While we routinely have dogs live into their teens, mitral valve disease still wreaks its havoc on our breed as well as other breeds.  Sometimes genetics plays cruel tricks with the parents of the dogs having really good hearts and then one of the progeny getting an early heart murmur which just moves too fast into congestive heart failure.  No breeder can predict and no breeder wants to put a Cavalier, or any other breed for that matter, into a home to break hearts by developing health problems. 

My advice to those who are afraid to love a dog because a dog’s life is too short:  If you can’t face the agony of losing them, you will never experience the joy of having them.

Reported by my dear friend, Marilee Snyder, a week or so ago:

Our beloved Brandi went peacefully into her final sleep last night, in
Rick’s arms.She has been battling heart disease for awhile and a few
days ago went into congestive heart failure. Brandi was rushed to MedVet in
Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday night, and cared for by a wonderful group of
cardiologists and staff, but her little heart just couldn’t take anymore.
Rick and I are devastated, and heart broken, but our lovely, little smiling
dog will always be a part of us. Her spirit is on the other side of the
RainbowBridge, alive, well…and waiting.

Brandi
7/2000-4/2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As some of you may know, I have been involved a bit in horse rescue. Horses were my first love and although I have not ridden recently, horses remain an important part of my life.  When we left our farm, we began boarding our Buttercup who will soon move back to our farm as my nephew has volunteered to take care of her. Hopefully, I will start riding once more.

I spoke with Victoria, the founder of Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio today.  Last Chance Corral is a horse rescue; every spring, Victoria and her volunteers, make many trips to save unwanted foals because their dams are used as nurse mares to foals born of usually Thoroughbred horses who are taken immediately to be bred back without the bother of their new babies.   Last Chance Corral also rescues horses who are horrible examples of neglect, abuse, starvation.  The Website:   www.lastchancecorral.org

Once a horse is rehabilitated by Last Chance Corral, that horse is usually adopted with the stipulation that it cannot be sold on. If you will look at the Last Chance Corral website, you will see many success stories of horses who have been rehabilitated to go to loving owners.  Right now Victoria is trying to get enough money donated to rescue horses being auctioned this Friday for slaughter in Sugar Creek, Ohio. These horses are not all old and debilitated, but sometimes young and in their prime–just having the misfortune of winding up in the wrong hands. The horses that the slaughter house, located in Mexico I believe, buys and then transports to Mexico endure the horrible trip and then a more horrible death as their spinal cords are severed before the horses are killed while fully awake and unable to move.   I may not have all the details just right as I was so sick to my stomach and my heart, that I may not have caught everything that Victoria was telling me.  I caught enough though that I wanted to help save as many horses as can be saved.  Victoria needs donations by this Thursday in order to get her ducks in a row and decide which horses have the best chance of making it if Last Chance can buy them.  My check will be in the mail tomorrow.  Any amount will help but please make a donation of as much money as you are able with all your other financial obligations.  I will never sell a horse on as the thought of our poor Buttercup whom we raised from a baby being bought by someone and eventually winding up in a slaughter auction is just too much to bear.  We feel about our horses as we do about our dogs; we are responsible from birth to death.  If you can help out Victoria and the Last Chance Corral save a horse from slaughter, please do. Please let Victoria know that you read of the need on this blog.  Thank you for reading this and THANK YOU if you can help!!!!!

Send checks made out to:  LAST CHANCE CORRAL, 5350 US 33 South, Athens, Ohio 45701

 

