~ A Perfect Storm ~

Pitbull Rescued

2007-07-28T21:40:00.000-05:00

Hello all, I know it's been awhile since I've blogged... but I haven't forgotten about everyone. I just wanted to report that I helped save a pitbull from being pts! It was my first rescue. A friend told me about one that had just been sent to the pound, so I got in touch with my friend Fee that has "pitbull connections" and after a day of hoping and praying, the next day... a girl agreed to go pick the pitbull up from the pound and take her to a foster home.

That news made me so happy!

I hope that we'll get some pictures of her soon. If so, I'll definitely post so everyone can see.

Thank you so much Fee for all your help! You're an angel!

PIT BULL INVOLVED IN INCIDENT WITH CHILD AT AKC EVENT!!!

2007-04-11T17:12:00.000-05:00

This article was sent to me by Laura, a boxer mom. She thought it was worthy of the webpage, and so do I. Thanx Laura!

Pit bulls are called American Staffordshire Terriers in the AKC.

AP NEWS: BERRYVILLE , VA APRIL 5 2007

From the World Wide WebPolice were called today to the Clarke County Fairgrounds to investigate an incident involving a Pit Bull Terrier dog and a 9 year old child. According to witnesses, the child was walking near the show rings unsupervised when she suddenly came face to face with the 70 lb Pit Bull Terrier dog.

The child threw her arms around the dog's neck, reports say, when the unthinkable happened. The dog began enthusiastically licking the girl's face as his tail wagged briskly."It was awful", said one bystander, "there was nothing we could do. That dog was just giving that child every once of love he had and no one did a thing to stop it".

Another witness, who took video of the event, said "This happens all the time, I don't know how it hasn't made the news before now". One spectator, who declined to be named in this interview, told reporters, "The sounds were just heartwrenching, all that laughing and giggling. It made me smile so hard my face hurts. I plan to sue for pain and suffering".

The handler of the dog admits this is not the first time such an incident has occurred, and that the owners were "well aware of the stable, loving, and patient temperament of this dog". The owners were unavailable for comment. Police state that the handler, who was noticeably unrepentant, was cited for Reckless Entertainment. The dog was given roasted chicken treats and was not taken into custody.

It's spring time!!!!

2007-03-24T15:12:00.000-05:00

Whaaaa-zup!?!?

Stop and smell the flowers!

Pretty sky!

Sorry... Happy Late Valentines Day

2007-02-18T14:42:00.000-05:00

Storm and I hope everyone had a nice valentines day.

I'm laying in bed sick and Storm thinks its funny. She says that's what I get for riding the motorcycle in the mid 40s weather. Maybe she's right, but it sure was fun!

It's that time again!!!!

2006-12-30T23:09:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone has a safe and happy new year. Warm wishes and God bless to you and your familes in 2007!

~Woof!

Storm

A little message...

2006-12-20T08:48:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year!

With warm wishes and a big ol' Woof!

Storm

11th Annual Gaston County Toy Run For Kids

2006-12-03T22:14:00.000-05:00

On December 2, 2006, Gaston County held the 11th Annual Toy Run For Kids, that is organized by several motorcycle clubs, ministries, and organizations... Southern Gentlemen M/C, Soldiers For Christ B/M, His Laboring Few B/M, The Blue Knights, Travlin' Lights B/M, H.O.G., Carolina Faith Riders, and The Red Knights, just to name a few.

I have been attending some of the organization meetings that are held weekly and are started back in September. This isn't a quick-throw it together event, lots of planning goes into this. I was able to ride on this run for the first time, other than on the back of a bike. I was thrilled to be a part of such a huge success. Over 1,300 bikers opened up their hearts and showed Gaston County that there are still "good people" out there. There were five stops through out the ride at different cities within Gaston County. Hundreds of less fortunate children were able to receive presents from this event.

What makes this ride so special you ask??? At each stop, you can go to the trucks loaded with toys and watch the children's eyes light up when they receive toys. Talk about something pulling at the ol' heart strings. I remember hearing a mother telling bikers standing around that this was the first time her son, who was 12, had ever had a skateboard. When you hear something like that, you know you've done some good to the community.

I hope this event continues to grow and grow. It's a wonderful thing for the community.

Here are some photos of the parking areas at the church where the run starts. Look at the sea of bikes!

My friend and I amongst the parade of motorcycles going through the streets of the county.

Back to the beach

2006-12-03T19:53:00.000-05:00

When we went to pick my mom up from the beach, my dad and I took ALL the dogs. It was Delilah and Rose's first beach trip. Delilah didn't like the water too much, but Rosie was right there with Storm. They had a pretty good time I think!

Here is Delilah getting her first facial!

Time to go home.

Show Time

2006-11-21T23:28:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday we went to a pitbull show up in Taylorsville, NC. They had a show and weight pulling going on. Really neat to watch. I also got to meet a fellow pitbull lover with whom I've chatted back & forth in email. Hi Felicia! It was really cool to meet ya... in person! Hope to make to the next show too!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take Storm with me. But at the show, there was the next closest thing... an almost identical look alike to Storm! Her name was Luna, she was just as adorable and sweet like Storm. Can you tell which picture is of Storm? Look for yourself! (Hint: Storm's picture is taken inside a house.

Take a look at the dog in the center of the pic... isn't he huge?!?!?!

Puppy buddy

2006-11-21T23:14:00.000-05:00

When Storm and I went to pick up dog food, we ran into a new friend. Riggs, he was the puppy Storm met at the Dogtoberfest (a few posts back). I must say, Riggs has grown quite a bit. He is so cute and his fur is so soft!

Look how little Riggs looks compared to Storm in this pic.

Now look how big he is in this one.

Funny!

The big 3 !!!

2006-11-11T17:45:00.000-05:00

Happy woof-day Storm!

She's the big "3" today!

xoxo

Another Day at Kure Beach

2006-11-04T15:37:00.000-05:00

Sshhh! Don't tell anyone, but we went to an area down in Fort Fisher that did not have many people around and let Storm run a little bit without her leash. She had such a blast.

The weather was so nice. I only wish I had brought some shorts. Wet pants aren't too comfortable.

With all the sand around, Storm couldn't help herself, but just to dig and dig.

Look at that dirty face!

This horseshoe crab had washed up on the beach. Needless to say, Storm was a little scared of it, not to mention me too!

Here Storm is having a "stand-off" with this little crab.

More Carolina Beach

2006-11-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

Meet Harley Lowrider Presley, this was Storm's room mate while we were staying at Carolina Beach. He was such a cutie.

Down the road just a bit was a Gurney Hood Barking Lot. It was a small dog park. It had a section for little dogs and a section for the bigger dogs. When we got there, there were three other dogs there. Storm didn't know what to think!

Stormie standing on the rocks, looking out at the ocean.

Here is a picture of me and my mom, and of course Storm at Fort Fisher, NC.

Boo!

2006-10-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

Happy howl-o-ween everyone!

Part 1 - A Day at Carolina Beach

2006-10-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

This is Storm's new friend, Buster the Boxer. He came to visit Storm while she was in town. Buster asked Storm if she'd like to visit the beach and see the ocean. She'd never seen this before, so she was excited to go.

Here is her first steps into the sand. She's not too sure about what that squishy stuff is. But soon it gets a little easier to walk in the wet sand. But there sure is a lot of water around here.

"Come on mommy, can we go into the water?!?!"

Part 2 - A Day at Carolina Beach

2006-10-28T21:22:00.000-05:00

Stormie lost her balance when she first went into the ocean. You know how it is when the water comes in and goes out at the same time, it does kinda mess with your balance.

I was so surprised that she went back into the water. With her being such a wuss, I thought she'd be afraid of the water... Wrong! She was digging and biting the sand. I think she's becoming a beach bum!

Buster and Storm having a picture moment during Stormie's first beach trip.

"Yippie! I'm having such a great time."

Part 3 - A Day at Carolina Beach

2006-10-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

Storm had soooo much fun. She was a tuckered out pooch. Time for bed.

"Footprints"

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Written by: Mary Stevenson

It's been another year... Oct. 22nd

2006-10-21T12:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Conners!

We hope you have a very happy b-day.
Give Shasta a big hug for us!

Hugs,
Storm & Andee

Little Switzerland

2006-10-15T18:51:00.000-05:00

Today's ride was another 250 miles. We rode through Little Switzerland. Talk about some twisties... whew!!! I've seen enough curves in the road to last me for at least a week!

The weather was nice, well at 8:30am, it was a little on the chilly side. But after we made it to the mountains, it warmed up just a tad. I've got to find me leather riding gear!

We met up with a few new people. They are much more experienced and faster riders than I am. Needless to say, they had to wait on us at the end of the road. But that's ok, everyone rides at their own pace. There is only one way to learn and that is to ride them. Maybe one of these days I'll get a little better at the curves.

I am definitely tired, so I think I'm gonna hit the bed early!

Ta-ta for now.

Dogtoberfest

2006-10-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

Saturday was Dogtoberfest. Fortunately the rain held off, but it was cloudy and windy.

Here is Bella and Bubba with their cute little Halloween collars.

This cute, little pupster is Riggs. He was rescued from the pound. Such a happy ending.

It was a little chilly out, so we made sure the dogs were comfy and warm.

Blowing Rock, NC Road Trip

2006-09-30T17:48:00.000-05:00

Today, we went for an early birthday ride for me. Me, Melissa, and her husband Danny went riding up toward Boone, NC. We rode past Blowing Rock and ate lunch at a nice place on the side of the mountain. That's where these pictures were taken.

Here are a couple pictures. The bottom picture is of me and Melissa, with our new bikes! Aren't they schaweeeeet!?!?!?

Next week is Dogtoberfest. So I'll have some doggie pics soon.

New bike!!!

