My Tazr

This is Tazr (pronounced Tay-zer)…he will be 6 months old on September 3, 2006 I hope he qualifies to put up on the website. Thanks for all the great info.. Sherisse D

To George with Love

I once heard a saying “Life without a poodle is like dancing without music, you can do it, but why?” and every day I live with you I realize how true that is for me. You have given me so much joy. You make me laugh, you make me cry. You even make me worry when you run whole heartedly towards larger dogs at the dog park, but then you make me proud with the way you behave and show the other dogs how it’s done. I love how you snub dogs that you don’t want to play with and make humans earn the right to pet you. I love how once they’ve earned your trust; they’ve earned it for life. Sometimes, I think you’re smarter than me. Sometimes, I know you’re smarter than me. I promise to do my best to make sure you have a long healthy happy life. I will ensure that your life isn’t just a life, but a member of the family and our best companion. I will go to long lengths to ensure that you receive the best obedience training and will continue to take you to agility as long as you still enjoy it. I promise to replace each toy you destroy no matter the cost and play with you until you’re sleepy. I promise to continue to challenge the food that I buy for you and make sure that I read every ingredient to ensure you’re not eating chemicals, but all natural foods. I promise to keep you up to date on all necessary vaccinations and make sure you get your yearly medical check ups. And when the time comes, I promise to make the biggest decision of my life and make sure that you leave us without pain and knowing you are loved. Because George, when I picked you up at 8 weeks old. You promised to love me. And I know you do. Melissa B

The one I waited for

Bare with me as I tell Hailey’s tale…. I was five when I fell in love with the breed. I had books upon books about the breed, books that told me how to groom, train, love, show and race them. I fell head over hills with every husky I saw. While I begged for years my mother and father neglected to listen and brought home every breed other than a husky! The more I pushed the more they became blind sided to the breed. So I gave up gathered my losses and planed out a future to come with the hope of one day owning a husky. Unfortunately my best friend died of liver cancer and I became lost and had no desire to shovel throw my stressful days without my doggy therapist to come home to. Lucky a coworker tossed the husky dream back into my thoughts and I set off on a mission. At sixteen I had convinced my mother to allow me to buy my own show dog with an attached promised that said I would pay for everything the dog needed and to this day neither parent has had a reason to spend a single penny on her. So I seek out a sibe breeder at the dog show I was attending and with my surprise he told me he had one girl left! Of course I was over joyed and went home to look up the litter on the internet. The whole time I listened to my family and friends who tried to discourager me from purchasing the puppy, because we had little dogs running around the house. It became insanely easy to block them out when I looked upon Hailey’s picture, as if looking into her eyes caused imaginary ear plugs to found their way into my ears. The breeder was over joyed at the fact that their little girl was going to a show home and I was over joyed that they allowed me to have her. At seven and a half weeks old I drove a six hour round trip to pick my girl up. I was almost in tears when I hugged her and knew she was mine! That weekend I took her to her first puppy match! I also learned of her possessive/aggression problems. She tried to not only bite a passing strangers foot but tried to swallow her toy. Right away I pried the toy away and to this day she has never gotten that toy or one like it back. I also spent the next twenty minutes teaching my seven and a half week old husky puppy to ‘Release’. Even to this day it’s the best command she listens to! Just goes to show you can start training at any age! Not only did I hear a lot of “I told you so’s” that referred to my huskies behaviors, I had gotten a husky that fit all the ‘bad’ traits of the breed. But seeing that I was not only young but basically friendless due to moving place to place, I took the challenge and allowed our stubborn personalizes to clash and created a bond between the two of us. I spent countless hours trying to mellow out Hailey’s prey drive. While I failed to ‘mellow’ out her drive I did happen to teach her pack order. I did this by feeding all the little dogs before while she sat muzzled, (due to her biting) and watched the others dogs eat, after wards she received her food. While we still have many learning lessons to come I hear many ‘I told you so’s’ turning into ‘Wow! What a great job you did with her! I can not believe you got that husky to behave so well!’ While these comments please me it’s a pity the breed has gotten such a bad rap due to people not taking the time to raise their pup properly. While I will admit huskies are not for everyone. I mean in reality how many people have the time to stop a three-four month old puppy from chasing down little dogs and pinning them to the ground in a very aggressive way? Or chase a puppy through a swamp and trip over them in the woods because they hip deep into a rabbit hole? While the breed has many con’s, a huskies loves is all I need to get through the hard times. We spend most of our days together, rather it be playing ball in the park or laying together while I type this story. She truly is the one thing that keeps me going day after day. I love her howls, kisses, hugs and personality. I wouldn’t trade a single inch of our bond and trust for a million dollars. Money can buy you a pet but only love, time, determination and knowledge can give you a perfect pet. Haileys story was told by Shanna

