REMEMBER...

JUST KEPT THINKING COOL THOUGHTS!!!!!!!!!

WEDNESDAYS HELPFUL PET TIP is a QUESTION!?

What do you think of doghouses? I've always thought of them in three ways.
#1 as a pretty feature in the garden. Like a hammock. Nice to look at but probably never used.

#2 Ridiculous indulgences of the RICH.

OR # 3

a Dog's worst nightmare.

I've NEVER thought of having an actual functioning dog house for any of my dogs. I remember at a meeting at work when a representative from a drug company was talking about Heartworm and Flea preventative and when a question was asked about the proper dosage for a dog over 150lbs. The rep made a comment about how a dog that size would probably be an outside dog. Before I could say anything the veterinarian said in a shocked voice. NOT BLUE! and everyone laughed because they knew it was true!  Of all my dogs, Blue has to be one of the most easiest and well mannered of my gang. (a couple of my little ones are near perfect. Like my Ruby. ) But I do have two terriers.

First I adopted Jimmy Chew. He's part Boston Terrier and part Cairn (?) terrier.

I got him thinking he could be a friend for Blue ( and he was So cute and needed a home.)

But Blue doesn't really LIKE other dogs. Oh sure, he tolerates them but he doesn't want to play with them.

He LOVES people!

He lets Twinkle, my Chihuahua sleep on him but that's the only one he REALLY likes.

Then Jimmy started acting up, challenging Blue. Barking and growling at him and trying to pick a fight.
One day Blue had enough and held Jimmy down on the floor by his throat with his mouth. Jimmy fought for a moment and then started to whimper. In the meantime I was running across the room to pull Blue off of him. You CAN'T yell at a deaf dog to STOP! Well,  Jimmy was fine, a little bit slobbered up but fine and from that day on he never bothered Blue. Sometimes he will walk by Blue and Blue will give him the "LOOK" and Jimmy will walk a wide circle around him with his head averted and making sure he didn't make eye contact. I guess going through a moment like that isn't something a smaller dog forgets.
So what to do?
Some people thought I should try to find Jimmy a home. I had one woman inquire about him but I didn't like her. Sure she SAID the right things but..........NO.
So, I went out and found a buddy for Jimmy. Enter Ralphie.

He loved Jimmy (and my niece Lily, instantly)

The problem is, now he is challenging Blue and HE won't back down. I have to run interference and I'm constantly sweeping him up and away from a battle. He also LOVES to terrorize my cats. Well, not my Harry. Harry won't have any of that and puts him in his place! But he chases Charlie all over the house and he was so MEAN to Horton that I took Horton to the clinic to live. (Horton's just too fat to run fast enough).

Then there's the issue of him raising his leg. He's gotten better and he's so crazy that I can't get a belly band on him. But I'm constantly washing the sheets that cover my furniture and mopping the floors.

I am finding that with the nicer weather, when I am home, I leave everyone outside in the backyard as I am gardening or whatever and it seems to help. He burns off more energy out there! He LOVES chasing the squirrel that lives in the tree (or maybe it lives under my roof soffits) and he's even jumped and ran so hard that he now can get partway up the weeping willow!

Notice how long his hair has gotten!  I have a tranquilizer from work that I plan on using on him so that I can try to shave him down again. The groomer at work prides herself in being able to groom difficult dogs. She loves the challenge. After trying to trim Ralphie's nails, she said that he was NUTS and refuses to groom him.

So here's my Question...Is a dog house inhumane? I can't really imagine it!

I've tried Googling it and I just keep finding tips on how to keep your dog warm/cool.....

I did find a very attractive doghouse that looks like something I might consider -

It was featured in Fido Friendly magazine by Cindy Hodo

It's very Eco, with flowers on the roof and I think that's rain water that runs down to the bowls....

I would HAVE to put Jimmy outside with him. Is that fair to Jimmy?  My friends think the dogs would like it. They wouldn't be chained. The fenced area of yard is probably at least 30 ft by 30 ft. and he'd have the willow tree...I am having a BIG problem with this...of course they would sleep inside at night...

PLEASE LEAVE ME COMMENTS!

Even if it's to tell me that I'm an awful person to even consider this.

In the meantime, I will continue transporting Jimmy and Ralphie everyday (along with Blue) to work with me. I have to admit though, somedays when it's been a long exhaustung day, I have left the two little "terrors" at the clinic overnight. I guess that I'm very lucky to run a boarding kennel and have a place for them to be kept when I'm tired and stressed. They do like running in the play area and barking at ALL the other dogs.

IT's One of THOSE days....

Ya know, when you have been waiting all week for your day off.
You have a HUGE list of To-DO's and you gotta get started on them.
You CAN'T waste your day just laying on the sofa. But some how all your motivation has vanished.

