Like a Dog on a Bone!

Only feed your dog raw bones. Cooked bones
can splinter & cause big problems in the
intestines.

I heart dogs. I've pretty much lived with dogs ever since I was old enough to remember. When I was young, we had a little daschund/terrior mix named "Mighty". She had a lot of attitude (read: she was a bitch) and was quite old when she died. I never saw my mother cry much but when "Mighty" died, it was a sad household. After "Mighty", we somehow inherited someone's German Shepherd. His name was "Thor". Later on, my folks ended up with a puppy (there's a story I'll have to tell sometime!) from a litter my sister's dog had. The night my mom died was just as sad for her little "Ginger" as it was for mom when "Mighty" died. Kindred spirits both.

If you're reading this and you don't believe animals have emotions, I feel sorry for you. My mom's dog mourned for a very long time. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything sadder than a crying dog. After mom died, I sat with "Ginger" on my lap and her eyes would well up with tears.  It's difficult to this day to even write about it. When Nancy came into my dad's life, it was a happy day for "Ginger". She was a woman's dog and she loved Nancy. "Ginger" died a few years ago after a really good, long life.

Living in Arizona is not all that much fun for dogs, I'm pretty sure. There are a certain number of summer months that are difficult to get your dog out walking, except for maybe those Chihuahuas, just as there are many winter months in Washington where humans don't really want to be out. This human, anyway. When we moved to Washington, we waited a year before we committed to getting a dog. I know I've said it a million times before but "Missy" is the best dog I've ever shared space with. I'm crazy about her.

I like other people's dogs, too.  We have a neighbor across the street who owns a little hairy, boy-dog named "Tickle". 

"Tickle" runs the neighborhood & barks every single day.  This morning, I heard him and grabbed my camera to shoot a pic. The little girl who walks him often must have let him escape out the front door because he went whizzing past our house and she was running behind him trying to catch him.  I ran out the door and yelled, "SWEETIE, turn around and run the other way".  Surprisingly, she followed my instruction and "Tickle", as I knew he would, turned around and chased her.  I said, "keep running!!!". She ran all the way home and got her leash and hooked him up.  I asked her to stop so I could snap his picture. Who couldn't love this face?

"Tickle" our neighbor dog