Ann’s Weblog

This is Gizmo, who is a Shih Tzu. Shih Tzu dogs have outstripped the numbers of poodles and cocker spaniels and all other breeds in my grooming business, and most of them are sweet and smart. Gizmo is no exception! He looks absolutely forlorn in this photo, but has acted quite happy to be with me. He is simply bashful around the camera. The thing that he detests about getting groomed is having his feet trimmed and his toenails clipped; however Gizmo has never tried to bite. He does keep pulling his feet away, but with patience, on both our parts, we get through it.

Other than just the one wee pup to groom, it has been an ‘easy’ day. Gary put fresh straw in all the outdoor dog houses. All the dogs that were here over Christmas and New Year’s have gone home, though we still have a couple boarders who arrived since then.

“Rambo” is here while his owner, a friend of ours, is fighting cancer. I can’t say more in a public diary, but of course this is cause for great concern for our friend’s well being, and Rambo can stay as long as she needs him to. I gave him a full grooming yesterday, and he didn’t seem to mind any part of it.

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Other than that, it’s an ordinary day. It is Gary’s and my 6th wedding anniversary, so we’ll dine out tonight. I’ll check in with my chat friends later as I usually do, and hope there’s not “bickering” in the “Garden Room”, where I hang out.

Thanks for visiting! ~Ann

p.s. There are more pet pictures (boarders and our own) at Pet Gallery

Here is our dog, Lady, delivering a wee kiss to Ellie Mae, a bullmastiff. Although the big girl might appear somewhat “grumpy” (to those who don’t know her), she is, in fact, one of our gentlest boarders ever. She has been in our home almost fulltime during her stay here, not because the weather has been so inclement, but because we love having her with us.

Lady and Ellie Mae have become bosom buddies.

We have just come back from our Sunday breakfast. Our habit (tradition!) is to dine out on Sunday mornings, always at the same time and usually at the same restaurant. We have changed the eating venue according to what gets “screwed” up with the orders or the service, but there are not many restaurants in our small town. We are joined by friends, usually one to five, and the conversation is amazingly varied: almost every subject you can imagine gets thoroughly discussed, eventually.

Today I’m making homemade doggy bisquits, a triple batch. They have only wholesome ingredients in them, and nothing which wouldn’t be palatable to most humans. They have flour, powdered milk, eggs and water in them, and I have added garlic powder (not salt), grated cheddar and parsley. They taste great and look pretty, cut out with dogbone cookie cutters.

They ARE palatable to humans. I have often given them my own taste test. One day, I delivered a small bag of them to my friend Dee, who had a treasured pooch. I had misplaced my dogbone cutter, so they were just in little rectangles, baked and dried long in the oven and VERY hard. The doggy treats were set on the counter and we had coffee, and I returned home.

A few days later, Dee’s husband stopped me on the street and said to me, “Ann, those were tasty cookies that you dropped off, and if you make some more, I’d like some. I find they’re the best hardtack, for while I’m going around on the tractor in the field.”.

Today, there is a blizzard happening outside AGAIN. Seems like almost every other day we have more falling and blowing snow: Gary shovelled and blew away the drifts yesterday, only to have to do it again. We even took my truck, which is 4 wheel drive, to breakfast this morning. Enough already! Still, we shouldn’t complain, as we have not had the devastation that the Vancouver areas and Vancouver Island have had. We try to count our blessings… no big floods, hurricanes tornadoes, poisonous snakes, major earthquakes. We have pine beetle destruction, elk falling through the river ice, occasional scary forest fires, minor flooding. It’s a good place to live.

Elk falling through the river ice? A friend of ours reported that acquaintances of hers watched helplessly while a herd of two dozen elk broke through the thin ice on the Fraser River. They said that at least 7 drowned, and there was nothing which could be done. In our area, elk have become a nuisance animal; they are removed from parks and set loose in the valley, where they are breeding well. Still, no one wants them to suffer as they did that day… struggling, screaming and perishing.

