Animals Post Excerpts
Horse of Iron (Dec. 7/24)
I read Lawrence Scanlan’s Little Horse of Iron: A quest for the Canadian Horse after we’d been thinking of getting an elderly Canadian gelding. Knowing little about the breed, other than they’re beautiful and strong, we sought advice from friends and neighbours. Lovely horses but with their own minds, was the gist of it. You have to be firm. Oh dear! Not, as they say, in my skillset!…
Polo (July 23/24)
Why isn’t polo in the Olympics? Word that Prince Harry is doing a Netfix series about the sport, combined with horse show season and the Paris Olympics made me wonder this – and start googling. The history of polo goes back millennia, around the world. Somewhere, it seems, there was always someone who said “Hows about we saddle up and whack a ball with a stick?” And enough others who said “Sounds like a plan!”…
In Times of Trouble (Oct. 8/23)
This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for our neighbours. This summer and fall have been times of trouble for all of us. Way too much rain to get in fields. Not enough sun to make hay. Tractors stuck in mud. Equipment breaking down. We’ve had all of that, and neighbours have bailed us out time and time again. We have also had animal losses. Again, neighbours bailed us out. We had to say goodbye to one of our horses, our beloved Jerry…
Saint John Harness Races (Oct. 4/22)
After 151 years, Saturday October 15th will see the last harness races at Exhibition Park in Saint John NB. The race track has to close. The barns have to empty of their boarders. Something else will be built on the grounds. This long history of horses and people will disappear under whatever…
Medina Spirit (May 7/22)
Today, Derby Day, I’ll be thinking of Medina Spirit. He won the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Then, after testing positive for a substance banned on race days, he was disqualified in late February 2022. So, nine months after the race, Mandaloun was declared winner of the 2021 Run for the Roses. Two months before the decision to disqualify him, Medina Spirit collapsed and died after a workout in Santa Anita Park in California…
Horse Keeping (Jan. 1/22)
For Christmas, I got a manure fork. Yippee! It’s a good one for winter barnyard cleanup… The wooden handle is heavy, but tines that don’t break or bend is most important. Just one of the bits of knowledge we’ve acquired in two years of horse keeping…
9/11 Dogs (Sep. 11/21)
Twenty years after, the 9/11 dogs are gone. They searched, rescued, comforted. If you remember the day, you also remember the dogs…
Prince Philip’s Horses (Apr. 16/21)
“If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.” That, it is said, is how Prince Philip described his daughter Princess Anne. But if the amount of time he spent with horses is anything to go by, the Prince also had a fondness for hay-eating, farting creatures.
A 1965 book The Queen Rides by Judith Campbell is about the royal horses and their riders. Here is part of the section on Prince Philip, with photographs from the book…
Canadian Triple Crown (Oct. 24/20)
Mighty Heart has a chance today to be the 13th Canadian Triple Crown winner. The three-year-old colt won the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine, the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, returning to Woodbine for the Breeders’ Stakes…
Man o’ War (May 2/20)
In 1920, the most promising 3 year old horse in the United States did not run in the Kentucky Derby. Later in May, that horse – Man o’ War – won the Preakness Stakes. In June, the Belmont Stakes became a match race. All the other horses, except for Donnaconna, dropped out. Man o’ War won by 20 lengths…
Bosco’s New Year (Jan. 1/20)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog 2011) I was in Beaver Creek Animal Hospital about a week ago. A beautiful young black Lab was waiting to see the doctor… He was like any young healthy Lab – friendly, ready to play and very, very nice. His woman said “he’s Bosco.” I said “THE Bosco?”…
Jerry and Oscar (Dec. 4/19)
Two new horses, two new horse pedigrees to explore. Jerry is registered with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) as Mea Classico Duster… Oscar is a Thoroughbred-Quarter Horse cross, or an Appendix if registered. He entered shows under the name Playing to the Crowd…
