Hair from Bear/Goodbye Bear

Hi,

This is the amount of hair I got off of Bear when I was brushing him. He is now back with his original owner. He ended up getting a tooth infection and having to go to the Vet. He was quite sick. His back legs are not too good either.

Being such a large dog and it seems he was not breed too carefully as he had a really pronounced over bite. Just got a call, Bear died. He was brought back to the people that were watching him and died this morning. Maybe its a blessing. He could walk only with great difficulty and I think being bounced all over didn't help. Sometimes life is not fair to man or animal. Big dogs don't live very long in the best of coniditions and when improper breeding is a factor their life span is even shorter. We lost our first springer that way and it is a real heartbreaker. Well Bear, you are now whole again and running over the Rainbow Bridge to green grass and cool water. Farewell, my friend.

DW

I gots a treat

HI,

Its been awhile since I have blogged. Busy, busy with work. Lucas is enjoying his treat. He loves dog bones and big chewies and pigs ears.

DW

Greta is asking if you need help.

Hi,
Greta is being taken care of by one of the employees of Video City. She is a Rottweiler and very sweet. Not my favorite breed, but she is sweet. I am currently dog-sitting for Raven a black Lab and Bear the Burmese Mountain dog.
So far so good. All three are lying near me while I type this in. Bear did a haircut or at least a partial one. He looks better and seems more comfortable. Lucas got a slight haircut too. He's due for his regular cut and bath in a couple weeks. We went to the Milwaukee River yesterday. He still howls up a storm in the car.
Off to work.
DW

Lucas in the Lake

Hi,

Last day of vacation. This is about the farthest Lucas will go in water. Butch our first Springer loved the water. Not Lucas. It was 80 today so he was willing to go in without out much prodding. I actually got outside today without Lucas following me. He has been "helping" me all week. Wherever I go so does he. I find myself looking for him if he isn't nearby. He'll be 10 in August. He just started slowing down a little in the past couple of months.

DW

Lucas, Me, and Sport

Hi,
This is Lucas' first play date. Sport is 4 years old and they hit it off fairly well. Sport started out by barking at Lucas and I thought here we go, but Lucas never barked back and they made friends after the initial butt sniffing. Sport is one of the nicest Springers I have met. His owner says he is just the sweetest dog. Lucas and Sport have very similar spotting. Sport's owner thinks they may be related. Could be. Anyways it was a fun day and Lucas got to roam free for awhile. He came when he was called and really behaved himself.
DW

Lucas in the backyard

Hi,
I am on vacation and have been working every morning for about 2 hours in the backyard and Lucas is "helping". Any damp open ground and he will dig (I have used this to my benefit on a number of occasions especially with weeds) He is also the chief inspector of anything I am doing and his big paws trample things really well. I have noticed that there is no dog poop in our backyard, so I am assuming that the daily walks he takes is the only time he poops. He is a thoughtful dog at times. I am happy to say he is getting much better with other dogs too. He has met several new dogs lately and has displayed very little aggression.
DW

From Flowers so pretty to Chestnuts

Hi,

We have a dwarf Chestnut tree in the back yard from the previous owners. The tree is large now, but near near as large as the chestnut trees across the street. This tree is at least 25 years old and is about 12 feet tall. The ones across the street are about 75 years old and are at least 40 feet tall. This is the first year our chestnut tree has so many flowers. They are beautiful. I think all the rain we have had has been very good for our tree. Lots of chestnuts this year.

DW

An error in judgement

HI,

This is a Robin's nest. It had three beautiful eggs in it a few weeks ago. Mom was happily nesting away. I thought that is not a good place for a nest. Mother Robin didn't realize it maybe, but there are a family of feral cats in this area. Also this nest offered no protection from the elements and we had a nasty few days of rain. It appears she abandoned the nest. I looked everyday for three or four days and never saw her again. I looked into the nest and saw the three eggs and when I looked into today the eggs were gone. I didn't see any shells anywhere, so don't really know what happened to them. It is a beautiful nest. So I guess even the best laid plans are sometimes not good enough. She will be smarter next time. Too bad humans don't learn as easily.

