Category Archives: dogs

Super Bowl, Dog Delivery, and Helping the Local Humane Shelter

Posted on February 7, 2012 | 6 comments

Hi Everyone!

I hope each of you had a chance to enjoy the Super Bowl Sunday night; it was one of the great ones – down to the wire, with plenty of excitement and great plays.  Some of the commercials were pretty funny, too.

Given my affinity for Volkswagen Beetles, it will not surprise you that the Volkswagen commercial where the golden retriever decided he needed to lose weight so he could chase the Beetle driving down the street was one of my favorites.  The E-trade Baby came through with his usual panache, too.  And for those of us who grew up with “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the Honda CR-V commercial with Matthew Broderick was pretty funny too.  I’d love to know if any of you had favorite commercials from the game.

In other news, Darwin was falsely accused of chewing last night.  He walked into the den with a piece of paper in his mouth, and Mark was about to scold him for chewing, when Kayla called out from her bedroom that Darwin had been given a note and been bidden to take it to Mark.  Now, I am curious to know if Darwin actually knew to bring it to Mark, or if it was just an accident that the next place he went from Kayla’s room was to Mark.  I may never know, since I am not inclined to tempt Darwin with another such piece of paper.

I got a chance to go back by one of my favorite animal shelters the other day and walk a dog at lunch.  This is a really fun way to help out your local shelter and exercise at the same time.  The dogs that are in the runs waiting to be adopted love the chance to get to stretch their legs, and also the extra attention and petting they get (at least from me) as their walker, and the walker gets exercise while feeling that for that one day he or she has made a difference, at least for that one dog.  It also may help to make more energetic dogs more adoptable by allowing them a chance to burn off a little energy so that they are not quite as hyper when people come to choose a dog from the shelter.  Yesterday, I walked a dog named Blackjack, who answers to the name of Jack.  Jack was the biggest dog I have ever walked, and from the owner of Darwin, who often resembles a small horse, that is saying something.  Jack was not nearly as tall as Darwin, but imagine a cross between a lab and a Newfoundland, and you might begin to get an idea of his size.  Jack was solid muscle, which could have been a problem but wasn’t because he had obedience training and walked like a dream, never pulling on the leash and always listening to me when I told him to come or to keep up.  Quite unlike the twins, Darwin and Mandy, in my house, who make me feel like a crazed Hittite charioteer whenever I have them on the leash and try to exit the house.  Jack hasn’t been there long, though, so it was hard to get him to wag his tail, but he finally started to once I was taking him back to his pen.  I hope to be able to go back tomorrow (Wednesday) and then I will walk someone else.

Well, that’s about all for now.  I hope each of you has a great day!

Nancy

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Heeeerrrrreee’s Tyra!

Posted on January 24, 2012 | 6 comments

Good morning Everyone!

Tyra, on January 20, 2012

Today’s post is about our oldest dog Tyra.  Tyra, whose nicknames include Tyra Belle, Big Dog and occasionally The Saint (refer to the many posts about Mandy and Darwin to understand why), does not exactly receive equal time in this blog so today I wanted to focus on her. 

Tyra, looking up from the love seat

The main reason Tyra doesn’t receive more time on this blog is not that we love her any less than the other two dogs, but simply because she is the best behaved of the three dogs so she often gives me the least to write about.  To be honest, she is the best behaved of all five dogs we have ever owned, and that is saying something!  Tyra’s main goal in life appears to be to please us, while Mandy’s goal in life is to be happy and maintain her excellent self-esteem, and Darwin’s centers somewhere between playing and getting really good back scratches whenever possible.

Tyra, October 1, 2006 in the back yard

Tyra, 10 years old now, is an Australian Shepherd mix, we think, and came to live with us on February 14, 2004, about 10 1/2 months before Kayla came.  She was three when we selected her from the Humane Shelter.  The sign on the run she was sharing with another dog said that she was a Rottweiler mix, but I have lived with this dog for almost eight years now, and there is no Rottweiler in her anywhere.  We weren’t sure what she was until one day when we saw a picture of an Australian Shepherd, which was spot on to what Tyra looks like when we let her hair grow out.