Roxie Spencer (Sep. 22/19)
Without Roxie, St. Thomas likely wouldn’t have a dog park. At least not in 2010 when the first one was built. Because, a couple of years earlier, Joe and Linda Spencer wouldn’t have been looking for somewhere their young dog Roxie could run and play with other dogs…
Missouri Puppy Mills (May 20/19)
Last week, the Humane Society of the US released its 7th annual list of the 100 worst puppy mills in the USA, and #1 – Missouri. From April 17 2011, St. Thomas Dog Blog: Proposition B, setting rules for animal care by commercial dog breeders, last week was repealed by the Republican majority Missouri state government…
Kennel Club Show (Feb. 10/19)
From Jan. 13, 2011, St. Thomas Dog Blog: The Elgin Co. Kennel Club dog show is fun. A chance to see so many different kinds of beautiful dogs, and a chance to learn something about each breed…
Sled Dogs (Feb. 6/19)
Sled dogs kept the Inuit alive by giving them the mobility to hunt across vast expanses of the Arctic. Sled dogs kept stranded hunters alive by sharing with them the warmth of their bodies and fur. Sometimes, an individual sled dog gave his or her life to provide meat for starving hunters…
Half a ton of pet food (Jan. 17/19)
Day 27 of the US government shutdown. Food banks are helping feed furloughed federal employees. Animal shelters are helping feed their pets… Here’s my St. Thomas Dog Blog post from March 13, 2011 on ten weeks into operating a pet food bank. A bit of inspiration, I hope…
Pet Food Bank (Dec. 31/18)
Eight years ago today, the St. Thomas Dog Owners Association started a pet food bank. From St. Thomas Dog Blog, Dec. 31, 2010: As of today, there are seven local pet stores and services that are accepting donations of pet food for The Caring Pet Cupboard. Yippee!..
St. Thomas Happy Endings (Dec. 4/18)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog, Dec. 11, 2010) It’s been a good week in St. Thomas for happy endings to harrowing animal tales… help for an injured goose… Then an orange and white cat atop a hydro pole. He couldn’t get down and had been up there for four days… Saving Private Kitty…
Animal Testing (Nov. 7/18)
Cover Girl, one of the biggest cosmetic lines, has stopped all animal testing of their products. This is such good news. There are still some caveats to think about, but hurray! One caveat is “except where required by law” – which means China…
Dog Park Groupies (Oct. 24/18)
When I began going to the Hamilton Road dog park in London several years ago, I never thought about how it came to be. It was just there, placed for my convenience and my dog’s entertainment…
They shouldn’t have pets (Aug. 29/18)
You may hear people say “people who need help from food banks shouldn’t have pets.” If you can’t afford to feed your animal/your kids/yourself you can’t afford a pet. Easy to say. You could, however, also say if you can’t afford to feed your kids, you shouldn’t have them…
Can’t keep your pet? (July 26/18)
I took this from MuttShack.org. Be warned: it is a chilling story. (St. Thomas Dog Blog, Apr. 10/11) “As a shelter manager, I am going to share a view from the inside. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would stop flagging the ads on craigslist and help these animals find homes”…
Angel in a Foxhole (June 28/18)
96 year old WWII Veteran Bill Wynne needs your help! He has a Yorkie story that must be told – the incredible and inspirational TRUE story of “Smoky”, his 4 lb. Yorkshire Terrier, who literally became the tiniest Hero of WWII!
Writer Dave Tabar wants to make a movie called Angel in a Foxhole – about Smoky the war Yorkie…
Royal Corgis (Apr. 24/18)
A week ago, the death of an elderly dog made headlines. A pet’s death is always momentous for his or her loved ones. But it’s usually not world news. Willow, who died April 15th, was Queen Elizabeth’s pet, however, and her last link to Susan, matriarch of the Royal Corgis…
Best in Show (Mar. 28/18)
(From my St. Thomas Dog Blog, January 23, 2011) The Elgin County Kennel Club dog show this weekend at the Western Fairgrounds was great. So many beautiful dogs…
Acts of Kindness (Feb. 19/18)
From my St. Thomas Dog Blog, Feb. 3, 2012. Reposted in honour of Rebecca Schofield of #BeccaToldMeTo acts of kindness renown.
