Other Rescued Pets in the Family

Where are those darn birds anyway?

All of the cats and dogs in our home are rescued from someplace. I came from the animal shelter. Leo came from a litter of pups being given away. Fat Max was thrown from a car into a ditch and still has a broken tail after that traumatic experience. Tatem the cat was in a box at the supermarket and Lucy was abandoned in icy January weather as a kitten.

These are just the group that make up our family at present. In the past there were other various cats and dogs, given a good home after being tossed away by someone else. One cat, Tommy, was rescued from a median on a super busy highway . He wouldn't have lasted long out there, I can tell you. Charlie was left in a house near us in Oregon when his owners moved away and on and on.

Tater - Waiting to Pounce on the Unsuspecting

We might not have started out int he best of circumstances but we're a happy group now - well all except Tatem, AKA Tater, who has been in perpetually bad humor for the past 14 years!

Lazy Cats

Fat Max - Need I say more?

Leo and I, being the dogs in the family, naturally rule the roost, no matter what the cats think about it. Lucy, the newest member of our little tribe, sleeps in  he window most days, helping me guard the house. She also loves to play hide and seek on the stairs for some reason.

Lucy playing and seek

Lucy was originally rescued by Joan and Ted's daughter but her husband is allergic to cats and Lucy was pretty much forced to spend the winter outside. So, of course, Joan brought Lucy over here to live, on a "trial basis" which turned out to be permanent. Lucy didn't care for the other cats at first and they really didn't like her but now we only have the occasional cat skirmish- Leo and I stir clear of that!

Overall, life is pretty exciting at Joan and Ted's house - at least we try to keep it hopping!

Molly's Dog Blog - A Full Day in My Life

This is me - keeping watch and protecting the family.

Since I'm part Australian Shepard, I need a job to do and living with Joan and Ted, I have quite a few important jobs to take care of during the day. They're lucky to have me around, I can tell you that.

One of my main jobs is protecting Joan from various delivery men who come to the door during the day and all the people and dogs who walk by our house. I sit in the window quite a bit of the day and keep watch. If someone goes by, or a delivery truck stops, I set off the alarm, which is greatly appreciated, I know.

I'm a terrific guard dog - unless the vacuum cleaner comes out. If I see that noisy monster, all bets are off - I have to abandon my post. Or if it looks like bath time - I hate that! When I see the dog towels, I know immediately what's up and I try to hide out under the bed. This never did much good, but I keep trying.

Another job I have is keeping Joan company and keeping watch while she works at the computer all day. I might take a little snooze now and then but if she gets up to go downstairs, I'm right behind her in a flash. She might be going to the kitchen to get me a treat!

I have to be in the lead when we walk.

We have some other important events on our daily calendar too. Eating breakfast and going for our morning walk - which is at the park if we're lucky! When it's cooler, we go for a walk in the evening too and Ted comes. In this 105 degree heat, though, we've been skipping the evening walk. I wouldn't mind going in the heat but Leo can't make it very far.

Somewhere during the day, Leo and I have to fit in our regular 5 or 6 naps too.

Leo and I love evenings when Ted and Joan sit down to watch TV. Ted always gives us belly rubs and Leo and I take turns sitting by his chair. That Leo! When she thinks it's her turn, she just barges in and pushes me out of arms reach.

Here's me enjoying my nightly belly rub!

Every evening too, we have to let Joan know when 8 o'clock comes - we always know exactly what time it is, I can tell you. At 8 o'clock, Joan takes us outside to go potty for the last time at night and we get a treat that's good for our teeth when we come in. We could go out alone anytime - we do have a pet door - but hey, we have our routines and we need Joan to go so she can give us the treat afterward!

Leo's undignified when she gets her belly rub

Pretty soon it's bedtime. I'm the first dog Ted has ever let sleep in the bed but I hate sleeping with people. Due to my animal shelter "issues" I like my own space. I lay on the bed until Ted gets in, then I retire to my own. That is, if Leo hasn't messed it up. She loves to push her nose into my dog blankets and mess up my bed. She doesn't do it to her own bed, mind you, just mine. Probably due to some "issues" of her own.

