I’m writing this at 3pm on the Tuesday, i.e. yesterday afternoon.
In under an hour’s time we have to leave to travel to Grants Pass to see the vet and have poor Lupe euthenised. She has been suffering from dementia since before Christmas and has got to the point where she has little or no quality of life left. Jeannie has been a saint in patiently administering to Lupe’s needs; feeding her, cleaning her up, and more. All for many weeks now. It was about 2 hours ago that Jean knew the time had come.
A few pictures from better times.
From Mexico days back in 2008. Lupe is second from the left.
Lupe leading Lilly, taken in February of 2012 at our home in Payson, AZ.
Picture of Lupe taken just 8 weeks ago, showing clearly the effects of the dementia in terms of her posture.
Lupe was always a challenge having been terribly treated as a feral dog in Mexico. In fact, it was 6 months before Jean could fondle her after she had been rescued by Jean. But slowly she learnt to trust Jean and then to offer Jean lots of doggie love. I, too, have fond memories of being cheek-to-cheek with Lupe; her love and trust overcoming all fears.
If you would like to donate to Manitoba Mutts Dog Rescue in Winnipeg, MB please go here.
Our 6 month old lab mix rescue pup taught our 8 week old foster pup (adopted now) from Manitoba Mutts Dog Rescue in Winnipeg to go down the stairs once she got up and couldn’t get down! Please adopt and do not shop. This video is hoping to spread awareness to adopt a dog rather than shop around for one.
Rescue animals are just as great, if not more!
Please search your area for local rescues if you are looking for a dog or cat. These lovely pups are from Manitoba Mutts Dog Rescue in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Jean and I were looking for something to watch on Wednesday evening and, as is our want, took a browse through the latest films on Top Documentary Films.
There was an intriguing title under the recently added list – People in Motion.
This was how the film was described.
We were hunters and foragers. The frontier was everywhere. We were bounded only by the earth, the ocean and the sky.
Today we go about our business, unencumbered by the frontier. Society guides us, it gives us permission to drive on roads, to stop at red lights, and go on green.
But something is not right.
It often feels as if something is missing. As if the life society has allowed isn’t quite enough. We spend so much time planning for the future it seems we’re forgetting how to live in the moment. How to feel deep and profound satisfaction with life.
It was this feeling that led us to watch people in cities, trying to understand what drives them. They typically did the same three things: walk, sit and shop.
People in Motion is a film showcasing the potential people have to move through time and space. The film is shot in true slow motion edited using a composite technique which illustrates stretches of time in an instant.
Now before you watch the film, and I really hope you do, just reflect on our closest animal companion; dogs. As is stated on the home page of Learning from Dogs,
Dogs live in the present – they just are! Dogs make the best of each moment uncluttered by the sorts of complex fears and feelings that we humans have.
One of the many wonderful ways that dogs enjoy the present is through play.
Rain had raised the flow of water in our creek and earlier on that Wednesday we had given the dogs a run in the rain. Of course, they went immediately to the creek to play in the rushing waters. The top picture shows Sweeny doing just that, Pharaoh equally having fun as below.
The simple joy of playing in the water.
Play is so important for humans as well as dogs.
Now watch the film and be amazed – the music is pretty cool as well.
Published on Dec 31, 2012
Music by…
* Lindsey Stirling:
** songs: Crystallize, Transcendence
* Niklas Aman:
** songs: Stirred Up, Momentum, Up A Storm
* Michael Marantz:
** song: Earth – The Pale Blue Dot
Directed by: Cedric Dahl
Produced by: Bennett Hoffman
Staring: Paul Whitecotton, Brian Orosco, David Agajanian, Lonnie Tisdale, Jacob Siel
Finally, after you have watched the film you will enjoy this interview with film director Cedric Dahl. But watch the film first!!
A superb reminder of the positives of this funny old species of ours!
The issue of what man is doing to our biosphere is all important, probably above all else. It surely occupies much of the thinking time of me and countless others across the globe. It seems so obvious that we are harming the planet it’s easy to forget that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who are making a very positive difference in countless ways.
Take Erik Bendl. Not someone I had previously heard of so thanks to Lew L. who sent me the information.
Erik Bendl has walked over six thousand miles for the cause of diabetes awareness. In recent years he and his dog named Nice have walked in over thirty nine states and Washington D.C. to help diabetes organizations and encourage people to get healthy with exercise to control and prevent diabetes. When you see him on the road stop to say hello, walk with him or call him @ (502) 408-5772. (This includes a link to here)
That link (this one) takes you to a place on the website of the American Diabetes Association from which one further learns,
I AM STEPPING OUT BECAUSE…
I am Stepping Out because the American Diabetes Association’s Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes is so much more than a fundraising event to me. It is my opportunity to change the future and make a positive impact in the lives of those who are affected by diabetes. I am committed to walk and raise money in this inspirational event not because 26 million people in the United States have diabetes, but because I personally know some of them, and I want to do something about it.
