Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Smile – August 5, 2016

Taryn Tipton said, ” I like it best when Jimmy rests his head on Wilson or vice versa.”

My dogs never do. In fact, they rarely, if ever touch when they are sleeping. I think I would smile at that myself. 🙂

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “Shadow will rest her head on my knee at times when she’s looking for attention. And Ducky will rest her head on her daddy’s stomach when she’s laying between his legs on the recliner. That always makes me smile. Callie used to sleep on the living room floor with her head resting on the dog bed. I used to laugh at her when she did that.”

Sampson sometimes rests his head on his bed too and I find it so adorable.

Emma said, “Life is full of places to rest heads, but humans don’t seem to take advantage of it like dogs do.”

Right! What’s up with that Emma?

DogDaz said, “Sofie loves to put her head on feet and the coffee table, Lulu loves your knee when your sitting.”

Do you take pictures of that? That sounds so cute!

Monika and Sam said, “Sam will do that on my knee or thigh, to which I instinctively reach down to pet him. I think he’s actually put 2 and 2 together and figured out if he does it, he’ll get the attention he wants.”

Sampson will put his head on one of our knees with a similar result. They really have us trained. 😉

Cupcake said, “My head is surprisingly heavy considering that my brain is so tiny. So, yes, I need to rest it – on Mom, the arm of the chair, the side of my bed, or anything on the floor at my level.”

Oh Cupcake, you always make me laugh.

Delilah gets a Birdie

Meagan Maher said, “My last dog dropped a baby pigeon in front of me once unscathed and Merlin, well birds could be splashing in his water bowl (which they do) and he wouldn’t care (which he doesn’t). He likes to hunt and eat moths though.”

OMG a baby pigeon! That’s amazing that it wasn’t hurt! These past couple of mornings we’ve had birds hopping in front of us. I haven’t a clue what that’s about, but if those birds went into their water bowls, I’m pretty sure my dogs would take issue with it.

Taryn Tipton said, “One time when I was walking with my friend and her chocolate lab, we were along the edge of the big lake in our neighborhood. Mousse (the lab) was walking along in the shallow water when a HUGE bull frog jumped up in INTO his mouth. Yes, right in his mouth! It took quite an effort to get him to drop it. And ever after that happening, he was obsessed with hunting bull frogs!”

See a person would be freaked out by that, but a dog, no. A dog would be like, “Bring that shit on!”

Beth Patterson said, “When I was a teenager we had a Bullmastiff named Angel. One day we were in the back yard and a baby bird was taking its first flight. Unfortunately, he flew right in front of Angel who just opened her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp. It was very sad and unexpected.”

Oh my gosh. How horrible. I had a dog many years ago that could pluck low flying birds right out of the air. It makes you feel so sad.

Cupcake said, “Once I ate a butterfly. Mom saw it flying and then it was gone and I was chewing. She said, “Oh no you didn’t.” But oh yes I did. Maybe that was an accident….”

Ha ha ha, I took a picture once of Sampson with a moth right near his nose, as soon as I snapped that picture….Delilah ate that moth. 

Sue said, “Living in the country with a huge backyard we frequently have whole huge flocks of birds come in, especially in the fall and spring as they’re migrating. Years ago there was a day when a huge flock of meadowlarks came in. I let Lucy and Tucker out to “clear the yard” and they stormed out of the house. They reached the back fence and Lucy turned around to look at me… and had a meadowlark in her mouth. She looked wide eyed and shocked (just like me). And dropped the bird. After that she wasn’t as keen on “clearing the yard.” LOL”

Oh poor Lucy! They probably haven’t thought what would actually happen if they caught one!

Two French Bulldogs said, “Oh the poor birdie. We don’t go after them but we would like some tree rat stew.”

You and most of the dogs I know. 😉 Mine would like some chippies with that stew! Haha

Jan K said, “Oh, poor birdie! It probably was a young one. We had a lot of birds nesting around our yard. One day I came home and as I was letting the dogs out one flew right into me! Of course at first I didn’t even know what it was so put my hands up to protect myself, and I’m not sure if I hit him or if he just kept going the other way. He landed a little ways away from me, and luckily when I checked on him he seemed to be OK.”

Dear lord, I scream like a girl when shit like that happens. I’m glad you were both okay!

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “Preacher is trampling birds all the time and bunnies and moles and and and…..”

Oh Preacher! 

Anonymous said, “Send D over to my house, I’ve got an effing woodpecker pecking the crap out of my house! He goes from one end of the house after I chase him away, to the next! Peck off you bloody woodpecker!!!!”

