I wanted to share a picture of my boy "DUDE" and his story.

I got him for my birthday in 1998 from a no kill shelter at the age of 18 months.  He was the BEST dog I have EVER had.

We brought him home and realized that he was already trained beyond our wildess dreams.  My husband took him outside and walked the perimeter of the yard and every time Dude would step off the grass my husband would tell him NO.  From that day forward he wouldn't leave the yard unless he had permission.  He would chase squirrels across the yard and come to a ubrupt stop at the edge of the grass.  Shaking uncontrolably, wanting to get permission to chase further but would not do it without permission.  We realize that some one had put him through all the training and then found that he was gun shy.  ANY load noise and he would try to get under the furniture or us or anything he could hide under or behind.  We NEVER had to put him on a lead because he would stay right with us or at least within out sight if in the woods.  We did walk him on a lead for his safty and because of leash laws.  He would go with my husband to work EVERY day, as the SUPERVISOR.  We had a lawn care business.  Dude loved to go anywhere we went.  Even if it was just to drop off mail at the post office, he would go.  Well we lost of boy "DUDE" in June of 2005.  Somewhere he got into antifreeze and no matter what we did or how hard the Vet tried, we couldn't save him.  It took some time but we have been able to welcome another boy into our lives.  So we are on our second GSP (who actually looks alot like our DUDE).  He too is a rescue out of NC.  So as a NEW member of this site, now you know a little about me and my boys.   Thank you for listening....  today is the anniversary of our loss, and to this day I can not let go.  Typing through tears is more difficult than I thought.  Just wanted to share the story of an AMAZING boy. 

Awe, that WAS a nice story...and another GREAT save!  LOVE IT!  Trust me when I tell you, God only gives them to us a short while, because there are so many more to need us! Dude would want you to save another one!

Here is Miracle and James on front porch last night, musta been eyeballing a bun? 

My niece is back home in Florida. She created a Youtube of her journey to Aunt Lisa's, it's cute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnVYBDDKHK4

I'm plum exhausted, but not done yet!  Got our Precision Metalforming Golf Outing on Tues...after THAT I can rest for a weekend, hopefully.

Thank you all for your kind words.

Yes we have a new boy.  His name is Tyler.  This boy was nothing less than a "Devil Dog" when we got him.  But with LOVE and understanding of who he is and what he has been through, we have another GREAT boy. 

Here is a picture of him acting silly in his dad's recliner.  He loves to stick out his tougue at us when he is acting silly. 

He is great, and as you can see he looks alot like our "DUDE".  But don't let that fool ya.... He is totally different.  He has the personality of a cat.  He likes to do what he wants when he wants.  Then there are times he will come and rub against our legs (like a cat) or he gets in our lap and leans back against us and rubs his head around our neck.

Crazy guy... but we just adore him.

I have been talking with my hubby about possible fostering for a rescue.  I am not sure if there is a rescue here in TN yet but looking into it.  He will be selling our "Lawncare" business next year and he will be home all day.  We both LOVE dogs and are partial to the GSP (as you can see).  This is something I have wanted to do ALL my life, and now it looks like my dream of helping is going to come true.  We are a mature couple with a large back yard, 6ft pricacy fencing, and a dof friendly home.  Our boy has full run of the house.  He even has his own room upstairs with a queen size bed and full size sofa to lay on while watching TV.  Yes he has is own TV always on animal planet.  LOL

Well, better get back to work.  B4 the boss sends me home to chat... lol 

Just a quick laugh....

Here is the five babies we had home at Christmas.  Both our Children brought their babies home for Christmas so the house was full.  5 dogs for 5 days.  IT WAS A HOOT!

Can you say PEANUT NITE?  All heads accounted for when you crack the lid on the peanut jar!  tehe....  L-R:  James Dean, Miracle, Roscoe, and Little Crazy, aka, New Maggie!  Ok, I will explain...my ex got New Maggie from a breeder at a field trial, and he's decided to keep her. She's around 10 mo old liver/white EP.  I call her Little Crazy, cuz that she is...haha.  I was also doggie sitting Roscoe for 10 days while his mom went to Finland!  He went home last night!  So I have my quiet home with my own two dogs for a week, then I gotta doggie sit Joe..who we just pulled from WI shelter last week.  Of course, he got kennel cough, so he's at the vet now.  We had a banner week last week, three dogs went home!  Yeah!  We needed it, was stale mated there for a while.  We have our annual swimming pool party this Sat at Petco outside under the Rally to Rescue canopy.  This summer, like others before, is just whipping by.  My brother from Florida, Amanda's dad announced they'd be at my house Friday for Fish Fry?  HUH?  I'm buzy...I do not really have time, how RUDE is that?  So as it turns out they did not head for WI, however, he told me Uncle George is taking us out for fish fry Friday night, but I'd really rather not, cuz I gotta scrub out the pool and pack van for show Sat.  So hope he called our Uncle to cancel?  Who knows...  play it by ear.  Next weekend, we are checking out the agility set Bean sent us for the first time!  I finally found someone who will work with us to teach us how agility is done!  I dunno what the big secret is...  we'll find out.  So, as always I'm running around with my head chopped off.  Last count, there are 5 GSPs in WI shelters right now.  URGH....anyone in WI interested in fostering?  That is our only problem.  People need breaks.  Sad sad week to watch the service for Michael Jackson, I don't care what people think of him, I grew up with the Jackson Five.  He was a fantastic entertainer, and never understood.  I hope he's at rest now. Ashame, just ashame is all I can say.     

