Category: dogs

Why did this happen to me? We often ask ourselves that when change is forced upon us. What if you flip that around and the answer is this is happening for you.

A dear friend was initially surprised when her husband left her because she had been a loving wife, but upon further consideration she saw in hindsight there were problems in the marriage and realized she felt underappreciated. Then, the divorce became a pain. A real pain. She was a woman of faith and persevered with prayer, a lot of inspirational quotes (which she often shared on social media), emotional support of friends and family, her own abiding deep strength and a great sense of humor.

She also had a vision. She decided to pursue what she really wanted. She wanted to be independent. She wanted to move to the mountains. She wanted to return to nursing. She wanted a cabin in the woods. She made it all happen.

After the divorce, she bought a lovely cabin on a beautiful property in the mountains. She and her mother spent time together there and she wanted to renovate a building on the property for her friends and mother to stay in.

She made new, great friends. She kept up her love of fostering hounds and caring for her own dogs. She got a job at Home Depot in the garden department, which she loved, while pursuing her return to nursing. Then, she got a job as an ICU nurse at a regional hospital and was so happy about it.

She was living her best life. The life she wanted for herself on her own terms. And she was really happy and very loved. It came as a total shock when she passed away at age 59 between Christmas and New Year’s. It seemed so unfair because she was so young and really hitting another stride in life. Yet, it was a consolation to know she was enjoying all the things she really wanted before going home forever.

Think about it. What if she had passed away before making huge, life-fulfilling changes? There is no what if because she got to where she wanted to be.

So I ask myself and invite you to question, am I where I want to be? Will I achieve what I want in the coming years too? What do I need to do now to make my best life happen today and in the future?

Make the change. Health condition? Get a second opinion. Hate your job? Seriously look and persist. Bad relationship? Reevaluate. If it really isn’t good at the core, prepare to move on. Feeling unappreciated? Find a constructive way to express that.

Did you have New Year’s resolutions? One of mine was to start getting up at 5:30 a.m. to make time to exercise, read and write before starting the work day. Guess who makes me go walking at 5:30 a.m.? A coonhound named Cinnamon Sally. Sally was my friend’s foster dog.

Now is the time to tell you how I met my late friend, Sonya Renee Anderson. She was my boyfriend’s cousin. Moreover, she was the beloved cousin of many in a large, tight-knit family. She was the most enthusiastic about the annual family reunion and put herself in charge of the next one, telling her cousins it was time for their generation to take over for their parents (who are all alive).

This year’s family reunion without her means we won’t share in her beautiful smile, we won’t get a big hug from her and she will be greatly missed. But we will celebrate in her honor.

We had the blessing of getting to visit with her this past October, when she tried to convince us to adopt Cinnamon Sally. We demurred because we already have two dogs. We did consider it. When Sonya passed away, we realized we had to go get the dog and bring her home.

I think about Sonya a lot these days. She was an inspiration to me when she was alive. Now, I trot after this silly hound and reflect on what Sonya would tell me if she was still with us.

If it wasn’t for Cinnamon Sally, I wouldn’t be sticking to my first New Year’s resolution. In the little over three weeks we’ve been walking together, my waist has gotten a little bit smaller. Now, it’s up to me to achieve the other resolutions: write a book, start cycling again and make more money.

So, I ask again, are you living your best life? Why not? What’s stopping you. Make the changes. Make it happen. And have fun.

My boyfriend endured a stressful work week so I wanted to make a perfect sandwich for him on Friday. The bakery-fresh English toasting bread held ham, turkey and cheese with sliced lettuce and tomato.

I placed the mayo and mustard on just right. I evenly layered the meats and cheese. I adorned each quarter with a half a jalapeno olive, affixed with toothpicks. The plate also had green grapes and pretzel sticks. I placed this work of art up on the bar-height counter.

Byron walked in and I went to present this masterpiece, only to realize Buster the Catahoula Leopard Dog ate one of the quarters, toothpick and all. The vet said to keep an eye on him. We prayed it would pass without injuring him.

Checking the aftermath of the puppy’s counter surfing reminded us of this scene from Jaws.

The dog seemed unfazed and he enthusiastically ate a big bowl of kibble for dinner, per usual.

We settled in to watch Dateline and the puppy became uncharacteristically quiet. We praise him for calmly laying down. But, it was an upset stomach that brought him down. Suddenly, he stood to the barf position. I guided him to his crate and gave him a bowl of fresh water. Within minutes, the poor doggie barfed up dinner along with other things.

Mercifully, Buster rejected the toothpick and there was no apparent blood. I felt like the Richard Dreyfuss character in the autopsy scene in Jaws when he pulled a license plate and other random items from a shark’s belly; when the puppy coughed up his dinner, we found the toothpick, the olive, tomato, turkey, a rubber band and a dryer sheet.

