CONGRATULATIONS, ANNIE!! SIX MONTHS!!

Little Annie, it has been six months! Wow, I hope you feel like you are a member of the family. I am starting to think that loyalty is a Jack Russell character trait, Ginger is the only other dog I have had that has been as loyal as you, little Annie.

You have come so far. When you came, you had serious behavior issues. I have seen dogs dream before but never wake up from nightmares snapping at everything in sight. You attacked other dogs and tried to kill the "dogs" on the television. Those issues broke my heart and made me feel bad for you but now I realize, what ever bad things happened to you won't ever happen again. I won't let it. I think you realize that too. At least I hope you do.

You are great when it comes to grooming, you can tell that someone has taken a lot of time with you. I think that was one plus from all the time you spent at the rescue kennel. You are still working on losing weight but you acted like you were starving when you came here, I couldn't have that so I know I made sure you were never hungry (and you gained FIVE pounds!). My fault. So, now you and your doggy sisters get true people food; Chicken, veggies, rice, ground beef -- you're doing ok. You've lost 3 of the 5 pounds you've gained.

One thing I can tell you little dog, you got me hook, line and sinker. But you always did. I remember that first week, I was sure I had made the biggest mistake of my life. Someone suggested, send her back.. I could never do that. I wish everyone felt as strongly as I do about this, dogs are not disposable they are a part of the family, a permanent part.

That is the hidden message of this post, folks. Keep your dogs close, they are a part of your family. Today, I watched Marley and Me, surrounded by my own dogs. Marley was definitely a member of the Groghan family. What a tribute to the patience man has with his dogs and the love a dog will reward you with in return.

In honor of Annie's six month anniversary, I want to quote something I heard John Groghan say in Marley and Me today, "a dog does not care about what kind of car you drive, what neighborhood you live in or how popular you are, you simply give a dog your heart and the dog gives you his in return." That is not a direct quote I am sure but what a great statement of the bond between humans and dogs. Thanks for reading! Annie is doing great. :)

Two posts in one night after none in 2 months? What gives?

Annie trying to get Ampop to pay attention to her.

I guess I had to get the creative juices flowing but I did forget to write something I wanted to document about Annie. Annie loves people. When people come to visit, she is very polite but literally hounds the visitors for attention. When multiple people come over, she's besides herself. She jumps up repeatedly to get their attention. I think it's priceless, although I think it bothers some of my family. Annie has such a strong and good natured spirit. Other than these little nuances with my friends and family, Annie is my third ankle. I have begun looking down before I move because 9 times out of 10, Annie is somewhere near my feet so I need to be careful. Truly, she's a great little dog.

Right now, Ms. Personality plus is whining because she wants my attention instead of me giving it to the computer. Cracks me up.

Wow-two months have gone by!

Amazing that this much time has gone by since my last blog entry for Annie. Well, lots has been going on. The video show's Annie, Tiger and Ginger checking out the new fence. Enjoy, Annie has a surprise for you that I call, "Good Girl, Annie." You'll know it when you see it. Anyway, my entire purpose for creating this blog for Annie was to document the story of Annie's journey to a better life. She does have a better life, but I still see little glimmers here and there of her days suffering abuse. As I mentioned, the new fence came in the spring. The other day, I was kicking the kids next door ball back over the fence and I kept kicking too low. I probably kicked it four times before I finally tossed it over the fence. Annie, originally was by my side. I didn't think a thing about it but then realized she was cowering by the patio door up on the deck. That little dog broke my heart doing that. I realized that she was terrified of this big man kicking a ball. I didn't even want to think about what memories I stirred up. I just hope no one has ever kicked her. Why would a human do that to a poor defenseless animal? Scares me what we humans are capable of. Long story short, I paid a lot of attention to her and gave her some snacks, about half an hour later, she was back to her old saucey self.

So why haven't I written in so long? Truly, it's because Annie has been fine and has come into her own. She know's she is loved, I would even say.. "cherished". She certainly has brought a lot of life into this house. Her doggy sisters, Tiger and Ginger have finally found a peaceful power balance with their new sibling. It's hard to believe she has been her almost half a year. Amazing that much time has gone by.
She has certainly become comfortable in that time.

So what is on the agenda for little Annie? The next blog entry will be Annie getting friendly with the groomers, she needs her little nails filed down and I want her coat to be groomed for summer. I think before the rescue kennel sent her up to me from Florida, Annie had a very nice grooming done. Her little body, I have to admit, has gotten a little plump due to her good new diet and me spoiling her with snacks. Really, it is diet time, more on that in a bit. Anyway, her coat was short with the exception of her little twist of fur on her back. She now, after 5 months, has little furry feet and fur coming out all over the place. She's a little fuzzy ball. Ginger, my 15+ leukemia fighting, JRT has a smooth coat. I'm cracking up at Annie. She's getting more fluffy by the day!



I like this picture because it shows how well Annie has settled in here. She is very comfortable. I do feel bad in one regard. Tiger and Ginger and Caesar the cat all have a bond that has formed over the years. They are each others best friends. I am Annie's best friend. I recently read that Jack Russell's often bond with one person for life, I think that has happened to me with two Jack Russell's, my Annie and my sick little Ginger. If it weren't for Ginger, there would never have been an Annie. Jack Russells make wonderful pets if you enjoy high energy, very entertaining dogs that can be very possessive. I don't have a problem with any of that, I actually prefer their little antics. And.. like everything else, they slow with age and time. I enjoy Annie's spirit now, it reminds me of Ginger years ago. Tiger the beagle, at 11, still has that same spunk and spirit that I fostered all those years ago and have protected ever since. I thought it was funny that our Dog Whisperer from Bark Busters told me that Tiger was my pack leader. I appointed her to that position as she was so well qualified. My little Alpha dog. Annie, is an alpha too but they are becoming better friends with time.

Ok, so Will..what are you doing about Annie's weight? Well, she's lost almost a pound. When I adopted Annie, I promised that I was always going to give her human grade dog good. So, I have a decided to feed her human food until she is back to a manageable weight, then I'll have to see what I'll feed her. Right now, she gets plenty of protein from chicken and low fat cottage cheese, she gets vegetables that are steamed in the bag and sometimes she gets some instant rice mixed in with that. She has always had a soft stool, guess what, she's improved in that arena with her new diet. It agrees with her. It agrees with her so much, all of the dogs are being fed this new dinner menu. I try to vary between chicken and beef (ground or steak)and vegetables. They all enjoy it. And..believe it or not, I spend less on this menu for them than I did on the human grade dog food from the pet shop. Besides, this way I know exactly what they are eating. And, Annie is losing weight. I do worry about them getting all of the nutrients they need so I ordered a "dog food cook book" today that has all types of recipes for "good" home made dog food. Should be interesting.

Ok, enough for now. Next time, I'll have to write about Annie's habit of whining. I can't decide whether she is spoiled or trying to tell me she has to go out for a bathroom break. More, next time!