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We have had our Beagle, Hoshi for about two years now and she has never been a dog that liked playing in the traditional sense.  She does not fetch or play tug-of-war.  What she does like to do, however, is tricks.  It is as exciting for her as fetch is for a Labrador.  She loves to sit pretty, roll over, crawl, and play dead just to name a few.  She learns at least one new trick every few weeks.  She will do anything for a treat.  Like many dogs, her whole life revolves around how to find and get food.  She learns tricks very quickly because she knows that a correct response will result in a bit a food.  She would do tricks all day if we let her.  Unfortunately, treats would cause weight gain which would result in trouble doing many of her tricks so we cannot let her playas long as she would like.  Dog cologne is something she likes too, so she smells good. Last summer I had a visit from a relative who noted that my dog Poika, a collie, has a matted coat.  Since this relative is a courteous person, and the words most likely just slipped out of her mouth, I realized that the condition of my dog’s coat must be pretty bad.   I had thought about combing or brushing him but he wiggles around and doesn’t like the process, so I just  let it go.  Now, I am in the process of using scissors on him.  I can’t cut too much because winter is coming on and he loves the outdoors.  I cut a few mats each day, and soon I will go over him with a brush and comb.  Any snarled up hair that I miss will be shed anyway.

When deciding on purchasing toys for your pet make certain to select your toys with care.  Personally I made the mistake of introducing stuffed animals to my pets.  This leads to piles of puffy stuffing all over the house which seemed like the worst problem but really wasn’t.  Then the dogs graduated to eating my comforter, slippers and any pillow or cushiony item they could locate.  They all resemble the stuffed toys they are permitted to play with so there is confusing on this issue.  There is always the issue of the eyes, ribbons, tags and other objects which can be chewed off of the stuffed toys and lodged in your pet’s throat or intestinal tract.  If they chew on dog coats too, it can cause problems. Although, I still buy my dogs stuffed toys, since it is too late for my sanity, I still find it necessary to warn others there is more to this simple fun that you can imagine!

My son is celebrating his tenth birthday today. He is a loving, intelligent boy who is a joy to be around. His infancy and toddler hood passed without incident until he was almost two years old. Suddenly he stopped talking refused to eat or drink anything but apple juice and pears. This went on for WEEKS! We were in and out of the doctor’s office so many times we might as well have lived there. Twice we had to rush him to the hospital because he was unresponsive. We were finally able to get him eating again, but the damage had been done. He had been a little chatter box, but now he was silent…no laughing, no talking, no anything…just silence. He didn’t eat anywhere near a normal diet, but he did start to gain weight and grow again. When he was three he was diagnosed with Autism. We were told that he would never play normally, pretend, have friends or do all the other things that a “typical” child does. We got him into the special preschool offered at our local elementary school and hoped for the best. Well, he is now ten years old and has proven everyone wrong! He has done everything the doctors said he wouldn’t do and more. He has been upgraded to Asperger’s, is in a “regular” classroom and was even on a Destination Imagination team this last school year. He is an inspiration to everyone who knows him and is a testament to the power of prayer.

I recently adopted a 3 month old lab/pit bull mix from the Orlando Animal Shelter.  Unfortunately and unfairly pits have a bad reputation for being aggressive but she is the sweetest, friendliest dog I have ever had.  I think she is the perfect mix because not only is she good with everyone she is also protective.  Since I have never had such a young dog before it is an amazing experience because I’m able to see her grow physically and emotionally.  I love being able to see her learn new things like learning how to fetch, sit and stay and wear cute dog sweaters.  The hardest thing to do is probably bathing her.  Her breed is prone to skin disease and infection so I have to be very consistent and through when washing her.  I think the funniest thing I’ve learned about her is that she’ll fight a bath but she absolutely loves the shower.