2006-09-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd share a pic of my new bike that I picked up 3 days ago, (Wednesday, 9/20)! It is schweeeeet! It's a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R600. I'm still getting use to it, I've only put about 105 miles on it so far.

Chimney Rock (again)

2006-09-16T20:25:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of our ride today. There were 9 bikes (10 people) today in the group. It was a MUCH nicer ride today than two weeks ago to Chimney Rock. Beautiful weather, NO RAIN... and it wasn't even too hot. It wasn't crowed either.

A very pleasant trip indeed.

Here are a couple more pics from Labor Day weekend's trip...

The picture of Donna, Melissa, and me was taken at a gas station before we had gotten to Chimney Rock. We were already tired from riding and little did we know what was awaiting ahead...

Ride to Chimney Rock & Blue Ridge Parkway

2006-09-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics from the latest rides I've went on. Two weeks ago, we went to Chimney Rock, a total of 11, I think. This was the first time that we all rode in a group. It was a blast, well until we went past Chimney Rock to ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This is the beginning of the parkway. Notice the fog starting to roll in...

This photo is up on the parkway, see the fog off the side of the mountain??? And the wet road? Uggh, it was so foggy at one point that I could barely see the tail light in front of me. That makes for a scary ride knowing that the edge of the mountain is right to your side.

And if the fog wasn't bad enough, it became a horrible down pour of rain. Not to mention it was pretty chilly up on the mountain. We were ALL soaked and cold. It rained the whole time coming around the mountain.

As we finally came to the bottom of the mountain, it was dark. So then another fear popped into my brain... watch out for the wild critters that could run out in the curves.

Needless to say, I was glad to have gotten home and in bed. We thank our Lord for letting all of us make it back safely!

Side of car

2006-09-16T20:03:00.000-05:00

Since R. Edmondson wanted to see the side of the po-po car, here it is...

It's got the lambo doors... schweet.

Gaston County Hospice Poker Run

2006-08-27T11:14:00.000-05:00

Gaston County hosted its annual hospice poker run. It had a tremendous turn out. Lots of bikes, lots of people. It was a 100 mile run. My dad and I rode to the last stop. Here are some pictures from the event.

Check out Gastonia Police Department's fancy car. It was siezed during a drug bust or something like that.

Tagged

2006-08-19T17:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, I haven't been ignoring the tags, I've just been ignoring the whole computer! Ha ha, just joking! :) I've been working quite a bit lately.

5 things about Storm:

1) Storm likes to attack the vacuum cleaner.
2) She likes to let stinkies when she jumps.
3) Storm thinks she's the size of a Boston Terrier.
4) Storm is afraid of a deck of cards.
5) She is lazy.

These are a few things about Storm. She's a funny little girl.

Ok, now it's really getting close to home...

2006-08-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

Another pitbull lover friend sent me this link. This is happening right next door to me.

Click WBTV and read this article. Send emails expressing your feelings to WBTV and the Commissioner Normal Mitchell to help fight against breed discrimination!

Why can't people understand that the only one's that will be punished are the responsible owners?!?! Did the gun laws stop shootings? Did it stop the criminals from having them? Did it stop them from being used? NO! It only stopped responsible gun owners and cost them more money.

Of the 662 total dog bites this year, pitbulls only made up 93 bites and rotties 33 bites. What about the other dogs responsible for the remaining 536 bites? What were they? Will they require $100,000 insurance policies? Will they be banned?

Why is it that WBTV is only showing stories depicting negative accounts of pitbulls? Why can't they show a positive side?

We went on a "hot dog walk" last Saturday and our local newspaper was there taking pictures of the dogs. As other dog walkers were passing, everyone was very friendly toward us and smiling and commenting on the 3 fluffy collars we had on the dogs. Most of the people we passed by said that the newspaper guy was taking pictures that we should get our picture in the paper. As we continued to walk, we saw the newspaper guy coming up the trail... and then we saw him walking past us, then walking away. This newspaper guy didn't even stop, talk, or smile as our dogs walked by looking pretty. Why do you think he ignored us??? Because of my American Staffordshire Terrier. Why would he want to put a "positive" story about pitbulls in the gazette? That wouldn't get a reader's attention now would it?

More PetSmart Pooh

2006-08-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, I'm back. No excuses, just being a slacker when it comes to getting on the ol' computer here. I'm on one all day at work and when I get home, I just hadn't felt like getting on this one. Anyway...

Here are two emails. The first is an email that was sent to Petsmart in response to the discrimination agains bully breeds by my friend Laura, who has boxers. The second was the response back from Petsmart that she received. Others have received the same email from Petsmart. Geesh. To me, if they are sending out the same response, that means they must be getting some comments back from bully breed lovers.

"I was sickened and disgusted to read about the restrictions on your website about which dogs may not attend Doggy Day Camp. I can certainly understand and agree about not allowing dogs with aggressive tendencies. However, I believe the restriction on Bully Breeds is short sighted and misinformed, particularly banning any pets having the "appearance of one of these breeds". It is a shame that companies such as Petsmart are still so archaic as to believe it is a specific breed that is a problem, instead of irresponsible owners of ALL breeds. From your website, I will have to assume that Petsmart supports Breed Specific Legislation which will lead to the destruction of many beloved and innocent animals. Therefore, my business will be given to other companies."

Petsmart's Reply:
"Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding PetSmart’s policy to not allow Bully breeds, or any mix of, or any pets that exhibit aggressive behaviors to participate in our Doggie Day Camp. We have received similar responses - both for and against our policy, and can appreciate the sensitivities and deep emotions behind them.

We do our best to create an environment where our associates and pets feel safe and where pet parents have confidence that the pets they leave in our care will have a fun and safe experience.

As you may know, these breeds are welcome in our grooming salons, training areas, PetsHotels and stores in general, but for the safety of our associates and other pets they are excluded from the off-leash, group play activities within our Doggie Day Camps.

Please understand that we groom and train millions of dogs each year and we host millions more as guests in our PetsHotels and in our stores as they tag along with their pet parents on shopping trips. A fair percentage of these dogs are from the Bully breed classification. When we developed our policy, it was with the deep knowledge and experience we’ve gained by associating with this breed of dogs in a variety of capacities and in understanding their history.

This doesn’t change the fact that we believe Bully breeds can make great companion pets and can be a great addition to the right home. They remain welcome to visit our stores for other purposes.

We are committed to caring for the total lifetime needs of pets and pet parents and we value and respect your efforts in this regard."

Sincerely,
RoseMary
PetSmart.com Customer Experience
1989 Transit Way Brockport, NY 14420
1-888-839-9638

I wonder who else has had a response like this.

PetSmart Breed Discrimination

2006-07-17T18:42:00.000-05:00

I've decided to post about this petition that my friend Laura, a boxer mom, sent to me after reading about my PetSmart doggie camp post. I urge you to sign on behalf of us responsible owners of the "bully" breed.

My signature is # 2291 , I voted!

Please sign this petition and help fight against breed discrimination!

Thank you!

Storm, the Amstaff, & Delilah and Rose, the Boston Terriers thank you too!

~Woof!

Stylin'

2006-07-12T18:56:00.000-05:00

Look at the new necklaces that came in for the poochies.

There were 3 different collars in a pack. Including a colorful rainbow, Halloween, and Christmas. Just too cute! Pictured is the colorful rainbow collar.

Delilah, the Boston Terrier, looking not to thrilled about having this thing on!

We got all three of the dogs a set. So when we go out, they can all dress alike!

Rose, the other Boston Terrier, posing pretty.

Here is Storm, the American Staffordshire Terrier, cheesing big for the camera.

You can get a set of Party Collars for your poochies too!

Skydive (Part 3)

2006-07-09T19:30:00.000-05:00

After I made sure I was all there, I had to give my instructor a big hug for making sure we jumped and landed perfectly! Whew! What a relief! I am still alive.

Ta-da! We did it!

I answered the age old question of "Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?"

Because it is FUN!!!!

Skydive (Part 2)

2006-07-09T19:05:00.000-05:00

This picture was just seconds after we jumped out of the plane.

It's a good thing there weren't any bugs that high up, with my mouth opened that wide, I'd probably ate a couple! Of course I was screaming my lungs out. (Really!) It was hard to breath that high up and going that fast during the free-fall. My ears were stopped up and are still hurting a tad bit.

Here we are free-falling. I was trying to wave at the camera. If you look closly, you can see the ground way below me!

Thumbs up... good sign, right!?!?!

I don't think I would have made a good airbag for him!

There went the rip cord.

Bye bye camera man!

See that tiny white spot at the top of the triangle???

That's where we have to land!

Bulls-eye!

A perfect landing! I think that was because of the instructor!

Skydive Carolina (Part 1)

2006-07-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

Well, today's post has nothing at all to do with my amstaff. She told me she didn't care to see what I was about to do. I went skydiving; yes that's right, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. Although I was told there weren't any "perfect" airplanes.

It's something that I can now say... I've been there, done that. Scratch that one off my list.
We went 2 and 1/2 miles up in the air (about 13,000 feet) WAAAAY up above the clouds. I got to "co-pilot" the plane for a few minutes. The plane held about 20 people and a couple of us "tandum" jumpers.

A "tandum" jump is where you're attached to an instructor that knows what he's doing. Thank goodness he knew, 'cause I sure didn't! My nerves really got to me when we were standing on the edge of the plane in process of jumping. Yikes! But after that, it was great! We were free-falling at 120mph. After Ken (my instructor) pulled the cord, we floated around for a while. Dummy me asked if we could spin... and we did. All in all, it was fun!

Here are some pictures.

This first picture is of Melissa, me, and Melissa's Uncle Abe. This is right after we were suited up.

Here I am doing some fancy flying... ok so maybe I am just sitting there! But it was still pretty cool! The plane was a bit noisy.

Here is my instructor, Ken. He was pretty cool & crazy! I think he said he's jumped over 3,000 times.

