The below is not posted because it's funny.

HELP NEEDED ASAP:
Please help! After two long years of being on a waiting list
for a dog, we have been notified by breed rescue that, at long last,
our number has come up and ... WE ARE HAVING A PUPPY!
We must get rid of our children IMMEDIATELY because we just know
how time consuming our new little puppy is going to be and it just
wouldn't be fair to the children. Since our little puppy will be
arriving on Monday we MUST place the children up for adoption this
weekend!

They are described as:
One male -- his name is Tommy, Caucasian (English/Irish mix),
light blonde hair, blue eyes. Four years old. Excellent
disposition. He doesn't bite. Temperament tested. Does have
problems with peeing directly in the toilet. Has had chicken Pox and
is current on all shots. Tonsils have already been removed. Tommy
eats everything, is very clean, house trained and gets along well
with others. Does not run with scissors and with a little training
he should be able to read soon.

One female -- her name is Lexie, Caucasian (English/Irish mix),
strawberry blonde hair, green eyes quite freckled. Two years old.
Can be surly at times. Non-biter, thumb sucker. Has been
temperament tested but needs a little attitude adjusting
occasionally. She is current on all shots, tonsils out, and is very
healthy and can be affectionate. Gets along well with other little
girls and little boys but does not like to share her toys and
therefore would do best in a one child household. She is a very
quick learner and is currently working on her house training.
Shouldn't take long at all.

We really do LOVE our children so much and want to do what's
right for them. That is why we contacted a rescue group. But we
simply can no longer keep them. Also, we are afraid that they may
hurt our new puppy.

I hope you understand that ours is a UNIQUE situation and we
have a real emergency here! They MUST be placed into your rescue by
Sunday night at the latest or we will be forced to drop them off at
the orphanage or along some dark, country road. Our priority now has
to be our new puppy.

-- Author Unknown
PLEASE - think about it.

Westminster

Humans watch the darndest things on TV. At the end of January, my humans watched a car auction for days on end. In simplistic terms, they watched people buy used cars. How exciting can it be to watch someone wanting to spend 5 million dollars on a car that's almost 40 years old? When it's one of two, and only one surviving - Bill Cosby sold his to some yahoo who drove it into water - more money than sense?

The one that survived was Mr. Carol Shelby's personal car. And let me add - yes he is that one who makes chili seasoning - but that's not what he's known for. But, I'm not going to tell you any more, if you really want answers, you won't mind doing a little research to get them. A good place to start is http://www.barrett-jackson.com

Now, lets talk about dogs. The Komodor, who takes hours on end to dry - cute dog they are. There's also a PBGV, Joe Dimagio use to always laugh when he explained it. Westminster just isn't the same without Joe as a commentator. His love of canines and his knowledge of competitions goes unmatched.

Anyhow, for the information you've all been waiting for...the GSD's debut at Westminster was in 1908 and the only Best in Show was 1987. More information can be found at http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org

The finals will be aired tonight and tomorrow night on the USA network!! The herding group will be tomorrow night, 2/13.

In the news!

Please us the link to view the whole story on MSNBC

A German Shepherd saves the life of a stranger.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16952774/

Can the GSD outwit a human?

Arsenio Hall once used to call a segment of his show, "Things that make you go hmmm." I found one folks - read on.

The language barrier is also affecting another aspect of English police work. Our officers reckon the German Shepherd is the most effective animal for crowd control, drug searches and armed response operations. A well trained German Shepherd can handle the most difficult assignment. Trouble is there aren't enough home-bred German Shepherds. And - you guessed it - imported dogs don't speak English.

In South Yorkshire the local police have eight Slovak dogs. Now if you tell a Slovak German Shepherd to STAY, it will gaze at you in total puzzlement, scratch itself for a while and then wander off to water the nearest tree. Slovak dogs, like Slovak vegetable-pickers, prefer you to say it in Slovak. But the police couldn't justify any more expense on interpreters so now they're busy learning the languages of their four-legged friends.

