Dozer, the Half-Marathoner

What a great story this is! A loose dog joins half-marathoners, finishes the race and his family sets up a fund-raiser for cancer after the event and raises more then $13,000 for cancer research!

Flying your Pup

If you been following this blog, you know my reticence for flying Bella. Well, I just found this article in our paper regarding a survey taken by PetFinder. Pet Airways seems to be a winner, though they still don't come to my city! I'm surprised Alaska Airlines didn't get named as they are the "Iditarod" airlines. I wish the article would post the survey questions and compilation rather than just the results. I'm curious what questions they asked. PetFinder's article can be found here where you'll see several other links that help in your decision-making should flying your pet be in your future.

Am I thinking about flying Bella? Nope. But it's nice to see airlines being rated.Our local paper also had an article on tips for traveling with pets. However, the author, Michelle Higgins, with The New York Times, states what all pet owners fear the most:

"Meanwhile, pet safety has become a more pressing issue. Incidents of animals being lost, injured or dying have recently risen. Thirty-nine animals died while flying aboard commercial jets in the United States last year, compared with 22 in 2009, according to the Department of Transportation. Thirteen were injured and five were lost. Delta was responsible for a significant portion of the increase, with 16 deaths and six injuries in 2010, compared with three deaths and no injuries the previous year."

Whether or not this is a small percentage makes no difference to me. I would rather keep Bella in my sights. This is the only time I wish she was small enough to be in an on-board carrier in the passenger compartment!

Bloat

The day we had to put Lucy to sleep, I feared she had bloat. She'd been diagnosed with lymphoma and the vet had given her a very short time to live, so we knew any time with her was a gift. She had just finished a meal and wished to go outside and for whatever reason, I felt it necessary to watch her. She paced around the yard which was not unusual, but she couldn't stop. She tried several times to throw up or to defecate and couldn't manage either. I ran to her and saw (and felt) that her stomach was rock solid and big, so I feared bloat. We rushed her to the hospital and though they were about to close, stayed open for us. It wasn't bloat, but her cancer. Our decision was made.

Today in looking at our local paper on-line, I came across this article on bloat and thought about Lucy. Bloat is so scarey because your time—your dog's time—is so very limited and the odds so poor of your dog surviving it. No one seems to know what causes this though large breed dogs seem more prone. Exercising immediately after the dog eats and drinks seems to be a culprit too. Heredity and stress also see some finger-pointing (which makes me think about the benefit of a mutt though a friend reasoned with me that mutts can inherit bad traits too). Raised food bowls remains controversial as a cause, but the story states a huge probability in predisposed breeds.

Please read the article and be aware of this deadly situation. If you suspect your dog may be suffering from bloat, do not delay. Get your pup immediately to an emergency vet!

Paddle Boarding with Bella

Bella is a water dog, right? I thought paddle boarding with her would be a snap—after all in the videos (see the YouTube video above), it looks so easy. A friend's dog is so addicted to paddle boarding that she has a hard time keeping him off other people's boards. The minute someone comes close to shore, her dog, Boone, hops on. I also wanted to get some practicing in before we head back to Baja this winter when I want her to be able to go out with me. I'd even looked into floats for Bella thinking if she fell off she'd be able to swim to shore if she couldn't get back on the board.

So the last time we were in the Gorge, I borrowed a friend's board to give it a try. Perhaps it was the wrong place to experiment. The Event Site in Hood River is a zoo. There are people, kids, dogs, strollers, windsurf and kite board equipment scattered everywhere, paddle boards and lawn chairs cheek and jowl to each other. Kids dropping food, people tossing balls, frisbees sailing through the air—chaos! To expect Bella to be able to pay attention is really asking a lot.

None-the-less, we were down at the water and she was game. I brought the nose of the board to the beach so she could walk onto it. Walking on proved not so easy. There were a few leaps off the board into the water—both for lack of balance and for the uncertainty of standing on a tippy surface. But my friend's board has a sticky surface, so once Bella settled in, I took off and headed out into the Columbia River.

I had paddled out perhaps 50 yards from shore when I saw the stick floating in the water. I tried to stir away from it so she wouldn't see it. Too late! Bella took a flying leap off the board to retrieve the stick; I flew off the board backwards. She returned to shore with the stick, dropped it and looked up at the nearest person to beg sweetly for a toss. I crawled back onto the board and gimped back to shore.

Lesson One was a bust. If it ever stops raining, maybe we'll get a chance at Lesson Two...

It's been a while...

Between leaving town for the reunion (very fun) and returning to "real life" (which means work for me) and a husband who is retired and wants to travel (so we do), I haven't had a moment to sit down and write.

Murray the Marvelous

So let me first introduce you to Bella's cousin, Murray. Murray is a five month old Wheaten Terrier and belongs to my brother. It's been a while since he's had a puppy (see here), so he has experienced moments of "buyers remorse." Remember puppies? Chewing, whining, peeing wonders!

Murray is a good dog though. He settles right down when he comes inside but still exhibits that wildness puppies have when they are outside. All of a sudden he gets a bee in his bonnet and tears around the yard at 1000 miles an hour. Love it!

They are currently trying to train him to an electric fence. He hasn't quite caught on yet and it's posing a problem as he is becoming timid in the yard. Hopefully, by working with him and the company that installed it, they'll figure it out. Fencing isn't an option and although their neighborhood is quiet, they live on a corner that sees a fair amount of traffic. Plus, they are only one street away from a wonderful river that has a very active pedestrian/bike path which proves visible—and very enticing—to a small dog.

Three dogs waiting for food to drop.

Bella and Molly are happy and tuckered from a long hike.

Three days after my return, we left again to join friends over July 4th. We are baby-sitting Bella's half-sister, Molly (same mom, different dads). Molly hasn't been exposed to mountain biking, so we took her on a 8.5 mile, level, shaded trail with plenty of water and a lake at the turn-around point. She did really well. Being an Aussie, she's all about staying with the pack!

Molly isn't a swimmer, but a wader. Again, as a herding dog, she felt compelled to chase Bella into the water as Bellie swam after a tossed stick, but ended up weeping until Bella returned to shore. It was fun watching the interactions between the two dogs.

We also got some hiking in with friends who have a border collie/sled dog cross. The three dogs had a fabulous time competing to see who found the best smell first. Luckily, Bella and Molly were great about staying close. They'd venture down the trail, but always turn and wait for us to reappear. The little BC cross was not so attentive. He's fairly new to his family, and this was his first time hiking. They will have to work with him to stay closer or will need to keep him leashed.

It was a wonderful weekend and it seems to have brought on official SUMMER WEATHER. Fabulous! I'm taking the girls out back to prune the espaliered apples. Lazy summer days.