Call me the Dog Wrangler

Sadie caused quite a stir this afternoon - by getting out of the fence!

Just call me the Dog Wrangler, because Chester and Sadie went running around the neighborhood with me chasing after them. Luckily, many of my neighbors came out to help (and laugh).

I was visiting with a neighbor in her yard when the dogs suddenly streaked by - "Oh my god, those are my dogs!"

And I booked it to the house to get my car keys while screaming over my shoulder to ask her to keep an eye on where the canines go.

I raced down the street with several neighbors pointing me towards Sadie. I got to her just as she came nose-to-nose with a dog down the street that is NEVER on a leash or supervised (don't get me started!).

When I got out of my car, I took stock of the situation and saw that, so far, all was peaceful. I had a quick mental convo with myself - telling myself to leave my fear in the car and remain calm over the situation.

It worked too!

No dog fights!!!! Sadie came my way and got in the car like a good girl.

Sure, I was upset about the running away, but at the same time, I was thrilled there was no blood!

Um, then I remembered Chester. Thankfully, one of my neighbors was able to get him to go into my house while I was wrangling Sadie.

All ended well - and Sadie jumped straight in the pool to cool off after her adventure.

Camping catasrophe

I know this is Sadie's blog, but this entry is about poor Chester and the camping trip from Hades.

In an effort to "get away from it all," Kevin and I drove a couple of hours up to SE Nebraska to spend a weekend camping, hiking (Kevin), studying for finals (me), and relaxing.

It started off near idyllic, our only struggle coming from wet wood and a smokey fire. Our camp site was beautiful and secluded - a must for Sadie and her barking issues.

We had a tasty dinner of sausage and corn and snuggled with the dogs in the tent. Sadie was great throughout the night. She only barked a couple of times and we found out why in the morning, thanks to little raccoon footprints all over the picnic table.

Breakfast took awhile to get started, but was super tasty by the time we sat down to enjoy. Then, Kevin and Chester got themselves ready for their hike while I readied the hammock for my studying.



I was just getting into a great study groove, when I heard my name from across the clearing and turned to see Kevin and Chester returning after less than an hour.

"Hey, back already?"
"Come here."
"Ok. Is everything ok?"
"No. Come here."

Wow. Ok. I scrambled out of the hammock and booked it to the boys.

"What's wrong?"
"Look," he said, pointing to his shirt. His shirt that was covered in ticks! "They are all over us."

And they were. ALL. OVER. THEM.


We managed to wipe most of them off Kevin because he was pretty well covered by his clothes and they hadn't embedded themselves, but Chester was a different story.

DOZENS of them were embedded.

Somehow, we'd forgotten tweezers so Kevin went into town to buy a pair. Thanks to roadwork it took him more than two hours to drive the "17 miles" to Falls City! I got a lot of studying done during that time, at least.

Anyway, after Kevin finally returned, it took us hours to get them all out of poor C-Dawg. I tried to count them, but stopped at 53 - and I was only half way through the bottom of the bottle.

Chester handled the removal process as well as could be expected. His stress passed on to Sadie at times and she went a little nuts, but you do what you gotta do for those you love, right?

Needless to say, we were TICKED. Once we removed all of the parasites, we packed up the car and got the heck out of there.

Like cats and dogs...

Improvement ...

Well, Kevin finally convinced me to try a choke collar on Sadie.

We took her for a walk late last night, a new approach we're trying to lessen the distractions around her, and she jerked his arm pretty badly. While we were at the hardware store today he handed me a choke chain and said it cost less than $3 and was worth a try.

She figured it out within the first block and we had a pretty good walk tonight! One of my cats, Buddie, even tagged along. I took a couple of videos of our stroll - when we get to far away, Buddie hollers at us to wait up. It's the cutest thing!!

In Training ....

Sad thoughts

A friend of a friend lost their "puppy" this weekend and every time I think about it, I get teary.

Eddie is getting old and Sadie will one day (God-willing) and the thought of losing them breaks my heart. When I thought Eddie was gone, I was miserable. I was lonely and I missed hearing him follow me around the house. I even missed his need to sleep on my head in stormy weather! With Sadie, I will miss watching her act like a cat, watching her do yoga and miss her hugs.

My thoughts are with Kevin's friend as she copes with the loss of her four-legged friend, may she rest in peace.

Of a Sweater ...

Petsmart had a 50% off sale on sweaters and jackets. I wish I had bought more!

Smiles and Snows

Love and Loyalty

After a morning spent playing sled dog with Sadie and Chester, Kevin and I picked up coffee, donuts and a Sunday paper. Then, we settled in on the couch to get warm and read the latest in Kansas City.

Kevin stumbled upon the latest column by John Grogan in Parade magazine. Grogan wrote Marley and Me and always hits a soft spot in my heart because of Sadie's similarities to Marley.

This column was no different. By the end of it, even Kevin was crying.

Grab a box of tissues and read it here.

Happy "birthday" Sadie girl!

Yep, I have officially had Sadie a year now.

And our lives really have changed in the past year. We haven't had a back yard since last January, she has a boyfriend and a brother and she gets to play in the snow.

She really has calmed down a lot too from the poop-slinging pup I brought from the pound.

Of course, I write that as she disembowels a stuff frog in order to annihilate the squeaker ...

