Dog Days of Summer
Yesterday I got to have lunch with my friend Janice Meyer. Janice is the resident photographer (minister of photography, if you will) at Life Outreach International. She is the one who brought Matthew's story to life for us through pictures. She had some picture CDs from the Angola trip to give me, which means I have more pictures to post for you very soon!
Beckham, my golden retriever, has been very sad lately because it's too hot to do much playing outside. So I asked Janice to bring her golden retriever, Flannel, over to my house to play. Flannel is nine years old and very laid back. Very, very laid back. Beckham is three years old and behaves much like a three year old child. Not very laid back. There wasn't much common ground for our two goldens, but Janice saved the day by bringing some chew treats for both of them.
Here they are "playing" so nicely while their mommies chatted away. Some might say it was the perfect playdate.
Meet Mr. Flannel. What a sweetie.
Here's Beckham, who is wearing a cone-slash-clown-collar to keep him from scratching the hot spot on his face. The cone is obviously in rough shape.
This is some riveting material, isn't it? Thanks to Janice's pictures, we'll have a more substantial post later this week.
If you want to post a picture and a story about your dog (or cat...goldfish...hermit crab...whatever) on your own blog, let us know in a comment!
posted by Amanda @ 10:55 AM
59 Comments
59 Comments:
Looks like Beckham has done some serious scratching, but at least not on his face. :)
One question Amanda, do you clean your house whenever your going to take inside pictures? You're house always looks so neat, even with a toddler! I'm impressed! :)
Amanda, These are so great!!! I love animals, all of them. I have one very spoiled little mutt, he is my profile picture, that was he and I in April on his 10th Birthday. I just love him so much. He has been through so much in his life, many surgeries, etc. But he is so spoiled and so very, very precious to me. I just love dog stories. Your story was so sweet, it melted my heart. Thank you once again for sharing. Love & Hugs To You.
That was so very neat.I have 1 dog & a cat. There so neat my dog Tori is 11 the cat Smokey 7, we lost our big dog July 4th due to cancer she was 10 & when she was 2 she saved our grandson & daughter life from a snake. we miss her very much, I would love to send pictires but not sure how to do that. By the way your mom sent the sweetest letter to me about loseing my dog. i will all ways keep that. it touched my heart & many others to.Tori my cs is sad with out babe, thanks so much for shering all you share. God bless love sister in Christ Victoria
I love the dog picturs. :)
everyone is affected by this heat, aren't they!
Blessings,
Karla
(1)I'm glad you explained the cone collar- after looking at the first photo, I thought it was some type of scarf to match Jackson's soccer shirt.
(2)I have no animals- that way, I get to keep my "pet and smoke free" status on ebay descriptions.
that brings a new picture to mind for the term "cone head" :)
and now you've got me determined to find pictures of my "baby" and post them!
well, I don't have a story about my pets but I do have one about why I am not a pet person. It is entitled The Funny Farm.
Great golden photos! I've had golden retrievers in my life since my days in diapers. Our dogs are part of our family and they receive much love. I'd love to post one of many dog stories. We were a three dog family until recently. Our golden girl Mandy and her buddy Rollie lived to be 13 plus. We have a little golden mix named Scooby who has sent us on a mission to find our new golden child. My eleven year old is pushing for a puppy and my husband and I are preferring one that is a year old, alreay house-trained and doesn't chew. Tall order I know. The right dog always seems to find us at the right time.
You make me miss my golden retriever, Emmie! She was the sweetest ever! She had cancer so we had to put her down a couple of years ago. My computer crashed last week and I lost ALL of my pictures so I don't have any to share! I'm so bummed. Looks like it might be time to get another golden!
My little Sahsha has her very own blog! Complete with slideshows. Check it out!
sahsha.blogspot.com
Hasn't been updated in a while. Our life is quite routine right now. She waits for us to come home, we take her out, we play, we run, we dance, we eat, we laugh, I try to torment her, her Daddy comes to rescue her, we all sleep in the bed together. Start all over next day.
Love the pictures, as always!
