Puppy Gal Welcomes You To
Dog Tails....
Episode: The Strays Lost The "Big Girl" In The Woods
Stories About "Our Gang", English Bulldogs & Our Strays Who Came To Stay
Tuesday - March 18, 2008 5:00 PM
This morning I posted "it's time to eliminate stress" but I didn't know what
real stress was. I heard this gosh awful commotion ... strays that came to
stay and the "Ditch Puppies", now grown puppies that we pulled out of a cave in a ditch
barking like crazy. Stepping onto the back porch, I quickly retreated into the house,
as a 300-400 pound pig being chased by the 3 "strays that came to stay" jumped up on
the back porch. I then thought those crazy dogs are going to get killed, so back
outside I went. Meanwhile Bob was not in sight and not in the house. When I peeked out
the door it was standing between the comforter covered crates that are the strays dens,
face out, with it's behind up against the French doors that open into the bathroom. Between
it and me
were a crate and a small plant potting rack. Those crazy dogs were steady barking and
nipping at it. I started "barking out" "NO" so off they ran into the yard like there were
others. I had my camera close at hand so I snapped pictures of it, but my hands were
shaking so bad I'm sure they will be blurred.
Was not my pig, I don't know anyone around here who has pigs, it might be a wild pig,
cause I've heard rumors that there are some just below the Mississippi Tennessee Stateline
which isn't but a half mile or so away.
Along comes slow walkng Bob, with Peanut on a lead and Melanie close by. They had been out walking.
I screamed for him to secure Peanut and Melanie and hurry!!! He came casually walking toward the house and I hollered
"do you see that pig on the porch". At that point his pace quickened as I ordered, directed
or suggested would have been nicer words but I was ordering him to catch the "strays" which I had
backed off the huffing, puffing, slobbery mouthed pig but they were only 10 feet or so from the porch and Dumpy kept dashing in
to get in the pigs face. I'm so thankful that the "Ditch Puppies" were in a dog run or everything on the back
porch would have been destroyed by the fight that would have ensued, 6 dogs and a 300-400 pound pig!!
I snatched up the telephone and called 911, thinking I don't even have a gun to shoot the thing
if necessary. They were going to put in an emergency call to Animal Control.
I started calling everyone I could think of telling them there was a giant pig on the back porch
and asked if they knew anyone with pigs but came up
with nothing. Not long after the "strays" were put up, the pig got off the porch but wasn't going anywhere.
That is when I noticed it had a nose ring which equals domestic pig and that it was a mama pig referred to as a
sow.
What does Bob do, gets the pig some Purina Large Size Puppy Food and a bucket of water.
I look out the back door and he's sitting down on the porch not 3 feet from the pig trying to talk it into
coming to him. I opened the backdoor and asked him to please stand up in case that pig decided to bolt. I
didn't want him killed by a run away pig.
While the pig was distracted by the dog food, Bob suggested he go to some of the neighbors that we
don't know and ask if they are missing a pig. I told him if I was going to pig sit, I had to have a tiny
glass of wine to keep my knees from knocking together so hard. He wasn't gone long. The baby sitter at the house
across the road where the donkey lives said they had a mama pig and 4 piglets, Bob dashed to their
barn to find it empty. The baby sitter dashed inside to call the owners to come get the pig.
Meanwhile I'm wondering if any other person has had a giant pig pursued by 3 dogs running straight at them and then settle
in on their back porch ..... the pig owners and the sheriff deputy arrived at the same time causing the pig
to bolt. The two men with lassos went in pursuit of the pig and the sheriff's deputy remarked he had asked
the dispatcher why she wanted him to come out since he wasn't a pig catcher, she told him the Animal Control
person was out of town.
So now there are 4 white piglets out in the woods somewhere. This surely has been a Lucy Day (I love Lucy). - Judy
This pig is standing next to a 4 foot tall crate/kennel, big pig, but it surely looked bigger in real life coming at me. lol lol
Tuesday - 11/22/05 5:00 AM Those of you who have been here to visit I'm sure will remember "Big Red"... Best guess is that he is 1/2 English and 1/2 Redbone Hounddog, due to his deep hound dog bark and odd appearance. Big Red is also psychotic and my soul has been bothered beyond belief many times in regard to him.
