Barnie & Brodie-Best Buds!
Here are some more cute pictures of my babies.
Brodie is 5 and Barnie is 1. They love to play in the grass every chance they get since I have none. The one picture was at our neighbors’ house.
They are best buddies and Barnie (the baby) loves to play with balls. He is usually carrying one and dribbling another at the same time. When I throw the ball for them, Brodie like the thrill of the catch and usually gets there first, but then just drops it and his brother takes over. Brodie likes to shake his stuffed animals as though he is breaking their necks when he gets in a crazy mood. Westies are fun breed. They make terrific pets and are easy to care for.
Julie Pierce
Photos of Barnie and Brodie
Garden Tips - Perennials
Garden Basics – Perennials
- When planting, use well-drained, loose soil whenever possible. Heavy soils can be amended with compost or peat moss to improve growing conditions.
- Transplant container grown perennials at the same depth they were planted in their growing pots.
- When bare-root planting, crown of plant should be at soil level.
- Try to plant on a cloudy, cool day or in the evening when heat and sun is less intense.
- Perennials do best when planted in spring or fall.
- When transplanting make sure soil is firmed around roots and water well.
- Keep new plants well watered during first season of growth.
- Don’t over-fertilize perennials. A single application of all purpose fertilizer (10-10-10) once in the spring is usually sufficient.
- Keep an eye out for diseases and pests. The earlier you catch a problem, the easier it is to treat.
- Visit local nurseries for your plants, choosing healthy, disease-free specimens.
Gale
Bear and Smokey
This is Bear (Shepard and Collie mix) and Smokey (Schipperke) the loves of our lives. I’ll never forget the day I found them.
So precious and innocent and just waiting to be loved.
The moment I stepped into North Shore Animal League in
I did not go in there with any specific intentions except to find the dog that I had a connection with and one that I thought needed us the most.
When I approached her, she slowly came toward me, stuck her nose through the cage and gave me a kiss! That was it!!!!!! How could I leave this helpless puppy now??? It was love at first sight.
I didn’t even ask many questions about her, I just had to have her.
Within seconds I asked to see her out of the cage. She could barely walk. Little did I know, she had been spayed 2 days before and was still recovering.
The adoption process is another story. All I wanted to know was where do I sign! It wasn’t that easy. After you fill out the forms, which includes naming references, they make you wait about 2-3 hours before they tell you if you’re able to adopt. I’m very happy they screen people for adoption to make sure the animals get a good home. Too many shelters just hand them over to anyone.
Anyway, when they called my name, it was one of the most exciting and nerve racking moments of my life!! They said “congratulations”!!!!!!!
Next thing I knew, we were in the car and headed back to New Jersey.
We are so thankful I found her and I think she is too.
We just celebrated Bear’s birthday April 6th. She is now 5 years old. Healthy, happy and so full of love.
Smokey is a different story J. I searched high and low in so many shelters for the perfect match for Bear. My husband and I both work and leaving Bear alone everyday just broke our hearts.
Not able to find the perfect mate, I ended up at a local pet store and there he was!!!! Sitting in the window by himself. He looked like he could have been Bear’s baby! The most adorable little face I ever saw.
I knew the moment I saw him it would be eternal.
I had never seen a schipperke before, knew nothing about them but I didn’t care. He had fire in his eyes! I held him for a minute (he was so full of energy I couldn’t hold on to him). His personality was just bursting!!! When I put him down he took off running around the pet store like a little kid in a toy store. Within 5 minutes, I was out the door with him. He fell asleep in my arms on the way home. So sweet!!!!!
Smokey was only 8 weeks at the time. We will be celebrating his birthday June 3rd when he will be 5 years old.
Although their personalities are so different, I don’t think Bear and Smokey could ever be without each other. Every morning they kiss each other. Bear sometimes acts like Smokey’s mother. She is very protective over him and Smokey is very protective over Bear as well. Where you see one, you will always see the other. They are a match made in heaven and we couldn’t imagine our lives without them.
Here is a picture of our family together!!
Smokey, Theresa, Bill & Bear
Online Canine Con Game-Caution!
An article recently appeared in the AARP Bulletin (April 2007) under their Scam Alert. Today, more and more dog buyers are relying on the Internet to find and purchase their family pets. There are many legitimate breeders who advertise via their own websites. However, buyers must be cautious before parting with their money. Nothing is more disconcerting than paying for something you never received because you’ve been scammed. Somehow, it seems even more hurtful when it’s a warm, fuzzy living creature that you never get to hold in your arms.
Buyer diligence should extend as well to rescue groups and other pets, in addition to dogs. Always make sure a legitimate health certificate, signed by a licensed veterinarian accompanies the pet you are purchasing. Health certificates are generally required by the airlines and to cross state lines, so there should be every reason to expect one to accompany your pet. Puppies should have their initials shots and be wormed. Rabies vaccinations are usually required in dogs over the age of 4 months.
Some things you can do to protect yourself when you purchase online:
- Make sure the seller has a working phone number posted on the site. Check it against online telephone directories.
- Do NOT wire money. Once it’s left your hands it’s gone. There is much greater safety in a credit card where you are covered by fraud protection.
- Request a photo of your purchase with some form of dated proof such as a newspaper headline or just a date written large enough to read in the photo.
Most of these people who defraud the public are experienced thieves. They are difficult to catch and they have the knowledge of how long they can safely leave their sites up and when to fold and run. When they shut down, they immediately set up a new website with a new name, generally using stolen credit cards to pay for the new site. If you have been caught in a scam like this you should contact local law enforcement, your state attorney general, and even the BBB. Unfortunately, the chances of recovering your lost funds are small. The best protection is to be proactive.
