Delaware Point of View

Annie dressed up as Chewbacca for Halloween at the dog park party, that is, my interpretation of Chewy.

Her costume was a big hit with the other dogs. Geez! She was wearing a toy! They loved all that fake fur.

Dravin ripped off her headdress. Ran off with it. Shook it furiously trying to kill it. Two or three humans ran after Dravin yelling "NO!" and disentangled it from her teeth.

Moments later, three dogs approached wanting to play with this wearable toy. They wanted to wrestle with it. They wanted to play "catch me if you can." They each grabbed a mouthful of fur collar and yanked it this way and that. They rocked Annie back and forth with each tremedous pull, but she kept her balance.

Dravin planted all four feet, grabbed a mouthful of fur behind Annie's head, and heaved with all her weight trying to dislodge the toy from Annie. With mighty tugs, the fur slid over Annie's head, which disapeared in a flurry of fake fur. Her feet slid out of the sleeves and her costume was in danger of being shredded.

I removed Annie's costume and Dravin pranced off with her prize!!!!

Saturday. More growling at Annie. I decided to put Annie outside and let Stormy play in the house. Then, I had to put Stormy in her crate and spend time with Annie. About 11:00 I took them both to the dog park. Stormy was allowed to play in the small fenced in area away from the other dogs. She barked at them when they played chase in the distance. She threatened the people who wanted to say "HI." They kept their distance and backed off. Stormy and I played fetch. She had fun running around off leash. But she charged at the other dogs growling viciously at them and the people. I discovered that she knows the word, "No." I was stressed out so I took her home and I went back to get Annie.

But Annie escaped and was hit by a car. I spent 5 hours at the hospital and I worried about Annie and worried about Stormy. Annie has a crushed foot and cuts (and bruises), but no broken bones and no internal injuries. She stayed overnight in the intensive care so they could watch her progress because some internal injuries do not show up right away. I went home, fed and walked Stormy, played fetch, and cuddled!! Stormy is a very loving dog. Aggressive with others, but loving with me.

Sunday. I brought Annie home from the hospital. She wanted to greet Stormy, but Stormy growled viciously at her and I knew that this foster situation was not going to work. They took turns being crated and going outside to do their business. Stormy was mouthing my arm in mock biting when I tried to leash her. She fought the leash. She would not eat again. The only time that she is happy is when Annie is not around. By 12:00, I was so stressed that I took her back to the Humane Society. I just cannot cope with a dog that I cannot trust to be in the same room with Annie, who is a shy, sweet, and friendly girl.  Stormy did not want to go back and fought with all her might not to go.  I feel very, very, very bad!!  They told me that they will place her in a home that has no other dog.  I will never forget that sad look in her eyes.

The Humane Society just called me to say that the Katrina dogs needing shelter are on their way north to Ohio. They are expected to arrive tomorrow. I am so excited!!! There are 17 of them. I will probably just get one. First, they will get a bath and booster shots and they will call me to come and get her (or him). Oh my! Poor little traumatized dogs: First they are flooded out, then lose their owners, and now riding all the way to Ohio. I would be scared too if I were them.

Yesterday Annie made a big sacrifice for the pet victims of Katrina Hurricane: She got a bath for the fundraiser! Aside from getting meds in her ears, bathing is her least favorite activity!! Yesterday, the Bark till Dark Dog Park had a Dog Bath and Bake Sale fundraising for the furry creatures left stranded, homeless, and familyless by Katrina. It is hearbreaking when the people rescuers leave the dogs and cats standing on porches, roof tops, and debris piles and refuse to take them to safety. Yesterday, I saw a little black puppy bounding with joy to see a human being. Tail wagging and bouncing up and down on a porch surrounded by water, he was left behind! Great sadness! :(

I have also volunteered to shelter two dogs rescued from Katrina until their families can be located. Please donate to the Humane Society to help these innocent victims!

From 3 November 2003:

An alert for American voters and humane educators everywhere appeared on May 21 in the 61st through 64th paragraphs of a 76-paragraph NEW YORK TIMES feature on the childhood of Republican candidate for U.S. president George W. Bush -- if anyone noticed.

"One of the local rituals for children," reported Nicholas D. Kristof of life in Midland, Texas, when George W. was a boy, "were meetings with cookies and milk at the home of a nice old lady who represented the SPCA. The cookies were digested more thoroughly than the teachings."

"We were terrible to animals," recalled [Bush pal Terry] Throckmorton, laughing. A dip behind the Bush borne turned into a small lake after a good rain, and thousands of frogs would come out. "Everybody would get BB guns and shoot them," Throckmorton said. "Or we'd put firecrackers in the frogs and throw them and blow them up."

Kristof made plain that "we" explicitly included George W. Bush, and that George W., the Safari Club International "Governor of the Year" in 1999 for his support of trophy hunting, was the leader among the boys who did it.

Read the full article at the Maine Animal Coalition

There is a connection between animal cruelty and human violence: Children and Animal Cruelty: What Parents Should Know

I dropped Annie off at the Dog Park using the dog sitting service since she will not be able to chase birds or play with her friends this evening or tomorrow. The dog park is temporarily closed until Thursday so that the fence can be moved. This is the second time in her five years on earth that she will be away from me. Since I am a little over-protective, I wonder if she will get Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Just Kidding!). The first time that I left her with the sitter, she played with Mallory a little, swam a little, and patroled the perimeter of the park (as usual), but kept coming back to the fence to look for me. When I picked her up the first time, she looked so forlorn and abandoned just sitting there by the fence staring into the parking lot looking for our car, waiting. She jumped for joy when she realized that I had come back to get her.

So, today I picked her up. She was laying by the fence, waiting! She saw me coming and ran to the door. She put her paws on my chest and we gave each other hugs and kisses. I love my Annie! Missi told me that she went for a walk, played with her best friend, Mallory, and she initiated playing with new friends, Thai and Sammy. I was happy. She had had fun. But I could tell that she was afraid that I would leave her again. She was so excited when we went home together!!

Annie became a member of the Bark Till Dark Dog Park on June 11 when it opened. When I first read about the park in March, I just could not wait. I was so excited! I was appalled that they still had to plant grass. "Hey! Just open, already: plant grass later!!! What! They have no fence yet!" So, I waited and I updated her shots.

When I went to see the park, grass was growing and they were putting up the fence. It was only four feet high (sigh)! I know that Annie is a dog, but sometimes she is species-confused! Like a cat, she can climb fences and she tries to climb trees, too! So, we got a free day-pass to see if she would stay in the park. When I took off her leash, she just ran around the six-acre park about eight times. Four hours later, my Brittany, Annie, was not ready to go home. Although she knows the basic obedience commands, she ignored me entirely. This is going to be a problem. For the first couple of weeks after we joined the park, Missi, the owner, had to help me catch Annie. Eventually, Annie learned that we could come back again and again. Her four-hour bird hunts at the park are now down to two hours and she remembered her training and she comes when I call her. YEA-A-A!

Here's a picture of Annie before she got skinny chasing birds at the Dog Park.