Some Thanksgiving Tips from my Furry Friends

Today, I braved the hoards at several airports across the country to travel to my father's house for Thanksgiving. This year promises to be filled with good food, family, and lots of laughter. By way of a brief Happy Thanksgiving wish, my furry friends would like to offer up a few choice holiday tips for everyone.

Baby the giraffe says, "Savor every moment."

Emeril Junglefowl recommends more veggies this year.

Arnie the water buffalo says, "Make time for friends!"

Cinco says, "Keep Tums handy, just in case."

Mercy was fond of the post-turkey nap.

Nita and Teela were always partial to family hugs.

Above all, tell the ones you love how special they are!

Happy Thanksgiving. Have a safe and happy holiday.

All photos by Amanda C. Sandos except the junglefowl photo appears courtesy of John Ireland.

Don't Piss Off the Diva Dogs

Cinco says WTF?

This weekend, Cinco and I are hosting some unexpected visitors. I'm more excited about this than Cinco seems to be, I have to admit. My long lost friend Linda came up for the weekend and where ever she goes, so goes her little doggie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Cinco and Molly have long been friends, though they have some sort of unspoken mutual Diva understanding between them about which human belongs to who, and just how much attention mongering will be tolerated. If either Linda or myself step out of line, we get shunned by the Divas who then go off and sulk together. Let's not tell them how humorous we find this, shall we?

Molly Christmas Morning 2008

The wild card in the mix is my pet sitting client's new Great Dane Puppy, Otter. Poor boy is clueless when it comes to the rules. Any rules. And certainly any rules involving Divas. Otter is only three months old, not yet old enough for overnights alone, so I agreed to keep him at my house for the weekend. He is a rambunctious little guy, but oh my gosh what a sweet cuddler. This is not going over well with either of the Diva dogs. Both have made it clear they are no longer speaking to the humans in the house, nor each other, and the only things they've had to say to the pesky newcomer have not been kind. I tried to get a current picture of Molly to share, but she effectively gave the paparazzi the doggy finger. Apparently, there will be no pictures while we have that thing in the house!

Otter with Linda

Poor Otter. He just wants to be loved. Is that so much to ask? Anyway, my hands will be full this weekend. Good thing there is a kennel for the puppy and a baby gate to separate everyone. Lesson learned. Never piss of the Diva Dogs. 

Otter Loves Me!

Cinco and the Great Blue Heron

Cinco Makes New Friends at Peaks of Otter Lodge

Never let it be said that my dog isn't good at making new friends. Okay, well, she isn't great at it. She really wants to, she's just timid about it. She wants to sniff and generally suss out new people, and she's more than willing to accept treats from them, but there will be no touching, thank you very much, until much much later in the getting-to-know-you process.

Here's the thing, though. Isn't she cute? Everyone says so. Look at those eyes. They draw you in, and you just want to cuddle her. Trust me on this. Not cool. This is the surest way to send her running for the hills where she will hide, preferably under a  bed or a desk to growl until you cease and desist trying to pet her immediately. How did she get to be such a worry wart? I mean, I've owned her since she was six weeks old, and yes, she had it rough in those first six weeks, but she's been living the high life ever since.

Photo by Amanda Corlies Sandos

Anyway, I mentioned a great blue heron, didn't I? Yes, well, apparently great blue herons are not subject to exactly the same distrust as humans. Cinco is more than happy to bound right up to one, regardless of its killer bill that can skewer her, and it's incredibly long neck and deadly accuracy. These things? Not a big deal. Humans wanting to finger her? Terrifying.Luckily, the heron she chose to approach is probably old hat at these sorts of encounters, since she lives on the lake at the Peaks of Otter Lodge, where I'm sure tourists, their dogs, and even more frightening, their children have done all manner of strange things to the poor bird. She is immune. She just flies a short distance away, and promptly goes back to ignoring any intruders as if they are so much dirt under her feathers.

Photo by Amanda Corlies Sandos

What she does not tolerate well, however, are those pesky red-winged black birds landing anywhere near her person. She let my dog and I sit very nearby for almost an hour taking multiple photos of her. But, should a blackbird land anywhere near, she goes into a rage, attacking it, flapping her wings at it, and poking away until she's chased it off again. One of them climbing high into the bush above her to get away from her tanterums. This, apparently, was not
far enough.

Photo by Amanda Corlies Sandos

I had to laugh when the heron took hold of the branches to shake the whole tree vehemently until the offensive bird left. Cinco and I stayed for some time while I tried without success to capture this behavior in a decent photo. After a while, though, I started to wonder if the heron was exhibiting misplaced aggression. I mean, really, what could the blackbirds do to offend her? However, they are certainly easier to take on than some pesky tourist and her even more annoying overly-friendly dog. After giving this some thought, I decided it might be best for everyone if Cinco and I moved on.  It was a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Heron. Sorry for the intrusion.

Remembering Those We've Lost

Here I am feeding Moja treats.

Here I am with Isabeau

Memorial Day is about honoring those who have and still do serve
our country. It's an important day in my family and always has been, since so many of my family have served in the armed forces. In fact, I blogged about my grandfather over at amandacorlies.com. But, I also find myself thinking about some of the many animals I've loved and lost today. So, I thought I'd share some images I found of them. I hope you enjoy a lovely holiday with friends and family, today. Thanks so much to all those who have and still do serve our country!

Nita and Teela

I have a tattoo of Grady the leopard on my ankle

Tonto letting me hand feed him browse.

Forest Gump the Puffin who didn't like to swim.

My angel of Mercy, pictured here with Cinco

Sting the Blue-Crowned Hanging Parrot. His partner was Roxanne.

Bambesa, my favorite Okapi and her calf.

