Black/White Sunday-Brut Intensity

It just makes us sick!

Brut wasn't happy about the news either.

Another site of animal cruelty that tug on our heartstrings as we watched the local news.  40-50 Husky mixes that may have been sled dogs at one time.  Malnourished, underweight, cover in their own feces with at least one young litter or two that were still nursing.  And it just breaks your heart over and over again.

This time though it really got to my husband and I as we watched.  We were still talking about it the next day, that's how bothersome it was for us.  Beautiful dogs being hurt and the fact that they may have been sled dogs pulled on us hard.  Sled dogs need to eat more, high protein and fat diets to maintain their weight they work off and being able to maintain their condition for living outdoors.  

We wanted to save them all.  Some.  Even one.  And it was another time we could do nothing but pray.  

I hope they pay for what they did to those dogs.

You can read about it HERE.

Mother and Son Shadow Plays

They need to be taken care of

 Oh, I can never get this just right!

I was brushing my cat Boxer, which I don't enough because he gets too excited and claws my lap, but I needed a distraction from the leg pain I was having.  Later putting everyone to bed that night the thought struck me:  Pets are designed to be taken care of.  Boxer can surely take care of his grooming necessities, but that extra care of me brushing him helps take care of himself even better.  Since he has a nervous habit of excess licking sometimes, when I give him some TLC it helps in ridding of excess hair, stimulates his oil glands and slows the excessive licking.  The comfort of the brushing massage helped calm Boxer down and the purrs of heat he generated calmed me as well and helped with my leg pain.  

And this is just one example.

Domesticated animals are created with a need for humans, but that is not always the other way around.  If thrown in the wild to care for themselves, how many of them would make it?  More times than not they are hard wired to be with humans.  And this is the thought that struck me:  Pets don't grow up and become more and more independent.  They don't eventually learn how to do things for themselves and leave home to start their own lives.  Pets are dependent on us humans to help them with their needs.  I believe it is in their genetic makeup to be drawn to humans for the care they need.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but I believe that would be at the hands of hurtful humans where their spirits have been broken and may never return.  I once had a discussion with someone who thought if she let her dogs loose, they would gladly return to the wild without a look back.  And I disagree with that.  I argued that even if they didn't come back to her, they would still seek out humans for help.

What do you think?  Would your dog gladly leave to return to their roots or would they find someone to help them get home?  Do you think that pets have the genetic makeup to be cared for and seek us out or not? 

      Send them all loose!  Let's see how long they last!!

Why Brut didn't make the cut for the Iditarod

There's a reason Brut pulls firewood and helps me haul it in on the sled.  

Because on the road, Brut + Sled = Brut's the boss.

(Watch on  YouTube)

Guess we'll have to try out again next year!!

BOL!

*BTW-that was the first time Brut has ever done that with the horses.  He saw his chance and took it!  

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Where are they?  Don't they know it's past dinner time?

We were on our way home from an out of town appointment that's close to about four hours round trip not including the office visit.  About an hour from home, I start to worry a bit about the dogs.  Hoping they are OK, knowing it is past dinner time and I start to get excited about seeing them again.  It's then that I start thinking, I don't know if I could ever do an overnight trip without the 24 Paws, because about an hour before getting home or by the fifth hour we're away I start worrying and thinking about how much I can't wait to see them.  Sure I can't wait to take a break and get away, I've even dreamed of taking vacations, but really I can't stay away from the dogs for too long.  They are my sanity, security and comfort that I start to long for when we do leave for short day trips.

Not to mention the wonderful woo-woo greetings we get and how happy we are to see each other.  How do people live without that?  Or how about the dog owners that completely ignore that enthusiastic welcome?  It is too precious and sweet not to rejoice in reuniting with each other.  I don't even get up from my chair or leave the computer when hubby comes home after a long day of work.  I should be so passionate in my hello to him like the dogs are.  :)

Your home!  Your home!  Your finally home!

It had been a long day for everyone so I took a little special time with each dog to tell them how much I loved them.  Belly rubs, hugs, scritches, kisses to thank them for being the great healers they are for my body, soul and mind as I got them ready for bed.  And my day was complete.  Couldn't ask for better.  It was just great to be home.  Home with the 24 Paws of Love.

Does anyone else feel like this?
  

Self teaching dogs?

Now just do as I tell you Zappa!

So do you have dogs that do this?  Fiona and Zappa are the only two that have figured out how to practice their own training AND get extra treats.  

So lets say Fiona goes over to the door to bark at Blaze from behind the door, I catch her and tell her "leave it," she turns, gives me eye contact and walks away from door towards me.  Click and a treat.  Then she turns around and goes back to the door, so that I have to tell her "leave it" again.  And we run through the same scenario   This also happens when there is food I want her to leave alone. 

 Shhh...just play innocent!