Long time, no talk to...I'm sorry, been running with my head chopped off, then of course, my back went out, probably right after walking four dogs at one time!  Well, I've had junk discs since I was in my twenties...so there are alot of things I can't do anymore, or shouldn't be doing, but I do anyhow, so shoot me now!  And stress does not help.  I have been served a first ammendment complaint from this guy in KY who runs a so-called sanctuary, that this girl contacted me about oh....5-1/2  yrs ago, needing help to clean him up or shut him down.  Big long story, and the long and short of it is, he has upwards of 300 dogs that people gave to him for care for life, and it's a bad situation, the dogs have mange, heartworm, intestinal parasites, I mean, how can you possibly keep up with 300 dogs?  Well, in efforts to get a large organization to help us, and after being strung along for years, with no help...my 'partner' in KY posted a Do Not Adopt on a group list and he found it and is sueing us for defamation and losses.  So we have a law professor helping us, and it appears I have to hire an attorney.  That's all I will say about this for now, until the case is resolved, then we will issue a public statement.   

Sunday, we got out the agility set Bean and her mom sent us, and had a volunteer come in to show us how to do agility.  She brought her set up as well, cuz I think our hunt trainer, Jared would have been there for an hour setting up the pcs in the box from Bean.  Some of the dogs were more natural at it then others.  But for sure, it's a lotta work all around. We think we like hunting better!  ha!

I had foster Joe over the weekend. He is ball obsessed.  I had a family come see him, then go home and study on his ball obsession on internet and they got back to me saying no, that the internet says it's plain unhealthy for a dog to be like that?  haha...must not know shorthairs very well....this dog is perfectly recall trained, because of ball.  He is very intense with his ball. If you take ball away, he will replace it with kong, if you take kong away, he will find something else...for instance, he brought me a pcs of wood to throw, and when I took that away he brought me rock.  You can call him off, and tell him to go lay down.  He is not crate trained and doesn't need to be in one, he doesn't touch a thing in the house.  He sleeps in bed or in a doggie bed next to mine at night, no peeps outta him.  I think Joe is an awesome boy!  I got to see Scotty over the weekend, I'm stil amazing no one has adopted that big, nice, boy!  And we been shuffling Chloe around to find a foster who will work with her over wound up butt.  So she's moving to foster John & Rick's house tomorrow night, and they will continue her ecollar training.  And my late rescue friend Patty Goodwin, who lost her battle with cancer last month's GSP, Buck's adoption is not working out, and we've been asked to help.  So I have foster home now, just gotta get Buckaroo moved. He is a beautiful boy with hunt experience...is 7 yrs old, 70 lbs.  I just have to help Buck for my friend Patty now.  We have some in WI shelters, but they are either too far for me to grab, or we don't have the right fosters, urgh...it's always something! 

Had folks dropping rummage sale stuff already, that is August 1st!  I gotta get cleaning out my closets and stuff and add to the pile. And I'm planning another Super Rally for August 16th at Petco again. We have around 11 other vendors signed up, pray for sunshine that day! 

Other then that...Miracle is just coming out of a total break out. I mean hives all over...she itches and licks all night long...I have not been able to figure out if it's the tick stuff I put on her, or if she's eating stuff she's allergic too, but I have her stepped up on benedryl right now.  And I've eliminated anything with wheat/corn, ya know, the norm for her to break out to.  My cousin Tori cleaned out her dogs toys and she sent Miracle and Jim a big box, like they need more?  haha, I told them they could have one thing and the rest goes to the rescue dogs.  Miracle found this itty bitty bean kitty in the rummage stuff she's been hauling around.  It's the size of a mouse...and she's too funny with that thing hanging outta her mouth...last night she and Jim were playing tug toy with that thing the size of a mouse..I'm surprised it did't pull apart with beans all over...  She is good about not really destroying stuff, thankfully...Jim; not so much.  

So, until I catch up with you again, thanks for your support!

Well, Mr. Obsessive, tripped me Tues PM, I flew out the back door, got my foot stuck in the doggie door, and fell on the concrete, put my right hand out to brace myself and OMG, the pain!  And here stands Joe, with his stupid kong, wagging his tail!  I could have killed him, but I hurt too bad to bother.  So picked myself up and shook it off, got the ice back out on my wrist, fed everyone, then foster Shelley came for Joe.  Well, the pain woke me up at 4AM, so I dragged myself to emergency for Xray, and I got lucky, not broken..only sprained, so I gotta wrist brace to wear for a while.  Damn dogs!  They are gonna kill me eventually.  I'm generally over on Facebook daily if anyone gets worried!  This weekend, we are grabbing Buck Goodwin, my late rescue friend Patty's GSP.  His adoption is not working out, so I have to grab 7 yr old Buck and make sure he lands safely.  He is a hunter.  So even tho he's 7, I'm hoping he will be easy placement so Buck can carry on with the rest of his life, and forget the turmoil of loosing his mom and sibblings.  And I'm off and running again...  

