Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Riding the Storm Out

By

Last year we had Snowtober this year it’s Frankenstorm.

While thankfully there is no snow predicted, we are in for some heavy winds.  We also have a lot of trees around us, trees that were weakened or still have broken branches from last year’s storm.

Two weeks ago one of those branches came down with some wind.  Luckily for us, it landed on our gate, and wedged itself between the chimney and the side wall of the house.  Miraculously, there was no permanent damage.  I told Hubby, the Lord just keeps providing us with wood to burn.

Hey big branch! Yeah I’m talking to you. Get off my fence!

 

It looks like it’s touching, but really there is about six inches between the end of the branch and the house.

 

If it were just Hubby and I, there would be no problem. Since we have pets, we need to make sure they remain safe.

The first thing we did was tie down everything that can’t go inside.

Ghetto Grill

 

The storm is expected to last through Tuesday. The dogs will have to go outside to potty, that last thing we want is for something left out in the yard, flying through the air and striking one of the dogs.

On the off-chance that happens, we have hydrogen peroxide, EMT gel and vet tape handy.

It’s important to have plenty of food on hand for your pets.  We feed raw and I currently have five days worth of dinners and about three weeks worth of breakfast.  If need be, we will use the breakfast supply for dinner.

Luckily for us we have city water, but should contamination occur, I have six gallons of bottled water handy.

We also stuck some empty soda bottles in the freezer to use for ice if we need it, or defrost it and use for cooking or washing as the case may be.

Since we live on the side of a hill, it’s highly unlikely we will need to evacuate from flooding, but if we need to evacuate for another reason, the dog’s medications, their medical records, food bowls and going outside collars are all within 15 feet of each other and their leashes are hung by the front door.

Bob is on canned food, which is in very close proximity to the dogs items.

The important thing in any natural disaster is to have a plan, know what items you need to take with you and where they are.  If possible practice a dry run.   Having a plan of action in place for emergencies gives you peace of mind that nothing else can.

If we have to leave in an emergency I feel very comfortable saying we can be out within half an hour…..forty five minutes tops.

Where we’ll go, I’m not really sure, but I did hear on the news that the shelters are taking dogs. 🙂

What types of weather related issues do you need to be prepared for where you live?   Do you have a plan in place to evacuate your pets?  What if the situation springs up suddenly, have you and your family discussed who will get the pets?

Drew Barrymore's Bump

By

I love Drew Barrymore.  So when I saw the link “Barrymore’s Bump” I couldn’t help myself, I had to click.

As I read the article I found out that Drew’s bump wasn’t a baby, it was a puppy.  She had the puppy tucked up under her shirt (I assume) to keep the puppy from being frightened by all the people.  Once I realized it was a puppy, I cringed.

You know when a movie comes out that has a dog in it, how sales of those dogs go sky rocketing?  Yeah, and then a bunch of those same dogs wind up in shelters because people really just have no clue what kind of work goes into a dog?

Well I got a bit nervous thinking, what if Drew’s puppy garners that same reaction?  We already have so many dogs in shelters, we certainly don’t need hundreds (if not thousands) more.

The other reason I cringed was the L.A. Boutique mentioned in the article, “Bark n’ Bitches“.  Naturally me being me, I jumped to the conclusion this was a store that sold puppies and we all know how I feel about stores that sell puppies.   So I googled them and found their website.

The first thing I noticed on the website, was a video. The picture on the video showed a dog in a crate.  Aha!  My suspicions were confirmed.  And then I read a little further, all of the dogs offered for sale at the Boutique are rescued.

The Boutique sells dog beds, collars, and dog carriers, among other things.  Their food and treats are holistic and organic and the best part is the proceeds from the sales from the store, funds the rescue of dogs.

So then I had to click on the video, which actually follows the owner, (Shannon von Roemer) as she goes to a Los Angles shelter and rescues two dogs.  Of course there are many more there that she can’t rescue and you can hear the emotion in her voice as she talks about these sweet souls.

So Drew Barrymore’s new puppy is a shelter dog.

Hopefully this means that people who might be interested in getting a dog will follow Drew’s lead and adopt from a shelter or a rescue.

In my opinion, it’s better than a movie. 🙂

Justice For Putz

By

I came across a disturbing article on Facebook today.

Thanks to Bringing Up Bella for posting this article about a pitbull that was put to sleep by the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control.

Putz, the dog was defending his mistress from her ex-husband.  The ex-husband had already kicked Putz and had rolled up his fist in order to hit his ex-wife when Putz intervened, biting the man on the wrist.

Putz was then impounded and Minneapolis Animal Care and Control assessed Putz and deemed him dangerous and suggested he not be returned to his owner.

An animal rights group became involved and offered to have Putz sent to an animal sanctuary where Putz could live his life without the possibility of being re-homed. Despite their best efforts the judge involved in  the case disregarded the offer and ordered Putz be put to death.  Putz was euthanized on Saturday.

I don’t think I have the words to express the outrage I feel at this miscarriage of justice.  A dog was protecting his mistress from harm, had he been a truly vicious dog (as MACC said) this dog could have done a lot of damage to the ex-husband, instead he simply bit him on the wrist preventing serious harm to his mistress and for his loyalty and love, he was murdered.   Surprisingly the ex-husband’s record of domestic violence wasn’t taken into consideration.

I fully believe most dogs don’t bite without provocation and in an instance of a dog bite all circumstances should be taken into consideration.  I can’t believe in this day and age stuff like this still takes place.

It scares me to think that my dog could be killed just for protecting me.  What scares me even more is I don’t know what to do to stop this Salem Witch mentality.

I will start by signing the petition to bring justice for Putz, if you’re interested you can find the petition here.

I will also do some research and see if I can find out the name of the judge who ruled on the case and drop him/her a line with my thoughts.  I do know if I lived in Minneapolis I would probably be picketing somewhere.

Book Update: My book has 5,249 words.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...