Barkie Baby

Today is a very sad day.  For the whole family.  Barkie was a member of our family.  He was one of us.  Not a good day at all.  I, we keep remembering.  It’s like our hearts are gone, not just broken, but gone.  None of us wanted to wake up. 

Barkie Baby

If you only knew the love you gave us.  The wonderful sound of your constant bark.  The faithful look in your eyes.  The constant smile you always wore. 

We were the lucky ones when you came to us with no hair, bone thin and looking for a bite to eat.  I feel so blessed to have be graced with your devotion.  You will never be far from our hearts.  Oh, I didn’t know a heart could break completely into.  We are going to miss you, dear.  I just hope we gave you as much love and affection as you gave us.  Three years wasn’t long enough.  I hope you feel better now.  We know you aren’t in pain.  Oh, my Barkie Baby…..

Pete

Pete in a tree trying to catch a mocking bird.  He was unsuccessful. 

Well, when you live in the country as we do, you have many cats and dogs that come up.  Some are dropped off and some come from the woods or where ever.  Over the years we have had many cats just “show up”.  Somehow we get attached to these animals and so far we have been lucky, they have all been male.  But what happens is they come up as kittens and then we get attached and then they leave.  There has been, Bob who was here when we moved in 5 years ago, who came and went about three times.  Then there was Harry, who came and went.  Then White Sox,Little Kitty, then Pete.  They always stay around about 5-6 months, I guess when they get the “hunting” down.  We find small mice, snakes and other small things left on the porch for us to find in the mornings.  I guess they are thinking, “look what we caught for you.”  Then, they just dissapear, the cats I mean.  Harry stayed around the longest.  But this time, we had a little screaming yellow cat one night last fall come up.  Of course he was a pest, always in my face, but like the others, he has taken flight.  All of the others of course we would have them vaccinated, and wormed and spend money on them.  But we knew what would happen with Pete, so we didn’t this time.  And of course over the weekend, Friday morning he didn’t show up.  Still hasn’t been around, so I guess it was his turn.  They all came back at least once or twice and then never to be seen again.  I just wonder if Pete will show back up.  I guess we’ll see.

Barkie Smarkie …. The Sheltie

 

I know I owe you guys the second part to Noisy Part One.  But I am still working on it.  I promise.

Today it’s about our dog.  His name is Barkie because, well, that’s what he does.  All the time.  Of course he is a Sheltie and those of you that have one know what I am talking about when I say he barks. 

Barkie came to us in the summer.  Some one either dropped him off or he got lost from his home.  Anyway he ended up here, with us.  When he came he had mange so bad that you couldn’t even tell what kind of dog he was.  But we nursed him back to health and he is just beautiful now. 

The thing is, sheltie’s have this have this big furry coat.  And in the winter, like it is now, they tend to have alot of fur.  Alot.  Well, he is no exception.  I have read a lot on this breed and they all say that they need to be brushed.  Quite often.  Well now I know why.  And let me tell you why.

Like some other dogs, he is deathly afraid of rain, thunder, and loud noises.  He mostly stays outside, but we let him in if it happens to be cold or if some of the previous occurrences mentioned happen. 
 
Now that he is getting really furry, he needs to be groomed and I just haven’t done it.  I am not sure how to begin.  But I do know that he needs some grooming around the back side.  Just from causal looking, we can tell that he needs a good trimming and washing.  If you know what I mean.  Hey, he can’t do it himself.  There is too much hair there. 

So, knowing the weather is about to change for the worse again, thunderstorms I mean, I had a job to do today.  Go back there and see if I could clean up the “area” so he could come inside when the thunder, or lightening or whatever is supposed to happen, happens.

Let me tell you something.  I have never, ever cleaned that much poop in my life.  Sure, babies poop.  Babies poop alot, but it doesn’t get stuck to the back side.  It took two pairs of rubber gloves, 6 or 7 old wash rags and a pair of scissors to get the “area” ready for the thunderstorms.  Let me tell you something else about shelties.  When they go from 15 lbs to 35 lbs, they have a hard time turning over from a laying position.  Which was the position we started from.  We also tried the standing position, but it didn’t seem that his tail was made to stay in the upright position that I needed it to, to be able to get to the place I needed to be. 

Lets just say it wasn’t pleasent for neither one of us.  He didn’t like me much after the job, and hey I can’t say as I much blame him.  I wouldn’t like anyone coming at my rear with wash rags, rubber gloves and scissors either.  But we got through it and now when the storms come, he can be comfortable inside.  I can be comfortable knowing that he will not be dropping surprises around the house.

Morale of this story??
If you have a sheltie, please groom your sweetheart.  They will thank you later, and you won’t have to pick up surprises during a storm.

By the way, I found a cool website.  Its all about the Sheltie….check it out

Sheltie Nation

Bad Harry, Bad

Having been very busy lately, I pulled a story from my list of stories from my other blog of long ago.  This happened in 2006.  Hope you enjoy it.

