos. who have not previously earned 100% in the
Novice Class
(2) Novice B: Dogs over 12 mos. who have not previously earned 100% in the Novice
Class
(3) Open: Dogs who have earned 100% in either Novice Class or dogs who have worked
to ground in a natural earth or qualified in a similar artificial earth
(4) Certificate of Gameness: Dogs who have earned an AWTA Certificate of Gameness
or scored 100% in Open Class
Prizes:
Novice: Qualifying ribbon to each dog that qualifies (100%) in either Novice Class
Open: Certificate of Gameness, ribbon and AWTA logo flask to each dog that qualifies
Certificate: Ribbon to qualifiers by breed or category

~ Indoor crating available. Building opens at 8am
~ There will be a practice session for novice dogs after regular classes are completed
~There will be a food vendor on site
~ For more info including AWTA rules go to www.dirt-dog.com
~For directions to the trial site and hotel info go to www.fortunatefido.com
~For inquiries please call or email Karen at 216.228.5452 dahlia36@sbcglobal.net

Hotel and Camping:
• Limited on site dry camping, must call in advance.
• American Wilderness campground- about 15 minutes away from show site.
www.americanwildernesscampground.com or 440-926-3700
• Motels
Red Roof Inn 440-243-2441 Near 71
Motel 6 440-234-0990 Near 71
Motel 6 440-327-6311 Near Ohio Turnpike

Fill in form completely - one form per dog - PLEASE PRINT

Make checks payable to : Fortunate Fido

Mail to : Ginger Alpine 26283 Folley Rd. Columbie Station, Ohio 44028

Questions: 440-236-9083 or fortunatefido@yahoo.com

Full Name of Dog:______________________________Call: Name:_________________
Breed:_____________________________ Class:______________Age:_____Sex:_____
Owner:_________________________________Phone:____________________
Address:____________________________City/State/Zip:_________________________
Email:__________________________________________________________________
I hereby enter the above at my own risk, and I hereby engage to be responsible for any
injury or damages that may occur to, or be caused by, any animals, vehicles, or trappings
or the loss of any animal, vehicles or trappings owned, used or exhibited by me or by any
other person authorized by me.
I am responsible for the physical condition of any animal under my control or ownership
and I release and hold harmless and will indemnify the property owners, the trial hosts
(Fortunate Fido), the AWTA den trial and any owners, officials, organizers, employees or
agents of the above from any damages, expenses, and/or liability incurred by or caused
by me in connection with the event. I further warrant that any animal I bring to this event
or under my ownership or control is, or will be, free from any communicable disease.
My signature below also authorizes Fortunate Fido to use images of me and my
family/dogs for publication or to promote or document the events in which we
participated. This document is meant to be a full and complete release from any and all
liability that may arise at the event site. This release is given freely and voluntarily by the
participant and is meant to remain in existence throughout the duration of my presence on
the property for any period of time in association with the canine event and/or other
activities whether I am or am not found to be negligent while handling or near a dog at
the event location.
Owner’s Signature:_____________________________________Date:______________
Fees Enclosed:__________________________________________

Hello weekend!

It has been a long week. Not really b/c of dogs but b/c of work. Actually now that I am thinking about it, it has been a long month. LOL!!

I thought things were crazy busy before I left for my little get away on Memorial Day weekend. Well they have been absolutely ridiculous since I got back. Monday I had an issue with grumpy (for those who know me you know what I am talking about. For those who don't personally know me, I can't talk about it right now but will fill you all in on Grumpy).

Tuesday - Friday at work were CRAZY! My scheduled was all whacked out and nothing was going smoothly. LOL! Grumpy was annoying pretty much all week, which just stresses me out. Not to mention my husband was off working at his sister's re doing a storage barn at their lake house. So, he didn't get home till Saturday late afternoon. That put me on edge with him not being home.

Lucy (who use to be Robin) was returned because the older lady I gave her to has been moved into a nursing home and well she isn't going to be moving back home :-*(

Gilligan my 3 legged dog from last fall was returned b/c short version landlord changed his mind on the family having a dog. They are trying to work out a solution but for now I have Gilligan back and up for adoption again!

THEN a family that adopted 2 dogs from me emailed me this week that the husband lost his job and things are stressful and they need to get rid of one of the dogs. So, I am getting Tommy (now named Rudy) back. I am not sure exactly the situation, I hope everything is going to be ok. Tommy was one of my favorites so him coming back doesn't bother me as much as him loosing the only real home he has ever known :-( And I am worried about the people. Hopefully they will fill me in a little more as to what is going on.

