Adopted!

We have some exciting news! Yup, the title of this post says it all...Molly got adopted!

After a year with us Molly went to her new home on Thursday evening.  She is now going to be spoiled as an only dog with her new people.  They are a wonderful couple who I know will make Molly the centre of their world, which is exactly what I want. There was a sleepover which went well and that allowed them to get to know Molly in a more quiet setting.  She was a bit excited when they met her at our home, those of you with more than one dog understand I am sure, how one will get all of them going.

Our house does seem quieter without her but I am SO happy for Molly and her new family.

Molly

Lab vs ACD

It really isn't fair to compare one dog to another, is it?  But sometimes, after taking a few pictures that capture their personality, I just can't help it.

See if you agree.

Here is Trail, the Australian Cattle Dog:

Here is Molly, the lab:

See the calm and serious look of Trail compared to the wild woo-who look of Molly?  

Those two pictures actually capture the true personalities.  Yes, Cattle Dogs are known for being very active and busy, but Trail almost always has such a calm and serious look.  Molly, well, she's just a silly and bouncy lab!

Getting warm

Summer is just around the corner, at least according to the calendar. The weather here hasn't been too bad, a few warm days and then a few cool ones.  But, at least it has been warm enough for it to be an ice cube day!

Hiker

On another note, we are keeping our fingers and paws crossed for our girl Molly because she has a family interested in her.  

Molly

As I have said previously, it isn't that we don't want Molly, she isn't what we want.  She is healthy, can see and can hear.  She is highly adoptable.  There hasn't been any big adoption push, just if the right home comes along.  We'll keep you posted.

A relaxing read?

Over the course of the past few weeks, the cats have been climbing on the "new" bookshelf in the kitchen and arranging the books the way they think they should be.  As you can see, they arranged the books so that they have a nice place to lay for a nap.

Although Molly looks annoyed, she really does like the cats, especially Alice since she will tolerate all the nudging and sniffing that Molly likes to do.

Wordless Wednesday

Critter Watch

Our weather is finally getting better and the snow is melting at last.  Since the weather is improving we're able to get outside more and play.  While outside yesterday, the pack was suddenly barking and sounding very excited.  With five dogs outside in the yard, I knew something had their attention.

Yes, there they are, on the left side of the snow.  Two pigeons.  

Based on the frantic barking, you woulda thought we were being invaded or something.  Then they moved to the other side.

Trail was outside but didn't really care about pigeons.  Once they flew away, something else showed up.

One of the four feral barn cats put in an appearance.

So glad that we have the critter watch team here!

In case you are wondering, yes, they could jump that fence since there is so much snow.  Molly has done that twice but didn't really go anywhere.  She went up on the snowbanks and wandered around for a few minutes but came back when called.

Wordless Wednesday

Snowed in

Since our last post, we got snowed in for a couple of days. Literally, could not leave the property due to heavy snowfall and high winds.  Yesterday in the paper, there was an article that noted the recorded amounts of snow across the island for the month of February were 222.8cm or 7.30 feet. That is one heck of a lot of snow in one month. (too much)  Not to worry, we made it through and of course, all the dogs enjoyed it to varying degrees.

Once the storms stopped, the sun came out and we got outside as much as we could.

The interesting thing is, that because of the winds, there are places in the yard that have little snow, as in the picture above.  Other places have high ridges of snow.  The wind also blew small branches and clusters of needles off the trees along side the house. That is what you can see all over the ground. (It's not something that needs to be picked up, although that is what it looks like.)

The path to the barn is now knee-deep in most places. Luckily, the weather has been very cold recently so I've been able to walk on top of the snowbanks with only occasional footsteps breaking through. 

Our last post generated a couple of questions as to what the "new" barn cat's name is.  His name is Stripe. His new best friend in the barn is CC (chicken cat). CC is named that because she sleeps in the stall with the chickens.  Stripe is a lap cat and is quite happy to sit my lap if I have time to sit on an old milk crate and fuss him up a little after he has a drink of milk.  

At our place, there is always room for those that need a place to be.

