Dudley's Moment to Shine

It dawned on me recently that I've only briefly introduced you to the two dogs, Dudley and Gunner. That is about to change!

I'm going to put Dudley in the spotlight today.  Yes, he's my favored boy as my good friends know.  It always strikes me as odd that guests to the house invariably cuddle up to Gunner, yet, it's so obvious Dudley is the smarter more classically handsome dog.

Gunner on the left, Dudley on the right

Let me explain how Dudley came to our home.

The year 2006 was probably the worst year of my life.  My mom died in January and my dad followed in March.  Other deaths continued.  The mom of a friend of my son's (whom I had grown close to), my horse barn owner (the same age as my mom), our remaining dog Barney, my parents' dog, Gracie, whom we had adopted.  

Finally in November (my birthday month) I said to my husband it was imperative to bring something into my life and we needed to go to one of the shelters and rescue a dog.  This was the first time in our marriage that we were dogless.

Our intent was to find an adult dog who might be languishing in a shelter.  But it was not to be.

We arrived at the Michigan Animal Rescue League and my husband was instantly drawn to a golden retriever, but who had just been spoken for that day.  We continued looking and I walked down the aisleway of kennels.  Lots of barking dogs.  I came upon "Clyde" and thought it was a sign as my dad's name is Clyde.  But I kept walking, right on to the last kennel.  Instead of a barking dog, I saw a black youngster lying on the floor looking forlorn.  His name was Hewlett and we asked to see him.

His story was this.  He had come to that same shelter in April of 2006 with the rest of his littermates.  The shelter was full but the staff had an odd feeling about the woman who brought the pups.  So they agreed to take them.  Hewlett got adopted but was "returned" at the beginning of November at nine months of age.  The story goes that his adoptive mom was pregnant and felt the dog was getting too big -- a bologna story if I ever heard one. 

So Hewlett came home with us and he was christened Dudley (aka Dudes, Duds.

The Duds is 10 this year and showing his years with the gray creeping into his formerly jet black coat.  However, I still think he is beautiful, while Gunner is cute.

He's a black lab mix and is quite tall and long and weighs in at about 80-85 lbs.  Gunner keeps him busy running after squirrels and digging holes.

And now you know why that handsome Dude is so special to me and is indeed, and always will be, my favored boy.

Spotlight on Gunner

 Since we last spoke our household has encountered a couple of issues.

I came down with a case of the stomach flu to outlast all stomach flus.  It was a doozy for sure.  Christmas prep disappeared, but my yoga training helped me to take it in stride.  Why get kerfluffled if the tree didn't go up on the normal schedule.

The bigger issue concerns our senior dog Gunner.  He's 13 years old, give or take, and symptoms of distress reappeared after several months of keeping them under control with CBD.  We've had several conversations with our vet to figure out the best course of action and have recently introduced a pain med in addition to the CBD.  So far so good, knock on wood.

So today you get a better look at Gunner, our ever happy go lucky tail-wagging little boy.

About 10 years ago we were thinking about a companion for Dudley, our super smart lab mix.  I happened to see a dog featured through a rescue group, Heavenly Paws, with the name of Gunner.  The name alone drew me in.  About 30 years ago we rescued a pointer mix by the name of Gunnar and she was such a very good girl.  I thought, holy cow, another Gunnar!   

Gunner had been picked up on the streets of St. Clair (or maybe St. Clair Shores) and was on the verge of being euthanized when Nancy S. of Heavenly Paws swooped in and scooped the little boy up.

They thought he was a rottweiler mixed with Bernese Mountain dog.  He had heartworm, an inverted eyelid and had not been neutered.  (our guess is when the owner discovered he had heartworm, out he went)  So we said sure!

Compared to super duper smarty Dudley, Gunner's brain power paled, but that little stub of a tail (yes it had been docked) would wiggle over just about anything.  It still does.  

At the time, Gunner weighed about 60 lbs, Dudley weighed in at about 80 lbs so Gunner was known as Peewee.  If truth be told, Gunner has put on more than a couple of pounds since then.

