Snow!

Alright! In celebration of this fantastic snow-fall we received in Winnipeg, i figured why not blog about dogs in the snow? I don't think it's only my dog, but Diesel was so excited about the snow. He likes to put his nose in it and blow air through his nose then lick it off his nose. Pretty weir but whatever makes him happy!

Something about the snow makes dogs want to run through it and rub their face all up in it. I think the icy ground feels good on their skin. That's all I can think of..

So for those of you who aren't very excited about the snow and don't have a doggy, maybe the dog will help you cheer up about the snow. I know every winter I get a smile on my face watching dogs in the snow. It's fantastic.

So to all of you who find humour in the animals in the snow, i posted a compilation i found on youtube of a bunch of different animals having fun in the snow. Also, I put a little bit of Diesel in there too. It's cuuuuute so get ready!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Woof.

Therapy Dogs and Ziploc Bags

To start off with something happy, this week was fantastic in the sense of dog. I bought a nail clipper for Diesel and he was happy as a cam to have his nails cut. I usually go to Petsmart but Petcetera was the closest thing around. It definitely wasn't as busy as my usual pet store but they had plenty of the same stuff and the girl was super helpful. I haven't cut Diesel's nails since we got him so I was new to the whole clipping scene. I was worried of hurting him but he was relaxing. I got a heavy duty clipper for only $15 and i guess that's good. Wooohoo!

Another awesome dog thing that happened was therapy dogs coming to my school for a couple of hours. One of the students put on something called MindIt at all of the campuses for mental health awareness. The dogs were cute, friendly, relaxed and well, they were dogs so obviously it was awesome. The dogs help people mentally but there is also a program called See Spot Read. These dogs help children to read by changing the environment. Rather than kids concentrating on learning to read, they are more concentrated on spending time with the dogs and reading to them. Very Cool.
 Dogs at school = Best day ever.

A little less positive, today my friend Cella showed me the most ridiculous story I have ever heard. A woman and her son put a puppy in a Ziploc bag in New Mexico. The puppy is ok but the mother and son were both arrested and charged with animal cruelty charges. They were trying to show how small the puppy is by having it in the bag. UHM HELLO, IT'S A PUPPY, OF COURSE IT'S SMALL!  I guess they thought it was fine to post on Facebook but someone forwarded it to local police and thats the last time they will get to see their puppy. I think this is similar to putting an infant in a grocery bag, they're not able to move their head for more oxygen so these people are dumb to think that this was not cruel. People blow my mind.

And back to the positive, good on ya whoever reported that image to police and right on for therapy dogs and their owners. It's great that people recognize that their doggies have that certain personality and use it to help others. I am going to look into getting Diesel into it because when I saw those dogs at school, they reminded me of how he acts.

Mr. Diesel's strange way of lying down/standing.

 These are a few of the fantastic therapy dogs.

High Maintenance!

So my boyfriend's family's dog Kyda is pretty ridiculous. I say all of this with a smile and my face and love for the doggie. She is allergic to wheat so she needs special food, she's a 'vegetarian' because every time she eats anything other than fruits or veggies she gets crystals in her pee which eventually turn into kidney stones. She's already had kidney stones once and it was over a thousand bucks to fix.

She's cute and I love her and I especially love how she wears little booties in the winter. I never realized how high maintenance Kyda is until I got a dog myself. I mean my dog is high maintenance but he's an affordable and easy kind of high maintenance. He's high maintenance in the way that he goes out and cuts himself up constantly so they need to be wrapped up. Kyda is the kind of high maintenance where you need to spend more than normal and make sure she's eating everything properly. 

I feel bad for the poor doggie and I do love her but all of these internal problems come from a tiny little thing. I can't help but giggle a little. Kyda is now 10 so I don't blame her for not being playful, but i'm so used to putting my face right in Diesel's and being up in his business and she doesn't like that. But just like every other dog, Kyda puts smiles on people's faces and I know her mama would be crushed if she didn't have her.

 Kyda after a fresh haircut.

Diesel decided to burry a bone in the gravel under the snowmobile this morning...

Appreciation for the Pooch

Many people who have dogs understand the joy a dog can bring and those people probably love being able to come home everyday to a dog that is beyond excited to see them. People love dogs but what I would like people to know and understand, is that dogs make a difference in this world. Whether it's putting a smile on someones face after a long day or Helping someone who's blind get around in their day-to-day routine.

I was on the bus last month and there was a blind woman with a guide dog sitting at the front. The way the dog sat between her legs, looking like he was guarding her, made me so happy! The dog seemed to be so content and the woman seemed to be as content as she sat there and pet this beautiful dog. I couldn't see her eyes so I wasn't able to tell how she felt by seeing her emotions, but on this 20 minute bus ride, she didn't stop petting the dog once. It's hard to explain to someone who wasn't there, but I felt so glad for her and her dog that they seemed to share such a special bond.

Dogs help humans with dementia by reminding people to take their medication and to wake up in the morning. Of course, police have the K9 Unit that makes a difference in our police departments. Dogs are used in the everglades to hunt pythons, on farms to herd cattle and the list goes on and on.

Because it's Remembrance Day weekend, I would like to juts shine light on the fact that dogs fought alongside soldiers. I found an awesome web page called Remembering Our 4 Legged Soldiers and it shows a timeline of how dogs have been used in war or conflicts throughout history.

Not to take away from the meaning of Remembrance Day, but this weekend when you have you moment of silence to remember our soldiers, take a couple of seconds to remember their awesome sidekicks. And next time you see a dog that is helping someone or making a difference in someone's life, appreciate what the dog is doing and smile.

Picture from kovudarkside

The tired doggie

Maggie

Just over a year ago the Dufault family got a Newfoundland dog named Maggie. Sweetest girl ever. She's a gentle giant, awesome snuggle buddy, and has the most glamorous eye lashes I've ever seen on anyone or anything.

Maggie lived with a family in Altona for I'm assuming the whole six years of her life. Her brother was hit by a car and Maggie started acting out and not working out well with the other dogs. The family decided they needed to get rid of her so it was either find her a home or put her down.

Well, let me tell you something, there is no better family that Maggie could have gone to than the Dufault's. Even without a dog, they were so loving and when a big fur ball got thrown into the picture, they were even more loving. Now don't get me wrong, I love Diesel more than any doggie and he's really good, but Maggie is an awesome dog. She knows who her owners are and she sticks by them. She will be at the lake and there's Diesel, jumping off ten f

oot decks chasing boats, and Maggie is sitting there, sunbathing, looking at us like what the hell is this guys deal?

Recently, Maggie was diagnosed with lymphoma, a kind of cancer. They noticed her neck was starting to swell and her eyes looked not right. They were petting her one day and noticed some lumps around her neck. The vet noticed more lumps and she was then given the diagnosis. The vet told them she has about three months to live with minor chemo. With the full out chemo, it would be very hard on Maggie's body and it would only add a few more months on to the initial three.

My step-mom had met one of the Dufault's on her walk and heard about it. She got home and my heart broke for the family and the dog. Maggie isn't gone yet though. I'm positive the Dufault's are loving her and snuggling her more than ever. Even though it's tough, when it's her time, she will leave happy and I'm sure the Dufault's will be happy that they got to have such a wonderful girl in their lives.

This is Maggie. See those eyes? Right? So pretty.

And can't forget about the Dies-Man..

 Happy Halloween from the stinky dog!