Support Your Local Sheltie!

Hey Guys! I'm participating in the Tail Waggin' Trail Walk on September 15, its a walk to benefit the shelter animals of Queen Anne's County, Maryland. It's a 2.5 mile walk along the Cross-Island trail that starts at 8 a.m.

If you are in the Maryland area and are interested in coming let me know and I'll get you the sign up info... all donations go to support Adopt-A-Pet, Inc which is dedicated to increasing adoptions at the Queen Anne's County shelter, providing funds for emergency vet care for the shelter animals, providing special supplies needed to care for the animals there. It's a great cause, my family has adopted quite a few of our pets from this shelter.

If you can't make the walk and want to sponsor me, you can do that too!! Just let me know and we'll get you signed up!

You can view a list of Queen Anne's County's adoptable pets @ http://west.petfinder.com/shelters/MD81.html

I'll be walking in memory of my brother Bo, Mommy adopted him from this shelter back in 1996, he crossed Rainbow Bridge in 2002, I never got to meet him but I know he was an AWESOME dog and I want to raise money so more dogs like him can find their forever homes...

Another Whitehaven post! This place was too much fun! I wanted to detail more of what I got into this past weekend, cause I know you all are just PANTING with anticipation over what I am going to say. First of all, we took TWO, count them TWO, kayaking adventures. The first was a bit tougher than the second seeing as how my superior sheltie navigation skills coupled with Pop's insatiable need for photos led Mom and I to run aground in the marsh muck. We were weren't stuck stuck just a bit jammed up because when Mom tried to push away from the shore the muck tried to swallow her paddle. Yipes! But all was well in the end and we had a good time. Here's another kayaking pic, this time Mom and I are navigating what remains of Whitehaven's Cannery. It was washed away by a hurricane.

Seeing as how it is back to school time, Pops and I took an early morning walk to visit the Whitehaven School. It looks a lot different than my school! In fact I'm not even sure if they use it anymore. I didn't catch a single whiff of crayons and construction paper so I can almost say without a doubt that it isn't used for teaching preschoolers! My Mom-Mom teaches at a pre-school and I get to visit sometimes. There are always good smells there, and they have a bunny rabbit. They don't let me play with the bunny though. I have to sit nicely and show the little ones what a well behaved dog I am. Once I even got to go hang out in the classroom for Fourth Graders while Mom chatted with one of her old teachers. His classroom was fun and he had lots of TERPS stuff posted but I missed all the smells and crumbs that came with the preschool classroom.

In a nod to my Newfy friends I just had to pose with the Whitehaven Ferry safety ring. Mom, Pops and I rode the Ferry across the river the last morning we were in Whitehaven. It's a neat little ferry, it carries three cars at a time back and forth across the river. It's free to everyone, but just make sure you get there before it closes for the evening else you will make a long trip for nothing- except for the chance to catch a glimpse of Whitehaven. It's neat to watch it go back and forth, but I wouldn't want to be the driver. I think it would get boring after a while just going back and forth in a straight line.

I also learned ferry lingo this weekend. The phrase of the day was "run the line." The Whitehaven Ferry runs on a cable that lies below the water, the cable keeps it from drifting down river (kinda like how us shelties keep the sheep moving in the right direction!) Well there are some people out on the river who do not respect that the ferry has the "right of way" and they will zoom up and "run the line" to try to get by before the ferry crosses in front of them. The danger with this is that sometimes their boat propeller can catch on the cable. Somethings gotta give at that point and either the cable breaks and the ferry floats away (VERY bad news) or the prop on the boat breaks and those silly people got what they deserved and are dead in the water. Today's lesson- When boating in Whitehaven don't run the line!!!

Greetings from Whitehaven!!

That's where Mom, Pops and I spent the weekend! Here I am posing next to the sign at the entrance to town. We stayed at this really awesome bed and breakfast called the Whitehaven Hotel. They allow doggies to come and stay in their Lincoln bedroom. It was really super cool. The hotel is located right on the water. It's a small town with only 20 or so residents but there was still adventuresome stuff for my sheltie self to get into!

First off one of the employees has a sheltie, a GIRL sheltie. Her name is Penny and you know what. She is the all the awesomer because she is tri colored too! How cool is that?! The only thing that kept us from being twins was that Penny has a lot less white than me and she doesn't enjoy playing ball or fetch. Guess thats cause she's a girl. But that's okay, at least she didn't give me any girl cooties or anything. That would have been TRAGIC. Penny and I were supposed to have a date on Saturday evening, you know wandering the woodlands watching the sunset but Mom and Dad had to go and stuff themselves at this place called The Red Roost and I missed my date. Oh drat. I'll have to keep in touch and hopefully she'll talk to me next time we meet...

