Sometimes life just happens and something that you put away for a little bit just gets lost in the shuffle. Thirty some odd years ago I put a fun talent away and it got lost in that shuffle. Thanks to an internet friend and artist I had a desire to test drive that old talent and rediscovered the fun I always had in drawing. Thought I would share a few things that are finished and the beginning of one I started today. Welcome back into my life drawing pad, pencils, pastels and erasers. Missed ya'll!

Booger

Pantera

Rough out Quihi

  My how time flies! It has really flown by since May of 2011 with the new addition to our little pack. This is the first glimpse I saw of the dog that would start mending my broken heart. He came from a dear weight pull friend. He is a two year old American Pit Bull Terrier named Booger. He had spent the first part of his life in his 10x10 kennel and running a 2 acre field.

Booger aka  Cooper's Digging For Gold, needed to learn everything. We started with leash manners then, sit and down. Booger started out as I would expect, a little unsure of his surroundings and not confident in himself. As I took him to classes that I was teaching you can see just how much he has changed. His confidence growing not only in the home and training area but also on the weight pull track.  Here are some pictures taken the past few months showing the change in this fantastic dog.








In this picture you can see that he really isn't too sure about having his picture taken. My little camera shy guy.

Last potty stop on the way home. Getting to know Ms Chula too.













First weight pull training session.

 Booger's first toy. He wasn't sure if I was going to take it away from him or not.

Booger beginning to get in shape as well as discovering the art of treeing a squirrel.

GET IT BOY!!!

Notice Ms. Chula getting in the picture. No we haven't forgotten about her at all.

His first APA show. Not sure of what it's about, but we have plenty of time to learn.













Booger last week at work. He has been so much fun. He has a personality of sheer goofiness. I don't think I have ever laughed at a dog as much as I laugh at this one. He is a loyal, hardworking companion. He will never be a Hondo, but he is Booger and he has made his own way into my heart. Not as a replacement, but making his own place right along side the dog who will forever live in my heart.

Thank you Cody Cooper for this fantastic goofball of a dog.

A Thief in Our Midst

A Thief in Our Midst

There are two people in this house and three wonderful dogs. Lately things have come up missing, mainly my things from the kitchen tool drawer. The tool drawer is nothing fancy it contains a hammer, two screw drivers one Philips and one Flat-head, a yellow handled pliers, a wound up extension cord, a few wine openers, can opener, assorted batteries and some twine.

A few months ago I went to my trusty tool drawer and found that my hammer had been replaced with a broken hammer head. I asked my husband Paul if he changed out the hammer and he told me he didn’t. So, when I asked who could have done it his reply was “I don’t know.”

I remember my mom talking about I Don’t Know living at our house when I was younger. Seemed to me that I Don’t Know got into a lot of things and we could never explain or find him. Why would he suddenly move in with me? A few weeks ago I went to get the yellow handled pliers to open the cans of sardines for the dogs. They weren’t in my drawer. Again, I asked the Paul and again the reply was, “I don’t know.” This time not only the pliers were missing but my extension cord was unwound and wadded up in the drawer. Those who know me know that I wind up my long leashes; it bugs the daylights out of me to have things tangled.

The other night I went to grab my Philip screwdriver to tighten the handle on my pressure cooker. You guessed it, gone. I got the same answer. This time I responded back with, “Well, I asked I Don’t Know and he said to check in You Know Who’s work truck.” The next day my tools reappeared. Hopefully I Don’t Know has moved on and You Know Who will keep his mitts out of my tools. I do find it funny that my dogs seem to know, I Don't Know and You Know Who. They would never let a stranger come into my home.

Moving On and Healing

Months have passed and a lot of healing has taken place. It was hard to get used to working without my shadow of almost 9 years. But, work we have done. We (Chula, Pitiful Pearle, Quihi and I) are involved with a local spay/neuter campaign called Talk About It, geared to educate the community about the importance of health care, spay/neuter and adoption. We go into community centers, churches and public parks giving free dog training demos and showing people how to take care of their dogs. I have loved getting on the ground with young children and showing them that they too can train their dogs. Talking with elderly and meeting new young couples and providing them with fun things they can do to make their dogs members of the family.
We are working with Penny’s From Heaven training therapy dogs to go to BAMC and other facilities in order to help the men and women returning from war cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI’s). We have also started a new program based on providing and training medical assistance dogs to wounded warriors who have a hard time getting back out into society. This is the Train a Dog Save a Warrior program. Loving called TADSAW.


Imagine coming from a place were a traffic jam could be a set up for a road side bomb. A crowded area is an ambush waiting to happen. These young men and women have been there and have injuries from just such a thing. Just driving in rush hour traffic sends waves of fear or causes horrible flash backs. A simple trip to a grocery store or WalMart is unthinkable. So, these brave young men and women seek safety by shutting themselves in a room. Until they meet their dogs. The dogs give them a silent shoulder to lean on, a comforting nuzzle when things get hard. These dogs add comfort by watching the warriors back when in a crowd. They also, will alert the warrior when they feel him or her start to shut down. This enables the warrior to change gears or get out of a situation or the dog will lead the warrior to the nearest exit. These dogs assist those who walk in their sleep, and those who can’t sleep or have horrible nightmares.



Recently I fostered and trained a dog named Kingsley to go warrior. He came from a wonderful foster home with Gavin Nichols who I met through Talk About It. Gavin and his wife took a pup from a local high kill shelter and nurtured and raised him. Kingsley lived and trained with me for about four weeks. Then we carefully screened and matched him with his warrior. It was a great match and the two of them will have a fantastic life together.


We have plenty of dogs in our local shelter that would be fantastic at the task of helping a warrior. However, there are too few great foster homes such as the Nichols who are willing to take these dogs in and bring them to training. Want to save a dog? Want to do something to bring down the number of dogs we kill each day in San Antonio? Want to do something to help out these brave young men and women returning from war broken and battered? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please contact me. I may just have a way you can help out.

So Long Dear Friend

Two weeks ago today I said good-bye to my beloved Hondo. He was an amazing dog in all ways. He helped socialize many dogs large and small, but he loved community service. Going to nursing homes, hospitals, school and going to work were his favorite things to do. He touched many lives in his short life of 8 years and 9 months. He will be missed by many.


We have seen many changes in our pack dynamics as Hondo had a huge impact on the dogs that share our home. We all seem a little lost without him. He had such a huge presence. As we deal with the quietness of life without a Catahoula I will post how each of the pack members have changed.

So long dear friend, we will meet again across The Rainbow Bridge.


R.I.P Hondo CGC,ATT
Sept. 11, 2001 - June 22, 2010