I had a woodpecker too, I hung a wind sock type of thing made of metal which seems to have kept it away.

Peace of Mind

Pamela Lucas said, “I get your every word and feelings. Brodie deserves the best handling that fits him. I am lucky that my dog walker, who has a huge amount of clients, understands what I want and what Brodie needs.”

That’s amazing! You really have to feel comfortable with the person you entrust with your baby.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “I know how you feel, when I go away and I can’t take all the dogs with me I call and check in on them everyday. Now mind you I don’t have a stranger or someone taking care of them, it is my own family that live with me and the dogs and I am still nervous about it lol…It is just no one takes care of them like I do!”

Amen sister. Don’t think I won’t be calling my husband and reminding him to read the list I left him. 😉

Genevieve said, “When I had knee surgery 3 years ago, ALL of my friends (and some acquaintances I don’t even consider friends) wanted to take care of Cupcake for the 8 days I’d be gone. I had to say no to all of them and picked the dogmom of Cupcake’s friend Lila. I knew Lila had the run of the house, was allowed on the beds and furniture, and went everywhere with her mom in the car. That’s what Cupcake needed, so that’s where she stayed. She did great. (And that dogma went on to become a trainer at The Seeing Eye – with my recommendation!)”

I totally get that. I could never leave my guys somewhere where they couldn’t sleep on the bed. I think if Hubby and I ever went away at the same time, I would pay someone to stay with the dogs. 

Emma said, “Oh boy, my mom is a nervous Nellie too! The only one she ever lets walk us besides herself is her cousin and in a pinch the neighbor. Mom is afraid we will get loose, or dart out after a squirrel and knock a person over, she is just plain afraid to let anyone else go out with us.”

It’s hard not to worry about that. Trust me, they will be with my HUSBAND and I will be worrying!

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, ” You’ve known Emily for quite some time; and you trust her with Sampson’s and Delilah’s lives at the hospital. She is the right person.”

Plus she LOVES Sampson, LOVES him, and he LOVES her.  I will have a post next week about Emily, she did the sweetest thing for him at the vet yesterday.

Two French Bulldogs said, “Our last dog walker payed more attention to her cell phone than us.”

Um…I’d have a problem with that and I’m assuming your mom did as well.

Jan K said, “I was the same way in finding a groomer for Sheba. I wouldn’t trust anyone with her until the vet tech at our vet’s office starting doing it. Sheba knew and loved her, the feeling was mutual, and I could feel comfortable leaving her in her care.”

It’s so hard. And the worse part is that they can’t talk and tell you if something is wrong. I’m glad you found someone for Sheba.

Taryn said, “LOL! I think lots of us share your angst! I have not taken a vacation without our dogs since we got Jimmy nine years ago! Wilson is a sweety and anyone could take care of him. But adding Jimmy to the mix is where things get dicey. He is what I call a 50/50 dog. He snarks at other dogs who get too close (or, heaven forbid, sniff his butt), but it isn’t every dog. So I can never trust him. I can’t expect someone else to be as cautious as me.”

Can I tell you a secret? We take separate vacations. IF we have to be somewhere together, I make sure we fly on different flights.  And Delilah is similar to Jimmy. I’ve worked really hard with her, but if a dog surprises her with a nose in her ass, she’s going to give him a face full of chocolate he won’t soon forget!

Monika and Sam said, “I think that little assistant that resides in each of us was trying to tell you something by making you feel uneasy about the original walker. Sadly those ‘helpers’ have no volume button that can be turned up-they just make you question yourself. Good thing too since they always seem to know what’s on the up and up.”

Sometimes I wonder if it’s really my assistant or just my paranoia. 😉 Either way, I usually listen. 

Jackie Bouchard said, “Oh, I feel your worries! I was recently in a very similar situation! I went away for a week, leaving the hubby and the dog alone for the first time (well, the first time where it was more than just one night). The hubs had time to take her for a quick walk each morning, but we knew it was going to be a crazy week for him at work (he’s often gone more than 12 hours) so couldn’t leave Rita home along that long. It took me a long time to find a place that I felt okay with – and I scheduled both a walk and training session with them ahead of time to make sure I’d be okay with them. Still… it was worrisome…The place I used would send me photos and texts each day, so I was able to see/hear how Rita was doing.”

Ugh, it’s so hard. Especially if you’ve never done it before! I’m hoping I can convince Emily to send me pictures. 🙂

Well that’s it for me folks! Have a fabulous weekend!