Gunner always looked to Dudley for guidance in new situations.  For instance when the two went to the dog sitter's together for the first time, Dudley was so exuberant about arriving, Gunner knew it was OK and felt comfortable joining in the canine fun.

After Duds died in 2017 and we adopted Faith in 2018, it was Gunner's turn to be the leader.

  So now, we don't know how much time we have with the little boy.  But he will be loved every minute.

Typical Mornings with Two Black Dogs

Let me tell you about the morning routine.

I'm usually up first and feeding the dogs is almost #1 on the do-it-first-thing list.  Mostly because Dudley turns into a starved hyena until I do.

 (don't let those charming good looks fool you -- he can be a maniac when there's food involved)





OK, now breakfast is out of the way, I've looked at the paper and now it's time to go out and feed donkeys.  The dogs are insistent that they accompany me and I usually oblige -- just makes life easier.  However, the new rule is:  I, being queen of the pack, do not let you two dogs bowl me over while you fly out the door.  Dudley is 85 lbs and Gunner is 60 lbs.  When the two of them lunge for the door, I'd better hold on to my hat.  So, now they must sit and wait while I open the door to the garage, press the garage door opener and we wait for the door to completely open.  Waiting is r-e-a-l hard because out in the garage is the most scrumptious cat litter in the world!  That's why they turn into maniacs wanting to fly out the door.

I ride my bike out to the donks and we start morning duties.

Gunner isn't the helper that Dudley is, though.  He's usually prowling around the perimeter of the yard, sniffing who knows what.


Dudley stays with me, eating manure before I get a chance to scoop it up.

But the real sweet part  is -- he sits outside the gate, lies down and waits for me to finish chores.  Snow or sun, he waits for me. There's no incentive for him; he's just a sweet guy.

Losing Dudley

Dear Readers,
I've not been able to come to the blog table for a bit.  We lost another beloved four-legged family member and I just haven't been able to bring the news to the blog.  What's forcing my hand now is other news that I'd like to impart but Dudley must come first.  He deserves it.

You can find a post about Dudley on March 15, 2016  Dudley's Moment to Shine explaining how we came about bringing the boy into our lives.  So I won't repeat the background.
But, I will say he was a smart bugger (I could tell him my son was coming home and he'd run to the front door in excitement), had a sense of humor and was beautiful.  Not cute, but beautiful.  Shiny and black.  And big.  And I loved every inch.

He was with us for 11 years.  Eleven precious years.  Duds, you'll be in my heart always.

Dudley's Pleasures

Our 70 lb black Lab mix is certain we acquired the donkeys just for his entertainment and pleasure. The day starts with Dudley asking, asking, asking if he can go out with me to feed the donkeys. I almost always say no. First thing in the morning I'm not ready to deal with the black idiot running around in the dark. In the late afternoon the same question repeats itself. "Please, please can I go out with you", he implores. More than half the time I say yes.

Dudley's donkey pleasures:
1. Belly-slithering under the gate to enter donkey domain.
2. Eating donkey manure. Yum, yum.
3. Waiting until I'm not looking to run into the shed to see if he can lick the
bowls clean. He now has learned if I say sharply, "OUT!" with an arm pointing
to the gate, you better get your buns out of there.
4. Walking to the manure pile with me. Just a good excuse for a little walk.
There's always something intriguing along the way.
5. Running around the donkey yard until one of the donks, usually Luigi,
has had enough and threatens him (with kicking, not biting). Rick and I think it's turned into a game since no one gets within striking distance.

Team Donkey

Here's the crew that comprises Team Donkey.  They faithfully and courageously brave all weather conditions to assist in donkey clean-up morning and night, 365 days a year.

Gunner is on the left and Dudley on the right.   

The problem is, although the job is unpaid, they realize perks in the form of (what they consider to be) golden nuggets.

As you can see, Dudley is vigilant in finding any morsel, albeit frozen.

Actually at times I have to use my gentle mom voice and shoo them gently away.  (read that to really mean yelling over and over "get away from that").  They eat the stuff like candy and when they're simply glued to a particularly chock-full area, I get grossed out.

