A poem that bears repeating: Inner Peace

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can get going without pep pills,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

Then you are probably the family dog!

PALZwithPawz helping dogs and children too!

PALZ with Pawz rescue takes formerly abused canines and turns them into therapy dogs for children - how wonderful is that?

Read all about Jada Romans and her new dog, Murray.

Something I didn't know until learning about PALZ With Pawz is that most organizations who train therapy dogs do not provide them to children - and especially not to children under the age of 8. PALZ With Pawz is working to fill that need, so that children like Jada can benefit.

This Anti-Animal Judge Needs to be Disrobed!

Have you heard? Leona Helmsley willed her entire estate to animal rights groups.

Animal activists rejoiced when word came out that Helmsley's will specified that her multi-billion-dollar hotel and real estate empire should go entirely to dog-related charities.

But her trustees didn't agree, so in February, got a judge to rule that the trustees had sole authority to decide which charities benefit from her estate. As of this report, one million will go to dogs, while $135 million will go to non-dog charities that the trustees choose.

I hope someone with the know-how, the contacts, and the political clout to reverse this decision will become outraged enough to do so. Even if dog charities weren't the issue, I can't see how any judge can have the right to make a decision such as this.

No matter what Mrs. Helmsley had wanted to give her money to, it was her money and her right to dispose of any way she saw fit. I think the trustees who will no doubt get a good chunk of that money should have both a legal and a moral obligation to carry out her wishes. And I think the judge should be tossed off the bench for presuming to have a right to rule differently.

What do you think?

Does a judge have a right to tell trustees they don't have to follow the will?

Spring Fever, Pet-style

The critters here are all acting like goofs lately!

Trying to work some days is a trial, because the dogs suddenly start barking at nothing. But I don't know it's nothing, so I stop and run up the stairs to see if there's someone at the door. Usually there isn't - they've just seen a leaf blow by the window or something.

And at night - when they go outside and hear the coyotes singing, they really go ballistic. We've had more than one "discussion" lately about coming when called.

Tuesday, when the sun was shining, the dogs and I went out to the garden to work on cutting out the dead raspberry canes. All was well as long as I stayed outside, but when I got a thorn in my finger and headed in to find a tweezers, they decided to have some fun. My husband caught them digging for ground squirrels at the end of the meadow and told them to get home - and they did head that way. But after a good run a body needs to cool off - so they took a dip in the pond on their way.

We made them stay in the shop until they dried out.

Meanwhile, the big yellow cat, Tiger, has turned into a bully and a lunatic. When he isn't begging for more canned food he's tearing around the house, jumping up where he doesn't belong, then flying back to the floor only to jump up somewhere else he doesn't belong. When he tires of that, he tries to beat up on the old cat.

More than once in the past few days I've chased him all the way up the stairs, squirting him with the water bottle all the way.

The old cat, Nolla (pictured above), has remained her ornery self... insisting that she has a right to lay on my paperwork, the keyboard, or my lap whenever she chooses. When I say no, she resorts to claw sharpening on the carpet, so she's had a few squirts of water turned her way as well.

Now I'm looking forward to some spring weather, so we can all get outside and blow off some steam. Maybe then my 4-legged kids will get over their spring fever.

Sale at FetchDog.com - take advantage!

Feel like saving some money?

FetchDog.com is offering 15% off your next order in exchange for providing feedback on your recent purchase of a FetchDog product. It’s quick and easy – all you have to do is just complete a short on-line product review form.

Just click on the landing page of the product you recently purchased, scroll down and complete a simple review form. You will also see what other shoppers are saying about that product. FetchDog.com wants to hear what shoppers have to say about the products they purchase. Each product page has a review form and instructions on the lower portion of the product (landing) page. Look for “Have an opinion? Write a review.” Here's an example...

Meanwhile, they're also having a sale. Some of these prices are pretty fantastic, so if any of these things are on your "to buy" list, check this out!

Wheat Free Dog Treat was $10.00 now $6.00

Dog Harness 3/4" - (narrow) was $40.00 now $29.00

Dog Bed was $77.00 now $29.00

Small Dog Carrier was $118.00 now $34.00

Studio Dog Bed was $225.00 now $90

Programmable Dog Feeder was $85.00 now $59.00


Royal Coat Express Grooming was $24.00 now $12.00

Ultimate Coat Enhancer was $14.00 now $9.00

Dog Biscuits were $14.00 now $9.00

Marley and Me movie DVD was $29.99 now $16.99

Calming a Hyperactive Pup

You know about my neighbor's puppy, Freckles... She's 8 months old now and as hyper as ever... bouncing off everyone and driving my dogs nuts with wanting to jump on their heads, kiss them, chew their feet, etc.

Yesterday she came to visit out at the shop, and although she was tied to a post, she was being her wild self. Then one of the men got up and set her in the hammock. (Yes, my husband has a hammock in the shop - just in case he needs a nap.)

After moving around a bit too much and dumping herself out, she decided that was a scary place, so when she got set back in the hammock a second time, she didn't move. She whined a bit when my dogs went over to her person to be petted, but she didn't take any chances of falling out again.

I sent my neighbor home with a bottle of Feel5ive - the Bach Flower Essences blend that acts as a calmative. It's all natural - no narcotics and no side-effects - so safe to use. I'm hoping to hear that it was exactly what she needed to calm down and start paying attention.

Feel5ive is usually used for times of stress - for both humans and pets. We use it in animal rescue for critters who come in fearful, depressed, or angry. Humans benefit by taking it when they know they're going into a stressful situation - a visit to the dentist, a job interview, etc.

The reason I thought Feel5ive might help Freckles was a report I got from another friend. I had given him a bottle to use when he needed to take his dog riding in the car - because she always got upset about that. When his dog got over her fear, he still had half a bottle, so he passed it along to a friend of his with a hyperactive puppy.

The report that came back was "Relief!" The pup calmed down and the friend was able to enjoy her company instead of yelling at her.

Let's hope it gives Freckles the same benefit.

Transporting an injured dog

Something we don't want to think about - a dog being injured. But it does happen, to our dogs, and to dogs we find...

Here's a good article about transporting an injured dog to the vet without doing it any further damage: http://tinyurl.com/cesjgg