The sun is shining, not much heat to it yet but the promise is there. The dogs are all running and playing. Sam is squeaking a rubber toy while Puff Dog watches him hoping he will drop it so he can squeak it too. Both these guys are death row fellas in rehab. Puff Dog has been here since December and is doing very well. He will be ready for a new home soon.
Happy Puff Dog learning how to be a dog!

Regal Sam also learning to be a dog -  something he hadn’t had a chance to tied up alone in a yard. He is meeting Colby here one of the resident seniors who is helping him adapt to all the different  activities happening at TG.

Jaime has a ride home! Irene who is adopting one of our poddle mix puppies has a daughter who is a long distance trucker but to the States. Her friend Norm is a trucker going across Canada and he will take Jaime home to Regina next trip. First the TG Bus will take Jaime to Vancouver where she will be fostered by Irene until Norm leaves. How cool is that!!

And we have two names to choose from for our new arrival.  Eden or Libby. Which one do you think suits her best?

She is adapting well and is such a sweet girl.

Stanley enjoying the sunshine too.

Koko Brindle sitting in the doorway, smiling.

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

It was quite chilly this morning again -20 to be exact! But it warms up so nicely during the day that is just so beautiful and warm. Stan and Dave have finished shoring up the fence and the dogs are confined again - until they discover the next weak spot! Dogs do that. They keep us on out toes making sure all the holes are plugged and any loose board nailed down. Certainly is never boring around here! Especially with so many young teenager as and young adults. They are the ones that resent confinement the most. Most were long time strays used to roaming at will. Now they learn to stay in the yard and play doggie games. They learn that their food is provided and we govern their freedom too. One balances the other - the freedom from starvation with lots of friends and room to play games, run safely in a large fun filled environment. Learning how to be dogs and then family companions.

Yesterday was the day to pick up the Telkwa Pound dog. Norm had called that he had a shepherd/collie something - a generic Moricetown special. What we picked up was a border collie/blue heeler mix - female!! She is supposed to be a runner and garbage hound. What I see so far is a backyard dog who needed a job and companionship. She certainly likes people! She walked in quietly, found  a corner o lie down in and slept - all night. This morning I called her to me and showed her the leash. She was very happy to see a familiar thing. We went outside to check out the yard and to meet all of the dogs. There was a rush to meet her and then she checked out the fence line. She came coming back to see me then wander off again. She sure is a nice dog. We welcome a very pretty girl to Turtle Gardens.

She needs a name!!

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

The weather took a down turn to downright chilly during the night. Thank goodness for bed hogs! They warm me up especially the three that cuddle up under the covers – Sweetpea, Margo and Grizz – their warmth lulls me to sleep.

  Kerri, Margo, Grizz, Squire and Lily on the end of the bed.

They sure didn’t want to get up this morning. I kept them awake with another coughing jag last night. We tried to sleep in this morning – but Dave warmed up the house with a roaring fire then made coffee. The lure was too much. Nothing like freshly brewed coffee to get me up!

As we discussed the day I mentioned that Jaime had a home but needed a ride. A ride to Saskatchewan!! Jaime has been here for almost two years. She arrived as a sick demodex pup with her mother. She had a very difficult year with her demodex – a particularly nasty bout after bout. She was fostered for a couple of months in Burnaby and loved it! She enjoyed the city, the kids and her fist taste of home life. But she had to come back when their lives took a turn. She joined Dave’s apple dumpling gang and bonded with Harley. Her life just got better – she has an application that really wants her. The references are great and Cindy is waiting impatiently for Jaime to come home. But that is the problem. Westjet no longer flies pets as cargo. So we are looking for ground transport maybe a long distance trucker would like a calm companion for a part of his journey. Is there anyone going to Regina, Saskatchewan who can help Jaime go home?

 Please help me get home!