However, I'm sure they'll stay on the Team until old age relieves them of the duty.

Faith's Close Call

 In the near future, we plan on visiting our son who lives a couple of hours away.  When you have dogs, donkeys, and chickens sometimes making arrangements becomes problematic.

For a quickie visit, we ask a friend(s) to feed donks and let chickens in and out.  Dogs go to a nearby dog sitter.  We've been using this dog sitter for probably 15 years.  Dudley, our big black lab mix, would get ecstatic when he figured out it was a dog sitter day.  That meant playing with other dogs (besides Gunner) and generally having a short holiday from mom and dad.  Dudley showed Gunner that it was a cool place to go and now Gunner has shown Faith the same.

Said dog sitter is not available for the weekend we intend to go.  Rats!

We have the lodging, we have the chonkeys arranged, but not the dogs.
So we've been doing some fancy footwork checking out local boarding facilities, dog sitters on Rover, and putting the word out on a community page on FB.

We found someone close by with experience so scheduled a meet and greet for this past Saturday.  Gunner and Faith immediately found her backyard to be immensely interesting -- new smells here there and everywhere.  Gunner in particular was having a little too much fun exploring every nook and cranny.  And both dogs got along with her husky.  We decided it was a good match and were confirming arrangements when out of nowhere the husky and Faith got into a vicious dogfight.  I have no idea how long it really lasted and, of course, it seemed like minutes and minutes and more minutes.  Because Faith has little fat and does not have a heavy coat to shield her, she was the loser.

After seeing the vet at the emergency clinic, this is our little girl.

   

No beauty contests in her immediate future.

Since she can't wear the "cone of shame" because of the location of the gashes, the vet suggested an old t-shirt.  She's getting used to it, but will never be a big fan.

Here she's resting in the coolness of the basement .  

Needless to say we're doing a bit of scrambling to make arrangements.  Wish us luck!

Musings

The farrier came out Friday, skated across the ice, and took a look at everybody's feet.  No one needed trimming.  If my records are correct, the last she was here was late September.  That's 5 months!  Now Natural's hooves keep growing over the winter.  A mystery indeed.

We've gone from a sheet of ice up the driveway and in front of the donkey gate to a few inches of snow.  So tired of slogging through the mess.  One minute the inside of the shed is part lake and the next it's frozen pockets of uneven dirt. So, so difficult to clean.

Our newest addition to the family, Gunner, is not appreciated by the donkeys.  A 3-year old rescue dog (part Rottweiler, part Bermese Mt. dog) he's a little too rambunctious for their taste.  However, they've put up with Dudley's shenanigans from the beginning.  Although there was a bit of posturing between Luigi and Dudley at one time, it was never serious.  Last week Gunner charged the donkeys and they took off down the driveway vocalizing like I've never heard before.  I think it was a red flag distress call.  I stood there trying to decide what action to take, when Gunner comes high-tailing back down the driveway with the donkeys in hot pursuit.  Took a bit of clucking and soothing to get them calmed down.  Later, I was able to get Gunner to gently make nose contact with Luigi through the gate.  The relationship has smoothed out a bit, thank goodness.

Competition and Jealousy in the Animal World

Isn't it interesting.  Competition and jealousy raises its head everywhere.

Take the dogs.
Well of course when it comes to anything remotely related to food the two dogs demand to be noticed.   But I suppose they don't try to edge each other out because they know they'll get a turn. Perhaps they're a little more aggressive when it comes to lovin'.  If Dudley is being rubbed by Rick, Gunner will climb into my lap or (try to) push Dudley away.

The chickens.
Poor Ruby Dee always seems to get shorted when it comes to treats.  It's become a habit that in the morning right after letting them out of the coop, I provide treats outside.  Bananas are their all time favorite, but they'll make do with apple, grapes and watermelon.  Equally relished are dried mealworms.  But for some reason my little Ruby Dee has not gotten the hang of grabbing a bite and running, as the others have.  She's still working on a piece by the time the others return for more.
Poor Ruby.