But the weekend wasn't all about meeting the ladies. It was also about BOATING! Whitehaven is located right on the river and the hotel has three kayaks that guests can take out anytime they want. Here I am captaining my own ship on the mighty river. And don't worry, I was a safe boater and wore my lifejacket. It was great fun on the river, we saw fish jumping and we saw a Great Blue Heron along the shoreline. One of the employees said they nest along the shore. We didn't see any nests, but thats okay because Mom says we shouldn't disturb wildlife. I agree. Mom and Pops saw this neat little picture that sums it all up- Take only pictures... leave only footprints. That's what we try to remember on all of our trips. You should too!

Great News!!

Nick the horsie is back home!!
Someone took him because they felt sorry for him...
Bad idea folks, leave the horse rescuing up to the professionals.
If you think a horse (or any animal) in your neighborhood is in trouble call your local Humane Society or Animal Control office. They know the right avenues to correct the problem.

HAVE YOU SEEN NICK ???

This hit a little too close to home... this is not far from where Buttercup used to live!! Mommy said pass this info along so hopefully this little girl can get her horse back.

On August 20 Nick was stolen from his pasture in Fair Hill, Maryland. His owner went to bring him to the barn because the farrier was coming. All gates were closed and secured, and he was no where to be seen. No fences were down, and there was no way for him to have gone over the fence since he limped due to arthritis.

Nick is old, 28 years old, arthritic and swaybacked (that means his back dips down low, like a valley behind his shoulders, instead of being level).

His theft was reported to the Local Sheriff's Department and also to NetPosse. NetPosse is an organization that Mommy is a member of that is dedicated to bringing stolen/missing horses back home. NetPosse issued an 'Idaho Alert' to the equine community (its similar to an Amber Alert for missing children) and has created a flier for Nick, so if you are in the MD/PA/VA area, PLEASE print out this flier and post it in "horsey places". Mom says Nick could be ANYWHERE.

For more information about Nick and a link to his printable flier in .pdf form, visit his NetPosse webpage (Nick's NetPosse Page).

Mommy always tells me that I need to find a job besides going to daycare and keeping Maddie in line. My standard response is "Well I looked and there just isn't anything out there for us shelties except chasing cat cat cats and well, they won't pay me for that no matter how cute I am."

She just shakes her head. My sheltie friends Darby and Joey are also looking for work. Darby has been looking for YEARS with no luck, he reads the Help Wanted ads everyday and everyday he walks away sad because no one wants to hire a sheltie. We are smart doggies you know and dedicated and cute too!

Well there may be help for us sheltie job seekers after all, I saw this article from Florida about three racing greyhounds who found a job working for Adverdog. Basically they are hired by the hour to go socialize at special events and grand openings. They have spiffy outfits that have little pockets that hold the business cards that they hand out. I don't know about the outfit part but I would love being paid to be petted!! I could even whip out my super spiffy sheltie tricks like spins and rolling over. And I could make money to buy more Greenies! It's a win-win situation. How do I sign up??

With all the news reporting on the Michael Vick issue its easy to forget that some people will do anything for their pets. Case in point, Alex the Dalmatian's family. He fell into a drainpipe and they searched non-stop for him and when they found him 25 feet underground they dug him out! His Daddy said they weren't going to stop until they had him out. You can hear the emotion in his voice when he reaches Alex... it made my Mommy and my Auntie Beth get teary eyed.

Now thats true love.

See the video of Alex's rescue HERE.

My sister thinks she is so civilized... she sits all proper next to the fireplace. She says she has class, that all cats do and that we dogs just drool and play in the mud, things a proper kitty like her would NEVER do. She says you need to show good ettiquette (whatever that is) and act in a way that represents your high social standing (she does realize she was rescued from a trash can right?) Maybe growing up in a trashcan is high class, I dunno but...

I don't know my exact social standing other than the fact that Mom and Dad are Alpha but I do know that sitting next to the fireplace with your paws crossed on a beautiful Sunday afternoon is terribly boring... I'd much rather be out and about at the dogpark playing chase with my Pup Pals and a game of fetch with Mom!

Lassie ain't got nothing on me...

I have my own HORSE!

Ok, so she belongs to my Mom... but that just means she's almost mine!

I was chased by a Chicken Nugget!

