Rolling Dog Farm

Makeovers

No, that's not a new arrival on the left there, that's ... Fuzzy!  Without the fuzz!  Our wonderful groomer Lori Fillion from Littleton was here yesterday, doing Molly and Priscilla and the two blind terriers, Fuzzy and Clyde.  With warmer weather finally upon us, Lori thought Fuzzy could do with a much lighter, summer-ish cut.  He looked so different we joked yesterday that we should post him on the blog as a new arrival and see if anyone could tell the difference.  It was funny to see how Fuzzy was rolling and rolling yesterday afternoon, bouncing up and down, apparently quite happy to be relieved of all that hair.  Dang, he's just as adorable, too, but in an entirely new way.  And Clyde got a full makeover, too, which we really like. 

After Lori finished with everyone, she sat outside on the ramp for a bit, and was promptly mobbed by her clients:

Clyde is really coming out of his shell, as you can see in that photo.  Less fearful of people, more animated, and now seeking out attention and affection.  It's quite a turn-around for him.

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

More Wildlife In The Morning

Alayne got this shot the other day of another set of morning visitors -- deer that wander through early, before we let the dogs out.  One of the many things we love about this new location is the abundance of wildlife on the property.  A couple of evenings ago, when it was warm enough to sit outside on the back deck for a few minutes, we stepped out and immediately heard "gobble-gobble-gobble!" from wild turkeys just below the pond.  I think it was a wild turkey "human alert!" going off.  We sat for a bit and listened to their loud gobbling as they ambled through the trees and brush.  We have flocks of these magnificent birds meandering through the apple orchards early in the morning and, as in this case, in the adjacent woods in the evening. 

It's also suddenly frog season, and the pond has come alive at night with the croaking of I-don't-know-how-many frogs.  It's almost deafening it's so loud.  In an era when we keep hearing that frogs and other amphibians are disappearing around the globe, we like knowing our little pond provides a thriving habitat for so many.

In the photo behind the deer is an old chicken coop from the days when this was a farm many decades ago.

Both the deer and the wild turkeys are no doubt anxiously awaiting a fresh crop of apples -- but as you can see, we don't even have leaves on the trees yet!

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

Lucy's New Family

Vicky L., who adopted blind Lucy from us a week ago, just sent us these wonderful photos of the "Pink Princess" at home with her new best friend, Vicky's lovely daughter Kendall.  Vicky wrote, "Lucy is doing great! She really is 11 and a half pounds of pure JOY! She has adapted very well to her new surroundings, loves to explore the yard and loves going for car rides. Because we've had this week off she has gone pretty much everywhere with us."

She continued, "I brought her to my work on Monday (of course she was a hit) and she was quiet as a mouse. (If I could only convince my boss to let me bring her to work with me!) She was also a hit at Petco. People were flocking to her and she loves the attention. I brought her Wednesday on my 3 mile walk.... We bought a pet carrier so I could carry her on my walks and she really seemed to enjoy it, although I think Lucy just loves being in your arms...anytime."

Here's Lucy in her pink bed with her pink kong:

And finally, with this next photo of Lucy with Kendall, Vicky wrote: "Here's Lucy after stealing Fawn's bone (I know it's hard to believe that this 11 and a half pounder would steal a bone from a 70 lb greyhound...she did!)"

Um, not to mention she's a blind 11 1/2 pounder who's stealing a bone from a 70 pound Greyhound!

Vicky and Kendall, thank you so much for bringing her into your family!

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

Another Way To Use My Brother

I looked out the window a couple of days ago and saw this rather interesting sight in the dog house -- Katie figuring out yet another way to use her brother Spencer for sleeping.  That's her on top, with her head buried.  Although in this case, I'm not sure how or why this one really works.  The headrest/pillow thing, yes.  Makes perfect sense.  This position, on the other hand, seems a tad awkward.  But at least her face was really, really warm!

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

Luke and Pearl

Kate W. in Missoula, who adopted blind Luke from us several years ago, just sent us this photo of Luke with his new best friend, Pearl.  Kate wrote:

"Just emailing to let you guys know I adopted a 14-year old cat a little over 10 days ago and things are going great!  Luke has always loved kitties.  He likes to smell them, follow them around and be groomed by them.  (Yes, my sister's cat grooms Luke, and he will sit there for as long as Chubs is willing to groom.)  So I finally committed to the idea of a litter box and adopted a kitty.
 
I named her Pearl.  She's a 14 year old Himalayan X.  She was brought in after her owner died with another elderly cat and a Rottweiler.  
 