My hubby and kids are dying for a dog and have been for years. I never grew up with pets and just have a hard time taking the plunge. I may be able to give in by December for a big Christmas morning surprise. They like big dogs, I can only tolerate small ones. What's a good happy medium? Basset hounds crack me up and may be a possibility. Any suggestions??
Blessings!
Kelli in Ohio
Makes me want to schedule a kitty playdate!
My kitty has pictures on The Catalog
do
Do my 3 year old twins count as pets?? It's like hearding cats I tell ya. ;o)
The dogs are so cute! My cat needs prayer. He is a shaded silver persian with the most gorgeous green eyes. He knows he is beautiful and he has a terrible pride issue. Infact, we laugh about Samson thinking he is the center of the universe and he doesn't think its funny. He won't let us pet him until we convince him we're sorry for saying that.
Now Beth could put a whole lesson around that! but i can't think of one!
Blessings ladies!
Susan
OMGosh!!! I thought the same thing Mitzi said. . .I have three children 13,11,3 and no matter how hard I try my home never looks like that. ..
Okay, I'll "bite." I love my sweet dog, too and recently did write a post on her. If you want, drop by for a visit. http://annieseyes.blogspot.com/2007/08/sweet-dreams-wagging-tails-pupcorn.html
Love you guys, Annette
I always call something of endearment "my baby". Well, my Lu Lu (Boston Terrier) is "my baby".
Well right now, something that is taking all my time and energy, "my baby", is a fixer up house we are.........fixing. Could not think of a better word!
Come to my blog and see "my baby". It is a wreck, but just as God sees me - it has lots of potential!! The blog is called "New/Old House Blessing".
Love ya'll!! Leigh
Mr. Flannel sounds like my "bearded lady," Cubbie. She is now 10 years old with no teeth. Still a seasoned pro to cuddle and love on though. I don't know what I'll do or my husband who has grown quite attached to her when she goes to visit the Big Doghouse in the sky. She will most assuredly meet my childhood best friend Scruffy there as well.
I'm so glad that God saw fit to let humans and animals forge friendships together. How cool is that?!
p.s.- Beth, just finished "When Godly people do Ungodly things." Loved it! Especially the chapter on "Strong Walls and Secret Places." Thanks for writing it!
Beth, here is my HOTTER THAN 3 DIGITS story!
We have 3 darling granddaughters
and had the privledge to 'baysit' while mom and dad took a long needed vaction. Well, we went to a friends house to swim but waited till 6pm to splash in the pool b/c of the heat index. We played for 1.5 hrs then headed home. Not having to do this in a gazillion years, we had to bath, wash hair, dry hair, fix dinner, do bible story time and get them all bedded by midnight (just kidding at least to bed by 9)
At dinner our oldest "georgia peach" in that thick accent said "DeeDee did you see me pole dancing w/Sir?" (her grandfather name for my husband) I am tring to think quick...pole? was there a pole in the pool and if there was, why was she poledancing. My dear sweet husband looks at me and said "POOL DANCING HONEY, WE WERE POOL DANCING!"
"Oh Pool dancing, yes sweetie, DeeDee saw you dancing w/Sir." (Whew!)
Now that is one for the books!
Joy,Debi Ogle
www.tennesseebuckeyes.blogspot.com
We had to have our little dog (almost 16 yrs. old) put to sleep in June. It was so sad. She was an inside dog and such a major part of our family. It was a very tough decision, but she was losing weight and wouldn't eat and kept getting sick. We couldn't stand to see her suffer. We got her when my daughter was in third grade. She was so scared of dogs and it seemed like everywhere she went there were dogs. Someone recommended we get a puppy. She was healed of that fear after about two weeks. I think that was the saddest part, because my daughter is married and when she came home (to our house) the night before to say "good bye" it just broke my heart. Our house was very quiet and still is. I still look for Molly when I'm eating....waiting for her to beg....when we get ready for bed because she always wanted to sleep with us & when I get home I still think she should be coming to greet me. My sister was so sweet. She took her to the vet for us and stayed back in the room with her and held her in a blanket. Something else my daughter told me was that she didn't want her to be alone back in the room at the vet. I have an adorable picture of her that I took before she went that day, I just have no idea how to put it on here. Pets are so special and Molly definitely gave us many years of pleasure.
