When it comes to animals it’s practically impossible to have one without the other.
Today’s post was inspired by a comment left on yesterday’s post The most beautiful bond of all by MargfromTassie. This is what she wrote (my emphasis):
Yes, these people are inspirational as are all the people who voluntarily give their time and efforts to animal welfare work, sometimes for years. For many, it can be emotionally traumatising as well as rewarding.
It didn’t take me long to agree that for most it will be emotionally traumatising. In fact, one of the great lessons that we learn from our dogs, and all the other animals that we love, is that unconditional love brings with it emotional trauma.
So much better expressed by Suzanne Clothier in her book Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs
There is a cycle of love and death that shapes the lives of those who choose to travel in the company of animals. It is a cycle unlike any other. To those who have never lived through its turnings or walked its rocky path, our willingness to give our hearts with full knowledge that they will be broken seems incomprehensible. Only we know how small a price we pay for what we receive; our grief, no matter how powerful it may be, is an insufficient measure of the joy we have been given.
Our grief is always an insufficient measure of the joy we receive!
Speaking of joy, when we pulled back the bedroom curtains this morning (Thursday) the nest was empty!
For the last too many weeks to remember a mother Canadian Goose has been sitting on her nest of eggs with Father Goose staying close. We like to think that the mother returned to this place after having been born here a year ago.
Overnight five young healthy goslings were born! 🙂
May their little lives be full of love with a total absence of trauma!
Now for something very different to the Dog Tired photographs.
I can’t recall how I came across the following photographs but they were seen on the website of Humbert & Shirley Fernandez and recommended for sharing with others. I agree and you will see why!
The Grand Canyon of Arizona
Welcome to awesome Photos of the Grand Canyon.
There is a Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which is nice, but no comparison to the beauty and Grandeur of the Grand Canyon of Arizona.
Following, are real photos taken by Professionals that most visitors are unable to capture with their cameras. The Photos were received in an email, too good to delete, should be shared with others. They are posted here for people to see and enjoy.
Pueblo-like dwellings over the Colorado River at Nankoweap Creek.
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Horseshoe Bend
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Canyon Walls as viewed from the Colorado River.
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Grand Canyon Colors varies with the position of the Earth relative to the Sun.
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Bright Angel Trail
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Cheyava Falls
Another set of these stunning views of the Grand Canyon in a week’s time.
You all take care of yourselves and don’t stand too close to cliff edges!
I can’t close without thanking once again Larry and Janell from next door who sent all these wonderful photographs to be shared with you. How on earth can one follow those up?
Welcome to Territorio de Zaguates, or “Land of the Strays”.
When it comes to loving stray dogs I thought that the friends of John Zande and his wife were showing the rest of the world how to do it. For it is my understanding that Sandra and her partner down in Brazil are providing a home for around 300 ex-rescue dogs.
Dogs frolic in a lush green field at the Territorio de Zaguates dog sanctuary in Costa Rica. (Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
Welcome to Territorio de Zaguates, or “Land of the Strays,” an amazing, privately funded, volunteer-run animal sanctuary in Costa Rica where no mutt is turned away.
This is no ordinary animal sanctuary, though. After all, when you live in a place as beautiful as Costa Rica, you take advantage of what the landscape provides. That’s why volunteers lead the ragtag pack of rescued mutts on scenic hikes through the gorgeous mountains nearly every day. It’s a sight to behold.
A volunteer at Territorio de Zaguates leads a pack of dogs up a hill. (Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
Aside from the free-range mountain hikes with breathtaking scenery, Territorio de Zaguates functions just like any other animal rescue or sanctuary.
“First thing we do when a new dog gets here is spay/neuter, vaccinate and get rid of parasites,” the organization explains on its Facebook page. “Then we assess if the dog requires any other type of special treatment [and] put them in quarantine if necessary.”
Once this initial processing is completed, the new dog is released into the general population, where it can either be adopted by a loving human or spend the rest of its days frolicking in what is essentially a doggy paradise.
There are all kinds of mutts living at Territorio de Zaguates. (Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
What makes Territorio de Zaguates even more special is the creative approach to finding the dogs forever homes.
