POV

888 — A phase of your life is about to end, and this is a sign to give you forewarning to prepare. This number sequence may mean you are winding up an emotional career, or relationship phase. It also means there is light at the end of the tunnel. In addition, it means, “The crops are ripe. Don’t wait to pick and enjoy them.” In other words, don’t procrastinate making your move or enjoying fruits of your labor.
———————
That is what Doreen Virtue says about triple eight, which is today’s date.

How is my 08-08-08 going? The first thing that I saw this morning were two e-mails about the passing of two more Dobie friends. For some reason, passings often happen in threes, after Sadie, came Sissy and Kilo. Mon Dieu. They were both lovely and much-loved Doberkids, who were on this planet too short a time.

This is Kilo on 10-18-03 when he was still in rescue and on the FDPRR website. He had some hair loss problems, and his adopter had worked on that before, so was ready, willing and able to apply her knowledge to Kilo’s skin.

These pictures were taken of Sissy in either 2002 or 2003. The one with her human companion was taken in the early part of the year, maybe February. The one where Sissy is trying to figure out what to do with her Frisbee was taken at a Dobermann Picnic in the fall of 2002 or 2003.

After reading about the two sudden departures, lunch came around, and I took the newspapers to the wildlife center as usual, but there, I met up with the Fedex driver who delivers to the high rise I work in. She jumped out with a box, and I said, “So you deliver here, too?”

She said, “No, I found this guy at the jail while I was making my deliveries. They were trying to help him, but couldn’t, so I wanted to bring him here on my lunch break.” She showed me a box with a beautiful huge green lizard looking up from a platform of glue paper. He was stuck. It was a tragic thing, and if anyone could help him, it would be the wildlife center.

I’d only wished I’d thought about that weeks ago when I found a smaller version of a lizard stuck to a round fly trap I’d had by the dog poop bucket. Not thinking; I was not thinking when I put that trap there. I could not release that poor little brown lizard, so I did the only humane thing I knew, and was to wrap him up and let him fall asleep in the freezer. His eyes were a smaller version of the big green eyes I saw today. I will ask next week or if I see the Fedex driver if he was unglued, released, and saved. I have since thrown away my big fly sticky paper fly traps.

The FDSP does lizards in, but they are fast about it in most cases, and that seems more natural. Dogs are predators and hunt. So when I was driving home, and mind you, at lunch, I had to take an extreme detour to get from the wildlife center to home, I ran into a herd of five or six elementary-school-aged children with a green lizard dangling by its head from a string. What sort of theme was I running into this day?

To further torture myself, there is a sweet red female Dobermann at a local shelter who is all natural, probably six or seven years old, has a bit of a skin disorder, and she can only be released to rescue because of it. I really have no more room, but on the other hand, I want to save her. It’s been a back-and-forth decision making process going through my mind since Wednesday. This sort of thing makes me insane! It’s like a non-stop ping-pong game in my head. Yes/no – yes/no – yes/no. Argh! Yes/no – yes/no – yes/no…

I looked on-line today, and she is still at the shelter. I don’t know if any other rescue will take her, but I am thinking not. Times are, people want the perfect looking Dobie who is cropped/docked, young and shiny. Even though there are wonderful Dobies behind the all natural ones, or ones who need a little spit and polish. Lord knows I have spat and polished a lot of Dobies, and they appreciate that second chance the most! If this girl were cropped/docked, she would be adopted in a heartbeat. Just look at her! What a smiley-faced beauty! Where is the breeder of this dog? She/he should be the safety net for this girl in times like these. Our society is set up wrong. Think about how many dogs and cats will die tonight in shelters across the country, while people are breeding more dogs for a buck. There is something so wrong with this. What will it take to stop it?

While this is torturing me, and I’m driving back to work, right in the left-turn lane, in the way of getting into the parking garage, is a car with both back lights blinking…a dead car!

I might have a drink tonight, and I’m not talking water.

Helen

P.S. I received the National #N180-489 2PK 4″ galvanized loop hooks in the mail today for my yet-to-be-built bar jump.