I went to Tennessee a few weeks ago to visit with my buddy Margaret Valentine in Memphis.  We had our usual happy, relaxed time together just hanging out and going to her lovely lake house at Greer’s Ferry in Arkansas.  Our top winning Cavalier Ch. Rattlebridge Adagio lives with Margaret and I took “Gio” with me to Clarksville, Tennessee, to take  our Kelly who lived with Margaret to her new home in Clarksville, Tennessee where my brother and his wife live.  I had a great time visiting John and his wife Uni and then went on to visit Brenda Radford who was to give Kelly a new home.  Brenda had already embraced our Trixie and Gio’s mother, Ch. Rattlebridge Master Card, “Credit,” when show careers and maternal duties were over.  It almost killed me to let Credit go to a new home as I loved her dearly, but Al and I have always said to do what was best for the dog and at Brenda’s Credit would get much more attention than at home as we had quite a few other dogs at the time.  Credit and Trixie lead enchanted lives at Brenda’s.  It was wonderful seeing the girls once more. Credit is thirteen and still going strong, but I did so want to see her once more because one never knows when she will go to the rainbow bridge.  To see Credit and Adagio together once more was a very teary thrill. In the picture above, you will see Adagio, me (with my double chin, Credit, and the very elegant Brenda Radford.

Leading a queen’s life as she should, Credit loves to snooze on Brenda’s bed. Below is our Kelly who immediately made herself at home at Brenda’s by jumping into the rocker in the kitchen and staking her claim. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my friends has sent out this alert concerning flea and tick products that are dangerous to a pet’s health.  Please check with your vet about what products to use safely. 

The information in this video is IMPORTANT.  PLEASE watch it — using any of these products could kill your pet………..

Please take a minute to watch this video and pass it on – it may save an animal’s life!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_uqBjvy7YI

 

Sent to me a couple of days ago on my email. Please read and feel free to cross post.

Today the ABC Atlanta news story exposing the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) questionable fundraising practices became even more controversial when the station contacted PetPAC demanding we take down the transcript of the story.

The story appeared on Channel 2 in Atlanta over a week ago and soon after HSUS apparently initiated a campaign to cover up the story from being told.

The video of the news story was mysteriously taken down from the station’s archives and You Tube, most likely the result of HSUS demands.

Why the cover up?  The investigative report exposed how HSUS raises hundreds of millions of dollars but contributes virtually nothing to help support local animal shelters as their solicitations often seem to imply. 

Here’s a transcript of the news story sent to us by a member.  We believe the United States Constitution guarantees our freedom of political speech to send this to you. http://petpac.net/r/26870/13042/0

The power of an organization which raises hundreds of millions of dollars like HSUS is immense.  If they are trying to cover up this story, we simply would like to know why.  We look forward to hearing their side of the story, but to date they have not issued a denial of the investigative report exposing their suspect fundraising practices.

We will continue to keep you informed. 

Sincerely,

Bill Hemby

PetPAC Chairman

I am sick of the lies told by HSUS and PETA claiming they are for the welfare of animals when they are mostly for the welfare of their earnings even as non profits.

Take a look at this site if you want to be able to share what the HSUS is really up to.  Has some other great information also.

http://ar-hr.com/

only an Irish Catholic would love this . . .

5 NUNS IN A  BAR

Sisters  Mary Catherine, Maria Theresa, Katherine Marie, Rose Frances, and Mary  Kathleen left the Convent on a trip to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New
York City and were sight-seeing on a Tuesday in July.  It was hot and  humid
in the city and their traditional garb was making them so uncomfortable,  they
decided to stop in at Patty McGuire’s Pub for a cold soft  drink.

Patty had recently added special legs to his  barstools which were the
talk of the fashionable eastside neighborhood.  All 5 Nuns sat up at the bar
and were enjoying their Cokes when Monsignor Riley and Father McGinty
entered the bar through the front door.

They, too, came for a cold drink when they were shocked  and almost fainted
at what they  saw.

It has been more than a couple of weeks since I have  updated my blog and caught all up on all that is going on at Rattlebridge.  Tonight, I am afraid, will not be the night.  I just used really good two hours of productive time watching A
American Idol and am now too depressed to write much at all.  I did so want Adam Lambert to win; I feel he is a great talent and should have walked away with the title hands down, theatrical or not!  He certainly will not need the title now that he has been “discovered.”  So now it’s on to rooting for Susan Boyle in Britain’s Got Talent. I watch no reality shows but Idol and not that all the time. This year, however has been a real contest!  So now in my next posting, back to our dogs, travels, dog legislation and anything else that strikes me late at night.  Have to go to work tomorrow in my substitute principal hat.  I love being back in the traces although I am exhausted at night hence the no blogging! 