He felt good enough for a little second dinner. We encouraged him to drink extra water. He went to bed at his normal time and woke us up for his breakfast.

We updated the vet’s office with his condition. I am very relieved he did not eat the green grapes, which are harmful to dogs.

For breakfast this morning, I opted to prepare a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. Buster watched and sniffed as I cooked the bacon, which at no time was left unattended. While I fried the egg, the bacon dish was secured in the microwave for storage. Buster himself was secured. It is a good idea in this house to place a wayward or begging dog in a crate or the bedroom to prevent counter surfing.

The next time you make a sandwich that won’t be immediately eaten by a human, be sure to lock it a way. The microwave is a great spot to stash food to keep it away from the doggies!

Social media can truly save the day for stray dogs. This is the story of how we adopted our second Catahoula Leopard Dog puppy from the county shelter. Our love for Buster began with a shelter video posted by volunteers to a Facebook page for the pound. A woman in the region then shared the video to a closed group on Facebook for Catahoula owners. That’s when my Saturday morning and life changed. I saw this trembling creature and knew we had to go spring him.

Earlier this year, we lost our old Chester B. to ravages of cancer and his younger brother Higgins was despondent. We’d been conferring on the right time to get another dog and my boyfriend wanted to hold off. That is until he saw the compelling video of the shaky puppy at the pound. That prompted him to push back a meeting with a man about a dove lease. We later showed up for the hunting lease meeting at a Buccee’s with our new puppy wrapped in a towel from the shelter.

The puppy was an estimated 4 weeks old and weighed 5 pounds, but we were guessing a lot of that initial weight was from worms! His little body was terribly distended from worms. This displaced his center of gravity so when he tried to walk forward, he ended up knocking his forehead on the ground. By Sunday morning, our concerns grew for his health.

To put it delicately, there was an environmental disaster in his crate. Live worms came out of poor puppy. This was after his first dewormer dose. Without getting into further revolting details, we made sure his go time was in the front yard and not in the backyard where Higgins plays. Buster was discomforted and even looked a little scared. I could not wait for our Monday morning appointment with our regular vet. Dr. O. set the puppy on the right track with another kind of dewormer, an antibiotic for a skin condition, other medication and well wishes for the addition to the family.

The vet also estimated Buster was actually six weeks old and would likely reach 50-60 pounds when full grown. Just looking at his paws, we wonder if this is a low estimate for his adult size. Sometimes when he stretches after a nap, he appears taller.

He has been growing like a weed, gotten healthy and begun his life of adventures, starting with the backyard.

He has learned leash walking, sit, stay and lay down. He previously obeyed fetch, or “bring it,” but now relies on his own discretion with that command. We will seek to reinforce “bring it,” especially as we want to take him bird hunting. Before we do that, a lot more training steps and phases are in order.

He is now a little over four months old and weighs closer to 30 pounds. He is thriving. He’s also eating my shoes and clothes. The good news: he has stopped gnawing on my hands. He’s learning to bay and starting to boss around Higgins, our four-year-old Catahoula/Foxhound mix.

This is the second time social media saved the day for dogs at our home. A lost mother-daughter yellow lab pair showed up and their family saw my post on a lost & found page. We have had several dogs turn up here and the previous owners said there is something about this house that draws them in — maybe because they just like it here. Buster and Higgins, our pound puppies, love it here.

Moral of the story: Adopt a shelter dog. There is so much love at the pound!

The Sage Leopard

Chester B. joined Molly Mae in heaven yesterday and our hearts are heavy. They’re heavy because they are so filled with the endless love this generous soul always gave us. Byron in 2008 adopted Chester, already a mature dog living at a rescue ranch.

The day they met in 2008, Byron signed on to be Chester’s human.

The intent was for Chester to be Molly’s companion but he was a friend to everyone he met and the steady rock of Byron’s home. He was a lot like Byron: caring, kindly, gracious, nonconfrontational, loyal, quiet and loving. Chester really liked to give hugs. A little over a year ago, he was given 30 days to live without medical intervention and Byron elected to give him chemotherapy. The dog went through chemo twice but it stopped working this April, when he was already over 13 years old. The past couple of months he didn’t show he was still suffering as it quietly reemerged. Instead, Chester enjoyed life per usual, and by that, I mean making the most of everyday. Each morning, Chester liked to enthusiastically start with a healthy breakfast before a snuggle session. He would stretch and hug and stretch more. Then hug again. Chester absolutely loved hanging out in the garden and backyard to watch the world go by. He was known to occasionally bag a dove (sneakily).

