We're back from Wienerfest

We are back from Wienerfest. Everyone had a great time, the weather was perfect for the actual day. Human and dogs are exhausted - Valentin and Pogo were at "camp" and wore themselves out there as well.

Details and a few pictures when we recover. (I was so busy during the day that I got very few photos). Our good friend took photos and will be putting them on her blog http://luvmydachshunds.blogspot.com/ when she gets back home. She will be emailing them to me as well and I will put some up here too.

Only 4 more sleeps!!

Only 4 more big sleeps until Wienerfest!!! We can't wait to see all our friends and introduce Stanley to them. It has been a whole year since we saw them.

www.wienerfest.ca

We are excited, mom is stressed, lol.

A Star is Born

Stanley was wonderful last night. The TV lights did not bother his eyes and he sat so nicely on the interview table. The entire station fell in love with him. Everyone in the lobby, including the security guards, stopped what they were doing to see him. One fellow immediately got on his phone to call his roommate "you have to watch the show today, look for the dachshund".

You wait for your turn in a boardroom with sliding glass doors. Everyone who walked by came to a dead halt in their tracks when they saw Stanley sitting patiently in the stroller. "Ahhhh", "ohhhhh". He had his own fan club by the time it was our turn to be interviewed.

My prayers were answered and his bowels did not function while we were on camera (those treats can sneak up on you, you know)

Ann fell totally in love with him and stayed after the show to visit one-on-one with Stanley. Her time is highly scheduled, it is rare that she can linger, but our boy is a heart-breaker and "resistance is futile".

Our "star" is still his humble, loveable self. When we got home, he sat patiently while all the others sniffed him over to find out where he had been; then a little supper and off to bed.

Stanley's first TV appearance

There is a fairly popular, animal, cable show here called Animal House Calls. I appear on it, from time to time, to talk about rescue events, my experiences as an emergency animal responder (puppy mill seizures, natural disasters), etc.

This coming Tuesday, June 16 I will be on to talk about Wienerfest. Stanley will be coming with me :-) It will be on Rogers Channel 24. The show starts at 5:15, we will be on sometime after 5:30. The first two guests are always the local shelter and the "ask a vet" segment. Heidi went with me last year, so this year is Stanley's turn.

Wienerfest is Canada's largest dachshund picnic. We had almost 1,000 dachshunds and 4,000 of their humans attend last year. Wienerfest and Rehab for Rescue are sponsoring Stanley's new cart too. He will receive it at the picnic June 27th.

I know the show's host, Ann Rohmar, is going to fall in love with Stanley, but he is such a low key boy that I am sure his "celebrity" status won't go to his head.

Hmmmmm, which belly band to wear???? The leopard one??? It's an animal show, I guess animal print would not be politically correct. The yellow one with the dancing cows???? Too frivolous. The blue one with the kittens on it??? No, cross-breed dressing, not a political can of worms we want to open (lol). I think we will go for the plain white belly band. Functional, understated, it is past May 24, so ok to wear white now - one must be fashionably "correct" :-).

Full Moon????

Anyone want to adopt two dachshunds??? (ok, just kidding, well mostly)

I have no idea what has gotten into Pogo and Valentin these days. AGAIN !!! Bad dogs. I had to work at my part time job last night. I came home from the office, fed everyone, changed the handicapped kids diapers, etc and went to my part time, retail job.

When I got home last night there was an empty dog food bag in the middle of the kitchen floor, along with a HUGE pile of poop and two dogs (Pogo and Valentin) complaining that their "fur was too tight" :-) (They had also gotten the girls' bag of food out of the cupboard, but it was untouched. Either it did not appeal as much to them, or they were too stuffed with the Pacifica to care).

They had moved Stanley's exercise pen away from the base cabinets, opened the kitchen base cupboard door and pigged out on the rest of the bag of Acana Pacifica dog food (big time fish smell). Again, Stanley was sitting there like wise, old Yoda with that look on his face "I told you that you would get in trouble". Given the mess in Heidi's diaper this morning, I would say that she participated in the snack fest too.

So, the basement for the two "bad boys" and child safety locks for the dog food cupboard. Dog knows what those two will get up to in the basement. Rather than let them have the run of the entire unfinished basement (it is insulted, warm and dry), they may be put in a double exercise pen - for their own safety's sake.

ERGGGGGGGGGG !!!!!!

Stanley's new ride

This is the wagon I bought from Craig's List to transport Stanley and Daisy Mae. Heidi is too smart for her own good; she tries to climb out the small opening between the rails, or over the top - commando style. I will have to push Heidi's stroller with one hand and pull the wagon with the other. If I can find the trailer attachment, maybe Heidi can ride (in a crate) in that. I have some memory foam to make a pad for the wagon and some red fleece to cover the foam, almost a perfect match for the wagon base.

On another note, Pogo and Valentin are in the dog house big time. The busted out of the kitchen gate yesterday and got into the BIG garbage bag. There were poopy diapers and used pee pads all over the living room and someone had pooped there too. I have to work at my part time job tonight, so tomorrow night's project will be to secure the basement for its two new "tenants" while I am at work. Saturday's project will be to rent a carpet steamer.

They both know they are in big time trouble, they were soooo good and polite last night. When mom uses the words "BAD DOG!!!" they know they crossed the line big time. (and in Valentin's case, "MAUVAIS CHIEN!!" He knows when mom uses French he is truly in trouble. Pogo seems to have forgotten more of his French than Valentin has). Stanley sat in his pen with a look on his face as if to say "I told you that you would be in big trouble". The girls slept the sleep of the innocent in their doggie beds in my room.