Mr Obsessive may very well be an excellent candidate as a drug detection dog.  Apparently the 'scouts' look for that very ball-obsessive trait (and I gather it must be obsessive over excitable).

Deb O

Hey everyone!  Ummm, quick before I forget, NO, no on the drug dog thing, I seen how those officers treat the dogs, and NONONONONO!  Most I have seen treat those dogs like crap, they manhandle them, Joe would never deal with that.  I do like the concept however....  I been crazy busy, and stress runs high everywhere I turn, at work, at home, bills piling up, dogs out there, no one wants to foster till Sept, or so, people begging for dogs to adopt that I have no where to go with!  Such dilemas?  Our first VP got married yesterday in her back yard, weather was not like it should be for end of August in WI, was cold, damp, burrr....I took the kids as my van is their apartment.  Today, just got website up, and the sun came out so I want to get outside and do some yardwork or just sit quietly in the sun, and rest my head.  I don't know if I told you but I'm being sued, well actually it's a first ammendment complaint from a guy in KY a girl approached me about almost 6 yrs ago for help.  He runs a "sanctuary" but when you spend as much time as we have investigating, and collecting witness statements and photographs even the guy admits he can identify who took them, well, I think what's really happened here is he is just opened up the eyes of the world to look back at himself, by serving us with this complaint.  Regardless, it cost me $500- for an attorney I surely do not have.  So, once that is all settled, I'll fill you in, it's just more drama and stress I really don't need.  My own dog, Jim has a lump on his chest, I do not like the feel of. He has a cracked tooth that should be pulled, may as well have them both looked at at once, but that would be oh, probably $500- too...the van needs a new battery before winter, it just never ends.  But little by little we get there.  I had my best friend  from HS here last weekend, we did some shopping, sight seeing, lounging (in the cold) on my deck gabbing for hours... she is a photographer, and took this pic of me with Jim and Miracle on the deck.  Enjoy, catch you when I can!

Yes, a great pic!

Gotta muster up the energy to deal with the next few weeks somehow.  I grabbed a female from Eau Claire shelter when our BRATS Transport group dropped her right at my door!  Then the reptile lady picked up her snakes by me too, we all had a few mins in my backyard to giggle over crazy stuff before they all hit the road again.  Shelby's supposed to go to her foster to adopt tonight, soon as I hear from them.  Joe needs a doggie sitter this week, and I'm scrambling.  My work has a machine tool show coming up, so deadlines for advance orders are due today, but no one is telling me electrical requirements for machines coming to show, or how to pay for these items.  The show opens 10/6-8, but our move in is 10/1.  I have Miracle's dad, Trooper coming Thurs PM for the weekend, and my ex's in heat female for Sat while they work a field trial.  And if someone doesn't doggie sit Joe, I'll be stuck with him too.  Then it's fast clean the house cuz my folks from Florida will be here the following Friday for a long weekend and my mother has plans daily.  Then our WGSPR reunion is Oct 1st.  So I will find time to breathe after all is said and done.  Still gotta hook up with photographer Peggy Morsch and the book she's working on, called "Dogs and their Women".  And before you know it, it will be Christmas!  Dang...time flies.  The lawsuit from guy in KY is happening now.  I was in court last Friday and my hearing is this Thurs.  (well, I wasn't in court, but my KY attorney was)  My mother wants to know how I get myself into this stuff...  it's the old "if I know about this and do nothing" aren't I as much to blame syndrome?  Trouble generally finds me anyhow.  So stay tuned on that...

Had our doggie rescue reunion Sat.  Pix on Website and Facebook now!  Great time.  We MUST do again!  Busy busy, trying to grab two dogs this weekend, have machine tool show all week for work.  I'm bushed already.  tehe.  Take care all. 

Was awesome!  Here is a pic of me and Alice finally meeting in the flesh after all these years!  Got to give Tucker one last smooch good bye, I thought I'd cry, but I didn't!  He had the best life, thanks for Alice and Ron. 

This week, I had a machine tool show for work all week.  Real drag standing all dressed up on concrete floors with CNC machines all wizzing that high pitch noise three days in a row! 

This weekend, I am staying home to start leaf removal, as the weather guy says we have snow perhaps tomorrow night!  Good grief...it's only October!

I went to get Daisy Duke last night from her foster home, cuz Jared had to be hospitalized for extreme dehydration.  She is a teeny, little pipsqueek of a GSP.  I love her, reminds me very much of the late, great, Kate.  Not exactly finding the right adopter for her just yet.  But we will.  Pulled two out of a northern WI shelter this week, while I was busy for work.  Now to let the vet work begin. Planning to get some dogs on bird 11/7, I have to get the word out quick.

Catch me if you can!