We were climbing way high in the sky!

This is what it looked like standing on the edge of the plane. There goes Melissa, with her instructor and the videographer!

Now, can you blame me for getting a little nervous standing on the edge?!?!

PetSmart Doggie Day Camp

2006-07-06T11:05:00.000-05:00

I remember reading this on someone's blog or either hearing about it, I can't remember... I'm banking it was on a pitbull friendly blog.... but now it's my time to fuss...

Storm and I went to Petsmart yesterday, riding with the top down, Storm with her doggles on. Adorable as ever, getting friendly comments at every stop light. But today as I was redeeming my coupon online to get my $5.00 gift card that I so much deserve for buying expensively, overpriced dog food, I came across the doggie day care link (above in title). I thought hmmm, let's look into it. Well as it is, the PetSmart close to my town, doesn't offer the day camp. But guess what some of the rules are of dogs that cannot attend... taken directly from the petsmart webpage...

Who may not attend?

Intact (unneutered) male dogs or pregnant females
Dogs with any aggressive tendencies regardless of breed
Dogs in the "bully breed" classification (e.g. Pit Bull Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Bull Dogs or mixed breeds that have the appearance or characteristics of one of these breeds)
Wolves/wolf hybrids

Let me just say this, I've proudly been to petsmart MANY times with my AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER a.k.a PIT BULL TERRIER, and she has been more obedient, quiet, and non aggressive than many of the breeds that are "allowed". It happens every time, there is always some little yapper, yapping and snipping at another dog and people are laughing and saying oh how cute. If that had been Storm, even barking, we would probably be kicked out. Even some of the bigger dogs, such as the Collies & Labs that I see there sometimes and the Australian Shephards that was there yesterday (Don't get me wrong, I'm not picking on a particular breed, unlike some people do, I'm just emphasizing these dogs, in particular) were acting in an un-socialized manner.

So why is this? My Storm is very well behaved, yet because of her breed, she is exempt from being allowed to go to doggie camp. She is not aggressive. When we go into petsmart, most of the workers there always come up to her. She's always giving away my kisses to them. They always comment on how well behaved she is. So why is it that petsmart has to discriminate against a certain breed? Isn't petsmart supposed to be a dog friendly place??? All dogs??? I am completely disappointed in petsmart. Why couldn't petsmart leave it at that... dogs with aggressive tendencies? Why did they have to go on and specify the "bully breed"? Doesn't petsmart realize that there are MANY more dogs classified in the bully breed such as english bulldogs, boxers, frenchies, bull terriers, and boston terriers. Check out this link...

http://www.bulldogbreeds.com/

Well Petsmart, you can take your foo-foo doggie day camp and shove it. Because you don't deserve to have my money, nor my dog to enlighten you with her charming, loveable, and captivating personality. You don't even deserve to have the boston terriers that we have, to visit your camp. I didn't know that you fell into the same narrow-minded pool as those ignorant people that think that all apples in a barrel are bad, just because of a few bad apples.

Time Off...

2006-07-05T10:37:00.000-05:00

Since I am on vacation this week, Stormie and I got to spend some time outside together. It's really nice knowing you don't have to get up early. It was time for a break.

Shakers "Self-Serve" Doggie Wash

2006-06-29T20:15:00.000-05:00

Here is Storm's first trip to the dog wash!

It was really neat! It had a ramp for her to walk up and a lead that held her in the tub. It sure beats leaning over the bath tub to give her a b-a-t-h!

Shakers Dog Wash (Part 2)

2006-06-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

"You missed a spot!"

"But mommy, why'd we have to do this?"

"Am I all pretty and clean now?"

Ah, all better now...

Dogs 101

2006-06-22T08:42:00.000-05:00

Here are some quotes that I received in an email about dogs.

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. -Anonymous

Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.-Ann Landers

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. -Will Rogers

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.-Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.-Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. -Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made.-M. Acklam

Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.-Sigmund Freud

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.-Rita Rudner

A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.-Robert Benchley

Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.-Franklin P. Jones

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons. -James Thurber

If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise.-Unknown

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money.-Joe Weinstein

Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!-Anne Tyler

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.-Robert A. Heinlein

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.-Mark Twain

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'- Dave Barry

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.-Roger Caras

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.-Phil Pastoret

My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am.
-Anonymous

Chimney Rock - Lake Lure

2006-06-12T07:42:00.000-05:00

Saturday, I rode my bike with some friends. We went up to Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. It was a 200 mile round trip. Here are a few pictures from the road trip. The first picture is of Melissa and her husband, Danny as we took a break sitting at the well known "Margaritaville" in Lake Lure. (Well known amongst the Harley riders anyway.)

The next picture is of Chimney Rock.

Last but not least, there is me and Melissa standing in front of Chimney Rock.

It was so hot. We spotted a sign that said the temperature was 101°F. I don't know if it was really that hot, but it was at least in the mid to high 90s! And I thought the mountains were supposed to be cooler!!!

Another fur baby in need of prayers...

2006-05-30T13:28:00.000-05:00

Please say a prayer for Bubba. Bubba and Bella are Laura and Tony's babies.

He is having emergency surgery today. I'm not exactly sure what all happened, but his tummy was twisted, or something like that. The vet needed to do surgery on him immediately.

Please lift Bubba, Laura, & Tony up in a prayer.

Update 5/31/06: Bubba did good thru his surgery yesterday, but was breathing heavily. The vet is allowing him to come home tonight because he was starting to get grumpy. I can't blame the poor fellow, I wouldn't want to be in a cage in a strange place, with strange people around. So tonight, Bubba gets to sleep in his own bed with his mommy & daddy. Keep up the prayers, it's going to be a long night for them.

Update 6/2/06: Bubba is hanging in there. He's keeping food down, which is a great sign. Bubba gets to eat rice and chicken with a tiny bit of cottage cheese... mmm tasty!
Below is a picture of Bubba kicked back on the couch showing off his boo-boo.
Bubba and family, you're in our hearts & prayers.

My Stormie is feeling better!

2006-05-16T17:40:00.000-05:00

Storm is almost 100% back to normal now! She's being just as rascally as ever.

Here she is sporting her new hoodie! She looks so cute in it. Although it's too warm to wear now, when it becomes autumn again, it will be perfect!

You can see Delilah in the background looking out the door.

Road Trip

2006-05-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this has nothing to do with my fur baby, but if I had a side cart, it would include her.

A couple of friends and I went on a road trip today. We all 3 went riding our motorcycles. (Pictured: Donna, me-Andee, and Melissa in the pink.) We rode about 250 miles today. *Whew* I'm beat!

Anyway... we went and saw a very large chest of drawers in High Point, NC and a very large chair in Thomasville, NC. Cheesy, yes... but it was a lot of fun... even for me on my wittle-bitty Ninja 250. It won't be much longer and I'll be getting a 600, which is what the other two girls ride!

Please say a prayer

2006-05-10T19:55:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, please say a prayer for my American Staffordshire Terrier, Storm. This afternoon, she was not acting like her normal self. She was very lethargic. She was moving extremely slow. So I rushed home from work to take her to the vet. My luck, the vet I normally go to takes Wednesday's off. The emergency vet did not open until "after hours". So my only other option was to take her to another vet. They were nice, but they couldn't tell me what was wrong with her. Not that I really expected them to. But, they did give her some medicine and thought that her tummy was bothering her. If she's not acting better by Friday, I'm going to take her to my vet. Please say some prayers that she'll be ok. It's really worrying me. :(

Does anyone out there have any ideas what could be wrong. We couldn't find anything bad that she had eaten or gotten into.

Update: It seems as if Storm is getting better!!!! She is wagging her tail, perking her ears, and jumping up when she gets excited. I'm hoping it was only some bad kitty treats or something.

Murphy the AmStaff

2006-05-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this handsom fellow. He is Murphy and he is from the land down under. Murphy belongs to Ben. Murphy is a big boy, weighing around 80 lbs or 36 kgs. My Storm only weighs about 55 lbs.

If Breed Specific Legislation isn't stopped, people all over the world are affected, not just here in the States or Canada!

Say no to BSL!

Show - part 2

2006-05-06T12:52:00.000-05:00

Storm playing with her new squeaker!

Just Plain Dog Show

2006-05-06T12:24:00.000-05:00

Today was a beautiful day for a "Just Plain Dog Show". We took the dogs even though we couldn't participate. It's a great reason to get the dogs out and they get some treats while they are there too! Here are a couple of pictures from the event.

Here is Bella & Bubba posing for the camera, with mommy & daddy.

Here is Storm posing pretty with Bob the beagle.

From Boxers to Pitbulls

2006-05-05T11:50:00.000-05:00

This email was forwarded to me by a boxer mom. We need more pitbull friends like this. Please sign the petition at the end of the posting. Below it states MySpace, but I know some of us are using blogspot just for this purpose. Won't you please help save a friend?!?!

Here is more up to date info on Breed Specific Legislation: http://www.nokillnow.com/ That bill was already passed, but ammended to require by law that certain breeds be spayed and neutured.
:==: :==: :==: :==: :==: :==: :==: :==: :==: :==:
Previous Woof Sent: 05/02/06 12:00 am Woofed From: Xia Woofed
To: All Boxers
Subject: Pitbulls
I realize I am not a Pit, however one of my good friends is and he is so sweet. I think I have a crush on him. Please check this out.

