Wordless Wednesday

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

The view

Do you remember the view (actually lack of) that we had from the kitchen window over the winter?  The snow drift made it very difficult to see anything.

Trail and Arthur

Since the snow has melted, the view has improved.

Bill and Trail were focused on something.

Even Arthur wanted a closer look.

What was so interesting outside the kitchen window?

These critters.

Yes, that is our view from the kitchen window.  They aren't our cows and horses (behind the fence) but we all enjoy watching them.

Female or a chick?

I have been trying to convince Brook that she is a female not a chick.  She got it into her head that she could be a chick.  No, not a supermodel type chick, this type of chick:

When the "girls" arrived, I also brought in a 50 pound of chick starter feed which I left on the back step to transfer into buckets.  Dogs won't eat chick feed.  Right?  Wrong!  Sorry, no pictures but Brook dragged the bag down the steps, ripped a hole in it and started eating.  Why?  Who knows.

So, I've been telling Brook that she is a female not a chick!  it really isn't working.  There is something in the feed that all the dogs like the taste of.  The spilled food on the grass attracted all of them until it was finally gone.  

Now the food is safely in buckets, the chicks are in their brooder in the barn and the barn cats only glance at them.  A few months from now we'll be having fresh eggs.

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

Another critter

With some warmer temperatures finally arriving and the snow melting, there has been a new critter hanging around.

Luckily the dogs have not noticed it. There is still a large pile of snow on the other side of the fenced area towards the woods and this critter was in that area.

We heard about five dogs in one week that got sprayed by skunks. Since the pack is always out in their fenced area, hopefully they won't have any close encounters. 

Brook's eye

Years ago when Brook joined the pack, she was diagnosed with detached retinas, resulting in complete blindness.  At that time and at every visit to the opthamologist, the same warning, "It isn't IF her eyes need to be removed, it is WHEN."  All the warning signs were reviewed over and over again.  Yesterday one of those warning signs appeared.

For a couple of days, Brook's left eye appeared a bit red in the corner but she was likely tired at the times, so no concern. Then on Tuesday evening, Bill and her were running out the door (as usual) and Brook slid into the fence on her left side. Typical Brook, she got up and carried on. (she has bumped her head much harder numerous times) Wednesday morning, her left eye was full of blood.

Off to the vet.  Brook had blood taken and got lots of treats.

Surgery to remove her eye is scheduled for next Tuesday.  If all goes well during the removal of the left eye, her right eye will be removed at the same time. It makes more sense to remove it if possible since she can't see, there is really no need to keep it.

We'll keep you posted as to how things are going.

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!)

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.

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Mischief

It is apple season here and local pick your own orchards have apples available for only 50 cents a pound. Yum!  So, with fresh apples coming in, I decided to look over the old apples and check for spots, bruises,etc and share with the tenant's horse, sheep and chickens.  

As always, when there are six dogs, there is never a shortage of "help", especially when there is potential food.

Brook

Brook initially tried to get an apple out of the box when the flaps were folded in. It was funny watching the always determined little blind and partly deaf dog desperately trying to get into the cardboard box of apples. Once I opened the box and began sorting, she was very excited. The apples beside the box were ones that I was going to pass out to the other animals.

Molly watched the whole apple sorting process with great interest and when the opportunity presented itself, she grabbed one and went outside. Then didn't seem to know what to do with it.

"Now what?"

Brook, of course, settled in to eat hers right away.

A shadow?

Here is Trail's version of me and my shadow.

Trail and Molly

Cat alert!

Yesterday, there was a minor ruckus at the fence. 

Intruder alert!

Trail and Molly

Bill quickly realized that there was something going on and decided that he should help to keep an eye on this potential intruder.

Typical Elsie, she didn't care. I think she enjoyed the attention since she knew that Molly couldn't actually get at her, slobber on her and nibble her ears.

Beach weather continues

We have been having some fantastic weather as we enter into fall.  There have been many sunny and warm days, perfect for those trips to the beach. For some reason, once again, we were the only ones on the beach. It might be due to the fact that we live on an island and there are so many beaches available. No complaints from us!

There was evidence of other critters near the beach but we didn't see anything.

Callie went for a swim of course.

Then we checked out a (closed for the season) provincial park where the grass was fantastic for rolling.

Then home for supper and a pretty sunset.

Wordless Wednesday