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

 I sure enjoy working out in the yard with all  our furry friends. They are so curious and want to see what your doing and why your doing it. I know where a lot of them come from; it’s so nice to see them be dogs and for the first time of their lives have fun and and not worry about keeping warm or starving and looking for food. It’s a big trust build exercise for them be close to all the new stuff and be surrounded by friendly people that will stop and pet them and not be mean. It almost seems that they want to come over and say thank you, and when you’re surrounded by them just can’t help but be happy - their excitement is contagious. Well I said I was going to take pic of the fence BUT someone got to the camera first. hhhmmm lets look at the pics and find out ?????
 Hey that’s a cute puppy pic was it Kelsey that had the camera HMMMMMM (that’s Willis in the pic )
Hey it’s Friday; Kelsey is at school so it can’t be her.  It must mean  Grandma  is feeling better. You know great but she killed the batteries AAARRRGGGGG now I can’t get the fence pictures.(one of the small little things that got over looked while she was sick - charging the batteries for the camera)

But I got three - here the chicken wire is up. It’s really cheap but you get what you pay for it won’t last long and need a line of mechanics wire (aka haywire) pulled tight on the top to give it strength and needs to be leaned in at the top - our furry friends seem to not even attempt to jump up on it whew because it would never hold them out it’s all for show. It does the job -  the good fence is $250 a roll. This would be 2 rolls plus!! We did it for $32 of chicken wire and the poles cost us redneck sweat. We got lots of that.

oh man I hate snow!   The fence has to touch the ground otherwise they will dig under. And it will melt and the fence will be knee high and every one will wonder what fool made that fence. Thus there I am with the shovel trying to not look the fool :>

Whew "That was easy" but this is where the batteries went totally dead. We need to have many fences to keep every one separate. Some get along better with others and some don’t  and some  you just don’t take a chance that they don’t  get along. This is a very important part  of  getting Mom  back into her house -  is  having a safe place for all our furry friends  to play  and be safe  Just hang in there  Mom just about there  I can See you in the house now .  Stan

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

I am back! It has been a horrible flu and I mean horrible, hacking, coughing, fever, can’t get up flu. The terrible coughing jags wore me right out. And they happened a lot at night. Or if I moved from the heated house to outside or if the door opened letting in fresh air in – the coughing started. And kept going until choking and gasping for air – not pretty. Suffice to say I am glad that part is over. Hopefully my energy will come back too. My dogs are very glad I am up again – they never left my bed either. Not to pee/poop or eat. I had to get up to make sure they would get up too. Sweetpea, Squire and Grizzly are loyal companions maybe too loyal. The oldsters Lucy, Aardvark and Colby stayed close by but at 16 years old they know better and at least eat. Canine companions are a lot of responsibility and making sure they ate, drank and pottied was almost all that I could do. That little bit of time up was all I could handle for a while. Thanks to my family – the rest was taken care of including the daily blog, tons of emails and phone calls. Thanks guys!

Yesterday Kansas and Tanis got a surprise visit from their Mom!! Gloria is in an assisted care facility but is hoping to be in her own apartment in two weeks or so where her two furry friends can come home again. It was a very poignant reunion. They went for a walk together and the dogs were so very happy to see her. It was sad watching her leave again but the dogs will soon be home for good. They have been here two months.

  Kansas and Tanis

Crayola has an adoption in Dease Lake – Matt is an active outdoorsman and Crayola should fit him like a glove! He will pick up Digby who also has a home with Matt’s colleague Karen next weekend. Mac is going to a foster to adopt home in Burns Lake.  He will be picked up Saturday morning. It has been a very busy week with emails and visitors enquiring, and learning about the dogs and their personalities. Illness doesn’t stop the day to day workings of Turtle Gardens.

  Beautiful Kerri - she follows me everywhere! Her demodex is slowly getting much better. Our veterinarians figured out that her cure will cost well over $700 for its duration - they figure a full year before her immune system matures. We can expect one or more relapses especially after her spay or any other stress related event. She has a wonderful personality - she is such a trooper. It is great to see her energy increase as her heath gets better. 

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

 Well mom still isn’t feeling all that well not good. Man there is some much to do here day to day sorry I haven’t had the time to blog. We need fences here our furry friends have free run of the place and that’s not all that organized we need to keep them separated at times of excitement when someone comes over.  We live on a dead end road not much traffic at all but they can make the 3/4 km to the main road and  I don’t want any dogs to make there way there. Fencing costs a unbelievable amount of money so we had to start redneck fencing 101. What is that you ask?  Well it starts like this- first find the chain saw and axe oh ya and some trees. Well I had to take the camera ’cause pictures say a thousand words whew and I could use them.

Ya and I needed a helper  and here she is  baby redneck.  She kept bugging me to learn to use the chain saw  "gee daddy  you have taught me every other thing.  I can drill; use the skill saw why not the chain saw" I had to tell her that she need to have cut prooff chaps and steel toe boots and a real saw not this old junker Whew  that can wait till next year.

