Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[savingdogs]

There have been some we never could give away, Farmfresh. I do own five dogs. The hardest one was the one that belonged to my daughter, she lived here two years and she was our "granddaughter" dog for three years prior to that, but I've already told the story of Moxie.

Moxie is so funny, when she sees anyone from her "old" family (us) she is afraid we are keeping her and won't leave her new dad's lap. We always pretend to be hurt, but we love her dad, so it is really very much okay.

 

[sunsaver]

 

[savingdogs]

Ellie and Hanna are leaving on the 11th, and it looks like that will be the same day we get our newest foster. He is currently in a shelter in Salt Lake City and some folks there are going to pull him out and put him on a plane here. They don't have any foster homes open or any homes for his type, but we do (I'm the foster home). He is what you call a "ridgeless" ridgeback and since he was a stray, we are just going by eyesight that he is a real ridgeback.

But he is. Even though the ridge is the defining trait for ridgebacks, about 20 percent do not have them. It actually shows he had a merciful breeder somewhere, some breeders actually euthanize the ridgeless ones.

But they are the same dog, same temperament, same beauty, but they don't have the cool ridge, so it is kind of not cool. This dog is lucky we are recognizing it is a ridgeback. But in this ones case it is really obvious. He is a very typical looking one. He is even fat, which is typical of this breed, and he is the color we call "liver" so we have been referring to him as the "fat liver".....poor guy. I think the shelter finally named him Charlie so we will see how he likes that name. But they are holding him until we can get the flight arranged so that is great. Utah is known to be great with their dog rescue efforts, they are the shining example (along with San Francisco) of how shelters should be run. There is a group there called Best Friends that all the other rescues admire and emulate and they also have a program started there called No More Homeless Pets that I've been a big part of for many years. They give grants to groups (rescue and animal control) who work together, because very often the two groups do not like one another and promoting harmony between the two saves the lives of dogs and cats.

 

[savingdogs]

Well the lilacs are in bloom and I woke up today to the smell as I picked a vase of these lovely white ones and put them in the window last night. We have a hot summery day predicted today! Yay!

And we get our new foster dog this afternoon...HENRY is his name, not Charlie. He will be going from one volunteer to another (three people doing a "leg") and we will be the fourth rescue people he meets today, poor guy. And then coming to a house with seven dogs!

Obviously, we do not introduce all the dogs at once. Or perhaps that is not obvious. If you are introducing large groups of dogs, you never just throw a new one into the mix. I rarely have all the dogs even in the same room indoors. I introduce new dogs to our top dog first, and top dog of the same sex. I currently have almost all female dogs here (four of my five are female) so Henry will have to meet and greet my male dog Raider first. Raider is an old hand at this and a very easy dog to meet. He is always nice unless another dog is mean to HIM and then he will fight them just until they submit and nothing more. But he rarely fights. He just gives a LOOK. But if you introduce them in the right order nobody fights. And you never feed them in a group until they know each other well, that comes later.

The girl ridgebacks will probably LOVE him so I'm not concerned about that. Ridgebacks are breed snobs and like one another. So that only leaves my older border collie (who mostly stays in my son's room anyway) and the bear dog Bandit, and she likes everybody too and is not dominant unless someone tries to hurt me.

So tonight we will probably just leave him in a room with us and the other dogs crated so he can relax until tomorrow, I think all these changes in one day will be enough for the poor guy. It will probably seem really cold here to him after living in Salt Lake City. But it should be an interesting day.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

it SHOULD be an interesting day! but i'd still call him Fat Liver b/c that cracks me up!

hee hee hee hee

good luck today! i know that Henry is the luckiest dog today and you'll love him up and find a good spot for him.

 

[sunsaver]

I love border collies. Super smart dogs. good luck with all the introductions.

 

[savingdogs]

He was too FAT to fit on the plane!

Actually the plane was too small for a large dog. He will be coming a different day now.....the pilot could not fit him next to her. She said he would have interfered with the controls!

So I'm not sure now when he is coming but they are lining up another pilot.

But it is kinda funny he was too big to fit.