Chester B. enjoying the outdoors

He acted very casual but he was serious about being steadfast. Between Molly and Higgins both being bossy boots, he stoically put up with a lot of nonsense. He would walk up to his humans and gently nudge for a little gratitude and petting. He also kissed when he felt appreciative. Chester was extraordinary with children. He was so loyal it felt as if he would be with us forever. Yesterday, he suddenly suffered from brain swelling and he was brave. He was able to say good-bye to many medical caregivers who got to know him. His grace was widely felt. Now, he truly is with us forever as our guardian angel. We love you, Chester, and are eternally grateful.

Love, Katharine & Byron

The Sage Leopard

When my boyfriend closed on his house, the sellers warned him that stray animals tend to show up here. He thought they were joking. The parade of lost animals started with a pair of little white dogs. In the coming years, they were followed by a crazy, menacing mixed breed pair; mother and daughter Labradors; a carrier pigeon; and a miniature schnauzer. Last week, on Byron’s way to work, a little lost Yorkie ran under his pickup truck. This was near a busy road, so he got out and picked up the dog. Next thing I knew, I was driving the Yorkie to the vet.

Little lost Yorkie, as found in the street

She was only wearing a bow, and where she wasn’t balding, her fur was matted. I was really pumped when the microchip scanner alerted and then was equally dejected when the vet’s assistant related that the chip company said the last information they had on the dog was from 10 years ago in Miami. Things got wild from there. I received a call from Yajaira, the original owner in Miami. She was shocked that Ginger was in Texas. I was shocked that the dog had been missing for so long and no one else had brought her to a vet for a check. I immediately updated the quick post I had placed on a local lost-and-found pets Facebook page. Most people liked that the update announced the owner was located with a microchip. Of course, a busybody piped up that I should track down whoever had her in Texas and let that person sort out ownership with the Miami lady. I fumed. Really? The Miami lady had the dog’s original papers and had her animal chipped. Whoever had Ginger in the meantime had not been kind in terms of keeping up with medical care. Perhaps they were well-intentioned, or perhaps they dumped her. All I knew was no one appeared to be looking for her, either online or with neighborhood signs. Most importantly, her legitimate owner was flipping out and planning to bring her home to Miami. That was such a refreshing contrast with the original owner of the schnauzer that showed up in our driveway in 2014. Byron tracked down the person from an old rabies tag on that dog. The guy said he had not seen the dog in two months and ultimately did not want the dog back. He suggested Byron drop it off at the pound. We kept that dog in the family and Roscoe now happily lives with Byron’s parents. Here, with the little lost Yorkie, we had the original owner on the line, overjoyed to hear her dog was located, 10 years later. We also had a little logistical crunch in that Byron and I had immediate travel plans. We had been selected by lottery by Texas Parks and Wildlife for a management hunt, which is a means of controlling against deer overpopulation. We had already paid for our permits and had reservations to camp. I suggested that Ginger be kenneled with our dogs at the vet’s office and she could be examined as well. We’d be back in a couple of days. This ultimately worked out fine, especially as her Miami owner wanted her condition checked out, and the plan was to bring Ginger to the airport on Saturday. We were all so excited. Driving to the airport with Ginger on my lap, I got a sense something might be wrong. Then again, we were listening to David Bowie’s last album and the ominous tone of the music was giving me a bad vibe. Well, maybe I had a premonition because when we got to unnamed airline’s cargo office at the appointed time on the airbill, the door was locked. A man’s voice expressed indifference to our plight. We begged the terminal staff for assistance and they earnestly cared, but could not override the system to let a cargo dog fly in the passenger cabin without an accompanying passenger. Yajaira and I had been madly texting each other as she was on the phone with the airline. Ultimately, the reality dawned that Ginger wasn’t getting on a plane to Miami that night. We resolved to regroup and try Sunday morning with United Airlines. What a world of difference. When we got to the designated area at the United cargo office, there was a van with photos of doggies.

Getting ready for her flight from Houston to Miami

We walked in and were warmly greeted by an amazing, dedicated United PetSafe staff. The counter lady said at the outset that she would do everything to make sure Ginger made her flight. She was not kidding. We had the wrong kind of crate and Byron set out to a store to get the right one. He came back with the wrong size. The lady found a spare and gave it to Ginger (after first checking with the person who had left that crate behind). She took care of all the paperwork and made sure Ginger was safe and secure. It was time to say good-bye to Ginger. I could not celebrate yet because I wanted to wait until I knew she was back with Yajaira. I set up a flight status alert with the United app. Finally, we received a photo text with Ginger and Yajaira in Miami. That was the ultimate relief. We received multiple photos and videos of Ginger back at her Miami home. Yajaira said the dog just walked right back into the house. That doesn’t surprise me at all. Ginger is a very smart dog and knows where she is truly loved.

Back where she belongs… Ginger in Miami