If you would like to read the article in the AARP Bulletin, here is the direct link:
http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/consumer/scam_alert_canine_con.html. We value your opinions and if you have comments, your own experiences or additional advice to prevent this fraud, we welcome your post.
We would love to have you visit our website at www.FurAndFlora.com where we carry a great selection of pet and garden supplies.
Thunderbutt
Thunderbutt joined the Gallagher clan in 1998. He is so named because of the thunderous sound of his footsteps as he prowls his homestead.
Below is Thunderbutt’s normal position when he isn’t on the prowl. He’s an indoor cat since he came to us with front claws removed. Thunderbutt has had a kidney stone about the size of a marble for about 6 years, but thanks to urinary health kitty food, he lives a healthy, pain-free life .
I had only had T’Butt for about 3 months when I came home from food shopping one day to find him walking on 3 legs. He apparently had been racing through the house (this is before he became Mr. Slug Thunderbutt) and clipped his hip on a door frame. The x-ray showed he had snapped the ball joint clean off the femur. The vet said we could do surgery or wait-and-see, that cats are very resilient and he could “knit that bone” and fully recover. Well, being a bit short of funds, I chose the wait-and-see. Within 3 months, T-Butt was putting weight on the leg, and within 6 months, no one could tell he had ever broken a bone. Another Miracle of Nature.
T-Butt is one awesome member of our Animal Family.
Submitted by:
Gale Gallagher
Miss Freeda Frito Kilgore
Sweet Freeda was adopted from the Humane Society of Smith County in Tyler, Texas by the Kilgore Family.
Freeda was a stray. Please adopt. These sweet babies need us.
Mr. Vincent Luigi Kilgore
Brimming with charm, Vincent Luigi was adopted from the Smith County Humane Society. He loves his country home just outside of Tyler, Texas.
Please adopt and spay and neuter all your pets to prevent pet overpopulation.
Miss Daisy Belle Kilgore
Daisy Belle is a rescue from the Humane Society of Smith County in Tyler, Texas. The Kilgore family resides in Tyler and adores all their adopted pets.
Pet Loss Memorials
Have you ever experienced the pain and grief of losing a beloved pet? Most of us have. Because so many of us think of our pets as family members, the grief and anguish can be intense.
Today, pet bereavement is far more accepted in the public eye than it was years ago. Even so, I have friends even now who seem ashamed of their tears and emotions because “only a dog” or “cat” or “bird.” Because we seem so unwilling to be open about our grief, as we are with our human loved ones, I believe it can leave emotional scars which take much longer to heal.
We carry that sorrow around with us like a piece of heavy luggage and it interferes with every facet of life. Or we become like robots; we operate at a functional level, but we don’t participate in life.
I am not a counselor, psychiatrist, or psychologist, but I DO have experience, much more than I wish I had. On the leading edge of the baby boomers 
I have had many years to devote to my pet family. And… I have lost many, many loved, furry family members.
I think what causes me the most pain is, though human euthanasia is considered barbaric by most, we are constantly called upon, as pet owners, to take responsibility and end the life of a suffering friend. It is the humane thing to do we are told. I definitely agree, but it creates a double whammy effect… not only do we suffer the loss through death, but we are the ones who made the decision to end the life.
We are the ones who may struggle for days, weeks, even months, knowing that the ultimate fate of our beloved pet lies in our hands. Whew! What a heavy burden. Though I wouldn’t have it any other way, that does not ease the pain.
The loss of Ace, who belonged to my Mom (see first photo on this page) until her death from cancer in 1991, still hurts to this day. It’s hard to explain, but he symbolized a link to Mom and he was such a vital connection to her. (Ace is pictured here with Amber, his little Sheltie sister)
The worst part of his loss was that I felt responsible for his suffering and death. Ace was a gigantic yellow Lab, weighing in at nearly 100 lbs. in his prime. All his life his favorite toy was an empty plastic milk bottle. He would play with them for hours and when he chewed it too much I would toss it and give him a new one.
Then, at the age of 11, his chewing finally caught up with him. To make a long story short, a piece lodged in his small intestine and created a blockage. After surgery and an intestine 18″ shorter, he took a long time to recover… many weeks. Finally he was on the road back when he began showing signs of a blockage again.
This time there was no coming back. His body had turned on itself and created massive amounts of scar tissue at the surgery site. There was nothing left for him, and I did the ultimate kindness and said goodbye. I stayed by his side and to this day my vision of that moment is as though it happened yesterday. His urn resides in my hutch along with his picture and Mom’s. I know they are happy together now.
So… to get back to Pet Loss. There are many places you can visit on the web to share your grief and get support. One of my favorites and most comprehensive is Pet Loss. You will find there the Monday Candle Ceremony where people can join hearts and hands to pray for their ailing and lost pets and a great bulletin board for sharing. There is also a live chat room for support. My favorite I think, is the Rainbow Bridge, where we know all our pets go for a happy and pain-free afterlife. It’s where we will meet them again. http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm.
I hope you are inspired to write about your pet and post here. It’s simple to register and then post your story and pictures. Write from your heart. We will be happy to approve your post. If you prefer, send us your story. Include a picture if you can. Email your story with the attached photo to info@PetAndGardenBoutique.com and we will send you a link as soon as it’s posted. If you do not have a digital picture of your pet, you can mail a picture of your pet to me at the following address:
Gale Gallagher, Pet and Garden Boutique, 825 S College,Tyler, TX 75701, and I will scan it into the website for you. Please include a self-addressed, postage paid envelope if you want your picture back. Your article, however, must be sent in an email so I don’t have to retype it.
We would also love to have you visit our website at www.FurAndFlora.com where we carry a great selection of pet and garden supplies.
Gale Gallagher