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Topics - smsmith

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1
I read GR8DAME's account of the clients who showed up for a meeting leaving their golden retriever in the black SUV during 90+ degree sunny day.  I am so proud of you!!!!

Now, I need some choice lines to share with two annoying and pet-endangering people.

1)  My Landlord.  He INSISTS on bringing his pups with him to our property (5 tenants).  Three of us have dogs who only go outside on a leash or in a fenced-in backyard.  Landlord brings his lab-mix and Pomeranian -- gets busy nailing, painting, or other repair, and lets pups run all over the neighborhood.  About a year ago, he had another pomeranian -- went to another property, did the same thing -- opened the doors and let puppies run all over.  Pomeranian was hit by a car.  Did he learn anything from that experience?  No.  Death by Landlord if you ask me.  I'd love to be able to say something that might penetrate his thick skull.  Believe me, having money does not guarantee you have common sense!

2)  My insane neighbor across the street with 4 dachsunds.  Forget about the two million times I've heard her yell at them to stop barking (I've heard that the definition of insanity is doing some behaviour over and over again expecting a different result).  Forget about the way she walks to and from her car in nothing but a short terry bathrobe (the woman's at least 60).  Forget about how she takes her dogs for walks at 12 or 1 am (she works the 3-11 shift).  THIS WOMAN DOES NOT LOCK HER FRONT DOOR.  We live in the inner loop area of Houston.  In the Heights.  Not the kind of neighborhood you leave something of value on the front porch -- let along leave the front door unlocked!  Somehow 2 of the dachsunds got out the other day while she was at work.  Sat in their driveway barking at any one who walked by.  After dark, I walked across the street (despite the growling, snarling and raised hackles) opened the front door and let them back in.  What can I say to her to make her understand once and for all that she needs to lock her door, put her dogs on leashes when they go out, and work on not yelling all those germanic names at the top of her lungs when they do exactly what she's taught them to do?

2
I'm sorry, but whoever listed this pup as a South Russian Ovcharka must be high on something. . .  Surely they were reaching for the Small Terrier button and accidentally hit the GIANT white dog button instead.

Jeez.  I got so excited -- thought maybe another Einstein WAS out there some where.

Walter Cronkite
Dog

  The Milo Foundation
Berkeley, CA
(510) 527-PETS
milo@pacific.net

 
 
South Russian Ovtcharka,Terrier Mix

Size: Small
Age: Adult
Sex: Male
ID: 6377
 
Notes: Walter is living up at the Milo Sanctuary. Little Napoleonic red devil - though he is actually very sweet! He loves people and attention - walks well on a leash though his leash manners with any assertive males that come his way won't be 100% lovely - however he weighs less than 20 pounds and is easily controlled. A yard, a playmate, a walk, affection and some lap time is what they want! Racing around, possibly playing ball . . . . best suited for a home without children under eight years age. Birthday: 2/2002 (est)

 

3
Came across this sweetheart -- wanted to get your input.  Anyone want to venture a guess as to her pedigree?  They always put "Pyrenees" when a big dog has long white hair.



Mattie
Dog

Georgetown Animal Outreach
Georgetown, TX
512-863-6006
txcodigirl@gmail.com

  Briard,Great Pyrenees Mix

Size: Large
Age: Young
Sex: Female
ID:
 
Notes: Mattie is indeed one of a kind, really something else -- yes, that's a briard or sheepdog or a wolfhound head, and indeed we see the great pyrennes (briard again?) looking toes on the back feet, it might be an anatolian shepherd tail -- who really knows, and who cares. Maybe a "briahound" - a new designer breed! She's a beautiful white dog with a loving, unique face. Mattie had a really rough go of it. She was living all on her own, surviving under bad conditions, until a kind person finally convinced her to trust him. Luckily he works at a vet clinic, so took her in and transformed her from a matted (thus the name), thin, lonely girl to a beautiful, healthy dog ready for her new home. She had heartworms (those have been treated -- hooray!), needed to be spayed (now she is, another hooray), and was so skinny. Her coat was a mess, so all was shaved but the fabulous face. Mattie is a bit scared of other dogs, so will probably do best in a home as an 'only dog'. She's calm, walks nicely on a leash, and just wants to be with people. If you could provide this unique girl with the loving she deserves (after such a long wait), we'd love to introduce her to you.

 
This pet is up to date with routine shots.
This pet has been altered.


