respublica

The day after Easter

We had a nice Easter this year until the late afternoon when Ferdie's back legs went out on him and he couldn't get up or walk. The physical horror we felt for our much loved dog was painful. This morning we took him to our vet in Collinsville and they were so helpful getting him out of the car and into a room  I never knew existed. It had a couple of couches and the floor was totally carpeted so dogs in Ferdie's condition wouldn't slip and fall. 

We don't know much yet, because they took him back for xrays of his legs and lower back which involves a sedative. We should hear something soon and we hope, really hope, they can help him.

Here is a picture I took of him yesterday before this all happened. I can see in his eyes, now and didn't then, that he had some pain.

Dog pals

One of our former neighbors brought her new puppy by yesterday to visit Ferdie. Abner is a 6 month old English Sheepdog and his size belies the term puppy. But he is a real sweetie and just adorable. Problem is, Ferdie is really feeling his old age these days and isn't able to play due to a bad rear knee. But he was very patient with Abner and seemed to enjoy the company of another dog for a while.

Abner tried his best to get Ferdie to get up and play.

No go and Ferdie finally looked over at us as if to say, "someone make him understand I'm an old man".

Resignation.

This is about how we all feel as March arrives and another winter storm is in the forecast for this weekend. Everyone needs a comfort bear to get through this.

The cutest mailbox ever

The Golden Ratio 4 couple, they have 5 Golden Retrievers, recently bought a second home in the Florida Keys and this week added a new mailbox which is so darn cute. A Manatee!  Or Mailatee!

If you haven't paid attention to the Golden Ratio 4 stories and videos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, you are missing the best thing online.

A dog of an ending

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show ended their 2 night contest last night with a Wire Haired Terrier winning Best in Show. I stopped watching after the Sporting Group finished showing with a Cocker Spaniel winning and moving on to the finals. I knew the Golden or any of the other bigger sporting dogs wouldn't win that group, but was disappointed in the result anyway.

But, the controversy of the night was the ending when the judge for Best in Show chose the Wire Haired Terrier. The anger from dog people was evident by the comments on the Westminster Twitter page. It seems the judge is a Wire Haired Terrier guy and one of his friends handled the winner. Nothing against that dog, but that breed has won 15 times at Westminster. There seems to be a built in prejudice in favor of them. Many angry dog people believed the long haired Dachshund should have won.

The disappointment and downright anger by dog people was unusual and they may have a point.

The Westminster dog show

I get a kick out of the annual Madison Square Garden Westminster dog show, watching the handlers is fun and the dogs and commentary are humorous. But in recent years I've become a bit cynical about the group and overall winners. So often they are small dogs, last night 3 of the 4 group winners were small. The judges also seem to give only cursory glances at dogs which get the loudest applause and cheers, like the Golden Retriever, Labrador Retrievers, big old sheep dogs etc. The only bigger dog judges like are poodles.

I'm prejudiced having a Golden, but that breed has never won at Westminster. The top five most popular breeds in terms of ownership in order, Labradors, German shepherds, golden retrievers, French bulldogs and bulldogs, according to the American Kennel Club.  None have ever won best in show. Goldens almost never get out of their group. It irritates me these days.

 Christine Miele, an official of the Golden Retriever Club of America said about the eventual winner tonight, " It won’t be a golden retriever. It’s not going to happen." "Because the breed’s gene pool is so large, there are many slightly different ways for a golden retriever to look: Some have coats that are long and flowing, others less so; some have fur that is a deep golden, while others are more cream-colored. That can make it complicated to establish a breed standard, which is used by dog show judges.

But also, and most importantly in my mind, "Part of it may have to do with the judges as well. Of the small number of people in the country who are qualified to serve as Best in Show judges, none are golden retriever breeders, Ms. Miele said."

 

Ferdie has not been thrilled with this big snow

An ordinary snow of a couple of inches fills Ferdie's heart with joy, but this big one, not so much. It's so hard for him to slog through the deep snow to find a place to do his business and the slick spots hurt his poor old knees. It's tough to get old as humans, but the same is true for dogs.

How many raccoons are there in the world?

I posted a week or so ago about our most recent raccoon problem and said we'd be calling Critter Control again. Well we did and so far this week they've trapped at least 7 raccoons and I think it's more than that. I don't believe I've added in yesterday's number. This is creepy and ridiculous. Here's what I found today and folks, they are not cuddly creatures. 

Click to enlarge the pictures.

This one is on the side of our house next to our neighbor's driveway. He's trying to sleep or is asleep as they're nocturnal.

Then outside of the garage are two in one trap. 

Critter Control snuggled this trap around various things. We've gotten to know this particular Critter Control guy very well over the years. He knows right where to put the traps. 

The love of a dog

I came across this drawing this morning and it pretty much describes dogs perfectly, at least from my vantage point. Your dog sees you coming and his heart sings which turns on the tail.

There isn't any notation on who drew this, but I saw it on a Facebook page someone shared called Other Perspectives.

Squirrly support

More and more people have the need for support animals. Most often these animals are dogs, the traditional support for the blind and handicapped. Now we're seeing many people who need an animal with them for emotional support, dogs of all sizes, cats, chickens, snakes and now squirrels.

A woman was taken off a Frontier Airlines plane last night when she attempted to fly with her support squirrel. Surprisingly, I have no words for this.