Strange Bedfellows

Yes, yes, this is a re-run (and it's not even Summer yet ;-) But I wanted to play fair for those
gathering sticks.......


Those of you with more than one hound are probably used to seeing scenes such as these:

Pepsi still swears that they are NOT friends ;-)

But last month Hero decided that Will was also part of his pack, thus fair game for the customary "dog pile" napping position. Will obviously does not mind.

But as they say: "turnabout is fair play".

Speaking of strange bedfellows:

Virginia 2007

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Ok, I can tell I have probably lost some of you.

Well, it all started with our friends over at Life with Dogs

http://lifewithdogs.blogspot.com/2009/03/best-served-cold.html

And like all great ideas, it took on a life of it's own:

http://misterstick.blogspot.com/

My theory- wherever dogs are being harmed Mr. Stick has probably had a hand in it-(well ok, he doesn't actually have hands), but he has been involved in some way.

And that includes the Michael Vick dog fighting ring.

So keep an eye out for Mr. Stick where ever he may be lurking.

I can hear Jeff Foxworthy now....

If your two year old's favorite toy is a plastic shopping bag- you might be a redneck

If your two year old has a higher prey drive than your greyhound- you might be a redneck

Perhaps Hero would have won more races if they had the "lure" chase him. :-)

Round 2

For those of you who have missed the background story, I will try to relay it as briefly and succinctly as possible (for me).

We adopted Pepsi, our beagle /Jack Russell mix, when she was about 8 weeks old. When she was approximately thirteen weeks of age, my daughter Alaina (who was 9 at the time), was walking her (on a leash), when a neighbor's Shepherd mix got loose, ran across the street, and attacked Pepsi - injuring her badly enough to require surgery. The day before the stitches were due to come out,we finally gave Alaina the all clear to take her for a SHORT walk- (say down to the corner and back), when the SAME dog got loose and attacked Pepsi again. (the result of the second attack was only a few torn exterior stitches).

Now, Alaina was not harmed in either attack, and the neighbor did pay all the vet bills. (We reported the attacks to animal control anyway, because while no action was ever taken, we thought that they should at least have the attacks on record). The offending neighbors (and their dog) moved away soon after. The problem is that both Alaina and Pepsi were permanently "scarred" by the attacks. Alaina has been much better at overcoming her fear of other dogs than Pepsi. Whom we have spent untold time and money trying to rehabilitate- to no avail.

So why this rehashing of ancient history?

Today, Alaina (now 14) was out walking Hero, when another neighbor's dog, a boxer this time, charged right through their electric "fence" and attacked Hero. Once again, Alaina was not harmed, and to be truthful I think it was a more even fight this time (Hero was not muzzled) and he seems to have come away with only one small tooth mark (it hardly bled at all- and seems more like a scrape/bruise- than a puncture) on his chest near his front leg. We will be watching it carefully for infection/ additional tearing, but it seems fine. The owner did come out to pull the dog away and apologise, (and to make sure that everyone was "O.K.")-, NO actually, it is NOT OK!!

Alaina spent most of the afternoon in tears. More trauma- more drama.

I don't even know how to end this post.

Why does this keep happening? Is this corner of Virginia especially backwards when it comes to it's canines or does this sort of thing really happen everywhere? How do I keep Alaina from being permanently traumatized? Should I really never let her walk her dogs again?

How do I keep Hero from being traumatized and ending up as psychotic and anti-social as the rest of these dogs (my beautiful Pepsi included)? How long can my luck hold out before one of these Cujos actually attacks Alaina? I am sure one or more of you kind and wise bloggers, have some sage advice for me.....(help)

Putting the "P" in Petco.

Did you all get your 10% off coupons from Petco in the mail?

Well I did, and being that we needed filters for the aquarium's pump, and fish oil for the dogs, I figured there is no time like the present.

So after a good 20 minute romp in the backyard, off to Petco we go- Alaina (my 14 year old/ easily embarrassed daughter), Will (the 2 year old), Hero and I. (A motley crew to be sure). Now, I have taken Hero to Petco a couple times before, and he did lift his leg on a display (once) so I requested for Alaina to walk him around outside first. He watered one tree, and simply sniffed another, thus she decided that he was "done" and brought him inside. Now I DID ask her if she wanted responsibility for Hero or for Will, but she decided walking around Petco with a cool looking greyhound was better than chasing a hyperactive 2 year old- normally a safe bet---but not this time.

She caught up with me, and whispered "Hero just peed a huge puddle in one of the aisles".- Being that I believe in teaching my children to take responsibility and never to just walk away from a problem- I told her- "there are towels and cleaning spray at the end of some of the aisles- go clean it up!" Dutifully, she grabbed a handful of paper towels and returned to the scene of the crime. Now I have to admit, the next part I am reporting from her point of view because I was busy trying to keep Will from grabbing fish out of the fish tanks with his bare hands.

Alaina claims that she was pushing the paper towels around with her shoe (which happened to be very muddy from our romp outside)- thus just sort of smearing mud and pee all over the aisle. When a family came in the door and said something to the effect of "That's a big dog- and OH MY GOSH that's a lot of PEE!" This called sufficient attention to that aisle that 2 Petco workers came to her and said-"the mop will be here soon." To which my honor student daughter replies-"UHHH"- but continues to push the paper towels with her foot. So, they tried again, saying- "you don't have to do that, you know- the mop will be here soon". She finally decided to walk off, and ducked into the dog toy aisle at which time Hero felt it was time to make another puddle. I told her, "it's obviously time to take Hero out of the store". As she was heading for the door, another Petco worker stopped to admire Hero, and say what "a cool dog" he was. Alaina later commented that she was afraid Hero was going to pee on his leg- in which case she would have to throw paper towels at his legs, and tell him "Don't worry, the mop will be here soon".

No, we were not banned forever from the store, They do not even have our pictures posted on their wall of shame. But I don't think Hero is ready for indoor "Meet and Greets" yet.

And the next time Alaina mentions that she is "bored" I am definitely going to offer her a trip to Petco.