That’s not a cheery note to end on, but it’s rural reality some days. We have to take the bad with what sometimes seems an idyllic lifestyle.

Best wishes to all. ~ Ann

What can I say to explain three posts in one day? These are winter months; I’m doing my favourite job… taking care of pets. It’s my hobby AND my work, and I’m glad to be at the computer as well, sharing the experience with YOU fine folk.

Pictured above are canine friends who have been boarding with us more frequently in the last few months. “Chase”, on the left, is a petite malemute with some wolf breeding. The big girl on the right is a “Caucasian Mountain Dog”: her name is Taya.

Chase is a gentle old gal who makes friends easily. Taya has the breeding of guard and guardian dogs, and I’m going to try to post a link for breed information. (Perhaps I got the hang of it, posting my own site link earlier today). Taya and I are used to each other now, I can handle her and move around her in a matter-of-fact manner, and now neither of us feels threatened.

a Caucasian Mountain Dog website

Ayla’s owner just picked her up. I shared that I was about to load some pictures of the doggy guests on my site/blog, and my friend asked if I had got a good photo of Ayla. Of course, I explained that though the dog is photogenic, the photographer is not competant! Dear old Ayla is an easy boarder to have around… she doesn’t bark excessively outside, and when in the house, settles right down and does what many dogs do best… doze. Ayla’s eyeside is poor, so we can’t let her run around at will, but she seems content to wait for her owners patiently. I think this photo does Ayla justice: as usual, click it to enlarge or print out.

Winston is a handsome, large, chocolate labrador, full of great humour and energy. You might imagine, with my problems with the camera, I had a hell of a time taking a still picture of this guy. By accident, I got this fun shot of Win with his tongue up his nose… he of course isn’t shy about licking MY face any time it is close enough. Winston reminds me of the yellow lab in the book, “Marley and Me”, though Winston is more sensible. It’s the exuberance and love of life which shines through.

Winston almost didn’t live through the winter! While out on a fishing trip with his master and master’s son, he swallowed a fish hook! He saw it, he was going for it, and though his master was commanding, “NO! NO, Winston!”… the dog could not help himself. Down went the fishhook, still attached to the line, but of course there was no hope of getting the barbed implement back up Winston’s esophagus. Winston has endured surgery for fish hook removal, and has needed a special eating regime so that his gut can heal properly. Way to go, Winston! We’re so glad you survived.

Makalu has been a regular boarder here for a long time, and Shiloh, who has become part of the same household quite recently, is here with him. Shiloh is pictured on the top left, and Makalu on the bottom. (Click to enlarge.)

Shiloh has had the good fortune to be “stray” at the home of my friends who live out of town. Although they tried to find her “rightful owners”, no one made claim to her, and now she is “home”.

Makalu is a wolf hybrid who has been a family member at my friends’ house for a very long time. He has had two bouts of an intestinal problem which required surgery, and since he is quite elderly, we all hope that he doesn’t have any more trouble of that kind. He seems the picture of health now! Aren’t they both beautiful?

My website address on the last posting didn’t show up as a link. I’ll try HTML, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll assume that this is not available with the “free”version of blog.com.

My website link.

~ Ann

I’ve just spent a frustrating hour with the digital camera. The obvious and reasonable thing would be to go find the instruction booklet (I DO like manuals).

The problem that I didn’t need an explanation for was that the batteries were dead within a few moments of going outside to take pictures of the dogs. I had, minutes earlier, asked Gary, “Now WHY do you think they can’t make a camera that just plugs into the USB port, in the way that iPods are charged?”. He reminded me that iPods are one of the most notorious gadgets for “built in obsolescence” and that this is partly because of the ineffectual batteries within. Seems like THEY (whoever) should be working on this! I solved the problem by finding my rechargeable and recharged batteries.