Second Picture, Tyra backyard, October 1, 2006

Tyra was taken to the Humane Shelter by the first family that adopted her and left, the reason being that they had a baby and “didn’t have time to care for her anymore.”  I always have thought that to be incredibly sad for Tyra,even if incredibly lucky for us; I don’t know how you could do that to a dog as loving as she is.  She still has nightmares occasionally, when she will start to moan in her sleep – whether it is about that experience or something else, I don’t know – but a soft touch and just a whisper that everything’s okay and she’s safe with us at home soothes her, even if she doesn’t wake up. 

Woof, Back Yard, October 1, 2006

When we got Tyra, our first dog, Shadow, had been dead for over a year, and I was starting to worry about our second dog, Woof, and how lonely she seemed to be getting.  Mark and I went to the shelter that day to select a dog, and as we were looking over the runs, we came across a pair of medium-sized dogs kenneled together .  One of the signs on the run said, “My name is Tyra, and I can sit!”  Mark said, “Sit,” Tyra sat, and the rest is history.  I haven’t seen her sit on command too many times since then, but bless her heart, the one time in her life it counted, she pulled it off! 

Tyra and Woof Camping in the Travel Trailer

Woof and Tyra had a cordial, not necessarily close relationship.  Or at least that’s what I thought until the day we went camping and I was walking both of them, and Tyra thought another dog was about to attack Woof.  Tyra immediately went into defense mode, and there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Tyra would have done anything possible to defend Woof. 

Kayla and Tyra, 12 days after Kayla came to live with us

Tyra and Kayla have a sweet bond.  Kayla took to Tyra almost as soon as Kayla moved in with us.  When Kayla learned that Tyra had only been with us since February, (remember, Kayla came December 1, 2004), something clicked and the two of them have for the most part had a rapport ever since.  Kayla does not boss Tyra around like she does the other two dogs, but is always sweet and gentle with her.  When she plays school, using the dogs to populate her pretend school world, Tyra is never a student.  Once, Tyra was the school nurse; another time, when I was unavailable, Tyra was the principal. 

Kayla's First Visit Ever To Our House With Mark, Tyra and Woof in the Picture

We learned quite by accident that Tyra also is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect Kayla.  One day when Kayla was four, Mark was grilling outside in the back yard and Kayla was with him.  Kayla heard the door bell ring, but Mark didn’t, so she went to open the door.  (That was a whole separate conversation.)  When she opened the door, there was a teenage boy there that she didn’t know, and Kayla got scared and screamed.  Tyra flew from the back yard down the hall to the front door, pushed Kayla to the side, and chased the teenage boy and his three friends (all of whom, bless their souls, were only asking for directions) onto the hood of their car in the 10 seconds it took Mark to realize something had happened and get out there as well. 

Our Family, Early in 2005

Tyra is not, however, without her quirks.  After all, she is only human canine!  She absolutely loves camping, and bananas.  All the dogs like going for a ride, but when we had our travel trailer, she would absolutely lose her mind as soon as she realized that we were going on an expedition.  She would laugh from the time we got in the car until we returned home.  I had never seen anything like it.  As far as bananas go, they appear to be a miracle cure for her for everything from arthritic hips to fatigue.  The mere sight or smell of a banana will start her prancing like a three-year old dog again. 

Why Won't They Give Me My Spot?

Tyra’s evening routine requires that she be given a seat on the couch beside Mark.  We got this picture of her on the sofa recently, when I was on one side, and Kayla was on the other side of Mark.  She does not look happy!

About time!

All was well, though, once she was placed in her favorite spot.

It's all good!

Tyra also gets extra privileges now that she has attained the status of the official geriatric dog in the household.  See, Life with a Geriatric Dog.  These include elevator service onto our bed every night and occasional joy rides in the car with Mark, Kayla and I while the other two dogs are left at home.  She also is indisputably the leader of the three dogs, although they all three of them ultimately defer to Mark.  She is a benevolent leader, fortunately, and we have been amazed at the restraint she has shown towards both Mandy and Darwin.  They really have to work at it to hack her off.