I also received a lousy letter about a really lousy lousy vet I filed charges against for Luigi’s botched up, did-nothing-but-take-money “job” when he was in dire need of emergency help. The board of licenses, the general counsel (chief BS artist) himself, sent me a letter saying there was no findings of the lousy vet doing anything wrong, and the case is closed. And by the way, I will not be allowed to see the file saying how these BS artists came up with that conclusion. One hand is kissing the other in all these so-called “watch dog” boards, and this vet licensing board isn’t watching over the benefit of our pets. It’s the way these “professionals” keep each other in business no matter how bad a job they do.

08-08-08 was not a pleasant day for me. I think I’ll open the back door to let some moonlight in and stuff Kongs.

POV, Rescues, Spiritual

Aug

2008

The Aussie vs The Dobie Nest

Helen

Now that I have two lovely Aussies, I can tell you that there is a definite difference in the way Aussies and Dobies keep their nests. Pictures are worth a thousand or so words in this case.

Here we have Taylor and Annie in their nests. I lay the blankets down flat for them, and this is how they re-arrange them. It’s as if they are putting themselves on the little thrones that they so belong upon. These little girls are the hardest working fuzzy-butts in the FDSP and deserve their thrones.

On the other paw, are the Dobies, who tend to enjoy the flat bed type of blanket. There are exceptions to that rule. Ginger likes to rumple her crate blanket up, but other than that, the rest of the Dobie den dwellers like the smooth and tidy look. It’s not that they aren’t princesses and princes, because they are. But perhaps the Aussie’s are a tad more vigilent on being “on top of things.” Plus Dobies like to stretch out, and aren’t so much the curling types. Especially at 2 a.m. when they’re on my bed and I’m on the edge of that bed. Yup.

Helen

POV

Jul

2008

North Carolina’s Underwhelming Response

Helen

Wow! I’m underwhelmed with the responses from the e-mail I sent to the 3 representatives of North Carolina government. Here is what I wrote:

Gentlemen:

I received an e-mail with a video about the gassing of homeless pets in death tubes in North Carolina. In a day and age when the more humane way of euthanizing through an injection while the dog is being held as it goes to sleep, muzzled or not, is available, why use such a barbaric method for putting these animals to sleep?

I’m doing my best to spread the word that N.C. is still using this frightening method of euthanasia, and am boycotting anything North Carolinian until the governor initiates state legislation banning gassing and this practice is stopped in favor of what the civilized parts of this great nation is doing, injection as mentioned above.

When I hear anyone mention North Carolina, I will let them know how little that state thinks of God’s creatures to put them through such a horrific death. This is appalling.

Helen Verte
Florida, USA

The two that responded wrote the following:
1. On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 5:37 PM, <lebert@nccbi.org> wrote:
Please change my email address from lebert@nccbi.org to lebert@ncchamber.net

2. On Fri, Jul 11, 2008 at 10:03 AM, <governor@ncmail.net> wrote:
Thank you for contacting the office of Governor. We appreciate hearing from you. Your e-mail will be directed to the appropriate individual for a response.

3. No response from Steve Troxler.

Michelangelo

Helen

Two of my favorite muscial artists are Emmylou Harris and Counting Crows. Absolutely wonderful!

One Saturday night, in South Florida, before satellite radio in Fort Doberdale, I was scrolling the dial and caught the local country western station. They said it was the listener request night, so I called in to ask for an Emmylou Harris song. Didn’t matter which, just any. The DJ told me they did not play any Emmylou Harris. I asked if they were country/western or not? Yes, but we do not play Emmylou. Why not? Because we just don’t.

Can you imagine? That’s South Florida for you. I’d worked at two c/w radio stations in So. Calif back when music and the radios that played it were purer of heart and listener popularity – not $$$$ for playtime. One station was AM (KCKC) and one was FM (KNTF). Both played Emmylou and all the solid c/w artists. Emmylou was around singing c/w long before the punk DJ on the South Florida station was listening, and yet…eeegads!

