All Blog Posts (6,243)

 I have had some of the most wonderful dogs through my life.  I was always the woman in town with the one dog who was so well behaved, I was discouraged by shop owners from obeying the 'no dogs allowed' sign on their doors.  And, I've raised three children.  Lots of experience!  Never, in my wildest imagination, did I think I would have such a difficult time with a puppy. Even my beloved Basset Hound who used to eat EVERYTHING including the carpet, seemed easier because she wasn't always…

Her official name is "Sweet Georgia Brown". I had wanted to name her Georgia and was waffling between that and another name. The deciding factor was taking her across the street to visit with a little girl, and a neighbor walked by with this large doberman mix dog who was super sweet and gentle. He called her Greta. Really Greta? The shock was that I was so close to calling my dog Greta and got such negative response from my friends that I had decided to dismiss it. I told him her name was…

The Super Adoption Event at Rancho Mirage, California (near Palm Springs) was super for our Maltese Rescue California. My wife and the other volunteers brought 11 adoptable dogs and nine were adopted with applications on the other two. This is the first time that the organization used our new canopy.

I stayed at home to care for the dogs that didn't go...

With…

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a lot of benefits to getting older, except that you get away with less sugar coating and more blunt talk.  I have just decided the older I get the less likely I am to bottle up my feelings and suffer fools gladly. Whether this is a good plan remains to be seen and some members of my family will tell you my age has nothing to do with…

OMD (oh my doodle) this weekend was a weather nightmare for me! As my mother used to say back in the day when we lived in New York: “Jack Frost came this way last night.”

Up until this weekend, I had been “bamboozled“ by this incredible weather. Clear skies, bright sunny days with a mild to moderate breeze every now and then. “Sweater weather” the retailers called it. So when Mr. Jack Frost decided to “pounce” upon us, it caught me…

I have an older brother – actually he’s the oldest, and he lives approx. 9 hours south of me. When I heard his VM Sunday evening, I looked at Harley and said: Guess who’s coming to dinner?…

This is the look I get when we’re having a conversation

His birth name is…

http://wesa.fm/post/challenges-suburban-homelessness-and-education

I wrote a blog sometime ago ( I guess in June ) in regard to students who graduated despite of significant difficulties they faced from my school district. One of them recently received resiliency award here in Pittsburgh, also recieved National Scholarship for students experiencing homelessness. There were 15 students nation wide…

So I thought I'd blog my experience with learning to groom my doodle.  Finding a groomer who doesn't want to just shave her down to look like a poodle has been a challenge.  We live in a small town and so my options are limited which brings me to my present place of learning the art of helping Bella continue to look like a doodle and not a shaved rat! We have brought her home numerous times looking naked and my whole family is in dismay! 

I have done lots of research and read blogs on…

‘Mrs O’Connor is using that dam hairdryer again’ said my mother as the black and white TV looked like a snow storm yet again. Mrs O’Connor had one of those dryers that involved her sitting with a cap over her hair with a tube attached to a machine and as she was our next door neighbor was routinely blamed every time the TV set had major interrupted service.  Grandpa called for a lemon tea and three lumps of sugar which I was too young to make but was…

We have come to the start of our rainy season and we are very happy to see the rains come.  Rain reduces the fire hazard and also saves us money since we don't need to irrigate as much...

However, Holly's feet get terrible muddy and she needs them rinsed off just about every time she goes out.  I have a fenced acre and a quarter and nothing short of having Holly on a lead will prevent her from getting her feet muddy...

Does anyone know of an easy-on and easy-off set of boots…

I have difficulty letting go of seasons!

Once all the leaves have fallen off the trees, and they dry up and go crunch under my feet, I must force myself to adjust to yet another change in seasons.

Right after the Autumnal Equinox (September) when the sun is directly over the equator, the sun’s direct rays shift into the southern hemisphere for the next six months as I struggle to accept that my summer is officially OVER.

“Indian Summers” in…

As most of you know by now, we have a new member of our family and she is big and flat.  I would like and take a moment and tell you how Flat Laurie came to be.  I am sure most of you also know that I have a bit of OCCD, which for most laypersons is known as Obsessive Compulsive Competitive Disorder.…

And growing like weeds--they take their mealtimes very seriously! All are doing well and the 2 little ones are still so petite! Bet they will be their dad's size--he is just 30 pounds. They look so small next to their brothers and sisters...(see picture on plaid sheet--1 tiny pup is under the arm of big white pup)  but they don't let their size stop them from getting a meal!…

Our vet has recommended OTOBAN odor eliminator and disinfectant.  Apparently this will kill both bacteria and viruses as well as neutralizing odors.

I found it at Home Depot in a concentrate for $9.00 a gallon.  Since it is a concentrate, the gallon goes a long way.

We use it for just about every pet related clean up because it will kill giardia as well as other infectious things.  We even spray our cement and lawn area, after picking up the feces, whenever a shelter rescue dog…

These are the sort of weeks I like, when they start out with Mellow Mondays!

In addition to being a FT Doodle Mom, my weekends can get rather hectic.  I am active with the Senior Ministry in our church, and DH sometimes can be stretched pretty thin with his many social and civic commitments. This past weekend all our projects and activities seemed to collide, having us pulled in different directions for extended periods of time.

Rarely is…

When we brought Conway home he was 6lbs, all skin and bones. He had a double ear infection, hook worms and a UTI. He is 10 weeks old now and finally seems to be feeling better. It has been very difficult the last few weeks. Yesterday was the first time we left leave him home for more then two hours. So nice to come home to him not sitting in his own urine. Poor little guy. He is the cleanest pup in FL.

It's me, Truffle, your favorite super labradoodle.  I'm sorry it's been two long weeks since I last hijacked this blog, but I've been extremely busy growing.  Just think, I'm 14 weeks old now, which is essentially the equivalent of two years in human time (for those of you who struggle with math, that's 14 weeks x 7, or 98 weeks).  That makes me a toddler.  Need I say more?

I'm feeling a little nostalgic.  My days with …