Cassie and Roscoe

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Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

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Remember, if a dog was the teacher
you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and
the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you’re happy, dance around
and wag & wiggle your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you’re not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day,
be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY

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]]> http://joscafe.com/2010/09/02/live-like-a-dog/feed 1 http://joscafe.com/2010/08/31/test-of-blackberry-wp-app http://joscafe.com/2010/08/31/test-of-blackberry-wp-app#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:44:00 +0000 Jo http://joscafe.com/2010/08/31/test-of-blackberry-wp-app I have downloaded the WordPress Blackberry Application.

Can’t add my signature it seems unless I download to my Blackberry. Hmmm

So, here’s a picture of Roscoe instead!

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Its amazing how much she has grown in just that year.  Not only in size, putting on good weight, but learning the ins and outs of how this family works.   She spent the majority of her first weeks at home with the SGM(r) because he happened to be on half days at the time.  So naturally she bonded with him the most.  Not that she didn’t like me (it is the running joke) but she’s much more attached to him.

Cassie and Roscoe

When he had to make his first trip for his job and be gone for more than a month, I was concerned she’d think he was leaving forever.  Roscoe has been through it before so it was no big deal to him.   The first night he was gone she did hunt for him, going to the back door and just laying there.  I broke my heart.  Eventually, she came back in the living room and over the weeks she and I became acquainted.  Soon she was just as comfortable rolling up next to me in the bed as she was with the SGM(r).

We took Roscoe and Cassie to their first vet visit *on Saturday* since bringing her home.  To say she doesn’t like the vet is an understatement.  She doesn’t fight us to get in the door, but she attaches herself to whichever one has taken her there and doesn’t want to move.  The vet tech was a bit weary of her for some reason, wanting to muzzle her – which I nipped in the bud immediately.   But – the vet visit was great, she her heart-worm test, which was the one I worried about the most.

Fat and sassy she is and I thank God we were able bring her home and make her a part of our family.

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* Edited in.

Cassie took the big chew bone while Roscoe was in the backroom with me.  He got her smaller chew bone.  Then they switched spots.  He got up and moved, she got the small one.  That left the big one in her crate.  We got it out and gave it to Roscoe.  They both then laid face to face for a bit and chewed on them. 

Now we have a Mexican – or should I say – Blue Heeler stand off on who gets next to who. 

(Sigh) Two Year Olds.

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Before the Surgery with Kong Ball

She has to take steroids for 30 days and it makes her really really thirsty, but then she has to pee pee pee!  Confinement is the name of the game until she goes back to the vet in four weeks.  Its hard to watch her cooped up in her crate.  We brought it into the living room so she can see us at least and not feel exiled.

This morning she woke me up early to go pee and get some water.  Food was not a problem – she ate it down with no issues.  I know she was feed well at the vet, but she acts likes she’s starving.  Maybe its just that its food from home now tastes better.

I am going to see if I can find a larger wire crate today that will give her some better room to lay down in.  As we sat here this morning with her out of the crate on a lead, she laid down on the floor and stretched out really good.  A bit more room for this confinement period is in order.

Thanks to everyones prayers.  We’re getting through this one day at a time – but so glad to have our little girl home.

Roscoe?  He’s in confinement too – in the kitchen with his favorite toys running back and forth.  What a great trooper he is!

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She goes to the vet today for heart worm treatment.  BUT, this is based on the test from the Anniston Vet, so we are asking our vet to recheck her first.  I’ve been praying it was a false positive. (Please God!).  The heart worm treatment sounds horrible when reading from a vet’s page (shudder), but its the keeping her quiet for 30 days part that is not going to be fun.

Here are a few pictures from over the weekend.

Toy Time

We gave her a kong toy!

She fleas everything!

Playing

Have a great day and keep Cassie in your prayers!

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Cassie Watching TV

When we first arrived at the vet, we weren’t sure how Roscoe was going to react.  He’s been by himself for almost a year since we lost Bubba, and we don’t take him around people or other dogs much at all.  When they brought Cassie out from the back, she was wet – having  just come from a bath.  She immediately dove into my lap and started licking me from stem to stern.  Then she saw Dan and that was all she wrote.  She dove into his lap like she’d known him all her life.  They gave us a towel and he started drying her off.  Roscoe?  He was sitting by me and just acted like nothing was going on much on the other side of the room.