This week, I stopped at Elgin Animal Hospital to check their Caring Pet Cupboard donation bin. There was a bag of cat kibble in it, high-quality food sold by the clinic. There’s usually a bag or two of it in their bin…
Druggie Pets (Feb. 8/18)
First posted on my St. Thomas Dog Blog, 3 Nov. 2010. Filmmaker Patrick Reed was on CBC Radio’s Q, talking about his new film, Pet Pharm. It is about the booming business in pharmaceuticals – for pets…
Getting Chicks (Dec. 30/17)
Our elderly hens will soon shuffle off this mortal coil. Time to get some chicks, we decided. For five summers, our hens have gone broody. Weeks of sitting on eggs that will never hatch. It would be nice for them after such diligence to have chicks. Thus began 2017’s Major Project…
So this is Christmas (Dec. 18/17)
(From my St. Thomas Dog Blog, Dec. 2011) Christmas – and what have you done. Looking back at 2011, I am proud of what STDOA has done. It has been a hard year in St. Thomas, with plant closures and the world economic debacle. A deluge of abandoned pets in the city…
Cat Show (Oct. 21/17)
Tomorrow is the London Cat Show. In 2011 I wrote in my St. Thomas Dog Blog.
I got to go to the PAWSitive PAWS Cat Show at London’s Western Fairgrounds. Many years ago, I went to a cat show. I found it very funny, mainly because no one else – exhibitors, judges or cats – did…
Redemption: Shelter Plan B (Sept. 15/17)
My impression after reading about Nathan Winograd is that it’s animal shelters that need redemption. He is Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center. I don’t get star-struck that often, but this sounds like one very impressive man…
Diseases of Friend and Foe (Aug. 2/17)
When Waterworks Wally got his shots last week, his vet tested him for diseases I’d rarely heard of in cats. He was tested for FIV (cat HIV) and feline leukemia (FeLV). The doctor said FIV is “a disease of foes,” transmitted by blood exchange usually through fighting. FELV is “a disease of friends,” transmitted by saliva shared by grooming another cat or eating from the same bowl...
Wilma the Cat (June 8/17)
In honour of Wilma, cat colony princess, who died yesterday in St. Thomas ON. Reposted from St. Thomas Dog Blog, March 29, 2012.
Wilma was a homeless cat who was instrumental in the creation of the Charity Cat Project. That initiative has provided food, shelter and neutering to innumerable feral and stray St. Thomas cats. So, Wilma, thank you…
Homeless Companions (May 29/17)
Please God, I have never had to beg on the street and I’ve never been homeless. I don’t know how I’d look after myself, let alone a dog or cat. But people do; they survive on the streets of even the coldest cities, and many do so with a pet…
Training at the Dog Park (May 17/17)
(This week in May 2010, we in the St. Thomas Dog Owners Association were doing a final spit and polish on our dog park.) The Lions Club Dog Park had its grand opening on the May 24th weekend. I picked up some pointers on dog training from Anne MacDonald of K-9 Concepts Saturday afternoon…
Cedric and Jamie (Apr. 13/17)
This day, in 1997, I laid my cat and dog in their final resting place. Cedric, the cat, had cancer of the jaw. Jamie, the dog, had arthritis so bad he could barely walk. Cedric had been with me for fifteen years and Jamie for ten…
Blue Blue Merle (Feb. 20/17)
While watching the 2012 Westminster dog show, this dog was the one I wanted. What a beauty! Then a Collie-knowledgeable friend commented that he should never have won Best of Breed because of his merle-to-merle breeding. Huh? I started googling. (from my St. Thomas Dog Blog Feb. 23, 2012) …
Pet Heirs (Jan. 31/17)
Preparing a will isn’t what most people consider a fun thing to do. And even for those who do, it still takes a lot of time and thought to get it right… If you have pets you need to think about them. Just leaving it to hope, or even a promise, that a family member or friend will look after Fluffy, isn’t enough…
Happy Meals (Dec. 28/16)
In Memoriam: In honour of our Phoenix hen Grayneck. On Dec. 23, 2016, Grayneck died of natural causes, aged 4 1/2 years. She is survived by her four sisters. The girls are the first hens I have had since the ones I write about here. From St. Thomas Dog Blog June 13, 2010. I used to keep chickens. Mainly bantams who produce lovely little eggs…
Poodle Clip (Nov. 30/16)
Leo was filthy. His hair was long and matted. He smelled. But cold weather and his arthritis made me reluctant to take him to his groomer. “What about we try bathing him in the tub?” my husband said..
