A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....05-25-05....Doggie Tails ~ River Rendezvous

DollyCali | 5-25-05 | dollyCali

[DollyCali]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dutchess, Aquamarine, DollyCali ~

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggley tail?
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie’s for sale.

Pet shops & breeders are possibly still the biggest platform in securing your new fuzzy friend in a PLANNED addition. You know the breed, disposition, size & “look” you want. You begin the search.

Personal dog rescues(as compared with rescue “groups”), have become a pretty common UNPLANNED way for the new little or BIG guys for finding their way into your home & hearts. Some just show up on your porch or in your yard. Some you find along the highway wandering & obviously dumped… you just need to get him off the street to “another” place. Problem is by the time you get home, you are already in love.

Then there is that email from Susie at church. -Either she or someone she knows has a little “whatever” that needs a home… could you keep him “just for the weekend”? Of course they know in 2 days you will be hooked & more readily part with your left arm than Mr. Fuzzy.

The ways to get them is legion

So here is my story of how my “son” found his way into my Catty life.

A dog? Ha. No, double Ha. Ridiculous. Just had cats all of my MANY years – no way could I have a dog. My yard wasn’t fenced, I didn’t know how to take care of a dog, and I could go on & on why I wouldn’t consider a dog when friends would call or email me with a little fella in need of a home.

Cats were easy.. Travel? Just leave a big bowl of water, ditto on dry food & lots of litter in their box (which they will ignore anyway) Sure cats are often a nuisance, tear up your furniture & make your friends think cat urine is your perfume fragrance of choice, but most often added much more joy than problems.

No, no dog for me. I am “cat people”.

Most know I am an “outdoor” type. One weekend afternoon a couple weeks after 911 my friend John, 2 of his children & I were kayaking on the Cuyahoga River just north of the Akron area. Beautiful day to be out on the winding, interesting & varied river which finally passes through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. before winding its way to Lake Erie in Cleveland.

Bathing suit weather it was… HOT & a wonderful day to be outdoors and around/in water. It would be about a 6 hour outing with a few stops to beach comb, collect golf balls & check out the treasures along the way. John normally brings his golden retriever but Chance is not as smart as he is pretty & often just takes off after something or other & forgets where his Daddy is. Phone calls from MILES away and hours later are then the relief that Chance has not become road kill or adopted by someone who chooses to ignore the ID tags.. So no hassle about worrying about a dog today! None at all. Zippo.

Down river kayaking is a wonderful & quiet experience.. You often come upon any variety of wildlife in water and on shore. But the tranquility was broken as about half way into the trip we go around a large bend & hear woowoowowowowo & there iN a drain pipe on the bank is a dog. Head up & howling at us. John is already shooting pictures by the time I get nearby. WOW, Scrawny looking dog & barking pretty fiercely. Probably will bite if try to go nearby. He is giving us the once over with his gaze.

Gee, I am thinking, I hope this dog is okay when we leave…

But what is now happening???. We are discussing taking the dog with us? He will die if we leave him in this unpopulated area. .hmm ~ well, I tell John we can find his owners maybe.

There is a collar not a tag. Not a good sign I later learn.

So we manage to convince the pooch to get into Johns kayak & the agressive demeanor turns into a love fest. The rest of ride pooch is licking, loving & buttering up his rescuer. John of course is reveling in it.

I tell John that if he can’t find the owner, he might be a nice addition to their household. He tells me he will be a nice addition to MY household & I laugh saying no way Jose. What a funny thought. John was NOT joking & when I eventually returned home the dog was IN MY VAN HEADING TOWARD MY HOME.

At John’s home it was decided that Oliver needed a bath. Whew did he stink. IF WE COULD GET HIM AWAY FROM CHANCE. The two dogs played well but their favorite game seemed to be HUMPY DUMPTY WHO IS ALPHA?. This NEW dog had so much energy.. just bounced & jumped & was a good match for High energy dolly - me. He was ALL OVER…. John started calling him ALL OVER.. not too many hours until that changed into Oliver.. Mistake. Naming him.

Giving a large rambunctious dog a bath is a LOT harder than giving a bath to a cat. I couldn’t do it with him in water & me out.. so I just got in the tub with him. Still no easy chore but oh my, he was much better (IMHO) with the earthy smells & gook on his fur replaced with lemon, rosemary & strawberry scents.

Was that first night at the DollyCali home going to be a problem? Where would “new dog” - .. no Oliver – sleep? He might hurt the cats. Better just leave him in van overnight & in morning see what we can work out. The test was the cats. If he hurt them, he was outtahere. Period.

Not having dogs before, had NOT yet learned you need to run off energy. (and wow this dog did & still does have never ending drive to run, run ,run). So since he hadn’t run & didn’t have a chewy, he just found his own chewy(s). Couldn’t he have just chewed apart ONE seat belt? Was it necessary to chew up every seat belt in the entire van????

Well at least he smelled good & passed the cat test but rubbing & licking gently the kittens that approached him the next morning. Next night he was permitted in house to sleep, He knew which bed to go to & leaned against my sore back adding support & warmth. What a sales pitch. But the sale had already been closed. I almost didn’t put the ads in. and decided if someone answered I would be very discerning if they would get him back.