To this day, I am dumbfounded with a c/w station that put such a policy into effect. I do not even know the station because I refused to listen to it after that. I’d rather hear the sound of silence, which is a beautiful sound in and of itself.

Well, back to my revelation. This afternoon, I noted that both Emmylou and Counting Crows recorded songs about Michelangelo. Harris recorded “Michelangelo” and Crows, did “When I Dream of Michelangelo.” Imagine that, will you? How often does anyone think of the man? But he lives through their music. He’s got some heavy duty psychic vibes, Michelangelo does.

T-TOUCH DAY!

Helen

June 28, 2008

Here we go to the T-touch seminar. Baby is ready to take her trip. She’s the best back seat driver there is! If there is a squirrel, dog, cat, or any kind of varmint in the vicinity, she will let me know by barking. Sometimes, I get the full effect of it right in my ear if everything’s timed right. She’s a gem, I tell you. An absolute gem!

“We’re here! Let me out!” Baby is anxious to get started and see what’s going on in the midst of all this activity she’s seeing. “Is that a Pomeranian I see? Let me out!”

Here are the instructors, Karin and Deirdre. The stuffed dogs are their demonstration dogs. Karin is from the Netherlands and Deirdre is from England. They were both impressed with Baby’s all naturalness. Of course, Baby’s lovely personality and beautiful face were also awe inspiring (and “Ahhh” inspiring. She’s so cute!). 🙂

Baby wouldn’t hush up if I wasn’t petting her, but my arms got tired. I put both of my feet around her, and that seemed to keep her quiet. One of the T-Touch principles is that you have two points with which you put pressure on the dog and that makes them feel comfortable. Maybe they have something right with that idea!

Here is Baby wearing her back leg ankle bands. One is black and one is white. They didn’t have a matching set. These are supposed to make her feel her backside again being she has pretty bad arthritis, the musculature in her back end is wearing down, and she doesn’t feel it. The ankle bands are supposed to draw attention to her that she has those back legs and needs to start using them again. We also were visited, during a break, by a participant who is a canine physical therapist. She said Baby could use her help! The PT said she was a human PT first, then took some special classes that lets her practice at a vet’s office. Ain’t that something? There isn’t a specialized field of study to be “just” a PT for pets and be able to practice without being under a vet. You have to go into human PT first, then specialize to be a solo practitioner.

Baby is very good at getting treats and here she is doing just that. Alongside of that is a T-Touch massage. “Yes, that feels pretty good,” she says.

Here Baby is taking a photo break after getting a drink of water, and shaking off her ankle bracelets. She’s very excited to be here, and really wanted to go around and explain this to each and everyone except it wasn’t allowed. There were many other dogs with big social issues. Baby doesn’t have a social issue. She enjoys schmoozing with anyone and their pets. Though with pets, she gives them about a 3-5 second introduction of niceties, then she barks at their face to back them off her bad DoberDiva self. She’s a special gal!

These are the dogs to the right of us. Buster is the Beagle, and there is a Boston Terrier, and a Pomeranian whose name is Fontleroy. The woman with the MinPin is trying the T-Touch wrap to settle this dog down. The MinPin is supposedly a biter and doesn’t like people or other animals. And she was originally very uncomfortable in her wrap. She got wrapped before the rest of us, during a break, to help her calm down.

Baby is so cute! She may be 11 years old, but she looks like and has the curiosity of a puppy. I don’t know what she was looking for here, but maybe it was a lizard? Or an fairie? Whatever it was, Baby found it fascinating.

Here is Karin setting up a course that the dogs will walk through once they have their wraps on.

It looks like there’s some sheriff activity going on here. Nothing gets by Baby! She’s ready to tend to the task at hand, if possible, running down there to get some attention from those men! She’s a bit of a hussy, Baby is.

This is the snippy little MinPin again. She’s wearing a two-snap leash to make her feel more embraced and confident. Two touching points are the key. One on each side of her little body.

The Pom, Font, is very cute in his chair. His owner is sitting on the floor.

