I am totally broken hearted.  We had to take Bennie back to Pets without Parents.  Thankfully, it is a no kill shelter, but still.   If I could get my hands on the person or persons that raised him as a puppy, I would go to prison for murder.  I'm serious!  Someone had mistreated him so badly that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  He had nightmares.  If you approached him when he was on the furniture, he would immediately go into attack mode, and you could tell that it was defensive, not aggressive!  He was sure that you were going to beat him!  This dog wanted love so badly!   We gave it to him and for a while, with medication, I thought that we had won.  Unfortunately, we had two episodes that were aggressive and made it so that I was never trusting of him after that.  I just could not take the chance that he would bite a child or even an adult for that matter!   I understand that terriers are really hard to train, but there is never an excuse to beat them!  He even had a broken rib where someone had probably kicked him.  He only weighed 25 lbs!  How could you beat a 25 pound animal?  Especially one that was as loving as you could tell he had been.  Almost all of his teeth were worn down to the gums, because he had been kept in a cage for so long that he tried to chew his way out.
     I will never forget him.  I pray that some day, he will find an old couple who doesn't have any other pets, who has a fenced in yard and who has the time to give him all the love and attention that he craves so badly.  If there was ever a dog that deserves a good loving home, its Bennie.
    I love you Bennie and I'm so sorry.

Bennie's here!

Its been 7 years since we first brought our little fur ball home.  She has been a source of love, laughter and tears.  Now she has a brother!  I have taken care of my brother for the last 24 years, ever since his aneurysm.  He decided he wanted a dog!  I went to a shelter and picked him out a 6 year old wired hair terrier named Bennie.  After a week, my brother decided he wasn't up to taking care of a dog and wanted me to take it back.  There was no way that I could do that, sooooo, we have another dog!  He loves Jade to death and follows her everywhere!  She's not so sure about him though.  She's too polite to let him know.  However, she is really unhappy when he lays in one of her favorite spots!  Being Jade, it didn't take her long to figure out how to do something about it.  As soon as he lays down, she jumps up and runs out the dog door barking.  He, of course, jumps up and follows her.  The minute he is out the door, she is back in and immediately jumps up into her spot!  Problem solved.  LOL!

then there was jade

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but after Jade was neutered,  she didn't know if she was a girl or a boy.  The main thing that she took up was trying to lift her leg to pee.  I said "trying".  Most of the time, she would fall over.  She really had a hard time with it.  It has improved with age though.  She actually does lift her leg most of the time now.  She has done a lot of things to either make me laugh or just astound me, but she hit the jackpot this time!!  She began by trying to lift her leg on a bush but instead of peeing, she pooped!!!!  I'm not joking, she actually pooped on a bush!!!  Only Jade could do it.

This is Quinn. He is Jade's newest friend. We don't have Bob anymore. Seems his owners decided that he needed to be fenced. We miss him. Quinn belongs to a friend who also has 2 other dogs. Quinn is exactly like Jade though. Same personality. What you see here though is a shaved Quinn. I will try to get a picture of him next spring when he has his full coat again. You won't believe its the same dog. I've got to try and get a picture of him smiling too. It won't be easy as Quinn is camera shy and turns his head when you try to take his picture.

All right, I said I would do it and here it is. She will also try to climb in my lap in the car. Her butt is on the console and the front half in my lap. She is so uncomfortable and wiggles around trying to find a good spot, but ends up leaving after about 10 minutes. In this chair, though, I can't get rid of her. She will go to sleep and so will my legs!! Gotta love her.

My new radar

Okay, after 4 years, my one ear has decided to stand up!! I always knew that I was "different" from other dogs, but this is the last straw!! I can maneuver it around to the back, side and front. Nothing gets by me now! If you thought I was cute before, just check this out! Mom says that I'm only half flying nun and now I'm half Rin Tin Tin. Unless you are really OLD, you probably don't know who Rin Tin Tin is. I don't, but Mom says its a good thing. Now I can hear those darn mice coming a mile away!

Alright, now I've seen everything! I'm 61 years old and its definitely time for me give up the ghost. We have been having a problem with really tiny field mice. They are so small that they can slide in almost anywhere. Every so often, one will find its way in and then its all out war. Despite their size, they can out run a greyhound. I have known since day one that Jade was afraid of her own shadow. Even though she is about 75 pounds, not exactly a "small" dog, she believes that she is a little lap dog (she will lay in my lap any time I allow it). So, I wasn't surprised that when we were chasing a mouse, that she didn't want any part of it. She stayed back, just watching, and rooting for the home team. The mouse suddenly changed direction and ran right at her. It was then that I got to watch in amazement, a 75 pound dog literally "dance". I would have given anything to have had a camcorder at that moment. She put ballet dancers to shame. After several seconds of River Dance, she was out the doggie door! I've decided that I will have to get a photo of Jade in my lap. Look for it in my next post.