Posts Tagged ‘rescue dog’
MEET WALDO
Waldo is a bright, curious Dalmatian with a propensity for adventure – even without the gift of sight. Thanks to his adopter, Joan Michaels, Waldo has never had a dull moment. And while his life is filled with excitement, Joan’s is filled with laughter, admiration and a deep, deep friendship thanks to this disabled dog who loves without impairment.
After watching Waldo perform task after task in socialization class, I was moved by his bravery and the trust he has in Joan. I often watched the two working with alternate forms of commands and interesting leash work but, until I asked Joan to share what life with Waldo is like, I never imagined the thought process that goes into training a blind dog.
Read on to understand the interesting challenges these two have encountered living their day to day lives.
Tails on Trails, our dog socialization class hosted by Nassau Vet, visited The Crossings, a public park in Colonie, NY on May 2nd. Shamus and his dog pals had a terrific time healing, loose leash walking around the pond, playing Dog Baseball, and learning direction through light leash pressure while weaving between gazebo posts. In the end, they were all asked to climb on the outdoor furniture. Huzzah! What dog doesn’t like that?
Oh, and if you’ve never heard of Dog Baseball, it’s a pretty clever excercise. Each base is marked by a dog practicing “down stays.” The other dogs walk the bases performing certain tasks at each. Shamus, positioned at second, was asked to sit still while the others came through. At this, he excelled. What more could you expect from an aloof Newf?
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WHAT’S A R.O.A.R. SQUAD
R.O.A.R. stands for Rescue Owners Are Rockin and this Squad is being assembled by Shauna Stewart from Fido and Wino, a blog where fine dogs (and fine wine) are very much appreciated. “Our goal is to make having a rescue animal THE coolest thing around. Ya game? Perfect! We’d love to have you!”
WHY THE R.O.A.R. SQUAD?
Shauna’s inspiration for this project stems from the love she has for her own rescue dog, the lovely Miss Kayloo, as well as her deep concern for the 6-8 million animals housed in US shelters every year, as estimated by the US Humane Society.
What isn’t a toy with curious kittens? For our 6 month old cats, everything, and I mean everything, is a game in their exploration of the world.
- They’ve played for -- and with -- the camera.
- They’ve played with fire.
- They’ve played with dog tags as they dangle from the dog’s neck.
- They’ve commandeered remnant rolls of toilet paper.
- And they’ve scaled the mother of all bird cages -- filled with birds.
A friend recently said, ” You know, they won’t be like this forever. There will come a time when all they do is sleep.”
All I can say is, “We aren’t there yet.”
And really, for now, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
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Emmett, previously a destructo-dog of the hound variety, has finally abandoned his penchant for shredding. Unlike the 3 previous fabric sheaths found gutted in the lawn, a single sun room throw pillow remains half stuffed on the corner chair. It has been there for 2 months. Although it may seem odd to keep a tattered piece of fabric as it perpetually bleeds white stuffing across the corner seat, this wounded survivor holds a place of honor as our last bastion of hope, a trophied testament to the freedom and safety of all household items, whether throw rugs, towels, socks, blankets, underwear or Keith Urban concert tickets. (I know, I know. I should just let this go already.)
Yes, the “Cease and Desist” order has finally reached the shredding center of Emmett’s sweet little brain. Still, he enjoys the slightest idea of destruction, living vicariously while watching the kittens reinterpret the definition of a living room pillow fight. And, sadly, I fear it won’t be long before the [now enormous] kittens take over Emmett’s former role. If you watch carefully, I swear you’ll see Emmett whispering instructional pointers to his little minions.
(If you can?t see the video above, visit “Pillow Fighting: Cat-Style” on YouTube.)
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Working from home certainly has its perks.
- Perpetual pajama wear? Perk.
- No commute? Perk.
- Ability to set my own hours? Perk.
- Being my own boss? Perk.
Yes, yes, it’s all well and good in theory.
In reality, our animals are my boss.
- To punch in, the Newf sticks his face in his water bowl and lays his soggy, drooling lips on my keyboard. I, apparently, am the keeper of his time cards.
- During mud season (which may include spring, summer, fall and/or winter), the dogs dictate constant floor mopping during “work” breaks.
- Emmett, for attention, slams his head onto my [now broken] external hard drive. (I’ve considered docking his kibble.)
- And, as the Michief Police, I’m often called upon to root out the source of crashes, bangs, booms or an abundance of silence.
BEST LAID PLANS
With the prospect of?introducing a new cat into our household, we tried to prepare our family and home as best as any new parents could. We read about introducing cats to new environments, to dogs, to us, new food, a new schedule and to each other (in the event that we brought home two). We were prepared to acclimate the furry little beastie(s) to one room at a time. We fully expected that said beastie(s) might sit under the couch for a week. We thought, perhaps, having the little beastie(s) sleep on a towel and introducing that towel to the dogs could be a beneficial pre-introduction tool. Every aspect of this adjustment had a plan. We would be fully in control.
I received an invitation from Jai Johnson last week to have a portrait done of our dog. Jai is an artist, jewelry designer, photographer, writer, and animal lover from Jackson, TN and she is currently working on a painting series called Dogs with Toys.
The minute I saw Jai’s work, I sent her one of my favorite photographs of Shamus. She took the time to get to know him by reading This One Wild Life and watching Shamus’ videos. One week later, Jai had captured his essence entirely and named her piece “Gentle Soul.” It couldn’t be a more perfect way to commemorate?our first anniversary since Shamus’ adoption.
