Here is our latest foster. Dad says it's a barn owl. The game warden brought her by for a little R&R before she is released. I've tried to be friendly with her, but as you can see, she just puffs up big and tries to look intimidating. Like Greta Garbo, she says, "I vant to be alone!"
Mom said not to be ruffling her tailfeathers, because this owl might turn around and snap my snoot off. Ha! A snootless wire! Wouldn't that be funny?



Or not.
~Tell

Goodbye, Girl Girl

Our College Kid is doing another rotation, this time with a veterinary internist in Tulsa. We are taking care of her guinea pig again while she is working there. Hagrid, the substantial guinea pig named after the giant in the Harry Potter movies, was especially touched by our sweet friend Girl Girl's passing. Being a guinea pig of few words, it's hard to tell, but I do believe Hagrid worshipped her from afar.

Who knew that such a little hammie could be loved by so many around the world? She will be greatly missed. We are glad, though, that her friends Eli and Bae Bae will continue their hamsterific blog. We think Bae Bae has very pretty eyes.

The temperature is going to dip down into the 20's tonight, so we're staying inside where it's warm. Mom has been talking about making some homemade dog biscuits, if she can find what she's done with the recipe. If she can locate it, we'll share it with you next time.

~Tell

What I Learned from the Dog

Here's a wonderful opportunity for all the doggie bloggers out there! If you have read any of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books, you'll know what I'm talking about. Each book is filled with short inspirational stories that really give you a lift when you need it. You can read only one or two stories at a time, or like My Family, spend a whole rainy Saturday with one of those books, a quilt and a cup of hot tea and enjoy them all.

Now, Chicken Soup is having a "call out" for stories from writers just like our people who love their dogs and want to share their stories! Just go to the Chicken Soup website, and on the left side of the page click on Submit A Story. Then click on Possible Book Titles and scroll down until you find What I Learned from the Dog. That explains what kind of stories they are searching for. There are some other titles, too, but the Dog book is the important one here, know what I mean?

After you write your story, polish it up good and proof-read, you can go back to the website and submit it for consideration. Don't get discouraged, because they get hundreds of stories a day and it may take as long as a couple of years before the book gets published. Mom has been submitting stories for several years and has been pubished in five Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and she can tell you it's great fun! Submissions are free and you can send as many as you like. With all the great blogs out there, I know there are some talented writers who can share some inspiration with the world! Happy writing!

~Tell

I've Been Diluted

Here is a photo of me taken about a year and a half ago. Notice the vibrant colors of my hair coat? Such a handome dude, I should be in movies.

Now here is a photo of me going for a walk this morning. See anything different? My hair is changing colors!

Sheesh, even the dead leaves around my feet have more color than me! I've gone from white with black and red spots to a much paler white with blue and tan. The only place that resembles the old me is a few spots where I had chewed myself this summer when the itchies were at their worst. Those bald places came back in the nice, old colors. Sorta makes me look like a Catahoula Leopard Dog, or maybe a blue merle Collie. Pay no attention to the spread of my hips.


I don't understand. Does it have something to do with being clipped instead of stripped? Age? Too many baths (I'm voting for this one)? Glynn is very pale-colored, too. Cap is the oldest, and he has the best coloring of all.


Oh well, I'll be turning seven right after the first of the year, so I guess those old greyish hairs are creeping in on me. Don't let outward appearances fool you, though. I'm still a puppy at heart!
~Tell

Happy Howloween!

My Boy and I were checking out the trailcam pictures and found the perfect photo to represent Halloween Eve. Look at the spooky eyes on this coyote.

Hoping all of you doggies and hammies have a safe and fun evening. Cap, Glynn and I are staying indoors. There are strange howling in the woods at night!

~Tell

Who's to Blame?

Once again, I'm in trouble, but this time I'm not alone. Finally, ol' Cap is in the dog house with me because Mom is not sure which of us is to blame. Warning -- this post is not for the faint of heart or those readers who might say, Ewwww! Here's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

We were all going for walkies, which is not easy with this many dogs. We started out with Glynn pointing the wrong way, I somehow got a leg hung up in my leash, and you can see Cap is stepping on someone's tennie. He does not make a good dance partner. Anyway, it was noticed that Glynn had a bit of a swelling over her shoulders. Since it was the evening and she wasn't acting sick, the vet would have to wait until morning to see it.

While we were walking, we came across this thing on the road. Ignore the hairy legs in the photo, that was our kitty Nigel butting in the picture. Take a look at the middle of the picture and see if you can spot the pygmy rattlesnake. They may be small, but they pack a punch like a biggun. This is the second one we've found close to the house. Luckily, My Boy was along and got rid of it before it could bite anyone. Mom is very tolerant of snakes in general, but when they coil up and strike, that's a no-no.

Glynn's shoulders kept swelling more until the next morning. The vet said it was a seroma, a pocket of bloody fluid. It could have been a bee sting, snake bite, or...ahem...me and Cap playing too hard with our Sis. Well, who do you think Mom believes? We even had a snake right there to point the finger at, but no. Sadly, all eyes turn toward me again. At least Cap is also a suspect this time. Could have been either one of us. Or that pesky snake. Glynn had to have surgery to flush the seroma, and had a drain put in to keep it from swelling again. For the next few days, we are being kept apart and we don't get to play with her at all, not even a little. I miss my Sis. From what I hear, she's having a great time with all the attention to herself, and special treats to help the pills go down easy. Buck even gets to lick the spoon.

And to that I say, Ewww!

~Tell

Bye, Bye Puppy

Good news for our little foster girl. She found her furever home in record time. Actually, she came and went out of my life so fast my head is spinning. I hear girls do that to you sometimes. Anyway, as much as I miss her, I'm glad to see her settled with a family all her own. That's just what she needed. It was nice to see her gaining confidence over the three days she was here. She had just started doing Snoopy dances around Mom's feet at chow time when her new owner declared her a keeper. Call it puppy love, I guess.
Now on to other things. My Boy and I like to take walks in the woods together. Actually, he walks and I run. I cover more ground that he does. I find some very interesting things to investigate and sniff. Sometimes roll in. Then Dad got a idea and bought a Trailcam to hang in the woods. It's an outdoor camera that takes pictures when something moves in front of it. We found a great photo of a doe the first time we checked the camera chip inside. It's fun to see what moves around in the woods when we're not there. Isn't she lovely?

Then we found something that made us sit up and take notice. Can you guess what this creature is? Not a dog, or a cat, or a cow, or any of the other things I see around the farm.

Dad says it is a feral hog trying to eat our camera! Hogs will eat about anything, and lots of things they shouldn't. They can be dangerous, too, when surprised. Now, not only do I have to worry about My Boy and myself getting eaten by a Sasquatch, I have to worry about wild pigs, too. I've seen that movie Old Yeller, and it wasn't pretty. No sirree. A hog is nothing to mess with.
~Tell