DW

I Love Trains

Hi,
This train came into town in April of 2005. It was a dinner train. I can't remember all of the details, but I do believe they do this once a year and go to different places each time. My Mother and I used to take the train to Upper Michigan every year for a vacation. Her family lived up there and it was always a great time. I remember stopping in some of the small towns for sandwiches. It was a magical time when things went slower. I loved that train ride. Now it is too expensive to ride Amtrak and it surely doesn't go to Upper Michigan.

D.W.

Where's the groundhog?

Hi,
Lucas found a groundhog hole the other day. I should have put my foot near it so you could get an idea of how big it is. I looked groundhogs up on the Internet and in the wild they only live 2-3 years and their size depends on how much food they have to eat. They eat mainly alfalfa and other greens. I happen to see the ones that inhabit this hole and there are 4 more holes besides this one. They are along a treeline that separates two fields. They are quite destructive. They can undermine quite a bit of ground and cause problems for farm equipment and large animals. I thought they looked kind of cute, but guess if I was farming I wouldn't think so. Lucas, except for a couple of quick sniffs was not interested. He's not into chasing cats or small mammals of any kind. Not prey driven at all. He is totally food driven. Food is his passion and looking good.

The Dog Walker

April 11, 2007 The drive in to herd the people

Hi,
This is what the drive in looked like. This is I-43. It was not nice, but only took me an extra 10 minutes to get to work. And still people were passing me. I was going between 40-45 miles an hour. Of course as they pass they spray all the snow and slush on your windshield. Its OK though, I usually enjoy the drive to the herd, as there is never any traffic and beautiful scenery to look at. This all should be gone in a few days. The weather is a changing, but if we lived in the U.P. of Michigan this would be a normal April.

The People Herder

The Shoe Mystery while Walking The Dog

Hi,

I have seen shoes on the highway, in parking lots, on city streets, and on country roads. I have always wondered how they get where they are.

Lucas pulled and tugged to get a better look and sniff at it and quickly dismissed it as "nothing good to eat", and moved off to something else. Tried to get a picture of him sniffing it, but no chance. So someone is going shoeless today and may have no idea where their shoe is. Lucas and I know. Just ask us.

The Dog Walker

A Doggie Box

Hi,
Found this at work (the box). Lucas posed rather well, as someone was making food and he was anxious to see if it was for him. I finally broke down and am mixing his kibbles and bits with the good stuff he should be eating. It's working, as he is again eating. Easter is cold and just a little windy. Climate changes are on the way or so we are told. I do believe the climate is changing, but don't believe that "man" is completely to blame. There are many things that are not fully understood yet. Time will tell.

The Dog Walker

Bear, the Burmese Mountain Dog

Hi,
This is Bear. He actually is as big as a small bear. The person next to bear is about 5' 5". Bear is staying with them until their owners can get situated. He's a very friendly nice dog. Lucas actually gets along with him. Bear is not real active so is no major threat to Lucas. There is no way Bear can get through the doggy door. He is 4 times the size of it. In fact I don't think there is a doggy door that would fit Bear.

The Dog Walker

Herding People In Times of Stress

Hi,
This day was an interesting one. Started out normal enough. We had a big delivery going intoboth ovens as I left to go to the bank. Two cooks, a driver, and a waitress were in the building. At about 5 minutes to 11:00 (the time we open) a man in the parking lot next to us hits the gas instead of the brake. His seat breaks and he can's see where he is going and his foot is still on the gas, going backwards. Luckily no one was injured, but we were closed for almost three days. My boss had been out on the Highway and thought I think I'll stop in. He was at the side door as the car hit. The waitress thought a bomb had exploded and the driver cutting the pizzas thought the same thing as he went flying. He picks himself up and goes out into the dining room and sits down. The cook had just walked past the oven and narrowly missed getting crushed. The second cook now panics because she can't find the driver. The oven is knocked sideways and 12 pizzas are lying all over the place. They were in the oven. I came back to chaos. My boss had shut off the gas. As soon as I got into the building I made sure everyone was OK. Took us a few minutes to find the driver. We thought he may have been under the oven. He had a small cut on his hand from the bricks that went flying. I went to let the people know their pizzas would not be delivered that day. Then I found a nice corner and cried. I was just so thankful no one was hurt. Not even the driver in the car. We talked about this for months and even now a customer will mention it.