We have our dog and six fish at home, two horses at the barn and a couple of barn kittens as well. My daughter named them Milo and Otis and the names fit them quite well....until we found out the names are a little more masculine than two girl kittens should have.
It was the perfect play date. That was a lot of exercise for Flannel. I told Amanda that he is actually the first of a new bread. I know he looks like a golden retriever but he is actually a golden recliner. He thinks exercise is to get up and walk to the food bowl. He is a big lover though.
Animal crazy,
janice
Heheh. I'm cracking up at the last photo. That's just pitiful!
And as much as I'd love to stash a golden retriever or a horse (my 2 favorite animals) in my new dormitory room in Boston, I'm guessing I'm not going to be able to, seeing as they don't even allow fish! FISH!
I guess all of us grouped together encompass enough of the 'zoo' like :)
Adorable dogs!
We have 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 7 birds.........oh yeah, 4 kids, a husband child, and me. I couldn't begin to start telling about my zoo!
I LOVE animals too! We have two golden retrievers -they are blonde like Beckham! Aren't they the BEST dogs! Ours are both 5... Scout, he is very laid back, a little dopey and fat...120ish lbs (now before I have animal rights activists after me...he has bad hips and a bad thyroid thus the weight...I promise I don't overfeed him!) but he is so cute...Lilly, the other one can't sit still always wanting to please and very smart! We also have Scrubby a Shih Tzu (sp?) (who thinks he is a golden retriever) and a Maine Coon cat Maisey! Thanks for sharing you pictures! Emmy : )
A couple of summers ago, I planted a few tomato plants in my back yard. I kept an eye on those tomatoes (you can't beat a home grown tomato!) and was so excited to see them turning orange and then finally almost ready. A couple I thought were just about ripe disappeared. Or I thought they did, but maybe I just was not paying attention. After all, what would be taking my tomatoes? (I live in the middle of suburbia.) So, I kept my eye on the one I knew would be ripe next.
One morning, I spotted it, planned to pick it that afternoon to have at dinner time. That afternoon, when I went outside, it was GONE! Not a trace left.
What in the world could be taking my tomatoes in broad daylight. Surely not an animal like a raccoon out in the middle of the day. Was one of my neighbors stealing my tomatoes?!
I explained the whole situation to my husband. Of course, he wanted to solve the mystery, so...he set up wild kingdom in the backyard. He mounted our video cam on a tripod, rigged up a cardboard box over it to protect it from the elements and set it to record for 3 seconds every 10 seconds.
Next time a tomato disappeared we all gathered around the tv to watch as the thief was unveiled. Would you believe, it was our Shetland Sheepdog, Tess? Oh yes, caught on tape, plucking that tomato clean off the plant with her teeth and devouring the entire thing! Honestly, a tomato eating Sheltie??
We cracked up! I put a little fence around the tomatoes. And we were finally able to enjoy ripe tomatoes. To think, I had suspected a neighbor :(
The next tomato Tess got was a green one that fell off the plant and rolled outside the fence. It showed up afterward on my floor, if you know what I mean.
I have it all on video, and wish I could put it up to show you, you'd love it.
See you girls in Providence. Can't wait.
-Joyce
isiaI love the the pictures of your son He is too cute. I also love the pictures of the dogs. I only seen the plastic cones I guess the vets out in Texas are alot better than here. I had a Choclate Lab and she used to tear Her ears up. We have four dogs 3 rotten poodles and a sweet beagle which is my sons dog. It's a shame they Listen better than my kids(lol) The beagle was sitting on the open door of the dishwasher I told Her Honey get down and down she came I was very impressed.
How are ya'll drying out up there from Erin? Praise God that He had Mercy on us and spared LA and Texas from Dean. I pray that He has Mercy on us all Hurricane Season It is trumatizing going through this I still have my Family staying with me from Katrina.
