April 29, 2012

Hello my name is Harry and I am the new dog here at Oliver's Place.

I went to get Harry Saturday morning from his foster home, I saw him at a SCARS adoption event two weeks ago and just fell in love with him.  He is a lab/chow cross, but having said that he is from Athabasca,so who really knows, there could be all sorts of stuff in him, coyote, wolf, cougar...

He is 7 months old and is house trained and walks on a leash really nice, he is an all around nice dog, with the cutest face and under bite that somethings looks like he should break in to a chorus of either Jailhouse Rock or Rebel Yell!

We did our first walk in the off leash today to meet up with the dogs that would become his "pack" and he did really well, one of his pack is almost blind and him and her did very well for just meeting, there were a little bit of growling at first but then eventually they worked it out and I know that they will be best friends soon. He just wanted to play with all the of dogs he met whether they wanted to play with him or not.  I won't let him off leash just quite yet, he doesn't have his licence of name tags yet and he really needs to get used to me and come back when called.

His foster family did wonderful with him and socialized him really well.  Thanks so much for that.
You will be seeing a lot more of Harry in weeks to come. So check back often

April 23, 2012

Hi everyone, my name is Harry and I am the new top dog here.  I am a lab X maybe with Chow or Akita, no one really knows, all I know is that I am cuter than anything. I am 7 months and I think I have some big shoes to fill after Oliver.  But my new Mom says that Oliver picked me out for her.  I have his same little pink nose!  I get to come to my forever home on Saturday and I am so excited.  I can hardly wait to go for walks with my "pack" on the weekends and go to work with Mom and help her.  I will be the official greeter!

So check back lots and read all about me.  Did I mention how cute I was:)

April 18, 2012

Dick Clark died today, what sad news.
I still can remember watching American Bandstand when I was younger and loving all the dances, clothes and hairstyles.  On the radio today they were talking about Rocking New Years Eve and making fun about nobody really admitting to watching it. It you are of a certain age, you know what age that is, you stayed up to watch it. It was always the best New Year's show.

But back to Bandstand.  I love watching the old ones from the early sixties, I am old  but not quite that old!  And even into the 90's the show was still pretty good. That's about when  I found for the life of me I didn't know one song or artist they featured, talk about really feeling your age.  It is still happening, go into any music store and if you don't have young children, just try and recognize a name, go ahead I dare you. I know more country artist's now then anything, talk about scary!

So Dick Clark thank you so much for everything and being a part of my life.  Thanks for Paul Revere and The Raiders, Mark Lindsay,sigh!  Rick Springfield, Bobby Sherman, who is now a paramedic!  Can I get a little CPR please.  Dino, Desi and Billy and David Cassidy, who I actually did want to marry.  Oh and remember Herman's Hermits.......Herman......

April 15, 2012

So if April showers bring May flowers, what the heck do April snowstorms bring, besides a grumpy spouse!
Although I do admit that it was sure pretty outside for these last two days. And I did managed to go for a walk in the Ravine with a friend and her two dogs and it was wonderful.  All the dogs out there were just in the best mood, running around and in the snow!

But I have a confession to make, I think this my be my fault, I admit that I did not park in the garage Friday night....but the upside is my car is a lot cleaner.  And also every time my neighbour comes home from his long haul trips he brings a snow storm, so I making him share the blame this time.

Although this weather doesn't stop all the birds from coming by. My bird feeder is almost empty once again.  And I can hear the Magpies in our pine tree just singing away this morning, well I think it was singing, or they were tormenting the cat next door. Which they have been known to do from time to time, even if the poor thing is inside just quietly looking out the window.  I did see my very first robin this morning, and it was almost a Kodiak moment, it was sitting on a very thickly snow covered branch, and I actually had my camera with me, but would it sit still, oh no, just had to hop from branch to branch further and further up the tree!

My tomato plants that we started weeks ago and now staring out the window wondering what is going on, some of them are really getting big, "we need to plant the seeds early" I was told, I have one plant that is almost a foot tall so far.  I think it was just a tad early.  Should of left him in the trunk of the car - see earlier blog.

Well hopefully this is the last of winter, my green thumb is getting itchy!

April 9, 2012

Hope everyone had a happy Easter and the Easter Bunny found them!

The boy were in the garage watching the Masters, and every once in a while I would either hear cheering or swearing:)  I sat in the sun and read for most of the afternoon. Where else can you shovel 3 feet of snow one day and sit in the warm sun the other.  Oh for springtime in Alberta.

I would like to know the name of the person that invented Slotomania!  I am addicted, I thought Angry Birds were bad. I can honestly say that I will sit for hours just spinning that slot machine, too bad it isn't real money, I have lost and won a fortune, well maybe it is a good thing it isn't real.  I open Facebook and there it is staring me in the face, just pleading for me to play.  It was like the slots in Vegas, back when you actually had to put actual coins in, they would just shout, INSERT COIN!  Couldn't figure out for the longest time why my right arm hurt so much. Oh did I mention it was also back in the dark ages when you had to pull the lever to win!

Thank goodness my ipad doesn't recognize these games,or I just haven't found out how to play them yet. And please if you know don't tell me, I will be in bed playing them for hours and not sleeping, ever!

Enjoy the week and get out and enjoy the sun!

April 3, 2012

As a dear friend is taking her dog to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon today, it got me wondering how far would you go for a pet?  My friend's dog is slowly going blind, if not totally, there is a chance that it might be reversible, so she had to go and never wonder what if.
I know other pet owners that have spared no expense with their animals, you always hear of pets getting attacked in the off leash areas,some thank goodness not serious, others life threatening, and each one of those owners have stepped up the plate to make sure their baby is safe and well taken care of.  I am one of those owners, as far as I was concerned money was no object and thank the good Lord I had a wonderful vet that didn't take advantage of me.
For someone to say, it is only a dog, cat etc, is just beyond my comprehension, how can someone turn their back on a hurting or sick animal, they don't ask much from you just a little love, food and shelter and they never hold a grudge, and love you unconditionally no matter what. I can not bear to hear stories of cruelty to animals, it has been proven that that is just the start of abuse, if the coward can do that do a poor animal, it doesn't stop there, it goes on to children and their spouses.
It is like the old joke, lock you spouse and your dog in the trunk of the car, who is happier to see you when you open the trunk?  Does the person you live with/ love get so excited to see you when you get home, even if it was 2 seconds ago because you forgot something or 10 hours after working all day?

So here is to my dear friend and her commitment to her dog, not that I would expect anything less.  And also to all the animal rescue groups that see far too many bad things in this world.  You are angels on earth.