Moms and Their Cute Kids

For all you moms out there who rush around 24/7 looking after your cute kids, I salute you. Thanks for all you do. Here are some other moms and their cute kids just for you. Happy Mother's Day!

The Doggy Birthday Reprise

Cinco and Mercy

Yesterday was my doggy's eleventh birthday. Her name is Cinco in honor of the fateful holiday that I found her. Over at my other blog, Creative Antics, I wrote a little story about the day we met with some photos of Cinco and her late bosom buddy, Mercy, the Rottweiler who helped me rescue her. They were fast friends for many years until Mercy passed away from Cushing's Disease two years ago. I found more of the old pictures of these two together. So, I'm posting a few more images, and if you make the jump, you can find out how Mercy helped me rescue Cinco one fine Cinco de Mayo morning. I hope you enjoyed your holiday yesterday as much as we did.

She still sleeps like this

And like this, too.

They were the best of friends!

Happy Birthday Cinco! I love you!

Dog Diva on the Catwalk

When I heard the fantastic photographer Lisa Pitcher was calling for models for her fine arts shoot, I was thrilled. I never thought I'd be one of those moms who would gladly turn their kid into a diva to live vicariously. Well, I am. Of course, if you know me, you know my kids are all of the fur-covered variety. So, Miss Cinco de Mayo, who in all honesty was already a doggy diva, found herself volunteered for a turn on the catwalk.

I wasn't really sure how she would respond to this, since she is typically a little worry wart. Plus, she doesn't really care for me pointing my camera in her direction. But, Lisa not only has the eye, but also the touch for easing her subjects and capturing their personalities. In her own words, Lisa describes her photographic vision:

"I am not interested in using my camera to merely document a subject, I am always looking for avenues to peel off the obvious and reveal with my lens the emotional heart of the subject. Light, angle, colors, depth of field- I utilize all of these to capture what makes that person/animal who they are."

So, with the help of various treats and a whole lot of "You're the star" treatment, Cinco is now certainly poised to become the first Canine Vogue cover girl! Thanks to Lisa Pitcher for immortalizing my Cinco and for agreeing to share her images here. I highly recommend you visit her website and take a look at her other portraits!

How to Have a Doggone Good Time!

The Dog Days of Summer might be behind us, but here in the mountains of Virginia, it's been unseasonably warm. As the pet sitter extraordinaire, I've enjoyed these last few weeks immensely. The only complaint I might voice is the annual practice by so many of burning leaves. I'm terribly allergic to oak.

But instead of complaining, I'd like to introduce you to Xena and Daisy (aka Xena and Gabrielle, because, really, why would you have a Xena without a Gabrielle?) These warrior princess beagles would like to remind everyone how much fun can be had in a good pile of leaves. Just rake them all into one place, and voila, you've got yourself a doggone good time!

Plus, for all you adult types who feel you need a rational reason for doing this, you can pile them up at the bases of trees and bushes and in your flower beds to serve as a winter mulch. You'll probably find fewer weeds to pull in the spring if you do. Or, if you're like me, you can rake them into the surrounding woods and let the local wildlife bed down in them, too.

Burning leaves really is quite toxic for everyone, not just those of us with allergies. Did you know that leaf burning will actually eat the paint off your house. Here's more information from those who know far more about it than me. So, consider letting nature take it's course. Leaf litter will break down naturally and return all kinds of good nutrients to the soil.

Best of all, you get the added bonus of hours of fun for everyone! Xena and "Gabrielle" sure have been entertaining me daily.

The Dog Days of Summer

This month finds me pet sitting for everyone and their mothers, literally. I even have my own mother pet sitting for me because I don't have enough hours in the day. With the economy down, and after months of nobody hiring, I am happy to report that people are traveling once more, and this has been my busiest July on record,(July always being the busiest month of the year.)If you have not seen the movie Best In Show, give it a look and you will get a glimpse into my life. I love my clients, but they ask for some really weird stuff. You have no idea. Anyway, since all of this pet sitting offers me little time to write, or even hit the on switch on my computer for that matter, I have opted to provide you with a photo essay and introduce you to some of my doggy friends. Most of the photos were taken with a cheap cell phone, so don't expect art here folks.

For all you cat lovers, I have plenty of cat friends too, but as you know, most of them are not interested in pleasing said pet sitter, and are often not cooperative about having their pictures taken. Also, I highly doubt any of them will give their consent to have their photos posted publicly online. Since I don't want any law suits,and if any animal could pull off suing me and win it would be a cat, I'm sticking to the happy-go-lucky, non-legally savvy dogs.

Meet a few of the pack:

First and foremost, the fabulous Kevlar, who belongs to one of Lynchburg's finest.




Next we have Max and Sophie, showing a bit of the size differential I'm dealing with.



Give it up for Isabella and Diana. Goddesses of the dog world. Diana will tell you!



Here's Belle enjoying her 4th of July feast.



Let us not forget Ida Street, fab dog of my mentor and lit professor at RMWC.



Here's Lola and Ringo who belong to a French woman so they only speak French. All I know is how to say to them is yes, no, come, sit, stay, and very good. We get along anyway. Some things are never lost in translation.




Here's Lacy, my little diabetic dog. Her twin sister Gabby thinks she's a cat, so no pictures, please.



Last but most certainly never least, here are my very own babies. Yummy belongs to my Mom. He has few teeth, so his tongue hangs out a lot.



Here's my fabulous Mercy. Look at that belly! She's the best hugger ever. When you squeeze her, she rumbles. She loves it!



Cinco loves to hang out by the pool and lay in the sun, but she's not at all impressed with the cute boys.



So, there are just a few of my dog friends. I hope you have dog friends too. They really are the best kind!