 

[savingdogs]

Posting with a bright outlook today. We have had some nice spring weather (though it is currently raining) and I got a lot of things done and have been feeling really well for me. I know that I usually DO have a good June and July, they are typically good months for me until something blooms in August. But I can also hear at a decent level currently (for me) and that always cheers me up.

My friend Kitty came yesterday bearing more friends and welcome gifts. They seemed to have tons of food they "couldn't use" including quite a few very nice type of things we have not been able to afford (like fresh bagels and cream cheese which made my yummy breakfast). It was so nice to see friends and they are the type who love animals so my crew of baby animals especially were a big hit.

My other friend who came with "Kitty" is a fellow Meniere's disease patient so we share a bond. She is not as sick however, more at the initial stages. She is extremely interesting and has an interest in vintage clothing and running and has an autistic young adult high-functioning daughter. The daughter also came with her, she is very quiet but had never seen goats being milked and such. We went on a goat hike and she trained Emilee how to walk on a lead for me. Both did great!

Kitty has a 3-year-old daughter who is just a little beauty and what a smile! She has a question-a-minute and couldn't WAIT to show everyone the animals (this was her SECOND visit, so she knew where the rabbit cages live and such). I'd say the only damper on the visit is that the brush is geting high and the nettles are harder to avoid.

I had a totally homemade pizza ready (with goat cheese of course) and the weather cooperated and we had a sunny but not hot day. I worked on the yards quite a bit over the last week since I've been feeling better and the weather has been nice, so a lot of the spring cleanup projects are much further along. We had a huge pile of junk Hubby has brought home to recycle and I .....rearranged it into the fence for the garden and now I've erected a potting bench as well using two old ladders like I saw in Sunset magazine and re-arranged a bunch of junk around that, it actually covers up an ugly staircase. If I'd known it would come out so well, I'd have taken before and after pictures. But I have a potting area now and the junk pile is considerably smaller. Whoda thunk it.

I've decided with these friends who enjoy visiting (they both want to come back) I had better get my campfire area fixed up. When we initially bought this house, it has a beautiful little garden tucked away right at the front gate, with a fire pit. I fell in love with it and wanted to have a party there the minute I saw this house. We never actually have had a party or a fire there however. Over the three years we have been here, I have been so ill or working so hard, I haven't done a THING in that area and the weeds now totally have taken over, they are all two feet high and fill this spot. Rather sad.

But, I know the bones are there and I think I'll reclaim it while the weather isn't too hot and the soil too hard. I think most of the weeds are poison to goats and they did not eat anything in there when I tried taking them over there. Later when I was looking up poison plants I was glad my goats are so smart (although they eat azaleas!). So I think that will be my next project after getting the veggie garden done, weeding that by hand.

The heat spike RUINED my muscovy egg incubation....the room is too hot during the day and cold at night and I couldn't keep it regulated. About the 10th time it was 3 degrees off I decided it was a waste of electricity. And now of course the ducks are not laying again. I must say that breeding muscovy has proven more challenging than I thought and I wish I knew how to get them to lay better and set better.

The heat has really helped the garden however and clearing up the mud. Yay! And we have a prediction of dry and highs in the 70s for the next week, I will fall over on the floor if that actually happens but it is a nice thought.!

 

[sunsaver]

Im glad to hear that you are hearing feeling better. Ive been feeling better too, and even though it's very hot, my garden is also doing well.

 

[JRmom]

One of my favorite clients is on vacation in your neck of the woods, this week and next. Compared to our hot, dry and smokey weather, he is enjoying the change of climate, and I'm enjoying the photos he sending me.

Do you ever have any problems having so many bitches together? The one time I had 2 females, we had to rehome one because of the vicious fighting (and I do mean vicious... to the point that the younger dog was trying to kill my older dog). I have a male and a female now and of course, Dixie is top dog. Poor Buster... he's such an old soul and so kind, I feel sorry for him sometimes, but he is perfectly happy with the pecking order.

Hope you post pix of Henry (Fat Liver, love that too!). An online friend from the U.K. has 2 Ridgebacks. They are so beautiful, but I guess they need an experienced owner from everything I've heard about the breed.