You will notice in some of these pictures that one of Tyra’s eyes is much larger than the other.  That is due to a condition called canine glaucoma.  There is no cure, and both we and our vet believe she can’t see out of that eye any more, but it doesn’t seem to have slowed her down one bit.  I watch her when she play wrestles with Darwin (they have their own version of mouth wrestling; I have yet to figure out any of the rules besides the cardinal rule, which is that Tyra wins.  Always.  No matter what.) and she just seems to look at him out of her other eye with a twinkle that says, “I can still beat you, even with one eye tied behind my back – but I won’t take advantage of you, even so.”

That’s my dog.

Have a great day !

Nancy

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Mandy has a brother?!

Posted on January 12, 2012 | 3 comments

Good morning Everyone!

As some of you know from some previous posts, I have long wished that the over 50 people who have searched for variations on the term “husky-basset hound mix” would let me know why they are looking for the information;  I have always thought that Mandy is probably the most unusual dog I will ever come across, both in looks and in personality.  Well, two days ago, I got an e-mail from a woman named Needa in Nashville, who has a dog named Sawyer who is – wait for it – also a husky-basset hound mix.  Pictures were immediately exchanged, and the two do look very much alike, especially when they both have been recently groomed.  Sawyer has a little bit more of the red/brown coloring of a basset hound, while Mandy has picked up more of the silver/white/gray of the husky, but still, the resemblance is amazing.

Guess who is who?

You can see how much alike they look in the two pictures above.  Sawyer’s most obvious difference from Mandy is that he is a male and she a female, but there are other differences.  I think Mandy is a little more solid than Sawyer, although I haven’t yet met Sawyer to have him jump on me with all of his weight concentrated in his front two paws.  Sawyer has two blue eyes, instead of Mandy’s one brown eye with a hint of blue in it and her other completely blue eye.

Sawyer almost in pageant pose

There are a lot of similarities, too.  Sawyer has a “pageant pose” similar to Mandy’s, although Needa and her husband call it the “noble pose,” which makes sense since Sawyer is a boy.  Sawyer likes to chew – Needa says the first day she had him he demolished her digital camera, which made me grateful for Mandy’s preference for light cords – and does so on about the same four-hour schedule that Mandy holds.  Mandy and Sawyer can be trusted alone in the house for about four hours, then they get anxious about their owners being gone and start demolishing something.  At least they have a good reason; Darwin chews sometimes just for the pure joy of it.  To be honest, Mandy chews handkerchiefs for the pure joy of it also, but the more destructive chewing comes after four hours!

Mandy: Caught with a handkerchief

They have somewhat similar nicknames, too.  One of Mandy’s many nicknames, well-earned, is “Bad Dog.”   Sawyer’s nickname, Bitarbriat, was given to him by one of Needa’s uncles.  The word is Persian for “Spoiled Brat.”

Sawyer dives for something

Sawyer does not have to be bossed around by a child of any age, let alone a ten-year old girl – Needa and her husband just got married three weeks ago!  Congratulations to them.  Here is an engagement photo they took with Sawyer in it.

Sawyer's Engagement Photo!

Sawyer was adopted in Huntsville, Alabama at The Ark; someone found him wandering around the roadside there.  Mandy is also an Alabama dog; as you know from a previous post, she was adopted at the Montgomery, Alabama humane shelter, where she had been taken after she had been found digging in the dumpster for McDonald’s.  They both are very independent; I am not sure if that is the basset hound temperament coming out, or if part of that comes from surviving “on the street” for a period of time.

Mandy, awakens from a nap

They both are very loving dogs, too; they just have very high self-esteem.

Sawyer on his dog bed

One day, we hope maybe to get the two of them together, but that won’t happen for a while.  Either way though, welcome to Sawyer as a potential cousin, if not brother of our own Mandy, and thank you to the many friends and relations of Needa who have stopped by this blog in the past two days to look at pictures of Mandy.  I hope you’ve enjoyed your visits!

Sawyer gets ready for the wedding

If anyone out there stumbles by this blog and has a husky-basset hound mix, please let me know.  I’d love to hear about him or her!

Mandy in the kitchen

Have a great day!

Nancy

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The Trashman Cometh and other Post-Christmas Joys!

Posted on December 28, 2011 | 10 comments

Good morning Everyone!

