The Quiet Heroes

Today is September 11.

A day we will never forget.
There were many heroes that day, police, firefighters and ordinary citizens.


There were also canine heroes.





















There were a number of search and rescue and cadaver dogs involved in the aftermath of the attacks. Many of them suffered health issues from the terrible conditions they worked in and had their lives cut short as a result.


One of our breed was present at the World Trade Center from the beginning.


Presidio Dutch of Alto Mare, TDX,CWDX,SAR,MO-TF 1 "Dutch" a PWD from here in Missouri
3/29/96 - 10/13/08


If you'd like to read about the quiet heroes, the rescue dogs of 9/11, there is a book available which gives a short introduction to each of the dogs.
Dog Heroes of September 11: A Tribute to America's Search and Rescue Dogs
by Nona Kilgore Bauer and The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation


We are all grateful to them and will never forget them.

Back to Class

Yesterday, while the neighborhood children were trooping back to school, Fudge and I decided it was time to start brushing up on our moves for the upcoming Rally trial.


This is Fudgie's school bag. You can see from the dust on the bag that we haven't used it in months. During the winter and spring I occasionally tested him with a command thrown out. He likes doing this stuff and always tried to do whatever I told him to do.


Inside his bag are his training collar, his short leash, a treat bag and some designer poop bags. I usually carry a few other things such as my cell phone, my rally cards with the explanation of all the moves and whatever else I might need.


When he saw that I had his bag, he got all excited. I set up a course in the garage and we did a trial run. I was impressed how much he remembered. He knew all the difficult moves and did them perfectly. He was a little too bouncy on his 'heel', but that was first day of class excitement.

Then we tried the move where we messed up so badly last year. It's a simple move, a 'down-stay' while I walk around him. Each time we tried it, he did the same thing. He rolled over, then jumped up in the air. That's exactly what he did in front of the judge last year to get us disqualified. I guess I know what we have to work on.

A Long Weekend

Our long weekend is coming to an end. It was very relaxing. After the big rain on Friday, the temperatures stayed pleasant for the next three days and we had a chance to enjoy the yard.

When I opened the blinds in the dining room Saturday morning, I saw this Cardinal dad feeding his chick. We've been making sure that there's plenty of bird seed on the porch and deck for all the flying visitors that we've been getting.


Our most recent visitor has decided to make this her new home, at least temporarily. Here she is resting outside the dining room window where we can watch her as we have breakfast.


When we take the dogs into the back yard, she follows us. She seems interested in all the canine activity in the yard while keeping a safe distance. She sits on the deck rail for hours watching the neighborhood.


When she gets tired, she snuggles into a corner of the window and has a little nap. She has been a delight to have in the yard and we hope she decides to stay with us.


We played ball a lot this weekend. It's Sky's favorite game and most of the others enjoy chasing whatever we throw for them.


Tsar says you won't catch him chasing any ball. That's for those silly water dogs. He's much too dignified for that stuff.


All the girls got their hair trimmed around their faces and on their tails this weekend. Now you can see Norma jean's eyes.


Bailey needed a trim, too. She wiggled and squirmed all the while I was trimming her. We need to work on teaching that girl some patience.


Saturday Rob built a fire in the chiminea. It was nice to sit on the swing and watch the flames. We needed some marshmallows.


I'm pleased that I have finally started knitting again. For weeks I couldn't seem to get into it, but here are the stacking cats I finished for my niece for Christmas.


They were fun to make and I'm pleased with the way they turned out. Now I'm starting my raffle project. I'll let you see it when it's done.

Rained Out

Friday we packed a picnic lunch, some water toys and the dog's life vests. We put Morgan, Lola and Bailey in the car and drove to the lake to visit with J, Splash and Gracie.


Our hosts greeted us when we arrived. Here are Grace and Splash welcoming Grace's sisters. The sky was dark and overcast, but we decided to head for the boat anyway. We would leave our things there and take the dogs to the boat ramp to play until we decided if it would clear up.


Lola and Bailey haven't been to the lake before, so they didn't know what was in store for them. They walked quite nicely to the ramp. Morgan was the first one in the water and Splash and Grace weren't far behind. I threw a toy for Morgan and she swam out to get it. Lola and Bailey were just starting to walk into the water when it started raining. We hurried back to the boat.


