Bertie the Diplomatic Dog

A few weeks ago Wendy contacted me and asked me to share Bertie. Isn't he stunning?

Bertie had just crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and Wendy wanted to share all his wonderful attributes.

She and her family adopted this Jack Russell mix from an RSPCA in the United Kingdom, and all of Bertie's pictures featured here were taken in Scotland.

Bertie had quite the life!  He loved playing on the beach, even though he was afraid of the ocean.

He loved adventures and went with Wendy and her family on long mountain hikes and trails.

  

He even enjoyed the snow, and it's a good thing he did because look at all this snow!

  

Bertie was both "mischievous" and "very affectionate," to quote Wendy.  What a wonderful combination in a pet.  

Wendy chronicled some of Bertie's life in a blog called Diplomatic Dog.  You definitely need to check it out. Her photography is phenomenal and her subject is a doggie supermodel if ever there was one.  All of the pictures above link back to her blog; all you have to do is click on any image.

Bertie enjoyed life to the fullest, and he passed away quietly and without pain when his heart just stopped beating. Wendy's heart is too big to ignore other dogs in need of homes, and so although she knows there is no replacement for Bertie, she has found another dog in need. You can read about it on her blog.  

Wendy thank you so much for sharing your story with us and for sharing Bertie with the world. We hope you will keep us up to date as your household grows via another furbaby, and our thoughts and prayers are with you as you mourn Bertie's loss.  Still, just look at the beautiful life you gave him!

  

As always, we encourage all readers to share their rescue stories with us. Contact me at pabibliophile@gmail.com

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Holly's Happy House

How much cuteness do you think you can stand?  How about happiness?  Because you've already met Davey and Mini, but they have a sister I haven't shared yet. . . Gracie.  She's the schnoodle on the left up there.

When Davey and Mini first came to live with Holly, Holly's family had a beautiful and beloved cocker spaniel named Maui.

Maui, Davey, and Mini got along great and were adored by the whole family. Here they are pictured with Macy.

Unfortunately, poor Maui went to the Rainbow Bridge at the young age of 7, due to cancer. After they said goodbye to Maui they decided to hold off on getting another dog because Holly's husband had learned of a possible job relocation in Canada, and they didn't want to complicate things even further with another dog. Besides, they also had two cats, and Davey and Mini seemed to be getting along just swell.

If you're a regular reader of the blog, you know I believe some animals are destined to be part of our lives. God sends them along at just the right time and the next thing you know. . . they're family.  That's what happened with Gracie. 

Gracie found herself homeless after ten years of living with the same family. Her owner married someone who was allergic, and Gracie got passed around through the family until she wound up being surrendered to Holly's friend, who fostered dogs. Holly was watching Gracie for a bit when her friend went out of town and she noticed how well Gracie was getting along with the other pets.

She said Gracie had an "old soul" that reminded her very much of Maui. She had similar mannerisms and habits, such as howling if Holly left the house for a walk and didn't take her along.

Both pups have Canadian snow faces here!

 Although Holly continued to look for other homes for Gracie, nothing really panned out. When her friend came back to town she found herself putting off returning Gracie. One day her husband said "She's not going back is she?" and Gracie became a part of the family.

 Let's remember the family includes cats too!

Now, think back to the reason I mentioned earlier for Holly delaying getting a third dog when Maui passed away.  Remember the potential move to Canada?  Well that became a reality, and Holly had to tell their Canadian realtor that she needed a rental unit that would accept three dogs and two cats!  I bet that realtor loved Holly and her family. Anyway, in June of 2012 they packed up all five pets and moved to Canada.  Oh yeah, they decided to take along their daughter Macy too. haha

Now they're adjusting to those cold long Canadian winters.

Holly said the whole pack couldn't wait to sunbathe as the winter receded and the sun appeared!

Someday I hope to be able to do everything for rescue animals that Holly has done. Her family (human and furry) is beautiful and they all enrich each others' lives.    Holly writes a blog about her transition from Kansas to Canada, among other things. I encourage you to check it out. This post addresses the importance of rescuing instead of buying.

