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deepslikes · Aug 4, 2012

Rosie (cocker spaniel) was rescued from a backyard breeder who obviously didn't care much for her. She was a bit of a barker and didn't get along with other dogs and because most people who foster have their own dogs, she apparently stayed in the kennel for a long time.
The day I picked her up... she was hyper, barking at any sound and chewing on stuff. From the next day I started taking her on walks - an hour per day... and she got a bit better, a little more relaxed..
She's got very pretty eyes which I tried to photograph, but I could never get her to stay still long enough to do that.
I started some basic training picked up from books and YouTube videos and she was responding well.. But she got adopted after a week at my home. As I was not in contact with the adopter I always wonder how she is doing...

deepslikes · Aug 4, 2012

KK, a 3 year old, was apparently tied up in the backyard all the time, rain or shine. Neighbors reported and he was taken away from his owners and came into the rescue center.

I got him home and the first thing he did was pee on the neatly packaged bundle of clothes we got for my SIL's baby :rotfl Luckily we packed it very well so the clothes were fine.
He was thin and suffering from diarrhea initially and recovered slowly. He's a mischievous, gluttonous(understandably) dog but also a charmer and very loyal

Can you see the light brown patches over his eyes that blend into his ears?

He was okay with other dogs but tried to dominate them. He tried to mark me (pee on me) a couple of times :bonk He begged for food very effectively, singing(whining) his doggie ragas while we ate. I don't think I ever heard a dog whine in so many keys.

This sweetie cutie pie had a problem. He would play and snuggle for a little bit and then start putting fingers in his mouth and start biting playfully. He would stop only if we moved away from him. And if he got annoyed (during his daily ear cleaning sessions, etc), he would bite.. but he only drew blood once.

Looks so innocent.. doesn't he?

He got adopted after a month with us but was returned the next day, because he nipped at the adopter. Later he put off a couple of other potential adopters by playing rough when he met them.

The rescue center arranged for a trainer due to his issues. When the trainer met him, he was a good boy - because the trainer had treats and also knew how exactly to handle him. He gave us some training tips and we started working on KK.

At the end of 2.5 months with us, he got a little better, especially with the playful biting. Instead of chewing on our fingers, he starting biting his blankets. (That was so cute to look at, he would nibble on the blanket like a rat ..It's almost as if he never got out of his teething phase) He learned to 'stay' still on command, waiting patiently for his treat while I left the room and came back ...whereas before, he used to lunge on me for his treats.

But he still would bite if irritated. My husband was once helping me with the ear cleaning and KK was all irritated and nipping, but once we were done, we started petting him and he started snuggling happily. Then my DH remarked that he should learn how not to hold a grudge from KK. I was trying to convert my DH into a dog lover and I felt like I was succeeding :thumbsup

A wonderful lady, who knew all his issues and was willing to work with him, adopted him. And so my sweet psycho took leave of us, his cute little face scowling and whining. I heard from the adopter a couple of times and KK is happy and doing fine. His ears are still infected and vet is still treating him for it, but he is getting along well with her and her family+friends.

I read the below somewhere and I hope it's true.

"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them.
And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart.
If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog,
and I will become as generous and loving as they are"

deepslikes · Aug 5, 2012

This pic is from about 6 years ago, this is my then landlord's dog - Tempest... they had 2 dogs, but I forgot the name of the other doggie. I lived upstairs and used to see them both play in the backyard... They used to hang out all the time and Tempest was the friendlier one. Only she let me click her pics... But sad thing was that she had cancer. Her owner was getting her treated and used to pamper both the dogs

deepslikes · Aug 5, 2012

Another neighbor's pet in a different state ... a basset hound ..(like Paulina's Julius )
I never really saw this neighbor and don't know this doggie's name..I think it's a boy.. I stayed there for 3 months and every day when I came back from work, he used to come running to the fence with with his tail + butt wagging uncontrollably. So sweet... I used to pet him for a few minutes through the fence. I hope he was just friendly, not neglected by his owner and starved for attention (I have no idea about the owner.. but an idle mind is full of suspicions)

Paulina · Aug 7, 2012

Wow ! dear deeps ....you have laid out a huge banquet with all your superb pics and writeups for all at the club here ! I've been gazing and gazing at all of them all these days!
I've been trying to send an Fb since 4 days but due to erratic Net connections did not succeed .Hope I'll get across now.
To begin with ROSIE of the mesmerising eyes fame....those eyes are so human in their expression ...in fact I felt a resemblance with a person I know.The whites and the contrasting pupil colour of a tawny brown gives her a very human appearance.
Poor pretty one must have resorted to barking her head off to get attention , almost as if shouting.." Hey folks have a heart, pat me or hug me I'm all up for takes!" Happy that she is in a good home surrounded by care and love.

Next in line is the whining , sniping & perpetually peeing KK ! His looks belie his reputation.
What breed is he? Has some spaniel likeness I feel.

.
.The picture with his ears outstretched to show his markings is unique.How did you click that ? Was he lying down? Such an exquisite design from eye to ear.Almost as if his Divine Maker had some colouring remaining on his Divine Fingers and thought why not etch these lines? LOL.His eyes with that deep V cut at the bottom is like my Basset Julius's eyes.
KK is a cutie pie despite his troublesome habits.You could have put a muzzle on him when he started to bite or chew or got him distracted with those chew bones made of hide, that could have spared your household belongings.