She started out as a foster dog, but I just can't imagine giving her up. Sure, there are days when I remember what life was like pre-Sadie. Cleaner, quieter and less chaotic. However, that life also didn't have nearly as much joy, companionship, or unconditional love.

To dew or not to dew

How many nails does your dog have on her front paws? Sadie and Eddie only have four, but Chester has five. Often, Sadie licks and moans at a red scar on either front paw. Tonight, I did a bit of research and found out why.

She is having phantom pains!

Apparently, most dogs are born with these front dew claws. Often, breeders will clip them off when the dog is only days old. Other times, if the dew claw is growing awkwardly or getting caught on things, the dog's owners will elect to have them removed.

That's what happened to Sadie. And, like most amputees, Sadie suffers from phantom pains!

There is an ongoing debate behind whether dew claw removal should be done ... and after seeing Sadie's pain, I would vote no. However, many say it is better to have them removed than for a dog to get the dew claw caught on something and it tear off (ouch!).

What is your take on this issue?

My Boxer

Sadie has taken to sleeping in the box of my summer clothes. It takes up a lot of space in the bedroom, but she's just so darn cute! And, thankfully, this is the first "dog" bed the cats haven't peed on - they like sleeping in it too!

Yo Quiero

Maybe she is part Chihuahua!!!

Sibling Rivalry

Sadie and White Kittie (yes, I know, not a very creative name) are not getting along. Just this morning, Kevin put the kids in my room and we were heading out the door when Sadie just started growling and barking and W. Kittie was hissing and growling in his own way. Kevin went up to break up the fight and saw that Kittie was in the litter box when Sadie came at him.

Kittie and Sadie have always had a funny sibling rivalry. Kittie will lay on my chest and then Sadie feels the need to lay there. Kitie will sit next to me, and Sadie feels the need to sit there. I pet Kittie, Sadie comes up forcing me to pet her.

I don't know what to do about this. Clearly, I need more space for everyone. A couple of weeks ago I found a wonderful house in a not-so-wonderful neighborhood. The house was perfect for my kids. The owner was even willing to put in a new fence just for Sadie! But, things being what they are, I had to say no because I can't afford it on my own.

Is it time to think about finding a home for someone? I am so attached to all of them - I just don't know what to do!

Greybrador?

Did you know that you can get a DNA test for your dog? It's true. The test will determine the breeds that can be found in your pup.

Of course, my fear that Sadie has Pitt Bull in her makes me not want to do this (not to mention, it is hardly free).

My roommate had a date last night with a guy who raises Labs. He says she isn't full-blooded Lab judging by the shape of her face. Fair enough. But what is she?

His vote?

Lab/Greyhound!

Now, we've thought this before. Besides her love of running (off), she just plain loves running. She has the Greyhound back end shape and her nose is a bit Greyhound-esque. Also, she rolls her ears back a lot - and that is what makes me think Pitt - but Greyhounds ear roll back, too! This also explains her skinny waist and her ability to lose weight so quickly!



Thoughts?

---

So, I was looking to find a photo of a Lab/Greyhound mix and found something else that looks pretty close to Miss Sadie: German Retriever/ Lab mix!



Thoughts?

I really wish Sadie wasn't so picky about the dogs with whom she will play.

This past weekend I spent two days helping a friend do some home design. I had to leave Sadie behind, even though my friend has an awesome, huge backyard - because she has a dog in that awesome huge backyard.

It truly bums me out that my dog can't socialize with others.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this problem (without losing a friend, their dog, or both)?

Conical is comical

Yay! Sadie is fixed!

Nothing was broken, of course. But now I don't have to worry about her running off and coming back with baby Sadies.

Sadie's big day

Sadie is getting fixed today - and not a moment too soon.

Her visitor came last Friday and has been an extra companion in my room this week (all together now, EWwwww!).

It turns out, there is a clinic a block away from my house that offers low-cost spays in Thursdays. So, I made the appointment last week, raced to Petsmart and bought her diapers.

As far as I understand it, she will have the visitor a few more days and then NEVER AGAIN!

Some have asked if she will calm down once she has the procedure, but I doubt it. From what I've read, males do chill out after getting neutered, but it doesn't often happen with females.

I'm a bit nervous about today, of course. When I took her to the clinic, they handed me paperwork asking if I wanted them to perform blood work to see if she could handle anesthesia. I turned it down because of the expense. She is young and was checked out by a doctor last week. Most low cost clinics skip that step so surely she will be fine. Right?

Here's praying!



Sadie, the day I brought her home from the kennel after her weekend jaunt. She was exhausted!

Sadie is ok!

She is healthy, happy and trapped in a kennel, poor thing.

Thanks to a wonderful system in the Kansas City area, I found Sadie at kcpetconnect.com!

Someone found her several blocks away and took her to their vet. The vet then posted her as found on KC Pet Connect.

Sadly, however, they were closed by the time I found out about them. They closed at 3 p.m. Saturday and I found her at 3:45. I raced over there anyway, hoping a staff member would still be there, but no one was. Except Sadie. I walked around the building and heard her barking like crazy and knocking the crate around (this has probably set our crate training back months!).

Anyway, they were also closed Sunday. So, she is still there. Luckily, I have been on the phone with them and while she is there, they are going to microchip her and vaccinate her. Yay!!!

They said she is pretty worked up - I bet. She must have gotten really lonely yesterday!

I'm so happy that she's ok!!!

And seriously, what lesson did I learn from Eddie?

MICROCHIPS WORK!!!