The People Herder

Burdock Grrrrrrrrr!!!

Hi,

Lucas sure hates burdock. If his coat is long they get into his fur and he just hates it. He'll stop and rip them out. He is feet sensitive, so he can't walk if there are any near his feet. Has to get them all out.

The fields around here are loaded with them

Dog Walker

What they really think!!

Hi,
I looked at my dogs (when Tiny was still with us) one day and then took a picture. I swear to you I could hear them talking and this is what they said. They were waiting for me to take them for their walk. I didn't realize Tiny was so nasty : ) I had this on my desktop for quite a while, but then realized the Grand kids would be coming over and I didn't want to have to 'splain what B I T C H meant. Anyways I thought this was cute.

Dog Walker

Lucas, the Dude

Hi,
I have a picture of Lucas on the wall at work along with lots of other pictures of customers. A customer late Saturday night was looking at the pictures and noticed Lucas and said I almost forgot to take my pizza with me. So I came up with this idea for the front counter. 50% of customers forget to take their left overs home with them. About 1 % will come back for them.
So 49% of all left overs get tossed. Lucas does not like that. He is a great lover of pizza. He is just starting to nibble at his "diet dog food". He does get people food, but not a lot. With all the scare about the wet food, I am glad he has only been eating the dry stuff. When Tiny was alive they would get the wet stuff. Beautiful day today. Same tomorrow.

The Dog Walker

Smells so good!!!!

Hi,
Lucas found a real good pile of whatever to rub in. Its usually a dead animal. I didn't get close enough to see what it was. He had a rough nite last night with the storm. Luckily it didn't last too long. He really has a rough time with thunder and lightening. He'll sit in the middle of the room and watch the windows and just shake.
Some dogs will jump through windows or chew their way through doors. Luckily he is not that bad. The wind blew really good about 3:00 am.
He was just fine this morning.

