nancy

We've gotten our female dogs spayed early on. There were times when we wished we could have done that with out daughters - in their teens. Now we know that grandchildren are the only reason to allow your childrten to survive puberty. Thank doG, pups go through it way faster.

The cookies did look great. But even Fergie's "in spirit" participation was great fun. She has never shown any interest in sheep. Probably because we have trained her from the start to ignore deer. But I saw her watching the trials and following the dogs' work. She'd never done that before. Then again, she loved my sister-in-law who died of ovarian cancer after a 5-year fight.

Looks like some kind of shepherd crossed with a rabbit! Love those ears.

I know I read the book. My best friend got me to read all the dog and horse stories. Is this another of the ones where the poor animal suffers horrible stuff until theirs a happy end or the kind where even the end is awful? I don't remember any that didn't have lots of awful stuff. By the way, this friend has had pets since she started working at 16 and could support them. She now has several rescue horses. And she still reads all those stories.

My middle kid's best friend has ankylosing spondylitis. Not a great diagnosis. But she is, at least, getting some treatment that works. Before this, she'd been treated for everything from plantar faciatis to MS - with "it's all in your head" a constant. At least they never tell dogs that. They may tell us that our dog's problem is, but they'd get bitten if they tried that with the dog. Didn't know that dogs got it.

Geeze. Fergie is the absolute friendliest dog ever. Well, unless someone is not just friendly but gets way too personal. Even when we're not in a state park (son-in-law is a park superintendent and would give us a ticket in a heartbeat because he's told us the rules) we keep Ferg on leash. If we meet someone with a dog, as soon as we see that person, I yell, "Is that dog friendly?" That's usually enough to get the owner to put the dog back on leash - and back to being legal. It also doesn't hurt to be able to remind them that there are signs about keeping dogs on leash. And then to tell them that we know that the local ranger is really a stickler about that.

Fergie has always snored. She sleeps on the rug on my side of the bed; DH sleeps on the other side - in the bed, of course. The both snore - and they snore alike. When a sudden snort, followed by that awful rumble, wakes me. I have to be careful which one to poke. And these two can overpower the best ear plugs. The vet just laughs. So it must be OK. At least for the dog, if not for me.

I went back and looked at that first picture of her. What a wonderful difference! And what a wonderful difference you've been to this pup.

Fergie swears by PetsMart's own brand, Authority. The Adult Formula with Real Lamb (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750394&lmdn=Brand#prodTab1). It's $25.19 for 40 lbs online. I think I pay about the same at the store. The ingredients list is what got us started using it. She gets 3/4 to 1 cup, depending on snacks and activity, at breakfast and at dinner. It's been working great for 13+ years. And even the vet is amazed at her health.

To me, it's a question of pain. It sounds as though Cheyenne were not in pain, just slowly slowing down. Our wonderful cat Frodo developed a fast growing cancer on a back hip/leg at 18. He was not in pain, but slept a lot. We made a bed for him in the corner of the kitchen, where he could be in the midst of things. Our younger cat came up to see him and sniff him, but she realized he wasn't his old romping self. I had medication for Frodo, and we visited the vet about daily - just around the corner. One of our two teen-agers would hold him on his or her lap. The vet assured me that he wasn't in pain, offered to put him to sleep if the ordeal was too much for us. We decided that it was Frodo, not us, who counted. He died in his bed one morning, with our daughter Mari patting him. He just went to sleep, and that was it. I feel that, as long as the animal is not in pain and seems happy and comfortable, I will let that animal go quietly, on it's own time. I won't do any extreme surgery. We could have had that leg amputated, but by the time we discovered it (and this cat had regular vet visits, lots of attention, and even baths) it had metastasized. The surgery would have caused pain and only put off the inevitable. If the animal is in pain, with no chance of recovery, that's a very different story. My best friend, Sandy, is taking her lovely rescue horse Penny to the vet today and will have to put her down tomorrow. She has arthritis and bone spurs (I think that's what Sandy said) for which nothing can be done and which cause her real pain. So Sandy knows what she owes Penny. Would that we could make such choices for ourselves.