Franklin the beagle

Hello! I would like to introduce you to Franklin (more affectionately known as Frankie) He’s a 6 month old Beagle. This picture was taken after he had been sniffing around in the garden. He’s always sniffing, sniffing. He likes looking for worms in the back yard and I guess thats what he had been doing on the day I took this picture. He has a Jack Russell friend called Brandie who is 11 years old, what an age gap! Frankie encourages Brandie to be naughty and they always run around the back yard together (usually beating each other up with their paws!) He’s a real chewer, and he slobbers water all over the place when he’s been drinking. Often I’ve found myself covered in water when my little “running bear” comes up for a cuddle. He’s a wonderful addition to our family, with such a great big personality! Thanks for your tips and tricks, Heather & Rick

Serina My Siberian Huskey

Hello, Well I bought Serina from a local breeder for my husband for a Christmas present. When I bought her she was about 6 months old. She now is 14 months old. She has one blue eye and one brown eye. Her coat is long but not as thick as her brother’s was. The woman said that she had been bought before but was brought back. When I went to pet her she tucked her tail and ran away. That is what sold me on her. I knew that she needed a loving home so wrote the, went through all of the paper work and got her home as soon as possible. She has been a wonderful addition to our family. She sleeps with us. She loves our cats. She loves going to work with me every day. She gets along with our horses really well also. I have done a lot of reading about these dogs and I have to say she seems a little different than what I expected from all of the reading and research I’ve done. For one thing I can take her out side off of a leash and let her run on 10 achers of land and when I call her she is right by side. She gets a wild hair every now and again, but usually if she won’t come in right away she wants us to play with her and chaise her so she can spin circles around us. Then, to let her know that play time is over, we tell her to lie down and she does it and we open our front door and she goes right on in. Training her has been pretty easy. She loves treats. Getting her to sit, lie down, and speak weren’t very hard to to. Another trait that I have noticed that she has is that she seems to be some what protective. I work in a shop for my Step-dad’s lawn maintenance company and there are guys in and out of there all day long. When I am in the shop alone she barks at some of the guys if they try to come near my section of the office and the bigger they are the louder she barks. I know that she would never go after them, they usually start playing with her after that. It seems like she saying, “My Mommy’s here alone and I’m watching you.” She’s not nearly as hyper as her brother. She gets really excited and gives us lots of kisses, but when she’s done she lays down and takes cat naps until it’s time to entertain her again. I can defiantly tell she gets bored fast. She also gets excited easily. The first chance she gets to play she is on top of it. My husband I train horses in the evening. We have a blast with her and the horses. I guess she doesn’t really understand the whole us on their back thing and she watches us ride. As soon as something happens that she doesn’t like she makes sure to let the horse know that they have her family on their back. A couple of times she’s tried to get on their backs with us. I have been getting lessons and training my horse for jumping. When I’m out jumping a low course at about 2 ft. she sometimes will follow my horse and i over the jumps. When she’s tired of then she’ll run down to our house from the barn and wait by the door for us to come let her in. The lady who owns the property that we live on has 5 dogs that Serina loves to go play with. They get to where they are running around and having such a good time together that they start a little doggy train that goes through the whole house. She has a few bad habits. When we leave her alone when she really wants to come with us she will find something to chew on. Sometimes we are fortunate and it is one of her toys. Sometimes we are not so fortunate and it is 4 whole rolls of toilet paper. She’ll drag it to our bed and when we come home it looks like the toilet paper exploded all over our bed. Potty training was a little harder than anticipated considering that the lady we bought her from said that she was potty trained. Luckily, I found a carpet shampoo that works really well on pet odors. She seems to be over that now though, or at least we haven’t had any accidents in a couple of months. So I can handle a little toilet paper chewing. I just had to learn to keep the bathroom door closed when we weren’t home. Her hair is the biggest thing. The hotter it gets out side, the more she looses. We never leave her out in the heat she’s in and out for potty breaks and loading up into the truck to and from work. In the winter time we let her out a lot more, but it is just too hot here for her to be out for long periods of time right now. I give baths as she needs them and she gets brushed everyday to every other day. My house usually gets vacuumed every other day and my beds sheets get changed more often than they used to. So the hair stays pretty well under control. All in all she’s working out very well. My hubby and I love her very much and she loves showing us that she loves us also. Even our cats seem to like her. When we go scary trips to the vet Shelby curls up with Serina in the back seat. Smokey, our other cat, likes to use her tail as a play toy. That usually starts an episode of running around and batting at each other (My cats are declawed.). They are so much fun to watch. Robert and I laugh for quite some time over it. I often ask my husband, “What did we used to do for entertainment before we brought her home?” Or “Could you imagine our lives without her.” No not really. So that is Serina’s story. I don’t have any pictures on my computer right now but when I get them I will send you some. Serina’s Very Proud Owner, Jamie L