The Dog Walker

Great People Herders I have known

Hi,
I was putting together all the pictures I have of my children to put on a disk for them for Christmas. I am starting early. I have a lot of pictures : ) I ran across two people that changed our families life. Without them I do not know where we would all be now.
Both were Doctors. One a pediatric cardiologist and the other a pediatrician. One old, one young. Both completely dedicated to their profession. A "calling" we used to say.
My youngest son was born with a heart defect. There were no ultra-sounds back then. No signs, no warnings until the birth. The young Doctor heard the problem. A murmur. Medicine is prescribed. Worried we go home with our baby. The young Doctor sets up an appointment with the old Doctor. An appointment is set and kept and another is set. There is a problem to be looked further into. A crisis, the baby is breathing funny. His tiny chest heaving with each breath. Something is wrong. To the young doctor we go. The baby is in heart failure. The young Doctor isn't sure why. The appointment with the old Doctor is moved up. A five hour drive in the U.P. of Michigan. The baby cries most of the way. Everyone is exhausted. The other two children are almost crying too. They know something is wrong, but not what. The baby is put in hospital right away. A nice hospital with nice nurses. It is July 3rd. The examination will take place on July 5Th. Everyone says go and rest. We will be staying by my Mothers just a few miles away. Rest, yes that is what is needed.
For us all. Waking the next morning, I can not, not go to the hospital. I am compelled, I am exhausted and running on empty and I must go to the hospital. Now. My husband and I go. The baby is crying softly in his crib. He is a long ways from the nurses' station. I pick him up and hold him and still he cries. Then he is silent. No sound. No breath. Silent, like death. I scream, and start running with my dying baby. Years later, I think what if I would not have gone up to the hospital when I did. I know the answer, I would have went no matter what. My husband wants to know what is wrong, he can't see that the baby is not breathing. I am screaming and running to the nurses. They grasp the situation quickly, The baby is taken from me and I collapse. The old Doctor is called, he is on his tractor enjoying the day. It is a beautiful 4th of July. He comes as fast as he can. Tractor left in the field. My baby died three times that day and each time the old Doctor and his staff revived him. His assistant was found by the state police and brought to the hospital in a State Patrol Car. They did the test that they were going to do tomorrow, now. An artery in the heart is blocked they tell. Be prepared for the worst. My husband calls the young doctor. He says we will air-evac him to wherever the old Doctor thinks is the best place for him. Rochester, Mn. St Mary's Pediatric. Best Doctors for this kind of problem. Back in the early 70's this was a BIG deal. Heart surgery. The baby is only slightly stabilized. The next day the old Doctor and I go by ambulance to the airfield. We are being flown to Rochester, Mn. I hold the baby and he is quiet and breathing heavy. The old Doctor and I look at each other and I don't know who is more scared. There is nothing in the ambulance to revive him, should he take a turn for the worst. He doesn't and off we go to Rochester, Mn. The surgery and recovery are uneventful.
The baby was born with a narrowed aortic valve. It took minutes to repair, but without it he would have died by this time. The old Doctor is very happy. The young Doctor has one more miracle to perform. Get me and the baby back to the base, without having to take the bus. He tells the Top Brass that the baby would not do well at all on the bus, so they send a med-evac plane to pick me (they were not going to ) and the baby up and take us home.
Dr Ziegler was the old Doctor. He has since passed away, but we were in touch for years. A true people herder. A person who cares about the herd. A Shepard.
The young Doctor, Dr Lehocky went into his own crisis when his young wife died unexpectedly. He survived and went on to become a wonderful people herder. He herds the lambs whose lives are disrupted by illness. It is his "calling" and his herd is grateful. A Shepard.

The not so great people herder.

Butch 1994-2001

Hi,
Butch was our first Springer. My youngest son bought him for $50.00 from someone that we now know would be called a backyard breeder. Springers were the rage with the teenagers at the time. Hunting was a lifestyle that most young men were very into in our community. He was adorable. My son trained him to hunt birds and Butch was not too bad at it. They went out to South Dakota several times hunting. Butch never strayed too far. Both Butch and my son would come back looking like they had been out on the town for a week. Butch would sleep for 3 days straight and walk around like an old man for a couple more days, but he loved it. Then my son got married and priorities change. Butch became our dog. He was not particularly fond of children, cats or other dogs. He would fetch anything for you and would run notes back and forth in the house for us. True to his backyard breeding he developed cancer of the anal gland. The cancer wrapped itself around one of his blood vessels and in doing so, it burst. With the cancer wrapped around it, Butch did not bleed too death, which is what would have happened if the cancer was not sealing the blood vessel. He had surgery and did fine for another two years. My husband is an EMT so he could administer all the drugs needed. In August of 2001, cancer again struck. More surgery, but this time Butch was not getting better. His kidneys shut down, which was another problem from the backyard breeding.
Hardest day of my husband's life was to take Butch to the Vet. Butch went to the rainbow bridge and is swimming in cool water and laying in green grass. His two favorite things.

The Dog Walker

Yep, Its Snowing

Hi,
I am on vacation, so I have a little more time to blog. I have a counter on this blog now and if I have figured it out correctly, there have been 5 hits to this site, other than the ones I have done myself. Hope whoever has seen this has liked it.
Lucas is having a play date with his bud, Raven. They run inside and outside just like 5 year olds.
The sidewalk you see is what Lucas feels he must protect. No other dog is allowed to walk on it without Lucas warning them that the sidewalk is his. There used to be a man that would walk by the window every few days and bark back at Lucas. To say the least Lucas did not find it amusing.