Puppy Mill (Nov. 25/16)
I supported a puppy mill. Not directly, but I contributed to the financial well-being of one. My Standard Poodle Leo had spent five years in a US puppy mill as a breeding dog. His adoption fee was $100 higher than the usual because the original rescue group paid the puppy mill owner $100 each for the dogs…
Arthritic Dogs (Nov. 14/16)
One week ago, my dearly beloved Leo died – arthritis and old age… This post was first published Jan. 30, 2013 on my St. Thomas Dog Blog in memory of Leo’s predecessor Jack. Now it’s in honour of Leo too…
The Dog Park (Oct. 19/16)
Went to the dog park yesterday with the boys. It was a mauzy day, light rain and cool. I figured nobody would be there, and I was right. It was beautiful…
Burdock Dog (Oct. 4/16)
This is Leo after he walked for just a second into a patch of burdock. The burs didn’t just stick to his hair, they burrowed right in his face, chest and ears. I picked off as many as I could right away. Before I did, his ears were stuck to the top of his head…
Missouri Puppy Mills & Prop B (Sept. 6/16)
On November 2, 2010, Americans voted in mid-term elections. One of the things voted on in Missouri was Proposition B, proposed legislation that would regulate dog-breeding kennels. It was passed by a small margin of mainly urban votes…
Pawlooza Dog Party (Aug. 17/16)
Pawlooza happens this coming Saturday, August 20th from 10 to 6, at Steve Plunkett’s Fleetwood Farm on Elviage Road, near Westdel Bourne in west London. It is a huge dog party organized by ARF Ontario (Animal Rescue Foundation) in London…
The Boxer, Copper (July 20/16)
When I was 13, our next door neighbour got a dog. In itself, that’s not extraordinary. However, this dog acquisition caused quite a stir. She was an elderly widow and lived alone. The dog was a young Boxer. His name was Copper. He was the colour of a new penny, she or someone said…
Pittie Myths (Jun 21/16)
I don’t often agree with Peter Worthington, but I did with what he wrote (March 14, 2012) about Pit Bulls and Ontario’s Breed Specific Legislation. He calls BSL a “Ku Klux Klan law”, “akin to deciding guilt based on appearance, not behaviour.”…
Super Superdogs! (May 25/16)
Came home smelling of strange dogs tonight. I’d been to see the PC Superdogs at London’s John Labatt Centre [now Budweiser Gardens]. My dogs are now sitting either side of me, as close as they can get. Maybe they’re afraid I’m going to trade them in…
The Miracle of Birth (Apr. 26/16)
A while ago, I met a man, his son and their two dogs. I was making a fuss over the dogs, and the boy said “she’s going to have babies.” The dad confirmed it… They wanted her to have one litter of puppies – for her sake, for the kids to see…
Bear (Mar. 15/16)
“A sad Goodbye to Bear, the dog who you may remember that was abandoned at Dalewood, that became a ABCR rescue dog. Bear was adopted by a young man who dearly cherished this sweet boy and lived the rest of his life well fed and very much loved…” Mar. 15/16 ABCR Facebook. St. Thomas people and pets have a lot to thank Bear for…
Westminster Dogs (Feb. 26/16)
“Crategate” exploded in Mitt Romney’s campaign for the US Republican leadership… Protestors used the publicity around the Westminster Dog Show held this week* to garner attention for what Romney did to his dog. (*St. Thomas Dog Blog, Feb. 17/12.)…
Farm Dog (Feb. 10/16)
Being a farm dog is the diplomatic posting of the canine career spectrum. They have to be friend, greeter and protector. They have to be independent but know their place, both geographically and in the social hierarchy. It’s a tough job…
Watch Dog (Jan. 6/16)
Bing was a small German Shepherd or Alsatian as Mom called her. She was a watch dog. And very good at her job – the perfect Walmart greeter during the day and to those who had legitimate business, a holy horror of snapping teeth and bristled fur at night or to those without good reason to be on the property…
Home for the Holidays (Dec. 15/15)