I may have to tell Big Red three times to go to the porch, but once he does, there he'll
be regardless of how long it takes me to get there ... only God Forbid something odd
happening. Anything that is out of the ordinary sets him off being a 'wild dog'. Once I
was returning from Memphis with him in a 4x4 Bronco, I hit a bumpy, slow down strip in the
road, he jumped from the back seat into the front, maybe being protective of his 'mama',
maybe just being crazy, he attacked the gearshift from which he thought the sound was
coming and in the process knocked the transmission into reverse.Dog Gone, here I was in the middle of unbelievable traffic with a deranged dog and vehicle I couldn't get out of the middle of the road. I concluded knocking it into reverse resulted in it going into neutral, but the motor had to be turned off before it could be put in gear again. It was more than a few minutes before I figured out what to do.
Scared the dickens out of me for
sure!!! So I have had really long talks with two vets, research the internet, talked with trainers
... all data points to basically, if
an animal is not predictable or in this case actually psychotic serious consideration should be
given to "putting it down". This one fact I believe, if ever I was in trouble, Big Red would be there for me and so OK maybe it's just an excuse but I couldn't do it.... Lately I've felt so bad that he is confined 75% of the time to an outside 10x10 pen since he attacked the tires of the Meter Reader's truck and pulled the electrician off the porch by his trouser leg because he didn't heed Red's warning to stop using the drill. Big Red barked at him when he started the drill the first time and when it used it the second time, he grabbed his pant's leg, NOT his leg and started dragging the man off the porch away from the house. I arrived on the scene within moments, screamed at him and he immediately let go. He's only allowed out to run when we can be with him. I've told Bob, it just is not fair, makes me sad, the dog "ain't right" but...
Big Red is now Hen Pecked!!! Two years ago I got 6 chickens in early spring. Rhode Island Reds are
mean as the devil, stupid and messy, messy. Cutting to the chase we only have one left, female and
she is so weird. Lately, since it has turned off cold, she has decided to take up residence with Big Red. She flies out of her pen/coop
and gets into his pen with him... into his igloo. She's boss and when being fed he makes for the
food right away, she will peck his behind and make him wait for her to finish. Poor Big Red.. but
we're beginning to think he likes it. Lord help anything that tries to 'get' his chicken, so maybe
that old devil chicken is smarter than we think.
Click Here For "Attack Chicken", Her Brother
He got his feathers ruffled!!!
Tuesday - 10/18/05 Noon
You just can't reason with an old heifer that is content to be sleeping belly-up in the sun when
it's 80 degrees!! Lordy it must feel good on her old bones. I rolled her over on her side and
tried to explain it was going up to 86F, which would be TOO hot for her to be lying out so she had to come inside.
She wasn't saying a word, just laying still and trying her best to ignore me. A tug on
the lead produced no response; an assertive pull on the lead didn't even make her open her
eyes. If I didn't know her so well I would think she was dead or at least extremely sick,
but Sassy T and I have been through this many times in the past so I know exactly what she
is thinking ... humans are so hard to train!!
I've been working hard all morning; feeding & walking dogs, cleaning/scrubbing dog runs, washing and hanging up dog bedding, watering plants and pulling up a few weeds. Most of the last hour has been spent in the covered dog runs where the temperature has gotten up to 93F so I'm hot now. Sweat is running down my head and into my eyes, trickling down my tummy and I can feel my face start to get red.
That's it, Sassy T has to move and I mean now. I picked up the water hose, turned in on and let the long spray march it's way slowly toward her backend. Her hearing is failing so just to be sure I'm not unfair, I flick the hose just enough so that a few drops would touch her. This made her raise her head and look around.
With disgust she got up on her old legs and started moving slowly toward the house, just a few steps ahead of the spray of water, knowing full well she could go as slow as she wanted just so long as she kept moving. We've played this out many times before ... I love my Sassy T.
(Pictures were taken June 2002. The only difference is she's older and the puppy is grown)
Sunday - 10/16/05 6:00 AM
Dixie is so excited because he is just her size, then......
she decided she was scared!!!
Friday - 09/29/05 5:05 AM
In the middle of the night Bob heard a gosh awful racket, all the dogs inside and out were barking. He went outside to find that the "strays that came to stay" had something cornered in the woodpile. Thinking it was the chicken, who likes to take a midnight stroll, he snatched up two of the strays and put them in a dog run, low and behold then there's twice the confusion because that's where the chicken had gone when she 'flew the coop'. The two strays he put in the pen are chasing her and the other two are after the "something" in the woodpile. When Bob ran to save the chicken, the "something" took the opportunity to make a run-for-it, as he opened the dog run gate, the two strays that were after the chicken almost knocked him down, they were in such a rush to take up the pursuit of the "something". Off and into the woods it went, with the four strays hot on it's trail.