To encourage adoption, every doggie resident at the sanctuary is not only given a name, but also a customized “breed” name based on the dog’s phenotypic traits. These one-of-a-kind breed monikers include memorable titles like “Alaskan collie fluffy terrier” and the “chubby-tailed German doberschnauzer.”
The resounding message behind this strategy is that when you adopt a mutt, you’re adopting a unique breed. Learn more about this clever campaign in the video below:
As any animal rescuer will know, maintaining such an massive sanctuary requires an enormous amount of time, money and labor. But thanks to a host of charitable donors and an eager base of volunteers, the sanctuary is a great success.
“We have a very small staff but still we manage to do everything from daily picking up the poo and disposing of it properly, to feeding and medicating the dogs, and everything in between,” a spokesperson for the organization writes.
Continue below for just a glimpse of what life is like for these adorable pups at Territorio de Zaguates:
Mattresses are provided for the dogs to lounge on throughout the day. (Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
Mattresses provide natural lounge spots for the dogs throughout the day.
A pack of rescued dogs take a leisurely walk in the woods with a few of the sanctuary’s hard-working volunteers. (Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
The pack takes a leisurely hike in the woods with a few of the sanctuary’s hard-working volunteers and some prospective dog adopters
Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
Lunch time at Territorio de Zaguates means serious business, which is why kibble donations are so important!
Cushy bed donations are also very important for the sanctuary. (Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
In addition to food, comfy dog beds are also a much welcomed donation item for the sanctuary!
A volunteer leads the pack downhill. (Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
A sanctuary volunteer leads the pack downhill during a scenic hike through the mountains.
(Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
In case you were wondering where all those yummy kibble donations went … behold the trough
(Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
A few of the sanctuary’s senior residents rest on the steps of the facility. Even if the pups aren’t adopted out, they’ll always be guaranteed a luxurious forever home at the sanctuary.
(Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
Concrete drainage pipes makes excellent (and sturdy!) makeshift dog houses
(Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
Rescued dogs hang out in the shade of the sanctuary’s many trees
(Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
A nice refreshing dip … in some drinking water
(Photo: Territorio de Zaguates)
After a long, fun-filled day of being a dog, there’s nothing like cuddling up with a friend and snoozing before dinner time
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Well it certainly puts our ten dogs in the shade!
In doing a trawl through YouTube I came across this video that I will use to close off today’s post. Chances are that, as with me, you won’t understand the voice-over but it won’t diminish your pleasure at looking at these dogs.
Published on Jul 3, 2014
“Territorio de Zaguates” ubicado en las hermosas montañas de Costa Rica, es un albergue de animales donde se le da casa, comida, atención veterinaria, ejercicio, esparcimiento y cariño a 700 perros callejeros vÃctimas del maltrato, el abuso, el abandono y la negligencia humana.
–ENGLISH– “Territorio de Zaguates” is a No-kill-shelter in the beautiful mountains of Costa Rica that provides home, food, vet care, exercise, recreation and affection to over 700 stray dogs, victims of neglect, abandonment and abuse.
Actually, let me close off today’s post with these two sets of words from the story above:
Once this initial processing is completed, the new dog is released into the general population, where it can either be adopted by a loving human or spend the rest of its days frolicking in what is essentially a doggy paradise.
“essentially a doggy paradise.”
The resounding message behind this strategy is that when you adopt a mutt, you’re adopting a unique breed.
That is so true! Each and every dog, especially an ex-rescue dog, is a unique breed.
On Saturday morning Jean and two girl friends, Janet and Pam from close by, went to a $1 Clothing Fair. The Fair sold off donated garments raising money for a local charity for abused women. After they had had their fill of clothes Janet suggested going to a garage sale about three miles from home.
It turned out to be a couple and their daughter that were selling off stuff in advance of having to move to a much smaller house including needing to re-home their dog.
There in the garage was the dog, a beautiful tan coloured Great Pyrenees, as they are known in North America. Or as Wikipedia explains:
Jean, of course, went up to fondle the dog and enquired as to how they were going to re-home him. Taking the dog to a local dog shelter was mentioned by way of reply.
