Yasashiikuma

Leana (formerly Amber of the Gemstones) went through a terrifying experience three weeks ago, and I’m posting her story, so that once again it may remind us never to be complacent when it comes to our pets’ safety.

Emily writes:

Hello Shelley,

Well we have had quite the experience these past three weeks….

On a finally sunny afternoon three weeks ago the boys and Leana took a walk up to our local school for some outdoor fun, we were throwing the ball for a while when a couple came with their two bigger dogs and where playing in a fenced area separate from where we were. Everything was fine until Leana went up the fence and the gate that we thought was closed wasn’t….the large black (pit bull X) came through the gate and immediately attacked Leana, had her up off the ground by the neck and was shaking her….it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen. The man came around the fence and was prying the dogs mouth open, the lady was trying to pull the dog off and I was kicking and pulling the dogs ears…..it seemed like forever but finally the dog decided to let Leana go….Thank god! Leana ran off back to where my boys were playing….the man took his dog around the corner….I thought he was leaving so I was yelling at him that he couldn’t leave, it turns out he was just getting his Mum. To make a long story shorter the Mum gave the boys, Leana and I a ride home and said she would pay all the vet bills. We took her to the vet right away, they shaved her neck and didn’t see any puncture marks but deep blue black bruising ,so they put her on pain killers and sent her home. Four days later the skin broke open and a big gapping hole was on her neck. They took her into surgery and had to do extensive reconstruction of the underlying tissue and reconnect a muscle. My poor baby looked like Frankenstein with all the stitches and drain tubes! Of course the wound didn’t heal easily, we got an infection and the stitches spread apart twice (re-stitching twice!). After three weeks of antibiotics, dressing changes, warm compresses and the constant scratching prevention, I am very happy to report that Leana gets her stitches out on Saturday and she is once again bounding around the yard chasing the kids and any ball in sight! Yahoooo! Arroooooo! Oh yeah and the Mum paid for all the vet bill in cash….one less thing to worry about.

Leana looks pretty funny with all the fur shaved off her neck, but all and all I say she has come out all right. It does make me leery of unknown dogs.

Just thought you might want to know what a resilient dog our sweet Leana is.
I can’t even begin to imagine the terror that Emily’s family went through watching that dog shake their baby and thankfully, once everything heals, she will be okay physically, and I hope that the experience won’t cause too much psychological damage.

Once again, a freak accident which was not the owners’ fault…but just an aha moment for those who use leash free zones to really keep an eye out for unknown larger dogs.

Hugs to Leana, Emily, Tim and the boys from all of us at home. I hope Leana will soon be back to her usual self.

…I’ve got a boyfriend!!

Dennis-the-Viszla sent me a Valentine.  It says “I Big Red Puffy Heart Your Blog”.   I’m not sure what my “blog” is though.  Maybe its my beautiful brown eyes, or maybe its my cute little button nose.

Anyhow he loves me!  And he’s Hungarian.  Does that mean he’s hungry all the time like Pete?

We’re gonna get married, and have puppies, and……

Huh?

Noodles? Vetnameez place?

Mommy says we aren’t gonna have babies cuz I’ll have to go and buy a garden shovel.  I’m not sure what one has to do with the other….

But he loves me!

And Mommy and my brothers want to send big puffy hearts to five of their friends….

To my 1/2 brother Chase
And my 1/2 sister Molly
And another 1/2 brother Carson
And our cousin Fergus 
and Emily who has funny looking Corgis all over her blog!

Love
Echo

This post is a little late in being written because its required some thought on my part….and thinking isn’t something that I’ve had a lot of time to do lately.

I’ve been given a Tree of Happiness award, and all of the responsibilities associated with it.  So apparently there are three tasks that I am required to do.  First I have list six things that make me happy, then name six others I want to pass the award on to, and finally, link to the person who passed the award to me, and all of those I am passing it onto.  The first task has been the most difficult.  What is the difference between happiness, contentment and thankfulness?  So I’ve been trying to  clearly define things that make me happy without running greatly overboard, so grouping things together.