I'm sending a photo of Luke and Pearl on day number two!  Already snugglin' on the couch together.  She sleeps in bed with us and follows Luke and me all around the house.  It's so nice to be loved by two wonderful animals!  Although I do think Luke is getting jealous of the fact that Pearl fits in my lap, and he doesn't."

(Our experience is that the bigger the dog, the more they think they're a lap dog.  Somehow I suspect this is related to the issue of big dogs seeking out the tiniest possible beds to sleep in, too.)

Kate subsequently told us she took Pearl to the vet a few days later, and suddenly she had a very vocal and freaked out cat in the exam room.  So Kate brought Luke into the room, and instant calm prevailed.  Pearl took one look at Luke and that was all she needed. 

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Our friends at the New Hampshire SPCA not only made it into the top 50 shelters in this contest, but placed 5th in the nation overall in number of votes cast!  Thanks to everyone who helped them make it into this qualifying round!

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

Blind Lucy Gets Adopted!

I received an email about 10 days ago from Vicky L. in Connecticut, who was interested in adopting blind Lucy.  Vicky and her family have adopted several rescued Greyhounds over the years, including a three-legged one they lost earlier this year.  They still have one Greyhound, an 11-year old named Fawn.  They also have a couple of adopted horses -- one of which came with its best friend, a miniature donkey -- and a goat, too. 

Vicky wrote, "You're probably wondering why we would go from Greyhounds to a Dachshund. Well, the truth is my daughter wants a snuggle bug in her bed with her. Have you ever snuggled with a Greyhound? Not an easy task. Although our three-legged Greyhound was a snuggle bug, she took up half the bed."

I wrote Vicky back and said, "If you want a snuggle bug, that’s Lucy!  Snuggling is her thing."  

After we worked through the arrangements and scheduled a trip, Vicky emailed to say, "My daughter and I were at Petco and we bought a new dog bed, a harness with matching leash (of course in pink). Also a new pink coat, although hopefully we won't need that till winter. Oh, and a pink kong."  I told Vicky I didn't even know they made pink kongs!

So this past Wednesday, Alayne took Lucy to our vet clinic in Whitefield to get her interstate health certificate, and on Friday, Vicky drove up from Connecticut to meet Miss Snuggle Bug.  I took the photo above of the two of them in our dog room, just before they hit the road for home.

And here they are in the car, with Lucy sporting her new pink harness ... and please note the pink bed for the ride:

After getting home Friday afternoon, Vicky emailed to say, "Lucy took about a half hour to settle in the car (as I expected) but she then settled right down on my lap. Only time she woke was to change positions.... I am truly amazed how she loves to explore. She pretty much covered the whole yard. We TRULY love her to pieces already! (How can you not?) Thank you for providing her with such a wonderful place and for allowing us to give her a forever home!"

Thank YOU, Vicky!

I told Kate later that day that this is the kind of thing Alayne and I live for -- to see a little blind dog like Lucy end up in a loving home with someone like Vicky.  Wow.

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

My Brother, My Headrest

Last June I posted a photo of blind and deaf Spencer using his sister Katie as a pillow.  Well, a couple of days ago I looked out the window and saw Katie using Spencer as a headrest.  When they snooze together, inevitably one of them is resting his or her head on the other.  They take turns at this.  It's just how they do it!

The mess on the other side of the fence is what's left over from when we installed the wood boiler back in late January.  Now that the snow has melted, uncovering all the rough ground from the installation site, it's apparent we have some landscaping to do this spring!

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

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The ASPCA $100,000 Challenge -- Last Week For This Round

Our friends at the New Hampshire SPCA "downstate" (as they say here) in Stratham have made it into the qualifying round of the ASPCA's $100,000 Challenge to Save More Lives contest.  They are competing to be one of the 50 shelters eligible to participate in the final round of the challenge.  This is not a contest for us -- you need to care for a minimum of 1,000 animals during the year to enter.  The NHSPCA has made it past the first stage and into the qualifying round, and now they need as many votes as possible to get one of the final 50 spots in the contest.  On their behalf, we'd like to ask you to vote for them -- they do wonderful work and we'd like to support their efforts.

The qualifying round of the contest starts Monday, April 4 and runs until April 15 -- and you can vote EVERY DAY in this challenge, too!  Please vote for the NHSPCA here.

If you have questions or want to know more about this Challenge, please go to this page.  My standard disclaimer:  I cannot help with voting issues, troubleshoot, or provide any other assistance for this contest.