The donkeys.  Oh my, the donkeys.
They are gluttons when it comes to brushing.  I'll be in the midst of brushing Francesca, and Gabby will sidle up between us.  Again and again.  Stealthily (or so she thinks).
I'll, with difficulty. make the rounds of all three and Fran will get back in line.  "Please, another turn. It feels sooo good."

Excuse my negligence, but you'll have to make do with that shot of the donks.  It's not recent, and doesn't show how they've lost some (but not all) of their winter coats.  I'll work on snapping a current shot.

Team Donkey May Lose Position

I introduced you to Team Donkey in a previous post (1/1/14) and I sang their praises.  Please ignore that post.

A couple of days ago I came very close to firing them.

Here's the team looking innocent and perhaps a little angelic.

Gunner on the left and Dudley on the right

Dudley has been on the Team longer and thus holds a superior position.  However, during the winter he has tended to escape the cold and return to the domicile before chores have been completed. Gunner remains to the bitter end.

But back to the other day.

I trudged out to the donkey yard with the Team and beheld a sorry sight.  Donkey poop e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.   Spread from one end to the other.  I knew chores would not be completed quickly that morning.  My mood darkened.

Then Team Donkey flew into action and started pouncing on manure nuggets as if they were gold kibble.  Nothing new, but I hit the last straw of patience (its disgusts me every morning)  and I yelled "get out!!" (probably a hundred times).  Of course they didn't listen.

When I finally got the area and shed clean and returned to the house I told Rick, "That's it.  The dogs are NOT going out with me in the morning ever again!"

So, at this point, in the mornings I have to weigh my options.  Be the good guy, take the dogs out and know I'm going to be grossed out, or tell those angelic faces, no and face the consequences. 

Our Christmas Miracle

Those who have been following along this year, will remember we adopted a greyhound in March.  Many of the qualities we had been told about the breed are simply not turning out to be true in our (limited) experience.

Faith is NOT lacking in brain power.  She may not be as smart as Dudley (our lab mix) was, but she's no slouch.

Faith is NOT a couch potato, any more than Gunner is.

In fact she has been getting into quite a bit of mischief the past couple of months that has been getting me pretty worked up.  She IS food obsessed.  Even more so than our foodaholic Dudley, which I didn't think was possible.  We are now hiding anything remotely deemed edible -- in the microwave, in the oven, behind closed doors.  In the recent past she helped herself to candy (yes, including chocolate), cake, soup, and most delicious of all, compost.  Those are just the edible items.  I can't keep yarn anywhere she can reach.  And now the Christmas tree ornaments are getting chewed.

This used to be round

Another wood car wasn't remotely salvageable

I consulted with her foster (the greyhound rescue organization we went through places dogs off the track into short-term foster homes until adopted) and she (brilliantly) suggested putting Faith's muzzle on after catching her in the act.  That has now become the new operating procedure.

Anyway, the biggest transgression (although I can't really call it that) came about last Monday.  I was up first as usual and let the two dogs out at 6:00 a.m.  Gunner returned, but Faith remained out.  At 7:00 I awoke Rick and said we had to go out and look for her.  The dogs have about an acre of fenced woods surrounding the house in which to noodle around.  Looking for her in the dark was not going to be easy...

I was panicked to find she had gotten out of the fenced in area.

I took the car, driving down our dirt road, stopping every couple of minutes to call.  Rick took off on foot looking in yards and calling.  I drove down the way-too-close busy road, looking for a dead dog.  Finally I returned home.  Rick took up the road patrol.

About 8:00, little miss princess came to the back door, as they've been taught, to come in.

  

Let me just say, others who know greyhounds better than we, say they never come home.  They take off like the wind, end up far away from home, and lost.  Her return was a godsend.

Within minutes she was cuddled up to me on the couch.

Spring Fever??

The donks were in fine form a couple of days ago during evening feed. I had to stop my clean-up duties to watch, not being sure what was going on. All three of them were running around full blast kicking out with their back feet. Round and around with no difficulty in the deep snow. At first I thought Dudley had startled them, but I've never seen them react like that. Finally all three stormed out of the yard into the pasture and that seemed to brake the whole affair. They sauntered back and there were a few more kicks at each other, but mostly that high-energy display had petered out. I made darn sure the wheelbarrow was between them and me during the escapade.