Bob reached down, scratched the chicken's back so she'd let him pick her up and return her to her coop. When I asked what the "something" was, he just looked at me and said, it's dark out there.
Saturday - 08/13/05 5:30 PM
Just so happened I had my camera in hand as I was taking pictures of blooms while out with Miss Bessie on a potty break. Poor Mr Cat wasn't doing anything but taking his afternoon nap, when Bessie spotted him. They are so funny together that I started taking pictures of their interaction. I hope the pictures make you smile!!! - Judy
Bessie Smith & Mr Cat
For larger versions of the pictures, Enter Here!!
When dear sweet Angel was alive, she would bring home dogs who were homeless.
Since she passed away Fluffy has been the Queen Bee and has run off every animal who came
near the property. So I wonder what sad,sad story this one told her.He thinks he belongs here.....
He greets us with the utmost affection just like we had raised him from a pup. We've
started calling him NODog, for New Orleans Dog cause he's a disaster as you can see in the
pictures. He has skin issues, click for a larger version of the picture and you can see
around his eyes hair is missing, his right leg appears to have been damaged at a point in
time, probably broken since it isn't straight. There is no telling what disease he could
be carrying, etc. Every time he greets me I tell him, "you're not my dog", but he doesn't
seem to understand my meaning.He's found a place where there's plenty of food and shelter from the storms. Shots, neutering, physical, testing for disease will probably cost us $150-$200. It's tempting to take him 5 miles on down the road but... he'll probably do like Boomer (Boomerang) did and find his way back, to what he now considers, 'home'.
Meanwhile we're posting his picture at the local country store just in case someone lost him. With a deep sigh, we have to admit here is always the possibility that he'll be another Angel. We've been thinking about the name "Ernie".
Monday - 09/26/05 11:00 AM (revised 4:30)
Ernie is still here, although he got a swat and one of my infamous 'demon from Hades' screams which originates in my toes and bellows forth, because he almost knocked me down the other day as I walked out the back door with Dixie Pie in my arms. He kept jumping up on me wanted to smell her or whatever, causing me to lose my balance, with my gimpy leg/foot it's hard to recover. It was the only thing I could do to back him off, since he wouldn't listen to me when I yelled "No" several times. He now listens when I tell him "No" and respects the fact that when we are coming out of the backdoor we are to be left alone and he is not to come in.
It's really sad how many dogs end up being tossed out alongside a road or otherwise abandoned because no one took the time to train them or just plain didn't know how to train them. My 'demon scream' sure worked wonders with Ernie. Maybe I should give a training course on How To Do A Demon From Hades Scream & When To Use It. I wonder if it would work with teenagers?
During all the craziness of getting ready for Tropical Storm Katrina and her actually hitting our house, Kate hurt her right back leg. We noticed it when she returned from her potty break the next morning. Bob had let her out, but when I asked he said he didn't remember her limping. We could only assume that either she got so
distressed during Katrina that she hurt her leg (she hates storms and will give at least a 10 minute warning
when one is coming), or one of the many things which had been
blown over, around or down, might have cause her to trip/fall when she was outside, or something was teetering and
actually fell on her while she was out. We came to the conclusion after an examination that it wasn't serious
as nothing appeared to out of place, etc. We decided treatment should be crate rest and
confine her activities to potty breaks only, for a few days but if her condition didn't
improve to take her in for Dr Frank to examine. So here Kate is limping and I have a bad
shoulder because I did a spread-eagle fall into the kiddy pool full of puppies, same treatment for both.
She would go out to potty, walking then resting in early morning sun to which I could certainly relate. On Sunday morning, I'm a weepy mess so Bob was being the main caregiver. I noticed Kate had been out longer than normal but I didn't see her laying around out in the sun... she was gone, impossible but true.
We called and called to her. We looked under the house, in the covered dog runs, under the
vehicles, until we had covered the full 2 acres. Kate was not to be found. By this time I'm
totally exhausted and Bob had to get the other Bullies inside out of the sun. Suddenly, he
notice that the "strays that came to stay" were up on the porch being too quiet, laying low and when we called
to them they just moved their eyes. Then we knew what they were thinking... Dang we're in
trouble, again!! 
