Thursday, November 5, 2009

Fishin' Dogs



We have a babbling brook in the back yard that empties into our pond. The trout are going up the creek into the shallows, and Cody saw one the other day. Now he's spending HOURS at a time standing in the shallows waiting and watching the fish. He actually caught and crunched down one of our 2 koi - in the cold weather they get very sluggish. He hasn't caught a trout yet, they are a bit cannier. It doesn't daunt him one bit - he is going to catch one!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A RESCUERS ANSWERING MACHINE:

Hello: You have reached ___-____, Tender Hearts Rescue. Due to the
high volume of calls we have been receiving, please listen closely to
the following options and choose the one that best describes you or
your situation:

Press 1 if you have a 10-year-old dog and your 15-year-old son has
suddenly become allergic and you need to find the dog a new home
right away.

Press 2 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your
150 pound, 8-year-old dog.

Press 3 if you have three dogs, had a baby and want to get rid of
your dogs because you are the only person in the world to have a
baby and dogs at the same time.

Press 4 if you just got a brand new puppy and your old dog is having
problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.

Press 5 if your little puppy has grown up and is no longer small and
cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.

Press 6 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home TODAY
and pick up the dog you no longer want.

Press 7 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the
last three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not your
dog.

Press 8 if your dog is sick and needs a vet but you need the money
for your vacation.

Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute puppy who is not
active and is going to outlive you.

Press 10 if your relative has died and you don't want to care for
their elderly dog because it doesn't fit your lifestyle.

Press 14 if you are calling at 6 a.m. to make sure you wake me up
before I have to go to work so you can drop a dog off on your way
to work.

Press 15 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know
you have left a dog in our yard in the middle of January, which is
in fact, better than just leaving the dog with no message.

Press 16 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to
take your dog that you have had for fifteen years, because it is
not our responsibility.

Press 17 if you are going to threaten to take your ten year old dog
to be euthanized because I won't take it.

Press 18 if you're going to get angry because the volunteers had the
audacity to go on vacation and leave the dogs in care of a trusted
volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.

Press 19 if you want one of our PERFECTLY trained, housebroken, kid
and cat friendly purebred dogs that we have an abundance of.

Press 20 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight
aggression problem, i.e. has only bitten a few people and killed your
neighbor's cats.

Press 21 if you have already called once and been told we don't take
personal surrenders but thought you would get a different person this
time with a different answer.

Press 22 if you want us to use space that would go to a stray to
board your personal dog while you are on vacation, free of charge,
of course.

Press 23 if it is Christmas Eve or Easter morning and you want me to
deliver an eight week old puppy to your house by 6:30 am before
your kids wake up.

Press 24 if you have bought your children a duckling, chick or baby
bunny for Easter and it is now Christmas and no longer cute.

Press 25 if you want us to take your female dog who has already had
ten litters, but we can't spay her because she is pregnant again and
it is against your religion.

Press 26 if you're lying to make one of our younger volunteers feel
bad and take your personal pet off your hands.

Press 27 if your cat is biting and not using the litter box because
it is declawed, but you are not willing to accept the responsibility
that the cat's behavior is altered because of your nice furniture.

Press 28 if your two year old male dog is marking all over your house
but you just haven't gotten around to having him neutered.

Press 29 if you previously had an outdoor only dog and are calling
because she is suddenly pregnant.

Press 30 if you have done "everything" to housebreak your dog and
have had no success but you don't want to crate the dog because it
is cruel.

Press 31 if you didn't listen to the message asking for an evening
phone number and you left your work number when all volunteers are
also working and you are angry because no one called you back.

Press 32 if you need a puppy immediately and cannot wait because
today is your daughter's birthday and you forgot when she was born.

Press 33 if your dog's coat doesn't match your new furniture and you
need a different color or breed.

Press 34 if your new love doesn't like your dog and you are too
stupid to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next
month anyway) instead of the dog.

Press 35 if you went through all these 'options' and didn't hear
enough. This press will connect you to the sounds of tears being
shed by one of our volunteers who is holding a discarded old dog
while the vet mercifully frees him from the grief of missing his
family.

Last of the October Grads



Although Boomer and Delilah weren't the only grads, they did sit still for their photo! Moe the GSD & Tatum the min pin also graduated but were a little wiggly for the photo!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Halloween Puppy Graduates

Congratulations to the latest and greatest puppy class on their graduation! This was a large class - 2 Dane puppies (Atlas and Halo), 3 Boxers (Dierks, Angelina, and Guinness), & a Cane Corso (Diego). To balance out all those large and giant breeds we also had a Pembroke Welsh Corgi (Wynne), & a chihuahua (Fancy Kalhua). What a FUN group and we'll see you all in upcoming Intermediate classes!



Apologies to those whose puppies were too wiggly for my slow cel camera!

Monday, October 26, 2009

lil' punkinhead

Ok - Got a new toy for the boys the other day, and sometimes they are so dang cute you can't help but love 'em. Here's Turbo, fetching the donut back to me!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

October Grads





Congratulations to Mattie the deaf Boxer, Oliver the mini-daschund, Cooper the lab, Jump Shot the Boxton, Willow the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and Belle the Standard Poodle! Great job everyone, see you in Intermediate!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

What is "Natural Flavor"?

You know me, I'm like a dog with a bone. I got to wondering, "What is Natural Flavor"? I heard a nutritionist on tv saying in human food it was usually MSG. That got me asking our pet food reps if they knew. Nooooo, so I finally googled my question and I found a great Pet Food Ingredient Dictionary. Now, I share. The answer? I'm still not sure I like the answer, but I feel better knowing. You can read about Natural Flavor and all other pet food ingredients (listed in alphabetical order)
Dictionary of Pet Food Ingredients