From the Inside Looking Out

The good news is I've started driving again, but the bad news is I still am not tending to critters yet.  Talked to the physical therapist today and he's guessing I'll be stable enough on these snowy conditions in a couple of weeks. 
Everyone will get a big sloppy kiss on that day, donkeys AND chickens.

In the meantime, the holidays were quite nice, although Dudley was in my heart and missed.  He loved opening Christmas presents and would get as excited as a kid.
Miss you Duds.

However, Gunner got into the Christmas spirit with a new toy.

And has been helping Rick with donkey chores.  With a snappy coat, of course.

Yes, we're cold and snowy, and getting colder in the next few days.

Rick is most likely getting tired of my interrogations ensuring he's doing things "properly" for the donks and clucks.  I've been preparing hay cubes every morning for the equines to put a little warmth in their bellies (soak 'em in hot water for at least an hour to hydrate the cubes, and then add a bit more hot water just before Rick goes out to feed).  I have to feel like I'm helping my babies in some way.

 Lastly, the two Christmas cacti have been going strong since Thanksgiving.  A bright note.

Whoops, almost forget my newest Christmas acquisition this year.  The Christmas gnome.
I'm purely smitten with him.

Newfound freedom

So, here's the scoop.  A new rescue dog (Gunner) joined the family about two months ago and when he recovered from his heartworm treatment, was charging like a bullet out of the house and right down the driveway to places unknown.  And, he started taking our other dog, Dudley with him.  Not good.  Not good at all.

So handy Rick put in 600' of fencing to come off the donkey yard and surround our house with plenty of room for two black dogs to run like maniacs. That also meant a gate had to go across the driveway.  Not so convenient, but necessary.

When the donkey yard gate is open and the driveway gate is closed, three donkeys, in addition to two black dogs, are enclosed.  They are delighted to be able to wander over another acre of land, but it's a devil to chase them through the woods when it's time to come back in!

We've had a wet, cold spring which translates into a mediocre pasture.  We don't dare let them out yet for fear it will be eaten down to nubs in no time flat.  So, as we did last year at the end of the summer season, we're letting them out on the nice long grass along the driveway.  And they are loving it.

 Here three little donkeys say, "May we please got out and much that sweet grass?"  I obliged.  About 30 minutes later I went to corral them back in and Fran (far right), being the sweetie she is, led everyone straight back into the donkey yard.  I told them what good donkeys they are, but promptly closed all gates!

Two Dogs and a Fish

Those residing IN the house are clamoring for the attention they justly deserve; this post will spotlight two dogs and a fish.

You've met them before, but perhaps it's been a bit too long without giving them their due.

Gunner, our Rott/Bernese Mt. dog mix, is about the ripe old age of 12.  Because he was found wandering the streets in a nearby community about nine years ago we can only guess at his age.

How could you not be smitten with that face!

Gunner doesn't realize the summer is fading and his fan is no longer needed.  He faithfully sits in front of it although it's not turned on.  Indeed, it has been his fan all summer.

If you're a faithful reader, you'll remember when Dudley died in October 2017, we waited a few months and then put the wheels in motion to get Gunner a companion.
Voila, Faith appeared on the scene.  The greyhound Princess is only 5 years old and keeps Gun active.

Well, not active all the time.

What a tangle of long legs.

At total rest.








Now I am sure this is Finny's debut on the blog and, boy he is excited.

He is a beauty to be sure, and par for this house, a real food gobbler.
Our conversations are brief but meaningful.

Back From Italia

Ciao!  My news:  I returned a few days ago from a two-week trip to Italy, 

I was greeted with affection and exuberance by certain members of the critter crew.  (The names of those guilty of non-exuberance will be omitted.)

My favorite puppy in the world leaped up in the air over and over (all 80 pounds) when I walked in the house.  Here he is in a more conservative pose.

