I realized this morning as I was waking up - that comfy dozy waking up feeling that the four pound dogs are still nameless. They need an identity so as I lay there I started thinking about their personalities. The pittie mix is sand coloured like the desert with very light amber eyes. What are the names of deserts? Gobi - no, Mojave - no Sahara - that is a distinct possibility. I thought some more and Sahara is her name. The collie lab looks very collie with a fine face and lop ears but is short coated, white with tan spots. Meaghan or Shelagh or Fiona? I like Shelagh - it means little girl and that is who she is. I need a name that reflects the jack russel's niceness as well as his activity level - Steve Nash comes to my mind. He is a champion and is super nice so Nash is the jrt. I wonder if Steve Nash likes to cuddle? The last one is a rottie mix puppy. She needs a name she can grow into - a strong, gentle name like Rosie O'Donell or Oprah Winfrey. I like Winfrey - she can be Winnie for now and Winfrey as she grows up. There all the poundlings have names and they can now play the "bucket of bones" game. Nmaes are very important. It tells the dog that you think she is special. It gives her a"notice" - call your dog's name and she/he will look at you. If a dog is barking how can you tell it to be quiet if he doesn't know his anme or worse doesn't even have one. With multi dogs, the culprit barking has to be told to be quiet - a generic "QUIET" doesn't cut it. I have found that each dog has a distinctive bark and I know each dog's voice. Yelling the dog's name and quiet really works a lot better than quiet" alone. You can see the surprise of the barking dog when he is singled out!! 

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

July 30, 2006

�It's strange how rainy weather quietens all the dogs. They were so quiet during the evening I had to check and see if some were missing! Other than the mess the muddy paws bring in (that's what mops and pails were invented for), I really like the rain. The recent hot wave just about did me in. It is so nice to feel cool again. The dogs are much happier too. They were resting all day in patches of shade and only playing when the sun went down. No fun trying to rest with dogs noisily chasing each other in� the yard! But they had to release all that pent up energy. I have found that dog food plays a big role in keeping a multi -dog household peaceful. We have found that a lower protein keeps the peace while the super premium foods reve them up so that they squabble a lot more. This is just my own opinion. With only one or two dogs the super food is regulated - they don't tank up on it because it tastes so good. You can regulate how much you feed them. We have a large communal dish and free feed here. The thinner or shier dogs are fed seperately to ensure they get enough to eat or have the super food to gain weight and energy. We don't run a “shelter” per say as most dogs that come in here are not sheterable. They have never been in a building let alone a house, they never even had a home. A lot are born outside, are played with as puppies (it keeps the kids occupied - live toys) and then left to their own devices when the new pups are born. They are chased, damaged, scared souls when they finally get their break and are picked up by animal control. Each dog is brought into the veterinarian and examined for temperament, disease and all the other health issues. They are then vaccinated, dewormed and if old enough spayed or neutered. We then pick them up and start their rehabilitation from stray to family pet. Our facility is based on giving the dogs as close to a real home atmosphere as we can. They live indoors, have open crates, dog beds or old chairs to sleep on. They have a regular flooring� (lino) to walk on. We spend all our days with them. They do have a doggie door to go outside in the side yard and another one that is closed at night that goes into the main 2 acre front yard. They learn basic manners such as potty outside, sit for treats and they learn their name. We use the “bucket of bones game” for that one. The dogs come running when they see the doggie cookie can! They learn quickly that they have to sit to start the game. Then I say a name and give that dog his cookie. It sure is amazing to see a dozen dogs sitting in a circle waiting their turn for a cookie!

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

Old dogs like fine wine get better as they age.

A good wine is mellow and full bodied and so are old dogs. Fine wines are  prized while some old dogs are discarded.  My old dogs are treasured family friends who live out their autumn years in comfort and love.  They walk slower and keep my pace while the younger fools run helter skelter in the bush. Sara, my chessie is ten  while Cleo, my lab/chessie is fifteen. They are wonderful companions and Sara  swims vigorously in the nearby river everyday. She is still active and ready to go whenever I approach the door.  She should be active for at least four or five more years. Sara is very well trained and is better behaved as she ages. She is a very fine wine. But not all dogs are treated as well.   Sandy is a pound inmate who is at least six years old. He is a mellow lab/toller mix. He is coppery red with white markings including a star on his forehead. He’s a beautiful dog inside and out so why would someone throw him away like so much garbage? He is now neutered and has had his broken tail amputated(Thank you, Drs Martin and Kye). He is a wonderful companion who sits at my feet whenever he can and will wait patiently for his friend to come home from work.  Duke has a very sad story to relate. He is a nine year old black lab mix who can still get good air when chasing a frisbee. His owner lost her husband, her house was repossessed then she could not find an apartment in Prince George that she could keep Duke. She met my son in Canadian Tire where she works and in the course of conversation she told him about Duke having to be put down. Stan, of course told her about Turtle Gardens and in due course, Duke arrived. He has always lived indoors as a family pet and has been well cared for. He is still active and follows whomever is outside to do chores. He would excel with someone who likes to putter around their property with a little help from an old friend. Kita is also seven years old and is a golden retriever mix, a longhaired brown mix beautiful dog. He has a marvellous personality and is a super clean housedog. He was also very well cared for by his former owner who moved to Grande Prairie and could not find a home that would allow pets. He is a friendly fellow who is good with livestock and children. He travels well in a vehicle and would love a home with a family who would take him along on hikes and camping.