Don’t give a dog as a Christmas present. At least not as a spur of the moment gift. But if you are planning to get a dog anyway, why not? If you are aware that your “present” is alive and, with luck, will live many years, you will give an enormous gift to the dog as well…
Dog Hallowe’en (Oct. 28/15)
This Saturday is Howl-O-Een at the STDOA Kettle Creek Dog Park. Party at the park from 2 to 4 pm… To put you in the mood to find a costume for Fido, here are photos from the 2010 STDOA-ABCR fund-raising Hallowe’en walkathon, Paws in the Park…
Movin’ Dogs: An underground railway (Oct. 1/15)
Who can resist this little face! Small, friendly terrier mix desperately needs a home. House-trained, healthy 1 year old male. That might have been the ad for Charlie placed by the pound near Lexington, Kentucky where he was in September 2008…
Who’s Kitten Who? (Sept. 8/15)
In the mood for a fluffy book, I wondered if Cynthia Baxter’s Who’s Kitten Who? might be a bit too fluffy based on the cover and title. Still, give it a try. Amateur sleuth Jessica Popper is a veterinarian who runs a mobile clinic on Long Island. She has a habit of running into murder and mystery…
Spot, the Fire Muster Dog (Sept. 3/15)
I decided to do a little creative grooming for the Fire Muster. White Poodle plus Fire Muster Dog Show equals Dalmatian Look-alike contender! So I checked with my groomer, Poodle grooming specialist, hair dresser, pharmacist and online creative grooming sites…
Bathing Jamie (Aug. 26/15)
Jamie hated baths, indeed Jamie hated water. He was a Collie mixed with something, clearly not a water dog. He had long Collie hair with a thick undercoat. He had long fluffy hair on his feet, legs and backside. He’d get knotted and matted. Jamie also hated being brushed…
Water for Elephants (Aug. 5/15)
(from 2011) In the past week, I’ve been sent two Facebook requests to boycott the film Water for Elephants. ADI (Animal Defenders International) says that Have Trunk Will Travel, trainers of the elephants in the film, use abusive methods. This contradicts the trainers’ statement that they only use positive reinforcement…
Cat Ladies: The movie (July 30/15)
Finally saw the documentary Cat Ladies. What struck me was the ambivalence that all four women felt. They love cats and enjoy looking after them and they don’t like seeing animals suffer. But they do not want as many cats as they have and/or they don’t want cats to define their entire lives…
Dallas, a Shepherd (July 14/15)
Dallas was on the All Breed Canine Rescue website under “Mature Dogs.” I had been looking through rescue sites, hoping no dog would ‘speak’ to me. This gray-muzzled, sharp-faced, squat-bodied Shepherd-type did. It was way too soon. (From my St. Thomas Dog Blog, Nov. 19, 2010)…
Hot Cars Hot Dogs (July 7/15)
My brother and I conducted an experiment recently on heat build up in a car. We didn’t plan to, but what happened while he was waiting for me in a parking lot proved instructive. It was a pleasant summer day, a nice breeze, no humidity and 22º Celsius…
Dog Gone – Review (Jun 17/15)
Eileen Key’s Dog Gone
is about dogs disappearing from a boarding kennel. Cleaning lady Belle wants to help her friend, the kennel owner, keep her business alive so she enters the world of dogs and dog shows…
My Dog’s Arthritis (Jun 2/15)
My poodle Leo has arthritis in his spine and hip. Running, jumping and dancing on hind legs must be curtailed. I am sad and furious. He’s maybe 9, so you might say: he’s had good years, aging happens. I’d agree – but. He’s only had 3 “good years”…
Living ‘Equipment’ (May 25/15)
Armed Forces Day in the US is the 3rd Saturday in May, honouring those who protect and defend. But what of Military Working Dogs? I thought treating military animals as equipment to be left behind or destroyed was something long gone in the US Armed Forces…
Lost and Found (May 12/15)
