The question is how my Goldie got injured. She is a big girl. She weighs 72 lbs and in the dog world she is a large girl. Because of her size, she is not keeping herself away from any commotion. Actually, she enjoys throwing herself into any kind of commotion, especially in the offleash park
On 17 Jun, two big mouth French bulldogs were fighting. Within seconds, Goldie was there. She barked her head off. Was she there to be a cheerleader or be a negotiator. Who knows! French bulldogs are cute when they are puppies. When they are full grown, they are just like big hard giant sausage rolls running around in the park. They are fearless and they are strong. Without out of portion height and weight, they are runners. When two were fighting, Goldie was tripped by one of them. I did not notice she was limping until two dogs were leashed away by their owner. And the owner came and said sorry and said "I don't usually take both of them here. The white is my foster dog. He is a bit aggressive" My reaction inside my head is "you stupid idiot should not take the aggressive one in the park" but I shrugged and said "Well sometimes dogs misbehave, it's OK".
Poor Goldie, she limped back to my place. Lucky she just pulled her muscles. Otherwise,.....
Friday, June 21, 2013
Road trip to Niagara Falls
"Don't forget to buy a bench seat cover for your car. And then the seat belt for you dog"
After a month. Goldie finally got her booster shot. Her rabies shot was done by the shelter. Nevertheless, a lot things been done by the shelter, there were still a lot of checkups required. Her blood test for heart worm came negative. Now she is on the Advantage. A medication keeps fleas and ticks away.
Back to the story, it's not surprising a lot of people from Toronto were leaving town for a vacation. Niagara Falls seems to be the easy choice. So Karim and I drove out with Goldie. We did not know what to expect and apparently it was a mistake.
Dog should be buckled down to the back seat. With a 70 lbs dog sits at the back seat, you don't know what to expect. Goldie is a young girl, she is curious. My new 2013 Tuscon seems to be a perfect fit for her. But she moves around. She wants to stick her head out for the car, lean against the door, put her two front paws and lift herself up. So she can stand. Hell No..
After almost two hours on the road, she became very impatience. She wanted to get out. She started to climb up to the front. I was driving at that time. She knew I am occupied. So it opened up a free way for her to be mischievous. There is no way Karim can control her. He is just a play mate to her. I am the alpha. We managed to pull over and gave her a toilet break. The round trip experience was painful.
The first thing we do after we drove home. We went to pet store and looked for dog car seat harness. No way i am going to drive her around without it.
If possible, give her a buzz cut would be nice. So I won't breathe in her hair in the car anymore.
Dog should be buckled down to the back seat. With a 70 lbs dog sits at the back seat, you don't know what to expect. Goldie is a young girl, she is curious. My new 2013 Tuscon seems to be a perfect fit for her. But she moves around. She wants to stick her head out for the car, lean against the door, put her two front paws and lift herself up. So she can stand. Hell No..
After almost two hours on the road, she became very impatience. She wanted to get out. She started to climb up to the front. I was driving at that time. She knew I am occupied. So it opened up a free way for her to be mischievous. There is no way Karim can control her. He is just a play mate to her. I am the alpha. We managed to pull over and gave her a toilet break. The round trip experience was painful.
The first thing we do after we drove home. We went to pet store and looked for dog car seat harness. No way i am going to drive her around without it.
If possible, give her a buzz cut would be nice. So I won't breathe in her hair in the car anymore.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Two weeks already
Goldie is a climber. Now I know. It was happened to me first week she was home. I had my dinning chair ouy and she used it as a stepping stone. Next thing you know all my cookies on my kitchen counter were gone. What can you say? I am the one to be blamed
Taking her out to the offleash park twice a day becomes my daily routine. She loves to play with other dogs, especially dogs like wrestling. One time she was playing tug with other dogs. I snapped a picture. I like that picture because she was the only one facing the camera. I am glad she adjust to my lifestyle well.
She doesn't have a lot of toys YET. I bought her a toy and she destroyed it in now time. Thats my lunch money. Ha ha. Its ok. I found a nice place to buy her something to chew. There is a butcher shop nearby in the St. Lawrence Market. They sell a bag of bones for only CAD 1.5. Yep. 150 cents. And it lasts a week.
Controversy over feeding dog with raw bones will cause teeth problems. Yep they are right. human eats chicken wings or T-bone steak might crack our teeth too. Why are you still eating it? That's because we know not to swallow and chew gently. Dogs too. They are not dumb. Most of the stories you heard probably is 1 out of 10, 000. I bet you its same probability to human beings. Ha ha. As long as she is enjoying it, I will keep buying them
Friday, May 10, 2013
Goldie at play
Goldie was up at the stage with Caesar Millan. Millan used her to demonstrate his patented collar. Poor Goldie
Help animal by adopting one
I have dogs in my life. I like animals in general. But I like to call myself a dog person. After my last dog died from CHF, I decided not to have another dog for a while. After alsmost 3 months, I started to look again.
I checked out Toronto Humane Society (THS). Dogs are surrendered by their owners, found from puppy mills, or else. I never had a good relationship with THS. I can see why a lot of people stay away from them. One Sat, I walked into the shelter, saw a print out on the wall, and I thought it's a cute 6 months old, Spaniel mix. I approached the front desk and asked where the dog was. A "volunteer" immediately body checked me, from head-to-toe. OK that's fine. Some people are judgmental.
