Every thinks they have the best dog and none of them are wrong. Dogs do speak but only to those who know how to listen. Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.
___________________________
___________________________
A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.–Robert Wagner
Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.– Orhan Pamuk
Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.– Elizabeth Taylor
Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really. – Agnes Sligh Turnbull
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.– Roger Caras
The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”– Charles De Gaulle
Dogs never bite me. Just Humans– Marilyn Monroe
The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven not man’s. – Mark Twain
Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job. – Franklin P. Jones
Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. – Franklin P. Jones
___________________________
Five years ago today I saved a dog, Buster, from drowning. Here’s what I wrote that night:
I’m so pumped. I saved this dog. It was trapped in the big lake between #6 and #14 on the Black Jack golf course and couldn’t get out. Brigitte Gramstat Griffith and her husband Pat, were playing golf next to the lake and heard it yelping. They waved me down as I was driving on #16 towards the retention lake.
I climbed up on the hill and could see the dog swimming in the middle. So I drove along the edge to the side closest and least difficult to rescue from. The lake has very slippery lined slopes.
I radioed the Clubhouse to have someone bring an extension ladder because I thought that would be my only access to save him. I scurried around the trees and brush while whistling to coaxed the dog toward my direction.
Serendipty kicked in as he made it to where it was shallow enough for him to catch his breath. As I approached I found some cord tangled on some branches. At this point, I looked up and saw more golfers lined up high across the lack. Too busy to notice before, they were yelling me on. Whew, was I glad to unravel the cord.
No way I would let him drown. He was facing me so I’d have to rope his whole body in by getting it all the way around him. On my 12th attempt was able to loop it around his rear and hind legs. When he made it to shore he knocked me down, jumped on top of me…wouldn’t stop licking. It was emotional.
About this time Christopher Godwin drove up with a ladder. A beverage cart girl also arrived. Chris looked on his tag. His name is Buster. Owners came to Fair Oaks Ranch Golf Club to pick him up.
The owner and I are now Facebook friends. This is what I wrote her:
“Mrs. Tisdale, it was good for my soul. I keep thinking about the look in his eyes and I blurted out ‘Don’t you worry, you’re gonna be alright.’ I think talking to him calmed him down and he quit thrashing and yelping. That’s when I figured out he was a swimmer. So he followed me to a point the slope wasn’t as steep… To a point I thought I may be able to reach his collar and pull him out. But I couldn’t. It was just too slippery.”
“He tried, but kept sliding in. At least he was in shallow enough water to stand near the edge and not have to thrash. This gave him time to rest while I found the rope. After about 12 tries, the loop went around his hind legs and that was enough.”
“I remember grinning, but being afraid he might bite. No way. He jumped on me and knocked me backwards and licked my face. I just started laughing and held him. Then he got off and started walking away but sliding down. I went to him and he shook the water off and then followed me up the dirt berm and brush to the top and over.”
“That’s when I called on the radio ‘I’ve got the dog.’ Chris drove up with a ladder we were going to use and I asked him to take my picture when I read his name tag that his name was BUSTER. I called out the phone number to Chris who called you. The beverage cart girl drove up as Chris left to take Buster to the golf shop. She told me people kept trying to call me on the radio, but didn’t even hear them after I started looping him with the rope. Anyway, I love dogs. Have written many articles about them and I’m so very happy Buster is back home with his loving family tonight. Give him a hug for me.”
I learned Buster loved to go swimming in the family pool with their young daughters. For some reason he escaped from the backyard yard a few miles away from the golf course. We surmised that when he saw the lake he jumped right in!
One of my favorite watercolor and graphic design artists is Jill Vance Bukowski out of Hewitt, near Waco, Texas.
I first met Jill–from Portales, New Mexico–in December of 1983. As the construction supervisor overseeing a new H-E-B Food-Drugs store we affectionately name “Challenger 7,” (it was the 7th store in Waco at the time), Jill was one of the retailer team Partners during the final phase before opening the store.
Very talented, with her trademark smile and happy disposition, Jill was fun to be around. Over the years we remained friends as she moved to San Antonio H-E-B headquarters at the historic U.S. Arsenal complex to work in graphic design in 1985. We would take our children, (Jill’s: Lacey and Logan, mine: Jennifer and Mark) to the circus or zoo back in the day.
Her husband, Paul, is a hardworking, dependable plumber with his company, Bukowski Brothers Plumbing, in Waco nowadays.
Over time her son, Bo and my youngest boys, Jack and Brady came to know each other at our lake house on Lake Buchanan (good halfway point between Waco and San Antonio) in the early ’90s.
Although I haven’t seen them in over 15-years, through the magic of internet we’ve kept up as our children have grown into adults with kids of their own.
Recently, I noticed she has Jillski’s Art in Hewitt and recognized the same familiar talent and style in her watercolor offerings.
See for yourself by clicking here.
Today in History January 23, 1957, machines at the Wham-O toy company rolled out the first batch of their aerodynamic plastic discs–now known to millions of fans all over the world as Frisbees.
The story of the Frisbee began in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in 1871. Students from nearby universities would throw the empty pie tins to each other, yelling “Frisbie!” as they let go.
In 1948, Walter Frederick Morrison and his partner Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the disc called the “Flying Saucer” that could fly further and more accurately than the tin pie plates.
After splitting with Franscioni, Morrison made an improved model in 1955 and sold it to the new toy company Wham-O as the “Pluto Platter”–an attempt to cash in on the public craze over space and Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).
In 1958, a year after the toy’s first release, Wham-O–the company behind such top-sellers as the Hula-Hoop, the Super Ball and the Water Wiggle–changed its name to the Frisbee disc, misspelling the name of the historic pie company.
