Dog update

If you have been reading this humble blog for long, you know I adore my hounds.

We had adopted Sarge in May 2009. At that time, he was quite traumatized from his life "before". 

Almost 2 years later, this Belgian Malinois has rehabilitated nicely. He is still a bit timid, but has a sweet disposition and is begining to play games with my husband (he was terrified of men!). 

On the sofa, watching TV, he loves "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer"

He sleeps with us, and our other Mal-mix, Pepper. They enjoy playing together and are great companions. We took them both to PetSmart last Friday evening for the very first time. They were so well-behaved! We are planning on beginning formal training with both of them in February. Should be fun!

Another quilt with Murray in it

Murray was always such a good sport. He would always take my quilts for a test-cuddle:

Besides, the handsome rascal was so darn photogenic! I have been compiling Murray pictures and noticed that I would often give him a prop, and he would make it work! No, I am not trying to be maudlin here, its just I am between quilts, and I need to be packing for the move (finally!). We will be in a limbo situation for a while so I am saving some smaller quilt projects to work on then. I have my string quilt top to finish piecing together and I am quilting a top for my friend Tammy. I will just have to put my piecing projects away for a while. Yes, a little more chaos, but at least I will finally get to live with my hubby again.

Another nugget of wisdom from Murray: sometimes a belly-rub is just the thing. That and peanut butter crackers.

The lasting wisdom of Murray

Thanks to all for the kind comments and condolences on our loss. As each day passes, we feel a little better, and I still have my 2 young Belgians to tend. They have been so sweet, very quiet and clingy. I know they miss the boss and need extra pats and hugs. But all, in all, we are okay.

One of our long-running jokes was that Murray was a "World-Class" napper. He would nap for a while before going to bed. He would get up in the morning and move into the living room to nap a bit before starting his day. And afternoons were made for napping.

As part of my healing process, and to keep the quilting content up on this blog, I offer you photographic proof of Murray's love of quilting:

His naps were always better when wrapped up in a quilt!

I am beginning the packing process, so posts may me sporadic. And I will occasionally offer up more of Murray's wisdom. But for now, thanks again so much for your sympathy, love and prayers. Please love and cherish the pets you have, and please spay/neuter so we can make sure every pet is wanted!

a time to mourn

We had to say goodbye to a dear family member on Friday, August 27. He was Murray, our 15 year old elder statesdog. Murray's beginnings were unknown to us. His history for us began in early 1997 when he was found, broken and bleeding, a victim of hit and run, on a busy street in a retail area. He was patched up and put up for adoption. We were looking for a dog and fortunately we found each other. Murray was kind, patient and gentle. He had a loud, deep bark, but would literally cry for attention. His lineage was guessed to be German Shepard (his coloring) and Basset Hound (his paws and his build) so he was a rather long and low fellow. Murray was never any trouble, great with kids and loved our neighbors as much as he loved us! 

His health had declined rapidly in the past few months. Last week had been very rough and we had to make a humane decision. Yes, I second guessed myself, this was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but by Thursday, he could not get up. His body had started to fail him, yet he was in such pain, that he cried if we touched his shoulder. We spent our last time with him, stroking his velvet soft ears and nose.

Murray made my life so much richer. With all the limbo of this past year, he was a constant. I will miss him greatly.

And now for someting different!

My brother's newest: DAISY

He has 3 Border Collie/Australian Shepard cross pups. All from the same parents. Zuni, is the oldest at 2, then there is Panda and Daisy from the same litter. Zuni and Panda look like Border Collies, but Daisy has a beautiful Merl coat!
 She is energetic and rambunctious like her brother and sister, but she is also quite special. Daisy is blind. She was born sighted, but was hit by a car and that rendered her blind. She still loves to run and play and amazing follows Zuni very closely. 

I love smiling, happy, wanted pets!

Some pet love

I just found this on Quilt Hollow and had to share!

Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. However, dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.
The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.
Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:
TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:
(1) They live here. You don't.
(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly...
Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they
(1) eat less
(2) don't ask for money all the time
(3) are easier to train
(4) normally come when called
(5) never ask to drive the car
(6) don't hang out with drug-using people
(7) don't smoke or drink
(8) don't want to wear your clothes
(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions
(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college
(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children

This is a hoot! If you know who actually wrote it, please tell! I would love to credit and thank them!

You may  have guessed we have 3 big dogs who are truly part of our family.

Sarge update

Sarge (our most recent adoptee) is thriving! He has filled out and eats well. He loves our walks and really enjoys playing with Pepper.

Some recent action shots:






He has started joining us in the house for about an hour at a time. Longer than that, he gets nervous and paces. I guess he still needs to feel like he can get away if he needs to. He smiles a lot now. In additional K9 news, we took Murray to the vet this morning for a check-up. He is getting close to 14 and is doing well. His only issue? He had gained 15 pounds since his last visit. 15 POUNDS! Well, he does have arthritis and really can't walk like he used to. He really is the round hound!

Adding to our family

Please allow me to introduce Sarge.



He joined our family yesterday after being bailed out of an animal shelter. He is quite obviously a Belgian Malinois, and we are guessing about 15-18 months old. Now if you are new to this blog, you may not realize our love for dogs and prior to yesterday we were a 2 dog family. Our first Belgian, Pepper, joined us in September. We were struck by her beauty, intelligence and amazing humor. My hubby spotted this handsome fellow at a local animal shelter (and not the "no-kill" kind either) and let the animal control officer know that we wanted him if no one claimed him.

He is quite thin and currently has scars on his nose and ears. He is also quite skittish, but that has lessened dramatically in the past 12 hours. We named him Sarge after a long, drawn-out discussion of names. Sarge is totally taken with Pepper. They ran and played last night, but he wouldn't come in the house to sleep. He slept in our back yard (which is fenced). When we got up this morning, he greeted me at the door with that gorgeous, expectant Belgian Malinois expression on his face. It immediately changed to joy when Pepper ran out to greet him!



They seem to have such fun and having Sarge to run with Pepper gives our elderly hound, Murray, much needed rest. This will be a long road of establishing trust in an abandoned animal, but it is already rewarding to see him begin to flourish. We keep telling him that this is his home, his forever home.