I walked in the room, the puppy was craving for physical contacts. "No touching" I was reminded loud and clear. Immediately, I know the volunteer did not approve what she saw. Well. I thanked her and she asked me questions like where I live and how big my place is. I told her the truth and then she said the puppy does not fit me. "OK" I said. Then she tried to keep the conversation going and asked me what kind of dogs I am looking. I almost turned to her and said "a bitch like you". Nevertheless, it's very sad that the organization had a bad name. Now, I see this volunteer is not really helping the animals but judging people. It makes me wonder who hire her. I walked out and never looked back again. Feel sad for those are under THS supervision.
Instead, I drove to Toronto Animals Shelter. It's run by the City of Toronto. Staff there are generally nicer and friendlier in the shelter. OMG, I can also walk their dogs to see if the dog likes me. I saw a few, I walked a couple of dogs. And I met my Goldie.
Goldie was brought down by the IFAW from the conservation area up in Northern Quebec. Poor babe she was abandoned and was skinny like skeleton. They think she is two but I think it's around one year old because of her teeth. Age is not factor, it's about the dog itself. Does she want to be with me?
After being caged for a day, all dogs in the shelters will pull leashes that's for sure. But not every dog would give you a response back like Goldie. I talked to her when we were outside. She looked at me and leaned over. At that moment, I know she understands people.
I took her back inside. She is the only dog I can see so far which refuses to walk back into the kennel. She completely shut down. She sat there with her front paws pushing back. No matter how hard you pull, she did not want to go back into the cage. I was debating if I should give her a chance or another dogs I have met yet. Karim was with me. I asked him to go back inside the kennel to listen if she was whining. I don't know if Karim was telling the truth. He just said she sat quietly in the cage. I spent another 20 mins debating with Karim, the shelter staff and myself. Shelter staff and Karim encouraged me to take her home. In my head, I was asking myself if I am ready for another 10+ years commitment.
I decided to walk back into the kennel. I saw her. Goldie gave me a cold shoulder, she faced the wall and I heard her crying. My heart skipped a beat. I felt sorry for her. She deserves a good home. In the mean time, I can't guarantee she will go to a good home if I don't give her a chance. One thought after the other, Karim said he is willing to split the adoption fee and if Goldie does not behave, we return her to the shelter. At least, we know we tried and she would have a chance to prove herself.
There you go, Goldie, my new dog. A yellow lab and huskey mix came into my life.
I checked out Toronto Humane Society (THS). Dogs are surrendered by their owners, found from puppy mills, or else. I never had a good relationship with THS. I can see why a lot of people stay away from them. One Sat, I walked into the shelter, saw a print out on the wall, and I thought it's a cute 6 months old, Spaniel mix. I approached the front desk and asked where the dog was. A "volunteer" immediately body checked me, from head-to-toe. OK that's fine. Some people are judgmental.
I walked in the room, the puppy was craving for physical contacts. "No touching" I was reminded loud and clear. Immediately, I know the volunteer did not approve what she saw. Well. I thanked her and she asked me questions like where I live and how big my place is. I told her the truth and then she said the puppy does not fit me. "OK" I said. Then she tried to keep the conversation going and asked me what kind of dogs I am looking. I almost turned to her and said "a bitch like you". Nevertheless, it's very sad that the organization had a bad name. Now, I see this volunteer is not really helping the animals but judging people. It makes me wonder who hire her. I walked out and never looked back again. Feel sad for those are under THS supervision.
Instead, I drove to Toronto Animals Shelter. It's run by the City of Toronto. Staff there are generally nicer and friendlier in the shelter. OMG, I can also walk their dogs to see if the dog likes me. I saw a few, I walked a couple of dogs. And I met my Goldie.
Goldie was brought down by the IFAW from the conservation area up in Northern Quebec. Poor babe she was abandoned and was skinny like skeleton. They think she is two but I think it's around one year old because of her teeth. Age is not factor, it's about the dog itself. Does she want to be with me?
After being caged for a day, all dogs in the shelters will pull leashes that's for sure. But not every dog would give you a response back like Goldie. I talked to her when we were outside. She looked at me and leaned over. At that moment, I know she understands people.
I took her back inside. She is the only dog I can see so far which refuses to walk back into the kennel. She completely shut down. She sat there with her front paws pushing back. No matter how hard you pull, she did not want to go back into the cage. I was debating if I should give her a chance or another dogs I have met yet. Karim was with me. I asked him to go back inside the kennel to listen if she was whining. I don't know if Karim was telling the truth. He just said she sat quietly in the cage. I spent another 20 mins debating with Karim, the shelter staff and myself. Shelter staff and Karim encouraged me to take her home. In my head, I was asking myself if I am ready for another 10+ years commitment.
I decided to walk back into the kennel. I saw her. Goldie gave me a cold shoulder, she faced the wall and I heard her crying. My heart skipped a beat. I felt sorry for her. She deserves a good home. In the mean time, I can't guarantee she will go to a good home if I don't give her a chance. One thought after the other, Karim said he is willing to split the adoption fee and if Goldie does not behave, we return her to the shelter. At least, we know we tried and she would have a chance to prove herself.
There you go, Goldie, my new dog. A yellow lab and huskey mix came into my life.
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