Shirtless at the dog park I had a moment of understanding

Like any good poochie parent, when one of the pups in my care did their business I scooped it up and threw it out. At my local dog park, the garbage is actually outside the gate, so I reached over and knocked it in and sat back down on a bench.

After about a minute, I smacked my arm. Looking, there was an ant biting the heck out of me. And then I saw five more, and then I saw that I was covered. Politely, addressing the other dog owners I said, "Excuse me while I go undress," because my mama raised a lady. Hahaha. I ran into the trees, ripped off my shirt and tried to get them off me and my clothes. Those things latch on with a purpose, let me tell you.

(Side note: Who would have guessed that my moment of public indecency would have happened after my years in the Navy?)

Retracing my steps, I found the point of embarkation. Those little ____ had made a nest on the fence line right in front of the trash can.

And then I thought of my poor puppy. No wonder he had gone after his tale the way he did. And that made the hot spot, and that led to the vet visit, and my Relay with a messed up tail. By the way, his tail is looking better. The scabs are almost off and the hair is growing back (just not that patch by his butt.) Part of me is glad to know for certain that his trip to the vet was in fact caused by ant bites and not some unidentifiable malady. And I'm certainly glad it was at the park and not at my home. But maybe my next empathetic epiphany won't include public embarrassment.

This post is participating in the Saturday Pet Bloggers hop! Be sure to stop on by and visit all the other great pet bloggers, and enjoy your weekend!

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Introducing... Trixie!

Things are still on standby with little Iso, but we got a call from our friends at K9 Justice League. Virginia Beach Animal Control is full, full, full... could we maybe take a foster? Of course!

Trixie is a beautiful girl, with a lot of love to give. She is playful, loving to the max, and lacking a single mean bone in her body, so will be sure to fit into any family. She is just about Relay's size so I imagine about 40 pounds, about 2 years old, spayed, healthy and up to date on shots.

When we picked Trixie up at the pound, she was ready to go! This little lady was just too sweet to be cooped up there any longer, and was excited in the car ride to start her next adventure. We made an immediate stop at the park to work out some of her energy and she did tremendously! Every dog and person there was her instant friend. Trixie learned fetch quickly, chased, and sniffed and sniffed and sniffed, so I imagine she has some hound in her. But she is a mutt, just like I like them.

She has some quirks to her, definitely. Right now she is terrible on a leash, she counter surfs almost as well as Doodle, and she did not like the bath at all! But to me all that is negligible because she is so very eager to love and to be loved. I'm going to have a hard time showcasing her pretty face because of her coloring, and people may overlook her because she doesn't standout in pictures, but I'm here to tell you she is the most lively, loving pup that I have met in a good minute and can recommend her without reservation to any home.

This post is participating in the Saturday Pet Bloggers hop! Be sure to stop on by and visit all the other great pet bloggers, and enjoy your weekend!

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People behaving badly at the dog park

After a nice long trip cross country, one not so nice accident, and shot up to Jersey to pick up Relay, we finally made it back home. After the 7 hours in a car yesterday, my pup deserved a trip to the park. Who could have guessed it would have ended up in drama?

A lady had just moved back to the neighborhood with her new dog, a male terrier mix puppy. We got into the park, and she is holding the puppy, explaining that he is very under-socialized, and we nodded understanding. Relay had a very similar story, but instead of not understanding boundaries, his problem had been he was too intimidated to play. Thankfully, my boy out grew that, as I'm sure this pup will outgrow his over eager personality and learn to give space.

So, all continued as you would think at a park, dogs sniff, they chase, they play. At one point, however, the puppy was a bit too rumbustious, and somewhere in all the mouthing, Relay got hurt and yelped. Close by, I stepped in, and separated the boys. After that point, I had my dog keep his distance, not wanting him to get bit again. This it seems did not sit well with the puppy's owner. Jeff and I let a few baiting comments slide, and she even tried to engage Jeff directly, and he didn't respond.

It wasn't until she turned around and asked, "If you aren't going to let your dog play, then why are you even here?" in a less than friendly manner, that Jeff even responded. From there it escalated between the two of them very quickly. I tagged Jeff out of the proverbial ring and spoke to her calmly, and ended the long debate as best as I could with a "we will have to agree to disagree."

Throughout the whole exchange, the two dogs in question peacefully coexisted. Dogs don't seem to hold large grudges; nips happen, some days they want to play, others they don't, maybe they argue over a toy, or a place to sit. And I'm sure when we meet again, they will play or they won't and that will be the extent of it.

Unfortunately, with humans it is never so simple. Maybe I was too naive to think that the dynamics of people would ever be a factor at the dog park, and up to this point we were fine with all the "regulars." But now it seems like we have ourselves a nemesis whether we want one or not.

*Dramatic sigh* I have no training tools for how to improve interactions at the dog park when people are concerned. Any suggestions?

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The saddest dog

This is what happens when Relay goes to the dog park and no one comes by.

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Did I say Pug or Sheltie, I meant...

I meant to say that I should never take anything for granted.

Neither group has contacted me with respects to needing foster homes. Was it something I said? More likely there aren't any dogs to foster, but I can't help but feel a little cast aside, and more than a little naive to believe that I submit an application and the dog comes delivered the next day with the newspaper.

So... I could wait for a call that may never come or use this initiative to support another rescue in need.  But which one? As if to promote how good a foster brother he will be, Relay was great today at the beach and the dog park. Here's a shot of him sharing a "stick".

I'm looking for any good insight. I feel like a girl without a date on a Saturday night. Seriously, are there any good rescues out there that need a foster family? I really did like the idea of a breed specific organization so that I could do some research before on needs and traits. Is that unrealistic? If not, then... what breed should I try and help next?

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