My chihuahua Sam

My husband and I take care of my mother who has Alzheimers Diease. Sam, our two year old chihuahua, has decided that it is his job to let me know when my mom leaves a room. Each time she leaves the living room, he will come and find me. He takes my finger in his month and pulls. He doesn’t bite. He just kind of “hooks” my finger behind his canines and pulls. When he does this I know that mom is leaving the living room. Here is a picture of Sam. It isn’t the best, but it is the only one that I had on hand. We have five chihuahuas. Sam and four females. Laura T

My Rottie

HI RAY MY DOG TELLS YOU WHEN HE WANTS A BISCUIT HE IS A ROTTIE HE IS 3 YEARS OLD AND LOVLEYBROWN BLACK WHEN YOU TELL HIM TO LAY DOWN HE ROLLS ON TO HIS BACK WITH HIS LEGS UP IN THE AIR HE NOWS WHEN IT IS TIME FIR HIS WALK THE SAME TIME EVERY NIGHT HE WILL BARK AND PACE UP AND DOWN BUT HE CARNT TRAVELL HE GETS CAR SICK HE DOESENT LIKE OTHER DOGS WHEN THERE ARE DOGS ON TJE TELL HE RUNS TO THE TELL TO SEE WHER THEY ARE HE IS RIGHT COMICEL SONIA H

