Angie

Pet Finder Link Angie is my Black Lab/Border Collie Mix who was a rescue. This is a photo of Angie at three months old when we first brought her home. Angie's mom, a border collie, was rescued by a fantastic group of people in a tri-state area who take in abandoned, abused and neglected pregnant dogs from all over the United States. Angie's father was, it would seem, a black Labrador retriever. I found this group (and Angie) through the link I have posted above, (Pet Finder). As most of us are experiencing first hand the downturn in the economy, so too are our pets. Shelters are over flowing with pets turned over by owners who simply do not have the means to feed another mouth. This is in addition to the millions of animals that are left to roam and breed. So many end up in shelters only to be euthanized. I am sharing Angie's story in an effort to urge those who may have the ability and the heart to open their homes to one abandoned dog or cat. You will be especially blessed by the animal angels if you can save just one! When I decided to open my home, as heart is always open to animals, I searched the Pet Finder site. This is where I saw Angie's picture along with a little Angie "Bio". The rest is history. Angie has added much to our family dynamics. Of course she is now a 50 pound bundle of energy and as well as very smart. She is still a puppy at nine months so we still have to deal with many "Marley" like antics. They can be very humorous.......and sometimes not. We have been through one round of obedience school but will need a refresher course. Our manners are still not quite up to par nor do we always know our own strength. However, she is true to form, a retriever. This has worked out to my advantage and she is now my doggie office assistant. I will explain. My printer is located in another part of the house from where I work on my computer. Each time I print, the printer makes that printing noise that printers make, and she quickly caught on that something mysterious floats out of this machine wherever she hears that noise. I was awe struck to watch her sheer delight as she sat perched eking little noises of anticipation of what was to come. What I did not anticipate was how quickly she could grab and shred in the blink of an eye. Wow, if only my reflexes were half that good. The cuteness wore off as it got to be a waste of paper and ink. So, I thought, maybe I can put this ability of hers to good use. This was how (Angie) doggie office assistant was born. It only took me two training sessions, (of course with treats in hand) to teach her how to gently remove the paper from the printer and without so much as one toothmark, make her delivery. So now, as soon as she hears the printer rev up, she is there waiting to retrieve and deliver. This is just one example of her intelligence. There are many homeless animals like Angie, that would make a wonderful family addition. I wanted to share the Pet Finder site to get the word out that Pet Finder is a good place to go if you have the inclination to save a life. I might just make a video of doggie assistant to post on YouTube.....Kat

Why I Like Dogs Better

Angie Has Better Manners Than That

A simple mundane trip to the grocery store is the epiphany for this post. It also serves as a realty check as to why I kinda, sorta, well hum....OK, like dogs more than people. There, I finally said it out loud. It feels good to just throw it out there for all the world to see. Remember, I'm that really really private kinda gal. Even dogs have a certain set of rules....dog courtesy so to speak. So why are there so many humans out there have none? YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! You are the people, that, thank you Lord, were not on the U.S. Air flight that went down in the Hudson Bay without one casualty. Had YOU been on that flight, the outcome could have, indeed, been much different. The reason, you would probably trample a baby trying to save your own sorry butt! Yes, I have lived long enough to entitle me to use the word (butt) in public. If that offends someone, then please feel free to leave my little corner here in cyberspace. Now on to my story:

The grocery store was a little more crowded than usual for a Monday afternoon. This, of course, created longer than normal waiting on line. Here is the scene. There was the person at the checkout unloading a large cart full of groceries. Behind her was a very sweet cute little old lady with only a few items in her cart. She obviously had a curvature of the spine as she could not stand up completely straight. She gripped that shopping cart for dear life, as it probably was the only thing separating her from the floor. She did not utter a complaint as she patiently waited her turn. The store, not wanting unhappy customers, opened an additional checkout lane next to ours and the clerk announced that the next person in (our) line could move over to the new line. We've all experienced this.....right! At least those of us who are stuck with the chore of grocery shopping. Of course, that's usually the woman...there I go off in another direction totally. It's the ADD. So anyway, the very sweet cute little old lady is the rightful person on line to move over...but wait, wow.....easy there fella..as the (nice) guy behind me almost knocks the two of us, me and the sweet cute little old lady into the next isle. This guy was like a mad dog with rabies intent to make sure that no one would beat him to being first in the new line. Magazines were knocked off the racks and M&M's were flying through the air as he and his cart, (which had now become a lethal weapon) hurdled into us as he made his way to the new checkout opening up. You would have thought that there was a really good prize waiting in the other line or something. It's hard to get my head around the fact that the "prize" was that he got to checkout 10 minutes ahead of the sweet cute little old lady. Horrified and preoccupied with putting the magazines and M&M's back in their places, I just shrugged my shoulders at the sweet cute little old lady, as I was speechless. To this fella, I bequeath the "Rudeness" of the week award......Kat

~~~~