Lost and Found is a wonderful book. Elizabeth Hess writes about volunteering at the Columbia-Greene Animal Shelter near Hudson, New York… When her daughter wanted a dog, they found one at the shelter and Elizabeth found a world that she hadn’t known before…
Track Royalty (Apr. 28/15)
This coming Saturday, May 2nd, is the Run for the Roses, the first leg of the Triple Crown. The 141st running of the Kentucky Derby. The young royals of mainly North American horses will be there…
Raining Puppies (Apr. 16/15)
(Four years ago, I wrote about emails I received about a litter of pups, and a swamped rescue group. I just checked Kijiji – still lots of pups for sale for high prices.) “Jesus, it is raining puppies! Here’s pictures of the 10 puppies All Breed Canine Rescue got. Three of the litter went to another rescue group. ABCR is just about going crazy…
Barn Cats (Apr. 10/15)
Frank Moore, a farmer north of Belmont, always had lots of barn cats. He said one year, years before, there had been an explosion of cats – so many that all the farms were overrun. That year he, like the other farmers, got rid of many of them. “The next couple years, there weren’t any cats…
Australia honours Smoky (Apr. 2/15)
On July 20, 2012 in Brisbane Australia, Smoky the war dog was awarded posthumously the Australian Defence Force Tracker and War Dog Association medal for military service. At the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital…
Yorkie Doodle Update (Mar. 30/15)
After I wrote a review of Yorkie Doodle Dandy (St. Thomas Dog Blog, April 2012), I got a lovely email from author Bill Wynne. “Thank you so much… I’m working a on a second book because YDD has been popular and resulted in many diverse things happening…
Yorkie Doodle Dandy(Mar. 27/15)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog Apr. 26/12) I don’t know much about WWII, and even less about the American campaign in the South Pacific. I learned a lot, and felt it, reading about a Yorkshire Terrier. William Wynne’s book explains it so clearly… Military history was not his purpose in writing Yorkie Doodle Dandy. It is about Smoky, a dog he acquired…
Dog On It: Review (Mar. 25/15)
(From my St. Thomas Dog Blog, Nov. 10/11) Dog on It is the first in a mystery series by Spencer Quinn, aka Peter Abrahams. The protagonists are Chet (dog) and Bernie (human). Set in the US Southwest, the story is told by Chet. He is a K-9 police school flunk-out and Bernie barely scrapes by as a private detective…
Iditarod Murder: Review (Mar. 6/15)
A 1991 mystery novel by Sue Henry. Murder on the Iditarod Trail is good. Several murders: at first I thought she just wanted to use all the ways she’d thought of for murder in a dogteam race. But actually all the murders are necessary for the plot line… And you, the reader, go along with the teams every hard mile of the race…
Giving Shelter (Feb. 24/15)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog, Apr. 6/10) Years ago, I went to the London Humane Society with a friend. While she looked for a cat, I stayed at the front desk… A man came in with a box of kittens he wanted to leave. The attendant started processing them, and I said “I’ll take them.” The attendant said “ok”…
The Wrong Dog (Feb. 17/15)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog, Aug. 21/10) In the library last week, I found a new-to-me dog mystery writer. Carol Lea Benjamin writes a series featuring private detective Rachel Alexander and her intrepid Pit Bull partner Dashiell (as in Hammett)…
Fur Babies (Feb. 11/15)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog, Mar. 15/10) I’m reading Michael Schaffer’s One Nation Under Dog. Very interesting. He talks about something I’ve thought about – the term “pet parent.”…
Death and Repose (Jan. 30/15)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog, Apr. 13 2010) Today is the 13th anniversary of the death and burial of my old Collie Jamie and cat Cedric… In future no one will know the significance of that small bed of dahlias and tiger lilies. Now my animals have plots at Sandy Ridge Pet Cemetery…