Sure, you're THINKING about what you need to do, but you just can't seem to start....

A HAPPY ENDING!

As you all probably already know, I work at a veterinarian clinic, running the boarding kennel. My friend Amber is the head vet technician. We both used to work at the Humane Society and the two of us have rescued many animals together. So on Monday, a friend of Amber's called her and told her that as she was leaving a Sale Barn (I guess it's a Sale where they sell livestock and supplies?) anyway as she was leaving, the man parked next to her discovered a puppy had been tossed into the bed of his truck. The man told Amber's friend that if she didn't take this little puppy, that he would dump it on the side of the road. So of course she took it. Then she sent a photo of it with her cell phone to Amber at work, who came back to me and showed me the photo and said "Well???"
So long story short...she brought the puppy that night to the clinic. She was just a baby. Amber took care of the medical side and I made her a comfy little bed back in boarding. The Doc was just walking in while I was hurrying back to the kennels and caught sight of her. He was smiling and asked what I had there!? I kept moving and said "Errrr,aaah ya know" and sometimes that kind of answer suffices but this time he said" No, I don't know" So I mumbled something about "I think we have her a home" and he said "Oh, that's good" and then...out of sight, out of mind!

She appeared to be a German shepherd or possible a mix. And all black. She was so playful, running around the play area...she really pulled on my heart strings.

When I see puppies, I react the same way my sister does to little babies. It's like, ahhhhhh...I want another one! sigh.
But it was really out of the question for me. Not because of Blue. He wouldn't mind, especially since she's a girl.

And the little ones are her current size, but it's my two terriers or should I say terrors! To be honest, I'm really having a problem with one of them. (Ralphie) but I won't go into it at this time.
So the girls at the clinic put their heads together trying to think of who would be a good home and then they remembered this couple whose dog had passed away recently. It had gotten loose and ran into the street and had been hit by a car. They took it to their local vet who said there was nothing to be done. Then they brought him to our veterinarian. He did surgery and tried to repair the damage. She survived that surgery but then wouldn't eat and had some other problems that I'm not sure of. Doc went in a second time and tried fix whatever it was and I was told that she went home but ended up eventually passing away. 
So Amber called the couple and said that she knew how much they cared for their dog they had lost and would they be interested in this puppy. The husband said he didn't think so. He said they had two elderly dogs at home and they just couldn't handle anymore sorrow. But he said they would think about it.
The next morning the husband was standing at the front door when we opened. (and they live an hour away)
So Amber came back and told me and we took the puppy up the the exam room. The man is one of those man's man types. Nothing wimpy about him and he is probably close to 60 years old. So we walk into the room and Amber hands him the puppy to look at and his face just cracks! He is just crying his eyes out. He said in this heartbreaking voice "She looks like my Poo!" I had to leave the room.
I went up to the reception desk with tears in my eyes and said to the girls "Well, the puppy has a home!" Not too long after that he comes out of the room cradling her and all smiles. He said that he sent a photo with his phone back to his wife at home and she text him back. He hands me the phone to look at it. It said "Bring that baby home!"

WEDNESDAYS HELPFUL PET TIP # 14

Well, actually I posted on tip on Sunday July 4th! So....I'm just posting this cute video instead!
Enjoy! (Oh and I think you have to turn down the music on my playlist that's located on the bottom, so that you can hear this...)

Cool Logo. Flickr and Another BLOG?!

Ya Gotta Love this LOGO!
BLACK CAT FIREWORKS!

Sometimes I am just amazed at all there is to know and learn in the Internet world. Everything I've done on the computer has been a real learning experience and a lot of hit and miss. I think I have FINALLY figured out my pixel problem. It's kinda like everything else- oh THAT"S what I need to do!- type of thing. I just stumbled upon how to do it and I hope I remember what I did. It's like the writing on the photo thing, Junker Jane emailed me some directions on how to do it and from that I also played around and figured out how to put fonts on my photos. Some people might read this and shake their heads at my simpleness. But I really do think that I learn in a different way than some people. You can give me written detailed instructions and all I hear in my head is humming. But if you physically SHOW me how to do something, I've usually got it- right off!  But that's the problem. I have no one here to show me. In fact I have people who shake their heads and exchange smirks when I talk about it. No, NOT everyone, I do have some wonderful supportive people but unfortunately they don't know a darn thing about what I'm trying to do!

SO, I now have 2 Etsy shops (both empty) but I have them set up (sort of)

One is for my vintage stuff - http://www.etsy.com/shop/oldblackcatboo

Someday I am going to have a physical shop of my own.They say LUCK is being prepared when the opportunity arises. I have a basement FULL of racks and fixtures and such for my shop. I have a mental picture of how it will look. The outside will be done in black and white and my logo is an old black cat. I want to have people feel like they have stepped out of their world and into a magical but quirky little hole in the wall.

