Just for Fun

This hilarious video was posted on Facebook by "Operation Pets Alive!". It is a must-watch! And be sure to read the film-maker's explanation about how they got the dogs to do this. The video was shot in one unedited take! If only my dogs had such good manners! If only my children did!



Our neighbor sent us this cell phone shot of their cat, Bentley, enjoying the scenery in Florida from the back seat of their SUV. It's amazing that he rides so calmly!

Will Shame Work?

This photo by M. Harris of Montgomery County, Texas, Animal Shelter is new this week. I don't know whether to cry or use inappropriate adult language.

This was posted on Harris's Facebook page (here) and has already garnered more than a dozen comments. Some people suggested putting up a second sign showing adoptions. Harris's response to that was, "Then they'd only see the adoption number and [think] this would be a great place to 'rehome' their pet." Unfortunately, I agree with her.

While this sign offers a dose of reality, the fact is that the ones most emotionally moved by the number will be those who are already struggling to reduce the intake through fostering and rescuing. The Pollyana part of me begs to differ, but the cynical side of me doubts seriously that the average client who wants to surrender (or turn in) a pet will be moved to reconsider things. What do you think?

Happy Mardi Gras!

From Gretna, Louisiana, and PAWdi Gras 2006, my little dog, Cross, models her hand-made "Mardi Gras" outfit, complete with sequins and funky fringe. She wore this under duress.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

(Let the Good Times Roll!)

And throw the dogs a biscuit, mister!

Mark for Spring Bark

I so want this logo on a tee-shirt! And this year, I get to go--I'll be with Operation Pets Alive, right in the thick of the action.

Flight for Life Sends 20 Dogs to NH

Here's a video about Operation Pets Alive! and Cloud Nine's second "Flight for Life", which sent 20 rescued dogs from Montgomery County, Texas, to a Shelter partner in New Hampshire. Thanks to all who helped make this flight possible!

From Operation Pets Alive's Facebook site, February 28, 2011:
"BIG THANK YOU to Lone Star Animal Welfare League (formerly The Woodlands Dog Park Club) for funding OPA'S recent FLIGHT FOR LIFE!! Without your generosity 12 shelter dogs would not have the same chance for adoption that they now have. In fact, 7 "short listed" dogs were in urgent need of "saving". Way to step up and take action!! In addition, this flight allowed OPA to keep 6 pups out of the shelter and give them a great chance of finding a wonderful home! Hats off to you!"

What I've Been Doing

My dogs don't blog. They just make poops.

Not only has it been four months since I've posted, Blogger ate the first version of this post instead of uploading it, so all my brilliant thoughts have been lost to the ether of the Interwebs and I am forced to reconstruct a long post!

Time flies. I don't have any excuses for not posting. I've been doing Dog Lady work. I just haven't posted. The reality is that once you break the habit, the longer you wait to get back to the blog, the tougher it is. Therefore, I am resolved not to take such a long break in the future.

Min Pins are like "Pringles"--you can't have just one.

The little Min Pin foster puppy I've had since my last post in 2010 is still with me. She is not--and let me be clear about this!--a foster failure. She just hasn't met the right family yet. "Cricket," as we call her now, is stinkin' cute and very, very busy. She needs a family who is experienced in Min Pin antics and would do best in a situation where she doesn't have to be crated for 12 hours a day (she is a smarty-pants escape artist and can unlatch the crate so I have to use carabiner to close it). Cricket would appreciate a canine playmate as well.

Her cast came off in January, and she's doing great, although her right paw is smaller than the left and she still favors the leg at times (out of habit or what, I'm not sure). She's matured into a tornado of energy with a chewing habit that is driving us nuts: glasses, iPod earbuds, dozens of mechanical pencils, books, papers, and two bag's worth of daily CT Hex dental treats. She'll find her home, now that it's warmer at the Off-Sites.

My dear friend, the passionate and tireless Marcia P., who stepped down in late 2010 as Off-site Coordinator for the Shelter, has launched her own animal-rescue group. Although still in its fledgling stage (the 501 c 3 status is pending) Operation Pets Alive!: Helping People Save Pets has already accrued a list of accomplishments, including sponsoring foster-only Off-sites, TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) of stray cats in several Montgomery County areas, and two "Flights for Life that send dogs from the Shelter to New Hampshire for adoption.

