Rolling Dog Ranch

One of my favorite shelters is Rolling Dog Ranch.  (I wrote about their organization and other rescue orgs in a 2008 blog post here.) I love that the ranch is a sanctuary for handicapped animals. I love that they are a shelter of last resort for many animals who would otherwise be put down. I love that they blog a lot about their love and care of these wonderful animals. I look forward to reading about their quirky, fun and beautiful animals and the lengths they go to give these animals the life they deserve.

And I also love that they are making a huge move from Montana to my home state–New Hampshire!! I’m thrilled that they will be closer and that we could possibly visit or volunteer. It still sits in the back of my mind that we could bring another animal into our house…perhaps a blind dachshund would pique Jasmine’s interest…and not challenge her too much.

If you have a moment, check them out. Also, please vote for them in the Shelter Challenge (Rolling Dog Ranch in MT for the search).

EARLY Morning Dog

A few months ago, I suspected that Jasmine is a “morning” dog.  Horror of all horrors, I actually have an EARLY morning dog.

My husband gets up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for work.  After showering and dressing, he takes Jasmine out for her morning business and then fixes her breakfast (which, unfortunately, she doesn’t eat until I get up).  He leaves for work, and she comes running down the hallway to the bedroom where I am sleeping.  Well, not really.  The sound of thundering hooves and jingling tags usually is enough to wake me up.

She jumps and scratches on the side of the bed, welcoming me to a new morning.  She whines and jumps, running from one side of the bed to the other.  I have tried playing “possum” and not moving or making a sound–one time for over 30 minutes.  She doesn’t waver in her determination to wake me up.   I have even tried picking her up and snuggling with her in bed.  No dice.  She squirms and sniffs and rolls around.

As soon as I’m up, her tail wags and she jumps with glee.  Mom’s up!  She goes tearing down the hallway and waits for me to enter the kitchen.  She then proceeds to wolf down her food.

While I’m not really thrilled about getting up at 6:15 a.m., it’s so wonderful to be greeted every morning by a happy, smiling dog.  You can’t be grumpy when a dog looks at you with love and joy.  You just can’t.