This is about a California legislation being passed to exterminate pit bulls. If it passes in California, it could be on it's way to other states. They will euthanize all Pit Bulls in the state is this law is passed!!! Someone has to try to make a difference...what if it were your pet? It would be great if Myspace could be used for something good other than getting dates. Please pass the word along and post this so as many people can see this as possible.
you can go to this site and sign the petition, and there is information on how to stop the ban:
http://www.nokillnow.com/BSLCA.htm

Dog Walk

2006-04-23T11:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the dogs got to go to the walking track for a dog walk. We only walked about a mile though, but we still had a fun time. The girls behaved great. They did not bark at other dogs eventhough the other dogs barked at them. If only the BSL advocates could have went on the walk with me, they would have seen that pits can be well behaved. And then they would have to ban Aeradales (sp?) because the one we passed started barking and growling vicously. Now how rediculous would that be, banning that breed??? Just as rediculous as banning pits.

Oh what a day....

2006-04-17T11:03:00.000-05:00

Since the place that I work for was, for the most part, shut down since Friday, I decided to sit outside on my laptop and read a few blogs while catching a few rays, as I'm doing now. I tell you, this is the life, I wish I was one of those people that could do this all the time. I have to sit in an office setting 8 hours a day 5 days a week. The only lighting I get is flourescent. *sigh*

Well of course while I was out, I had my dear, sweet, adorable American Staffordshire Terrier, Storm, out. She enjoyed her time out, she had plenty of time to sniff all the pee-mails, read the nightly news and novels that had been left by roaming dogs. Luckily there was a breeze blowing so it felt pretty good outside. You can see the corner of my laptop in a couple of the pictures.

The last two pictures are of today. It's about 87-90 degrees F , but luckily again, there is a nice breeze blowing. It kind of feels like when you're out on the beach except the only noise is cars going by and not waves crashing on the shore. Oops there I go daydreaming.

Since we were outside, I gave Storm a big treat! She's chewing on a bone. She loves it.

Well, my battery is going dead, so I guess I'll have to log off for now.

Anti BSL & Holy Bible

2006-04-15T10:51:00.000-05:00

Not much to say about this, I think it speaks for itself.

For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion... Ecclesiastes 9:4

The godly are concerned for the welfare of their animals... Proverbs 12:10

Everyone have a safe and blessed Easter!

From the Dog

2006-04-11T07:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, here's another funny email that I received...

Dog peeves about humans

1. Passing gas and blaming it on me... not funny... not funny at all !!!

2. Yelling at me for barking... I'M A DOG, YOU NUMBSKULL!

3 . Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?

4. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose... stop it!

5. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.

6. The sleight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Woooo-Hooooooo! Oh, what a proud moment for the top of the food chain.

7. Taking me to the vet for "the big snip", then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!

8. Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.

9. Dog sweaters. Hello??? Haven't you noticed the fur?

10. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth, you're just jealous.

Now lay off me on some of these things, we both know who's boss here (you don't see me picking up your poop, do you?).

Shame Stormie, Shame

2006-04-06T07:45:00.000-05:00

When Storm was but a wee pup, she clawed on the screen door at my house, tore a hole in it, and jumped thru it. Well, knowing that she did that, I rarely left the screen door pulled. Yesterday, my dad decided to help put a new "pet resistant" screen on the door so that I could use the screen, since we're having nice weather now.

As the screen door was pulled, Storm noticed the hole she had torn when she was about 1/2 her size now, and decided to run & jump thru it as if she was a lion in a circus jumping thru a hoop. Zoom! Off she went. This wouldn't be so bad, but I don't have a fence yet and I live on a very busy road. So I grab the treats and the word "treats" didn't even phase her.

Luckily, she headed toward the big oak tree in the back of the yard where neighbors have their yards fenced in. My dad started making squirrel noises & pointing up the tree.

Thank goodness Storm is a sucker for a squirrel (at least this time)!

As she was jumping, trying to climb the tree, we both grabbed her. Whew!!! She's safe now. I felt like rining her neck, but I was relieved that she didn't run into the road.

After all was said and done, I told my dad about the story of the pitbulls in Ontario; where the door was left open and the two dogs went outside and roamed around, not causing any harm, not being vicious, not even growling. The animal control caught them and now the dogs are dead. They were put down just because they were pitbulls and because someone accidently left the door open. Sad.

The picture above is at Storm's maw-maw & paw-paw's house. Notice the gate at the bottom of the screen? Geesh!

Another pitbull saved!

2006-03-22T18:26:00.000-05:00

This lucky lady, Emma, has found her a new forever home! She was adopted by Mark from Annabelle's Second Chance Rescue. Mark had replied to my guestbook stating that he was going to get another dog and was looking at getting a pitbull. Thank goodness that there are people out there that look beyond the stereotypes and see what this type of pet can really be about: a loving addition to the family. Mark says Emma is 7 months old and is very friendly.

Emma and Mark, I'm glad you two have found each other!

UPDATE: Emma is adjusting nicely! Mark says Emma and his wife are like the best of buds!

From all of us pitbull lovers, thank you Mark and family for adopting a beautiful pittie and a big thanks to the family that fosters them before they are adopted!!!

How many nicknames for your dog???

2006-03-10T12:55:00.000-05:00

From my previous post, I thought I'd share some of the nicknames I have for Storm, the American Staffordshire Terrier, Delilah, & Rose both Boston Terriers. What names do you call your dog???

9) You have 32 different names for your dog. Most make no sense, but she understands.

Storm's Nicknames:
Stormie
Stormie-lou
Stormie-boo-boo
Stormie-woo-woo
Stormie-weather... (if she's being a hard head & not listening)
Poo-poo
Boo-boo
Lou-lou
Silly girl
Ms. Grace
Graceful... (or lack there of for her!)
Stormie-josophine
Wuss
Wuss-bull

Delilah's Nicknames:
Delilah-bell
Binky
Delilah-boo
Binky-boo
Dinky-binky
Delilah-doo
D-bell
D-doo
DB
Stinky tongue
Tinky-doo

Rose's Nicknames:
Rose Petal
Rosie
Rosie-posie
Scooter
Scooter-pooter
Porky... (my mom hates it when we call her that!)
Pork-A-Lot
Luv-bug

These are just a few off the top of my head, when I think of some others, I'll update!

Reply and let's see what names you call your pooch!

Are you a dog person?

2006-03-03T20:43:00.000-05:00

I received this email from my mom and laughed my patoot off because I thought it was describing me!!!! Many of you may have seen this before, or you may have even posted it, but this is the first time I've seen it.

How many of these does your life relate to? I'd say I'm about 99% of them, so I must be a dog person. (PS: I added one to the bottom!)

1) You have a kiddie wading pool in the yard, but no small children.
2) Lintwheels are on your shopping list every week.
3) You have baby gates permanently installed at strategic places around the house, but no babies.
4)The trash basket is more or less permanently installed in the kitchen sink, to keep the dog out of it while you're at work.
5) You refer to yourselves as Mommy and Daddy.
6) Your dog sleeps with you.
7) Poop has become a source of conversation for you and your significant other.
8) You can't see out the passenger side of the windshield because there are nose-prints all over the inside.
9) You have 32 different names for your dog. Most make no sense, but she understands.
10) Your dog eats cat poop, but you still let her kiss you (but notimmediately afterward, of course).
11) You like people who like your dog. You despise people who don't.
12) You carry dog biscuits in your purse or pocket at all times.
13) You talk about your dog the way other people talk about their kid.
14) You sign and send birthday/anniversary/Christmas cards from your dog.
15) You put an extra blanket on the bed so your dog can be comfortable.
16) You'd rather stay home on Saturday night and cuddle your dog than go to the movies with your sweetie.
17) You go to the pet supply store every Saturday because it's one of the very few places that lets you bring your dog inside, and your dog loves to go with you.
18) You open your purse, and that big bunch of baggies you use for pick-ups pops out.
19) You get an extra-long hose on your shower-massage just so you can use it to wash your dog in the tub, without making the dog sit hip-deep in water.
20) You and the dog come down with something like flu on the same day.
21) Your dog sees the vet while you settle for an over-the-counter remedy from the drugstore.
22) Your dog is getting old and arthritic, so you go buy lumber and build her a small staircase so she can climb onto the bed by herself.
23) Your license plate or license plate frame mentions your dog.
24) You have your dog's picture on your office desk (but no one else's).
25) You lecture people on responsible dog ownership every chance you get.
26) You skip breakfast so you can walk your dog in the morning before work.
27) You are the only idiot walking in the pouring rain because your dog needs her walk.
28) You don't go to happy hours with co-workers any more because you need to go home and see your dog.
29) Your dog acts as Best Dog at your wedding.
30) Your weekend activities are planned around taking your dog for a hike(both days).
31) You keep an extra water dish in your second-floor bedroom, in case your dog gets thirsty at night (after all, her other dish is way down on the first floor...).
32) You never completely finish a piece of steak or chicken (so your dog gets a taste, too).
33) You shovel a zigzag path in the back yard snow so your dog can reach all her favorite spots.
34) You avoid vacuuming the house as long as possible because your dog is afraid of the vacuum cleaner.
35) You keep eating even after finding a dog hair in your pasta.
36) You make popcorn just to play catch with your dog.
37) You carry pictures of your dog in your wallet instead of pictures of your parents, siblings, significant other, or anyone else remotely human.
38) Your dog is the star of your World Wide Web site!
39) Your parents refer to your pet as their granddog.
40) Your jewelry box contains no jewels... just those fasteners from vari-kennels.
41) Your house isn't carpeted--the fuzzy furballs under your feet are soft enough...
42) You don't give a second thought to using the brush you just used on your dog to give a quick run through on your own hair.
43) At your dinner parties, you always double check the butter before putting it on the table.
44) You have dog hair stuck on tape on wrapped gifts.
45) You show up at the car dealers with a ruler, to measure and see if your big dog crate will fit. Before the actual purchase you make the dealer cringe by insisting that you load both crates and dog into the shinny, new vehicle to make sure it works!
46) You can't get the groceries in the car because its
A) already full of dog food
B) you have that big old crate in there.
47) You remove all the seats from the van except the two in the front so you have room for crates...
48) The passenger seat is full of dog stuff.
49) You cringe at the price of food in the grocery store but think nothing of the cost of dog food or treats.
50) You have six squeaky hedgehogs... but only 1 with a squeaky that works.
51) People at work have stopped offering you their lint brushes; they realize it is a hopeless case.
52) Buy a cell phone to put on your dog's collar, so you can call during the day to talk to him/her!