Then nail them to the fence.

Then you just keep going till you run out of fence. Tomorrow I am going to add the wire and take more pics This is just a temporary fix as our furry friends are getting out because there is so much snow. They can just sail over the fence any where.

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

    Man some people are irreplaceable Man or you you can just die trying to sorry I missed a blog yesterday and am so later today but man there is just to much to do here. But the Great news is Mom is feeling a little better and up and moving around and ate a real supper. It was 6 above today there to a lot to do when it warms up . All the snow slides off the roofs and  needs to be shoveled off the paths and if you don’t it will freeze harder then a nail the next day and be impossible to shovel. and then there are all the little jobs that you don’t even want to try when it 20 below like the fuel filter on the van that now that’s it’s warm need to be done clean the chimneys and check them while the stove is out clean the ashes out as well. Plus all the dogs are just full of energy and want to be outside and having fun and all need to have time spent with and play the bucket of bones game which teaches them all to get along while eating - take a bucket of milkbones and start then all sitting to get one and that they all have two wait there turn just one of things we do that really seems to help them in their recovery; improves there mouth skills they learn to be gentle and there is food for all and I think most important mentally tires them and help keep them calm and sleep better tonight. I am really hoping to make a trip down south this weekend if the weather holds and Moms still feeling ok it might be pushing it but it would be really nice to make some room here for others and get the other van. I just wanted to thanks for all wonderful encouraging msgs and calls I am sure it speeded up Mom’s recovery. Stan

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

    Gee I am sure that’s a question that we have all asked ourselves one time or another.  Now it is time I have to ask it myself  (is mom ok or not).   I have to admit that I have left all the tough stuff up to mom and dad for years, I am so used to asking hey, mom is so and so ok and if not what do I do . But not now that she is sick I am lost hhhmmm how ever am I going to tell.  Then I remembered a good friend of ours carol’s blog about this sorta thing and I found the link http://www.saintsrescue.ca/wordpress/?p=1455 and I trust her and her opinions then it hit me gee I need to try this on Mom.  She’s more dog then human (we have been told).

February 6, 2008
tricks of the trade
Filed under: Uncategorized — Carol @ 7:43 pm

quicky, 2 second assessment tools for dogs when you are running out the door late for work to rule out death, injury and unhappiness.

1. if someone tells you that so and so did not eat their lunch…how do you quickly rule out imminent looming death?

offer a kraft cheese slice, if they greedily eat it, they will be ok til you get home.

  OK how yuppie is that we don’t even have cheese slices let alone kraft
All I could ask was gee Mom you hungry She wearily replied " not yet but maybe later.." So I had to move on to question two.

2. someone is not weight bearing and holding their leg up in the air. how do you know if they sustained serious injury or are just looking for some sympathetic acknowledgement?

grab a box of peak freen cookies and walk away…if they suddenly follow with all four feet on the ground, chances are good they are not permanently disabled.

HMMMM this isn’t going to work Mom limps all the time. especially in the morning. So I had to move on question three.

3. someone is laying in their bed and giving everyone the “sad” eye…how do you know if they are truly depressed or if maybe they just did something bad that you don’t know about yet?

open the fridge and peer deeply within, a depressed dog would ignore this golden opportunity, a naughty one will have his or her face shoved in there right beside you in 2 seconds or less.

Gee I wonder how many years it has been since mom has done something naughty but man I am NOT going to ask.(maybe carol can)
So I was forced to do the only thing that I knew that would work for sure and went over to the coffee pot and grinded her faverit starbucks beans and brewd a pot of coffee and once I was sure the very pleasnt aroma reacher I asked Mom would you like a cup of coffe in bed (which is a really big treat for her) She wearly replied (not now maybe later) I knew right there we were on our own for the day.

    It really reinforced Kelsey’s and I decision to give up our warm apartment in False Creek (2 minutes from the Sea Wall and 3 minutes from the best junk food store! (7-11) )and move here to help mom and dad was the right choice to make because if we were there and grama was sick we would be worried to death and not be able to do anything. Now we can do something, it might not be just like mom but maybe better because we are learning, and now might be able to do a little more to make the day to day a little lighter. While also reinforcing our understanding and respect for how much she does and how big of a responsibility for as many beings as she takes on and makes it look easy.   We are very happy to try and follow her a mile in her footsteps (one days work!).

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