But isn’t that all silly. Someone dumped him, no doubt because he drove them crazy with his endless stamina. He was meant to be here & so it was.

He goes with me most of the time. He runs while I ski, he runs while I bike, he runs the banks & swims in lakes & rivers when I kayak. He loves our long arduous hikes up & down hills & thru streams. A short walk on a leash does not cut it for either of us. He waits in van while I shop or am at church. He has been to FReeps, Ronald Regan’s funeral; Niagara Falls, Hilton Head, Tailgates, etc.

He is gentle around all animals. He will catch up with a wounded goose & lick & “mother” it. You can imagine how well that goes over with the goose! Last summer while Kayaking he found a little fawn.. smaller than he is. He swam with it in the river & wanted to play. The fawn was terrified & so was the mother on the shore (pix are at bottom of my profile page of Oliver & fawn).

Well, could make this a book but let it be said, no one placed ads for this lost dog, and no one responded to my “found” dog ads. Shots, neutering, dog food/stuff purchases (of course including his ID tag so I would get him back) began our journey. I was told he is half German shepherd from where he gets his “brains” and half golden retriever from which he gets his loving disposition & drive to run, chase and draw to water.

He was truly a gift from God although I had my doubts initially. My back over the years has become more problematic. Biking was good & so was kayaking. But walking, standing & even sitting was a torture for me. Now that I had A DOG, I needed to walk & be out with him. I was forced in pain to begin regular 3X day big outings. That is exactly what I needed. My back problems of years improved and to this day are much better than they would have been had I fallen into the predictable pattern of a more sedate life….computers, TV & movies were becoming more & more a pattern BD (before dog).

Oh about that bath.. Sweet smelling Oliver lasted 2 days. Of course they love to roll in dead animals/fish, excrement etc but on day two he beat the band by finding a skunk in the yard to “play with”… before I knew what happened he was in the house, rolling on the sofa, my bed – oh my - BUT the silver lining was the house no longer smelled like cats..

And now the final question to answer.. Of course he isn’t spoiled!

Now you have heard a little of my story.. Please share yours (and of course pix) here on this thread if you would like.. Doggie Tails will be an occasional offering from me. If you have a story FReepmail me & we can check into the possibilities of putting it on the forum.. If anyone works with a rescue group.. great. Do you have your own “Oliver story”? Did you save the life of a pet that then became your best friend?

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 5-23-05 Military Monday by The Mayor 5-24-05 Still Fontastic by Billie

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

03-29-05 ~ Hall of Fame #11

[DollyCali]

Oh HOTD.. how adorable.. in the middle pix Gidget looks like she is laughing & smiling! Thanks for posting your pix. Most here are animal lovers even if for now they cannot have a pet.

Normally Dutchess does the pet threads & she was to do one on Oliver months ago, Between my computer problems and External hard drive (with all pix) not working, it took a while for me to be graphic ready again. And now I am one of the hostesses so just did it myself. I have a coule more additions that I might do along the way depending on many things.

How old is your girl? you have horses also don't you? I appreciate being on your ping list mam! Lots of funny, sad, inspiring "tails" there about.

[luvie]

...look at those beautiful eyes!
What a sweetheart!
BTW, beautiful garden, too!

[Syncro]

grandsons

Grandsons...

:>)

[deadhead]

Happy Birthday Mrs. D

Enjoy the game and your special day

[Aquamarine]

Thanks.

Actually she's giving me "one of those looks" there, she has her ways. lol

[Temple Owl]

Good looking pooch. Has the same facial features--especially the nose--of our Ink.

[DollyCali]

heheheeh.. actually it is a bathing suit and don't think it would look to good on you.. In fact last Summer it was retired to the trash as it had many huge rips. I loved it so much i wore it a lot & due to the types of heavy duty activity I do, I had a few run ins with Rosea & berry bushes.

It had gotten to the point beyond small tears to almost indecency!

I didn't realize how much I wore it until I was going thru archives to find some O pix the past few days & there it was over & over & over.. and I have A LOT of bathing suits... but I sure miss that one

[Aquamarine]

Here's something funny that happened last week. Daisy Mae treed a ground hog. lol

The poor lil guy climbed up there in a panic to get away from her and didn't come down for hours until Mr. A popped him on top of the head with a pole which provoked him to take a flying leap out of the tree (he's alright), don't think he knew how to get down once he got up there. The worse part was that Daisy wears a shock collar to keep her from running the highway and her border line that she cannot cross is where the line in the picture is. She was bluffing all along.

[deadhead]

Daisy Mae looks adorable. She sure does know how to relax. Great photos. LOL, Daisy Mae is Miss America, my family calls Lucy the Queen. We do spoil our pups, don't we :-)

Your yard looks beautiful

[deadhead]

"Good looking pooch. Has the same facial features--especially the nose--of our Ink."

Thank You, Temple Owl. Why don't you post a pic of Ink :-)

[DollyCali]

Gizzy is so beautiful. Know you miss him. Was he a Gizmo? Was he a retired racer? I understand they make wonderful pets.