Sharing

At our home, every effort is made to ensure all are treated equally and fairly. With a pack of dogs, it is important for them to share.

Molly seems to have taken the sharing idea a bit farther than others.

Arthur didn't seem to mind Molly sharing her Nylabone while he was napping.

Then, Arthur and Alice decided that the dogs should share the big dog bed.

Molly was initially a little confused but then decided that the bed was big enough for all three of them.

Trail wasn't as hesitant,as soon as Molly and Alice got up, he lay down and was asleep with barely a glance at Arthur who got a little squished but didn't seem bothered by it.

One more aspect of sharing has occurred in our barn.  

This cat showed up a couple of weeks ago and the three feral cats are sharing their accommodations and food with him.  He is extremely friendly, not a typical barn cat. Yes, he can stay.

Got snow?

Our winter weather this year has brought us very little snow. This picture was taken on New Year's Day.

Yesterday there was a blizzard warning with a forecast of 25 cm/10 inches of snow and wind gusts of 90 km per hour/56 miles per hour.  I'm not sure that we received the forecast amount of snow but we sure did have lots of wind and as a result, drifting snow.

As you can imagine, some of the pack thought that was fantastic.

Brook and Molly

It is typical for Trail and Molly to stay outside running around and the others to want inside after a few minutes.  Sometimes the door person is a little slow and needs prompting to open the door.

"Let us IN!"

Being the observant type you are, I know you are wondering where Callie is in all of this.  She is being encouraged to rest since she has been having some problems with her leg.  Initially it seemed like a minor issue and after a couple of days she was fine but it is bothering her again, so no rowdy times in the snow for now.

Wordless Wednesday

An update and a kitten.

We have been doing fine since our last post.  I know that it has been a while but we're still all here and doing fine. Again, there was the struggle with an internet connection. I think that I have found a great solution though - an old laptop and the wifi at the library. A bonus is that there is a shared lobby with an arena and in the lobby there are tables and chairs for those times when the library isn't open. 

Brook has completely recovered from her surgery and is back to getting into mischief again. That in itself is a good indication that she is feeling fine!

 A few weeks ago we were experiencing very cold temperatures with overnight lows around -18C/-4F and windchills making it feel more like -29C/-20F. It was during this that someone at work told me about two little kittens that had been put outside because the people that had them didn't want them any more.  (I believe there is a special place in hell for people like that...) 

The lady that told me about this was going to try and find them with the plan to keep one but she wasn't sure what she was going to do with the other one. (you know where this is going don't ya?!)

His name is now Arthur.

It only took about a day and a half for Arthur to be completely comfortable and very confident around the dogs. Elsie and Alice, the other kitten, welcomed him into our home with only a few hisses the first afternoon then Alice spent some time explaining the dogs.

Yesterday, all the dogs got hooves and Arthur was right there to see what was going on. He settled in and had a few licks of a hoof with Trail.

In case you are wondering, yes, Alice is female and Arthur is male. Both around four to five months of age. Not to worry though, they both were fixed earlier this week.

Monday Mischief

The house cats Elsie and Alice got some new toys to have upstairs away from the dogs. 

Here is one of the toys. 

Lets call this before.

Then we'll call this photo the after.

This is Molly denying any knowledge of what happened.

To Rachel@my two pitties and anyone else who may be wondering about Molly.  There is no plan to keep her. It isn't that we don't want her, it is that she isn't what we want.  Molly is a super lovable and smart happy lab who would be a fantastic addition to any home.  There are a couple of possible homes that we will consider in the spring but for the winter at least, she will be with us. There is no rush for her to leave.

Callie's yellow ball

Years ago, back when blind Hiker was adopted, I searched for toys that would make some noise so she could find them.  One of the best and least expensive was a yellow plastic ball from the dollar store.  Since it has nubby things all over it, it made a slight noise rolling on the icy snow in the yard and the floors in the house.  

Hiker wasn't (and still isn't) overly interested in playing with toys.  Callie however, discovered the yellow ball and it became one of her favourites and she would even pose for pictures with it.