Unknown

Grrr

2006-02-28T15:07:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, we went on a trip to the flea market, aka trade-lot. It's your typical flea market, people selling junk and people buying junk. On the side, that's where all the people that are trying to sell animals are located. Mainly dogs, but some cats, birds, ducks, rabbits, etc. Of course this is where I go, so I can look at the dogs, just to see what shape they're in, etc. There were maltese pups, beautiful blue doberman pups, cocker spaniels, heinz 57s, and, being in the area that I live in, there are MANY pitbull puppies. Did I mention MANY?!? Several trucks had puppies in the back. For the most part, all the breeds of puppies looked healthy... in other words they weren't emaciated. Me, not being a vet, I don't know about the health of the pups. But it kind of makes you wonder when there is a lady, that is a known puppy mill breeder, has a sign that says "no guarantees" posted. I've seen her buy pups from other people at the end of the day, just so she could breed & sell them. My guess is, they don't even get a trip to the vet with her. In my personal opinion, I feel that ALL dogs & cats should be neutered & spayed at least for a while, because there isn't enough people to take care of all the ones that are already here. The so called "left overs" are sent to research facilities which is sad in its self.

Anyway, back to my original reason of posting... as I was checking out the pit puppies, one truck had the parents in one crate on the back of his truck (which I tought each dog should have had a crate of it's own), but at least they were contained. While others had their dogs on a leash standing around talking. The rule at the market is, you're not suppose to be walking around with a dog unless you're selling it. As I was about to walk by a group of, lets just say... THUGS, one guy had his pit, and another guy walked by with his pit, well guess what, the dogs started firing off (barking) at each other. One guy standing there made the comment "... when I had him, he wouldn't fight, but as soon as I sold him, he started fighting..." *grrr*

As if that wasn't bad enough, when I walked by to see one of the dogs the guy was holding, the collar on the dog was way too loose. As the dog was pulling toward the other dog and the owner is pulling back, there was about an 1.5 inch gap between the dogs neck and the collar. All the dog would have to do is back up and... slip, there goes the dog out from the collar. I've seen it happen at a pit show before. (Needless to say, at that pit show, the owner of the dog that slipped out, was ejected from the property because he couldn't control his dog. They were serious about that stuff at that show.) And where I took my dog training, where they are training protection dogs, that was the first rule I was taught... "make sure the collar is tight enough so that the dog can't slip out of it." As if that wasn't bad enough, the truck of puppies that I was looking at when the other two dogs started barking at each other, had 8 week old pitties, so cute... one of the pups started barking at the two other dogs that were firing off at each other and the owner of the pup said "yeah that's a good girl, you got it in you too." *grrr*

Dealing Dogs on HBO

2006-02-23T17:35:00.000-05:00

Last night I watched a documentary on HBO called Dealing Dogs . It was about Class B dog dealers that buy & sell dogs for research and to vet schools. They're suppose to treat the dogs humanely and take care of them if they're sick, etc. But does this kennel do it that they are doing the documentary on.... NO. Martin Creek Kennels in Arkansas, fortunately for the dogs, has been shut down due to this undercover study.

If the dog had heartworms, they killed it & sold the organs. If the dog was scared and wouldn't move, they hit it or jerked it around. If the dog was trying to protect itself because it was getting beat, they shot it in the head. The dogs were so cramped in the kennels, there would be several dead dogs each week.

I would not have been able to keep my cool like the undercover guy did. I guess he looked at is as... it's a sacrifice of a few to save many more. It's such a shame that people could treat the dogs like this. And they did it for the money. Buying dogs for $20 at a flea market and then selling them for around $250 to research labs and schools.

It's a must watch, but for the true dog lover, it will rip your heart out. For those pooches that are in a loving home, they really don't realize how good they've got it. Watching this will make you appreciate what you do for your dog & love your dog that much more.

Please check out Dealing Dogs , a documentary on HBO. Watch it if you have a chance, check out the schedule of times it will be on again.

*Photo above from HBO.com*

How?

2006-02-22T14:08:00.000-05:00

Ok, maybe it’s just me, but I’m baffled on this one…

Storm has managed to get a tiny, little grass stain on her noggin.

Sheesh, I’ve got a silly doggie!

A Wonderful Way to Explain It

2006-02-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

Here's another email I received and I liked it...

A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said,

"Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and
whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear.

I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing... I know my Master is there and that is enough."

Author Unknown

Just A Dog

2006-02-16T10:11:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I received this in email and thought it was interesting & wanted to share:

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog." Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog," but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand phases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise." "Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of "just a dog," I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man or women."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog," just smile, because they "just don't understand".

Author unknown (until now...) Richard Biby

To give credit where credit is due... I received a "guestbook" message from the original author of this story. I had no idea, as I get many "forward emails" of jokes, stories, etc. as I'm sure many of you do as well. The author, Mr. Richard Biby, wrote this and had it published in the Versatile Hunting Dog, February 2006, the magazine of NAVHDA. Doing a search of this title for the magazine, here is the official link to the page. http://www.navhda.org/feature2.html . Please check it out! Mr. Biby has spoken what true dog lovers feel in their heart.

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

Hello all my computer land friends! I am back! I had gotten my computer working for a couple of days, but then guess what.... I got bit by the nasty ol' flu bug. It had me knocked down for a few days. But I'm on the uphill swing now, so I'm getting back in the swing of things!

I've missed everyone greatly! I hope all is well with everyone. This evening I'll be catching up on everyone's blog, so I can't wait!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Eating grass!?!?!?!?

2006-01-24T19:54:00.000-05:00

I'm just going to do a quick post today because I'm really tired and about ready to hit the sack. It's kind of a gross post, but as you read, does anyone have a clue what might have happened???

This morning around 2AM, Storm woke me up while she was hacking and trying to vomit. I jumped up & took her outside so that she wouldn't make a mess in the house & she was standing at the door anyway waiting to go out.

As soon as I got her out the door, she started eating grass... and I mean eating grass, just like a cow. Sometimes, as with the Bostons, she'll eat a little grass here & there, then throw it back up which I assume settles her stomach afterwards. BUT THIS TIME, she ate grass for a constant 15 minutes or so... and I mean for at least 15 minutes!!!! I was so worried about her. She never did vomit, but she continued to eat and eat and eat grass. She did a little pooey and then went in.

This morning, she did her normal potty stuff, but still yet no vomit. She didn't do that until around 3PM today. When she did, it looked like a bird's nest because there was so much grass.

Poor girl, she had me so upset & worried, but she seems to be ok now. Anyone have any ideas why???

Cesar Millan - The Dog Whisperer – HELP!

2006-01-19T14:02:00.000-05:00

Ok, there was no excuse for this mess this time. For some reason Storm likes photo albums and photos. Maybe she was just trying to have a look at them? When I came home from work & went to my parent’s house, where Storm always stays during the day, I found this mess! The box of photos and the photo album was pulled into the living room from my old bedroom, leaving a trail down the hallway. And Storm had the nerve to pick up the box and start chewing on it while I was taking pictures of the mess! Rascal!

Since my mom was at the beach, my dad would come get Storm & take her out in the mornings before he and I both go to work. Then at lunch, I would go to their house & take all the dogs out to do their thing and again when I got home from work. Normally, all they do is sleep until someone gets there. We leave the television on for them to create noise and Storm literally watches it. Luckily, my mom has finally came back from her week long vacation. Now she can exercise the dogs a little more and get some of that energy out.

Anxiety or just bored???

2006-01-16T14:50:00.000-05:00

I’ve been pretty busy this week. My mom has gone to the beach, so that means when I go home for lunch the doggies are READY to go out! When I go up to my parent’s house, the dogs are usually just sleeping... what a dog’s life! This is Storm at my house.

This weekend, my ½ brother & his family came down to visit. I got to see my new niece that’s 5 months old now, what a baby doll. Storm was just absolutely captivated by her. I wish I had my camera, but of course I forgot it on Saturday. Storm would lick Savannah’s tiny, little feet & toes and Savannah would just laugh & giggle. It was sooooo cute!

We all went out shopping and out to eat on Sunday before they had to leave. This is what we saw when my dad and I walked into his house that evening... you can’t see it in the picture, but newspapers were everywhere also.... Rascals!

The love of a dog...

2006-01-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

It’s amazing how much the unconditional love of a dog can change how you feel. If you’ve had a bad day at work, school, or just in general, when you get home and your dog comes running up to greet you all the problems wash away for a bit. They don’t care what kind of day you’ve had, they’re just happy to see you. They appreciate the little scratch behind the ear, chin scratch, or belly rub; just the littlest bit of attention is appreciated. Why can’t in some ways, we be more like a dog?

Christmas is for the dogs... Literally!

2005-12-26T12:58:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple pictures of me (Storm), Delilah, & Rose up at Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw's house as we're opening our presents!!! Yippeeee, we had so much fun! Even though there were presents for everyone, I had to go smell Rose & Delilah's presents, just to make sure they didn't have anything that smelled better than mine! We all had a great time and I think mommy laughed so hard, she almost missed a few good photo opportunities! But she got enough pictures taken because I was seeing polkadots everywhere!

Here, I decided that I liked this bone and NOBODY, but NOBODY was going to get it from me so I ran down the hallway to get away.

Then I saw how much fun everyone was having, so I decided to come a little bit closer to everyone & mommie decided to take another picture, and you can see what I thought of that!

Here Delilah is sniffing out the rest of our presents! We had to have a little help with these, because our attention was mainly on the bones... mmm, bones.

