the look that kills

the look that kills
Originally uploaded by rversde23.

Chandi has this amazing ability to be strong yet gentle. Sometimes however, her tendancy to be gentle and submissive is abused by other dogs.

Yesterday, Chandi and I went to the dog park at our normal time of 6P. When we got there, I let her off leash and she ran around with a 1 1/2 year old pug. Then Chandi saw one of her best buds, Bacci, a shitzu. Bacci, usually very playful, had found a dog toy earlier that day and was enamoured by it. Therefore, he wasn't in the mood to play around at that moment. So, Chandi kept playing with the pug. Finally, Bacci's mom hid the toy so Bacci could do some socializing and it began.

They played, jumped, layed around for a good 15 minutes when terror arrived. He is this Welch terrier, 14 weeks old bully of a dog. At first, he wasn't interested in the two dogs but a few minutes later he attacked Chandi. He stood over her, she was on her back, and put his jaw around her neck. She was almost suffocating, yet nothing came out of her mouth. I remember being paralyzed in anger and fear due to this damn terrier. Bacci's mom picked the terrier up and said, "Yea, this is not healthy." The owner of the terrier, Cool Dude, said, "No," to his dog and put it down. Again, it went after C and bit off her ear, her throat and legs. WTF?!!?!? I wanted to yell but was so quiet. I don't where my voice went. We left a few moments later. It was dramatic...more dramatic than I can write. I am irritated at myself because I am supposed to protect her. And I couldn't do my job.

Look at her!! I am going to give the owner a piece of my mind if I see him today. I hate Cool Dude. I hate him more than his dog, because dogs reflect their owners.

Check it out!

We are on the front page of AskDogLady.com. Check it out!

So, Chandi's favorite thing now is watching me eat my Breyer's popsicles. So, a few days back, I let her lick the end of the fruit stick. She loved IT. And then, today, I let her have a little bit more. Oh man, she loves it.

On a different note, why don't people pick up their dog's poo?? I don't get it. Okay, if your dog poops twice in one walk, I understand not having two bags. But there is this one dog owner who lets his dog poop on the sidewalk and he NEVERS pick it up. And its a big dog, which means big poo links.

If you don't pick up your poo, Chandi can't be going around doing this so freely.

Destiny's Dog

Today something happened that reminded me of the word destiny. I passed a restaurant around three o’clock, not really hungry, but thirsting a beer. Although I should not be drinking alcohol due to training, the sun was beating hard on my head and nothing appealed to me except…alcohol. To my dismay, a sign was blarring in my face that yelled, “NO OUTSIDE FOOD AND NO PETS.” Great…. But for some reason Chandi always helps me break the rules, and it did. As soon as I sat down, Chandi was going a little crazy trying to find food scrapes and/or crap to eat, smell, and lick. I guess this “odd” dog like behavior caught the attention of a pair of dog lovers. The woman, with a thick Southern accent, said, “Aww, what a cute dog. It’s a Jack Russell right?” “Yeah,” I said trying to pull Chandi back to the table and smiling. Beads of sweat started to form on near the brow.

“Oh, we have two dogs at home and are missing them so much,” the lady said.
“Very cool. What type?”
“Two pure breed labs. We got them at a local animal shelter.”
“Good for you.”
“Yeah, and we are missing them so much right now.”
“Oh, I can imagine!”

Chandi kept doing her dog thing and the man broke a smile.

“Dogs are the best companions, aren’t they?” she asked.
“Oh yes. I love it. I get to sleep with a living toy.”
“Yeah, my husband made them a dog house and they stay in there. However, I am sure they have torn everything in the house!”
“I totally understand. Chandi has bad separation anxiety as well. That is part of the reason she is here.”
The man stared at Chandi a little longer.

“Your dog is mighty cute,” he said.
“Thank you. But, she is quite a handful. How old are your dogs?”
“Oh, they are nine years old,” he said, quite proudly. “They have such character and personality.”
“I know. I never imagined that an animal would have these human type of qualities.”
“Yeah. And ours are siblings.”
The woman interrupted, “We would never get anything but siblings. They keep each other company. I bet she thinks of you as a sister or something.”

Laughter filled the air.

We finished up the conversation after asking them where they were from. They ordered food and it arrived a few minutes later. Fries and beer came and heat rays were still pounding on my head. The man got up from his table and the woman started up the conversation again.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you but I just wanted to say thank you. This is the first time my husband has talked freely in the past week. My son died a week ago,” she sat still sucking on her cigarette.
“No worries. I’m sorry to hear of your loss.” I never know what to say. I don’t think my words would do much.
“I know. It is sad. He was only 20,” she said with a shaky voice.
“Oh wow. I’m sorry.” Again, uncomfortable with words, my only tool I know how to use properly.
She went on to share the story of her son’s death. “But, I just wanted to say thank you. I have never heard him talk as much as he did right now. Honestly, it was so good to hear him speak. Thank you and your dog.”

We spoke for a few more minutes and then her husband came back. Before they left, I kept thinking destiny. There were other people there with their dogs, but this dog inspired the husband to speak. He said words not relating to his son’s death. He laughed (a little), smiled, and shared his stories to strangers. I will never forget that couple, not because of the death, but due to a moment in time we shared. It was destiny. It was fate.

Oh, and thank you Chandi.

She's friendly...thats her style

Oh, he floats through the air
with the greatest of ease,
this daring young man,
on a flying trapezee...

All she does is jump up and down, run around, lay on the ground, and sometimes get pounded (by other doggies). It is funny how C is so friendly to these dogs. Today, at the dog park, she got creamed by a basset hound. Literally, all of us heard this "BOOM." C lost her balance for a few seconds, shook her head, and started running towards me. Luckily, on the surface, nothing is wrong. I don't know how she has the strength.

This morning, she ran around with a 5 month old white lab. And though the lab was friendly, there is something about Chandi. Its her dog patience and love, because the growling, barking, jumping on top of her (the lab is about 60 lbs) did not stop her from playing with it. She has so much patience.

And even when humans want to pet her when she is doing her business, playing with other dogs, or just laying on grass with her ball, she is jumpy, friendly nice.

I am learning from Chandi how to share, to be patient, friendly, and hold up your head even when a dog smacks you. She is such an amazing creature.



and one more, in case that pose didn't do it for you...