 

4
For several weeks, Einstein had sporadically started barking in the middle of the night (usually just about the time I had drifted off again).  Finally, it occurred to me one night about 2 am, that he HATES water!  I went to the kitchen, grabbed a measuring cup and filled it up.  I went to the front door (where he stands guard against the cats parading by at all hours) -- told him to stop barking (which he ignored) -- then tossed the water on him.  HE WAS SURPRISED!  He tried shaking it off -- then became very submissive. 

Best of all -- he didn't bark anymore that night.  Or the next night.  I was beginning to think I'd taken all the spunk out of him, but occasionally he'll start barking at odd things happening in the neighborhood.  When I tell him to stop, HE STOPS.  I keep the measuring cup on the front porch -- couple of times I've had to grab it to remind him. 

It also works when he's out in the front yard and I'm ready for him to come in the house.  If he balks, all I have to do is show him the measuring cup and he comes running.

I wouldn't ordinarily have resorted to threats, but that bark of his would wake the dead -- specially  when it's completely quiet in the house.  I don't want to reinforce his fear of water either, but I haven't had to actually get water on him again. 

His new attitude toward discipline has greatly improved my life -- and consequently his.  He even moves when I'm trying to get in and out the door. 

I wonder if could start marketing water as a miracle cure for recalcitrant dogs.  :)

5
Discussions & Information on Grooming / Double coats and shaving
« on: July 14, 2006, 08:43:48 am »
The other night I was watching the dog show on Animal Planet.  One of the judges was talking about double-coated dogs and why you shouldn't shave them because the outer coat of hair helps them regulate their temperature. 

I've kept Einstein shaved since early Spring, but lately I'm noticing he pants a LOT, even in the house (I keep it at about 78 degrees during the day).

Has anyone ever heard of any research done about this?  Should I let his coat grow out so he can stay cooler?


6
Meet & Greet BPOers / Texas get together?
« on: June 07, 2006, 07:55:33 am »
Anyone interested in talking about a Texas-Louisiana area get together in the fall?

I'm in Houston so a get-together in Oklahoma or New Mexico is quite an undertaking.  Are there very many of us in this area?

7
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / News that makes you HAPPY!
« on: June 06, 2006, 12:33:57 pm »
Found this article today in the Houston Chronicle.  Makes up for a lot of our frustrations about people who don't care about animals.  I wish I could put the photo of his dog on here -- a beautiful mastiff.


Houston real estate tycoon Bernard Aptaker gives money to SPCA
Philanthropic deeds are his pet projects


By ALLAN TURNER
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Money can do many things. It can buy a palatial home, furnish it with French antiques and marble statuary, put fountains in the yard and a Rolls-Royce in the drive. But it can't buy you the love of a good dog.
Houston real estate tycoon Bernard Aptaker, a millionaire many times over, knows that well.

Since arriving in New York almost six decades ago, Aptaker — struggling to overcome the trauma of years spent in a series of Nazi concentration camps — relentlessly worked his way to riches. From his first job as a deli hand, through stints as a dance instructor to dizzying peaks in the Houston apartment business, Aptaker never forgot the value of a dollar.

Now, at age 80, Aptaker is giving much of his wealth away. And first on his list of beneficiaries are homeless horses, down-on-their-luck cows and other large abandoned or abused animals in need of a little comfort.

For Aptaker, a lifelong bachelor soured on humanity by his wartime experiences, the late-life gift is an opportunity to do something special for animals, some of whom have been among his best friends.

Houston's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recently announced that the businessman had given the group 60 acres near George Bush Intercontinent al Airport for creation of the Freedom Farm refuge. Basic infrastructure work has begun at the site, and the group soon plans to launch a capital campaign to build barns, corrals and other support structures.

"We were pretty jam-packed around here," SPCA executive director Patricia Mercer said of the group's Portway Street shelter complex. That five-acre site, home to the organization since 1994, at present houses 35 horses as well as chickens, pigs and hundreds of cats, dogs and rabbits.

As many as 1,000 horses may be housed at Freedom Farm, which, when completed, also will provide facilities for long-term care of orphaned pets, a caretaker's cottage and meeting areas for animal-oriented youth camps.

"This," Mercer said, "is a dream come true."

Aptaker, who also has established a foundation to promote understanding among ethnic and religious groups, vowed that his first gift will be followed by "many more."