And here's Rosie, she's completely ignorning all the other toys & chewing on her bone!

All in all, we had a great Christmas! I hope each & everyone of you woof~woofs out there had a great one too!

~Woof!
Storm

All Wrapped Out...

2005-12-23T23:39:00.000-05:00

Whew, talk about wrapping... finally, I think it's pretty much complete! Of course Storm helped out a tiny bit too!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

May you all have a blessed holiday season!

Love & puppy kisses!

Cotton Candy & a Pit Bull

2005-12-21T19:09:00.000-05:00

My dog loves cotton candy. She'll go through all of her tricks, just to get a piece. But then... here comes the sugar rush!!!

It's all good though, because she makes a good sticky finger cleaner!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - sort of...

2005-12-16T19:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, here is my pathetic, plain attempt at decorating a Christmas tree. By no means do I have the talent that Faira has, maybe she can give me a few pointers!

The first pic of the front of my house. Notice the TINY bush to the side... it has lights. Wa-hoo!

Next, the table beside my stairs. It has the Santa photos & a piney centerpiece. You can't see the runner, but it is cute with Cardinals on trees in the snow.

And at last, the Christmas tree. This was taken looking down from the loft. I've been in this house for 2 years now and just last month, I put up some curtains. Normally, the couch is sitting in front of the windows. Storm likes to walk by the tree & knock the balls off with her tail. Silly girl.

Pupcorn

2005-12-13T21:38:00.000-05:00

This evening as Storm and I were sitting on the downstairs couch with the light of the Christmas tree, I decided to pop some popcorn.

In the first picture Storm is saying, "Mommmmmmie puhleeeease let me have some popcorn! Please!!!"

In the second picture Storm looks into the camera and says... "I know mommie is going to give me some popcorn! How could she resist the soppy eye trick?"

Third picture, do I really need to type it???

"Yes!!!.... Mmmm, yummy popcorn! Makes me wanna lick my lips."

All I can say is the soppy eye trick does it every time.

Santa Paws

2005-12-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

Today was filled with Santa Paws. Our local mall had a special time set up for people to bring their pets to have their picture taken with Santa Clause this morning. So of course we took part in the festivities!

It was fun. While we were standing in line, a guy that worked in the mall came up to me and asked if I had any puppies for sale of Storm's. I told him no, then he asked if I was going to breed her and I had to tell him that she had been spayed. He kept talking about her color. The pictures really don't show what her color truly looks like. Anyway, it was nice to have her complimented on. I think Santa was a little afraid of Storm. He said, "She's not going to bite me, is she?" I laughed and said, "only if you steal her cookies" and giggled a little more.

After the visit to the mall, since we were out, we decided to go to PetSmart. They had a Santa there too, so we had pictures taken there again. There is a story that happened there, that I would like to talk about.

There were a couple of small "foo-foo" dogs standing in line in front of us waiting on Santa. Everyone was friendly and petting each other's dogs. Our two Boston Terriers were in a shopping cart (it's easier to control them & they like to ride) and Storm was behaving nicely (just as an AmStaff should) with the kids that came up to pet her. The line was growing and some people came in with four Boston Terriers, an adorable puppy, a pretty female, and two BIG boy Bostons. Here's where the story gets interesting...

The biggest boy Boston, named Diesal, started barking at the other dogs and in particular, the small puppy Maltese in front of Storm. Diesal broke loose from the boy holding him and started to attack the Maltese!!!! Luckily, the woman with the Maltese pulled her up to safety before anything bad happened. Storm started barking at Diesal, telling him that he shouldn't pick on doggies just because they are smaller than him. (He was a big 37 pounds ~ the Maltese... maybe 5 pounds!) I told her that's right, but to calm down and be the better dog, so she sat back down. The other people got Diesal back into their possesion. That was the point where I stated to the people in front of me.... "If that had that been Storm (pointing to her), we would have been escorted out of PetSmart, just because she's a pit bull." And proudly showed my purple anti-bsl bracelet... that's why it shouldn't be a ban on certain breeds. Then that lead into my speech on places that have already banned pits.

But as if one time wasn't bad enough, when the people with the Bostons got in line for the pictures, Diesal almost got into a fight with another dog in the back of the line. What do you think people would have done had that been Storm doing that twice??? Finally, Diesal was put into a buggy also. The lady made the comment to him & the other Bostons, "why can't you behave like the other two sitting in the buggy". (She was speaking of Delilah & Rose, our well behaved Bostons.) She also made the comment that they did not take their dogs out to places normally. Has she ever heard of "SOCIALIZATION"???? Now don't get me wrong, I love Boston Terriers, just as I love pit bulls, but I was so aggrivated at the fact that this was happening.

Needless to say, I was proud of our doggies today. I just had to brag on them for a moment.

Frappr

2005-12-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

Woof~Woof everyone!!!!

Shasta at Defend-A-Bull sent me an email wanting me to join this site. It's Frappr . I'm not sure how she found it, but I think it would be really neat if we could all put ourselves on the map and all link up.

If you decide to do this, when you get logged in, you'll see where you can add friends... type my address amstaffie@hotmail.com . This will link you to mine, then you can click on the other "friends" and link to theirs also.

We could all look on the map and see where everyone is at!

~Storm~

10th Annual Toy Run For Kids

2005-12-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

Whew, I'm back and glad to be over that nasty bug that I had. I've been so busy, today is the first day I've actually had time to do the blog thing. So here goes...

Saturday, I forced myself out of bed to attend the 10th Annual Gaston County Toy Run For Kids event. This is where motorcycle riders bring toys and all ride together to help deliver the toys to designated areas where less fortunate children are waiting. My dad helps direct this event and it's getting bigger and bigger each year! This year there were around 1,000 motorcycles riding in the run. The toys and money that are left over are split between families in the local area that are on bad times, have been laid off, or are needy for some reason or another. It started around 11:45. I was video taping and taking pictures, since I haven't rode my motorcycle enough to be able to ride in it this year. Plus I was really weak from being so sick for so many days. When the motorcycles pulled out onto the main road I was standing on the corner video taping and it was a full 15 minutes of motorcycles riding 2 by 2. That's a lot of bikes! Here are some pictures of all the bikes parked at the church, which was the starting point.

Kids at Toy Run

2005-12-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of some of the kids getting toys at one of the stops. There were 3 box trucks packed full with toys.

Frosty Paws

2005-12-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

During my day out, there was another event that we attended... Frosty Paws walk. We along with about 16 other dogs ventured out to the park where there is a walking track. Unfortunately when we arrived, it started raining. Here is a pic of Storm with her "Be Kind" collar on and I was wearing my anti-BSL bracelet, but I forgot to get a pic of that. The other pic is of Bubba and Bella. They also got to appear in the city's parade on Sunday.

Down & Out... for the count!

2005-12-01T19:39:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!!! I've been down & out for the count. As if being down wasn't bad enough, I've had a double wammy of a cold, in my head & tummy. A sinus infection and a tummy virus, both at the same time, since Sunday! I've gotten up enough strength to come downstairs & check my email & my blog. Thank you for all of your concerns. I weighed myself just a few minutes ago and I'm back down to 107lbs. :( I had actually gotten up to 114lbs two weeks ago. So much for that hard work.
My mom keeps popping in to check on me & is threatening to take me to the hospital because she's scared I'm getting dehydrated. This is the worst tummy virus I've ever had in my whole life!!!! But I'll be ok, I've started drinking some fluids now & have gotten some medicine in me.

I hope everyone isn't too upset with me, I'll start blogging again soon! Well as soon as I get back up to speed!

Hugs to everyone!

NO BSL

2005-11-22T13:55:00.000-05:00

Look what I received today in the mail from a dearest friend in Canada. Conners sent me this "All Breeds Equal Stop BSL" bracelet, along with a special card (that actually helped more than intended, but that's another story). That was really cool. Now when I take Storm to places, I can wear my bracelet and she can wear her "Be Kind" collar. I'll have to get some pics of that when we go out again.

Thank you Connie!

You can call me flower...

2005-11-18T19:00:00.000-05:00

I was looking out my dormer window in my bedroom today as I was watering my Gerbera Daisy. Today with all the cold weather around, I thought I would take a picture & post to remind us of the spring time. My mom gave me this Gerbera Daisy for my birthday; I can't believe it's still alive! It got a little scary there for a week or so when I forgot to water it. But luckily it perked back up. These are my favorite types of flowers. I think they are just the cutest.

Don't get me wrong, I love the fall and winter, but just seeing this flower brings a warm, fuzzy feeling. *giggle* (Just being silly.)

Protection Dog ! ? !

2005-11-16T11:15:00.000-05:00

Storm and Delilah are playing watch dog at maw-maw & paw-paw’s house.

We all (Storm, Rose, & Delilah) went to the local pet store last night to get some dog food. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera... if figures, there would have been a couple of great shots! Since there wasn’t any business going on at the grooming shop, we had all the dogs pampered for a minute. They had their nails clipped, ears cleaned, sprayed with doggie perfume, and had a bandanna tied around their neck. Since they were all such good girls, we bought a couple of toys for them. Of couse when we got home, the toys only lasted for a couple of minutes, because Storm is pretty tough on the toys. She could tear apart a steel ball I think!

My mom decided she wanted to get Rose a harness that would stop her from pulling. (I’ll let you know if it works or not.) Needless to say, at the store we wanted to try it on Rosie first, to make sure it fit. We couldn’t figure it out, so my mom found someone that worked there, which happened to be the manager. He tried to help us, but he was just as lost as we were. Then it hit me, ta-da, I figured it out... then the manager said, “Want a job?” We all just giggled.