Must say that I agree that you should be sure you can afford to really care for a pet for its whole life before you get one. And that the decision is almost as important as deciding to have a child. But would she recommend giving your child to a foster home or a shelter if you get laid off?

Aha, a thread with experts. Where can I get an inexpensive whistle? Fergie is getting a tad deaf in her old age (about to turn 14). We try whistling to get her attention. Then we can use hand signals. She seems to respond best to the higher pitches. She also responds to my clapping my hands. I'd like to try a real whistle, as I am also getting old (about to turn 63) and have never had what could be called a strong whistle. I don't need anything fancy. Ferg is not going to be doing long outruns. And I'm a New England Yankee. So I want something rather inexpensive - as I don't even know if it will do what I need. Dare I say that I'm cheap, mingy even?

How disgusting can they get? http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdo...?urn=nfl,184138

My guess is that there were animals out there. I'm inside the city limits, but we have acre lots. The deer come at night and turn on the security lights all over the place. We have grey and red foxes and possums and raccoons, too. Thankfully, no coyotes - that we know of. When Fergie was younger, if she slept downstairs, she might bark or get restless if she knew someone were in her yard. Now she is mostly deaf and doesn't really care about anything other than squirrels. Can you crate Buster at night in the trailer?

I get Fergie titred each year. It's been years since she heeded any vaccine. Except for robies. That is required by law - and titre's don't count - yet. I have gotten Maggie da Cat's vaccines for 3 years now. Next year, I plan to go for the titre instead. And just see. I can afford to have the bloodwork, then, if necessary, get shots. Years ago, I'd have been more worried about expense. I don't want to take the chance that either pet is under-protected any more than I want to over vaccinate.

Jennifer, go to the Rescue Resources & Dogs for Adoption board. Up at the top of the page on the left of this page, click on BC Boards. Rescue... is under Other BC Topics, about in the middle of the page. In Rescue, just under the Announcements, there are topics related to who can transport where and when.

Where are you in Silicon Valley? My daughter spent several years in Sunnyvale. That part of the valley is no where near as urban as some folks might think. The whole valley strikes me as way more suburban than urban. Yeah, I know that lots sizes are measured in square feet, not acres. Sounds like you have a huge front yard - for the valley. If you're concerned with shedding, look for a smooth-coated border collie. Our Fergie sheds way less than short-haired cat. It's not the classic (Babe) look. But we see a lot of them on one of our favorite Brit downloads: Come Bye - the UK sheepdog trials. I think you are a really neat person to start your research 2 years before you plan to get a dog. I just know that, in 2011, you will make the right decision and have a wonderful canine relationship! Stick around here.

Julie, I hope you don't mean me. I didn't mean to rant. I just thought that having a little pen in my yard would not have made me a better person to have a dog like Fergie. Which is the dog that I wanted. Yeah, the dog who is so calm around deer that our new doe wants to meet her. And the Muscovy family swarms around her feet - and mine. And who, in a round pen with sheep, just wanted to meet and greet them. I just wanted a chance for an interview. Maybe, if that went well - on the phone - a visit to see our home and our situation. And then a discussion of our plans for a dog. But I was turned down flat because I didn't have a fenced yard or a pen. And, I understood that the rescue got to make the rules. So Fergie is not from a rescue. She is a dog who would have ended up in a rescue or a shelter or a pound, had I not adopted her. I was just trying to make the point that not all of us can match the requirements of our local rescue group. And that's not all that bad. But we might just make OK adopters, anyhow.

http://www.netpets.com/dogs/dogresc/breeds/doglab_ret.html Scroll down, Alabama is the first on the list, with an email address. Also, the vet might know if this is a lost pup, not a dumped one.