I am now inviting you to join me in my quest to prevent and cure diabetes once and for all. Chances are, you also know someone who has been affected by diabetes and you already know how important it is to stop this disease. By making a donation on my behalf, you will be helping the Association provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.
With your help, we will fight for a future where a parent does not have to hear that their child has diabetes. A future where an adult does not have to face the uncertain times ahead after receiving a diabetes diagnosis. A future where you and I will know that we had a part in making this possible.
I truly appreciate your support. Together we can Stop Diabetes!
Easy to read, even easier to copy and paste into this post. Far, far more difficult to undertake what Erik and Nice have been doing for so long.
Uploaded on Aug 25, 2011
FORT RIPLEY — He may have the world on a string, but Erik Bendl’s highly visible stroll along Highway 371 is hardly a walk in the park. The Louisville, Ky., carpenter and his dog, Nice, are walking along the highway shoulder with a large, inflatable, rubber globe in order to raise awareness about diabetes.
This particular walk started in Sheboygan, Wis., and has Lake Itasca as its final destination. His route took him into Iowa before heading into Minnesota.
“I’m walking until the snow flies,” he said.
Stopping to answer questions from the curious near Eagle’s Landing on Tuesday afternoon, Bendl had a few northbound miles to go until Fort Ripley, his stated goal for that day.
The 49-year-old travels about 10 to 15 miles a day and estimated he had walked about 3,000 miles in 26 states in his five trips with Nice. Asked what kind of dog his non-descript companion was, Bendl replied, “He’s a brown dog.”
But apart from the commitment to his chosen cause, Erik also writes beautifully. Take this recent piece (which I trust Erik doesn’t mind me reposting here.)
Out of a dream
I awoke thinking I was writing about the twelve miles we had pushed against the wind. It took ten hours. Good people stopped and gave us water through the windy, hot day. Never thirsty, backpack still full at the end of the day with the bottles I started out with in the morning. Others brought food for us to eat. Dog biscuits and salad for me. Burgers and chews kept our stomachs full and my pack heavier with extra dogs treats when we stopped for the night.
We met diabetics of all shapes, ages and size. Stubborn ones who are not to be told and dedicated ones who want to grow old. I was told by all what I am doing is an inspiration, still some could not get away fast enough, lest they admit they could do more for themselves.
Everyday someone will tell me as they leave, smiling ear to ear, that I have made their day happier. A bonus which makes my day a joy.
Now I am awake from my sleepy dream. The fog has lifted from my tired senses. I hesitate to read over what I have just written. Will it make any sense? Will it matter? Or Am I still dreaming?
I think I will push the “send” button and forget, like most other dreams.
Why not send him an email to remind him of the universal power of being a good person: erikbendl (at) gmail (dot) com
Back on the 14th January in a post called Now we are seventeen, I introduced the two miniature horses, Dancer and Grace, that came to be with us. In that post I mentioned,
Ready to leave
Jean is holding Dancer while Grace is waiting by the fence. Our original plans had been to take Dancer’s sister’s foal Allegra, but she was too stressed to leave her mother so soon; she is just six months old. As an interim, we borrowed Grace, Dancer’s last foal, until Allegra is ready to move homes.
Well yesterday Allegra was ready and came over to join Dancer while lovely Grace returned to neighbour Margo. Just wanted to share some pictures from yesterday.
Margo, her arm on Allegra, and her husband, Clarence, holding Allegra’s mother Keepsake. The two horses had come over together so as to offer comfort to young Allegra, now just 7 months old.
Allegra is on the left getting to know her new grounds. On the right is Aunt Chloe who came to spend the night here with Allegra to minimise any separation anxiety.
Close up of Dancer’s nose!
Don’t believe it! Another horse!!
I’m sure Pharaoh is wondering how long it will be before there are more horses than dogs!
Sharing a beautiful aspect of this new home State of ours.
Let’s face it, Jean and I know as much about Oregon as we know about Timbuktu! A house and property requiring much love and care and 10 dogs, 5 cats and 2 miniature horses does rather cramp one’s style! Actually, let me be honest. We just adore the grounds that surround the house. Almost every single walk around the property with or without a few dogs brings some new discovery. Thus we are not lusting to get out.
Just by way of example, yesterday we discovered that the dam built across our creek, just upstream of the bridge, was used in days long ago for creating flood irrigation. That’s the dam in the picture below. The old plank and steel work are still in the undergrowth alongside the creek; to the right of the picture.