I have had a few dogs adopted (knocking on wood). So, that is a good thing. I also got 2 new dogs in on Friday. They are both WONDERFUL dogs so it is like they have always been here. No real issue.. well except Romeo he isn't neutered yet and keeping humping Gilligan. LOL! He gets neutered next Wednesday... and it can't come soon enough.

Speaking of soon enough. Ralf my heartworm dog is going in for his 2nd heartworm test on Monday and if all is clear he goes in for the BIG SNIP too! YAY! I love that dog.

Oh geez what else is going on.. Oh yea, Eddie the other heartworm dog is coming to me tonight. He needs to start treatment ASAP. I am going to see if I can get one of my foster homes to take him since 2 un neutered males in my house is not going to be fun!

Lets all cross paws and fingers and hope for some adoptions this weekend. I have someone coming to see Bennett tonight. Seriously he is so cool. I am sure they will adopt him. And then someone is coming to see Nikki tonight or maybe tomorrow morning AND maybe.. waiting to hear back might have someone interested in Lenny. He is such a nice dog.

Well Paws crossed for a good weekend!

Thing seem to be changing...

Things are changing in that less and less young JRT's are finding their way to shelters. Seem it is getting harder to find a JRT puppy. THANK YOU JESUS! YOU HAVE ANSWERED MY PRAYERS. THANK YOU!

However, now I am getting email after email about 8, 10, 12, 14 year old dogs that people just no longer want. Really??? Just woke up this morning and thought 'I don't want my dog any more. He has been a GREAT dog for the last 10 years. Someone will want him because he is so wonderful. I just don't."

WTFE!


Well I did get an email from someone saying that they bought a JRT puppy for the 3 kids at Christmas. They thought it would be fun to have a puppy with the kids but him and his wife are finding it difficult to train the puppy with 3 little kids. SHUT UP! Are you serious? Who would have thought.

I emailed him back and told him to reach out to the breeder. If the breeder is legitimate he/she will help you re home the dog, take the dog back or help you with training.

"I never thought about contacting them, good idea" he emails back. REALLY??? You didn't.. you mean you thought of them when you wanted a dog but not when you want to get rid of a dog. Aww how nice of you to think of me.....

THEN I got an email about a person who said they have a 5 year old JRT and have a child. Due to the aggressive nature of a JRT (huh?? since when??) they need to re home their dog. I emailed him back and asked if the dog has shown any aggression. And I also asked if they had reached out to the breeder where they got the dog for help. I have yet to hear back.

All week in dog rescue, with people I work with, with friend and even family members I have had people hurting my feelings and you know what I am just in a mood today.. LOL! So I had to vent.

Why WHY WHY do people think dogs are dispossable? Why do they think of me when they want to get rid of the dog? Why don't they think of me when they want to get a dog?

I honestly believe people think dog rescue is a utopia where dogs just hang out and leave a dream life until maybe they find a home. I mean don't get me wrong, I give my dogs the best life I can while they are with me but it crushes me to see them NOT in a family, in crushes me to see them NOT getting all the attention they deserve. It really gets me sad / depressed when I have had a dog for a long time. It just isn't fair to them that they don't get the one on one time and FAMILY love they deserve. They didn't ask to be brought into this world. Some jerk breeder their mother or didn't get their mother fixed and here they are suffering, homeless, before I got them hungry, scared. How the hell is that fair?

another email.......

Good afternoon.

We have a 7 month old Jack Russell we got back in January. We were planning on training him, but with 3 kids we found ourselves a bit overwhelmed.

We hate to give him up, but we have no choice at this time.

Is there any place near central Ohio who will take a Jack Russell Terrier and promise not to euthanize?



****************
Come to me when you DO NOT WANT YOUR DOG but has no issues BUYING one...... just makes me mad, rescue is ALWAYS ALWAYS the last place anyone looks. WHY????

10 year old JRT.. can't keep..

An email I received:

We have a 10 year old Jack Russell Terrier named Jack. He is as sweet as can be, is really great with kids, and has been our baby. We hate to let him go, but for his own happiness, have decided that it is the best thing for him. We now have a 5 year old, and my husband & I both work full-time. We are rarely home, and I'm afraid there is no time for Jack, he spends a lot of time in his kennel-way too much time for an active Jack Russell. Jack needs a home where he can get LOTS of attention and the opportunity to run and get plenty of exercise each day. Please respond to my email address

I should have know better.

