Honey Island Swamp...

My SIL, Tina, and my nephew, Kevin, came to visit this past weekend. They weren't able to stay too long, but we still really enjoyed being able to visit with them! They wanted to do something while here that they couldn't do in Ohio, so we found a swamp tour to take them on. We tried to make an appointment to see the Alligator Bayou here in Baton Rouge, but though they were open, they didn't have enough people signed up to do a tour...they wouldn't even allow us to do a walking tour...oh, well. Instead we headed out to Slidell to tour Honey Island Swamp. I didn't think we'd see too many gators and such being that it's been so cold. I was hoping though.

We did see a blue heron, other smaller birds, an osprey with a huge catfish hanging from it's talons, we saw lots of red-eared slider turtles and other swamp stuff. It was cool out, but the sky was blue (which it hasn't been in the last few weeks and of course today it started back up...did I ever mention how much I hate Louisiana's wet winters?). We did get to touch a young gator. It was neat.

Oh and on another note...Tucker, the boxer we were fostering, found a new home and a new pal. Kevin just fell in love with him and Tucker sure thinks the same of Kev. It was so funny to see the two of them play. My niece has been looking for a dog now that she's in an apartment. Kevin sent a pic and a little info to her via his phone and she wanted him immediately! We were excited here, she is excited there and Kevin will still be able to see and play with him! I'll also get to still see the goofy boy when we visit.

Honey Island Swamp...

This house was completely underwater when Hurricane Katrina hit. Only two families still live on this canal...there used to be more.

Rescues...

I sometimes wish I had a large fenced property set up to run a rescue for dogs....I'd probably have one of every kind...LOL.

We are in the process of searching out a male German Shepherd Dog. It's B's turn to pick out the next dog and she just loves them. I signed up on a GSD message board to learn more, although we have owned one...Cleo was a white GSD/Husky mix..what a stubborn, nippy, smart, exhuberant pup she was! I've been scouring rescues for a young male GSD. We found one that may work with our family and we're waiting on a reply...

As much as I find puppies cute, I don't need a pup. I don't really want to support the breeding industry. When people tell me that they think it'll be great to have a litter of pups from their dog, "because he/she so darn cute, smart, funny"... fill in the blank with whatever and "because people I know would want one", I just roll my eyes. Many times I tell them to go look at the pound because it's full of those puppies that everyone wanted, got tired of dealing with, didn't get fixed and now have made more puppies that were dumped at the pound where many will be euthanized because quite frankly I don't know of a single solitary pound, shelter or rescue that isn't full to the brim with dogs. I get so tired of seeing owners surrendering their 2-3 yr old pet and because they are too cheap or lazy to train it (which by the way makes a 110% difference in your pet), or animal control pics it up half starved because they just let it go. Oh and it's probably pregnant too or got something else pregnant...

Or how about when people move..."we can't take it because the new place doesn't allow dogs"...I guess you didn't try hard enough to find a place. We have moved with large dogs many times. Three times we were in apartments. Guess what? We found atleast a few different apartments in each area that accepted large dogs. Yeah, we had to pay extra, but hey, that's how pet ownership goes. They aren't cheap to have.

I see people with their senior dogs...you know the ones that can't hold their bladder much anymore (there's a pill for that), they're arthritic and can't hardly walk (there's a pill for that), they are going blind-really not a big deal if you aren't moving anytime soon...they adjust well, or ones where their teeth are rotting out-take them to the darned vet and remove them. The owners dump them saying they found an old dog...get real...they just don't want to deal with them anymore...what a nice way to treat the pet that gave you so many years of unconditional love!

Good grief, if you don't want to deal with it anymore, take the dog to your vet, hold it in your lap, stroke it's furry head, tell it you loved it and will miss it as your vet puts it to sleep. That is more humane than some of the other options I've seen people choose. I have a Great Dane. She's huge. She's getting older. She's starting to have issues, but we chose her and she loves us. There will be things that I can't do for her as she gets older just because of her size. She will be humanely put down when the time comes...it's the least I can do for her.

Anyways....sorry for the little rant this morning....just seeing/reading this stuff on message boards and at the animal shelter has just hit my buttons today...besides what are we teaching our kids when we dump their pets? That they are just disposable things? They aren't and I'm so glad my kids know better and I'm glad that they enjoy helping out at the shelter or with dogs they find...

Once homeless...now homeward bound!

I couldn't resist her yesterday; the little beagle expression just seemed to call to me...I even came home and talked to Steve about her. She was so sweet and cried when I put her back into the kennel when I had to leave for the day. I decided to surprise the kids and take them to see her this morning on our way to town. I wanted to see how she reacted to them; she was excellent. I paid her fees and we shall pick her up tomorrow afternoon. She will be having a bath though and then I agreed to take her and the kids to Petsmart to pick out some new bowls, collar, toys, leashes and maybe a new little bed, though I'm not sure she'll use it since Jacob wants her in his bed! How exciting! I do believe I will take Duke, our lab, with us since he is a lot more friendly towards dogs than Perdi, our Dane, is. I think all will be ok, but a little time will tell. Pics coming soon!

A man's best friend...

"About 80% of animals entering the shelter are euthanized. Many are old, sick, injured, or vicious. Many times the shelters are overcrowded and must make a 'choice' due to lack of funding".


I volunteer with a friend of mine at the local Animal Shelter. I love to help out there. My friend and I bring treats for the dogs, we walk them, groom them, and we are trying to do write ups for each dog that is available for adoption.

The dog above we have named Bella. She is a beautiful Chocolate Lab that loves the water. She flops down in it when we take her out for her walks and rolls around all happy...then it's off to the grass to roll around for a good back itch! I hope she finds a home soon!

Each dog is begging for attention when we get there. They stay in cages most of the time and do get let out from time to time in the big yard, but they need training, daily exercise, and grooming so that they can be their best and have a better chance at adoption. There are only so many workers and they have so much to do. People come and volunteer, but not enough of them. It takes us well over 3 hours to get less than 10 dogs walked. We can't really take out more than one at a time since they just go wild with excitement being outside and would get all tangled up. I did find out though that four at a time go to the local prison to receive training! That is just wonderful!

I see the people coming to look for a dog...I keep hearing, "I'm looking for a small dog", "I want a puppy" (a note to them...not many puppies are kept in adoption. It's too expensive to wait for them to get old enough to spay/neuter and then hold them for adoption), "I want something a little more quiet", "I don't want one with that coat/color/shape". Good grief...What they need to get is a stuffed dog. Those don't smell, don't require shots, food, washing, cleaning up after, or worrying about if you have to leave town. People seem to come to the shelter wanting this pretty little powder puff mini-pup. Not going to happen...Most dogs in the shelter are medium to large sized mixes. And thanks to the many unknowledgeable 'breeders' attempting to make a quick buck and people who won't spay or neuter their pets, there are way too many of them there for me to walk and love on!

It's really a shame though and we are trying to get these babies into good homes.

I did see a very cute little Beagle. J. has been wanting one for some time now and Steve likes little dogs...me...give me a big Great Dane any day! We do actually have one. I'll post about her another day. This little Beagle was so sweet and I talked to honey about her last night. I'm going to take B. down today and see how she does with kids. More on her I'm sure.