Since it was so popular, we had a few extras on hand.  Now we are playing with the last one. The dollar store doesn't stock these any more and every time we see a dollar store we stop in to no avail.  We've checked in both Canada and the United States.

The last one is not in good condition.

Callie still plays fetch with it but we don't know for how much longer.

4 dogs, 3 months

It seems that in the past three months word has gotten out about us.  Our post title is not a challenge. That is the number of dogs we have been offered in the past three months.  Yes, four dogs have been offered to us by their owners in just three months.

The first one was Molly who we accepted into our home.

Molly

The month after Molly there were two medium sized mixed breeds. A couple we know had split and the dogs were at the house with the man.  He wasn't sure that he wanted them and asked if we would take them.  As difficult as it was, I said no.  Well, not completely no.  I offered that if he wasn't able to care for them that they could come to our home and we would re-home them. Another option I suggested was the local Humane Society. 

For now, those two dogs are being well cared for.  I ask often. Not just a casual, "how are the dogs?" but questions that require a more detailed answer than "fine" or "okay".

Then last week, there was a Treeing Walker Coon Hound.

       

The family that has him purchased him as a puppy from up the road...he was SO cute!  Unfortunately, this dog, now almost two years old, is not a good fit for this family. They admit that they had no idea about the breed nor what his temperment or exercise requirements would be.  Did we want another dog?

Again, I said no but with options.  I suggest a trainer, increased exercise and mental stimulation along with doing some research on the breed (better late than never).  For now, he staying with the family.  Again I offered that if they are needing him out, we will make room for him until a suitable home can be found.

Sad and somewhat scary isn't it?  In just three months, four dogs.  How many more have we not heard about?

We can't help everyone but we can and will do what we can where we can. 

Outside nap

It is interesting to watch how different members of the pack prefer their bedding.  Both of the blind dogs, Hiker and Brook are "nesters". The more bedding and the fluffier it is, the better. Trail and Molly both have a tendency to chew loose bedding so Molly had a piece of carpet and Trail has an old felted wool blanket. Callie likes her crate to have six to eight inches of loose straw and Bill likes to lay on the bed, on the pillows.

On a recent warm and sunny day, Brook decided to nap outside. Since there was no bedding outside, she took matters into her own paws and went to work. The hard ground needed to be fluffed up to make it more comfortable for her nap in the sunshine. It was quite the process.

First, a spot was selected.

Then the area had to rearranged and the dirt loosened.

A test of the comfort was next.

Deemed acceptable, time to settle in.

Sunshine, a few friends and a comfortable outside spot for a nap.

(and a deaf dog who likes to be the center of attention!)

Tasty Tuesday

We had Tomatofest!

Since fall has arrived and there have been a few nights of light frost warnings, it was time to bring in the last of the tomatoes and pull up the plants.  It was interesting to watch the pack and their reaction once the fence was moved. Even blind Brook knew almost immediately that there was access to the garden and food. 

We had a good crop of cherry tomatoes and as you can see, there were still some ripe ones that were falling off the plants. Perfect snacks for the dogs. 

Bill likes tomatoes but doesn't seem to like the cherry tomatoes when they burst as he bites them. So, he prefers to have some human intervention - if the cherry tomato is slightly squashed before he eats it, he enjoys them better. Trail watched this interaction and decided that he too needed his "served" this way. Brook and Molly just gobbled as many as they could.

After all the plants were removed and the tomatoes eaten, Brook settled in for a rest with a full tummy.

Fall Hiking

It was another beautiful fall day. The forecast was for showers to develop later in the day but since the sky was blue and air was warm, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and head out on the Confederation Trail.

 

The scenery is of course, just beautiful.

There were sticks to chase and fetch.

As per usual, we were the only ones on the trail.

For those of you who are regular visitors to our blog and observant, you may wonder if Hiker and Callie were both out on a walk at the same time.  Callie, who doesn't always play well with others, you may ask.  No, it was two separate walks.  Hiker went first for about and hour and then it was Callie's turn.

We have been having some leg issues with Bill and Trail (more on them soon) so they weren't allowed to go and Brook and Molly had been playing for most of the morning so they were napping.