I am so angry with myself right now. The Friday BEFORE Memorial Day a women and her husband came out to meet Lexus. The women really liked her. Lexus is a bit shy at first meeting new people but warms up quickly and is the cutest dog ever. The women said 100% for sure she would adopt Lexus. She wanted to do the paper work that night but her husband had to leave. I said Ok. but please please please if you change your mind let me know ASAP. I have an adoption event tomorrow and I really don't want Lexus missing out on a home. Oh no the lady said I want her for sure. My daughter is getting married and comes back from her honeymoon on the 9th of June so I will be back after that to pick up Lexus.

I had a bad feeling about this....

A week goes by I do not hear from the lady. I leave for Memorial Day weekend and when I came back I emailed her. I didn't hear anything from her until after my second email on Wed. She said she was still very interested in adopting Lexus. Ok, good I thought.

Now keep in mind I have taken her down off the website AND turned 2, yes 2 people away who wanted to meet her / possibly adopt her.

Then Sunday morning I receive an email from her saying her husband has had a change of heart and is no longer interested in Lexus.

OMG! It has been over 2 weeks!!! I should have known better. I am so upset b/c Lexus could easily be in a home right now but instead she sits in foster care waiting for someone to love her forever.

NEVER AGAIN! That is it, I have been burned for the last time on that. I will not hold any dogs for anyone without a deposit and a week at most... ugh.. I feel like an idiot!

11 years old...

We have a Jack that will be 11 years this August. We have had him since he was about 6 months old. His name is ####. We must find him a new home due to a divorce and we will be moving into a rental property. They accept no pets, and I have looked elsewhere, but cannot find anything that takes dogs.

My children are very attached to him, but I feel we have no alternative. My Ex cannot take him either. My children are very involved in very many activities, and we just don’t have the time to spend with him anymore. He is a great dog and has a wonderful personality, and I feel would be very suited to a retired person, or couple that can give him a lot of attention as he craves this. He is neutered and in good health, and current on all shots, etc.. I wish I had another alternative, but I am afraid we are desperate. I have asked everyone I know if they would like to have him, and have contacted the owners of his mother, but to no avail.

Please contact me if you can help, or know someone who can.

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

I read this email and shook my head. 11 years a part of your family.... that is just so sad.

Not sure how I should feel....

Ok, let me set the stage.

Another rescue contacted me about Ralf and a female that were tied up outside, animal control was getting involved and wanted to know if I could help. I said yes. This was beginning of April. We got transport worked out and all that stuff a week later.

The rescue that was holding Ralf and the female said there was another JRT that needed help, from a different county can I help? They said they would send Ralf and the other dog. The rescue thought that maybe they had home for the female that Ralf was tied outside with. Ok, whatever. As long as everyone is safe I am ok with it.

Here is where I am a bit upset and not sure how I should react / what I should say.

The other rescue who ADOPTED OUT the female, sent me an email saying the female had puppies Wednesday. WHAT???????????????? The people that adopted her now have 7 puppies.

WHAT????????????

Ok. Here is why I am upset:
#1. Did the rescue take her to the vet? The rescue said they thought she was already spayed... why was that not verified?
#2. If she just had the puppies that means she was ONLY DAYS along when I got Ralf. If they would have taken her to the vet and had her spayed (sorry puppies) but there would not be 7 more HOMELESS DOGS!
#3. Ralf had heartworm. Was the female checked for heartworm? The babies won't have heartworm but they will now be carriers of heartworm
#4. Does this rescue adopt out dogs without proper vet checks?
#5. If the rescue would have just sent the female to me like they were supposed to then again there would not be 7 more HOMELESS dogs in this world.
#6. What was their real reason for keeping her and adopting her out?

Now I am questioning this rescue, are they legitimate? The women from the rescue said Ralf and the female were together at her house so did they hook up then? OR maybe another dog who hadn't been neutered at the rescue?

I have a lot of questions and honestly I am a little upset.

I haven't said anything to the other rescue yet. I asked her to call me. Before I get upset, really upset I should say. I want to get her side of the story.

Maybe it was an honest mistake? Maybe she is new to rescue and doesn't understand the concept of pregnant spays? Which trust me I totally understand some people don't get it.. I know I didn't but when you sit down and rationalize it, you understand.