Incidentally the Slovak for STAY is "Zustan". Which is fine if all the dogs are Slovak. But they're not. Holland also produces very good German Shepherds. So sitting next to Sven the Slovak may well be Nils the Dutch dog. And if you tell a Dutch dog to "Zustan" you will get an equally quizzical look. The proper word is "Biljf". And, even worse, the police are also importing a breed of Belgian beast called the Malinois. So if you've got Slovak, Dutch and Belgian hounds under your command you will have to shout: "Zustan, Biljf and Reste" just to make them stay precisely where they are.

These days this country can't even say it's going to the dogs with ease. by Ed Boyle ©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved

Burps & Slurps

I got my first note from a boy. His name is Cowboy and he's about 6 months younger than I am. I tell you, those younger boys sure know how to catch a girls eye. Well, anyway Cowboy wrote to tell me about new bones.

His mom brought him home some soup bones from the butcher. I tell you what, with the cost of squeaky toys that we seem to be able to pull apart, bones from the butcher are very cost effective toys. He also said that the bones from the pet store made him sick too. Parents - Get 'em at the grocery store or butcher.

If you don't feel that you could hand your dog a raw bone - boil it...or as my human great-grandma would say...Barel it, then you can rinse is off in the Zink. I love and miss my grandma.

I'm going to step aside now and post Cowboy's note. If you notice, his closing salutation is Burps & Slurps. Too darn cute!!! Hope he doesn't copyright it.

Enjoy Cowboys note....
Sadie


Sadie---
Thanks for the information about soup bones!!! My mom bought me four raw ones and one smoked one from the butcher shop today and let me tell you... the smoked one ROCKS!!! My mom always keeps me busy because I am 7 months old and weigh 102 lbs.!!! The Mintern's grew me BIG!!! My mom likes to freeze peanut butter inside of a sterilized soup bone, but it just does not take me very long anymore. Last week, mom bought me one of those smoked knuckle bones from the pet store, but she did not like how it broke into pieces and after I threw up, she took it away. I have not ever had rawhide because mom said that it is not good for me. But who cares now, because I have the yummiest treat ever with this smoked soup bone!!! Thanks again for giving my mom an awesome idea to keep me busy!!!
Slurps & Burps,
COWBOY

Barbaro

I didn't bet on Barbaro to win in the Derby, and I may have had him in an exacta bet for the Preakness. Although I didn't depend on his winning to boost my winnings, he holds a special place in my heart none the less.
The only thing more beautiful than watching a thoroughbred run is to watch a greyhound run. These two animals display such grace and beauty with little effort. Their bodies are strong and exceptionally muscled. Yet they both depend on spindles for legs.
I cried that day in May when Barbaro couldn't finish the race. I watched spellbound hoping for news - good news, on his condition. A true animal lover knows that ones animals are synonymous with children. I applaud Barbaro's owners for trying to save his life. Too often the needle follows a break of the legs that hold up the bodies that move with stunning grace.
My heart was broken yesterday. Barbaro told his parents and doctors that he couldn't go on. The news reports that he "had a hard night" Sunday night. The hard part was probably listening to Barbaro say good bye.
There's a bit of happiness knowing that Barbaro left his legacy in Veterinary science, so others can benefit from his eight months of hope. I also believe that he is now at the Rainbow Bridge running among the clouds free of pain, waiting for his owners to meet him so they may cross together.
Run free sweet Barbaro.

The Dremel

Sadie did not want to write today. Any of you with an alpha female know the feeling. It's definately a what she wants when she wants it. That leads me to the topic of nail care.

There's nothing more exciting than wrestling with a 100# dog who doesn't want his or her paws touched. It was in my search for a magic nail shortener that I ran across a lady named Dawn. Dawn, or Dober Dawn wrote a very nice article, that has made it's way around the web more than the most successful spam letters.

Please check out http://www.doberdawn.com In the left hand column you will find a link for "How to Dremel your dogs nails."

The only knowledge I can add to her article is that conditioning is a MUST. Understand that the day you bring the Dremel home is not the day you will be using it. If, after proper conditioning, you feel that there's just someting missing, and the pedicure isn't quite complete - OPI, a brand close to many women's hearts now offers paw-lish. Nail polish for dogs - and yes, I'm serious.

Check out Dawn's site, using a Dremel is so much easier than the clipper wrestling.