First Furbaby - Tootsie

Tootsie0004, a photo by bobbysee on Flickr.

We had 16 great years with Tootsie. AKA, Madame Tootsie Wootsie of Mecklenburg County. :)

Book Review: Follow My Lead: What Training My Dogs Taught Me About Life, Love and Happiness

Amazon.com: Follow My Lead: What Training My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Love, and Happiness (9781580053709): Carol Quinn: Books
I found "Follow My Lead" by Carol Quinn, to be a captivating account of one woman's struggle to regain control of her life and dogs.  As a single mother with two young children, Carol finds her life in turmoil as she is caught in a relationship that she knows is destined to fail but she is reluctant to take charge of her life and bring the relationship to an end.

It isn't until she turns to agility training for her Rhodesian Ridgebacks that she begins to realize some of the underlying reasons for the choices she has made in life and how she can regain control by applying lessons learned from her dogs.

 "Follow My Lead" is one of those "can't put it down" books.  I recognized many of the lessons being taught and has made me think more about the lessons my own "girls" are teaching me.

I strongly recommend this book if you are a dog lover and someone who is trying to make sense out of their life.  There is much wisdom that our beloved fur babies can teach us if we just listen.

Wagging tails replace sad eyes: New sponsor for Westminster show to run happier dog ads - The Washington Post

 

Wagging tails replace sad eyes: New sponsor for Westminster show to run happier dog ads - The Washington Post

Briefly, Pedigree was pulled as the sponsor for the Westminster show because their advertisements depicted sad, neglected dogs, obviously needing rescue.  This type of advertisement is similar to ads you may see on television depicting starving, sick children around the globe and asking the viewer to take action by sponsoring or providing donations.

Most people would like to think that dogs are happy creatures, tongues hanging out, tails wagging as they run around enjoying life.  Anyone who has worked or volunteered with animal rescue knows this isn’t true.  Too many pets are still being abused and neglected or just thrown away when the owner gets tired of them.  Unfortunately, the majority of people don’t like to be reminded that all isn’t “rosy” in a pet’s life.  Perhaps it’s guilt?

We need to continue to educate the public about the deplorable conditions a lot of animals are in.  Support programs  that strive to provide low cost spay/neuter clinics.  Provide financial support or volunteer at your local animal shelter as they are on the front lines helping to save our fur babies and find each animal their forever home.

There is a lot of work to be done and fur babies that need saving.  Please help and spread the word.

Thanks for listening and let me know your thoughts on this.

Bobby

Eternally Grateful

God, thank you for the humans

Who rescued me from a life of abuse and neglect.

Things are so much better now.

I have warm house, plenty of food and treats

and best of all

I see the love in their eyes

when I snuggle up to them.

Help me to help my humans.

All I can do is express the deepest love

for them as you would do.

Thanks again.

 

-Bobby Clark – February 2012

Separation Anxiety–Mine, Not Theirs

 

One of the things I love about my girls is they are always looking for me when I’m gone.  It doesn’t matter if I’ve been gone five minutes or 5 days.  They always greet me with excitement and love in their eyes as they jump up and down and shower me with puppy kisses.

I traveled to Washington DC this week on business.  I was only gone for 3 days.  Walking into a hotel room with nobody to greet you can be depressing without your loved ones, 2 legged and 4 legged, to greet you. 

Fortunately, in this day and age, we have the luxury of technology to stay in touch.  In my younger days, I served on fast attack nuclear submarines and we would deploy for months at a time.  Email was non-existent and the only communication we had was a monthly “family gram” limited to 30 words that your spouse could send but how we looked forward to it!

I’m always amazed at how my values have changed over the years.  I always thought that separation was normal especially if work related.  Being gone for several months at a shot was the norm.  Now I hate it when I have to be gone from my loved ones for a few days on a business trip.  Shoot, I don’t like it when I have to be gone for a few hours. 

Bobby

Thanks for the love Tootsie!

For many years I was ignorant of a humane side of myself that I wouldn't bring to the surface.  I was too busy with the complexities of raising a family and placing first priority on my corporate work.  After the kids were gone I continued working tirelessly not even being aware of why I was doing this.  In short, I was in a rut and allowing my life to run in automatic.

It wasn't till Tootsie entered our life, an energetic, black miniature poodle that I started awakening to a more compassionate side of myself. As Tootsie grew older she experienced all the pains of aging.  It would bring tears to my eyes to watch her slowly limp around the house.  She still enjoyed a good game of tug of war even though she had lost many of her teeth.  Tootsie was the start of a new life for me as I became aware and sensitive to the plight of homeless dogs and cats. 

After sixteen wonderful years of life we knew it was time for Tootsie to make the journey to the rainbow bridge. This was the most agonizing decision I had ever made.  After discussing it with Mary, we arranged for a vet to come to the house as Tootsie always hated going to the vet and would shake uncontrollably.

The vet was very compassionate and took the time to make friends with Tootsie and allow us to say our final goodbyes.  As the drugs flowed into Tootsie she took one final look around and laid her head on Mary's lap and left this life for a new one.  I hope there is such a thing as the rainbow bridge where our pets that have passed on will be waiting for us when we too make that final journey.



Tootsie at her final rest



Rescue me please!

 

Everytime I look at this little pup's eyes, I think of all the homeless pets who are waiting for someone to come and rescue them and give them their furever home.