It is  very unusual for me not to post in such a long time, but my life has been crazy I have so much to say and am sorry I have not written (those of you who read this blog all the time).  I went to Memphis to visit my dear friend Margaret Valentine who co owned our number one and Best in Show and Best in Specialty Show Ch. Marshell Rattlebridge  Renoir and Ch. Rattlebridge Adagio.  We had a great time going to her gorgeous lake house in Arkansas on Greers’s Ferry which is a very large and very tranquil lake.  I learned to jet ski there last summer and while Margaret did a sedate 40 miles an hour or whatever the nautical term is, once I got my balance I was up to over 60 which is about as fast as it will go.  I was in heaven!  I came home and told Al, who used to be Commodore of our local yacht club, that I wanted a jet ski that we could keep at Alum Creek reservoir, a short distance from our home.  Needless to say I an still jet ski less.It was too early to get out the jet skis this time.  I could not get my email to work the whole time I was away; Margaret’s computer was down and I could not get my blackberry to charge so I could not get my email by syncing it to my laptop. I ABHOR technology!

On the way back from Memphis, I stopped to see my youngest brother Master Sargeant John N. Johnson (retired).  He has about twenty acres and a lovely home.  His bride, Uni, and he were busy planting fruit trees and Uni was doing the vegetable gardens.  Uni is the loveliest woman, inside and out, that I have ever met.  She and John met while he was stationed in Korea and dated for several years both going back and forth to Korea and the States.  Uni has to get her family organized before she could think about coming to the States permanently and they had to work through different cultures.  Her adult sons, one a major in the Korean army, and daughters, whose father has not been in the picture for many years, have embraced John as their father with all the respect the Korean culture has for parents.  He is thrilled they all call him Dad as he lost his own daughter several years ago at age 10.  He is thrilled to have a beautiful little granddaughter.  Back and forth to Korea and the States, the family sees each other as often as possible.  Uni has asked me to go to Korea with her the next time she goes without John; she says we will go to China and possibly India! 

I cannot be a world traveler this time of my life; I am needed at home.  Al never complained when I was trotting around the world with dogs.  So I do not complain now and am glad to be here if he needs me.

I am leaving the day after tomorrow, however, for Charleston, SC, where my very close friend Wendy Hilberts Goodman (Royal Companion Cavaliers) from the Netherlands is judging a Cavalier specialty.  Since her husband, Ben, is not  coming with her, I am going to stay with her and talk about old times. Wendy is no longer breeding or showing and I am breeding a bit but not currently showing.  She was the top kennel in the Netherlands for many years producing lovely Cavaliers.

 

from one of my friends who keeps me updated:

“I don’t know how many posts I’ve made about AC people illegally seizing  dogs…this is happening all over the country. I know I’ve become tired of seeing the posts…so may not have passed on as many as I have seen.

My point here is…every dog owner in the country should familiarize him/herself with search and seizure laws…because basically, you are NOT required to allow ANYONE into your home, or even on your private property, unless they have a warrant. Really. Most people are so intimidated by anyone they perceive as having authority that they actually let their animals be seized…………..

So…here you go…some information everyone needs to have. Other articles

on the same subject will be forthcoming…but in the meantime, go to www.carpoc.org/articles.html and read “What to do when Animal Control Comes Knocking,” or “Busted,” by George Eigenhauser. Eigenhauser, a Sacramento attorney, is now the CFA (Cat Fanciers) legislation pointman.  Don’t allow yourself to think none of this will ever apply to you…print the articles out and get yourself VERY familiar with what they say. And as I said earlier…learn the search and seizure laws where you live…………….

I know people often don’t believe that anyone can come and seize their dogs, their cats…..whatever…because “it’s illegal.” Yes, it is. That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Educate yourselves……..read and learn.”