Sweet Dudley

Out in the donkey yard, of course, it was my Fran who greeted with me with extra affection.

The other donks were pretty much business as usual -- where is a treat -- but Fran just wanted some hugs.

And surprisingly, out of the four clucks, Ruby Dee was most attentive.  I would have placed money on Sweet Pea.

As for the trip, it had been a dream for a few years.  No tour, I did the planning myself (whew!) with the help of a friend who has family in Italy and knows the ropes.  Almost six days in Florence, then to the countryside of Tuscany for another six.  

Bellissimo

Spring Shots -- A First

The vet came out on Friday to surprise the donks with spring shots.  Although everyone was fairly well behaved, it did take some brute strength to stop the twirling with a needle sticking out of a (back) cheek.  Of course the best-behaved was favorite Francesca.  She is my sweetheart (trying hard not to be too mushy).

Dr. Gertsen also checked their teeth -- an interesting maneuver on donkeys who are already a little ticked off.  And he confirmed what we already knew - Fran is a little portly.  We think she's lost some weight since last September when they came to our home, but the girl needs some exercise.  Lungeing a donkey?... hmmmm....

A side note:
While we let the pasture grass get well established, we've let the beasts out on driveway grass the last couple of days.  Ooooh, do they love it.  If Dudley did his job right, he'd help herd them back into the fence, but he falls short every time!

My Fabulous Guy

Today I'm going to digress from the three lovelies (hmmm, perhaps Luigi would not enjoy that title) and turn to Natural, the other equine in my life.  He's a 26 year old Standardbred, who's been with me for 20 years. Next to Rick (husband) and Dudley (black lab featured in previous posts), he's my main squeeze.

I don't ride anymore after a pretty bad fall six years ago, but do work him in the outside arena, about 80x120 Today he was a marvelous gem.

I took my lunge line and whip with me out to the arena and coaxed him in with some carrots.  But once in, he was not in the mood to be haltered.  Finally I quit chasing him and told him, "Fine, then you're going to run" and cracked the whip.  Lo and behold the boy started lungeing around this large area, just as if he was attached to a line.  I'll admit I had a much harder workout trying to keep up with him, but he went through all of his paces through voice commands - walk, trot, canter, ho.  My equine friends will know this is not out of the ordinary in a round pen, but not in a space this large.

I was beaming!

  

Cattle > Stall Mat Drilling > Green Hay

As I started my stroll out to the donkeys (well actually I rode my bike), my sole intention was to show you the difference in hay between the old batch and the new bales.  But I got sidetracked.

First I had to say hi to the boys who live next door.  That's Norman in the middle.

The steer on the left, who's name I don't know, is the brand new addition to their menagerie, and  mooed constantly for the first 24 hours in his new home.  Thankfully, he seems to have settled in.

When I got to the shed I discovered Rick had redrilled holes in the stall mats to allow for urine seepage.

  




We were delinquent this year in not cleaning out the holes in the spring;  I recently pointed out to him that holes were clogged and no draining was occurring.

Rick came up with the suggestion to put holes in the mats two or three years ago and it works quite well if we stay on the ball.

I use the term "we" loosely.  This part of donkey maintenance is always his job.

You can see how three little donkeys always use the right side to do their #1 business.
The area is darker than normal - Rick cleaned the area with the hose before beginning. This makes it look a little grimier than usual.
And, you can see daylight through that back portion of the right wall. Guess who was digging outside of the shed.  Could it be G-u-n-n-e-r?? The prince of doggy diggers...

Three little faces are mesmerized as I move around clicking shots.

Finally, I get to the hay to show you the huge difference in color.

As you can see, the bale on the left is much much lighter.  Same farmer, first cutting as usual, purchased in June.  Could it have been left from 2013?

The donks had been leaving remnants of their hay meals before we brought the new batch home.  Now they consume every sweet morsel.



Yum, yum, yum.  As I've mentioned, its wise to separate a pile for Luigi (in the background) so there's less posturing during mealtime.  Poor Luig always gets the short stick.

 

Dudley waits for me to finish the photo session so we can get back to the house!