"I love every kind of animal," Aptaker said. "It's the opposite of my experience with people. My experience with people was so horrible."


Some in family gassed
Born in the largely Jewish village of Zakrzowek, not far from Lublin, Aptaker was only 13 when the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939. His mother, Sarah, and brother, Moshe, died in Nazi gas chambers. Aptaker, his father, Murray and another brother, Stanley, were interned in the Budzin, Wieliczka, Flossenburg and, finally, Dachau concentration camps.

Aptaker clearly recalls the arrival of German troops and their Polish collaborators at the family home.

"They knocked on all the doors and took people away," he said. "They took away all the people who could lead or spark an uprising. The police, the mayor — they took them to the forest and executed them. ... Two German soldiers came and knocked on our door, and with them were three Polish firemen — they were showing the Germans where the Jews lived.

"I had a small dog, and she had three puppies. The dog barked at them and grew more agitated. The little dog tried to defend me. A German finally pulled his Luger and shot it. The Polish firemen — they wanted to kiss up — they stomped the puppies. They kicked me and then left. My father was not at home."

Later, in the Budzin concentration camp, Aptaker's father, a Polish veteran of World War I who had supported his family by dealing in groceries, was forced to watch helplessly as a guard beat his son with a lead-filled whip.

"I stood at attention and the guard said in German that he'd get me dirty, a dirty Jew," Aptaker recalled. "He gave me a good lashing. Blood was running. I still have a little bit of scars. My father stood right in front, hateful tears coming out of his eyes."

Aptaker said the experience was key to his decision not to father children.

"I could not see giving life to children after I witnessed the torture my father was forced to endure as he saw me flogged."

As German fortunes waned in the spring of 1945, roughly 17,000 inmates of Flossenburg, including Aptaker and his father and brother, were marched 50 miles to Dachau.

"The guards were sadists," he said. "They must have been taken out of jails to be guards. Seventeen thousand started out; only 400 arrived. It was a horror walking in April. The nights were cold. The days were hot. People were drinking runoff from barns. Every few minutes you could hear the machine-gun fire. We were walking corpses."

The Aptakers were freed as U.S. forces liberated Dachau in April 1945.

For two years, Aptaker worked with U.S. intelligence units in Europe to capture German war criminals. He moved to New York City in 1947; his first job was as a deli worker.

Before buying his first Houston apartments in 1974, he worked as a dance instructor, operated dance studios in California and traded in precious African gems.

Based in Houston, his RCA Holdings Ltd. owned apartments and properties throughout the Southwest. Aptaker, whose Houston holdings alone approached $100 million, began curbing his activities two years ago after a triple heart bypass.

"I'm 80 years and five months," he said. "But I'm really 150. I look complete, but I'm really bionic. I've had a heart bypass, a hip replacement, shoulder operation, back operation, prostate cancer and I need a knee operation. I'm a survivor. I've conquered everything, even the German war machine."


Nationwide plan for pets
Initially, Aptaker hoped to create a center for the care of the pets of U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq.

"I was moved that a lot of Americans sent off to Iraq had major problems with what to do with their pets," Aptaker said. "My main idea was that it would be nationwide, and that I'd help with the money to set up places to keep their pets near their homes."

Medical and business problems stalled the effort.

Earlier this year, Aptaker began negotiations with the SPCA to create the Freedom Farm. And although the refuge's mission differs from his original vision, Aptaker said he believes the complex, which will include a monument to his parents, will provide desperately needed help for abused or abandoned animals.

"I needed to do something interesting and meaningful to me," Aptaker said, "and to me, this will do a lot of good. America has been so wonderful to me."

allan.turner@chron.com


8
Found this on the internet today:

Congress Considers Pets in Bill
Wade Phillips


A bill pending in Congress may mean more pets will be evacuating with their owners the next time a hurricane bears down on the Gulf Coast.

The Lauderdale County Animal Shelter stays packed with dogs and cats and gets a little more crowded every time a hurricane threatens the Gulf Coast. Many pet owners bring their animals north to escape the storm. This year it may be even worse.

"I've been told we may be a location for a lot more animals if we have another hurricane," said Dewayne Sosebee.

One of the reasons may be a bill in Congress that could force states and cities to factor in pets in their hurricane evacuation plans. That means trying to find a place for them to go when their owners leave.

Pets are not allowed in Red Cross shelters, though officials with the Red Cross say they've worked with owners in the past to try to find a place for them. They say this new bill would make that work even harder.