 Been quite busy here lately. But I have a post I must make. I told Noisy I would tell her sunflower story.We have a cat named Harry, or Mr. Harry sometimes. Big ole yellow tomcat. Now back at the beginning of summer the kids and I planted some seeds and they have been tending their own plants. Noisy had sunflowers and Nosey had watermelons. The sunflowers came up and the watermelons did too. But the watermelons, didn’t do too well. Their keeper, Nosey just wasn’t as interested as Noisy was with hers.  Anyway the sunflowers just started opening and had one that was really coming along wonderfully. One morning after breakfast, Noisy goes outside to check on the sunflowers, Harry follows her just like he always does.Now, I am washing dishes and have the water running and can’t really hear what is going on outside. But something in my mind says “something is wrong with Noisy”. I turn the water off and listen, sure enough I hear high pitched screaming. The kind you only hear when something really bad has happend like a bloody knee, or perhaps a snake bite…OMG!!  I am thinking hundreds of things at once, snake bite, Harry bite, cut foot, leg broken,  As I run to the back door, I can hear her screaming “NOOO YOOUUU DIDN”T!!!!!!! Over and over. Of course when I get there, she is chasing Harry out of the yard into the field with a big stick. So  I am thinking Harry has bit her.  But no…I see the sunflower, the pretty sunflower she has tended to everyday this summer, laying on the ground.  Oh dear, she screams at Harry as if her little heart is broken.  When she sees me she just collapes in the yard, stick in hand and crying to me in a tone that goes up and down, “MOMuuuuu!!!!!!!!! Harry killed my flowerrrrr!!!!!! My heart of course sank even further when she told me how he did it.  He was standing by it and just layed down beside it and rolled over it. So of course the only thing to do is cut the flower, bring it in and put in water.  Hoping it will live long enough for her to get past it.  With a couple hundred hugs and kisses and I’m so sorry sweeties, she is ok and we discuss how long it will live and that next year we are going to plant a field of them.  Whewwww.  That was very emtional and draining. But of course Mom comes up with an idea. To make that flower live forever………A wonderful Photo of the Sunflower…..Baddd Harry Baaaadd.

Unwanted Animals

Please people, please don’t take your unwanted animals to the country and just drop them off.  I know you think that if you do, they will find food and shelter.  But 90% of the time, they don’t.  Some times they will sit in the very same spot you drop them off. Waiting for you to come back and pick them up.  We see this happen over and over out here where we live.   People, these animals don’t always find a home.  They don’t always find food.  Lots of times, they get run over.  Or they get shot.   Or they starve to death, because they have been domesticated.  

Right now we have 2 dogs roaming the area that someone has dropped off.  A mother and a pup.  For a about a month now, these two dogs have been hanging around the same area where lots of people tend to “drop off” their unwanted pets.  They are too scared to come up to our place because of our dog.  But they are still hanging around where someone left them.  They were in pretty good shape when we first started seeing them.  But now they seem to be kinda bony.  There isn’t much around to eat except for bugs and small animals.  That in itself could cause them intestinal pain and disease. 

Every pet we have had has been the result of someone dropping off their “pet” they no longer want.  Just this past summer, we noticed a little sheltie hanging around the corner where I guess the drop off point is.  You couldn’t even tell it was a sheltie.  The poor thing looked more like a bald coyote.  For about a week, we watched the little dog sit beside the road.  Wondering what would happen to him or her.   Soon the dog was hungry enough to make it’s way to our house.  But only at night, so as not to be seen I guess.  He looked positively horrible, but upon closer inspection, we noticed he looked a little like a sheltie.  A sheltie with a horrible case of mange.  The little hair he had, was matted so bad the t-shirt material he was wearing for a makeshift collar, was all tangled together.  This dog made me cry.  And I don’t mean just a little boo hoo, I mean angry, frustrated, and horrified that someone used to own this dog. 

 I couldn’t help it, but I had to feed him.  Now not all animals will I feed.  Remember we have two small children who don’t understand rabies just yet.  Or  rather don’t understand what can happen as a result.

So anyway, I feed him and he looks so sad.  But he doesn’t come up to the house, but rather hangs out away from the house.   After a week or so of keeping the kids away and watching the behavior of the dog,  Nosey throws a stick.  The dog fetches and brings the stick and lays it at his feet.  I think that is what got Bud to thinking.  Not long after that, we took him to the vet.  He had  mange.  He had all kinds of worms.   And the vet said he was an older dog.  Upon closer inspection, he also noted he was neutered.  Further evidence this dog had been “dropped off”.   So he was wormed, received all shots, and we were sent home with medicine to dip him with.  Within a few weeks, his hair started growing back.  I finally cut away all the matted hair, and now 5 months later, he is a beautiful dog.  A member of the family. 

But the point I am trying to make is that, not all animals are this lucky.  Most of the time, they are beyond help.  Like I said previously, most get run over, or turn wild, or die of rabies or starvation. 

Please, Please don’t drop off your unwanted pets in the country somewhere.  Just because you place them near homes, doesn’t mean they will survive.  Take them to a shelter where they can possibly be adopted out and have a chance at a good home. This sheltie, just happened to be lucky, unlike the two roaming around the area now.