People that walked by were very friendly, they pet all the dogs and talked positively about Storm. Storm was giving away all my kisses. Then a cute couple walked up to us while we were getting the food. They just oooo’d & ahhh’d about the dogs, & especially Storm, because they knew people that had pits. But then something strange happened. Storm was a little stand-off-ish with the guy & Delilah was wanting his attention. Storm didn’t have a problem with the girl though. Delilah is usually the one who doesn’t want anything to do with anyone out in public. Storm stayed by my side most of the time while they were around. I don’t know what she was thinking, but it’s times like that, that I wish Storm could whisper in my ear. Storm was watching the guy, he said that she was trying to protect me. I felt she was wanting me to protect her. Oh well... we all had fun.

Toodles!

Special Day

2005-11-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

May I have your attention please?!?!

Guess what today is.... It’s Storm’s birthday!!! Yippee! She’s 2 years old today!

Happy birthday dear Storm,
Happy birthday dear Storm,
Happy birthday dear Stormie,
Happy birthday Stormie-lou!
I love you!

Cirque du Soleil

2005-11-10T15:00:00.000-05:00

Bonjour amie,

On Wednesday evening, we went to see VAREKAI, which is performed by Cirque du Soleil . Please check out their site. It is a Canadian Circus that travels all around the world, with their home base in Montréal, Canada. The performers are also from all over the world. If you have the opportunity to see this show, go see it! It is amazing. You wouldn’t believe it, until you’ve seen it for yourself. The acrobatics that these people perform is absolutely incredible. The music that is played is hypnotising. And, it’s all live... live performance, live singers, live band. I bet most of the performers do not have an ounce of body fat, they are strickly lean muscle. They have total muscle control. During the whole show, I was sitting in amazement of the acts that were being performed on stage.

The seats we had were 3rd row back on the stage’s left side. In other words, there were only two rows between us & the stage. So close we could watch the expressions on their faces. I know this is their job, but watching them smile made it that much more better. As they were watching each other, they watched as if it was their first time seeing the performance. It really made a difference in the story that was being portrayed. And surprisingly enough, when the performers were on stage, they all seemed to be having a good time, or at least it seemed that way.

Did I mention these people are beautiful? The guys & girls were all stunning. They do their own make-up. Their costumes were very brilliantly colored.

I've heard some negative comments about this show, being low-budget, cheap costumes, and people feeling that it wasn't worth the $$. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but did you stop to think about all the strenuous activities that these performers are doing? Can you do that? No, I didn't think so. So for those of you who only have something negative to say about it, I think you need to take a step back and realize this is what these people get paid to do. They would still look amazing flying through the air with "every day" clothes on. People pay much more $$ to see operas, musicals, concerts, etc. And guess what... Cirque du Soleil includes all of that!

Au revoir!

Watching

2005-11-08T20:15:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, we put Storm out on a line, so that she could play outside with the boston terriers. The bostons will stay in close proximity of us, but Storm if given an inch will take a mile, literally. So we have rigged her flexi-leash to be able to hook it to the zip-line. On this line, we’ve put a clamp to stop how far over she’s able to go. (When she goes too far, she can get into dirt & mud, which isn’t good for everyone's carpet!)

For some unknown reason, Storm has taken a fancy to this clamp. She’s almost neurotic with it. She stares at it, walks in circles looking at it, and stands on her hind legs to look at it. So to cure her curiosity of the clamp, I picked her up so that she could get close to it and see what it was. What did she do??? She snapped at it & licked it, then jumped down and started watching it again. I can’t figure out what it is that is making her so crazy over this thing.

My new bike!

2005-11-05T22:15:00.000-05:00

I'm back again!!! Today I picked up my new bike. Well it's not "new", but it's new to me!! It's a 2004 Ninja 250. I know it's a small bike, but hey... I'm just starting out. I'm going to learn how to ride this and if I decide I like riding, then I'll get me a 600. Here is a picture of what mine looks like...

I'm really excited. I can't wait to learn how to ride. I drove it about the length of a football field tonight when I got it home, I was so scared. It was dark & chilly.

The next thing I need to buy is a side cart so I can take Storm riding! *giggle*

We're back!

2005-11-02T09:30:00.000-05:00

I know Storm and I have been away from the blog for a while, and I hope everyone isn’t too upset with us. We can’t wait to get back to all of your blogs out there to catch up with what’s going on. Although it’ll have to be later this evening before we can do that, because I’m at work taking a short break at the moment and Storm is at home, probably sleeping!

I’d like to take a second to wish a dear friend of mine birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday Angelita!

Be Kind Collar

2005-10-26T20:30:00.000-05:00

FINALLY! They have arrived.
Conners, tell Shasta to be checking the mail in a week or so!

My low battery was blinking, I think maybe that's why my pictures turned out so blurry...(?)

Anyway... you get the idea!

Click the link & get your pooch one!

https://gateway.hsus.org/hsusdev/

Howl-O-Ween

2005-10-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

For those of you that have ever watched the "Lil Rascals" you know the adorable Petey. Well, that was Storm's costume for the PetSmart costume contest yesterday evening. OK, the circle isn't quite a circle and the make up ran a little bit, but have you ever tried to draw a circle around a dog's eye? Trust me, it wasn't that easy. Delilah was a "lil' pumpkin" and Rose was the "Best Dawggone Taste Tester".

We took Storm and the Boston Terriers to PetSmart. There were so many people there with their doggies. There were witches, devils, angels, pumpkins, a flower, Elvis, a couple of hotdogs, a couple sharks, and several Hawaiin outfits. The picture with Storm & the shark, the shark was a tiny, pug puppy. It was precious. All the doggies were just too cute. The rotti was a cute witch, and the corgies well, you can see the picture!

Unfortunately, we didn't win any prizes, but everyone had a great time. Did I mention that Storm was the only AmStaff there? I know... but she WAS on her best behavior.

MSF - BRC

2005-10-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I passed it... I think it was out of the pure kindness of the Rider Coach’s heart though... & not luck. (Because it definitely wasn’t my “good” riding skills that got me through it.) I NEED PRACTICE. But I did do great on the written test! Does that count? I’m sure about now, you’re thinking what is this chick talking about???

This weekend, I took a Motorcycle Safety Foundation – Beginners Riding Course with a couple of friends. Duh, here I am, not having any motorcycle riding experience, except for riding on the back, thinking ok, this is going to be fun and easy. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun, but a bit scary too... Especially when it’s your first time doing any of the exercises with a motorcycle. *yikes*

Easy, you ask... yeah right... that dreaded box and anticipation. That's all I have to say about that. *sigh*

It’s 2.5 days that starts on Friday from 6PM-10PM and Saturday and Sunday at 8AM-6PM. They also provide the motorcycles. They're really cool looking... NOT! But that's ok, everyone else is on a dorky looking one just like yourself. Needless to say, I’m quite a bit tired today, from lack of “catch up” sleep over the weekend and I think I had tense muscles the whole time I was out on the range riding.

I always wanted to ride a motorcycle myself, growing up around motorcycles. Any chance I’d get, I’d hop right on the back of one... only had I read the book we received for the course, I may have thought twice about riding on the back with others. You’re really putting your life in someone else’s hands. There are so many things you have to consider while driving a motorcycle... I’m sure it becomes instinct after some experience, but in the beginning for me, my brain is racing around. Think about it, at times you're moving both hands & both feet at the same time, doing different things!!! *geesh*

I had my camera and took a few pics on Saturday morning, but unfortunately I forgot I had it the rest of the time. I wish I'd taken a pic of everyone, that I could share in this post, but I didn't. *sniff* It's definitely a time I'll remember. On Saturday morning, I thought this isn't for me. But I know I need practice and I'm going to get one... but only a small one, like maybe a Ninja 250 (don't laugh), at least until I get more comfortable and confident in riding one. Practice, practice, practice.

If you’re ever thinking about riding a motorcycle or even if you already do, I recommend this class. You learn a lot of valuable information that you just don’t normally think about. This course is worth the time. I’d probably benefit from a few private lessons too, considering I'm still a little "timid" when it comes to the throttle... but oh well...

One of the main things to remember....... keep head & eyes up & look to where you want to go!
PS: It helps to do that when you're walking too. *wink*

Thanx Blair & Doug for an experience I won't forget! Who knows, maybe one day, we'll pass in the wind... You may just want to get way over in the far side of the lane when I go by! *giggle*

Conners' B-day on 22-October

2005-10-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to you!!!
Happy birthday to you!!!
Happy birthday dear Connie!!!
Happy birthday to youuuuuuu!

Storm and I hope that you have a great "22nd" birthday!!!!

Another puppy needing prayers

2005-10-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

This is Bella, a boxer friend of Storm's. She had a place on her hind leg. Her vet removed it and sent off to make sure it wasn't anything bad. Could you also keep her & her humans in your thoughts & prayers?

Bella is not too fond of her lampshade either. Her big brother, Bubba was trying to comfort her by giving her some love. So sweet, that's what big brother is for!

My Poor Little Pit Bull

2005-10-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

Today I had to take Storm to the vet today, the 3rd time in the past 3 weeks. She weighed a wopping 53.8 pounds! We took her back because of her strained, possibly torn, cruciate legiment. This is a common problem with dogs. She's not to fond of being on the vet's table and unfortunately we had to sedate her because of she wouldn't let the vet feel her leg and look in her ears. (She'd been flapping quite a bit lately.) As soon as he sedated her, about 15 seconds later, she was out chasing squirrels in doggie land!
The vet has this really cool camera that goes down into the ear and shows up on the tv screen, Storm's ears looked like she had some 'taters growing in them. They flushed her ears really well. After all was said & done... & my pocketbook is a little thinner, I carried a limp Storm to the car. She was so pittiful. *sniff* I wanted to cry.

This picture is of Storm when we got her home. I left Storm with her maw-maw because I had to go back to work. She's acting almost like herself now.

