respublica

St. Louis is pet friendly

Wallet Hub did a study on "where pets can enjoy the best quality of life without breaking the bank."  The company compared the pet-friendliness of the 100 largest U.S. cities using 25 key metrics. It's data ranges from pet-care provider rate per visit to pet businesses per capita to walkability.

Of all the key metrics I was most surprised by the fact that St. Louis was number 1 in the number of animal shelters per capita. St. Louis ended up as number 6 on the list of most pet friendly cities. The most pet friendly city turned out to be Tampa.

It's long been kind of sad to me that Collinsville has no dog park. For a while a very tiny dog park was put in by the Herr Funeral Home with good intentions, but it was just too small. I believe it's no longer used for that purpose. We no longer have a dog, but I often think about how and where I'd be able to give one a good run or walk or play.

Ferdie's last Easter

Last Easter we went to church and afterward went to brunch with Lizzie's family at Porter's in Collinsville. A different time than today.

Sometime during the afternoon I put some rabbit ears on Ferdie. But as the day went on we realized he was in quite a bit of pain and could not get up without help. We ended up at the vet the next day with a bottle of a certain kind of pain medication. It helped, but it was obvious he was going down hill. We had him for only a few more months.

 

 

Dog at the -Day whatever

We stand the chance to have some bad storms today so our dog greeter at the front door is ready.

My brother in law gave us this rain slicker for Ferdie many years ago. Yes, the same brother in law who dressed as a shark to go grocery shopping this week.

Dog at the door-Day 5

I have to have something to entertain myself so I've been changing out the stuffed dogs at our front door each day to give the local walkers something to look at. And we have tons of local walkers over the course of the day. This campus is the corona walking park.

The two dogs were arguing over who got to be at the door so I showed them.

A great way to be stuck at home

One of our 4th year students just got the best "stay away from people" gift. A new puppy! He named this adorable Golden Lab, Gracie Lou, and if classes ever start up again, I'll get to puppy-sit.

Yes I clicked on a click bait story

This is the second time today I took a deep breath and clicked on a story which is obviously click bait. This one purports to tell us what dog breeds are best according to our horoscope sign.

I'm a virgo so I was sort of curious, even though I know exactly what type of dog I'd find to be the best for me. They advise the Siberian Husky, and the Doberman Pincher.

I have no interest in the Doberman, maybe the Husky, but not my first choice at all. But then I'm not into Horoscopes.

I miss my dog

There are days when a weird feeling comes over me when I walk through the house and expect to see Ferdie. We're not ready to get another dog, it's just too much to be planning to move and acclimate a new pet as well. It wouldn't be fair to the dog or us. But that hasn't stopped me from checking Dirk's Fund Golden Retriever Rescue website  and Facebook page every couple of days to see their adoptable dogs. At the moment I am in love with two or three and two of them won't be ready to be adopted for some weeks.

This is Lizzie. She was released from owners who kept her outside all the time and did not care for her health. So she's being treated for a few things. If we had her, we'd change the name since Lizzie is what we call our daughter. This dog is just so gorgeous and has that sad look of having been ignored.

This is Holly. She also has some medical issues from neglect and is being treated and will not be adopted til healthy. She looks so much like Ferdie, large and sweet.

What's Missing from the Westminster Dog Show?

Every year I set aside whatever else I have to do on the second Monday and Tuesday evenings in February in order to watch the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. And each year I hope against hope the Golden Retriever will win best in show. Actually I have come to have a low bar in expectations and merely hope a Golden will win its group. It never happens. The Golden Retriever is one of the most popular breeds in America and one of the few which have never won at Westminster. In fact, 11 of the 10 most popular breeds have never won.

These 11 include: Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, French Bulldog, Rottweiler, Dachshund, Welsh Corgi, Australian Shepherd, Great Dane, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Miniature Schnauzer, Shih Tzu. These are among the most popular dog breeds. Here is a complete list of dog breeds which have never won, you'll have to scroll down a bit.

So which dogs have won the most and seem to be the favorites of judges? The top 10. The Wire Fox Terrier has won 14 times!

Airedale Terrier

Boxer

Cocker Spaniel

Doberman Pinscher

Sealyham Terrier

Standard Poodle

Pekinese

English Springer Spaniel

Scottish Terrier

White Fox Terrier

You may notice 4 of the 9 are terriers. I know I'll be disappointed once again.

This made my day

The cutest thing ever. Who knew donkey could be so loving.

 

A beautiful surprise in the mail

Most of Saturday I spent with a Comfort Dog regional conference being held here at Concordia Seminary. It was a pretty miserable weather day for dogs, rain and more rain which meant they couldn't get out to have some fun in the quad after lunch as they had in previous years. It is always amazing to be in a room with those beautiful dogs. Before lunch the regional director pulled a chair into the middle of the room and made me go sit in it and then he asked all the dogs to come circle around me in honor of, and comfort for, our Ferdie who died a month ago. It was a tearful moment.

But then when I got home I saw a package which had come from one of our former students now in Wisconsin, who worked on landscape with us when he was here. Here is what was in the package.

This is beautiful enough, but even more in his letter that accompanied it. He wrote: "For decades a tall old Basswood tree overlooked the chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the seminary campus. In 2013 the tree needed to be cut down for the safety of students. As part of the grounds crew I helped cut it down but wanted to preserve a bit of its history by making a cross cut from one of its limbs. I've saved this slab of wood since then for a special purpose. Since you two have been an inspiration to me in life and ministry and since my time with you at the seminary meant so much, I pray that the memory of our beloved Ferdie will last on with the rich history of the Sem, and the warmth of your home and office."

Dale and I both cried. We will treasure this as we do the memory of our most loved dog.