I have the place picked out. I've talked about it before. It's a hair salon joint right now.

 And while this is mean to say, they are not very good.

 I went in there to scope out the place and they butchered my hair....of course MAYBE they knew what my real mission was and wanted to make sure I didn't return.

The shop is only 12 blocks from my house! I could walk or ride my bike to it!

It's situated between a Chiropractic place and a Irish neighborhood bar.

The area is called the Hilltop. There are other little shops like this Antique shop

And there's also a "collectibles" store, a Barber shop. a comic book store and a 50's Retro shop. On the other side of the street is a "Cool Beans" coffee shop and some other little shops.

Then you go down about 4 more blocks and it starts to get very commercial. But right after that the block becomes tree lined and about 6 blocks is my little skinny house. Two blocks before my home and one block in, on a brick street is my "I WISH" house. Meaning I wish I had that house! Of course I couldn't even afford the property taxes on it but.... sometimes I drive home though the back streets and I pretend I'm driving to (my) THAT house. It's even beautiful at night. Sigh..... Here's a photo of it.

You can't see the other side but the garage is attached to the house. It has a flat roof and you can pull into it but you can also drive out the back of it into the alley. I NEVER see anyone outside or actually any signs of life except it's always so tidy. One afternoon I was driving by and there's this elderly woman putting in some flowers by the hedges (you can't see the yard in the photo either but it extends down and is surrounded by hedges.) I wanted to stop and tell her how I loved her home but she just glared over her shoulder so I didn't stop. Yesterday I think it was her walking by my house as I was gardening. I said a cheerful "HI"! to her and she just grumbled and looked at my yard for a second and then walked on......Once again, I digress.

SO anyway! -

Then I opened another shop for my cat and dog art - http://www.etsy.com/shop/bigwhitedogblue

I have also started another blog by that name - http://bigwhitedogblue.blogspot.com/

and I will showcase my cat/dog related creations there....BUT, as I created it I COULD feel the focus of it slipping away from me and it wanting to be ALL about THE dog. I will try to stay on task over there but, well...you know! Then I'm reading this great book called The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin and it talked about FLICKR. I thought to myself, Hey I got an account on Flickr, I think....so I go check it out and DUH! I've been REALLY missing out! A bunch of my favorite people are over there! Pam, Magaly, Junker, Julia! I'm missing the party!I need to put my photos on there! And there's groups to join! Go get the dictionary and look under CLUELESS and there's a photo of me with a dazed  dumb look on my face.

 So I could be posting my creations THERE! and maybe let Blue just have the new blog! HA! Who knows maybe he would get a bigger following but I don't think he's very good at leaving comments. Wow...I could do a post called something like Simple Cindi, er, maybe that's what I should title this one but....

I'll let you all know when I finally put something in one of the shops!

And thanks for listening to my ramblings AGAIN!

HAPPY 4th of JULY and an EARLY PET TIP!

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

AND from http://www.hsus.org/  A tip to keep your pet safe during fireworks!

"With a little bit of planning and forethought, you can enjoy the excitement of the Fourth of July and know that your animal companion is safe, sound, and enjoying a little peace and quiet," said Nancy Peterson, an issues specialist with The Humane Society if the United States.

To protect your pet on the Fourth of July, take these precautions:

•Resist the urge to take your pet to fireworks displays.

•Do not leave your pet in the car. With only hot air to breathe inside a car, your pet can suffer serious health effects—even death—in a few short minutes. Partially opened windows do not provide sufficient air, but they do provide an opportunity for your pet to be stolen.

•Keep your pets indoors at home in a sheltered, quiet area. Some animals can become destructive when frightened, so be sure that you've removed any items that your pet could destroy or that would be harmful to your pet if chewed. Leave a television or radio playing at normal volume to keep him company while you're attending Fourth of July picnics, parades, and other celebrations.

•If you know that your pet is seriously distressed by loud noises like thunder, consult with your veterinarian before July 4th for ways to help alleviate the fear and anxiety he or she will experience during fireworks displays.

•Never leave pets outside unattended, even in a fenced yard or on a chain. In their fear, pets who normally wouldn't leave the yard may escape and become lost, or become entangled in their chain, risking injury or death.

•Make sure your pets are wearing identification tags so that if they do become lost, they can be returned promptly. Animals found running at-large should be taken to the local animal shelter, where they will have the best chance of being reunited with their owners.

If you follow these simple precautions, you and your pet can have a safe and happy Fourth of July.