Monday, February 23, 2015

Grateful Cat


A few weeks ago my daughter was visiting a friend who lives one street over, and she called me in a panic telling me she had found a stray cat and wanted to know if she could bring it home.  She brought home this cat who resembled a walking skeleton on 4 legs, and I caved.

It was -2 degrees out, and where we didn't need a third cat, I couldn't stand the fact the poor girl was going to stay outside.  I explained to my daughter that she could bring the cat inside, but it had to stay in her room, and we had to find a home for it.  Found a home for it we found...

Ours.

That is unless someone stumbles across this blog post and needs a cat named Nancy...

Sunday, February 22, 2015

All about perspective...


Mother Nature blessed us with 6 inches of snow this weekend, and in the middle of the storm our car broke down, so I was forced to try and either buy a new car or repair our old car, neither of which were convenient with snow on the ground.  

I found myself in a bad mood, stressed, worried, and the fact I was on call for the hospital only made things worse.  I just kept thinking:  "Doesn't Mother Nature know I have stuff to do this weekend?!"  After The Reluctant Farmer and I got home, I went outside with the dogs and it was then that I took a moment to look at the beauty surrounding me.  I realized it's all about perspective.  I was upset by all of the things that I couldn't do, yet when I looked over at my dachshund I realized things could be much worse.  I could have been an 8 inch tall wiener dog that was expected to pee in 6 inches of snow!  And, if Happy Wiener wasn't going to complain, I figured I couldn't either.  He wasn't bitter or angry, he just kept trudging along wagging his tail.  

I needed a reminder that soon enough spring will be here and then the hot days of August, and at that point I will miss the silence and solstice that the snow brought me.  I will miss the excuse it gave me to slow down.  

I hope you were able to enjoy the beauty of the weekend as well folks...

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Mail Order Bride



Today as I was playing with Lilly in the backyard it dawned on me, that adopting a rescue dog is a lot like ordering a "mail order bride."  You don't know what sort of baggage they come with, how they have been treated, what they are thinking, and exactly what their expectations are.  In spite of all this, you have to live together, share common spaces, and be committed to making "life" work with a being that doesn't even speak your same language!

Several months ago, I took a journey to Michigan to look at a Border Collie that was in rescue.  She had an agility title, her CGC and CGC-A titles, and honestly she appeared to be everything that I was looking for in a dog.   I wanted a dog that I could compete with, and that would worship the ground I walked on.

Instead I brought home a dog that was a neurotic mess.  She had a huge amount of drive, boundless energy, suffered from misplaced aggression, and had no respect for people.  She had no house manners, had no idea how to act, and was a total brat.  In fact for a minute I wondered what I had gotten myself into, mainly because this dog flipped me off at every chance she got, and looked at me as if to say, " I don't need you.".

I was determined to make our "marriage" work though, and today as we were outside, with the snow raining down on us, Lilly looked up at me and for a fleeting second I saw the essence of her soul through her big brown eyes.  It was in that moment that I realized she was meant to be mine, and where people may have given up on her in the past, failure for her and I is not an option.  In fact we have taken that off the table.  I have learned that all great relationships, human or animal,  take work but are worth the time put into them.  My relationship with Lilly is no exception.

For better or for worse, Lilly and I are doing this life together.  There is no other alternative....

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Bored Border Collies....


So the best kepy secret around our urban farm right now comes in the form of a little black and white beast who has completely rocked my world.  

This 37 lb. ball of moxy has humbled me as a trainer, has caused me to cuss, laugh, and cry all in mere minutes, and more aften than not she has left me wondering "What in the hell did I get my self into?".  I couldn't love her more though.  I will introduce her to you all a little later.  

I just wanted to show you what we do around here when it's raining, you have a bored Border Collie, and a few empty tables and chairs!