And I don't know if Zappa figured it out before Fiona or learned from watching Fiona, but he will do the exact same thing.  And they are the only two that do that.  When I have treats out, the rest of the dogs won't walk away to get another one, they sit right there without moving.  Now who's the smarter ones out the two groups?  :)     

It's comical and frustrating at the same time.  Because here I am after one "leave it" and having success, I look up and Fiona or Zappa is going back for more.  Guess I'd better work on my focus and getting their attention for a little longer.  BOL!  Yes, they are always teaching me and keeping me on my toes.  And I love them for that!

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On another note:

I'm starting to get bummed.  This was our third weekend of no dog sledding.  Just when we were starting to get in the groove!  The roads are too icy and I know March weather makes it ify to sled with all the freezing and thawing, I was just hoping with the snow and the cold it would hold off just a little longer.

So we took extra walks this weekend to make up for it.  I can tell Silver's back legs are starting to get a little stiff from not being able to sled.  But all hope is not lost, we live in Michigan and as we say "Don't like the weather?  Wait 5 minutes and it will change."

I hope we can get out just one more time...

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And on the cat blog we're asking...

How does your cat handle going to the vet?

go HERE to read and comment

Grumpy's Story

Look at that "Grumpy" face!

A year ago on this date we got a call from a girl who owns one of our puppies to tell us Grumpy was in her care.  She wanted to give him back to us, as he had been "surrender" by both his owners.  Grumpy was the 6th born in Brut and Silver's litter.  This was the post I had written that day after the call.


Every night when I watch the news,  I am always keep an ear open for our “lost” puppies.  The ones we lost contact with after the first year.  The new owners were young and have went out of their ways to avoid us.  Even with a signed contract.  Every so often I check out the local Humane Society by chance that they may have ended up there. 

One puppy that we called Grumpy we haven’t seen since he was 6 months old.  We have pick up pieces of info through the last four years and heard how he has been shuffled from place to place.  We were always just out of reach of being able to connect with him.   

We got a call today from a girl who has one of our pups to tell me that Grumpy was in her care.  The original owner had ditch him, the girlfriend couldn't keep him and was ready to take Grumpy to the pound.  That’s when this girl called us.  For now Grumpy is in her care and is doing OK.  We are going to see him tomorrow and figure out what to do.

I've been in tears of relief and sorrow.  We have never given up on seeing him again, but not under these circumstances.  

I've made many mistakes with this entire breeding thing, one of the biggest was not understanding socializing.  You can label me anything you want, but one thing I always done long before conception was love every single one of those ten puppies.  And with love comes a responsibility that I never took lightly or for granted.  And even though I messed up, I have never questioned or backed out of my responsibility to every puppy in that litter.  And while because of my screw ups, we are in a position that is difficult to say the least and I don’t know exactly what we are going to do, but Grumpy is not going to the pound. 

So I’m asking for your prayers and the power of the paw to helps us find Grumpy a good home.  Whether it be with us or some wonderful person who will love him forever.

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We went to see him the next day, not at the girl's house as originally planned, but at the owner's house.  

It took some time for him to remember us.  Slowly the pieces were coming together for him.  Touching Grumpy was like something out of dream.  My heart wanted to squeeze him in a big hug, but my hand just barely stroked his fur.  Three and a half years of never knowing, not seeing, I was afraid to breathe.

At one point we were sitting on the floor together, Grumpy and I, as I lightly petted his back, he turned and gave me a kiss and our eyes met.  I just melted.  My Grumpy was OK.

My husband just laid on the floor with him as they gazed into each other's eyes.

During our talk with the owner, we found out he had been shot within an inch of his life the previous fall.  Literally.  The bullet went in an inch from his heart and came out an inch from his jugular.  He was being watched over or we would have never seen him and the beautiful dog he became.

We made plans to pick him up that Saturday.

I was falling apart every which way when we left.  We were both so elated to just see him.  Now came the tough part of bringing him home.  We had some things to do before that which is why we planned on Saturday.

Saturday came and the entire town was shut down due to a freak snowstorm.  A couple feet under heavy, wet snow.  We were without power.  Everything was closed.  Something I've never heard or seen of and we have had our share of heavy storms.  Mother Nature was giving us a sign, we just didn't know what is was yet.

My heart was broken and relieved.  We still had some time to prepare.  We would find a way, some way any way to make this work.  We called.  Left messages.  Sent texts.  No answer.  No response.  Nothing.  With no contact, we didn't chance stopping at the house.  Everything was up in the air and left there until October of last year when we made a stop to talk to the girl who called us in the first place.  After Angel died we wanted to get in touch with the other puppies just to touch base.  That's when she told us that the owner had Grumpy put down.

And just like that it was all over. Grumpy was gone.  Our sweet little boy was gone...

He did father two litters, so there are little Grumpys out there somewhere, but the boy we knew as Grumpy was still gone.

We are both so grateful that  we were able to see him that one time and for what ever happened in the cosmos to make it happen, we did get to see our beautiful boy as an adult before he was called home.  And nothing can take that connection away.  It is treasured deep in our hearts for the love of a puppy named Grumpy.

    Rest in Peace my Sweet Grumpy