Dog Days of Summer

The heat is here!

Denny and Nana have the right idea...

Where's the nearest Pool?

Adventures in Puppies

Roughly seven weeks ago one mama dog and her seven puppies got a reprieve from death and came to my house. A friend had seen a beautiful red heeler posted in an email imploring everyone who red it to adopt or foster her and her seven puppies immediately because she was due to be put to sleep in two days time. This friend knows that I'm a sucker for sob stories and cute puppies, so she forwarded the information onto me and two days later she was delivering said mama and pups to my doorstep.



Maggie nursing her puppies



Maggie, as the heeler is named, came with seven wildly different puppies.  None of them looked like her.  It was almost as if someone had switched litters.  There were three black puppies with white chins, chest and toes; 1 butterscotch/brown puppy; a black and tan puppy, a white and black spotted puppy; and a mostly white tri-colored puppy.  They were three weeks old and already trying to walk around.  And, oh, so adorable!

They all got names from characters that Paul Newman played: Luke - Cool Hand Luke, Hudson - Cars (Doc Hudson), Cassidy - Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Dodge - Message in a Bottle, Murphy - Fort Apache the Bronx and Maddox - The Helen Morgan Story.  One of the girls is named Charlotte after a Pride & Prejudice character (this was when we only thought there was one girl. Turns out I was too hasty in trying to sex Cassidy who previously was known as Butch).

Maggie and pups settled right in.  My two dogs, Willow and Denny, enjoyed having visitors.  Willow was immensely curious about the little squirming beings. Denny just wanted to play with Maggie, and she was more than willing.  My cats weren't thrilled about the new additions, so they decided they would stay outside until the puppies departed.

The weeks were filled with cuddling, feeding, cleaning, playing, teaching and loving. Luckily I live on an acreage so the puppies could go outside and see interesting things like cows and chickens.  They cows thought the puppies were a little strange and didn't want to get too close.

Charlotte - 11 wks old

Scooby - 11 wks old

Mama would sometimes supply them with fresh meat, not one of my favorite things. I don't know how many times I would find them chewing on a animal she had just caught.  I don't know much about Maggie's life before the shelter, so I'm guessing she had to fend for herself for awhile. Though I appreciate the rodent and groundhog control, the puppies (and Maggie) were getting fed a really good diet so Maggie didn't really need to supplement.  Plus, I don't enjoy disposing of animal bodies. Unfortunately it comes with living in the country.

Luke - 11 wks old



Maddox - 11 wks old



A couple of weeks ago four of the puppies; Dodge, Luke, Murphy and Cassidy found homes.  Unfortunately Luke had to come back because the older dog at the house didn't want to have a sibling.  So four puppies are still looking for homes; Scooby, Luke, Maddox and Charlotte.  All of them are smart, sometimes too smart, sweet, loyal, playful, gentle and want to be loved. If you know of anyone who might be interested in a heeler/hound or a heeler/lab mix please feel free to leave a comment.

I Never Thought I Would See This

I never thought that living in the city, even though it is on 20 acres, that I would have more wild critters running around then when I actually lived in the country on a big ole’ horse farm. But it is true. Since there is no major green space all of the wild critters come to my little 20 acre paradise. I have seen the traditional squirrels, and variety of birds. Now I am seeing raccoons, foxes, and the ever present groundhogs. I think we have a least ten that call my paradise home.

One of her favorite holes in the field.



It is these groundhogs that keep Willow busy. She has always got her head in one of their gigantic holes. Holes so big that I have contemplated using them as storm shelters during all of the tornado warnings we have been having here in Lexington. On our evening walks she will dart off because she has caught a glimpse of an elusive yet ever-present groundhog.

This past week while my Mom was visiting, we were planting flowers into the garden. Out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing Willow run around; at first I didn’t think anything of it but then I realized she was looking up and circling the same area. Looking up, I first thought the tree had a huge wart on it’s branch but it turned out to be a treed groundhog. That’s right, Willow treed her first groundhog. You might be shaking your head in disbelief, much like I was doing, because as the name indicates these are underground dwelling creatures but apparently they can climb. I even took pictures so that I could have proof.

She stayed on that groundhog until he or she came down. Once it was down she proceeded to chase it. She caught it but she was so stunned that the groundhog got a 3 yard advantage and beat her back to its hole.

This kept her busy for awhile.

Willow’s day was made and I was very proud of her. My sweet puppy has found her new ambition…Groundhog Hunter. (It’s the catching part we are working on.)



P.S. Two days later we discovered that that particular groundhog had dug up under my house, right under the heater and broke it. Now I’m really glad I have my own bona-fide Groundhog Hunter at home.