I took a mini-vacation from this blog (three days – Friday, Monday and Tuesday) but it seems like forever since I last was here.  I’m glad to be back with all of you!

Not that kind of vacation - I would still be there!

Yesterday morning, December 27th, brought great joy to our household.  Was it due to Christmas?  No, we had that celebration Sunday.  Was it because it was my birthday?  No, but it was my birthday and we did celebrate it.  Was it because Kayla decided to spontaneously clean her room and throw out all of her junk and put all of the good stuff back neatly just for the fun of it?  Wrong again – I think that would fall under the classification of miracle.

No, the event that brought such joy was the arrival of the post-Christmas trash pickup.  Christmas was, as you know, on Sunday, and Mark spent Monday cleaning out the garage, so by the time trash pickup day got here, our dumpster had floweth over and there were four good size boxes full of trash beside it.  However, just like Santa or the tooth fairy (although with just a bit more noise – the dogs sometimes hear the truck and bark), sometime early in the morning the trashmen came and emptied our dumpster and relieved us of our trash.

This may seem a rather mundane thing to celebrate, but we no longer take trash collection over the holiday season for granted – the first and second years we were in this house, we went without trash collection for two weeks between Christmas and New Years!  Kayla was five and six at the time, and we had even more Christmas left-overs than we have now, so we were in dire straits.  I was considering wandering the streets of our town asking complete strangers at Wal-Mart “Brother, can you spare a trashcan?”  By the time the garbage truck toodled its way down our street that third week, we literally chased it down, and talked to the driver and assistant as fast as we could to keep them there while we deposited trash bags into the truck at rapid speed.  They had originally intended just to empty our dumpster and move on!

That was, however, a different waste disposal company and a different time (our neighborhood was relatively new and we were one of only two houses in it, so I think the replacement/holiday driver just didn’t know we were here), but ever since then we are quite grateful when our trash gets picked up Christmas week!

Mandy

Monday afternoon late, Kayla was outside playing on the porch and the dogs were in the back yard for a while.  Suddenly Kayla opened the door to announce that Mandy, sometimes known as “Bad Dog”, had spent some time rolling in…well, the polite term would be, I think, biological waste products, probably her own.  I was writing at the time, so I told Kayla to wipe it off of Mandy with some paper towels.  I saw Kayla walk out with some paper towels, and then she came back in to say it wasn’t working very well.  I absent-mindedly mumbled that perhaps she should use more water (I had a 14,000 word article on depression I was trying to finish for a client) and didn’t really notice the grim-faced ten year old hauling the long but short white dog across the den into the bathroom.  I did hear the water start running, but since I had also suggested at some point that it would be a good idea for Kayla to take a bath, I thought that was what was happening.

Boy was I wrong!  About fifteen minutes later, the door opened and a clean, wet but not drenched Mandy came tearing out of the bathroom.  When Mark and I asked what happened, Kayla told us that she had given Mandy a shower!  She was very proud of herself for doing so, too.  (In her defense, the house rule is “Do not drag the dog into the bathtub with you because you want a friend to take a bath with.”  Since she was forcing a dog into the bathtub to clean her, I guess she didn’t technically break the rule.)  She said that she had to pop Mandy once on the rear to get her to finish going into the tub, but once she did, Mandy sat down in the bathtub and took her shower with good grace.  Kayla used Dove to clean her off, which I’m pretty sure is not a dog registered product but hopefully just one time won’t do Mandy’s coat any harm.  Kayla even cleaned the tub and shower out afterwards without being told.  Mandy has viewed Kayla with a new respect since then!

Pardon me; I just had to take a break for a minute to retrieve a ball of black yarn from Darwin, which he was tossing around trying to unstring, which brings me to another post-holiday joy – saving Darwin from the batteries.