The Dog Walker

I see Dumb People

Hi,

Now "dumb" people are everywhere and occasionally, well maybe more than occasionally, we all could have that word plastered on our foreheads. There is more than 1 degree of "dumb". Its like the movie, "Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest".

Most "dumb" is understandable. Some dumb is not. Like the lady who called for a delivery, and was out of range. She said she had just moved up here from Illinois and she could not understand how we lived up here. No one delivered to her. She said we were very dumb. I thought to myself, of course, "Well, geez, we get in our car and go get it". A concept that shouldn't be too foreign to her, as I have lived in the Chicago area and can tell you, you cannot walk anywhere. We lived near the airport and the shopping would have been great if it didn't take all afternoon to get to the malls. The traffic was horrendous. To go 10 miles down the road would take 40 minutes. Then there was a lady that called for a delivery, but wouldn't give her address, because we should know it. Or the man that would order every Friday night and everytime we got there he was sound asleep. We finally worked it out that the delivery person would drop off the food on the porch, where he would leave the money. He was always very nice and always left a great tip, but we have no way of knowing if he ever got his food or if the raccoons did. He never said. And then there was the man who was partying a little too much, got the munchies and came in picked up what we thought was his (turned out to be someone else's) food, went to his car and fell alseep. We called the police as it was really cold out and they drove him home. This was many, many years ago, I don't know what their policy is now. The best ones are the people who order, come to pick it up and have no clue as to what was ordered or who would have ordered it. It happens when company comes to town and they offer to go pick up the food. The best was the lady that ordered a delivery, but came in the store to pick it up. We are all scrambling to find her food and the carry out line is getting three deep.

5 minutes into us looking, she lets us know it was a delivery, which is already on the road. The people behind her in line were ready to strangle her. I have learned to spot "dumb " people quite quickly, so I hope I have made their "dumbness" less and our job easier.

The People Herder

Pearly White Teeth, I has

Hi,
This is Lucas after eating Lasagna. There wasn't a lot of lasagna left. He is our pot and pan cleaner. You can see a little orange on him. He is a very neat and tidy dog and really dislikes being wet or too dirty. Although being smelly doesn't seem to bother him. He likes to look out the window next to you and fart. Then he will look at you as if to say, What?? He is especially sensitive about having wet feet. He cleans his feet quickly after coming in from outside. Still can't convince the husband that we need another dog. I found some really cute ones at Fluffy Dogs at a rescue place way South of here. We'll see. Time for our walk.

The Dog Walker

Trixie

Hi,

I finally got a picture of Trixie. She was out today and all by herself. Just sitting on her porch in the sun. She is so sweet and playful. Lucas used to really dislike her, but she is very submissive and once they got close to each other it was fine. She does not leave her yard. It is a corner house so she has streets on two sides and I have never seen her out of her yard.

The Dog Walker

Lucas, The First Years

Hi,
This is how Lucas looked when we first got him. He had been an outside dog and he wasn't neutered at that time.
He had been living with his rescue person for about three months, prior to us getting him. He had cherry eye and had an operation for it. Its an inner eye lid thing. It causes annoyance to the dog and looks nasty, but isn't life threatening. He was horrible the first three months. Whined, cried, and wouldn't let anyone sleep beyond 6:00am. First time out without a lease, he immediately ran next door and bit the large female dog on the head.
Wouldn't let go. My husband was so taken aback that it took him a little bit to make Lucas let go. I thought this dog is crazy. Took him back to the Vet and they couldn't find anything wrong and I should have put him in school, but could not find anyplace that could accommodate my work schedule. I started taking him for walks and we built a fence around the backyard. Both helped a little, but on the walks if he would see another dog he would start barking and acting like a psycho I took him once to a place on the lake just for dogs. I got pulled into the lake twice and he barked so much he was hoarse. They were glad to see me go. I kept taking him for walks and slowly, but surely he calmed down. I have resorted to a pinch collar. It works a little bit. He has made friends with most of his "doggy enemies" and actually seems to like cats. He doesn't mind children and especially likes them if they have food in their hands. The grand kids have learned how to handle him and he does well. The rescue person said he was a man's dog, but he's mine. I move, he moves. He has come to be much loved and I realize I will probably never be able to take him to a dog park, although maybe in another year when he is older. I love Springers, but they are a handful. Our last springer was not at all like Lucas, but he really didn't like children.
So Lucas you have found your forever home. And hopefully you will never look that sad again.