I have a Pigeon story that will be told here eventually. How many do you have? are they kept outdoors?

On our VERY long walk today(I went with John from Pix and his now two dogs) Oliver found something gross to roll in. Some animal poopie.. yuk. all over his face, neck, collar, back, sides & legs. Bath was first order of day on returning. Boy did the van permeate with his "frangrance"...

[DollyCali]

love that pix.. did one of the hostesses use it for a pledge? Please send your pet story to Dutchess. She will take good care of the Finest posters and do a bang up job....Her html skills are also beyond copy/paste

Hope you & mrs D had a good time on her birthday.. uh, em... you really know how to spoil a gal. Take her to little league game for her birthday!!! (did you buy her a hot dog?)

:)

[deadhead]

LOL, bluffing all along. Love the photos

[DollyCali]

I think these pix are a hoot.. yours and Hair of the Dogs both on back. Oliver rarely sleeps on his back.. might roll around like that a bit. I love the "pose".. thanks for visiting & sharing your pix with us!

[DollyCali]

May the Lord of great love and of creation keep the men and women of our military in His loving and eternal care. May the families be immersed with peace and comfort as they proudly know their loved ones are giving their best for the things that are dear to all of us. AMEN

Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Mama_Bear; Dutchess; Aquamarine; The Mayor; DollyCali, and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maigrey...................cousin OhioWfan........................son mystery-ak..........son, husband Gogrammy................grandson Inspectorette...................son Blessed American..........nephew Slip18..........................nephew anniegetyourgun...........nephew Diver Dave.......niece, nephew ConspiracyGuy........2 nephews Pippin.......niece's husband sneakers..........................son weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw jamaly.................brotherinlaw Future Snake Eater..........cousin WaterDragon.............grandson WaterDragon...........son-in-law BeforeISleep...................son kimmie7......................brother Armymarinemom............3 sons american_ranger.............son LadyX.........................grandson fawn796.......................nephew Dubya............................nephew StarCMC......................brother ValerieUSA..................2 sons Lakeside......................2 sons LakeLady.....................nephew Spruce.....................daughter Philman_36..............2 nephews bjcintennessee.......son, niece eaglesiniowa.....................son auboy.............................cousin Ladysmith..nephew,friend's son tina07......soninlaw & his friend Katydidnt..........................son MontanaCowgirlCop.......brother Colorado Slim................nephew Tapatio.........................2 nephews Alouette................................son katykelly..............................son Warrior Nurse...........active duty SK1 Thurman...........active duty David Osborne.........active duty fc2tomschermuly......active duty bkwells..................active duty LongCut..................active duty cjk..........................active duty Trish.......................active duty ODC-GIRL.................active duty AF_Blue..................active duty Notwithstanding.....active duty thumperusn.............active duty Q6-God.....................active duty Q6-God...................twin brother Veloxherc.................active duty Don Simmons...........active duty wingnutx..................active duty Old Sarge................active duty CGblue........................active duty bigghurtt................active duty frankiep...................active duty

scubachick.........................husband ladtx................................2 sons Its_me_K.E.T...........................son gatorgirl.........................husband severa...............husband,brother Hostel.................................cousin MozartLover..............son,nephew LBGA (RIP)...................................son cookcounty............................son SpookBrat..............nephew,cousin Doug from Upland...........son-in-law Himyar....................................son boxerblues........................2 sons the piper....................................son sheeza................................husband kemathen7.........................husband Tiffee4Bob..........................boyfriend El Gato............................nephew deadhead.............................cousin JimRobinson..................2 nephews TexKat.......................son, step-son Consort.......2 daughters,son-in-law Darheel...............................niece Donaeus...........................nephew dixie sass........................nephew BeAllYouCanBe........................son Repubmommy........................brother AgThorn................................2 sons homeschoolmama.................nephew kneezles.................................son RoseinRoseBear......cousin's hubby Redhead............step-granddaughter Redhead...........step-grdaughter fiance Atomic Conspiracy.........half-brother Atomic Conspiracy................nephew Atomic Conspiracy....................niece Sunflowergal.........................grandson visualops..............................cousin mrstank..............................husband MrsMike31........................husband spotbust1............................husband Leofl...........................................son chena............................................son campfollower............................fiance LUV W............................................son painter...................................nephew ProudAFDad.................................son SkiMask...................................son TheMayor...........................friends'son mhking.....................................cousin Misty4jc................................husband Bykrbayb........................................son Hope and Glory.............................son ak_daddoo.............................nephew SilentServiceCPOWife...........husband Walkenfree...2 grndsons,3 nephews Walkenfree................granddaughter ariamne...............................2 cousins Zechariah_8_13...brotherinlaw,cousin DirtyHarryY2K.......daughter,son-in-law nelibeli..................................nephew Kramster.........................stepson

[DollyCali]

As you know, I really slaved over that one

)

[Aquamarine]

Thanks. Daisy and Lucy are a couple of primma donnas. lol

[DollyCali]

Oh, aqua.. daisy is gorgeous. Funny story about her treeing the groundhog! Prairie, does this look a little like your Sam?

[Aquamarine]

That looks much better. ;)

[Aquamarine]

She taunted that poor thing all day.