Darwin

Darwin, also known by the alias “No-No”, loves things that roll that he can chase around the house at will.  Unbeknownst to any of us, he decided to pluck a package of AAA batteries off of the coffee table.  Since the package was open already, 8 triple AAA batteries went rolling off in many directions, and Darwin was in puppy Nirvana.  I did look up once to see him pawing at something under the couch, but, silly me, I thought it was one of his balls or other toys that roll that he was playing with.  It wasn’t until I heard unusual chewing sounds that I went around the corner to discover Darwin happily munching on a AAA battery.  While I have discovered that there are many things that dogs can eat, such as a complete tube of Neosporin, and not suffer any harm, I am pretty sure that AAA batteries are not one of them.  Kayla and I had a fun adventure tracking down all 8 of the batteries to be sure that he hadn’t punctured or ingested any of them.  We found two with teeth marks on them at various places in the house, but fortunately he hadn’t broken the casing, and then found the other six under different objects – one under the love seat, two under the ottoman, one under the coach and two that had rolled underneath dog beds.  We heaved a sigh of relief after we found the last one.  Darwin thought the group participation aspect of the battery play was the best part!

Well, I think I have written more than enough to make up for the three days I missed, so I better stop before I have written the equivalent of a full length novel!  I hope each of you had a very Merry Christmas and post-Christmas adventures at least as exciting as mine!

Have a great day!

Nancy

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I’m on the BBC!

Posted on December 9, 2011 | 8 comments

Good morning, Everyone!

I was astounded to learn this morning that this blog is the lead story on the BBC – The Bassa Blogging Channel! Bassa, whose blog I have mentioned before, is a Caucasian Shepherd in Tbilisi, Georgia who writes a blog about her and her tall person’s adventures, along with her friends De and the little person. Oh, and she also lives with Mr. Crazy Parrot. (I mention Mr. Crazy Parrot in hushed tones – he has a dark past.)

Bassa, Chief Correspondent for the BBC, Bassa’s Blogging Channel

Bassa started her BBC because she felt that not enough good news was being broadcast on the regular news channels, and she wanted to start changing things. Every day, one post on her blog is about a story that contains good news. Check it out if you get the chance! Here is the link: Bassa’s Blog.

Kayla decided to “help” me out this morning before I left to take her to school by putting both Mandy and Darwin in their kennels for me. (You may recall that Tyra, aka the Saint, gets to stay out!) That was very sweet. The only problem was that in a fit of generosity, she decided to put food and water in each kennel, which we don’t normally do because that kind of defeats one of the purposes in leaving those two in their kennels. (Food and water does not defeat the chewing deterrent purpose of kenneling, however). She then managed to forget her binder that is a requirement for school everyday at the house because she had been working so hard on helping me and the dogs.

I am not looking forward to cleaning the mess up but I keep reminding myself that Kayla was just trying to help. Have any other parents out there had their children try to “help” and have to bite their tongue as a result?

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Sunday Night Dinner – The Dog Invasion!

Posted on October 25, 2011 | 10 comments

Good morning everyone!

Kayla and Mark were kind enough to make dinner for me Sunday night.    In our family, we have two types of spaghetti – plain spaghetti, which translates as “spaghetti with the Ragu Traditional Sauce heated up straight from the bottle,” and spaghetti with the good sauce, which translates as “spaghetti with a sauce comprised of sauteed ground beef, mushrooms and onions with [you guessed it] Ragu Traditional Sauce poured over all ingredients and heated up in a pan.”  However, while they were waiting for the water to boil, I came in to help by dividing up some ham  and turkey we had purchased the day before for freezing, at which time two things happened – Mandy and Darwin invaded the kitchen (not for the first time that evening) and Kayla found a spare camera lying around to use for pictures.  So, courtesy of Kayla, we managed to get photographic evidence.

Me, not having my best foot forward!

In any photographic session done by almost anyone’s child, the first photo is the obligatory “candid” shot of at least one of their parents. Apparently, a child’s definition of “candid” can be loosely translated as “less than flattering”. This photo session is no exception, as I was in my pajamas facing away from the camera when Kayla started snapping.

Mandy's signature opening move

Mandy always begins a kitchen invasion in the same manner – she selects the spot nearest to the person working on food and slides in between that person and the bottom of the kitchen cabinets.  She is quite adept at it, really.  There are some days she gets in place without my even noticing until I almost trip over her.

