Snakes on the Plain(s)...

Hi all! Tippi your intrepid "Guest Editor" here. (Sorry, I really should be the head writer, but I got overruled.)

Here in the middle of Illinois, we had a lovely Christmas. Apparently, the human parents aren't used to dogs who REALLY like toys. Our respected elder dogs who've gone before us were used to milk jugs and the odd frisbee, but Quinn and I get the good stuff!

River just plans to kill them all.

So this Christmas, we hit the jackpot! We got a SNAKE! And it SQUEAKS! We got it from my hu-Mom's favorite pet shopping place: Fun Time Dog Shop. You can find them, she says, on the Internet --- which I'm not sure what that is, but here's where they are on that thing:

http://www.funtimedogshop.com/  And the neat thing about them is that they donate their profits to rescues like me and Quinn! Check them out. There's even a "snake fan page" because they're really popular. Lots of good, organic and tasty treats, too.

Here are some pictures. Dad got us some Kong toys, and I admit -- I'm smitten with the Chris-Moose. I tore a hole in his hat right off the bat. And Quinn tore off the fuzzy thing on the Kong Santa. The snowman's nose is still there, though.



I really AM staying!!!

 Here's Quinn - just waiting. Finally. She's a bundle of energy, and this is the longest I've seen her sit still. She really thinks it's HER snake, but it's MINE!

It's MY snake.

She has learned to take all the toys OUT of the basket, but she needs to learn to put them back in. The humans have a hard time walking around us AND our toys! Here's one of me. It's MY snake! But I can't choose between that one and the Chris-Moose.

I finally had to resort to napping with it. And the flat-rat beaver thingie that River tried to kill. That was one of my favorites, but River got them all. We call them "flat rats" because they're the toys without stuffing, but they do squeak. River doesn't like the squeakers, so she's trying to figure out the snake. Everyone says it's "indestructible" but I can see in River's eyes - she's figuring out a "destructible" method. One of these days, we'll come home and no more squeak.

Here's me. I'm just figuring out that if I whack it good and hard, it squeaks. And the tail rattles. And it's been THREE DAYS and it's still alive, and has its tongue, though Quinn likes to chew on it. I sometimes have to carry it around. But sometimes, that snotty little Quinn grabs it and we have a tug-o-war with the snake.



Snake Fight!!



I think this is almost (notice, I said almost) as fun as the dog park on a snowy day.



Speaking of which, I went to the vet on Monday. Those tasty treats I've been getting for obedience classes have gone right to my waist. Why does my hu-Mom call me "Wide Load" now?? We go to the dog park nearly every day, and the vet's not too worried, but he did say I need to "lighten up" and I think my humans are starving me. I try to look pathetic. We Elkhounds really have that down. Those Labs and spaniels think they can do the "sad, starving dog" look, but nobody does it like an elkhound!

All we get is fruit. At least they finally stopped trying to give me carrots. Quinn and River eat carrots. But I have standards.

Naptime



One final picture: me with Chris-Moose. It's tough having all that stuff to play with. A girl needs her beauty sleep.

THANK YOU!!

"They'll never notice I'm on the couch!"

So on a whim, we entered the middle dog in a "Howl-O-ween" contest with the proceeds (a buck a vote) going to the rescue agency. Here's a picture of her Halloween costume. We had to caption it, and you'll see what we said  here. -->

She won. Seriously. She won. We were so happy to find that out; and equally happy to see that the rescue agency (John Nelson Moosedog Rescue Fund) raised over $8,000 for rescue efforts.

It was really a nail-biter for a while. There were a lot of good costumes (even CATS entered this contest!) and she was neck-and-neck with some really good dogs. With costumes way more creative.

Let me tell you how this came about. She was on the couch. They're not allowed up there unless the blanket is down. So she was all snuggled in for a quick nap. My hubby wrapped her up. She stayed there. For a good 10 minutes. I was able to grab the camera and snap this shot. We uncovered her and she looked at us as if to say, "Are you done with your foolishness so that I can get on with my nap??" and that was that. We talked about a caption and sent it off, never figuring she'd win, since we thought the rescue folks would actually like a picture where you could see the face of the dog! They've put this one up there and one of her "uncovered" so you can see how pretty she is.

It takes about $400 to rescue a dog. The rescuers transport; they vet the dogs; they treat them if they have medical issues (which many do). Did you know heartworm in a dog can cost THOUSANDS of dollars to treat? Well, when a dog comes in with treatable heartworm, it gets the medications it needs.

My husband was recently involved in a rescue with an elkhound that was literally 30 hours from being put to death. His owner had abandoned him, along with some other animals. One of the coordinators took him home, got him vetted, spent THREE HOURS cleaning him up (burrs in his coat, scars on his ears, badly in need of a bath) and then he was subsequently adopted by a woman who had an older female in need of a friend. THAT is what rescue does. It takes dogs that people don't want or which are found and it places them with people in  foster homes and eventually in permanent homes. 

I wrote a little "thank you" for the voters for our dog, ostensibly 'from' her. I didn't include a lot of detail. Here's a little more detail about her. She was 3 when we got her. With us, she was headed to her FOURTH home. She had TWO litters of puppies before she turned 3 years old. She was abused in her first two homes, and in her 3rd home was held by a woman who had good intentions, but lacked both money and sense. Sense because she had an intact male elkhound and was "surprised" when this little girl turned up pregnant. Go figure. Money because she'd only had limited veterinary care. Tippi had her rabies shot, but she also had Lime disease, had a coat that looked like a drowned rat (due to multiple pregnancies and cheap dog food) and was almost world-weary. Like she didn't even CARE whether she went with us or not. It was just one more car ride for her, to who-knew-or-cared where. She was quiet and subdued that entire ride. There was no emotion in her face or body. She hopped into the car, laid in the back seat and just sighed.



All smiles now!

 But all that's changed. She's in her final home. Period. She's happy, well-fed, well-loved and is a beautiful dog, inside and out. Check out this picture, taken in the summer at our local dog park.  

The month after we rescued her, we went back to get her daughter. Did we plan that? No, not really. But was it worth it? Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes. Having a puppy back in the house after nearly 15 years was an adjustment, but we are so happy that these dogs are "in our Pack."

If you have a favorite breed, find the breed rescue organization. If you don't have a favorite breed, donate to your local no-kill shelter. Foster a dog or cat if you can. Too many animals go homeless - particularly now, in this economy. We've seen lots of very nice dogs who have had to be given up because their people lost their homes and have moved in with relatives or into apartments where they can't have the animals.

Those animals break your heart. They just KNOW something is wrong, but they can't figure it out. If you can, give a dog or cat a new "leash on life" by either your donation or your ability to take the animal into your home or your heart. You will not regret the decision one bit. I can probably give you a dozen worthy causes, and good reasons to donate to each of them. But for today's entry, let's just say that I've "gone to the dogs." And I hope you'll join me!

To see the rest of the entries for this particular contest, check out the link here: http://www.elkhoundrescue.org/