Whaddya doin'?

Every morning Alayne bundles Bailey into a towel and carries him through the house on a "road trip."  This lets him "explore" and see things he wouldn't ordinarily see, like our offices on the second floor.  They make a stop here in my office, and that photo -- taken this morning -- is the view I have of him peering down at me while I'm on my computer.  The last stop on the tour is Alayne's office, where they always end up in front of her computer, and he sits in her lap while she goes through her spam filter, cleaning out emails.  As she holds him, he drifts off to sleep.  There's something very comforting about being held. But he also loves the view from "on high," which makes him feel bigger than the biggest dog.

He's wrapped in a towel, of course, because he's completely incontinent from his spinal disability.  It makes for a safe road trip.

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

---

The ASPCA $100,000 Challenge -- Last Week For This Round

Our friends at the New Hampshire SPCA "downstate" (as they say here) in Stratham have made it into the qualifying round of the ASPCA's $100,000 Challenge to Save More Lives contest.  They are competing to be one of the 50 shelters eligible to participate in the final round of the challenge.  This is not a contest for us -- you need to care for a minimum of 1,000 animals during the year to enter.  The NHSPCA has made it past the first stage and into the qualifying round, and now they need as many votes as possible to get one of the final 50 spots in the contest.  On their behalf, we'd like to ask you to vote for them -- they do wonderful work and we'd like to support their efforts.

The qualifying round of the contest starts Monday, April 4 and runs until April 15 -- and you can vote EVERY DAY in this challenge, too!  Please vote for the NHSPCA here.

If you have questions or want to know more about this Challenge, please go to this page.  My standard disclaimer:  I cannot help with voting issues, troubleshoot, or provide any other assistance for this contest.

63° And The Snow Is Finally Melting

It was 63° (17°C) when I took this photo this afternoon, and the snow is finally, at long last, beginning to give way to bare -- if soggy -- ground.  We've gone from what seemed like perpetual winter to almost-summer, though all that white stuff still on the ground seems out of place with the temperature today.  Our high tomorrow is forecast to be 70° (21°C), so we should have all the snow gone within a couple more days, we hope!  Next up is mud season.

That's blind Allie on the right, with the munchkin brigade in the dog house ... blind Lucy on the left, Katie and Spencer, and blind Willie.  His snoring was the only sound I could hear when I was outside taking photos.

Miss Marker and I even enjoyed coffee on the deck this morning after breakfast, though you can see the snow is lingering here, too:

But notice the kitchen window is open -- now that's a sign of spring!

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!

---

The ASPCA $100,000 Challenge -- Last Week For This Round

Our friends at the New Hampshire SPCA "downstate" (as they say here) in Stratham have made it into the qualifying round of the ASPCA's $100,000 Challenge to Save More Lives contest.  They are competing to be one of the 50 shelters eligible to participate in the final round of the challenge.  This is not a contest for us -- you need to care for a minimum of 1,000 animals during the year to enter.  The NHSPCA has made it past the first stage and into the qualifying round, and now they need as many votes as possible to get one of the final 50 spots in the contest.  On their behalf, we'd like to ask you to vote for them -- they do wonderful work and we'd like to support their efforts.

The qualifying round of the contest starts Monday, April 4 and runs until April 15 -- and you can vote EVERY DAY in this challenge, too!  Please vote for the NHSPCA here.

If you have questions or want to know more about this Challenge, please go to this page.  My standard disclaimer:  I cannot help with voting issues, troubleshoot, or provide any other assistance for this contest.

Golden Oldies

I walked into the dog room late yesterday morning and saw this pair of "golden oldies" sleeping side by side.  That's blind Madison on the left and blind Cedar on the right.  We don't know their exact ages -- we rarely do in this business -- but we think both are at least 12 or older.  Madison was already very much a senior when she came to us a couple of years ago; Cedar has been with us for seven or eight years, and he was no spring chicken when he arrived. 

Both are in that geriatric "daffy" stage, where they get easily confused by their surroundings and aren't always sure what they should do. Cedar is almost completely deaf now.  Madison can hear at close range, but she can't get a fix on the sound ... so she spins in circles trying to figure out where the sound is coming from.  Thus there's no sense in calling these two when they're outside -- you have to go get them! 

But they are still healthy, happy and continue to get very excited at mealtime -- all good signs for a few more golden years, we hope!

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The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th.  Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners.  There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.

Please note:  Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.

Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March.  Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too.  Thank you!