Irrigation dam on Bummer Ck.
OK, to the point of this post.
Shortly after we arrived here in Merlin, Oregon we joined Oregon Wild. Their Mission Statement says: Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife and waters as an enduring legacy for all Oregonians. Can’t argue with that!
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were once common in Oregon, occupying most of the state. However, a deliberate effort to eradicate the species was successful by the late 1940s.
Trouble for wolves began before Oregon even became a state. In 1843 the first wolf bounty was established and Oregon’s first legislative session was called in part to address the “problem of marauding wolves”. By 1913, people could collect a $5 state bounty and an Oregon State Game Commission bounty of $20. The last recorded wolf bounty was paid out in 1947.
After an absence of over half a century, wolves began to take their first tentative steps towards recovery. Having dispersed from Idaho, the native species is once again trying to make a home in Oregon. One of the first sightings came in 1999 when a lone wolf was captured near the middle fork of the John Day River, put in a crate and quickly returned to Idaho. In 2000, two wolves were found dead – one killed by a car, the other illegally shot.
In 2006, a flurry of sightings led state wildlife biologists to believe that a number of wild wolves were living in Northeast Oregon near the Wallowa Mountains and the Eagle Cap Wilderness. In May of 2007 a wolf was found shot to death near La Grande, OR.
As I explain on this blog, there is a deep connection between dogs and wolves:
Dogs are part of the Canidae, a family including wolves, coyotes and foxes, thought to have evolved 60 million years ago. There is no hard evidence about when dogs and man came together but dogs were certainly around when man developed speech and set out from Africa, about 50,000 years ago. See an interesting article by Dr. George Johnson.
Back to Oregon Wild. Just three weeks ago came this update.
State Announces Wolf Recovery Numbers
With the state’s wolf killing program on hold, conservationists celebrate recent success, express concern for the future.
SALEM, OR Jan 16, 2013
Today the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced the state’s wolf population has risen to at least 53 animals and as many as five breeding pairs. Though still mostly confined to the Northeastern corner of the state, the news was welcomed by conservationists.
The confirmation of wolf numbers comes on the heels of a number of announcements of new wolf pups, interbreeding between packs, and new science demonstrating the important and irreplaceable role wolves and other native hunters play on the landscape.
The announcement also comes on the heels of the one-year anniversary of another great wolf recovery story. On December 28, 2011, a wolf known as Journey (OR-7) crossed the Oregon border to become the first wolf in California in nearly a century. The story was celebrated around the world.
Read the rest of this good news story here. But I couldn’t resist showing you this photograph that appeared in that story.
These wolf pups born to the Wenaha Pack in 2012 helped get recovery back on track. But their future remains tenuous (photo courtesy ODFW)
Let me close with these two videos.
Imnaha alpha female wolf, July 2011
Snake River Wolf Pack howling
Published on Aug 1, 2012
On July 25, 2012, an ODFW wolf biologist on a survey for wolf pups took this video of a Snake River wolf pack pup howling. The video was taken in the Summit Ridge area within the Snake River Wildlife Management Unit, in Wallowa County.
In the video, the pup howls three times. A low returning howl is heard and the pup gets up. Then, other members of the wolf pack (not seen in the video) return the pup’s howls.
Wolves are highly social animals and howling is a common behavior that help packs communicate and stay together. Wolf howls can be heard from several miles away.
It’s 4.30pm and I have just come in after being out since 8am. A dry sunny day offered a great opportunity to get stuck into logging up a large number of trees that had been victims of Winter storms before Christmas. I’m knackered!
So going to take a break from the serious stuff and offer you a few pics, kindly sent to me by Chris Snuggs.
oooo
oooo
oooo
And the last one that seems very appropriate to how yours truly is feeling!
Our beautiful young German Shepherd is one year old today.
How time flies! How life moves on!
On the 8th April, 2012, I wrote a piece about the arrival of Cleo into our home in Payson, Arizona. Then on the 26th April, I added a few more pictures to say how well Cleo was setting in. (I include the links in case you want to look at the pictures in those posts.)
Cleo was born on the 23rd January, 2012. Thus today is her first birthday. She has grown into the most loving, friendly dog and she is adored by all who meet her.
Here’s a picture of Cleo from last year.
Cleo, just 71 days old.
Now two pictures taken this week. This first one showing Cleo lifting her head to the camera.
The next one showing Cleo and Sweeny having one of their frequent ‘kiss ins‘.
Finally, a picture of Cleo enjoying our recent snows.
We are so fortunate to share our lives with these beautiful creatures.
Learning from Dogs 