Kids are back in School and my Baby starts Kindergarden tommorrow and is excited . I started back to school for Nursing Pre-Reqs I have alot of Math to catch up with being a stay at home Mommy for 12 years but I thank God I Have a Husband who is behind me and is working while I go to school for my dream!
God Bless you all!
Sue-La
I'll tell you what I think... I think it is adorable that you would have a doggie play date at your house. What a neat person you are - dedicated to your friends, even your four footed ones.
Kara
Ooooh! A chance to talk about my puppy-girls! Sure, I'll oblige...We love our dogs around here so very much.
Beckham and Flannel are just beautiful! :)
We have two golden retrievers at our home. Our Shadow is 6 and our Duchess is 6 months...do you see where this is going? Shadow puts up with her...and looks at me like why are we doing this? I just chuckle.. She loves him so much..does everything he does, and whines if he is not anywhere around. I loved your pics as they just remind of my own here at home.
love and blessings
Aww! Makes me miss my goldens so much!! I have a few pet posts at www.xanga.com/stef_butler
I'm such a sucker for animals!!
Wish I had Pictures. Had a golden, that we were crazy about - except the hair. We now have a mixed breed that is perfect. Love all your pics!
Bonnie
We have the best dog ever...I just cleaned poop off from his rear and he didn't snap or anything. I'm about to tell thestory so come on over and read all about it!
I have a beautiful white and gray cat with a black tail named Jewel. She's just over a year old. We got her from the humane society when she was just 16 weeks old and we fell instantly in love. She was actually supposed to be my daughter's 4th birthday present. Mostly it was just at the time of her birthday and we got new landlords that decided we could have pets. We headed to the humane society the day we got the news. My husband and I were both raised on ranches and had raised everything from llamas to kittens. We were used to animals. We were getting very depressed not being able to have pets. As you can imagine she is so spoiled. She is my baby almost as much as my children are. She gets her daily cuddle time just like they do. And she expects it. As well as her can of tuna fish. I give her better fish every chance I get. When we took a vacation last spring to the ocean I came home with cod for her. At this point she doesn't think she's a cat I don't think. She thinks she's human. She is very protective of the children. Yesterday I started a new treatment for my daughter's skin. She has severe eczema. It stung and Chloe screamed like crazy. Jewel attacked me. I mean we're talking she drew blood! She scratched and bit me until I left her alone. Anyway, that was a mini-novel, but I could talk forever about my beloved Jewel.
I have an American Eskimo Dog named Dayton Dogg. Yes, that is the correct spelling. He has a fairly good command of the English language and can therefore do spectacular stunts. Sometimes I "shoot" him and then he falls down dead with all his paws up in the air. If he doesn't do it perfectly I tell him to "do it better," and he complies. If I want him 'dead' for awhile, I tell him "You're still dead."
I have a darling photo of him with my baby (who is just a month younger than Jackson) but can't figure out how to post a photo. Help, anyone?
Well my pup Payton is pretty sick right now. She has pancreatitis (sp?), but is on the mend. So keep her in prayer, okay? She is my baby girl, after all!
I've posted a cute story from June of this year. Stop by and see it, complete with pictures at my blog:
www.profbaugh.blogspot.com
And leave me a comment and I'll do the "HAPPY DANCE!"
~Cheryl
I thought I would let you know that a award I was awarded by one of my blog siestas, I want to pass on to you:)
www.littlestepsoffaith.blogspot.com
(http://bp2.blogger.com/_qNCmNIS1qmw/RsuCQnVT0EI/AAAAAAAAAAM/ATIodjtXco8/s320/nice+matters+award.jpg)
when you write a blog go to add images and put in everything I put in parentheses:)
I think it is awesome how much you are apart of a ministry that you were practically born into, and yet your whole heart is in it:)
Be Blessed:)
Angie
i'm posting my poor tired cat photo, she hates pictures:)
angie
Yeah, they said our dogs would go by the wayside once a baby entered the picture...well, my baby is 3 today and now we have 3 princesses who all want to be the queen. I keep telling them that job is taken by their mommy - ME! I knew I'd love my daughter beyond belief...and I love her more than I ever expected.