Reba & Coco

We got Reba & Coco one February night. We had just lost our two loyal friends Tippy (21) and Reda (9) at the end of 2005. Tippy obviously died of old age and Reda died shortly afterwards of Cancer. We were devastated. At first we didn’t even want another dog. After a while we decided that we needed a dog, being that we live on the farm and a dog is a great asset, both for company and also for security. I told a colleague of mine that we were looking for a dog and could she keep her eyes open for us. She responded that her friends dog just had puppies at the beginning of December and she would see if there were any left. As luck would have it there were four left. My husband and I decided that instead of getting just one dog we would get a brother and a sister, that way they would have company and someone to play with. Now back to the February 2006 night. Michelle and two friends showed up with two adorable little bundles and we fell in love on the spot. My husband took the brown one and said “Your name is Coco” and so it was. It took me a few days to come up with the perfect name for the black female. I watched her and observed her behaviour. I found her to be loving, energetic, funny, smart and talented. I named her “Reba”. Yes, after Reba McIntyre, and she has lived up to her namesake. In the spring we invested in an underground containment system to insure their safety and that they do not get into trouble with our neighbours. It was so worth it….the pups get to run on 51/2 acres and have fun all day long and they are waiting at the roadside when we return home from work. They are visibly excited to see us with their tails wagging and running back and forth with excitement for us to get out of the car and greet them. It is all about unconditional love and they sure have the market cornered there. Just to be on the safe side we put them in at night incase of coyotes prowling at night. We would not want to risk their health and safety in any way. They certainly are very busy dogs during the day. When we get home we find all kinds of things on the front lawn. We find shoes that have been lost for years, collars from former pets and who knows who else, milk jugs, boards, rope, binder twine, branches, chewed up hoses, and even sometimes an entire small tree that we had cut down and piled for burning. They have even taken to removing our patio lights and putting them where they want them. They even chewed up my husband’s favorite saddle blanket. When I noticed it all chewed up and the stuffing falling out all over the place, I knew that my husband would be angry so I quickly picked up all the incriminating evidence and hid it. My husband was coming to the barn right about then so I had to hide it quickly. He did not find it then; however, a few weeks later he came across the pieces of his horse blanket. The jig was up I had to fess up, but by that time, he had cooled down and the puppies lived to chew another day and maybe even another saddle blanket. Needless to say, my husband is much more careful about what he leaves within reach of the pups. Not long ago our grandchildren were out to the farm for a visit and our 11 year old grandson took his shoes off outside like a good boy, however, he left them there and did not bring them in the house where they would have been safe…..you guessed it….the shoes were gone…..after searching high and low Devyn found one of them…..it was all chewed up….not much good for anything. Devyn learned a valuable lesson that day and also shares a painful experience with his grampa. Even though they eat us out of house and home and chew everything in sight, come charging out of the tall grass when we have a skittish horse on the lead and almost cause a wreck, harass the cats and generally get into more mischief than their share we love them dearly. It is like being young and raising children all over again. People tell us that they will grow out of it……what we want to know is…………WHEN!!!!!!! Anyway, that is the story of the everyday adventures of living with Coco & Reba. Every day is always different and they never fail to entertain us. Life is certainly not dull with them around. Oh yeh! The black female is Reba and the brown male is Coco. CUTE AREN’T THEY!!!!! Linda & Ken W Balgonie, Saskatchewan

The dumpster dog

Belle was found treading water in a large dumpster behind our office in Oct of 2000. She was 3 months old. Hi, my name is Belle I’m happy to be here, this tale to tell. Teresa found me where I had been thrown away & ask my papa if for a few days I could stay Just until a new home could be found for me someone with vision enough, my inner beauty to see My ears were full of mites & my eyes were dazed what lived in my coat,you’d be amazed My papa said”bring that puppy here” As he gently took me from the van trembling with fear I had a box,a blanket, I was safe and secure I was a lucky puppy for sure My mama, recovering with a new hip said”Teresa hurry I can’t take care of myself,let alone this little furry” My papa looked at me and said ” this won’t do you smell like a dog, off to the bath with you That bath was bad, but not the worst yet The next day, I’m off to the vet I’m inspected, injected,he said I’m a cur He checked me for worms,I won’t say where I got to spend the day & he put me to sleep I woke up, my tummy was sore & and I didn’t feel like me They said this makes me a good dog and I won’t roam If this all happens here,I don’t want a new home I guess all that was good for me My papa begin to tell me how pretty I’ll be My eyes did shine, my coat became sleek But my mama would never come out and to me speak My yard was so wonderful and big I ran,tumbled,barked and holes I did dig I chased bugger,pooped and peed And things called squirrels I treed Teresa came one day,all excided with glee Told my mama,she’d found a home for me Mama’s face was a joy to behold Ha, she didn’t know what buy my papa she’d be told He said “what, give up this girl, I can’t do it now She’s made her way into my heart somehow My mama said “Now daddy, this is insane” This dog don’t even have a name” “Well” papa said “we’ll call her Gal, Sal or Nell But mama said “no, she looks like a Belle” “Well, what will we do when go in the R.V. Teresa solved that, she ‘ll come home with me I get to come in the house now,in the ac or heat I sit in my papas lap and he give me a treat I have a baby,a bone and a bath once a week Papa’s s.a.s. shoes I ate when they came from the store But not being a dumb dog, I eat shoes no more The house plants and silk flowers I did rearrange Oh, the words my mama said didn’t sound like my name She’s walking now but with a stick To get out of the way ,I’ve learned to be real quick Mama said to papa”if she is going to live in this house She must learn to be still as a mouse” She must sit,stay,wait and lie down She must stop this running and jumping around They expelled me form basic obedience class the 3rd day The basics escaped me and I didn’t obey I didn’t like that lady,not one bit So between my papas knees,my bottom did sit I thought it was over and it was done I’d be just a hound,I thought I’d won Mama said”not so,home schooling we’ll do Ok Belle,its just me and you” Papa wasn’t home,there was no place to go I’ve learned to sit,stay,lie down and roll over just so This course is physically exhausting and mentally draining Mama gives new meaning to obedience training Something call grandkids came one day I though they were like me and wanted to play We jumped,ran and fell on the floor We played till my tongue hung out and I could play no more The big big kids didn’t like me didn’t understand, I could tell Why papa would love a 50 lb fur ball,prone to smell My papa just smile and says”that my girl” Get used to her now,she’s part of your world So,if we should meet while behind my ears are still wet Remember, be patient,my mama’s not done with me yet