I dunno... I just find it strange that this rescue arranged for me to take 2 dogs who both had MAJOR medical issues and they keep a female who now has 7 puppies....hmmmm

I am trying to stay positive about this and say to myself this is all an honest mistake but I won't feel ok about it until I talk to them. I want to hear her side of the story.

Nice to hear

Yesterday a really nice husband and wife came over and adopted sweet scared Toby. His new name will be Harley :-)

Toby was the product of some idiot having a female JRT and thinking they could make money selling puppies. They breed the female and well didn't sell the puppies. So, after 7 months of living in an outdoor kennel with little to no socialization the idiot owner took Toby, his brother and mother (lucky mom didn't get pregnant from her kids) and DUMPED them at the shelter.

The mom and brother were adopted but Toby was so scared of people that he just sat in the back of his kennel with his tail tucked. The shelter manager deemed him un adoptable just for being scared. She took him off the adoption floor and said I had 3 days to find away to get him or she was putting him down. UGH!

Needless to say we saved Toby and although he was scared he did warm up and is the best little dog. he has a lot to learn but he will be just fine.

The people that came and adopted him live on a horse farm and said they were looking EVERYWHERE to buy a JRT but couldn't find any. Even their vet was looking for them. Someone told them about rescue so they looked on Petfinder and found Toby.

THANK YOU GOD for that!! It was nice to hear that they couldn't find JRT's for sale... could my dreams be coming true?? Probably not but it is a nice thought.. LOL!

Ralf

Ralf spent (that we know of but could have been longer) at least 6 months through Ohio's COLD winter on a chain with nothing but a PLASTIC dog house to keep him warm.
Ralf is now safe with me and has been for about 2 months now. Ralf had to have heartworm treatment. He goes back to the vet on June 15th to be retested in hopes the heartworm is gone and he can be neutered.

Regardless of the fact Ralf has had a hard life. His owner CLEARLY mistreated him, then tied him up outside and THEN to top it all off moved out of the house and left him tied up to the dog house. No way to get food or water. Thank goodness for a nice neighbor.

Ralf is the sweetest dog EVER! He plays so nice, loves to play with squeaky toys, carries around a stuffed animal. He is just so sweet. How the hell could anyone just leave him tied to a dog house.

Honestly when I first heard about him left chained to a dog house I knew I had to help and take him but I was WORRIED! Chained dogs are always so aggressive or lets face it people suck and when they can't handle behavior issues with their dog they stick them outside on a chain and forget about them. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I had to help.

Ralf has turned out to be the bet dog (despite that fact he needs neutered.. lol). He gets along with other dogs, he is housebroken, can be left alone in the house and doesn't destroy anything, he is fine with kids, good off leash (never leaves the yard), he sleeps on the bed with my husband and I every night. His only "bad" thing could be he chases the cats but as soon as I say RALF NO! He stops so it might be more of a they run so he chases kind of thing.

Whoever adopts this guy is going to be one lucky family.

Moxie

Two weeks ago my rescue friend calls me. She says I am at the pound and there is a Great Peryneese here. They are literally walking her to the gas chamber. I said "NO DON'T LET THEM DO THAT! Put her in your car." She said what the heck are we going to do with a GP. I said I don't know get her in the car and we can figure it out from there.

Long story short. This poor baby is 6 - 8 years old, had to be totally shaved b/c she had so many ticks on her...40 to be exact, looked like she has recently had puppies and had a mammary tumor.

I took her to the vet to find out she was heartworm positive. Great! A dog that is heartworm positive can't have surgery... that means she can't be spayed and she can't have her mammary tumor removed.

The reason a dog can't have surgery if they have heartworm is b/c they could die while under anesthesia. The vet said she would perform the surgery anyway if I was ok with that. Well of course I was b/c you can't treat the cancer if she has heartworm; you can't treat the cancer b/c of the heartworm... circle we go! Loose loose for the poor dog.

Well the surgery went fine. Removed the mammay tumor and she was spayed. BUT and her is the big BUT! The cancer had spread ;-( It is everywhere. She has no chance. It is all over her spleen, stomach, everywhere.

We are putting her on heartgard to slow down the production of heartworm and possibly kill of the babies. And April, a foster home is letting her live out her life in her family. Hospice for a dog. Just like I did with Sally.

It is so sad that people do things like this to dogs. A simple pill once a month or simply spaying her and NONE of this would have happened.