I never thought I'd love an animal as much as I love my Alaskan Malamute and Red Heeler-Chow mix. Alice and Stella have very special places in my heart, especially when they let my daughter crawl all over them, snuggle them, rub her face in their fur, and "terrorize" them with doll strollers (chasing them - they're way too big to fit in those).
Oh, and I have the smaller version of that same rug! Love it! :) Great minds...
I can identify with the 3 year old. We chose a lab/golden retriever mix a couple of years ago because we read that they are very laid-back dogs. No one told us we would have to wait a while for that to kick in!
I have a couple of posts on my blog about a stray cat that adopted us. We also have 4 other cats, 1 very old dog, and 4 fish. This is a true statement at this moment... could change at any moment.
Amanda, my dog used to get hot spots and scratch and chew like crazy. We gave her cortisone shots for many years until we discovered the root of the problem. When she got so old that most of her teeth had fallen out, we had to switch from dry food to canned food. She has not had a problem with her skin allergies since. The vet says that she was probably allergic to the cornmeal in the dry food.
Our sweet pet is up over on www.coffeegal.blogspot.com
This is fun Amanda!
Kellie
I have just conformed and started my own blog, so I have not yet reached the picture level. (Coming soon!) But I would feel like a bad mama if I didn't mention that I have the sweetest and most precious shih tzu named Mia. That dog slays me. She was sent to our family straight from Heaven! Thanks Amanda!
I have posted pictures of my dog on my blog if anyone wants to check out my little girl!!
I loved the pictures of Beckman.
I enjoy pet stories. My four 1/2 month old kitten, Raffi keeps me entertained. His full name is Graffiature Griggio which is Italian for scratches and gray. Yes, he earned his name but is learning quickly what is permissible to scratch.
8 years ago our Golden died, and God blessed us with two from a Jewish family's home. They had Biblical names. All ten puppies did.
This past March my Natasha (formerly Esther) dropped dead totally out of the blue at the groomers. She was only the most beautiful 8 yr old Golden you could have ever wanted.
I prayed for a sister to be a friend for her brother. My husband kept trying to jump the gun and take just any old puppy.
But I held out.
Sure enough, in May God found us a new and beautiful golden puppy.
She has many of the traits of our Esther. She's smart, and pretty and not all too bad. A hole in the sofa is the only damage so far.
Which reminds me, she is loose in the other room.....
Which if she is awake, could mean another hole in a different cushion.
God is our provider, even of pets.
My parents have a golden retriever also, but nothing compares to my baby Winchester, who happens to be a Border Collie.
He loves following me all over the place in the house and hsi favorite treat is cheese.
You can take a peek at him on my most recent blog post.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the dogs. My kind of kids!!! Pets are the closest thing we have to unconditional love on this earth. My dog is always happy to see me, no matter what my mood. And believe me, I can have some moods! Bring on the critters!!!!!!!!!
Love the pictures of the Goldens! Beautiful. I posted pictures of all my animals on my blog not long ago and told about how we acquired our three legged cat and ill-tempered kitten. You can check it out at http://leannaellis.com You'll have to scroll down a couple of weeks to get to the animals.