The Wolf in the Parlor (Jan. 28/15)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog, May 20/11) It took me a few months to read Jon Franklin’s The Wolf in the Parlor: How the dog came to share your brain… I considered not finishing it, but I’m glad I did. Franklin’s premise is that humans and dogs evolved together and, in fact, became parts of each other in terms of brain function…
Lab Mysteries (Jan. 15/15)
(St. Thomas Dog Blog, Apr. 24/10) If you like dogs and mystery novels, or even just one or the other, have a look at J. F. Englert’s Bull Moose Dog Run series… The ‘sleuth’ who tells the story is Randolph, a middle-aged black Labrador Retriever…
Cat People (Dec. 30/14)
There are unsung heroes among us. Almost everyone knows one or two, or at least has encountered them. They’re usually not thought of as heroic or civic-minded. Instead they’re a code word for loneliness with a bit of looniness thrown in: “cat ladies”…
Cigar 1990-2014 (Oct. 9/14)
The news from the Kentucky Horse Park that Cigar died Tuesday Oct. 7 made me look through photos I have of him. After retiring in 1999, he lived in the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park. I met him there in December 2007. He was in his stall, watching a stablehand clean it. But when he saw he had visitors, well, over he came…
Dogs in War (Sept. 10/14)
Today is the 75th anniversary of Canada declaring war on Germany in World War II. In honour of that, I have posted Dogs in War, a page constructed by Jim Stewart and previously posted on the St. Thomas Dog Owners website…
Northern Dancer (May 16/14)
There are some athletes so well known that, fan or not, you can place the name without thinking. Gordie Howe, Muhammed Ali, Michael Jordan, Northern Dancer. 50 years ago, the little Canadian Thoroughbred Northern Dancer won the Preakness…
The Princesses Louise (Nov. 7/13)
Is Princess Louise Park in Sussex named for a British Royal or a horse? I’ve heard both answers. The person was daughter of Queen Victoria and patron of the 8th Hussars Regiment. The horse was the 8th Hussars Regimental Mascot. Princess Louise, the horse, was an Italian-born WWII refugee…
Make-up Trade (Oct. 30/13)
Revlon tests products on animals, Facebook says.* Huh? I thought Revlon was one of the few major mainstream cosmetic companies that did not do animal testing…
Jack 1998-2008 (Jan. 30/13)
Five years ago today at 2:15 pm ET, my beautiful German Shepherd Jack died. We had his vet euthanize him before his body did it by itself. It was getting pretty close…
Santa Bunny (Dec. 6/12)
The cosmetics sections of stores have beautiful Christmas displays. Toiletries, creams and bath oils are lovely and easy gifts to give almost anyone. But look beyond the pretty packaging…
Hens movin’ on up (Nov. 14/12)
The girls have moved yet again. That’s what happens when you’ve got wheels on your coop, you get itchy claws. There has been some awfully cold days and nights the past couple weeks. The girls are hardy, but…
Happy Hallowe’en (Oct. 31/12)
In case you need some inspiration to dress up your dog, cat, kid or self on this eve of All Saints’ Day, here you go…
The Cluck Sisters (Sept. 19/12)
The girls are moved in! Sunday evening they were put in their new coop. They’d waited in the back of a truck and, by that time, were clucking and pretty much pointing with their little beaks at their little chicken wrists as if to say “don’t you know it’s bedtime?”…
Have Chicken – Will Travel (Aug. 29/12)
Some hens need a home, so the first construction project at the house? A chicken coop. It’s just big enough for five or six chickens and their furnishings and for us to go in to tend to them… And it’s mobile…
Dressage Top Hat (Aug. 8/12)
A requirement for safety helmets to be worn by riders in all equestrian shows is a good idea and, by and large, the helmets look ok. But dressage needs something that is as elegant as the sport itself…
Tale of Two Dog Parks (July 24/12)