All in all, there's nothing to do except see if it will heal on it's own in about 6 weeks. That means no running & jumping. If this doesn't work... surgery. He didn't recommend putting a cast on it, because it would mess up the outside of her leg.

She's limping a lot more now, if you're reading this & don't mind, would you say a little prayer for her? Pray that she'll heal & not need surgery. Thank you, we really appreciate it!

Cotton Gin Festival

2005-10-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend we had a good ol' country-fied "Cotton Gin Festival" at the park above my house. This is where farm folk and country bumpkins come out of the woodworks! I had no idea we had so many around this area! This was the first year that I went to it... I took Storm to join along in the fun.

They had some people dressed up in civil war uniforms with a small cannon... don't let the word "small" fool you, it was EXTREMELY loud. Here are a few pictures... Needless to say, Storm didn't too much care for the loud boom that she heard, I think the vibrations through the ground scared her a bit too. But then again, I don't know of too many dogs that can handle such a loud "ka-boom"!

We got to eat funnel cake and bought some cotton-candy... *mmmm* We bought some boiled peanuts and a bag of homemade pork-rinds. Haven't tried them yet, but a sweet lady gave Storm a couple to taste test... They passed!

I hope that I educated a few people out there. I had her gentle leader on and almost everyone thought it was a muzzle. I noticed a few "if you have to put a muzzle on her, why did you bring her here" looks from some people. Some did ask if it was a muzzle & I politely corrected them saying it was a gentle leader, not a muzzle & explained how it worked. Kids really wanted to pet her... kids are not biased against pit bulls, they just see D~O~G~G~I~E. But many parents were afraid, except for the few that told me their stories of raising pits or their friend has a pit. I always told everyone, she's a licker, not a biter!

All in all the day went well. One of the stages where people had been playing blue-grass & gospel music was still set up, so I saw perfect photo op! People stopped to watch me take her pictures. Here's a couple of what we came up with...

Do Dogs Have Cleaner Mouths Than Humans?

2005-10-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

Last night I was 20/20 Friday night and they were talking about myths & germs. The #2 myth was...

"Dogs Cleaner Mouths Than Humans?

It was very interesting. If you have a second check it out and when you're through reading, give your dog a big kiss! *giggle*

Another Great Pit Bull Site

2005-10-13T20:15:00.000-05:00

Please check out the link below....

The Inconspicious Pit Bull Enthusiast

Warning some of the pics are not for those with a weak stomach.

I can't believe those who are sent to help are so cruel and inhumane. They have such a lack of compassion.

They are such ba5tards. I hate to say words like that and I apologize if it offended, but that is how I feel about the cruel people.

Bean the Pit & Goggle Dog

2005-10-10T17:50:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, check out these blogs that I came across.
One's name is Bean... click on the link and check out the webcam at the doggie-sitter. I think that is just the neatest thing!

http://data.gointranet.com/cgi-bin/unitloc/cbw/locator.cgi?cpage=doggiecam.html&cu=nbleau&cl=Durham

The other is Goggle Dog... and you just thought that I dressed my poochies up!!!!

Both great sites... I've added them to the side under doggie blogs!

Check them out!

My Helix

2005-10-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

Ok, this post has absolutely NOTHING to do with my dog, it's more to do with my mop, as in my hair! Today I had my hair cut. I've had this same hairstyle for over a decade now. Straight and limp. And I mean STRAIGHT and LIMP. Never would it EVER take a perm, back in the days that perms were cool. My hair never, ever had any body to it what so ever. Until now.

For those of you that have been blessed with natural body or curl in your hair, you may not think this is much, but to me & to those that have known me... know what my hair does.... absolutely nothing! Just look at my profile picture or the other pictures in my posts... that' it... straight.

This is a different way of cutting your hair. It uses special scissors and a special technique of cutting, or should I say sculpting. I was 100% sceptical when I was told about this type of cut from a dear friend. But seeing is believing.

I couldn't get this much of a curl & body with a curling iron. And this is done with a cut. No brushes, no curlers, just a hair defuser, and a helix cut!

I've called several salons, day spas, etc. and no one has heard of it around here, much less do it. If they know what's good for them, maybe they should take up this style of sculpting!

Check out the site www.myhelix.com

Just in case you read this.... thanx Mike for the new style! If you're ever in Gatlinburg, TN, stop by Resort Salon of Gatlinburg and see Mike!!

http://www.seviercountynews.com/seviercountynews/default.asp?id=3&a_id=1886

Storm's New Outfit

2005-10-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

Take a look at Storm's new outfit. She's got a new collar and a thigh-high boot!!! Nah, just joking.

I feel really bad for her. We were playing around last night and she got a hyper spurt and started doing the "bull run". (You know the run when they tuck their butt down and run like they're sitting!) Well, she tried to run on the cushions of the couch where you lean up against and her right hind leg got caught between the cushions, she turned to run at me, and that's when it happened. YELP! And then she started limping. :(

Poor Stormie! *sniff-sniff*

This morning she went to the vet & he put some wrappings around her leg. He said that she has some torn legaments or tendons (?I don't know.). But since we brought her in so quickly, hopefully the wrapping would work, but if it didn't, she'd have to have surgery. She's got to wear that for 2 weeks. Do you know how hard it is to keep something on a dog for that long!!?!??!??!

And of all days, it finally started to rain. It hasn't rained in months here. BUT, Storm's wrappings can't get wet. So we have to put a plastic bag on her leg before we take her out. *Geesh* I'm glad it's raining, be really, really needed it... but today????

That Elizabethian collar makes it so hard for her to move around. She keeps bumping into things. When she sniffs the ground or goes to look out the glass door, she looks as if she is "suction cupped" to it. She's a quick learner though, she's already figured out how to get to her foot, which this collar is suppose to protect! *sigh*

Events

2005-10-01T17:50:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics from the events that Storm, Delilah and I was in. It was a little hot in the sun, so until it was our turn, we sat in the shade.

Dogtoberfest pics

2005-10-01T17:40:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics of other doggies at the dogtoberfest!! This boxer is Bubba! He is a ham for the camera. What a sweetheart! There were some really, really big, big dogs there too, some great danes and some great pyrenees also!! Woah, big! And of course some small ones too!

Dogtoberfest

2005-10-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

Well, today is my birthday and I wasn't too excited about waking up this morning, because it's the big 3-0. Yes, that's right, I will now start my age with a different number. *sigh* Anyway, the only thing that got me out of bed this morning was Dogtoberfest at the park here in town. So I scooped up Storm, my mom, & the 2 bostons and away we went. I must admit, I think we all had a pretty good time. I actually almost forgot it was my birthday... almost.

There were contests, so of course being the 30 year old kid that I am, I just had to enter some of them (mind you, I wasn't the oldest kid there either). The first contest that I entered was the "treat catching" contest. I decided Storm would be best for that one. All was going well, until the people beside of me destracted Storm's attention and idiot me, threw the treat, and she missed. But that's ok because we came in 2nd!! The next event we entered was the "barking" contest. We all know that a dog will bark when we don't want it to, but when asked to bark... nothing. Well, Storm barked 9 times in 1 minute. The winner barked 84 times in 1 minute. Needless to say, Storm didn't win that one. The last event I entered was the "t-shirt race". I just knew Delilah would be great at that, because I used to dress her up all the time when she was a pup. We had to run down a field, get a shirt that fit out of a tub, put it on the dog, and run back across the finish line. Delilah and I did it in 23 seconds flat!! Wa-hoo, Delilah got 1st place!! :)

Different little tents were set up giving out little freebies, etc. It was a perfect day for this too. I'm going to put more pictures on my other webpage in a day or so. I'll put a few up on my blog too!

~ A Perfect Storm ~

Pitbull Rescued

PIT BULL INVOLVED IN INCIDENT WITH CHILD AT AKC EVENT!!!

It's spring time!!!!

Sorry... Happy Late Valentines Day

It's that time again!!!!

A little message...

11th Annual Gaston County Toy Run For Kids

Back to the beach

Show Time

Puppy buddy

The big 3 !!!

Another Day at Kure Beach

More Carolina Beach

Boo!

Part 1 - A Day at Carolina Beach

Part 2 - A Day at Carolina Beach

Part 3 - A Day at Carolina Beach

It's been another year... Oct. 22nd

Little Switzerland

Dogtoberfest

Blowing Rock, NC Road Trip

New bike!!!

Chimney Rock (again)

Ride to Chimney Rock & Blue Ridge Parkway

Side of car

Gaston County Hospice Poker Run

Tagged

Ok, now it's really getting close to home...

More PetSmart Pooh

PetSmart Breed Discrimination

Stylin'

Skydive (Part 3)

Skydive (Part 2)

Skydive Carolina (Part 1)

PetSmart Doggie Day Camp

Time Off...

Shakers "Self-Serve" Doggie Wash

Shakers Dog Wash (Part 2)

Dogs 101

Chimney Rock - Lake Lure

Another fur baby in need of prayers...

My Stormie is feeling better!

Road Trip

Please say a prayer

Murphy the AmStaff

Show - part 2

Just Plain Dog Show

From Boxers to Pitbulls

Dog Walk

Oh what a day....

Anti BSL & Holy Bible

From the Dog

Shame Stormie, Shame

Another pitbull saved!

How many nicknames for your dog???

Are you a dog person?

*Grrr*

Dealing Dogs on HBO

How?

A Wonderful Way to Explain It

Just A Dog

Happy Valentine's Day

Eating grass!?!?!?!?

Cesar Millan - The Dog Whisperer – HELP!

Anxiety or just bored???

The love of a dog...

Christmas is for the dogs... Literally!

All Wrapped Out...

Cotton Candy & a Pit Bull

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - sort of...

Pupcorn

Santa Paws

Frappr

10th Annual Toy Run For Kids

Kids at Toy Run

Frosty Paws

Down & Out... for the count!

NO BSL

You can call me flower...

Grrr