After paying for everything, and the vet techs telling her she hit pay dirt, we went outside for some more getting to know us time.  We found a couple ticks (yuck),  and learned really quick she wasn’t too happy with Roscoe.  A little growling and snarling, but that was to be expected.  Into the truck to head back home, and Cassie was put in the crate with no problems, with Roscoe having the run of the truck. 

The drive was uneventful, except for a bit of snarling from Cassie, she settled into the crate well.  Someone obviously had taken care of this little girl at one point in her life.  No issues with the leash or the crate.  She will have to learn our commands, ie: no, out, etc, but that will come in time.  Right now we want to get her comfortable with us.

The first thing we noticed is how thin she is.  This is probably from having been in a shelter for some period of time and not laying around like a king, ie: Roscoe.  She wouldn’t eat when we got home, but we figured that would happen because of all the stress.

Roscoe Watching TV

The second thing is she could be Roscoe’s litter-mate, ie: Twin.  Yes, all breeds favor each other, but there are subtle differences always – even in litters.  But these two are mirrors of each other.  

We’ve unfortunately have to keep them separated for now.  Roscoe in the kitchen or bedroom blocked behind a baby gate.  This way they can at least see each other and talk, but any snarling or anger is blocked for now. I am going to take Roscoe to PetSmart today and get something for Cassie’s obviously dry skin from bad dog-food, and muzzles.  We need to be able to put them together and muzzles will prevent any damage should we have a full out fight.  No – it sounds harsh, but as I’ve learned from researching, watching Dog Town and The Dog Whisperer, they are for the benefit of all involved, dogs and humans.

We have found minor scabs and scrapes, which leads us to believe she had to fight for everything in the shelter.  A long scar on her leg and a paw that has obviously been stitched up means someone took care of her after an injury at some point.  

They are apparently two months apart from the information the vet got from the shelter.  Also, we got Roscoe from a breeder just north of Anniston about an hour, so who knows – they could be from the same litter, or same parents.  It doesn’t matter.  She’s ours now and slowly she will get healthier and her and Roscoe will start getting along.  Her crate is in the living room with two old pillows in it for comfort on her thin frame.  She started playing with the toys this morning and has eaten.

Thank you God for this little girl.  We will do our level best to give her the best home she deserves.

Welcome Home Cassie.

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Read on …

Puppies save three-year-old boy lost in freezing Virginia woods

A toddler lost in the Virginia woods was back home safe Sunday thanks to two puppies who kept him warm through a harrowing night of freezing temperatures.

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Officials said the lost little boy and the two family puppies wandered up to a mile in the dark, even across a highway, but it wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that members of the search team found him sitting by a tree, the two puppies nestled against him.

The little boy didn’t say anything, according to rescue team member Jerry Gentry, but instead “just opened his arms up like, ‘I’m ready to go.’”

“When I first saw him, he was like, ‘Momma, I got cold. I slept in the woods last night. The puppies kept me warm.’ He told me that … the dogs slept up against him. And I’m sure the body heat kept him warm,” said his mother, Sarah Ingram.

Billie Jo Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.

Thank You God for your four-legged angels.

I don’t want to have to wear long sleeves all the time, even if winter is coming upon us.   I have looked at many products that claim to reduce scars, old and new, but they all say the same thing.

So do I buy them all and hope as my hard earned money goes down the drain or do I ask?

I’m asking.

Have you tried any of the over the counter medications, over the tv treatments, a doctor’s prescribed medicine or an old wives remedy that works?  

Let me know in comments.  Even the smallest scratch seems to scar.

Thanks bunches!

Anyone?

No – we don’t.   But I’ll tell you the thought crossed our minds when dealing with Bubba’s cancer, but we never bought it.

A local news story, and the Progressive Ads, have brought up the idea again for Roscoe.   No, he’s not sick, but then insurance is for when things happen.

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) – “I just can’t live without a pet and so I just have my little Chrissy and she’s a lot of company for me.”

In fact, for 76-year-old Dorothy Smith, her four-year-old Jack Russell/Rat Terrier, Chrissy, is like family she can’t live without.

“To have a pet around is just very important to me,” says Smith.

So important that Smith has invested in Chrissy’s future by purchasing her health insurance.

A decision Smith actually made several years ago with another pet.

“At the time, I had Robby, who was a little Jack Russell and he had been having problems with his hip, and so the doctor said he may have hip problems on down the line,” she says.

And he did.

Robby was also diagnosed with cancer and that’s when Smith says she reaped the benefits of her pet insurance plan.

But here’s a thought: There are so many people out there bemoaning that not everyone in the country has health insurance and we have people buying insurance for their pets.