I don’t know if St. Thomas dog people and City Hall are still battling about the weeds in the dog park. Please God, I hope not! Of all the issues that may cause problems between the powers that be and dogs running loose, tall weeds should not even register on the fight-o-meter…
Elgin County Dog Show (Jan. 27/12)
The Elgin County Kennel Club wants to come home to Elgin for its annual dog show. It would be nice to have it here in St. Thomas. I’d probably go all three days if it were. I spent last Saturday at it. Petted lots of dogs, took lots of pictures. Met a magnificent three-year old Neapolitan Mastiff…
Island Dogs (Dec. 16/11)
On our recent trip to PEI, we stopped to get our bearings in Gateway Village at Borden-Carleton, just off the bridge. Walking around, saw a pet store with an open sign. That’s all the dogs and I needed. In we went to Island Petwear…
Luanne Demers, Founding President (Nov. 15/11)
It was with much sorrow that we learned of the passing of our friend and founder of STDOA Luanne Demers… I remember her watching her dogs wrestling with each other and anyone that would play, and saying “what we need is a proper dog park”…
Hickstead (Nov. 10/11)
Canadian athletics and the world of show jumping lost a superstar last Sunday. The great Hickstead died during competition in Verona, Italy November 6th at age 15. His big heart just gave out it seems…
Sussex NB Dog Park (Oct. 31st, 2011)
In Sussex, New Brunswick, when the first snow of the season hit… Not a day for the dog park. But, having been told that there was one, I wanted to see it. So off Leo, Charlie and I went…
Elsie 1997-2011 (Sept. 2nd, 2011)
This was written last Sunday. Elsie Rose died yesterday. I’m writing this when I’ve realized Elsie is in pain. It’s time to phone the vet, time for her to go peacefully. She wants to, I think, but I don’t want her to. She arrived around my house in May fourteen years ago…
Dear Cat Dumper (July 29/11)
To the person who dumped a grey tiger and white male neutered cat at Waterworks Parks on or before July 4, 2011: He’s doing well, considering. He misses you…
Waterworks Cat (July 6/11)
I’d planned to write something about this past week’s national birthdays but I’ve been busy – dealing with someone else’s problem, I think. We have a new cat. Monday evening he was wandering the parking lot at Waterworks Park…
In Memoriam: Mya 2007-2011 (June 29/11)
Last night a friend called. She and her husband had to put their lovely young dog to sleep. Mya, a beautiful Doberman Pinscher. On Saturday, she was ill and her vet diagnosed her with Dilated Cardiomyopathy. They were familiar with this heart disease…
Circus Cirque (June 22/11)
We went to see Cirque du Soleil at London’s John Labatt Centre recently. The show, Quidam, was fabulous. Also the first circus I’ve been to at the JLC with no protestors outside. When my husband said he’d bought tickets, I said “but they don’t have animals!”…
A Dog’s “Night Before Christmas” (Dec. 22/10)
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care…
Dog blankets, beds & coats needed! (Dec. 8th, 2010)
All Breed Canine Rescue needs beds for foster dogs. If you have washable dog beds, fluffy blankets or towels…
Commodity Dogs (Oct. 27/10)
Dogs and cats have always been a part of my life – an important part. Most of them, from my childhood and adulthood, have just come along and stayed. An agreement was reached, a negotiation and relationship I suppose…
Secretariat: The Movie 2010 (Oct. 15/10)
The thing that annoyed me most about the movie Secretariat was that the horses playing him were not in the credits… Ok, that’s my criticism. Other than that, I loved it…
Horse: Free to a good home (Sept. 8/10)
A few years ago, I got involved in trying to find homes for two Standardbred ex-racehorses… As it happened, we did find a home for both of them as companion horses in a small herd. But in the course of all this, I learned a couple things. One was beware of meat buyers…