Darwin Enters

Darwin, on the other hand, simply walks into the kitchen and wanders around.  Unfortunately, the kitchen does not leave much room for a dog almost the size of a small pony.  For those of you wondering, Tyra has no need to enter the kitchen; she is content to leave clean up crew to the other two dogs, secure in the knowledge that if anything is going to be handed out on a systematic basis, she will get first cut as well as an equal share.  FN.

Why my kitchen seems crowded

Once both dogs are in the kitchen, free space is at a premium.  Darwin, at least, will move to accomodate humans who need to travel to the refrigerator, stove or sink, but Mandy loves to park herself in one spot.  Her favorite spot is in the center of the kitchen, sprawled out to take up the maximum amount of available floor.  She simply refuses to budge, even as she sees your feet approaching.  Apparently, she believes it is my responsibility to watch out for her, not her responsibility to utilize the good sense I am sure she has somewhere to avoid being tripped over.

Come on Mom, just drop one piece of ham!

Here, Mandy feels that the ham is tantalizingly too close, and the humans too near for her to begin scavenging method number 2, which is just grazing the counters on her own, so she tried the cute approach.

All this scavenging makes me sleepy!

Still, scavenging/begging is hard work, and even the most dedicated dog has to stop and rest sometime!

And now, gentle reader, so must I.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

FN.  Does anyone else who keeps dogs in the house feel exceedingly weird when you go over to someone else’s house and you drop food – and you have to reach down and pick the food up yourself?

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Life with a Geriatric Dog

Posted on October 18, 2011 | 18 comments

Good morning everyone!

Tyra on the couch

I watched Tyra last night as she was walking up the stairs from the back yard to the porch and realized, as I have realized other times over the last six months, that we are beginning life yet again with a geriatric dog.  It is an inevitable part of the life cycle of the special friendship that you acquire with a dog.  The last years with a geriatric dog have their own joys as well as their special sorrows but I still wouldn’t trade them for anything.  Part of owning a dog is that eventually the dog will die but the joy I get from being with the dog throughout its life far outweighs the sorrows. 

Shadow asleep on the bed when she was 15.

Tyra will be our third geriatric dog.  Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will probably remember that Shadow and J.P. Wooflesnort (Woof for short) were the other two. 

One of my favorite pictures of Woof as an older dog.

At our house, geriatric dogs get special services.  These include elevator service onto beds, couches and any other surface aged hips and paws can’t quite reach any more, (although when it is Mandy’s turn, there will be a lack of elevator service for counters on which she currently likes to graze!), first dibs on any table scraps or snacks that are handed out and help with maintaining the spot of primary dog in the house.  Tyra gets the special perk, because it is a special joy for her, of being taken for a ride periodically in the car while the other two dogs are left in their crates at the house.  The other two don’t mind so very much, but the look on Tyra’s face as she saunters out is priceless – it is very much an “I get to go and they don’t!” look. 

Tyra basking in the sun in the backyard.

Older dogs, at least the three we have had, mellow out a little bit.  Woof was seven years younger than Shadow.  Once Shadow was 12 and beginning to get quite deaf, Woof would often get quite excited about something that Shadow couldn’t hear, and go get Shadow to check it out; Shadow would investigate the situation and come back and tell Woof everything was okay and just to chill.

Shadow in her prime riding in a boat on the local lake

Older dogs do not lose their intelligence as they get older.  I can remember very close to the bitter end, once we knew that Shadow had kidney trouble, being told to feed her a special kind of dog food.  To break her into it, we were told to start by mixing her regular dog food with this (apparently much blander) wet dog food to encourage her to eat it.  Shadow would have nothing of that; we had about a week of her carefully picking out every dry piece of food she could find while shredding through and leaving all of the wet dog food she didn’t like. 

Woof, a few months before she died.

I would like to say that older dogs get sweeter as they age, but I haven’t really noticed that.  Shadow kept that hint of ginger in her temperament that endeared her to us.  She loved us, but had the gumption to get irritated with us if we broke her “rules” about things, like if we were playing with a dog toy and she felt that we weren’t letting her get it often enough, as well as the facial expressions to let us know it.  Woof stayed as sweet as ever.  In fact, I have to say that Woof was probably the most flexible geriatric dog I know of, since she adjusted well to Shadow’s death, Tyra’s adoption, Kayla’s adoption and Mandy’s adoption all in the space of about three years, although she did nearly have a nervous breakdown the time that Kayla, at age 5, pulled Woof into the bathtub with her in a moment when I wasn’t looking.  She never again let herself be alone in the bathroom with Kayla, that was certain!  Tyra’s temperament appears to be holding steady – sweet and sane. 