Loved this quote....""It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them.
And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart.
If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog,
and I will become as generous and loving as they are"

Let me hasten to add that with the large number of doggies you have cared for and relocated to good homes, you have risen above the required level of components in your heart to become generous and loving like a dog.You have reached the zenith long time ago and the unconditional love you have is so unselfish...you did 'nt think of keeping them to yourself for a short spell to entertain you and then return them back to the shelter, you wanted them to find good permanent homes and you did exactly that ......You will be truly blessed .

And now we come to Tempest....a really out of the world name! Adorable expressive eyes full of mischief and just rearing to get out and paint the town red!.Great picture,deeps.....her eyes say it all ..." Am I going to feature as a cover girl for the Vogue magazine or PLAYBOY ! LOL

And finally we are in Basset Hound territory .......what a classic pose and expression.
Yes, he is like my Julius except that this guy has more white and Julius has more brown.
Now, let me tell you a few things about Bassets.They are the most sociable amongst the canines and just live to make friends with humans .They are the best companions for senior citizens, thats why DH and I settled for Julius the easy going doggie.
Julius is very popular unlike our Lab Romeo who is very picky about whom he will wag his tail for ! Julius is best of friends with the newspaper delivery boy, the postman, the garbage collector guy who comes on his three wheeler and all sundry visitors who arrive dailyto keep this house running! DH and I always say he would do well in politics especially at election time , running around impressing all with his antics to garner votes.Bassets are hence the worst watch dogs .The adage goes that they will open the door to burglars and direct them to your safe to help themselves even handing over your keys !!! LOL. Despite this reputation, they just win you over in a trice and you swear allegiance to them forgetting all.They love to cuddle up .Julius sleeps on our head side of the bed on his own 2 pillows .Romeo settles down at our leg end being so huge.
BTW, the Basset picture you posted, shows a roly poly overfed doggie....his owners really care I should conclude.As for his coming over to get petted....remember all that I told you about this tribe!

Thanks a zillion deeps for such a wonderful post .....enjoyed immensely.
Looking forward to hear more about your doggie pals.

Here are a few shots of my brats R & J .

Innocent lambs getting ready to snooze after lunch !

Julius says , " Don't believe a word of what my Mamma says ...I AM A GOOD BOY >>I AM >>I AM !!"

This is ROMEO trying to look very HEP like a ROCK STAR with those dark glasses. Romeo says..." Tried to look HEP alright , but wish these glasses were not so PINK !"

deepslikes · Aug 8, 2012

Hi Paulina,

Thanks for the lovely feedback.

I will always remember Rosie for the beautiful eyes and Tempest for her cheerful sweet face.

I think KK is a mixed breed.. cocker spaniel + something else.

For the outstretched ears pic: I try to click a pic like this with all the dogs ..since they are all cocker spaniels or mixes, they have long ears which I feel is their USP. I give them a belly rub and then slowly bring the camera over their face and try to make sure that the whole face is visible and they are looking into the camera. I must have spent 20 min with KK to get this pic, trying to get him to look at the camera the way I want..
None of the other dogs co-operated.. Dobs(my first foster, posted pics of her earlier) did, to an extent.. but she looks a little scared and she turned away a bit and I had to crop the pic oddly so that my hands (she wanted to get up and I was keeping her down) don't show.. You should try with Julius.. and post here

In retrospect, I wonder why I did not get a muzzle for KK for the ear cleaning sessions. I think a part of me wanted to see him improve with my training. But it will probably take a year or two of consistent training to undo the lack of training in his puppy stage.

We got him bones of all kinds but he either destroyed them or ate them or chewed so hard that his blood would be on the bone. :spinHe is a handful but then he is very sweet too.

I am glad to hear about basset hound personality... so that neighbor's doggie was a happy doggie
Julius sounds so sweet. They both look so sleepy and content on the bed. Lucky doggies. Romeo looks so cute with the pink shades. I should try some pics with glasses on.

Paulina · Aug 26, 2012

Hi deeps,

Lovely hearing from you as always.Thanks for the detailed plan on how to click delightful pictures like you did.I shall definitely try my luck with my Juju as he has the right ear measurements !! Doubt if Romeo will oblige !
Just got back from a 10 day short trip to different parts of Kerala by car.Had a great time though we missed our two brats a lot .We have good help at home to take care of them so no worries there .When we got back R & J gave us a joyful welcome at first then they both retreated to their favourite place near the AC and did not pay heed even when we called them! They were registering their displeasure at having been left behind for 10 days !! It took half a day to get them back to their cheerful selves .They even refused food we gave them .....can you beat that ?? They succeeded in making us feel really guilty ......looks like they both planned this cold shoulder treatment for us....LOL !

deepslikes · Aug 26, 2012

Kerala trip sounds dreamy! I have been to Kerala once and it was great.
Your R&J seem to expert guilt trippers Sweet and funny!
Even our Snoopy was a bit like that, hiding under the bed and sulking for a few hours after my mom came back.

Paulina · Sep 22, 2012

Hi pals,
Just thought of sharing this heartwarming picture I came across....the sharing and caring for a fellow being is so spontaneous between the two inhabhitants of the animal kingdom though they belong to different species

'MILK OF ANIMAL KINDNESS'
.The scanning of this newspaper clip did not turn out very clear....anyway the caption reads.."In this dog -eat-dog world, could there be a better example of sharing and caring? A moving scene in Chennai on Friday. PHOTO by K.V.Srinivasan