Once safely on the boat still docked in the marina we decided to have lunch and wait out the rain.


While Rob and J set out our lunch, I gave the dogs some yogurt. That was a very popular idea with the fur kids.


Unfortunately the rain got harder and harder and finally we heard some thunder, so we decided to go back to the house.


Back at J's house the dogs had treats for being so patient.


Then while the dogs played the three humans decided to have coffee and cookies while we dried out.


I had been worried about Lola and Bailey's manners while visiting. They are not always on their best behavior, but they seemed to be doing pretty well.


There was one little misunderstanding. When J said " Help yourself to the cookies", Bailey thought she meant for her to help herself. She jumped onto a chair, put her front feet on the table and was preparing to help herself. She got a reminder that her behavior was not acceptable and immediately got down. Both girls can use some work on their manners, but that's a story for another day.

September and October in this area can be warm and lovely, so we'll try to get the girls back to the lake for their chance to swim.

Our Buddy Beau

Hi everybody, this is Fudge reporting.

A terrible thing happened to our friend Beau today. He wasn't feeling well. His mom was very alert and saw that Beau wasn't acting right and got him to the hospital just in time.

Beau had bloat.



Bloat is an awful thing that happens to a dog's stomach and it's the second biggest killer of dogs after cancer. Beau's mom saved his life by getting him immediate medical help. He had surgery and our friend is going to be OK. He'll have to spend a few days in the hospital, but when he gets home and gets a lot of TLC, he'll be as good as new.


Go on over to Beau's blog and leave some get well wishes for him. Tell him Fudge sent you. I know when he gets home his mom will read him all the messages.

Our mom has posted information about bloat on our other blog Dogs-N-More. Be sure to learn the signs to watch for so you can have good results if it strikes at your house.

Fudge

Number 300

This is post # 300. When I started this blog I didn't know how I'd ever find enough to fill a whole week of posts and here a year and a half later I'm still jabbering away. What's even more amazing to me is that you're reading it.

Today has been a very good day for several reasons. First the weather is beautiful. This time of year is usually hot and humid, but today the temps were nice and the sun was shining and the sky was bright blue.


There are a lot of berries on the Nandina and they'll be turning red soon.


The Pyracantha has already turned. We have hedges of it on two sides of the house and they all have tons of orange berries till the birds discover them.

What does one do with a recently retired husband hanging around underfoot? Give him projects. The first was to finish the library and we're 90 % there. The carpentry is done. We still have some paint touch ups to do and we need to change the carpet. The windowseat has a four inch thick foam cushion and we just bought some chocolate brown fleece to cover it. That will be my job.

The next project Rob found to tackle was building a holding pen in the garage for the dogs. It comes in handy for many reasons.

He finished the pen and we put down lots of pillows and blankets and toys so they like to wander in for a nap or to play.

Then he was on a roll. He made me a feeding station where I can prepare the dogs meals.

There are drawers underneath to store extra collars and grooming equipment.

Next he remembered that I saw a potting table that I liked, so he built one.


It's under the deck steps so it's protected from the weather to some extent.


Today he bought some green paint for the table. Only one dog wound up with green paint on it's face. I find that remarkable.

Morgan's bloodwork came back today and it was a reason to celebrate. Her thyroid and CBC were both perfect and her liver enzymes continue to drop. After having liver disease for so long, she's showing improvement. Dr B was very pleased and I'm thrilled.


To celebrate we took Morgan out to lunch. We went to this place which is a college hangout. They have tables on the front porch and we thought it would be a good place for Morgan to join us. Wrong.


The manager said dogs couldn't even sit on the porch. As far as manners go, I'll put my dogs up against most college kids any day. Oh well, it's their loss. They lost our business and I'll be sure and let some friends know and they won't go there anymore either.


We drove a few blocks farther and decided on this place. They have an outdoor terrace. Rob asked first and they said Morgan was certainly welcome.


This looks more pleasant anyway, don't you agree?


It was a perfect day to eat outside with a gentle breeze and puffy clouds.


Morgan found a good place to lie down under the table. She had her own container of water and shared my burger and fries and the croutons from the salad. The waiter commented on what a good girl she was.

I've just finished feeding the dogs and can go pick up my knitting for awhile. I might even have a finished item to show in the next couple days.