We felt sure she had followed them off on one of their morning runs down the drive onto
one of the many paths leading into the woods, down by the pond, over into the neighbor's
pasture...
but the gimpy leg prevented her being able to keep up. I told them they better get
out there, find her and bring her home... their heads seemed to sink lower into the
porch floor and their eyes darted any place other than to look at me. They were
guilty for sure.
At times like this I wish we had a 4 wheeler so we would not have to do so much walking.
I got out my whistle, we sprayed down with "Off" and set out on foot trying to find her. After
45 minutes hot and really tired, we returned to the house without Kate. All the while those strays
had maintained their same position on the back porch, very odd behavior for them, normally they
would have been underfoot. Having noticed this, I started in scolding them, to go find her, but
they didn't seem to understand, or maybe they understood more than I did, for about that time, I
see Kate limping up the dog trail which cuts off across the side-yard from the drive. She would walk
perhaps 5 feet then stop to rest her leg. Poor Baby, but there is no way I can pick her up and Bob
had gone down to the pond for one last look. About then the "strays" spotted her and took off
running to where she was, bouncing around, smelling her nose and behind to see where she had been. You could feel
their relief, that she had finally made it home ... they knew they were about to be in the
biggest trouble ever, for having lost the "Big Girl".Up and going at 4:30 AM, I had fed and walked dogs, fed the cats and was busy getting puppy food ready at 5:00 AM, when I heard a vehicle horn blowing anxiously. Fear immediately engulfed me. Thoughts of it being one of my parents in emergency situation made the hair stand up on my arms. I flipped on the back porch light to signal to whoever was in such great need that I was aware that they were there and on my way. The horn stop! Looking out the back window, I was unable to see vehicles other than our own. Then I realized that it sounded just like my van horn and since there were no other vehicles, it had to be.
Of course, someone was stranded with car trouble and seeing all the lights at our house had come for assistance and Angel, My Guardian Angel, had gotten after them so they had jumped into the safety of my van. Or maybe it was someone with evil intent. I ran into the bedroom and told Bob to wake up and put on some clothes because someone was in my van blowing the horn. I ran back to the backdoor of the house. I looked out and noticed Angel and Boomerang, by the van driver's door. The hair was not standing up on her back like it does when she's "after something". I then decided, whoever was in the van was afraid of the dogs so I called them to me and together we walked back out to the van. Sitting in the driver's seat was "someone's throw away cat" who lives under the porch but will not allow anyone to get within 5 ft of him. Then I noticed a moth on the windshield. The cat had evidently been jumping on the steering wheel (horn) attempting to catch the moth. Bob arrived, adrenaline pumping, just in time to see the cat (Mr Cat) bolt from the car.
We made a quick run into town to rent a floor sander and get supplies to finish the floor once sanded. Bob was coming out of Lowe's with our purchase when he saw a woman walking across the parking lot with a turkey carcass in an aluminum foil roasting pan. He said he knew it was me, before he ever saw my face. He went on to say, if he had been inside and someone had said there goes a woman with a turkey carcass he would have bet good money on it being me. He's really just thankful, I don't go to all the tables asking for their leftovers when we go out to eat. Bless his heart, it took him the longest time to get over being embarrassed by me getting a "doggie bag".
I had spotted some items on sale when we went into the store and while he was checking out I went to investigate. On the way back to meet him, I saw they were closing up the area where they had "deep fried" a turkey and had given out samples, hoping to get people to buy a "Turkey Fryer". I asked the young man, what he was going to do with the carcass and he said throw it away. So I told him to give it to me for my Bullies, I could simmer it in a big pot and make turkey gravy for them. Hence I was walking across the parking lot with the carcass, getting lots of remarks from people as I passed, mostly encouraging, except one elderly man who asked "Did it fill ya up?". To this I replied, "I was awful hungry and there's not much left or I'd offer you some". Everyone around was laughing. Who would have thought you could get so much laughter and interaction with strangers, not to mention gravy, out of an ole turkey carcass!!!!
The "strays that came to stay" smelled that carcass before I even got the van door open, but they had to wait until morning for gravy over their food.
I let our pregnant English Bulldog out the back door to potty. After she took care of her business being afraid she might go under the porch, I walked out and dropped a lead over her head so she would know I was in control... I was for maybe a minute; until I almost stepped on the end of a snake's tail, laying out from the van parked just about 5 feet from the backdoor.