Wow! I guess we had better be thankful that Fergie doesn't trust the ocean. Water that moves and attacks! We have taken week-long trips to the coast. But all she wants to do is chase seagulls and dig up shells. We have a hard time coaxing her into the shallows. And she refuses to drink any of that evil water.

Becca, it was 13 years ago, so, thanks to my increasing "cuteness", I can't remember what rescue groups I called. All that I could find anywhere near Durham, NC. What bothered me was that none, except for a group out of Benson (I think) called ARF, that also helped teen mothers, was even willing to come see our place. No fence meant no adoption. I think they were also upset that I knew we would be spending a week in Florida with DH's folks within 2 months of when I called. I was interested in a pup old enough to board then or one we could adopt when we returned. And I was willing to wait up to a year, if that's what it took to find the right dog for us. DH's folks depended on our regular visit. But the rescues thought that adopting a dog should make us willing to cancel our visit. I thought that kind of odd. If I were willing to blow off elderly parents, how would that make me a better dog owner? That said, keep in mind that, when anyone asks me about getting a border collie, or about getting any dog, I refer them to a rescue group or a local shelter.

Back in the late 1990s, when we were looking for a BC mix to adopt, I contacted several rescue groups. Our yard is not fenced. We live on an acre lot, in a neighborhood of 81 houses on such lots. We have an 8-acre common land win a pond of about 2 acres. No real neighborhood association, just a rather informal group who volunteer to pay what is needed (taxes of $1 a year), mow when needed, pick up trash, and feed the ducks. I can't see how we could fence our yard without cutting down many of the trees that give us our privacy. We have a few feet out around the house that we have to mow. The rest is the woods that were here before our house. So I could not even get an interview with a rescue group. I was told that I would have to fence my yard before they would consider us. We have had Fergie for over 13 years. Got her through a vet tech at our vet's who knew someone at her previous job whose dog had pups. Fergie has never been in our yard without us. She has never even tried to leave our yard - although she may step over the line behind the wood pile. But only by inches. She fetches the newspaper on our way in from our before-breakfast walk. She carries the mail in every afternoon. But that is with one of us. We walk down the street and around the pond with her about 4-6 times every day. On and off leash - depending on who is driving, who is out, and how hot it is. She walks faster with the leash. And she is too friendly with new neighbors. The old ones expect her to be off leash so they can schmooze with her. Although she is dedicated to saving the world from squirrels, she will eat grass rather than upset either the deer or the family of ducks in the areas. I know that our vet tech would have found her a home anyhow. But what dog lost out because no rescue would accept our unfenced yard? I understand the need to check on a location. Bu I don't understand the exclusion of homes on a check-off list basis. I'd have been willing to wait for when a volunteer had the time to come and look at our situation. I just didn't appreciate being turned off on one item.

I wouldn't drive a Ford as they are here in the US. But we love driving English Ford Fiestas. The European versions are well-made, are fuel-efficient, fit on Yorkshire lanes, and have plenty of pep for the M1.

Could your son use a shake can (an empty soda can with some penny in it and the tab-hole taped shut). If Freeman isn't a tad ahead or just next to the wheelchair, a sharp shake of the can. I think of that because your son cannot yell a command. And, if Freeman is heading for the back tire, hand signals wouldn't work.

Root Beer. I am convinced that males invented left and right. A prof I greatly admired said she went with "watch hand" and "not watch hand" - but she was left-handed and her husband wasn't, so he never understood her directions. I can't remember left and right. But I sure know Gospel and Epistle sides. If only DH were not a Non-Practicing Existentialist, he would understand which way to turn! And I swear that my daughters were in high school before I stopped using markers to label their shoes R and L. Not that they didn't still need it. Heck, they are 42 and 38 - and can tell Gospel but not right (which are different, for you non-liturgicals). That said: Fergie puts up with my short-comings. So I'll put up with hers. Is the OP married? If so, how long? Or, if so, should we ask DW?