More from our day at the rescue booth.

Stanley's first rescue event

Stanley went to his first rescue event on Saturday. He had a BLAST !!! I was concerned about him feeling overwhelmed with people and was prepared to keep his wagon at the back of the booth where he would be with us, but not in the limelight. He loved all the attention and was so patient with the children.

We had a rescue booth at a local neighbourhood street festival. Stanley was there in his covered wagon. He may have diminished sight with his cataracts, but he followed the movement of the people with his head (always tracking where I was with Heidi) and he soaked up all the attention and pats from passersby. The dear boy was so busy being a Rescue Ambassador that he missed his morning nap and did not take his afternoon nap until almost 3pm.

Stanley sat in his covered wagon, which worked out perfectly for him. He was comfy and safe, yet his head is higher than the sides of the wagon when he sits up. If anything, he was a bit cool with the shade of the canopy, so I just covered him with one of his baby blankies and he was quite comfortable. (He will be measured for his own hand knit sweater at Wienerfest later this month.)

As usual, I took my camera with me, but was so busy at the booth that I did not get a picture. Another volunteer did get some shots of the booth, so I will post them as soon as she sends them to me. We have two more events this month and I PROMISE to take pictures.

We raised $165 for the rescue and by the time we packed up and got home, there was an adoption application for one of our dogs waiting for us. It is from someone who saw Stanley and Heidi at the booth and have applied to adopt one of the other dachshunds in our rescue.

My little snorey bear had a good night's sleep Saturday night after all his hard work. (When my niece was a child, she received a teddy bear that snored when you laid him down. The toy was called "Snorey Bear", which has become Stanley's nickname because of his ever so gentle snoring.) Heidi, too, was out like a light after her day of charming people and demonstrating her wheelchair. (Mom was pretty wiped out too, old age isn't sneaking up on me, it is galloping towards me.)

Oh yeah, as an added bonus, this was all arranged by Angel's adopted mom (see December Multi task post and January Dachshund Wannabe post for Angel's story). Angel, now called Bella, was there too. She is still a bit nervous around so many people, but she has come so far in such a short time. It was so good to see her meeting people with growning confidence, jut 6 months after we pulled her out of that puppy mill where she had lived for the first 5 years of her life.

Saturday was a really good day.

I have now received a couple of photos of the day. Note Stanley's new wagon (Heidi's blanket is on his canopy)

The day after "Breath Busters"

This is Valentin again.

Let's just say that "Breath Busters" don't smell as well coming out as they do going in.

Reporting from the dog house

This is Valentin, reporting from the dog house again. (Really we don't have a dog house, but when mom thinks what I have done is bad, she says I am "in the dog house").

Mom left a bag of these really yummy treats on the shelf in the kitchen. The aroma of them was driving us all crazy (eucalyptus and parsley breath treats). Being the good older brother, I got them down for all of us (except Stanley, we couldn't get them through the bars to his pen). Mom was not happy to see the empty bag on the floor tonight. She said "no supper tonight" :-( (It's ok, we got supper).

Valentin reporting out from the dog house.

My friend Pam lost her Heidi today

My friend Pam lost her standard girl, (also named) Heidi, today. Heidi was one week short of her 9th birthday; much too young to leave us.

I want to tell you about her Heidi, as she was an IVDD success story. Heidi had two episodes with her back. Crate rest and steroids worked the first time, the second time surgery was successful. Heidi had several good years after her back surgery. Pam ensured that Heidi's back stayed healthy with maintenance therapy treatments, weight management, no stairs, etc.

Sadly, we lost her today to a nasty disease that would not let Heidi's body produce its own red blood cells. Pam did everything she could for Heidi, including blood transfusions, drug therapy, etc. but Heidi lost her 6 month battle today.

Our Bridge Candle will be lit tonight for Pam's Heidi and our thoughts and prayers are with Pam and her other standard dachshund, Petey, as they cope with their loss.

Dogspeed Heidi

Little Dogs on the Prairie

My sister, who is a grama, informs me that "Little Dogs on the Prairie" is a children's Christian animated show.

I was thinking of how to transport Stanley and co. this summer and found this

For costume contests, I was going to hang a sign "Prairie Dogs" on the side of the wagon. My sister suggested "Little Dogs on the Prairie". I wanted to know if this was a widely recognized title, or if people would just scratch their heads (or if it was still a cute title, even if they didn't know about the children's series).

For general transport, my plan is to put Heidi in the doggie stroller and Stanley & Daisy Mae in the wagon. I can push the stroller with one hand and pull the wagon with the other. The stroller hand can also control the two leashes (man, what a production with this crowd!!).

FYI, I will be using my wooden, 50 year old, vintage Radio Flyer wagon. I splurged and bought a twin bed size piece of memory foam. With it, I can make a pad for the wagon, one for Stanley's day pen, one for the stroller and one for Stanley's bed/laundry basket. Memory foam cannot get wet, so all will be wrapped and sealed in construction garbage bags (cheaper than buying vinyl).

I can get some small hooks and hang the three wheelchairs from the back of the wagon for transport.

I am not happy about the price (in US dollars) of the canopy, but I can't find suitable materials to make the supports if I try to make one myself. Any ideas???