Courtesy of Operation Pets Alive!: Helping People Save Pets

The second Flight for Life is in the air as I re-construct this post--leaving from Conroe, TX with 20 dogs on board, including 12 Shelter dogs, two dogs from All-Texas Dachshund Rescue, and six puppies rescued by OPA. The dogs were bathed and loaded by volunteers. The pilot and plane are funded by generous gifts from friends and volunteers at OPA. What a thrill these dogs, including six long-term (over 90 days) dogs from the MCTAS Shelter will have when they find new homes.

In other efforts, OPA has partnered with Susan Herbert, founder of K-9 Corral, a wonderful rescue group that has placed more than 3,500 animals, to ramp up Herbert's program to provide free and low-cost spay/neuters for owners of large (over 30 pounds) dogs in New Caney, TX, a once-rural, but now rapidly growing region of Eastern Montgomery County. Herbert has secured grants to provide vouchers to be used at Spay Houston, a wellness clinic that does low-cost shots and spay/neuters in Houston, TX.

Spay Houston's fees are much lower than area veterinarian offices, making it possible for Houston residents to take action against unwanted litters. In 2010, K-9 Corral's Herbert handled 239 free or very low-cost operations by providing qualifying New Caney residents with vouchers.

In January, OPA stepped in as a partner, providing professionally printed signs and flyers, along with volunteers who went door-to-door in targeted neighborhoods to spread the word about the vouchers. With OPA's assistance, Herbert manned tables at her local Wal-Mart. I helped for three Sunday afternoons, chatting with interested people about the program while Herbert filled out the paperwork. It was fulfilling and fun to connect these residents with a program that lifts the burden of cost. Many people could afford the Spay Houston rates for their small dogs or cats if they could get a voucher for their larger pets. K-9 Corral has done 157 operations so far this year, a testimony to the need for such programs.


Below is the draft logo I designed for OPA. It wasn't selected as the final logo, but I think it's spiffy. You can see a button-sized version of the final logo in my sidebar. I don't have a high-res image yet.



So I've been busy, and my Dog Lady Stetson is still getting a lot of use. I'm looking forward to more opportunities to help pets in 2011. Leave me a note and let me know what things have been happening in your parts! I resolve not to leave this blog unattended in the future!

Puppy Perils

This is "Dezi", who is harder to "dress" than a Barbie doll. The red sweater is held on with the pink harness. The jingle bell helps me find her. The Cone of Shame keeps her from chewing on her cast. She can still move at the speed of light. Thanks to Allie, of "Hyperbole and a Half" for giving me the courage to post one of my pencil sketches, tweaked in Photoshop Elements 6.

Question: What goes "Tick, tick, jingle, tick.....jingle...click, yip, yip, yip."?

Answwer: A Miniature Pinscher with a cast on her front leg.

I do not normally foster puppies. I admit this. I prefer adult dogs. I don't have a puppy-proof house or yard, although my yard is escape-proof.

So when I came home with this 5.2 pound black-and-tan puppy with a broken leg, I assumed that I'd be able to keep up with her. I mean, how fast can a tiny dog with a huge plaster splint around her front leg move?

The puppy, cast and all, fell in my pool, right off the bat. I had to take her back to the Vet to have a new cast put on because she got completely soaked. I paid for it of course.

I swear, I was watching her, but she darted around or behind me (or transported herself through space) in a couple seconds while we were walking around the pool back to the house.

When I figured out that she wasn't next to me, I saw my own oversize MinPin, Chopper, staring intently at the pool, ears cocked, and the puppy was paddling--quite well, actually--to keep her head above water.

Which makes me wonder how on Earth puppies ever make it to adulthood at all.

Dezi, as she is named, is almost impossible to keep up with. Her cast doesn't slow her down at all--without it I'm sure she would move at warp speed.

Things I have removed from her tiny puppy mouth: computer cords, lamp cords, a bit of celery that dropped on the floor, twist ties, sparkly purple stuff from something that must belong to my daughter.

She can climb up stairs, but not down--the Cone of Shame that she must wear to keep her from chewing on her bandages limits her vision.

She can get on the couch (she couldn't do this last week when I brought her home but she has grown, as puppies tend to do). She annoys Cross, my fluffy dog. She gets run over by Chopper because he zooms around snorking up things from the floors like a Dustbuster with legs.

She thinks my husband is the most wonderful man in the world and when he walks in the door, she hops up and down like she's just pounded three Red Bulls. Then, she falls asleep in my arms and snuggles her head into my shirtsleeve and sighs a happy, happy puppy sigh. She is absolutely adorable.