Fabulous Fall

For as much as I whined and complained about the cold weather the other day (sorry... thanks for listening!) I must admit.... it is a beautiful autumn day today.

I'm loving the warmer weather and the fall foliage :) If the weather could stay warm I would be in heaven!

And I know what you are thinking and the answer is no. I have not been diagnosed with multiple personalities. Key word: Diagnosed.

The Perils of Fall...

(First of all, before I get started, let me just say that I chose this picture because, for whatever reason, I like it a lot. Some random lady shot it of us when we were in the mountains a couple of years ago. I have another version- probably a better version so I don't know why I didn't choose that- and yes, I could go back and change it, but quite frankly it takes a long time to upload pictures on this site and I'm too lazy awesome. Now that I think about it- the other version is way better. We look better and you can see more of the mountains and the fall colors. I really should have chosen that one. So, just pretend it is a better picture. Looking at this one I don't even like it. So, yeah, pretend it is a better picture. Secondly, at the moment, it just seems pretty cool that at some point in my life I was able to fit in a pair of jeans that didn't have a gigantic elastic waistband that came up to my shoulders... Now on to the post!!)




Sooooo.... I do it every year.

Every single year.


In the midst of summer I yearn for fall. As I'm out sweating buckets while dealing with the animals, or trying to peel my melted skin off the scorching hot seats of my car I think of the cooler days autumn will bring and I smile. And I must admit, I was exceptionally nostalgic for cooler weather this year as my body is pumping an inordinate amount of blood through my veins thereby increasing my internal temperatures to that of the sun. Plus or minus a few degrees, of course. Anyway, in reality I've never really been able to fully appreciate fall. Because, as beautiful as it is, it means that winter will soon come screaming like a madman from around the corner and knock us all out. I do not love gray days with naked trees. I do not like bundling up in layer upon layer of clothes until I am scarcely able to move my arms and they just hang from my body at a 45 degree angle... I just do not like it. But, during the heat of the summer I think to myself "You know what? Fall won't be so bad. It will be great to have cooler weather!" Then I go on about my merry way reveling in my optimism that the changing season will bring me great happiness and comfort.

And then it happens.

Fall arrives.

And I curse it.

Because, the truth is, we will have a few days of pretty, cooler weather and then the North Carolina weather patterns start kicking in. Which means reasonably nice days with absolutely frigid nights. Which means layering clothing less you want to turn into an icicle in the morning while walking to your car or, in my case, going to fend off 1000+ pound animals as they try to steal their buckets of food from me before I've had a chance to even walk through the gate. Which means constantly putting blankets on said large animals and then taking them off, and putting them on, and taking them off, and putting them on, and taking them off. I think you get the idea. Or, as the past couple days have been, it does not mean reasonably nice days with frigid nights, it means frigid days with frigid nights. And today it means frigid and rainy with a frigid night.

And so I sit here and yearn for summer. For the hot air that is so thick it is hard to breathe. For the bugs and the buckets of sweat, and the melted skin on the seats of my car.

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Love,
All of us at THREE DOGS ANIMAL SANCTUARY
xoxo

Zzzzzzzzzzz

The weather the last few days has been beautiful!! Blue skies and much cooler temperatures. Which means that I have a lot of pictures on my phone like this one... dogs (in this case Mama Annabelle and daughter Winnie) snoozing in the yard soaking up the sun. I've tried to talk to Miss Winnie about being a little more lady-like but she just doesn't listen and who am I to thwart such a free spirit?!?

A few weeks in the life...

We have been super busy around here! Let me give a super quick summary.

Weather very very very cold. As in, coldest it has been in 20 years. Water troughs freeze. Must use axe to break up the ice. Feel like manly lumberjack in a woman's body.
Water line to the horse's trough breaks. Must carry water from the house to the horses one 5 gallon bucket at a time. Feel like very sad and sore lumberjack in a woman's body.

Snow on the ground increases the amount of hay we have to feed the horses. Hay supplies dwindle. Must replenish.

Dogs have to spend much more time inside due to the weather. Dog hair army rises up and tries to take control. Vacuum cries. Dogs decide that carpets are meant to be the color of red mud and try their best to cover all carpeted surfaces with as many dog prints as possible. Carpet cleaning man celebrates at the continued business we give him. I decide that putting in hardwoods on said carpeted surfaces may have to happen sooner rather than later.

Weather warms. I sing from the rooftops!!

Our old house is under contract meaning that we can finally move our furniture!! YAY! But that means moving the masses of boxes we have neglected so that furniture may move to its new home. BOO!

Baxter decides that he would like to sleep all day (which is not a change for him at all) but would like to stay awake at night. Thinks we should do this as well. Barks incessantly during the night to ensure we abide by his schedule. I argue with him that I need a good solid 9 hours of sleep a night. He disagrees. He wins. We do not sleep through night for weeks. I cry.

In my personal boycott of life due to the cold weather I neglect the laundry. It continues to grow. As it turns out, neglecting it will not persuade laundry pile to stop growing. I almost drown in laundry and then scold myself for letting it get so bad.


That is the most concise summary I can do... Sure, I left out a bajillion things but who cares?! Till next time!

Winnie Update

Hello, Winnie here. I thought I would give you a quick update on my status.

Well, for the first couple of days I was just plain miserable. Whimpering and whining and really trying to show Mom how pathetic I was. She felt pretty bad for me and barely left my side at all. Yesterday, I started feeling much better. I had a lot more energy and didn't whine at all (except for when Mom left me... I don't like that. I've never been alone in my whoooole life because I've always at least had my momma (Annabelle) or my brudder (Oliver) around. Don't worry- she felt sad for me and didn't stay away for long).

