News and Updates

Dear Friends!

 

I am sorry for being away from the blog for a while. Mamma did not feel like typing for me after all the terror, tragedy, and chaos in Boston that began on Marathon Monday. It was a very scary time for many of us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected.

 

We thank you for the outpouring of concern from all of our online pals for us during that time. We were safe from all of it because we live about 20 miles away from where everything happened. Mamma is pretty sure I felt or heard something going on with the blasts that afternoon because despite the beautiful weather, I was anxious and acting as if a thunderstorm was approaching, and then the “Breaking News” came on the TV….just horrible!

 

So, we are still looking for pals that have a blog and would like to be listed with a link and photo on our “Blog” page. If you take a look, you will see our pals, Lulu (@Monde_de_Lulu) http://www.les-aventures-de-lulu.blogspot.com/ and Molly and Winnie (@labsontheloose) http://labsontheloose.com/ are already listed. Wouldn’t you like to join them?

 

Finally, mamma and I are starting something new! Lots of you have amazing stories about how you and your human saved each other, and we want to share your story right here on our blog! If you are shy, don’t worry, we will help you get your story written. Send us an email: abbydawgblog@gmail.com, and we can chat about it! We look forward to hearing from you! Oh, and check back here soon because our very first feature will appear very soon, and we know you will love our pal’s story.

Confessions: Undies, Poop, and Mints

Hello Friends!

Just a reminder, when mamma rescued me no one was sure of my past history or my exact age. Guesses are that I was between six and nine months of age, ready to be spayed, and in desperate need of training. I was pretty much a crazy, hormonal adolescent, so it was a good thing the shelter made the spaying and training conditions of my adoption!

So, believe it or not, I was not always a good dog. I know, I know, it’s very hard to believe, bol! I did a lot of weird things as a pup, didn’t we all? Some of them were what mamma calls “gross”, but I say it was just “normal” doggie behavior. And, of course, it was my job to teach mamma the virtue of patience!

I loved mamma so much and missed her terribly when she left for work and college that I raided the laundry. Yep, you guessed it, I loved mamma’s underwear! I didn’t touch daddy’s underwear, or my human sisters’ underwear, nope, just mamma’s. I thought I was very clever stashing her undies all over the house, but mamma and other humans were not amused. I guess I outgrew that fun trick after a bit.

I soon discovered poop! It was winter when I was adopted, and I had a lovely back yard in a wooded area all to myself, so I discovered rabbit poops. Nommy! That wasn’t enough though, and this is where, in mamma’s words, I became “gross” because I started eating my own poop. Frozen treats, I say! In case you are wondering, yes, when spring came and everything thawed, I stopped eating all poop, the rabbits’ and my own.

Finally, and I do not recommend doing this, so please, learn from my mistake, ok? One day when mamma was in the shower, I raided her book bag. Ooooh, I got a yummy, movie-sized box of Junior Mints^®. I ate the whole thing of chocolaty and minty goodness, including the box. I guess I was lucky that the chocolate was not enough to kill me or make me too sickly, but I got a terrible tummy ache.

We, as dogs, have an insatiable curiosity that needs to be indulged and channeled to go along with our incredible sense of smell. We need help learning what is ok to sniff and taste because we are willing to smell and eat almost anything and everything, which sometimes just is not that good for us. I outgrew my affinity for undies and poop, and mamma makes sure I don’t get near any chocolate, so it’s all good!

Doggie Discrimination

Hello Friends!

 

I am a very lucky dog. Mamma walks me at least two times a day, every day, no matter what the weather brings. Now that the weather is getting warmer, the walks will increase in length and quantity, until it gets too hot, then it may change again. I love to walk! I love to sniff, after all, I am a dog gifted with a pretty good nose for sniffing. We have our usual routes we walk, and I have my favorite potty spots, and even if Mamma changes our walk direction, I still find my favorite spots.

 

I admit, I’m not always the best walker and I test Mamma’s patience sometimes. She has tried lots of different training techniques, but I’m still “bad”. I am good until I smell something, of course, Mamma doesn’t always see what I smell, but I dig in and collapse low to the ground, so no one can move me until I’m good and ready. Or I see something, and then I pull and pull some more, choking myself until I get to where I want to go. Oh, and if there is another dog, forget it, I lose my mind barking with excitement, and pull like a crazy dog, and this just totally freaks the other dog out, so it becomes a very stressful situation for all. Mamma says it’s in my nature to be stubborn and protective because of the German Shepherd in me, but she also concedes it’s her fault for not training me better.

