Well let’s start this one off with a great bit of Humor :

PET DIARIES

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Diary

Day 983 of my captivity.My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of.

However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Ba**ards! There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released  and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.

For now...

Isn’t it great that Dobermans especially find so much joy out of life and try hard to drag us into their optimistic view of the world? Today’s newsletter will focus on something from my own stupidity again in hopes none of you will make the same dumb mistake. I was out training with Fiji last night and running the dogs with my kids when she ran off. I had stopped to answer a phone call and saw her going but didn’t recall her right away. Something had spooked her and I assume it was all the dirtbikes running around the same area we were. Anyway I enlisted help right away and we got to were she just couldn’t be seen anymore, and was not coming back. It was now Dark and I ran the kids home, got my flashlights and Search gear, loaded the other three dogs up and we went to check the grid she was last seen. The dogs never really tracked her at all, and it reminded me that we have never trained for finding lost pets only live people. But I was hoping she would come back in to us or meet up with the other dogs, or at least we would leave enough scent for her to follow to get home. Three hours of searching turned up nothing between everyone helping me. I had tried to call out my SAR group, but the first team member didn’t answer and then my phone died. After turning up nothing I returned home to send out some emails enlisting help, when I got an email from the original owner in Denmark saying the Dog was found. I was dumbfounded, I quickly got hold of Gail who gave me a number for a Lady here in the states and called her and sure enough she had fiji on her back porch. Thank heavens she had a Dobe mix so she was not afraid of the dog. I gave her a handsome reward since she had saved me from despair and insanity, and made two international calls trying to get the dog back to me…  Further more, she was found two miles from where I last saw her, and in the opposite direction from where she was headed when I last saw her. But here is the lesson in all of this. She had a tag with my information on it, and it was no longer on her collar. She had a tag with gails Information still on her collar that I left there for sentimental reasons, thank heavens for that. She is microchipped with my info, but it takes a shelter or a Vet to scan her for that. I have tried to make everyone in my neighborhood aware that I am the Doberman guy, but this kind Lady was brand new to the neighborhood. So the good things were, I had identification with the dog although it was wrong, it still resulted in the right find. Do Microchip your pets, I have been using Avid Chips, some people prefer Home again. Do have tags on their collars, and do keep collars on your pets. I used to like the quick buckle Nylon collars that fit most dogs because they expand (still great for puppies) but those Plastic buckles break. All my adult dogs have leather collars as they are unlikely to come off by accident. So the Identification on the collar is only good when it is there. The Dogs are also tattooed, but no one knows to look for that. The other great thing is I enlisted lots of help and started looking right away. That didn’t turn anything up, but that is called a Hasty search and is often very successful. I also left someone at the house in case she returned home or someone called. The other great thing is that there are still great people in the world even though we doubt that sometime. Now for all the stupid things… My information was not with the dog which could have saved Gail being woken up at 3 AM in Denmark to know I had been an idiot… Most of my training is done off lead, and dusk was a nice time to train because it was cool, but it didn’t allow me much light or time at the end of the day. Doing any work off lead carries risks because there are so many things you can not control. Remember to train in areas familiar to the dog if they are off lead, and hopefully they are bordered by a fence. Have your information with the dog, and make sure it is always there. I thought metal tags were fool proof, but I have had the rings fail before after trying to put them onto a thick metal collar. I should have known better. So don’t any of you go through this kind of trauma with your pet, we discussed once before Ray in Florida having his pet taken from him, same kind of tragedy, but it wasn’t his fault, the dog was taken right from his backyard. Again quick action, and enlisting help is why they recovered skye. So today is pet awareness day for all of us, be aware to whether or not your pets are properly identified, do you have current photos you can share with other people, I had it easy she was on my business card with my cell number and I handed it to everyone I saw and recruited their help as well. And finally no matter how well trained your dog is, there can always be something unexpected.

http://www.familydobes.com