It snowed!
Arty’s enjoying it too.
Apollo
A request for folks who read here.
Please vote for Apollo!
To do so, go to each of these links:
then click the vote button. Then please reload the pages and do so again! You can vote up to 5 times per picture. You can also vote for as many pictures as you’d like, so feel free to work your way through the pictures in the contest and vote for any other dogs who catch your eye.
The prize is nothing fancy, a free copy of the calendar and maybe a mug, but I would really appreciate it!
This post will be posted to the top of the page till the contest is over.
Thank you very much for voting for Apollo!
*headdesk* aka the reason I have very little respect for most animal rescue groups…
Back at the end of January we had to put Janie down. It hurt, but she was miserable, and nothing was helping any more.
One thing I started doing, almost immedietly, was looking for a new cat. Not because I wanted a new cat so soon, cause really, I didn’t. But because in order to fit into this household a cat is going to have to fit some fairly strict criteria, and I knew it was going to take time to find a cat who did.
The problem of course is Arty’s prey drive. He understands that he’s not allowed to chase MY cats, but any cat he doesn’t ID as mine is fair game, and I’ve not been able to break that yet (and may not be able to ever). Any new cat that enters my house will have a period of time where, if it makes a “prey like” move Arty will attempt to pounce, it IS going to take me time to get him to realize this is MY cat. SO: No kittens, they’re to small and helpless and to likely to do things like scamper accross the floor in a mad dash…..I’d prefer a young adult cat, between 1-3 years of age. The cat needs to already be dog savvy. And a larger cat is probly a good idea. A laid-back temperment is also required, to put up with Arty.
Now I already knew that my local shelter had a strict policy of not adopting dogs into a home with an intact dog. The fact that the dog I’d been looking at was already spayed had no bearing on their decision. Apollo’s intact and thats that. But surely it was different for their cats…..
Nope. Intact dog, therefor no cat for me. I shook my head and started casting my net wider.
And repeatedly ran into the same policy. Apollo’s intact, therefor MULTIPLE rescues will not adopt an already “fixed” cat to me.
Guys, I promise Apollo has no taste for rape, much less cross-species rape, and the Tibetan Meow-stiff is an urban legend, I swear……
Its so bad that when I run across a new rescue I no longer email asking for more info on specific animals, and I no longer fill out the adoption application. Instead the first thing I do is email asking if they will adopt a CAT into a home that has an intact DOG.
I haven’t found one yet.
These same rescues constantly go on about not being able to find homes for all their animals. These same rescues can’t understand why people end up getting their next cat or dog from some BYB on Craigslist.
They do it to themselves.
Uhoh
The other day I pulled this picture off one of the trail cameras:
Hubby and I looked at each other, and both agreed that that seems awfully early…..either he’s going to have a big rack, or we’re going to have a bad winter……
Then yesterday while brushing down Apollo I noticed that he’s already growing back in his undercoat……..and he’s not the only one, every Tibetan Mastiff owner I’ve talked to has said the same, the dogs had a long extended shed, and now, before they’re even done shedding, they’re growing back in their winter fluff……
This does not give me warm fuzzies for the coming winter…..
Bunny
Late yesterday afternoon I went looking for Apollo as he wasn’t in any of his usual spots and I was hoping to sneak out the back door to record some bird song, but first I had to make sure I knew where he was……
Didn’t take long, the house is pretty small, but I found him sitting at the back door, which I’d opened up so that we could get some breeze in through the screen. He was staring intently at something in the back yard, looooong strings of drool headed floor-ward. I followed his gaze out, and found he was staring at a young bunny, who was sitting about 10ft from the back steps.
I didn’t get to record my bird-song, but Apollo didn’t get his bunny either…..
Photo dump
Great Crested Flycatcher
Hummingbirds
House Wren
Osprey with Fish
Great Blue Heron
Mopey puppy after he snatched (yet another) sparrow out of mid-air and we wouldn’t let him bring his new friend into the house
Apollo and Arty enjoying one of our (rare) sunny days
The moon a couple days ago
The Squirrel that Apollo decided was EVIL!!!!! Damn thing just sat there and stared at the giant slavering dog going ballistic behind the glass less than 10ft away….
And a butterfly that caught my eye
Tibetan Mastiffs in rescue
The national Tibetan Mastiff rescue has ended up in a bit of a bind. They already have 11 adult Tibetan Mastiffs (here-after refered to as TMs) in rescue in need of homes. And just this week they were handed custody of 10 adult TMs (Chinese bred) and 8 twelve week old pups, with the information that there were more dogs coming. This info is not yet on their webpage, but pictures and what data they’re giving out publicly on the dogs is on their Facebook page. They’ve got homes for the original 8 pups (pups after all are easy to find homes for), but report that there are another 18 coming. According to what information they’re giving these dogs were basically in a puppy mill. A Chinese national imported them to Southern Cali to breed so he could sell the pups. The person in question is no longer able to care for the dogs, so a family member is trying to get rid of them. Despite that the rescue is reporting that many of the adult dogs have very sweet temperments.
I know I have talked alot about Apollo, but not much about his breed. They certinally aren’t a dog for everyone, not even every dog owner. They’re nothing like the Labs and Goldens and other the herding or retrieving breeds and crosses that most folks are used to. They’re highly stubborn and independant. They think for themselves and problem solve. Many of them open doors (with ROUND door knobs), I know of one who knows numbers 1 through 5, and another who can work a TV remote without any instruction. They’re a guardian breed, their goal in life is to guard their master and their masters family and property, and they cannot be swayed from that.
If you think you might be interested in one please read more here. I’m also more than willing to answer any questions I can.
Gentle big puppy
Over at Weer’d World he posted a video of a handsome male pitty playing with a variety of small prey type animals. He was amazed at the gentleness of the dog. It reminded me of this video.
Yes there’s no sound, the phone was being wonky recording the sound (and some video that I had to cut out), so I just deleted all of it.
This was recorded mid-March. Just about the same time that Apollo weighed in at 118lbs. He’s two years old. No, he’s not done growing yet.
I do have to admit that I don’t think I’d trust him around a guinea pig though, he definetly thinks bunnies are food, and I’m not sure the pig would be safe from that.