 

Well, today, Mamma took the neighbor’s 7 month, 50 pound, female, Golden Retriever puppy for a walk, and I was not invited to go! Mamma says it was a totally different walking experience, mainly because the puppy never gets to go on walks, so it was new, and because the puppy is just that, a cute puppy. Mamma says the puppy was very good, no pulling and no barking at other dogs, unlike what happens with me (uh-oh)! The biggest thing Mamma observed, and found a bit upsetting, was that puppy got lots of attention, oohs and aahs and requests from humans to pet puppy. That doesn’t happen with me. People fear me and turn the other way or cross the street to avoid me. I love to be petted too, you know! So, without any scientific data, Mamma believes this was just another case of doggie age and breed discrimination, plain and simple. Mamma says it’s ok, though, because she would never trade my mature and protective nature for anything in the world, not even a cute puppy.

Bond of Online Friends

Hello Pals!

 

So, mamma and I were chatting about the amazing online world, in particular, Twitter^®. Mamma never believed I, being a dog, would have so many “followers”, and I have lots of them, way more than her!!! I’m not alone in this phenomenon either. It appears there are lots of anipals and furfriends that have lots and lots more followers than their own human typist. Anipals and furfriends are not limited to the many lovely dogs and cats. Nope, there are also wolves, rabbits, bunnies, bears, goats, donkeys, horses, seagulls, parrots, turtles, fish, (and others, I may have missed) and of course, humans!
 

It should not really be too much of a surprise to see all the support anipals and furfriends have for one another. Humans have it too, but it seems to be more special among the nonhuman kind. There are weekly and monthly hashtag gatherings to raise awareness for various things, like #tiaraTuesday and #wigitupWednesday. There are weddings and pawties and birthdays and other celebrations, too. There is so much love and concern found 24/7 because someone is always awake online, so if you need to chat, you can find a pal or two.
 

The most special outpouring of love and concern occurs when a pal is sick or has gone OTRB. Pawprayers and #pawcircles go out to offer comfort to those in need, whether it be from close pals or total strangers. Special remembrances take place to help memorialize our dearly departed so they are never forgotten. We are there for each other to offer comfort, love, and support the best way we can in our online world, and sometimes that is more special than in our “real world”. So, let’s raise a paw, or wing or fin or whatever you have, to our pawsome online bond of friendship! xoxo

 

 

Let's Connect!

Hello Everyone! 

 

 

I am very excited to be blogging and sharing my life with you, but that is not all! I want to get to know you and read about your life, so if you have a blog or web site that you would like to share, please let me know!

 

 

I would like to compile a list of blogs and web sites to put on a special page on my blog, so others may be able to find you too. So, if you would like to do that, let me know. All I need is your blog name and link to it, and any other information you may want to share, like pictures, etc.

 

 

If you wish, you may send the information to me in an email: abbydawgblog@gmail.com or post in the comments below. Please, just be very clear what you would like published on my blog page. Sound like fun? I look forward to hearing from you!

 

 

P. S. Oh, and if you just want to share with me your information, and no one else, that is ok, too. Just please send your information to me in an email, and be very clear you do not want it on the blog page, ok? Great!

 

My Furever Home

Hello and Welcome!

This is my first ever blog post, so please be honest and kind! I look forward to hearing from you. Let me begin by telling you a little bit about myself and how mamma came to rescue me.

I am a female, German shepherd dog mix approximately 11 years old. No one is really sure what other breeds I may have in me, but I look like a floppy-eared shepherd. I guess I am considered a medium-sized dog as I weigh about 50 pounds. I am on a special hypoallergenic diet because I developed weird skin irritations possibly related to food allergies. Oh, and I eat carrots so my vision is great!

The staff at the shelter said I was found by a family, and I had been running around the fields behind a city high school. I was very skinny, my ribs were visible, and I weighed only 35 pounds. The family that brought me to the shelter said they could not keep me, but if no one adopted me, they would take me back. Weird, huh? Why didn’t they just keep me? Maybe I wasn’t a stray? Maybe they just couldn’t handle my hyper, puppy self? Anyway, no one really knows, and it doesn’t really matter because I ended up with my mamma.

I was adopted from the MSPCA in December 2002 after mamma lost her beloved, Buddy, to a sudden illness. She was heartbroken after he died and visited the dogs and cats at the shelter almost every day as she grieved his passing. It was the end of the third week of visits, and mamma was ready to stop until after the holidays. Then, it happened! A special and miraculous day and mamma came in to find me, the only doggie in the place. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was love at first sight, and we have been together ever since. Mamma celebrates my birthday on Valentine’s Day because she says, “I’m the love of her life.” I am so grateful mamma busted me out of jail and gave me a furever home!