Tyra Waiting on the Sofa

For our household, Tyra has just arrived on the leading edge of geriatric status (Shadow died when she was 16 and Woof when she was 14) so hopefully, at age 10, Tyra has several years left to enjoy being queen of the household.  But she reminds me, as Tyra and Woof did each day as they aged, that each of our days together is a gift, and one I need to remember to appreciate. 

But then, isn’t that true of all of our relationships?

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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A Bassett Hound/Siberian Husky Mix

Posted on September 12, 2011 | 153 comments

Good morning everyone!

Mandy, Our Husky-Basset Hound Mix

This is Mandy, a cross between a Bassett Hound and a Siberian Husky.  She is, we believe, unique.  However, at least 17 times since I started this blog someone has found my blog through search engines with queries such as “Bassett Hound/Husky mix.”  Today’s post is for the unnamed people out there who are making such an unusual search.  I only ask one thing in return – please, please put me out of my misery and tell me why you are searching this term!  The suspense is killing me.

But I digress – We usually put the Bassett Hound first when we describe Mandy  because of the shape of her body, which is the distinctive low, looooooong, basset hound shape.

Mandy demonstrating her body length, ie., cruising counters looking for food

Her long body is set upon four very short legs, the front two of which are pigeon-toed.

Mandy sleeping with our old dog, Wooflesnort

Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of Mandy in what I call her “pageant pose” which is where she is standing up straight facing you head on, one pigeon-toed foot slightly in front of the other, but she is quite lady-like when she does that.

Mandy and Mark in the Morning

Her Siberian Husky heritage shows up in her coloring, and her fur.  She has the grey, white and black fur that some Siberian Huskies have.  She also has the softest fur of any dog I have ever petted.  Another Husky feature is her eyes:  she has one blue eye and one brown eye.  Kayla got the best picture of Mandy’s eyes we have so far.

Mandy's close-up

If you look very carefully at her brown eye, you will see that there is a small patch of blue on the left side of the eye.

We acquired Mandy from the Humane Society in a nearby city.  I have told this story in another post (See, The Day Mandy Came Home), but to make a long story short, I was sent with Kayla to get a labrador retriever or golden retriever mix, but Mandy was who I came home with.  She entered our family by way of leading me on three separate chases, with me wearing my Sunday best and heels, inlcuding one exciting chase across a crowded parking lot, before we ever got her home.

Mandy, shortly after we brought her home

She is sweet-tempered and harmless to everyone except possibly Darwin, her erstwhile partner in crime, when he tries to eat her food.  She is incredibly independent and stubborn.  I always attributed that to the Bassett Hound in her, until I learned yesterday that Siberian Huskies are stubborn and independent unless training starts with them at any early age, so she has a double dose.  She also possesses an almost indescribable joie de vivre, an irrepressible joy in just being alive and around us that keeps you smiling (unless you just discovered that she is chewing something important, like your new shoes).

Mandy laughing

Mandy was found by the Humane Society in a dumpster at McDonald’s, foraging for food, and because of that background, we have to keep a close watch on counters, food and trash cans at all times.  She and Darwin between them have scored raw pork chops, cooked steak, bread, ravioli and many other things off of counters and from trashcans.

Mandy and Darwin

She can run like a bat out of h  greased lightn very, very fast.  She escaped twice from our house before she decided she was going to stick with us as her new pack, and once she gets a full head of steam up, she is gone.  I have never seen a dog run so fast.  That speed comes from the Husky side, I guess.  I have never heard of Bassett Hounds doing a lot of running, but I may be wrong.

Mandy with Kayla's Flip-Flops ready to chew!

Because of her independent streak, she really doesn’t care too much what you think of her; therefore one of the nicknames that she has earned is “Bad Dog.”  If you catch Mandy chewing something and take it away and tell her “bad dog,” she looks at you steadily, as if to say, “That is an interesting point of view, but I’d rather have the handkerchief back, please.”