Six Things That Make Me Happy

Babies – it doesn’t seem to matter if they are two legged or four legged. Whether they cry, bark, purr, neigh or moo, there is just something about babies that makes me want to stop whatever I am doing and soak in their essence. This can be troublesome on the way to work and home from work when I come to the corner of 9 & 124 – where there is a field full of mares with this years foals on the north side, and Red Angus calves on the south. There is one particular golden bay colt that just calls out to me, and I always have to stop and see if I can see him and his dappled grey mother.
The puppies in the whelping box – new lives that I get to bring into the world and watch them discover it day by day.  Starting from helpless, blind, deaf needy beings, to little devils with attitude.  It is innocence that still believes that the world is good, and not tainted by lifes pitfalls	<
Water – I can be on it, in it or sitting beside it  and still experience the same sense of peace.  Running water, such as waterfalls, or babbling brooks are the best…they just wash away all of the cares of the moment. Grouped into this has to be Canoe Tripping in Algonquin which puts me on the water for days at a time
Algonquin Park - When I need to get away and think, and need a place where I can really feel close to God and all of his creation this is where I want to go.  Even if I can’t spare the time to go into the interior I can usually find some sort of peace and answers to what is on my mind by hiking one of the smaller day trails.  The birds, the nature, the water, are all helpful to me.
Horseback Riding – I’m not talking about going to a “rent a horse” type of place where one rents a strange horse for an hour and follows a guide nose to tail down a preset path. I’m talking about the building of an equine/human relationship that takes time and a meeting of the minds on both sides. Some people never have the opportunity to have that once in their lives, I’ve been fortunate to have it twice, first with Romeo and then with Manitou. It creates the type of riding where you can
go for hours into unknown territory without worry for your safety because you know your mount will carry you safely, and on the other hand he trusts that you will never ask anything dangerous of him. Being able to ride like this, in silence with only my horse for company has given me the opportunity to see many things that I would not have seen with a human companion because chatter would have scared the creatures I saw away – such as fox kits peeping over the crest of a ravine to watch me and then tumbling down the hill over each other, and does with fawns grazing in the bush	<
	Disney – Yes, its expensive. Yes its a far trip and yes, if you go at the wrong time it can be a mayhem of children running amok. But the last time I was there, I got to be a child again for a few days without having to worry about all the adult day to day concerns, and I’m sure that was what Walt Disney intended. To create a magical place where adults can become children again, before returning to the reality and cares of their everyday worlds.
Making Others Happy I’m not sure who it was that said that you have to divide and share happiness in order for it to grow. I only know that in times of painful growth, the only thing that mitigates it is bringing happiness to others. The bitter and the sweet – such as the parting with a puppy that has been MINE for 8 weeks, to a family and seeing the joy that adding the new life to their family brings. With all the politics, the legalities, the sad times – it is only knowing that I am bringing joy to new families that keeps me going.

So I have to thank Lavenderbay who is the “Voice of the Turtle” for making me take these moments of self-reflection (which have made me realize that I actually do very little now to make myself happy).

And I want to share the “Tree of Happiness” with:
Carolyn - who seems to be a step ahead in coming to her own realizations
Penni - who has her goals clearly in mind
Jenn – who has set off on a new frontier
Rob - a new friend with whom I can “talk corgi”
Jinnie – regular reader and commenter

Right now, unfortunately, that’s all I can come up with, anyone want to volunteer to be the sixth?.

I’m upset and this is a rant. So if you a looking for a light-hearted post, I’d suggest you move on, because this isn’t going to be one.

My hobby, and passion is becoming something ugly, and for someone like myself who finds it difficult enough to get to trust people, there have been things happening that make me wonder whether this is really the “sport” for me.

Over the years I have made a number of very good friends through the dogs, but I wonder if the friends that I’ve made through the dog shows realize how their words and actions can be hurtful, or has it all become about the “win” …and friendships be damned, it’s only of value as long as they are getting something out of it.

Three separate incidents have sparked this feeling that perhaps maybe what I’ve considered a fun and comfortable world is not really what it seems when you scratch below the surface. Or maybe the saying that everyone is your friend until you have a winner really is the truth.

Incidents #1 & #2 happened at the National this year. “Friend A” is someone that I have socialized with at Specialties for years, but don’t see otherwise as we are quite a distance apart. Yet for some reason this year, this person wouldn’t even acknowledge my existence. The only time that s/he bothered to speak to me was when I was standing and talking to a breeder/judge. Only in their company was I worth saying hello to. This despite the fact that I have defended this person against others many times.

“Friend B” didn’t place in a class where one of my dogs did. This time this is a person I have socialized and shown with a great deal. During the next class outside the ring I overheard them saying to someone else that their dog SHOULD have placed, espcially given the “crap” in that ring. Pardon me?!?! My dog was amongst that “crap” Also hurtful was that this person never bothered to congratulate me on my dogs’ wins all week.

Back home and in Ontario, Chip puppy has become a threat obviously, even though we are specialing him just for fun. And I was shocked when I was in the ring and saw “Friend C” who is a professional run her bitch right into him, when he hadn’t even started to move!! That threw him off enough that he never looked forward the rest of the way around the ring – he was watching over his shoulder to ensure she didn’t crash into him again. Competition be damned …THIS IS A 13 MONTH OLD PUPPY!! He’s a baby and doesn’t need to be subjected to that type of treatment to lessen his enjoyment of the show ring.

So is this what my sport has become? Maybe its time to learn to figure skate…then I only need to watch for “friends sporting hammers”