Today is a special day.  Today is the third anniversary of my husband receiving his Service Dog, Larry.

My husband has PTDS and a Dissociative Disorder.  

He's not blind.  You'd be surprised how many people are shocked when he makes eye contact.

In honour of this special occasion here are a list of General Rules when you meet someone with a Service Animal....




1. Don't touch.  You distract the animal from the job they're trying to do.  


2. Don't ask someone why they have a service animal.  They don't ask you personal questions about your life.... you probably shouldn't either.


3. Don't talk to the animal.  He's working... he doesn't have time to chat.  He's trying to listen and smell for changes in his human so he can alert to an oncoming problem.  


4. Finally, do not ask to see his license.  This is actually against the law.  Larry's jacket clearly marks him as a Service Dog, (not a therapy dog, or emotional support dog) and has the Training organization patch clearly shown.  


If you have an issue, please contact them.  Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs is an amazing organization and are so helpful.

I remember when suet cakes were less than a dollar each.  I realize I sound like some old woman complaining about the price of gas, but seriously!
If you are cheap like me here are a few easy steps to feed those ravenous winged creatures outside.  The ones who even now are making enough noise to wake the dead because my suet is chilling in the fridge...

All you need is some fat ~ I use bacon fat.  I never throw out bacon drippings, it's something I learned from my grandmother and I could never shake it. I let them cool a bit and spoon them into a mason jar that is always in the back of my fridge.

Where were we?  Right, suet for pig-birds.

3/4 cup bacon fat (approx.)
1/2 cup peanut butter (anything you have, they are NOT picky)

~Melt these together.  (I often just use the big fry pan I used for the bacon, that way I only have to wash it once.)

6 cups wild bird seed (approx.)

~Mix in enough wild bird seed to fill the pan but you can still see a fine layer of liquid over the top.


Use a big spoon to put into containers.

I kept all my old suet containers so I just re-use those.

If you don't have anything that shape you could cut off the bottoms of old milk cartons and fill those. They are waxed and pop out easy once the suet is chilled.

When looking online for a recipe with more precise amounts I came across this one:

Suet Cake

• 2 parts melted fat (bacon fat, suet, or lard)
• 2 parts yellow cornmeal
• 1 part peanut butter

We have two dogs that don't respect the "Don't sleep on my bed" rule, OR the "don't drink out of the toilet" rule, or the "don't chew up my lego" rule.  For that reason we found it necessary to put a piece of plywood across the bottom of the stairs to keep them from sneaking up.


The problem with a piece of plywood is that it typically doesn't stay standing by itself so I had to prop a chair beside the plywood, beside the staircase.  You get the idea.  A lot of crap at the bottom of the stairs and everytime I wanted to go up or down I had to hop this fence of assorted "stuff". It got irritating. Anyone who visited over the summer can tell you how hideous it looked.

I figured it was time to make something more permanent.  It took a few pieces of 1"x6" and two hinges but I finally have a permanent "keep off my bed" gate!

It only took a few hours

I got the original idea from this website:  http://www.remodelaholic.com/2012/09/diy-barn-door-baby-for-stairs/

The plans were for a baby gate but I used the general idea, scrapped the closing mechanism, and voila! When we installed it we tilted it slightly so it always swings closed.  The cats have actually figured out how to push it open and run through before it closes on their tails.

I'm a little late in introducing our newest tribe member!  Meet Big Louis.....

He's a little guy with a lot of attitude!

Well it's the time of year when 12 legs get hoisted into the back of the pickup truck for our annual Birthday Cone Extravaganza!
Yesterday was Boda Zapha's birthday (he's the black dog on the right) and Zeke the Freak has a birthday in a few days, they are both 13 this year.  Gingivitis doesn't celebrate hers until November but it would be wrong to leave her out don't you think? This year I decided to take a video to prove that dogs are just like kids... no two are alike.



For the record:  the cone on the Golden Retriever isn't some sort of odd torture.  She had bad seasonal allergies so every year the cone comes out while we give her meds... otherwise she would chew her butt bald... I've seen it, it's not pretty.

We have a hedgehog.  It was given to us by the Pilgrim Family and we are so gratefull because we just love every spiky inch of her!  Her full name is Sonic Sally Mia, but we just call her Mia (which is the name she was given before we got her and seems to stick!) We are just coming up to our 1 year anniversary with Mia, thus the tribute to our prickely pet.

Sometimes when my husband goes out the dogs do some pretty freaky stuff.  Just recently while my husband was away for the day our lab came out of our bedroom looking like this…..


I don’t know how he get’s them on, or why.  Strange, right honey?

This is actually a DPP 2009 shot but I love it so much I’m reposting it for 2010!

My girl Ginger has been sporting some new accesories that you might like.  They are the new cool neckware for dogs (at least that's what we're telling her).

She has allergies.  She's ticked. (When she's not drugged up on Benadryl) And she's trying to chew off her own butt.  Thus the protective headgear.

Happy One Year Anniversary to our mudpuppy GINGER.  It's been a long year.... a BLAST!

Come meet Mia aka: Sonic Sally Mia because everyone has an opinion on what she should be called.  We are hogsitting her for the summer and we are in love!  She's a bit spikey, but very lovable. She spends evenings running around our bed, hiding under pillows and trying to burrow into Dave's shirt.  Priceless.

On Tuesday I had to go to the dump. I did not come away empty handed. Some poor soul actually got rid of this....

I know.... I couldn't believe it either. His nose was almost severed and something bit a chunk out of his ear but otherwise, nothing a little love can't fix. In case you haven't recognized him... his name is Nipper and he is the RCA dog. After giving him a bath, which included vinegar and sandpaper here is Nipper after his big makeover....

You should note that this thing is taller than my real dogs and made all three of them growl the first time they saw him. SO... the next time you go to the dump keep your eyes open... you just might go home with a new member of the family!

So the truck is packed and we are going to the beach when I discover......

Well, we are pleased to announce that we are the proud parents of a beautiful 2 year old girl! This is our first girl and I am very excited to add some estrogen to this family... I've been feeling pretty outnumbered!

Had a blast in Bancroft and the ladies at the Green Cleaning talk were amazing, lots of questions and great ideas!