Mandy: Caught with a handkerchief

Those are some of the characteristics of our Bassett Hound/Husky mix.  Please, if you have one of your own, tell us about him or her.  I would be interested to know if there are any others out there and what they are like.  And for heaven’s sake, if you come across this post in response to a search you are making about Bassett Hound/Husky mixes, please leave a comment and let me know why you are interested!  My curiosity will be forever indebted to you.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Deer and Lizards

Posted on September 8, 2011 | 8 comments

Good morning everyone!

Darwin, the look-out

Darwin found his mind this morning, which was a relief.  There is some debate between the three of us as to whether he found it for a little bit last night, too, but the consensus vote (2 to 0, with Kayla abstaining) is that he was just tired.  What caused him to find his mind?  Two deer at the end of the court.

These are not our deer, but they look very similar! Our fawn was not spotted.

We let the dogs out every morning and let them back in once the barking gets to the point we can’t stand it any more.  Today they were particularly vocal, so Mark looked out the door while he was letting them in.  There was a small baby buck standing at the edge of the woods at the court that our house overlooks.  Of course, once the buck heard our dogs barking, he instantly froze, which only made them bark more.  We got the dogs in, and Mark and I watched from inside the house, while Kayla went outside to watch.  As soon as they were inside, he started to move, but he kept looking back at the water.  I wondered if another dog was barking somewhere, but the answer was much more natural than that – his mother came from the lake up to him, led him caty-corner across the court, and then took him back into the woods.  Now, how do I know that this caused Darwin to find his mind?  Ever since then, he has periodically stopped at the back door, looking out to see if he can still see the deer.  Ergo, Darwin’s mind has made at least a brief reappearance!  I am pleased to know the deer are still with us; these are the first we have seen for a couple of years from our house.

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

I went to pick Kayla up from dance yesterday (it was the first lesson of the year), and was greeted by a crowd of people leaving the studio.  Kayla’s friend, Rebecca, rushed up to me and said, “Your daughter caught a lizard and she still has it!”  I said hello to Rebecca and her mother, but ignored the lizard comment since I knew my daughter knew better than to try to bring a lizard home with her.

I was wrong.

She greeted me at the door of the studio with something wrapped in a small piece of paper and told me that she had caught a lizard and the dance teacher had told her she could keep it.  I told her there was no way a lizard was coming into the house, and made her let it go.  It was such a small lizard that at first I thought it was a cricket, but a baby black lizard it was.  She wasn’t too happy about it, but I told her that I didn’t “do” lizards, and only allowed certain mammals as a pet.  (Sorry, Stella!  I know you love your iguana Zorro.)

Kayla told me that the lizard was a mammal, but even she knew that wasn’t right.  I reminded her that it was a reptile.  She thought for a moment, then said, “Well, I’ll cover it in fur and then it will be a mammal!”  Between you and me, I think the lizard is better off in the wild.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

FN.  My friend, Stella DeLeuze, owns an iguana whom she has named Zorro.  She writes a blog which contains interesting writing tips as well as stories about her trials and tribulations with Zorro.  If you are interested, look up her site at http://wordsbystelladeleuze.blogspot.com

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Lost!

Posted on September 7, 2011 | 6 comments

Good morning everyone!

LOST:

Yes, today he is even crazier than he was in this picture!

The mind of one large, black Labrador Retriever/Great Dane mix named Darwin.  The mind was last seen functioning on Friday morning, September 2, immediately before he was dropped off at the kennel.  It was first noticed missing yesterday, September 6 after he was returned from the kennel.  The kennel does not have said mind, so we can only assume it was lost somewhere in transit. 

If you find Darwin’s mind, please return it immediately.  Doing so will greatly aid the survival of said Darwin, as he is mercilessly harassing both his sisters to play with him, running around the house like crazy, crashing into furniture as he tries to clear corners with paws and legs too big to give him good traction on the wooden floor, chewing everything he can get his mouth on, investigating counters for left-over food and just generally being a nuisance.  At this time, no reward is being offered as we are not sure of the size or effectiveness of said mind should it ever be recovered.

 Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Have a great day everyone!

 Nancy

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