Scrappin' and Lovin'

Nothing like a good game of BiteyFace to bond the two book-end Goldens, Cosmo and Devo. They were so dedicated to each other. It was truly a sight to behold. These pictures were from around the turn of the century in the living room of our North Idaho home. I saw these pictures and remembered just how much I miss them. They were a great pair.

Latest news - Justice for Bear Bear

- So we never forget about the tragedy -

Please leave your weapons in your car while inside the fence of the off-leash dog park

>> Our dogs are unarmed <<

Baltimore Sun article, Aug.25, 2010 - It's not over yet

Wordless Wednesday with Lady

A story with no words

 Since my last post I've been hoping for something positive to post about humans and our dogs. I think I found it.

Dog Parks and Guns don't mix

Attention Shoreline citizens, Shoredog.org, Shoreline Mayor and City Council

Each Shoreline Dog Park should be a "NO WEAPONS ZONE"

Leave your weapons in the car, better yet, at home.

> Our dogs are unarmed <

Quail Run, MD - An off duty Federal policeman shot and killed an off-leash Husky in a dog park. This man had his German Shepard on-leash and claimed the (properly off-leash) Husky was posing a danger to him, his wife and his on-leash dog. Witnesses reported rough play by the Husky and Shepard, but nothing more sinister than that. The tragic part is the owner of the German Shepard was armed with his service pistol, loaded with hollow point bullets and chose to fire a round into the Husky's hind quarters rather than break up this undesirable behavior with less lethal methods. All of us dog park regulars are always prepared to break up squabbles using non-lethal methods. It's not that hard folks.

Lady and I are regular dog park visitors. In the short time I've had Lady, we have been to probably 15 different dog parks all over the western U.S. This really hits home, because Lady greets everyone in whatever dog park she is playing in. That means if she was in Maryland that fateful day, it could of just as easily happened to her. I have encountered more clueless and irresponsible dog owners than I care to count. On a good day, they are a nuisance....ARMED.....they could be deadly. It's not the dog's fault. Dogs feed off of their human's energy and can misbehave. If a dog is not socialized, get some proper training before taking them to a park....on-leash or off. Our off-leash dogs are not there as fodder for your unsocialized dog or to show your dog who's boss (yea, that really happened to us in Arizona). 

Lady doesn't care what baggage you bring into the park, she greets everyone. On two occasions she has had to stick up for herself when accosted, but those kind of situations were resolved safely and quickly without gun-play. Guns are not the problem here, it's the people (law enforcement or not) that carry deadly weapons into a dog park and the bad decisions that can be made when emotions and ignorance supersede common sense.

Read the on-going story of the shooting in a dog park in Maryland - Link below

Charges filed in dog park shooting - Baltimore Sun, Aug.18th

Better yet, just Google "justice for bear bear"

Please, no deadly weapons should be allowed in our parks

Lady thanks you

Wordless Wednesday

Golden Oldies

I've been searching for inspiration for my next post. While catching up with Scout and Freyja's blog, I saw this wonderful short video. Wanted to pass this on to anyone who has not seen it yet and encourage all of you to look into the Shelter Pet Project. This particular video shows us how senior dogs have so much to offer. It is so true - Lady is living proof. She has blessed all of our lives for over 2 years. Lucky us.

Did you know that you are my dog now?

Did somebody say "Orvis" ?

Who doesn't love a store that produces such incredible catalogs. Just ask my brother. It's like moths to the flame. Besides, it gives me an excuse to post another Golden Image.

Wednesday to ponder

I can't seem to get the tragic story of Bear-Bear out of my mind tonight. For those of you who don't know about this horrible tragedy, here is the Baltimore Sun story covering the sad details.

Dog shot in dog park - Baltimore Sun

This Husky was known to our bloggy friends who confirm the description of Bear-Bear as a good boy who only played "Husky rough" and did not deserve this fate.

I keep thinking about how much time Lady and I spend in the dog parks and how friendly, but fearless she is. A year ago we were in a new park in Goodyear, AZ when she went to greet a large Pit-Boxer mix on-leash with his owner. The dog immediately attacked her and she stood up and defended herself. The owner reeled the dog in before it could escalate, so good for him. For the next 15 minutes the poor dog snarled and strained the leash to "get at" every dog that approached. Later the owner asked me if he could have the dogs meet and tangle again so that (and I quote) "Lady can put him down and show him who's boss". I was stunned, refused - then got angry at his ignorance and chased him out of the park. Makes me wonder what went down in Maryland.

To this day, I watch other people's dogs VERY closely to see what level of socialization they have achieved. I stay as close as possible to "The Queen of greeting at the dog park", 'cause you never know what kind of baggage dogs and owners are bringing into the park. Be careful out there....please.