       For a working couple, an older dog makes a lot sense. They are usually well behaved and don’t chew the furniture or dig up the yard. They will wait for their friends to come home and don’t require a lot of exercise to keep them fit. Old dogs just keep on getting better and deserve to live their lives as “Happy Endings”.

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

      It seems that people coming to adopt a dog from Turtle Gardens have pre-conceived  notions of what mixed breed means.  A mixed breed dog is not just two purebred dogs coming together to produce say a labrador retriever/german shepherd. This can happen but they are never a new breed as people who breed cocker spaniel/poodles would like you to believe. Cockapoos are not a purebred dog. They are mixed breed. The problem with mixed breeds is the vast gene pool available to the female running loose in season. She will breed with many males so that the ensuing puppies will have multiple fathers with many different characteristics. For instance, a lab/shep female breeds with a collie/husky. The puppies are now 4 known mixes. This pup breeds with a wolfhound/rotweiller. Now the litter is a mix of six breeds.  The looks and temperaments will be so different from the original couple so as to totally confuse the potential adopter of the puppy. It may look like a collie with the temperament of the rottweiller or look like a lab but act like a husky or look like nothing familiar at all.  That is possible if you know the background of the original pair. But that is often impossible with dogs that come into the shelter. Their history is known only to them and so far we cannot communicate with dogs.  So we guess. With puppies the chance of making a mistake on what breed is in that particular pup is tantamount to winning the lottery. Or to say it simply - your guess is as good as mine. And that can have a devastating effect if the adoptee needs a dog that must be under 14 inches to live in a trailer court. The children will be attached to the dog who grows and grows until he is 20 inches tall. He is a wonderful family pet but he’s too big, and you did sign a contract with the landlord. The dog goes to the shelter and you start again. Or you do a smart thing and adopt a young adult already grown and under the height limit. Or buy a purebred small dog which is still no guarantee. I know of two shelties with papers, that are too tall to compete in shows.

        The basis of adopting the mixed breed should always be personality and temperament. What it is, is not as important as what it can learn and whether it will fit into your lifestyle. The dog’s ability to learn and become a good family companion has little to do with what it’s breed is. Willingness is the most important factor in how a dog learns. It is so much easier working with a dog who wants to be with you than one who couldn’t care less. Time, patience and consistency are the key to any training program for any dog, purebred or mixed breed. 

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

                                     “I am one, but still, I am one

                  I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something.

                            and  Because I cannot do everything,

                       I will continue to do the something that I can do”

                                                                         Edward Everrett

        This small quotation is the motto that I live my life by.  On days when the sheer numbers of dogs in need overwhelm me and I feel I can’t go on - I remember these few words. When Kim from Burns Lake called to tell me that six - two week old puppies were at the dog pound and the appointment was made for the next day to euthanise them; I thought about the quote. Then I thought about how hungry and scared those babies must be and told her to call the dog catcher and ask him to bring them to me. Immediately. Which he did and yes they were hungry. They could lap liquids so I made them pablum, canned food and hand crushed puppy food. They have been lapping their meals every two hours since. They are sleeping in a donated wicker basket which is changed using 12 to 14 plastic backed flannel pads daily(thank you Bulkley Valley Hospital). These are washed every day. They walk on newspaper to eat and further down to soil. These are changed as needed. (Newspapers needed). They were wormed and now are thriving. They are wobbling around and know my voice already. They are probably chow/retriever mixes. 

            And then Miko, the old akita who come in malnourished. She is 8 years old or more and discarded when they moved into a new house. She is gaining weight and energy. She is wagging her tail and jumping when she sees my husband because she is used to a man. He took her fishing, she sits quietly in a canoe, and hiking. He enjoyed her youth but not her old age.

            Flare was found in a trunk of a car in the Fraser Lake dump. Major’s owner suffers from a mental illness and can no longer care for him. He is a well trained, mature, grey coloured collie mix.

           And the beat goes on. I get discouraged. I need help, donations for food, spay and neuter surgeries. One 18 kg bag of dog food feeds all the dogs one day. But IT does feed All the dogs. The puppies need puppy food, canned food, pablum, newspaper, vaccinations and later training and socialization. More dogs need to be spayed or neutered. Sponsor a dog for a week or a month. The history and picture of the dog will be mailed to you. Turtle Gardens is an independent charitable organization. Help me help the unwanted dogs in OUR area.

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.