I heard all about this when Jean returned and we quickly agreed we should offer the dog a new home.
So after a quick lunch we both went to meet the dog.
An hour later Jean and I returned home with Brandy! He is gorgeous and here are some photographs of the first few hours of welcoming Brandy to his new place. Note: Brandy was recently shaved by his owners thus coat-wise doesn’t quite look like the Great Pyrenees that he is (possibly with a slight cross with a Mastiff but Dr. Jim doesn’t think so).
Brandy’s first look at his new home from the back of the car in the garage.Brandy signalling that he is ready for big changes!First sniff of our grass.Brandy, welcome!So far, so very good!Now the meet and greet with, of course, first up being the old king!And it didn’t stop with Pharaoh!More smells than you could shake a stick at!Yet more new friends to meet!Then time to settle down at home.What an adorable boy he is going to be.Sunday morning and everything is still going well.Just another dog for Jeannie and me to love.
Apparently, Brandy is a three-year-old dog but hasn’t yet been neutered. As soon as Brandy has settled down we will get Dr. Jim to check him over thoroughly over at Lincoln Road Vet Clinic, make sure everthing is fine and perform the neutering. (It was neighbour Dr. Jim who wrote the foreword to my book, by the way.)
This vidoe was posted on Roger Davis’ Facebook page in the last day.
By way of background, Roger and I were running companies from the same office base in Colchester, Essex, England back in the 1980s and it was Roger who introduced me to gliding, or sail-planing in American speak.. Here’s a short extract from a previous LfD post in 2014.
My first exposure to private flying was on the 7th June, 1981 when, at Rattlesden Gliding Club in Suffolk, I was taken up for two air-experience circuits in a two-seater glider known as a ‘K7’. I was immediately hooked! Those experience flights leading to a 4-minute flight (flight number 46) on the 6th September, 1981 that has the remark in my pilot’s log book: Solo! Now fast forward to October, 1984 and my log book shows me attending a gliding instructor’s course at Lasham, resulting in me being issued with a British Gliding Association (BGA) Assistant Instructor Rating on the 14th October. (105/84).
A K-7 two-seat glider.
Anyway, here’s the item that just had to be shared:
I have to thank our immediate neighbours, Larry and Janell, for sending on nearly thirty of these fantastic pictures under the general theme of Dog Tired! (Did you see yesterday’s picture?)
Dog Tired, selection one.
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These pictures are making me yawn already and it’s only two in the afternoon!
I came into the house yesterday around 4:30pm after having dug eight three-foot diameter holes out in the meadow and then planted into those holes eight tree saplings.
Frankly I was far too tired to consider a post for today. Then I opened my email inbox and saw that our immediate neighbours, Larry and Janell, had sent me a string of pictures under the heading of Dog Tired.
It made a perfect post!
More tomorrow that I know you are simply going to love.
Yesterday morning Jean and I travelled the short distance into Grants Pass to visit Margaret and the rest of the team at Rogue Valley Humane Society, RVHS. As their website proclaims: Helping Our Community, Four Paws at a Time.
Here’s why we went to meet the team.
If you drop across to my page where I offer my book for sale you will read that:
Please do find your way to supporting our pets in need. For 50% of the net proceeds from the sale of my book are being donated to our local Rogue Valley Humane Society. Every cent makes a positive difference!
Well many of you, dear people, have made a positive difference, as the following pictures illustrate.
Yours truly passing a cheque to the value of $750 to Margaret Varner, Director of Facility Operations at RVHS.
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Explaining to Authentic the dog in the office of RVHS what has just been donated.Being thanked in the only way that dogs can properly thank someone!
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Gorgeous shot of Jeannie and Authentic.
So a tremendous vote of thanks to everyone that has purchased my book for this is what your generosity delivers!
Going to write a little more about the Humane Society tomorrow.
For the last too many weeks to remember a mother Canadian Goose has been sitting on her nest of eggs with Father Goose staying close. We like to think that the mother returned to this place after having been born here a year ago.
May their little lives be full of love with a total absence of trauma!
Learning from Dogs 