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HULA Certification

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Grooming woes

Mom groomed me last night!! She finally caught me, put me on a leash, put the leash around her ankle, and made me lie there and put up with it! How humiliating! All while the other dogs were all playing! And to make it worse, it took her two whole hours to do it! I didn't have mats or anything, but she says they were starting and that's why she had to do it. She also says I'm gonna have to let her do it more often if I don't want to have to sit still for two hours! It's not fair! It's not my fault I'm the only long-hair in the house! The other dogs don't get groomed unless they're blowing their coats, 'cuz they're all short-hairs! But I guess she's right about doing it more often, 'cuz she hit a couple of spots where I had to let her know it hurt! I didn't bite her or anything, I just mouthed her wrist really gently, and she let up. I don't think I want the mats to start again if it's gonna hurt to get them out, so I guess I will have to submit to this indignity at least once a week. I'll give her that, and if that isn't enough, we can work out something then. But she gave me a treat afterward, for being a good boy, and that was cool, because I was the only one who got a treat!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Unwanted pets

I've been thinking. There are a lot of animals in shelters 'cuz humans get them and then don't want them. I've been wondering why that is. Lots of us dogs wind up there when we haven't done anything wrong except be ourselves. Why is that? Don't humans know that they can't expect us to be human? Don't they do research before they bring us home? And if they don't, why not? My mom had Sibes before, but she says that before she brought me home, she read every book on Sibes she could find. She even joined Sibernet and some other Sibe groups before I ever got here, to make sure that the information she got was correct, so that she could make sure of what to expect from me. She doesn't always like the things I do, but some things she just shakes her head and puts up with. I don't worry about her sending me away, although I did at first. But she loves me lots, and I know she wishes she could take more dogs out of the shelters. But there are so many dogs in shelters. Cats, too. She can't take them all! Nobody can! She thought about working at a shelter, but a lady she used to work with used to work at a shelter and told her that every morning, they had to put down over twenty dogs because they hadn't been adopted. They weren't sick or anything, they just didn't get adopted. Mom decided she couldn't do it. She gets attached to us really easily, and it would hurt her a lot. So, instead, she just wants to volunteer with a rescue group.

But I want to figure out why some of us get lucky and some don't. I wanna know why so many of us have to die every year. I wanna know why humans bring us home and make us love them, and then throw us away. We're not garbage, you know!

Is it just that some humans don't have hearts? That must be it. I've heard some humans even throw away their children! Can that be true? I think it must be. If they can't love their own pups, how can they love us? I don't understand humans like that. I don't think Mom does, either. She didn't give up on me when I was nervous when I first got here. She kept on trying, and now I think she's the best human in the world! Okay, sometimes she's not, when she won't let me do some of the things I want to do, but you know what I mean. Sometimes she yells at me when I do something she doesn't like (how am I supposed to know that I'm not supposed to eat the bread on the counter??), but she never hits me or leaves me sitting outside in the heat without water or anything like that. Why can't the rest of us in shelters find parents like her?

Mom says that life isn't fair sometimes, and I think she's right. If life was fair, the throwaway dogs wouldn't be in shelters, the humans who put them there would change places with them, and they would be the ones put to sleep! Then there would only be people with love in their hearts left, and maybe then we would all find furever homes.

I know how lucky I am to have my Mom, and I know other rescued dogs know how lucky they are too! We were lucky enough to find furever homes before we were put to sleep. Some of us were found by rescue groups first, too, like me, and that was lucky too! Maybe someday, there won't be a need for shelters anymore. Maybe, if we all work really hard at it, we can save everydog in the shelters. Okay, the cats too, if we absolutely have to. And the ferrets, rabbits, and everyone else in the shelters. Do you think we can do it?

Saturday, May 19, 2007

I'm gonna be FAMOUS!!!

Mom did something really cool for me today! I told her to tell everyone on Sibernet that I was willing to be a model on clothes and stuff to help out the rescues (I'm a Sibe, after all, that means I'm beautiful enough!), and she passed on the message. Now I've got a whole line of stuff with my picture on it with MaPaw and Harnessed to Hope Northern Breed Rescue! You gotta go see this stuff, I look so fantastic! Here are the links to the MaPaw rescue store: http://www.cafepress.com/mapawrescue/3007522 and http://www.cafepress.com/mapawrescue/3007587 and then there's the link to HTHNBR: http://www.cafepress.com/hthnbr/3007333 . Go spend money on my stuff, support us rescues! Mom says that now she's in real trouble, because even though she wanted to buy stuff anyway, now she really has to, because she's my human, and she has to have me-stuff! Well, she would support the rescues anyway! But I really am beautiful, just like all Sibes are! I hope Mom buys me a tee-shirt too!