No it wasn't a bad dream, it really happened! While in The Great KC I met up with Chicken Nugget the Miniature Horse and French Fry the pygmy goat. French Fry was cool, Chicken Nugget... well let's just say we had a good game of chase going and I WAS NOT the one doing the chasing!! In fact she ran me right up on the porch and underneath some chairs! Then when Mommy stopped laughing (why would she think a pony chasing me is so funny?!) and tried to let me in the house Chicken Nugget tried to follow me inside!!! When I made it inside she stomped her foot at me. How rude!

I'm looking forward to a rematch. I can't believe she didn't respect my authority!

Beat the heat!

It's scorching hot around here! Has been for the last few days...The high today is something like 101 degrees! Yipes! This sheltie is hanging out in the shade as much as possible. At daycare I have a special shady spot under the stairs... just for me to keep cool, definitely will be using that today. And, this evening I'll be able to take a dip in the doggie pool at my grandparents' house, Mom even mentioned going kayaking!! Bark! Bark! I LOVE boating! I'm the captain of the ship. I just lack the spiffy Captains hat, but thats not too much of a loss since I'm not a hat wearing kinda guy. I prefer bandannas... I think they make me look handsome.

Alrighty gotta jet, we are headed to The Great KC and I have to mentally prepare myself for the journey cause the AC in Mom's car died! We are taking it home to be fixed... what is it with AC this year? Our condo's AC died a couple of weeks ago... Bottom line its gonna be a hot ride... I am so making Mom stop and by me an ice water from Chick-fil-A :o)

Proof that my sister Maddie is crazy...

Video One:



Video Two:

Finally was able to post my swimming video! Bark bark!

Code Name- Walkies.

Under the cover of darkness the sheltie slips out of the building... his steps are quick, he lurks in the shadows, ever watchful. He must not be caught in the open. His black coat is great camoflage, his thick fur silences the jingle of his tags, his flexi leash glides without a sound. Out the door, past the bushes, slipping in between parked cars... Stealth is essential.

My purpose?

Hiding from the kids in the parking lot...

Don't get me wrong I LOVE kids. They like food, I like stealing their food. They like to play chase, I like chasing them! They want to kick/throw a ball, I'll gladly play fetch for hours... I just don't like THESE kids. Mom doesn't like them either... she tries to be nice but they just don't listen. I cringe at the sound of "doggie! Doggie! DOGGIE!!!!" They come sprinting across the parking lot, descend upon me like a swarm and get directly in my face... I turn away and they move with me. Mom asks them to step back and they don't listen. They grab at my leash, they want to walk ME. Oh no, Mom says. She says I need to be walked in a special way, its good cover. They pull on my tail, hit me on top the head as they are "petting" me, shoot at me with their little laser guns, one even poked me in the face! I stand there patiently panting, waiting for it all to end. Then they run screaming away, yelling that I tried to bite them. WHAT?! I was panting! What part of panting equals biting?

Somedays when I get home from daycare they don't even let Mommy get the car in park before they are tap tapping on the windows asking to pet the doggie. For the love of dog kids! Let me arrive home in PEACE!

It's like they magically materialize out of thin air... yelling "Doggggieeee"

So Mom and I have resorted to covert operations for walkies. She scans the parking lot and when the coast is clear we run down the steps, alongside the building to the back of our condo complex for our walk. If we're feeling bold we'll cross the parking lot to our normal spot, but usually when the kiddies are out we revert to stealth mode or don't go out at all. Mom has tried education, telling them I'm a nice doggie, showing them how to pet nicely, etc. Instead they romp into the middle of our training sessions and demand that I do this or that trick. So not cool. (Note from Stormy's Mom- Has anyone else had this problem? It's seriously disturbing b/c one day these kids are gonna get bitten by a dog that is less tolerant than my own. I don't want that to happen. They play unsupervised in our parking lot ALL THE TIME and as Stormy said I and a few other dog owners have tried to teach them proper dog greeting etiquette but it all flys out the window when they spot a dog. All of us dog owners physically cringe when we hear them coming. It's sad but true.)

It makes me happy that MY kids are good around dogs. Sure Dylan drops spaghetti in my fur right where I can't reach it when he's eating and Christopher tackles me from time to time. But I know when I hear "MeMe, come!" or "MeMe, Sit!" or "Here MeMe" its my favorite boys calling me to have fun... which is the best part of liking my kids. (Note From Stormy's Mom: MeMe is what my nephews call Stormy, sometimes they refer to him as Steamy. Either way it is WAY cute to watch them together.)

Here are me and my boys together...

Ponch is awesome... he has ALL the great ideas for separating humans from their food. I think I should try this one sometime:
Want more funnies? Check out the 'Pooch Cafe' Comic HERE.