Proud Moment

Today I recieved a plain brown envelope in the mail. To my surprise Chula recieved a medal for the IWPA regional 80 pound weight group. All the hard work we put in last year has paid off. Hours of pulling on hot south Texas mornings, miles of pulling a drag sled has shown in her performance. While we started this sport as a way to tire out my crazy lab mix. After going to our first weight pull show we were hooked. She is now registered with IWPA and the UKC. We only need one more pull for her to title in IWPA and one more pull to title with the UKC. I'm so proud of my black dog.

Pitiful Pearle Makes Four

I just don’t understand people. Try as I may, why would someone get a puppy and then toss it aside like garbage when something goes wrong? Meet Pitiful Pearle, fourth and according to my husband my last dog. Yeah, right!

I didn’t want a fourth dog, three is more than enough to keep me busy. However, with the help of one very persistent shelter worker, I have my fourth dog. It started out with my friend telling me about the cutest little Chihuahua that she needed to find a foster home. I told her lovingly to keep looking. We played this game for a week when my friend told me, “Just remember tomorrow at 8:30am.” Wait a second, what happens? Am I supposed to be there? She then told me that the little Chihuahua was to be put to sleep. No fair, dirty pool this was just plain mean! After cussing under my breath, I told her to bring me the dog.

Sharrel, met me in the parking lot, with a little carrier. I couldn’t wait to see this little dog she had be raving about. When the crate came open, a crusty, scabby, hairless little puppy walked out and looked at me with the most soulful eyes I’ve ever seen. All I could do was utter, “Oh, you pitiful little pearl.” This was the ugliest dog I have ever seen to say the least. After exchanging meds, food, toys and crate, I was on the way home to explain to my husband this ugly little puppy. We had already discussed how much trouble could one Chihuahua puppy be. We agreed that four more tablespoons of food wasn’t too much. What we didn’t know was yet to come.

The first night Pitiful Pearle (her new name with an e added to it for fun) tried to attack Hondo. She apparently had to fight for most things in her young life and didn’t know that food, soft places to lie and water come freely here. The next night, I went to move her to a crate and the little stinker attacked me. I called the agency I was fostering with, explained her behavior, and suggested she go to an experienced home. They laughed and told me that is why she was with me. I was not amused; I was not keeping this puppy!

As she began to heal, I had to take her back to the shelter for shots and more meds. While in the clinic, she became a shell of the dog I had at home. She hid in a corner and shook, she knew were she was and I believe didn’t want to stay. After her shots, she had a reaction, and then a few days later she had a reaction to the meds. The meds changed her behavior to a little beast with needles for teeth, which she would use without hesitation. I talked to my husband and mentioned how afraid she was at the shelter. At that moment, we knew we were keeping her. We have gone through a lot with her. She will still try to push Hondo around, although she is finally figuring out that food comes every day, twice a day even. We have had emergency surgeries, and allergies to all vaccinations.

The hair has grown back and she is a beautiful little black Chihuahau, filled with, love and life. She is determined and stubborn, the two qualities that kept the little puppy alive for two weeks on the streets. Alert and stealthy is her other qualities that today can even get her in trouble. She is an awesome little girl, who has found her forever home. Meet our new member of the pack, Pitiful Pearle.

A Dog Show; No Bully Show

Today I went to a dog show, no wait it was a bully show. Today was indeed very educational. There is a big difference between a dog show and a bully show. A dog show is very organized and gorgeous dogs trot around the ring as the judge scrutinizes the shape and body of the dog. We wait with abated breath trying our hardest to pick out the winner. The handlers are dressed in their finest yet not taking away from the dog. I know of handlers that try to color coordinate their outfits to the dogs they are showing. The dogs are judge on breed standard and should be able to do the job they were bred to do.

Now the bully shows, come as you are in the show ring. No need to dress up, in fact just attach a tow chain to the dogs spiked collar. If the dog is groomed great if not no worries just take him on in the ring. The dogs are drug around the ring, as most of them couldn’t trot if they wanted to. You think I’m exaggerating? Oh no, these dogs couldn’t stand in the stack position for more than two seconds let alone trot proudly around the show ring. When in the stacked position the dogs would just collapse into splayed out mess. I must hand it to the judge; it must be very hard judging a bunch of pancake dogs. Speaking of the show ring, there are no mats, it is just a roped off area. The funniest thing of all was that there was a beer can in the middle of the ring and no one picked it up. Not a judge, ring steward or contestant had half a mind to kick the empty Bud Light can out of the show ring. What kind of job can a pancake dog do? Be a doorstop? A rug holder downer? Don’t get me wrong I love all dogs and even found a few of them not bad looking. In fact the ones I liked got the gate pretty quick. I found it easy to pick out the winner. Find the dog with the worst confirmation and that was the winner. My friend Pamela and I got pretty good at picking first, second and third. It cost $15 to get in the gate, most AKC and UKC shows are free, it cost to park, again free at most shows. I didn’t pay we hiked in. It cost to set up a booth or tent to hold your dogs. Most people there were young and I would think have a hard time making ends meet. Yet they are paying $3,000 or more for a dog. If I paid $3,000 for a dog, you’d better believe it would be a top notch Catahoula that could walk into a UKC ring and tear it up. It had better not only be able to stand for the judge, it had better be able to herd cattle all day and tree coons all night. Today was an educational day. I’m not meaning to offend the bully people, I just don’t understand the breed standard. Or the wanting to breed a dog that can’t do more than lay splayed out like a pancake.