Anyway, my Mom (wait, are you confused? I have two moms... Mom- my funny looking mom who only walks on two leggies and has this unfortunate furless condition except for on her head. It's embarrassing, but I love her anyway. Then I also have my momma- my biyologikal momma) Anyway, my Mom made this chart for my medications because she is super dorky.

But, this is the day we are looking forward to!



For the time being, I've been a really good girl. I haven't complained about being locked away in the kennel all day. And I've really enjoyed being fed by hand- I eat all my pills and I sleep for most of the day. Oh! And the drain was taken out of my side yesterday so everything is going well so far!


Incapacitated and Incarcerated,

Winnie

Poor Miss Winnie

Remember the other day when I posted about Winnie? And we discussed (aka all agreed) that she is cute and cuddly and adorable?

Well, she still is.

But, Monday evening..... well, Monday evening Miss Winnie got into a little scuffle.

That resulted in quite a significant puncture wound, a trip to the emergency vet, a surgical procedure including anesthesia, a 7 inch drain which extends out the side of her body, and several stitches.

Poor, poor Winnie. Poor, poor precious Winnie.



She is a trooper but she is very uncomfortable and unhappy. She has to wear an e-collar - which is incredibly necessary but pathetic because she runs into things and, let's face it, just seems more sad and pathetic. She has to be separated from her siblings (and her momma) for 14 days! And she must be confined to a kennel for... 14 days! Not allowed outside on her own for... you guessed it... 14 days! This is quite a big deal for us, I might add. Our dogs are fortunate to have the run of our household. When the weather is nice (or just whenever they feel like it) they are outside. Otherwise, they are inside. To be constantly confined, separated from family, and restricted to very brief leash walks is quite a change.


I neglected all other duties today and stayed by her side. She tries so hard to fight sleep (one of her medications causes drowsiness) though she basically just sits and stares at me and whimpers. It is torture. Eventually she gives in and will lay down and sleep.


We did give her a new toy today. Under normal circumstances, this type of toy would last mere seconds in our household but she is not in a destructive frame of mind. I put it in her collar thinking she would A) bite it or B) duck her head and drop it on the ground. She did neither. So I took pictures. And then felt guilty. But, I love the little booger and couldn't help myself!


13 days to go!


Wistful for Winnie,

Blue Skies!

It has been raining like crazy around here for the past several days.

Which means we've been doing a lot of this.



And this.


And this.
And this.

And this.

I won't complain about the rain because we've been in a severe drought but.... today the skies are blue and the temperature is great!

Which makes Winnie one happy girl!


Love,

w i n n i e

Hi, my name is Winnie! I am cute and cuddly and adorable... as you can see.





This is my mom, Annabelle. You read about her recently. ... She is a wonderful momma dog! I also have a biological brother, Oliver, and a sister named Tippy. We were found at a nearby farm and Tippy went to live with the owners of the farm where we were found. She loves it there! But I get to terrorize my brother Oliver on a daily basis :)


I love it here! I have lots of adopted brothers and sisters I can play with!! One of my absolute FAVORITE activities is....

Licking the other dogs' mouths!! It is so much fun! Primarily because it gets on their nerves... and what would a little sister be if she didn't try to get on everyone's nerves?!

I am definitely a tomboy! This picture... this picture is deceiving. It makes it look like I was doing something bad... like digging in the back yard which resulted in dirt all over me. But, umm, obviously I was not digging. Nope, definitely not digging. Definitely not doing anything bad. Nope! Not me! I am the definition of good behavior- no matter what the photographic evidence is!

Man, now I'm embarrassed that you caught me doing something bad....

Okay! I'm over it! Time to play!


Love,

a n n a b e l l e

Meet Annabelle. Dear, sweet, gentle Annabelle.

This precious girl was a stray. She wandered up to a barn with three puppies in tow. At first glance she and the puppies all looked well-fed and healthy. She had a collar on so I offered to take her to my vet and have them all looked over and scanned for a microchip. Certainly her owner would be searching for her!

At closer inspection, her collar was far too tight and she had the remainder of baling twine where she had been tied up. At the vet's office we learned she had heartworms and needed treatment. We proceeded with treatment and continued to look for her owners. Once we had her home, it became obvious that Annabelle had been severely abused. I am constantly in shock that people can be so cruel to animals and I must admit I am especially confounded that someone could treat Annabelle in such a horrible manner. She is literally one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. She is graceful and deliberate in her movements. She does not run wild in the house- she primarily walks wherever she would like to go indoors. She is quiet and hardly ever makes a peep! She has never given a sign of any behavior that would aggravate.

Her one vice? She does not have any sense of spatial relations and she is definitely devoid of the desire for personal space. Her one love in life is to be loved. She will walk in the house and sit at your feet awaiting pets and kisses. If you stop, she will slowly inch closer until she is in your lap and her face is literally smooshed with force against your cheek. I have thought very seriously about training Annabelle to be a therapy dog. She is so kind and gentle that I think she would be suited perfectly for such a job.

I think due to her upbringing and her time as a stray- she is much more inventive and sufficient outdoors than many of our other dogs. She has shown them how to get out of the heat- find new and cool places to lounge. Because of this, she can be quite elusive...

"Nothin' to see here!"

As I mentioned before, Annabelle wandered up as a young mother (we believe she must have been just one year old when she had her litter) with three puppies. One of the puppies went to live at the barn where she was found. It is a perfect fit! The puppy, Tippy, absolutely loves it there and is a perfect "barn dog." Eventually, it came to be that Annabelle and her two other puppies would reside with us and become part of the family.

Annabelle and her puppies-Oliver (top) and Winnie (left)

We absolutely love this little Border Collie mix and her puppies. They are wonderful dogs and I feel blessed everyday to have such great animals in my life.

"Thhhhhhbbbbppppp! I have a great home now!!"