I had a cute little poodle a few years back....but I found out real quick that she was very high maintenance!! I could have dealt with that but for one minor flaw....I, too am high maintenance so you can only imagine what it was like having 2 females in the same household that were high maintenance! Found her a great home where she was and still is treated like royalty!! :-)
They really should make a more attractive collar for our pets! Maybe a lovely floral design for the "girl" dogs/cats and something manly for the "boy" dogs/cats. Goodness knows if you've got to wear something like that it outta be cute! ;o)
Several years ago, we were living in Ukraine for our USAF assignment. Our daughter was 6 months when we left for our 2 yrs. Living in a post-Soviet country was an adventure for this first time mama and I really wanted to provide my child with a lot of experiences. Here is one- sorry, Amanda, it's a longer post and you can choose whether to put it up or not... From our archives:
Going Fishing
I found a pet store before we left on this last trip and thought I'd drop in after we returned to buy Sofia a fish or two. We headed out on this little excursion the other morning while P continued working on his first year report to the Foundation (it's due in a week and is a pretty substantial piece of work). I was quite impressed by the selection available in this shop and after sizing everything up, looked around for the "prodavetz" (saleslady). Another guy beat me to it and asked who was working this counter- the lady who was helping another man said "any one of these ladies." So he turned and the two chatting it up said "we don't work that counter" and continued with their private conversation while we continued to look for someone to wait on us. Finally, a lady arrived and then it was my turn. I said I wanted to buy a fish and I needed a little aquarium. I pointed out the one I wanted, and the lady told me I couldn't buy it because they didn't have the fish that went in it. If you have that "what in the world?!" look on your face right now, then we're like-minded. She gave me some huge explanation in fast Russian, and what I gathered was that they didn't have beta fish in stock and she wouldn't sell me any other fish to go in that bowl. After being out of the country for almost a month, my Ukrainian skills were not where they needed to be to tell her that it wasn't really any of her business what kind of fish I put in that bowl and she ought to just do business and take my money, so I just thought all of that; besides, that fish would probably want to go home with us since it was living in water you couldn't see through! Apparently, Ukraine has some very pet-conscience salesladies... so no fish that day. She may have won the battle, but I am going to win the war! I'm taking Sveta back with me and we are coming home with a fish for Sofia the next time!
Part 2:
Reeba
That's fish in Ukrainian. And no, I still don't have one for Sofia. I struck out a second time. Different lady, different day, and a little more forthrightness on my part when I was denied my purchase...and I still came home empty handed. Apparently, this is the only law in Ukraine that they are choosing to enforce. The tiny little fish I wanted to buy requires 1.5 liters of water to live in, or so she said. I even made it more uncomfortable for her when, after a lengthy explanation in Russian, I politely informed her that I don't understand Russian very well and could she please tell me in Ukrainian. Silence and then a shake of the head. Fine, I told her, if you're not going to let me buy what you are selling..., and I walked out.
We never did get the fish, but we can watch them at our leisure in Wal Mart now- I LOVE America! T.G.
Oh goodness, Amanda. Love the post, and the dogs are precious, but you motivated me to change my profile picture in order to prove how precious my own pups are. I'm competitive like that, you know.
Yes, I realize I run the risk of being compared to Paris Hilton or Britney Spears with this incriminating picture, but trust me when I say this is all we have in common. Besides, I draw the line at the shoes and my husband forbids me to take them out in public in a "purse" bag. Maybe I should have had more children, ya think?
I don't have a blog but I'll tell a short story about my Black Lab Nickie. She was able to open our back gate so I kept a lock on it. The next-door-neighbor's dogs did not have that talent. So Nickie enlisted the help of the next-door-neighbor dogs who helped her dig under the fence. She then unlocked their gate for them and let them all out! She was quite a character!
It is very nice to see you also have the golden retriever bug. We never had a dog before and we fell in love with goldens and now ours is 1 year old. She is a cream colored one and is so funny the things she does. One neat thing she does is she loves stuffies, it's hard to find one she doesn't rip up but I still manage too. She will lie on her back and hold her stuffie in her paws and play for up to 20 mins with that thing. Her name is Liberty-Anne and we named her that as we are now living in the land of the free. I also love getting hugs from our golden. They sure are social dogs. I wish I cpould send you a pic of her. We also have a cat and a lionhead rabbit. They are very unique rabbits, almost look like a guinea pig with a very fluffy face. We named our rabbit Simba he looks like a small lion.
Blessings Sarah - prayer warrior
Oh the cones are hillarious! Hope he gets better! :) Its a he right? Your golden is gorgeous! I have a tiny maltese named Linus...pictured here! I love dogs! If anyone wants a BASSET HOUND PUPPY....my boy friend's dog just had 8 puppies and they are beautiful! Ready in one month. Check my blog if interested and let me know....
Corrie :)
His collar is so much cuter than the plastic ones!
I just had to post some pics of our dogs with our guys...I've been inspired.
blessings,
jan
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