A company designer, Ed Headrick, patented the design for the modern Frisbee in December 1967, adding a band of raised ridges on the disc’s surface–called the Rings–to stabilize flight. By aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O sold over 100 million units of its famous toy by 1977.
High school students in Maplewood, New Jersey, invented Ultimate Frisbee, a cross between football, soccer and basketball, in 1967.
In the 1970s, Headrick himself invented Frisbee Golf, in which discs are tossed into metal baskets; there are now hundreds of courses in the U.S., with millions of devotees.
There is also Freestyle Frisbee, with choreographed routines set to music and multiple discs in play, and various Frisbee competitions for both humans and dogs–the best natural Frisbee players.
Today, at least 60 manufacturers produce the flying discs–generally made out of plastic and measuring roughly 20-25 centimeters (8-10 inches) in diameter with a curved lip. The official Frisbee is owned by Mattel Toy Manufacturers, who bought the toy from Wham-O in 1994.
__________________________________
This article is sponsored by GOETTL AIR CONDITIONING & PLUMBING, servingTucson, Las Vegas, Southern California, Simi Valley and San Antonio.
844-446-3885
On Inauguration Day it had been raining and misting here for a while.
Our dog, Mr. Beefy, (a direct descendant–the firstborn–of Fortunado El Conquistador AKA “Nato” of Phoenix, Arizona) needed to go outside, but was hesitant, so I walked with him.
The Beef is quite the sniffer. Knowing his process can take a while, I caught up on some fellow bloggers articles. (We tend to support each other that way).
I noticed a trend. Many in my physical and internet communities were experiencing depression and dread over the inauguration and prospects of our country. There was anger because of the stolen election and worry about the outcomes ahead.
One of my favorite blogs is Chateau Cherie, from a prolific writer who exposes “Bullies and Liberating Targets to Make the World a Safer Place for All.”
“I won’t kid you,” wrote Cherie White. “These last three months have been an uphill battle and it seems like I and so many others have been knocked down repeatedly lately. You probably have too. This morning, I almost threw my hands up and quit. I got to the point where it was easier not to even care. I thought, “Screw it! Whatever happens, happens! I don’t care anymore!
I sat down with protective cover on the porch steps of our shed while Mr. Beefy sniffed around the leaves and wet terrain for the perfect spot to suit his need.
As he did his business, his body language looked miserable and he hunkered down in the rain.
After he finished, he walked slowly over to me under the shed. I thought “Mr. Beefy feels like we all do: depressed.”
Suddenly, with all the might he could muster, he SHOOK THE WET OFF. Of course, much of it splashed on me.
He was so relieved and looked royally proud. I laughed and petted him for about a minute or so. A sudden break in the rain allowed us to safely walk back to the house.
I thanked God for the moment. As Beefy just did, I SHOOK IT OFF and was determined to have a better day.
The thing is, a series of events occurred (burnt hand taking a 23.19 lb. turkey out of oven, spilled turkey juice and gel over stove, oven and floor, later hurt my shoulder, etc.) that challenged my spirit.
Guess what?
I SHOOK IT OFF.
I won. My spirit is good.
Joshua 1:9 (NIV) “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
_________________________
Click Here For Top 10 Most Popular Articles.
__________________________________
In our neck of the woods–the Texas Hill Country, over an hour northwest of San Antonio–we usually have to travel to see winter snow.
Wouldn’t you know it? The one year San Antonio experienced a whopping 13.5 inches of snow in 1985, the International Airport had loaned their only snowplow to Denver.
It was a rarity to even experience any type of snowfall growing up in the Alamo City.
During my college days at Texas State University (Southwest Texas State University back in the mid-1970’s) we would send some of our campus beauty queens to Michigan in exchange for packages of snow. It was a thrilling tradition for us coeds to participate in an actual snowball fight.
Most of my experience with snow has been around Lake Tahoe and New Mexico.
Dodie was a nurse and lived in Vail, Colorado after she left working the cruise ships in the Bahamas and Caribbean back in the late ’70s-early ’80’s.
On the few occasions that I did see snow sculptures (mainly in Cloudcroft, New Mexico), it was a novel delight.
Here are more snow sculptures to make you smile. Be sure to pass them on so others can experience the simple happiness too.
If you enjoyed these photos, you will like:
Whimsical Street and Public Art Click Here
Someone found an older stray dog in San Antonio last week and took it to the local animal shelter.
On Monday, the San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) posted on their Facebook page was named “Honey.”
ACS staff members scanned Honey for a microchip and discovered he was registered to someone who had adopted him years before.
“We called the owner and let them know Honey would be at the shelter. While he was getting his initial shots upon entering our shelter, our staff got a call that his owner had already made it to ACS to reclaim in our front office,” Lisa Norwood, a spokesperson for ACS explained.
“The woman burst into tears as soon as she saw him, fell to her knees, and held him in her arms. She began to ask him if he remembered who she was.”
Norwood said Honey immediately responded when the woman spoke his name.
“He did and she started hugging and kissing her dog who returned her affection with a wildly wagging tail.”
“An ACS staffer asked her [how] long has Honey been missing — she said 7 years!”
Here are some recent adoptions:
Pet microchipping services were paused during COVID-19 closures, but have resumed by appointment only. San Antonio residents who live within City limits can obtain FREE pet microchips (includes lifetime registration), there will be a $5 service fee per pet for out of city residents. Appointments can be made at: saacs.info/microchip
“Lost pets with a microchip have a significantly higher chance of returning home when brought into a veterinary clinic or shelter,” the ACS website states.
For more information on the updated Microchip Ordinance, visit the City’s Chapter 5 Animal Laws.
Clever Journeys 