The Dog Walker

King of the Hill

Hi,

Snow appears to be over for awhile. I will try not to complain about the heat in the summer. Lucas had a good walk today. Lots of smells and lots of places to poop. He likes to poop on the lower branches of fir trees. He has a nice new hair cut. Looks spiffy, but smells like perfume which I don't care for. I like the doggy smell. He ran into one of his dog friends the other day. Trixie. She is the cutest little border collie mix I have ever seen. He likes Trixie, because she is very submissive. He is alpha all the way. I'm still trying to be Alpha with him. My husband is and he listens to him, but not me. He's been waking me up at 7:00 am again. Great when I have to go to work, not so great when I have a day off.

The Dog Walker

Why is herding some people so hard.

Hi,
The problem is being too in tuned to ones self and not thinking of others.
Two customers complained about the service. We were busy and understaffed. When I confronted the server he was very defensive. After close I tried again. I started out with "who determines when you need help? He said "I (the Mgr). I said "No". He said " I (meaning himself). I said "No". He was at a loss. I then said "The customer determines when you need help". When it gets busy and a customer has to come up front for service, they have determined you need help. We are a team and we all help each other. We don't keep score of who asks for help and who doesn't. There is no competition. He is 19. He is not the only person we have hired that at times cannot make a distinction as to what is best for the customer. I learned this when I was young. It is much harder to learn when you are older. Thinking of others first. My generation was accused of being door mats and we were, but it is better to be a doormat and grow out of it than to never have the ability to see other than yourself. My waiter will go on to be a good waiter. He is a nice person. Nice people are hard to find. My two best servers make me feel very selfish at times. They give their heart and soul into their job and its an awesome thing to watch.

The People Herder

Raven A Sweet Boy

Hi,

This is Raven. He's 5 years old. A Black Lab and Lucas' bud. Raven comes over 1 to 2 times a week and plays with Lucas. If I say Raven's coming Lucas runs to the window to wait. Raven was suppose to come over one night, but didn't, His owner came over without Raven and Lucas told her off and then sat with his back to her the rest of the night. It was funny. Raven goes for lots of walks with his owners and has a good life, even if he does have to live with cats.

The Dog Walker

Wisconsin Snow Storm

Hi,

It finally hit. Started about 9:00 pm yesterday (predicted for 6:00pm) and still going, but wind has died down considerably. The wind was howling really good all night. Lucas was restlesss, as we had to close his doggy door (really his doggy window, as that is where it is) Too much snow coming in.

Herding people was easy yesterday. All seemed in good moods. Came in with their video rentals, and wanting their food. They were going home to hunker down. One customer, a transplant from Flint, Mi just loves this area. Likes the people and the town. Always nice to hear. Couldn't deliver to a couple towns yesterday. Never like to have to do that, but I would feel horrible if one of our employees were to get hurt because I needed to make that extra buck. We have wonderful customers as only a couple were upset. I do love my job. Lucas was happy with the snow. He loves to eat snow and run in it. We had a nice walk today. Went down to the Video store and he got an ice cream sandwich. They are his favorite. Still thinking about another dog. We'll see. Life is good.

The Dog Walker

Port Washington, Wi

Hi,

A little off the subject of walking dogs and herding people, but this is one of my favorite photos and I don't have to worry about copy-right laws, because I took it. This is from last year. Can't remember the month. St Marys is the church. Lake Michigan is about 3 blocks to the east of this picture. It is always a thrill to see the church. Its not such a thrill to try to get up the hill when it first snows. This picture does not give you any idea of how steep it is. In the 90's it rained so hard part of the hill was washed away. Big mess, but St Marys is still there, looking so dignified and serene. At night the clock face is lit up and its awesome. Been to one funeral and one wedding at this church. It is beautiful inside too.

