A HUGE thank you goes out to Cynthia Blue of www.tiptail.com for helping me set up my new blog local! Her help is sooo greatly appreciated and I couldn’t have done it with out her. I have even installed the fancy email comment responder that I so desperately wanted so I can respond to comments left on my blog. Thanks Cynthia!!!!

This is the last move I will be making – I promise. I purchased my very own domain name so bookmark me here at www.itsthedogslife.com. I cant wait to see what the new software can do!

Enjoy!

Yesterday I met my friend for lunch and ran a few errands before returning home. I chose an off the wall route to get home, one I had never tried before. I stopped for gas and continued on to my road. I live on a state route and it can be quite busy at times with cars and trucks whizzing by well over the speed limit.

I get no more than 2 miles away from my house and I see a little black lab darting out into the road. The truck coming the opposite direction slams on his brakes to avoid him and he darts back off the road, the truck moves on. Then a second vehicle, same story. I then have to do the same as the terrified little guy darts back out in front of me. I roll down my window and ask the man that is replacing his mailbox if the dog is his. He says no, it just got dropped off. WTF!!!!

I pull the car over and get out. I ask the guy if he is serious and he tells me not more than 3 minutes before a man in a truck slows down, opens the door and tosses the black lab out. He then proceeds to speed off and leave him there before the mailbox guy could get the license plate number. At this point I see RED! I cant believe someone would be so callous and cruel… not to mention STUPID! He dumped the dog in the middle of the day, in front of someone on a busy road!

At that point I decide I am going to catch the dog before he gets hit and killed. We chase him down and i get down on his level and sweet talk him over to me. He gussys up to to me and sniffs me and immediately rolls on his back for a belly rub. He is just too sweet. The mailbox guy hands me a leash and I put him in my car and took him home. I had no idea what I was going to do with him because he was un-neutered. I introduced him to Hera to temperament test him and they were best of friends with in 30 seconds. He was good with my son and just adored him. At that point…

I took him to the dog shelter, told them what I had seen and had them scan him for a microchip (hoping we’d find out who dumped him) – which of course he didn’t have. I left him at the pound which made me so sad. But the Franklin County Shelter will give him his best chance at being adopted. They are VERY lab friendly and he will have as much time as he needs to be adopted with such a great temperament. When I left him, I told them when his medicals were done and he was neutered I would foster him for them. Now I just wait for a call… but he is a fab dog and should have no trouble finding a home there.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their friends and family (both skin and fur). I had a very nice day. I missed the dogs when I was at the in laws, they aren’t allowed to go over there. I cant fit all of them in the car with me either. The boys received some wonderful Secret Santa gifts from our SS exchange on Ruffdogs. They are just so spoiled! They Love toys. The weather has been so nice for the last few days too. We were able to go out in the yard and play for a long time. I cant remember any Christmas since I have been in Ohio, where the sky has been crystal blue and cloudless.

I had planned on getting them new beds for xmas, but didnt find any I liked (at the last minute) so they just got a few toys and treats. I think I am going to take B and R to Petsmart today to look.

They have done so well with the Christmas tree this year too! No tail/ornament incidents! I had decided to add in a few ornaments this year in addition to the bows – just to try them out. No glass, just a few plastic ornaments with silver glitter and a few round paper mache globes. The tree looks alot better than in years past and they weren’t even interested in it. Brutus and Rufus laid next to it and stared at the lights – they are so sweet.

The dogs played in the house today… it was like a freight train running through. B and R usually are very docile in the house, but tonight they wanted to play.

Check out the Jowls (Rufus)

Brutus

The boys

Hera

Apollo

Yesterday was my birthday.  I can’t belive how time marches on and I am now almost 40.  It is sickening if you really think about it.  Well, hubby treated me to a wonderful gift.. A new camera and guess who were my first subjects!  You guessed it… the dogs.  I am quite pleased with the quality of the shots, inside and late at night. We have a really dark house, the walls are log and stained dark.  The pix seem a little dark to me, but I just have to play around with the camera.  I cant wait to try it outside, in the sunlight tomorrow.  It makes me sad that B and R and Apollo’s 4th birthdays are next month.  Our time with them is so short in the grand scheme of things.  I try to live each day I have with them to the fullest.

Dog tags ring, are you listenin’?
In the lane, snow is glistenin’.
It’s yellow, NOT white I’ve been there tonight,
Marking up my winter wonderland.

Smell that tree? That’s my fragrance.
It’s a sign for wandering vagrants;
“Avoid where I pee, it’s MY pro-per-ty!
Marked up as my winter wonderland.”

In the meadow dad will build a snowman,
Following the classical design.
Then I’ll lift my leg and let it go Man,
So all the world will know that it’s mine-mine-mine!

Straight from me to the fence post,
Flows my natural incense boast;
“Stay off my TURF, this small piece of earth,
I marked it as my winter wonderland.”