I rushed in to get Bob to come kill it and I should have known better. He grabbed my
bamboo cane and I told him "NO" here's a hoe. We returned to find the snake and our cat
asleep under the van not a foot apart, plus not five feet away, our three yard-dogs were
scattered out taking their afternoon naps. What did Bob do, looked at the snake and pronounced it a harmless Rat Snake and was trying to move him back to the woods when the snake slipped the hoe and slithered swiftly into my tiny garden patch.
Bob and I then had a "conversation" about said snake being harmless (he also once said a copperhead was harmless!!), to which I countered, do you call scaring me to death harmless!!!! I'm willing to take in another dog but not a stray snake ... sleeping in the yard with the other "strays that came to stay", just like it belonged here!!
A few days later, I either started being realistic (or I had fallen off the edge can't settle on which) I decided if the cats and yard-dogs had truly accepted the snake, then it could be beneficial to have him as one of "our gang". The gopher or whatever it was is no longer eating my plants so it could be that Mr. Snake had it for a meal. Further rationalization dictates, I'll just have to get use to seeing him so I won't be startled ... surely I was not saying this!!!!
A week passed without a sign of the snake. One afternoon, I took a bowl of chicken & rice out for the yard-dogs and as I entered the house, I turned back to see if they were eating it, there it was slithering not 8 inches from the bowl, he came when I called the dogs!!!!
Boomer, a Beagle mix, had turned to follow me, but Slim's movement caught his attention so he started back ... not like he was on a hunt, but just to tell Slim the food was his. I told Boomer "no" and he made no further attempt to go back. My yard-dogs are hunting dogs, which kill snakes!! I couldn't believe Fluffy, a 14 lb Spitz and Boomer are 18 inches from Slim, had sniffed the air therefore know he is there and aren't trying to kill him. I began to wonder if I lost my mind … this snake thought he was a dog.
For just about 2 months, all went well with "our gang" and the newest member who we had started calling Slim Jim Tucker. It was a nice fall day and I had the door open going in and out doing chores, then I happened upon him in the living room curled up asleep under a heat lamp set up to dry out some wood, so ended my patience with Slim Jim. It's one thing for him to curl up with the yard-dogs and cats outside, but he wasn't going to be allowed in the house. I got out the hoe. Bob heard the commotion and got there just in time to save him. He tells me he took him miles down the road and turned him out in a field.
This is the story of my "Angel"
Warning: It is a Tear Jerker
Date: 8/9/99 (Also the date of the pictures)
A few months ago, I found a female shepherd mix down by our pond and it was evident that
someone had dropped her off and drowned her pups. It took me four days to get her to trust
me enough to come up to the house. We named her Angel -- short for Guardian Angel. She won
our hearts by following me everywhere. When I leave in my van, she follows me to the end
of the drive and waits, no matter how long, until I return. It's reassuring late at night,
in our isolated country setting, to see the shine of those "Angel Eyes" waiting for me. Angel went in for her "spaying" and when I went to pick her up 24 hours later the Vet would not release her because she had not recovered as expected. I drove the 30 miles home with an occasional tear falling down my cheek. On the second day after her operation, I brought her home but it was obvious to me that she had either been in a fight or had really hurt herself attempting to escape, her back right hind quarter had 3 lacerations.
At 4:00 AM the next morning she woke me up with a "help me" bark. I got up turned on all
the lights and began calling her. She finally appeared and I tried to get her to come into
the house but she would not. Although she loves and protects me, she didn't trust me
enough to be confined. Again, I screamed like a crazy woman at the stray male dog that I
could only assume was bothering her. Unable to get the 70-pound dog in the van, I went to
the Vets and obtained medication and instructions on treating her. The following day the Angel's leg was badly swollen and she was having a great difficulty walking. Yet when I made my daily trip to my Mother's, she was down at the bottom of the drive to meet me when I returned. She had to drag herself the 100 yards back to the house. I used the porch swing cushion to make her a bed on the back porch and hand fed her. After her tremendous effort to continue to be the Guardian Angel, she was having trouble standing to eat.
Bob was working in Nashville during the week coming home for the weekends. Saturday morning he removed the bandages. We were both afraid she was going to die or at minimum loose her leg. He loaded her in the van for the trip to the Vet's. [Note: It was actually a rare allergic reaction to the medication used during the operation.]
When Angel died the later part of 2003, with her she took a piece of my heart, tears are rolling as I post this story. The reason I post it is to make the point :
Animals, like people, need an environment that allows them to be wonderful!
Angle was someone's "throw away but priceless to me".
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