"I think we need to get with the Humane Society and veterinarians and come up with a plan for what we're going to do," said Gordon Stewart of the American red Cross Key Chapter.

Sosebee and other animal control officials statewide are already working on that plan. It will likely include extra cages being provided by the state for the local shelter and a portable shelter in a trailer recently purchased by the state.

"Most everyone I know that deals with this is working on it right now. It's something that's new for us," said Sosebee.


I don't know what I would do if I was forced to leave Einstein behind.



9
Great Dane Discussions / Boston Great Dane
« on: May 24, 2006, 12:39:40 pm »
Hey.  Found this unusual Boston Great Dane on Petfinders -- just in case anyone out there has always dreamed of having a dane with a "mantle."  I didn't know there WAS such a thing.  Is there?

10
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Feigning Sound Asleep
« on: May 24, 2006, 09:33:49 am »
I borrowed this from the couch puppy thread:

Shamus has a chair but if anyone is in it he is fine in the floor or another spot. But heaven forbid you get up he will wake out of a dead sleep to take his chair back.lol

Einstein can seem to be dead asleep, too, but if I get up and leave the room, he's up and sniffing around any iced tea or leftover plates on the side table.  He's been known to eat a cupcake wrapper (the accordion paper kind) in 2 seconds flat. 

11
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Heavy Breathing
« on: May 24, 2006, 08:34:16 am »
Okay, I don't know if this is a "symptom" or if it's just how Einstein is. 

When he's stressed, he pants really heavy.  Like during a thunder storm.  This morning he was stressed (do you think he has figured out that every other Wednesday he goes to the vet for a bath?).  I let him out on the front porch and he was panting as though he'd just run the mile in 60 seconds.  Then he started barking.  Well, if he barks too much while he's out there, I make him come in.  When he came in, he walked around the living room and barked some more.

I don't know -- if only he could talk!  I know he's trying to tell me something, I just can't figure it out.

So, he's at the vet today getting his bath, and I asked for the vet to see him -- just to see if anything's wrong.

And what's the rule about noses?  They should be wet?  I think his looked a little dry this morning.

Nervous Nelly here. 

12
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Open the d** door, Mama
« on: May 17, 2006, 09:02:20 am »
Other night -- I'm sitting in the living room watching t.v.  Einstein walks in and I hear a thump -- I look and he's brought me a book from my bedside table.  The doors to my backyard are next to my bed.  At first, I'm all "bad dog, don't touch my books!"  Then, when I take the book back, he follows me and is furiously wagging his tail at the door.

He wanted to get my attention (and for some reason didn't feel compelled to bark out his desire) so he brought me a copy of "Man's Search for Meaning" instead.

13
Okay, had to do it.  I remember buying all those things they talk about in the "were you a little girl in the 70's" so I thought I'd start this up.  I may be all alone here.  I was born in '56, so I was about 7 or 8 years old when Beatlemania hit.

I remember:  Elvis (my Mom and her friends going crazy for him); the Beatles on Ed Sullivan; Chatty Cathy and Tiny Tears.  We'd never even HEARD of SPF's.  My family had a black & white tv we watched Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton, Mitch Miller, Gunsmoke and Perry Mason.  My neighbor had a color tv so when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, we all went to their house.  Go-go boots.  mood rings.  Clutch Cargo.  Captain Kangaroo.

Anybody else?

14
Attention all BPO'ers.  Please take a minute tonight at 8:00 pm central standard time, to light a candle, sit in silence and say a prayer for Tracy Tribble and her family and friends. 

As you've probably read, Tracy's been missing from her home in Council Bluffs.  Our fellow BPO'er jjfritsche (Jeanne) is her good friend.


15
South Russian Ovcharka Discussion & Pictures / Catching flies
« on: May 09, 2006, 03:43:58 am »
Last night there was a fly buzzing around in my bedroom.  Einstein was on the floor next my bed and I was sitting up with a magazine ready to swat that stupid fly.  The fly would buzz around the light, the drapes, then down towards Einstein.  He would try to catch it in his mouth.  It was hilarious.  He made this loud smacking sound every time he did it.  It was like we were on a stake-out together.  I would swat at it and then Einstein would put his head down, like "well looks like you got him!" then the fly would recover and start buzzing again.  So he'd sit up and wait for a chance to bite at it again.

What a sweet fly-catcher!

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