Many thanks to Holly for sharing her stories and pets with us. We hope to continue to get updates and we wish Holly and her family all the best!

Please consider sharing your rescue story, and don't forget all pets are eligible for the Great Outdoors Photo Share.

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What did you miss? 2/24-3/1

We are summarizing Literary Characters' Week today, although we do still have a little something planned for tomorrow. Before I review what we've shared and point you in the direction of our posts, I have to share a video.  This story brings together both the theme of the week, dogs as characters in books, and the impact of dogs on reading.  R.E.A.D. stands for Reading Education Assistance Dogs, and they are really making a difference with struggling and reluctant readers.  I'm not sure if Wiley will ever overcome his anxieties enough to be a part of something like this, but it is truly amazing.  Click on the picture below and watch the video, especially the first half.  It has all kinds of happy endings for everyone involved.

 

 

Now, on to the weekly round-up. On Sunday we had some deep and meaningful snuggling.  From there we launched Literary Characters Week on Monday with Huckleberry Finn.  Huck's story is a heartwarming tale of a lovable pup finding a great mom wiling to invest in him. Stanley (and Stella) were next, and their story was so encouraging. It took the combined efforts of a local pound, a local rescue group, foster families, and social media to bring Stanley to Niki, and now she can't imagine her life without him. 

His story reminds us that every little bit of effort counts.

Wednesday was a big day for Wiley as he made his debut as Sherlock, and on Thursday I shared a grab-bag of some of my favorite pictures of dogs named after literary characters. Finally, on Feel-Good Friday I invited readers to join me in remembering the television series Wishbone. If you don't know about it you have to check out the post. If you do remember it, I have an episode posted there for you to enjoy!

Now, don't forget about our big Photo Share starting this Wednesday. I need pictures of your sleeping pets. For photo shares I take pictures of any legal pets, even if they're not dogs and even if they're not rescues.  You can see to how submit your photo(s) right here. We have several options to make it easy on you.

As always, this blog depends on your rescue stories. Please share and encourage others to do so as well! Happy weekend!

Feel-Good Friday: What's the Story Wishbone?

We couldn't wrap up a week of Literary Characters on the Rescue Dog Blog without talking about Wishbone.  It's a little different than our other Feel-Good Friday posts, but I feel the need to share everything that's right about television when television is done right.

Wishbone was a series from the 1990s that aired on PBS. For those of you who don't know, each episode featured a daydream of Wishbone, a Jack Russell Terrier, as a character in a famous work of literature.  

I guess Wishbone had a bigger costume budget than Wiley has.

 I had to look up the exact years (1995-1998) but I had a pretty good guess that it was the mid-90s, because I was in college at the time studying to be an English teacher.  My mother ran a small daycare out of our house, and that's how I learned about Wishbone.

I watched it every day, and found myself shushing the kids if they got too loud. I imagined how much I would have loved something like that when I was a child, and pictured future English classes in which I could show little clips of Wishbone just for fun.

Wishbone tackled intense roles, from Romeo to Silas Marner, and didn't only portray the fun and fluff.  Alas, Wishbone has given way for a talking sponge and crime fighting turtles and other less literary entertainment.  Fortunately, YouTube has a plethora of Wishbone videos, and I'm linking to the Romeo and Juliet one right here.  I'm currently studying this play with my students, but I also picked this one because it involves Wishbone falling for a shelter dog, which of course turns out to be a star-crossed love affair.

I have never shown an episode of Wishbone to my students, because the episodes really haven't been available. Thank you World Wide Web, and my students will thank you too. Now I know exactly what to do with them on those noon dismissal days when the class periods are only 20 minutes long.

I hope you're inspired to do a little reading this weekend. Make sure you put the book down just long enough to share pictures of your sleeping pets and your rescue stories!

Feel-Good Friday: Uggie

Feel-Good Fridays have featured uplifting stories, typically about some heroic or noble act performed by a rescue dog.  I'm taking us in a different direction today. . . all the way to the big-time baby. . . Hollywood!