Our Mollie

I moved out of my parents house almost exactly one year ago. I had lived there all my life and have a very close relationship with my mum, dad, younger sister and of course our dog Cassie. I was very happy living at home with my family, so when the time came to move out I was quite distraught. Although my boyfriend and I had decided it was time to get our own house and move in together, it didn’t stop me from being really upset at having to leave the comfort and security of my home. I cried every night for about 3 months and went back to my mum and dad’s as much as I possibly could, which ended up being about 5 out of 7 nights. My relationship with my boyfriend started to suffer and we discussed what we could do to help things. Around that time, my boyfriend was due to have surgery on his back which would mean him being off work for 6-8 weeks and we discussed whether it would be a good idea to maybe get a dog, as I had always had a dog and missed my Doberman cross Cassie who lived at home with my parents. Anyway, we forgot about it for a while and concentrated on the operation. On the day, we drove to the hospital and waited for the surgeon to come to the room to talk us through what he was going to do in the operation. It ended up that he had decided against the particular operation and we had to go home. On the way back, we decided to stop off at a pub for some lunch. While there we chatted about the Dog’s Home which was just down the road. My boyfriend joked around and suggested we go and have a look while we were at a loose end. I was a bit reluctant because it’s so sad when you see all the sad little faces looking at you, saying ‘Please choose me.’ In the end he convinced me to go for a look. We got to the end of the first row of kennels and there was the most frightened, neglected looking little red cocker spaniel you’ve ever seen, so much so we couldn’t work out whether it was very old or very young, and it didn’t have an information sheet on like most of the others. We asked a member of staff what the details were and she said that the dog had only been brought in half an hour earlier. We ended up walking the dog to the paddock to have a better look. She said it was a girl, her name was Mollie and she was 9 months old. We had already fallen in love with her and before we knew it we were paying the bill and signing the form to say we wanted to adopt her. The staff said how lucky it was that we came when we did, because it was very rare that pedigree cocker spaniels get brought in. We went straight to the pet shop and bought her a bed, some food, a few toys and all the other bits she would need. When we got her home, she was a bit unsure and nervous but settled down quite quickly onto her bed and went to sleep. She didn’t make a sound for the first few days, but since then she has certainly made up for it! The point of my story is that Mollie helped me so much to settle into my new home. It was fate that the operation was cancelled because if it had gone ahead as planned, we wouldn’t have gone to the Dogs Home when we did. My boyfriend and I love Mollie so much, we would do anything for her and we give her so much love, kisses and cuddles - she likes to give them back too! She has brought so much happiness into our lives. She is the prettiest dog I’ve ever seen, and the naughtiest! We quite often find her on our bed if we forget to close the door, and her favourite place is on the sofa, which she knows full well she is not allowed to do! She is probably there right now! I have attached a few photos of Mollie - I think you’ll agree that she’s gorgeous! Emma