All ready for a much needed night's sleep.

We all need a good nights sleep as morning comes very early and we get up and do it all again.

It's sure a dog's life!

Coming Home From the Shelter

Leo getting the best of me!

When I first came to my new home from the county shelter, I didn't know what to think. Suddenly there were humans hugging me all the time (I wasn't sure I liked it yet) and two rather large dogs who sometimes played with me and sometimes seemed to think I should leave.

When I first met my new dad, he thought I should leave too but I soon grew on him. Even though he was a little cool at first, the next thing I knew he was out buying me toys and a new bed!

My first playmates in my new home were Charlie and Leo. Charlie was really big but he was nice. I still miss ol Charlie. He died after we moved to Texas, being an old guy at the time but he was adopted like me so he had a great home while he was in the family.

Leo is still my buddy, although she's getting older too now. She liked to play with me right from the start.

Leo, me and Charlie

I came to live with my new family in August, just after the last human child had gone off to college. My mom always says I replaced the youngest child and became the new baby. One thing I've learned is that if your parents don't have any human kids around, you get to be spoiled. 

Tired at the end of the day

One of the first things I had to do was go to puppy classes so I could learn to be obedient (who needs that, I thought!) I learned a lot there but I sure didn't like those other puppies. They tried to invade my space over and over again so I had to growl at them. The teacher said that some dogs like more space than others so if I didn't want to love those cute little runts, I didn't have to.

Learn more about puppy training and how important it is to get off to a good start with this book PuppyPerfect: The user-friendly guide to puppy parenting (Howell Dog Book of Distinction)

A Dog's Tail - Life Behind Bars

Me Behind Bars at the Animal Shelter

Yes, that's me, alone and lonely in the animal shelter. Pathetic isn't it? When they talk about a dog's life, I don't think this is what they meant!

When I started my life's journey, I had 5 brothers and sisters. I guess my doggie mother never got spayed so when she had puppies, her parents couldn't keep all of us so they took us to the county shelter, hoping a nice family would take us.

Me and my siblings were two months old when we went to the county shelter in Southern Oregon. That was already one strike against us. Most people want tiny puppies and the older we got, the less anyone wanted us. Every day we sat on the cold concrete floor, watching people come through, looking us over but choosing other dogs.

The noise was terrible in there. Every time a human walked by, all the dogs barked very loudly for attention. I also had to fight 5 greedy brothers and sisters for the food we got-which wasn't great as it was, but hey, it was better than starving.

Me with some of my Siblings - We don't look much alike do we?

One by one, though my siblings all got adopted.

What was wrong with me, anyway! Couldn't they see my potential as a brave watchdog and faithful companion? Of course, there was that little wall eyed thing I had going on, but surely someone could see the beautiful dog behind that one eye that looked off to the side.

As luck would have it, my future mother was watching my siblings and I, sitting in that cold, lonely kennel. She came to the shelter each week to volunteer, walking the dogs and taking photos to put them on a website, helping lots of us to get adopted.

I didn't know it then, but my time was getting short. Every Friday, a guy came to sent some of us off to the "big sleep." Whenever there were too many puppies, or if dogs had been there too long with potential pet parents passing them by, their name made the black list and off they went. It was pitiful. Their tails wagged all the way to the death house since they didn't know what was in store.

Me in my new home - Dig the fancy collar!

Before I had to take that walk, my future mom got me out of the kennel one day and took me into the office. She held me on her lap and petted me while she talked to some of the workers at the Shelter. Was she going to take me home with her? I could tell she wanted a snuggler so I snuggled for all I was worth.

I heard her say that her husband didn't want any more dogs! There were already two at home. But maybe she could take me home just for a weekend so that I could get some time with a real family (and maybe her husband and the other two dogs would fall in love with me in the process!)

Well, I lucked out and that was the first day of my new life. That day had started out just like any other, cooped up in a cold kennel alone in the county animal shelter and longing for a family. But it ended up with me ADOPTED and RESCUED by the nicest family in the world.

By the way, I totally outgrew the eye thing - Had to throw that in.