This camera, which is Gary’s, behaves somewhat differently than mine did. (Do you remember? I left mine out in the rain and it now doesn’t function predictably at ALL!) There must be a different setting that I can use, because Gary’s camera takes “large” pictures which are good quality; however, for my blogging and website, I don’t need need big photos or high resolution. The photos take a long time to “register” on the camera after I push the button, and by the time the moment is frozen, the dog has moved. Sometime I take 7 or 8 shots to get one barely acceptable portrait for the ‘net. No wonder the batteries don’t last long… It’s all very frustrating: I invite comments (advice!).

I’m wondering if I can post a link in here; at one time it didn’t work, but perhaps things have changed. Maybe this feature is only available in the “paid” version of blog.com. This is my website link: http://www.annschwartz.com

If THAT doesn’t work, I will try using HTML to make a link. If I don’t get that done, you can copy and paste or type in that website addy.

~Ann

 Above, on the left is “Tucker”. A friend of his owner brought him for grooming, and the consensus was that he needed to be completely clipped down to about 1/4″ where he was matted, which was almost everywhere. The fellow who was babysitting the dog wondered why I hadn’t taken “before AND after” pictures, but the truth is, I don’t like embarrassing owners. This is just what I do… help the pets, and am not in the business of “shaming” anyone.

Truth is, Tucker, though he looks forlorn in his photo, was as patient and gentle as any dog of any age, and he is quite young. His owner now lives quite far from my little town, but I am hoping so much that I have the privilege of grooming him regularly. Once the “renovation” was complete, Tucker raced about the house, “breaking in” his new hairdo, rolling and rubbing on the carpets, and no doubt enjoying sensation where recently there had been none.

I also snapped a picture of Colleen, who is a regular guest here. She is looking over her shoulder, as I am saying to her, “Don’t move, Colleen, it’s okay, just stay.” while I am picking my path to my usual spot on the sofa, to her right. Both dogs (Lady and Colleen) are resting there, but if they don’t jump up, I can sit on the couch beside them.

 I just finished reading the book, “Marley and Me”, a Christmas present from dear daughter, K.. I recommend it: it is not maudlin, or as my husband might suggest, “schmaltzy”. It’s a well-written book about “life and love with the ‘world’s worst dog’ ” as the author describes Marley. It would be surprising, however, if the story doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, and I also laughed out loud at times.

The dogs which are boarding outdoors need their water refreshed, and so I’m on my way to get that done.

Thanks for reading my blog. Hope your year so far has been swell.

~Ann 

Pictured above are Bran, Jada and Bodhi. Also, Liezel, pictured with Gary (in the manner that many of our small guests are “boarded” in!) All are great company and important guests at the Pet Hostel! Their homes are in Prince George, Hinton, and McBride. As always, click on the photo to see a larger image or to print out.

I can’t believe that Christmas and ringing in the New Year is done with. I can’t believe it’s 2007. It’s all good.

Over the course of the Holidays, we have had some dogs go home and others arrive. Today there’s another snowstorm, and I’m worried about the folks who have to travel either way on our highways.

Also, my youngest daughter is going home to Calgary from Jasper today. I haven’t seen her for a few days, as she was snowboarding and celebrating New Year’s Eve out there, but she’s travelling with a friend who has a good truck. I know that the Banff-Jasper Parkway is treacherous right now, because customers have just come over it from their holiday in Lake Louise.

It was so very nice to have K. (above mentioned “child”) here for Christmas. We had quiet times, and just the three of us for Christmas dinner, but it was lovely. My “middle” girl is travelling in Argentina, and had a unique and good Season as well, except for a bout of food poisoning or flu right before Dec. 25th. I believe she has fully recovered. My oldest daughter could not make it from Calgary for the holidays due to work and personal responsibilities in Calgary; I felt sad but we will see each other soon.

I’m distracted by the phone ringing, TV blaring, customers coming and going, so I’ll try to get back to blogging later.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, my dear friends who read this. ~ Ann