Uggie has been all over the media the past year and a half.  Did you know he was the first canine to put his paw prints in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater? Not Lassie, not Rin Tin Tin, not Benji. 

Uggie was legitimized this way near the end of a campaign to get him recognized with an Oscar for his role in The Artist, which won Best Picture in 2012.  While the Academy did not recognize him, he did bring a lot of attention to animals in film, especially the way they tend to steal the scene from their more human co-stars.

Uggie was in a lot of different movies and shows, and he has his own entry on the Internet Movie Database. But that's not why I'm featuring him.  Uggie is a rescued Jack Russell Terrier! He went from being a dog not one, but two, families decided was untrainable to walking the red carpet for the 2012 Academy Awards!

He even went to the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2012.

Omar Von Muller took Uggie in in 2002 when he was headed for a shelter. His previous two families found him too spirited to deal with, and had given up. Unfortunately way too many people make decisions to get a certain breed based on appearance or fame and then find they can't handle them. DO YOUR RESEARCH to get the right breed or mix for your lifestyle. Uggie is lucky, but a lot of Jack Russells wind up in shelters because of their energy levels.

Luckily Omar, who is an animal trainer, saw something in Uggie he knew he could work with.

 According to an online article on Gawker, "The main message that Uggie would like to send to everybody out there is to please adopt," said Uggie's trainer, Omar Van Muller. "He's adopted. He made it. If you guys can adopt a dog, even if they don't make it on the big screen, they'll be big stars at your house."

Congratulations to Uggie on his happy life and his career. He's retired now, mostly doing public appearances and such. How blessed the animal world is to have trainers who look to shelters first.

Please take some time this weekend to find some spoiled pet pictures. I'd like to run the story near the end of next week or the beginning of the following, so I need your pictures. I'll also need more rescue stories very soon!

* All pictures are either credited directly beneath or linked to their original sources.

Animals Behaving Badly: Part Two

We're back with more rule breakers, inspired by Wiley's reckless lifestyle.  First we have Lizzie, enjoying the cutting board post-steak-prep. She's just the right height too.

Next up is Rosco again. Oh Rosco, what did these toys ever do to you?

He just can't help himself.

Sandy finds her share of trouble too. Here she is ripping up all the wrapping paper on Christmas morning.  .  .

Frank and Mindy said she has to remove the squeaker from every toy too.  This was a brand new John Deere tractor her grandfather had gotten her.

Petey is trying to pretend he has no idea how the flower got there.

And Leroy is coping with his separation anxiety by self-medicating.*

*no one panic: he was just posing for a picture-not actually drinking beer

Lastly we have this bed vandalism, with the pillows of the guest room being pushed onto the floor.

 

Who is responsible for rudeness?  A tiny little force to be reckoned with. . .Utley.  Look at his defiant chin lift!  His mom, Amy, said he still wanted to play despite his scolding.

Ok readers-here is your homework! Our next photo promotion is going to be SPOILED PETS!  Don't you dare act like you don't spoil them. So start looking for some pictures, and share them whenever you are ready. Any kind of pet being pampered is eligible.  As always, we welcome your rescue stories too!   

 

Now I will leave you with a funny cartoon about when our pets try to pretend they haven't been up to no good:

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to like us on Facebook, so you can get all the blog updates!  You can also follow us on Instagram @rescuedogblog and share your rescue with the tag #thisisarescuedog!

What did you miss?

We had a busy week at the Rescue Dog Blog. It started with some snowy fun!  Then we shared the best dog pictures of the year, and had a wild New Year's celebration. We discussed Jack Russells, and beagles, and met Petey as their ambassador. Then we talked about Aussies via the beautiful and ever-so-sweet Rustle.  (Wiley is part Aussie too!) Finally, we returned to pit bulls with Isis, who has been featured not once but twice, because she's so nice. If you haven't been able to catch up yet, make time to do it now, or bookmark us to come back later.

And please, the point of our blog is to get the word out there about the love that comes from and goes with rescuing any animal, but especially dogs. So if you have a story to share, don't wait!