Friday, May 18, 2007

Mom's current obsession

Sorry I haven't posted recently, everydog! Mom has been tying up the computer with her current obsession. What is that, you ask? It is moving from Arizona back to New York. Ever since she qualified for a mortgage, she has been working really hard at getting us out of here. I can't say I blame her; I don't much like the heat here either! And most of her human family is back in New York, so she wants to go. We're all rooting for her, but we have to get rid of this house before we can go anywhere, and Mom says we have to get enough money from the sale of this house in order to make things work. She wanted to get gone before summer really got here, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. What is this "money" that humans are always talking about? It doesn't seem like it's worth all the stress to try and get it. It doesn't even taste good! What's the point?

Mom says that without money, she couldn't bring home our Canidae. Well, there are plenty of rabbits and squirrels out here, and they look pretty tasty. And let's not forget the chickens next door! She also says she needs money to get a new house. Why can't she just dig a den? It would be nice and cool in summer, and nice and warm in winter. Humans are very strange creatures. They take lots of looking after. I think that's why we dogs stay with them. Without us, they wouldn't know how to take care of themselves!

Friday, May 4, 2007

The Lord of Destruction!

Mom is so silly sometimes! She always makes sure that the humans and the canines have meals at the same time so that she doesn't feel guilty about crating us while we're eating, and she always says that she's going to make sure the leftovers are put away before she lets us out so I can't countersurf. HA! First of all, I can countersurf even if there's nothing there. I have to keep checking, after all, because she'll forget something at least once a day. I have to thank my human sister for that. See, Avi gets very messy when she eats, so Mom will get sidetracked by having to clean her up, and she will forget to put away the leftovers first. So after she cleans Avi up, then she lets us out. First, we go and clean up whatever Avi has thoughtfully left on the floor for us. She always leaves something for us, after every meal. She's a very kind child, and she likes to share with us. Then, I get to the counters, quick! Because sometimes Mom will remember the food before we get done eating Avi's gifts. That's never good. My sisters don't countersurf, and they aren't as big as me anyway, so this is my area of expertise!

This week, I broke a bowl (Mom thought it was an accident, but I have to maintain my HULA position), shredded a potholder, and removed all the dirty silverware from the sink to clean at my leisure. That stuff is small enough to carry without making much noise to alert Mom to what I'm doing. Plates and pots make too much noise, so those I clean where they are. I do a good job, too, so I don't understand why Mom takes these items and cleans them again with soap and water. They were clean enough when I was done with them! Jeez. Maybe I should take a lesson from Meeshka and start clawing her when she insults me that way.

Last night, Mom made fried chicken and didn't give us any!! How rude! She said something about chicken bones being dangerous. I totally disagreed with that. Well, she made a mistake. She put the bones in the garbage. We have a rolltop garbage can in the utility room, and Mom didn't know I knew how to open it. I was quick! On the way outside to go potty, my sisters and Wolfie completely ignored the delicious smells of fried chicken coming from the garbage. Not me! Right in front of Mom, I nosed open the can and grabbed the bones. They were right on top, just waiting for me! I didn't get to eat them, though, but I tried really hard! Mom tackled me--I didn't expect that!!--and she grabbed my muzzle and pulled my mouth open and took the bones out of my mouth. How do you like that? I made her work for it though. I clamped my mouth shut, so she had to pry it open. I'll have to be a little sneakier next time. Maybe raiding the can isn't such a good idea when she's standing right there, huh? I'll have to wait until Dad is the only one home. He always forgets to close the utility room door after he lets us in. Mom never forgets, so when she's home, any kind of a raid is out of the question. I may have to focus on learning how to work those round things that make the door open. And I have to remember to make more noise. Mom always thinks I'm up to something if I'm too quiet. Maybe if I remember to be louder, I'll get away with more!

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