It’s about time to get wrapped up! This wrap is to give the dog consciousness of its whole body. Unlike people where we can see ourselves in the mirror and know we are more than a head, dogs aren’t always aware of the back end or the rest of their bodies. They think they’re just a head, according to this theory. The wrap gives them awareness of all of them. Luigi is one who crabs when he heels, and is also learning that he has to steer the back end in accordance with the front. I’ve seen numerous Dobies throughout the years who are expert crabbers. The T-Touch idea may help with this.

Baby is really not sure about all this stuff she’s wrapped in. The Pom seems to be taking it in stride. We were hoping to find some color coordinate wraps, but they only had one color at the drug store.

There was something called a snout wrap, too. That is an idea I might use on Little Big Pants. You can use a flexible head band and put a figure 8 around the dogs head and snout. Karin tried this on the brown and blue eyed Sheltie in the class. It worked, but not sure if it was because she stopped barking because of the wrap or because she was busy trying to paw it off her snoot. The concept on the snoot wrap is that the dog isn’t aware of its mouth. We also did a snout T-touch, and I am still wondering, “Raven isn’t aware of her mouth? That big boca? Hmmm. Maybe?” Well, the whole class settled down after the first break of three segments of the class. That was noticeable because the barking was very apparent for the first section. Many dogs barked.

The wrap doesn’t make a DoberDiva anymore nosy than she already is, but it does enhance her need to snoop. Before going outside, Baby needed to check out what was inside every one of Karin’s shopping bags. She even attempted a jump up with front paws to see what was inside some storage slots, but that was not to happen. Not with Baby’s arthritis, and I didn’t have the strength to lift her high enough to see. So we set our sails for the great outdoors for new adventures.

When we went outside, Baby sniffed a tree, and showed off her cute rear end all wrapped up. The wrap looks so much better when one has a flowing tail to drape through it. A stub amidst a wrap like this just wouldn’t look as elegant. Though Leissl and Luigi may have something to say about that!

This lady has a Vizsla whose tail doesn’t stand in the show ring. She is here to try to remedy that, so her dog will show better in conformation. She has put Baby’s ankle bracelets on the dog! Mon Dieu! Baby would not like to have those ankle bracelet back now, thank you very much. No way!

Here is the group going through some of the obstacle courses. What fun. And thank goodness there was some shade!

The owner of the Vizsla tweaked that bunchie on that tail. I’m not sure if it was working right, or not. But maybe come clicking and treating to get that tail up would help with the bunchie idea.

Meanwhile, Deirdre helped some of the class participants, while Baby and I were wrapping it up. The little Aussie in this picture is a youngster, and put her face in Baby’s for over 5 seconds a couple times. Her owner says she’s learning slowly. Yep. Baby is so bossy, too.

We went inside for any last minute questions. I asked about the tail touch, which evidently I missed as it was touched on outdoors. So Karin took Baby and T-touched her tail, showed us how to gently pull the tail and release, so it falls down on its own. She mentioned that Baby’s tail is tight. Poor thing.

Everyone got a certificate from the group that sponsored this event, Performance Pups, Inc., for finishing the class, and we had to be out of the facility promptly at 5 p.m. We were and headed home where Baby got sniffed and had to recuperate from her full day of activities at Sunview Park.

Even as I write this today, the day after, Baby is still recuperating. It was an intense 3-hour “workout” for a senior DoberDiva. I had feared I may have hurt her or overdid it, but she is slowly getting back to herself. Just like us mere humans, DoberDivas take longer to rebound as they mature. It’s a fact of life all over the spectrum of life. I’ve giving her some T-touches and ear rubs, and even stretched her tail. She had a bit of a sore shoulder going into this, as well, which needs rest more than anything. But tonight, she has started to look more like herself and acting like it, too. I will try the wrap again, 20 minute max every other day, once she is 100% back to herself. In the meantime, I need to find one of those haribands for a certain Tree Climber in the family. 🙂

For more information on T-Touch, click here!

Helen

Baby, Health, POV

Jun

2008

POV

08-08-08

The Aussie vs The Dobie Nest

North Carolina’s Underwhelming Response

Michelangelo

T-TOUCH DAY!

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