The Dog Walker

Naughty Dogs

Hi,
So I went to get gas for the car and bought two cupcakes, one for me and one for Lucas. Had to go to the Library and when I came out, Lucas had eaten them both. My fault, he is such a crazy dog for people food.
His one paw is sore again. We clipped the hair off it and will soak it for him and he's back on allergy pills. I think he is just alone too much. Although he really isn't alone alot.
We have a chance to get another dog, a mutt about the same age as Lucas. We will see how it works out. Sunday is the day.

The Dog Walker

Howling..I do it well

Hi,

Lucas loves to howl. We can get him to do it just by howling ourselves. He howls for the werewolf scene in Harry Potter and also for Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter. He howls for the church bells and trains and the fire engines.

He howls at least once a day and usually in the front window which is full of dog snot. There used to be a man that would stop and howl with him in front of the window. Most things on animal planet will make him howl too. He simply loves to howl.

The Dog Walker

Time to Go

Hi,

I have this picture by my back door, not that I need a reminder. Lucas was an outside dog who had been living inside less than 3 months when we got him. He would wake me up in the first few months by laying on me at 6:30 in the morning. He wieghs 60 lbs and I was not amused. I was sorry we got him for about a month. He reminded me of the dog we had lost to cancer, but not so much as time went by. Then one day I realized I would never have our first dog back and Lucas was going to be mine even though the lady we got him from said he prefered men to women.

I started walking him because he had so much energy that he needed an outlet. During these walks we bonded. He got over some of his craziness and I realized that it must have been traumatic for him to be pulled away from his first family. He was so sad the first year. And we bonded some more.

Now Lucas is mine and I worry about what would happen to him if something happened to me. I feel it would be best for him to go into the Springer rescue group. He has special needs and I think they could help him best. He is seldom out of my sight and our walks are good for us both.

Today we helped Trixie the little border collie mix down the street. She never leaves her yard. She is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met and has a nice family to take care of her. I see her playing with her family and she loves to take something they need and let them chase her. They are good to Trixie. Today they had left her out and when Lucas and I went for a walk and came back and Trixie was still out, I became concerned. Trixie is never out long. She was holding her feet up one at a time, so I knocked on their door and they let her in and said Thank You. But I thought, no Thank you Trixie. You have a beautiful soul.

The Dog Walker

My Mother's Dog....Tiny

Hi,

In about 1992 my niece, on her way to visit my Mother stopped in with a tiny puppy. She asked me if I wanted it, but I had two dogs at the time and said no. She gave it to my Mother who was in her 80's at the time. When my Mother passed about about 18 months later I was given the dog as no one else could take him. He wasn't housebroken and remained that way for almost 3 years. He was fearful and shy, but loved attention. We had just one other dog who made sure Tiny knew his place. When that dog died we replaced him with Lucas. Lucas was kinder than the first dog to Tiny. They became friends and I too looked at Tiny differently. He was such a little dog and I had never been fond of little dogs, but Lucas led the way. Tiny had a good life. Walks and treats and a back yard to run in. The last month of his life he could no longer go on our daily walk, but I would walk Lucas first, and then take Tiny out to the front of the house and back. He was happy with that. I found him dead by the back door one morning. Lucas missed him and I found that I missed him too. So Tiny I hope that over the Rainbow Bridge you have a person to love and pet you. We still miss you.