Vicki from Ruffdogs posted this today and I just had to share!  Its making the rounds on the internet   I wonder who wrote it.. its good!

My boys love to have their pictures taken… I mean really love it.  They will wear all sorts of head gear and suffer the indignity with smiles. (Do dogs really smile?  Oh I think so!)  Hope you enjoy and get at good laugh at their expense…

Here’s Apollo

And the twins Brutus and Rufus… I used this photo as my Christmas card this year

And Rufus enjoying  his Santa Hat

And Zeus, his feelings look hurt… lol

Brutus looking less than pleased as well…

My friend Laura got a new temporary foster greyhound and needed to borrow one of my extra crates. She came over to get it and we decided to head out and visit Petsmart. She brought her foster Bruiser with her so I brought Hera. Hera is my “busy body”… she has more energy than any of other dogs combined. She is very active, athletic and energetic. She is a good girl too. She was so well behaved at Petsmart tonight. I was so proud of her. We had a great time bonding. She got some treats, attention, belly rubs, pets and was all smiles.

Naptime for Brutus and Rufus

This is naptime at my house. Brutus and Rufus are cuddling… it is sooo darn cute. They are the only ones that really cuddle together like that. Eris will join in too occasionally (her big chocolate butt is in the picture too), but it is usually just the twins that will do this. I wonder if it is because they are litter mates that they have never lost that puppy hood dynamic.

Thanks to Cynthia at Tip Tail I found Fuzzy Logic’s Responsible Pet Bloggers Blog Roll. How cool is that. I added it to my side bar and you can link directly to the site from the widget. OOOH and she has a big old bull mastiff too! Right up my alley.

What a great idea to get traffic to the blogs from people that really are interested.

Loving our animals and caring for them responsibly is so underrated! It is so important for other people to see how responsible pet owners care for their dogs. Education is half of the battle. Especially this time of the year when puppies and kitties are items left under the tree by well meaning parents. Unfortunately, these are the same animals that end up in the shelters and rescues by April. A pet is not a throw away toy. Its not something to give away when the kids find something new to play with. A pet is a companion, a family member and a responsibility you accept the second you plop down your cash. A responsibility you accept for the life of the animal. Be smart this holiday season…. if the gift of an animal is on your gift list, ask yourself this… “Am I willing to care for this animal for 10, 15 or 20 years?” If the answer is no, buy an Xbox or Playstation 3!

I went to Walmart yesterday to pick up a few things for dinner and low and behold they had half racks of beef baby back rib packages on sale. My lot LOVES them. Sso I picked up a pack and sliced off a rib for each of them after dinner. They laid around and chewed on them all night… happy as larks. Each one ran off and lay down in their own spot and I didn’t hear a peep (other than crunching) for the rest of the night. I am number one in their book right now…. hehehe

Eris is so naughty. She has a thing for shoes! I have to check her crate daily to make sure she hasn’t stolen something and hidden it in there. I found one shoe, a collar, a serving spoon and a measuring glass in her crate! I just heard chewing and ran into the dining room and she had a golf ball! It is so funny because she is almost 7 years old and this is not old lab behavior… This is something I would expect from a puppy. I have to watch her like a hawk!

They are at the back door begging to come back in now….

There’s not much new to report. The weather is awful.. Raining and all the snow has melted. It is going to continue to rain all week… blah! The dogs don’t want outside for fear of melting like sugar. So they are just laying around like lumps in the house, waiting for their next meals and demanding an occasional belly rub or cuddle.

Last night I was laying on the couch watching “Tin Man” on scifi and Brutus climbed up on the couch and into my lap. He sprawled out on me like a giant saint bernard blanket…. He fell asleep and was snoring his head off… Silly boy, but it sure was sweet. I love those little (ok giant) moments.

It started snowing yesterday around 1am or so and continued all day long. We ended up with 5 inches total. The dogs had a ball running and playing in it! It was too cold this morning for them to want to be out. We are supposed to get an additional 3 inches starting sometime tonight.

ALL OF THEM PLAYING (YES THERE ARE 6 THERE)

BRUTIE DUTIE

HERA AND HER BALL

RUFUS

BRUTUS AND RUFUS TORMENTING APOLLO

I have been trying my hand at computer graphics and here is what I have come up with. It is alot of fun, I’m not that good at it, but I enjoy it! I put together a thumbnail slide show to view… The actual images are alot larger.

Some of my friend’s dogs

Hera has been taking her Proin for a few months now and it is a miracle drug! She has been completely accident free during the times she has taken it. I know it is a wonder as she ran out over a weekend and by that sunday she was pee’ing herself again. Picked up a new bottle on the following monday and by that night she was perfectly dry again. WHOO HOOO for Proin! I cant sing it enough praises.