The Dog Walker

Patches

Hi,

patches came to us about 4 years ago. My oldest son and his family had to move and we got Patches to look after until they were settled. Patches stayed with us until he was put to sleep about 6 months ago. He was 15 when we got him. The few years before he got him were not particularly good for him. He wasn't abused, but just not cared for the way an older animal should be. I chopped up his food and tried to give him something like sardines or a little bit of Tuna everyday. He thrived for awhile, but most of his teeth were missing and he had a hard time digesting almost anything. I felt that when it looked like he really wan't having a good quality of life I would let him go. I probably waited too long, because it had become kind of a mission to keep him alive. The last three years of his life, he was warm and well fed. He could sleep where he wanted and do as he please. On warm days I would take him outside where he liked to eat the grass. So many animals are tossed out once they get old. They deserve better. So Patches I hope over the Rainbow Bridge you have found your youth and your dignity.

The Dog Walker

Other Dogs I know

Hi,
Allie is about 8 years olds. She is a Golden Retriever. She is my youngest son's dog. I dog-sit her every now and then and she is always sweet. Loves her treats and likes to cuddle. A bit big for a lap dog, but she tries. She tolerates Lucas. Her passion for the longest time was picking up any rock and insisting you throw it so she could get it...a gazillion times. Her teeth are worn down from all the rocks she has retrieved. She likes shoes too. So when she comes over we hide our shoes, or go out with only one shoe on because we can't find the other one. The kids love her and we do too.

The Dog Walker

Herding People

Hi,
As a Manager that is what I do. Herd customers and employees. Customers are easy to herd. Be nice, smile and make them feel welcome. Most customers do not need a lot of extra care. They want their food hot and on time.

Employees are the other hand need a lot of extra attention, some more than others. Some are worth it, some are not. The "are nots" usually do not outnumber the "ares"
The ages of the employees makes a big difference too. Most people who work with anyone 16-25 know this. When I was 19 I had a child, was married and lived away from home. Todays 19 year old ,if lucky, is still in college and may have a girlfriend or boyfriend and will live at home for a few more years. If not lucky they will barely have graduated from High School and are working in hard jobs, like consturction or lower paying jobs and are living on their own . Most actually do OK, but in the long run they won't unless someone with money can help them out and this is usually a parent.

A lot of them have been in jail and this sadly is a way of life. Rules are hard for them to follow and sometimes they don't even know the rules. They view the world totally different than I. They give into the selfiness of youth more than my generation could. We were expected to act a certain way and for the most part we did. It is taking longer for the currant generation to come to terms with how the world operates. It is a lot harder for them than it was for me. I do not envy todays generation. It is a tough world out here and you can blame the parents and the schools, but truthfully its all adults in authority, whether it be parents, teachers, or employers
They are not hopeless or stupid. They are undisiplined. Its a hard lesson.

Sometimes at work when I have to take someone aside and talk to them about their behavior they have a look on thier face that says they have no idea what I am trying to tell them. I was taught as a Manager that the only way to change behavior is to get the person to see what is wrong so they can change it. It takes a long time for some young people to even see what is wrong , but if you can get them to see your point of view it is awesome.

Its way I love herding.

The Dog Walker

Its cold -11 and the Dog still wants his walk

Hi,
Today Florida would be nice. The ride to work yesterday was nasty. 15 miles of blowing snow in the wide open spaces of Wisconsin. Sir Lucas, the Walkee only had a 5 minute walk yesterday and it wasn't as cold as today, so might have to make it shorter today. Must work today too.

Sir Lucas is an English Springer Spaniel about 9 years old. He was a rescue of sorts. Found him on the internet. His first family divorced and the husband wanted him, but the wife got him and then she couldn't keep him. So you would think she would have given him back to the husband, but this is real life and she found a rescue to give him to instead. Since I really like animals this seemed unfair. It took him a long time to settle down as he is very assertive or alpha if you must. He is crazy, but we love him. He has a nice fenced in yard and a doggie window to go in and out. A doggie door didn't work, so we put the doggie door in the window instead, looks kind of tacky, but Lucas likes it and not too many people see our backyard anyway. He likes to stand in his doggie door and look out, before he goes out and in this cold weather we are always yelling at him to get his butt outside. He does want any dog would do and ignores us. Gotta go

The Dog Walker