Public Service Announcements

Hello all,

Instead of one of our regular posts........tonight we wanted to bring a few things to your attention that may affect the way you view the toys that you buy for your dogs and the way the Pedigree dog is judged at dog shows.

First there is a blog about a toy that has been recalled by the company that offered it for sale. ( 8-22-08 as an update on this post, please visit Chai's blog. His owner has been contacted by another person whose dog had the same thing happen to it in 2005. They were assured by the company that the toy design would be changed to include a hole at the other end of the ball. It never was. Please email this company to register your outrage )

This toy caused a Lab mix dog named Chai to loose his tongue. I want to warn you that the photos are graphic and may upset anyone with a weak stomach. We all love our pets and no one wants to see someone that they love end up like Chai..

Do you have this toy in your home ??????

Four Paws Pimple Ball with Bell

If you do, please take it away from your dog and return it to the store where it was purchased.
It appears that all balls that look like this do not pose the same danger...there are some by other manufacturers that have a hole at the other end to prevent a vacuum from occurring if the tongue is inserted in the ball. This one does not.....

Click on the link and read about what happened to a Lab mix who was playing with this ball and how it changed his life.
Chai's Story

The owner of Chai waged a campaign to have these balls recalled by the company distributing them. The company refused initially, but has recently decided to recall the balls. Thank dog for small favors.
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Pedigree Dogs Exposed

Pedigree dogs have been around since the 1800's. Dogs were bred for a particular reason....to herd, to rat, to retrieve etc.

Pedigree dogs are registered by the Kennel Clubs. Certain standards are set in writing for each breed and those standards are judged at Kennel Club dog shows. Something went terribly wrong at some point in time. Now there is so much inbreeding of dogs to achieve a standard,that breeders have changed over time, that the dogs of today do not resemble the same breed of yesterday. Fatal health problems are threatening to cause the extinction of the different breeds as we knew them in the past.

The BBC recently aired a program about the serious health problems that are plaguing our pets because of the breeders' concept of what that breed standard should be. Dogs with horrible deformities and health problems are winning "Best In Show" and "Best of Breed" and are then being bred multiple times...passing those health problems or deformities on to countless generations.

If you have the time to watch the program, it has been uploaded to YouTube in 6 installments. It takes an hour to watch, but it may change your mind on how dogs are judged in the show ring. Can anything be done to save the integrity of these breeds before it is too late? And can pressure from dog lovers force a change of policy at the Kennel Clubs?

See what you think:
Pedigree Dogs Exposed on You Tube part 1 of 6, once there you can click on the others.

Wow, this has been very hard to read about and even harder to watch. I am hoping that the Kennel Clubs will come to their senses before it is too late...or is it too late already?

This is Dewey Dewster's Gram reportin' on disturbin' information......

Earthdogin' and Talley

Hello ta all......

This was the weekend for the earthdog tests at Woodside near Donegal, Pa. and all of us and Gram and Pap headed out in the car ta get there....

We always have ta pass thru the city ta get to the Pa. turnpike and everytime Gram gets on the Veterans Bridge she gets mad cause she doesn't have her camera ready ...and the view is pretty spectacular 'n so this time she had it ready....but we were goin' pretty fast so the only picture she liked is this one...that sloped building is the Convention center and that is the Allegheny River.
Click on any of the pictures for a larger view.....
Woodside is partway down a hill but it is still up pretty high and the view is wonderful. Ya can see some of the shelters here of the earthdog participants and the hills beyond.
I met my new girlfriend again...'n I got 'er name wrong last time...she is Talley, not Callie ('n i hope I spelled it right Linda)...but it was an honest mistake cause Linda did say earlier she was goin' ta maybe change it but didn't.....LOOK HERE...me and Talley sharin' a little kiss.....

Me, Dewey, doin' the play bow with Talley.


'n me tryin' ta get a little sniff in before 'er Mom could stop me...hehehe....her Mom didn't have ta stop me....cause Talley did.....grrrrr....
'n here we are really tryin' out a kiss...nose ta nose....Dewey Dewster and Talley......two terriers in love......ooooowwww ain't it grand?????
See that????? That's Gram, My Mom and the Earthdog judge after Mom won a ribbon fer the first leg of her Junior Earthdog on Saturday......right in the tunnel...reached the judge in 13 seconds....barked like a nut....worked the rats fer 60 seconds...didn't even want outta the tunnel cause she wanted those rats bad......
See that????? That's all the ribbons my Mom won over Saturday and Sunday.....she got her Junior Earthdog Title......Horray fer Mom!!!!!
See that?????? That's Dewey Dewster with egg on my face cause I didn't do anything on Saturday and Sunday....nothin'......do ya hear that nothin'.....on Sunday I didn't even want ta go in the tunnel at all....I wanted Gram ta pick me up.....never left 'er side at all.....no siree...non participatin' Dewey is what I'm called.....no earthdog title fer me......

And the worst part was that then Talley didn't want ta go out with me anymore....can ya believe that ????? I guess I'm gonna have ta start again from scratch ta make 'er acquaintance again next year....see if I can impress 'er with my charms and try ta do earthdog again....woe is me....woe is me......Dewey Dewster earthdog failure......

This is Dewey Dewster, egg face...signin' off.....on earthdog......

He Took Me Out to the Ballgame.......

Hello out there in blogland.....

The other night I had a date with Jake of the Barkalot Boyz. We went to a baseball game and watched the Marlins play the Cardinals in Florida. Since I am far away from Florida, Jake sent his personal Heron-cam to pick me up. I think he already told you a bit about the evening.

I must say that was some ride...you could actually see those fluffy clouds below your feet. They were so soft looking..... it felt like I could just walk on them in my bare feet right up to heaven. The air flowing around Heron-cam was cool and refreshing and he was extra careful not to go too fast. I enjoyed watching the tops of buildings and the cities below as we flew by....I wish I would have remembered my camera..... the scenery was spectacular.........I was served pretzels and bottled water and didn't even have to pay for it....

Jake was being a bit modest when he said that we didn't do anything special at the game. We were cheering pretty loudly for the Cardinals but please don't tell anyone from the Burgh that I opened my mouth to cheer for another team. I talked Jake into putting on his Cardinals baseball cap. Didn't he look swell in it??? And happy too !!!!

At one point there was a heated argument on the field and I went out to see how it felt to stand on the pitchers mound while all those men were busy discussing the problem at hand.....and Jake ran out and got me a baseball. One of the players threw it in anger and he caught it in his mouth just for me...... tsk, tsk...not a nice thing to do...throwing balls in anger...you toss.....your loss......no strain.......my gain........
He was pretty proud of catching that ball and he held onto it for a long time before he actually gave it to me. Really, I had to pry it out of his mouth cause it was sort of stuck there since he had it there so long.

But then he got very gallant and sat on his chair at home and presented me the ball in his very own baseball glove.... Wasn't that sweet???? I just love to play ball.....

Besides all the good food we had, I also got a souvenir Cardinals cap (which I had to file away under "Forbidden in the Burgh".) Sorry about that Jake.....I do want to reach the age of seven without incident.......Pittsburgh sports fans can be so unforgiving......but I love it anyway..... And my very own baseball...which I have hidden from Dewey so that I can actually have something to play with when he is not around. Gee, I hope he goes out on a date with that little Callie he met at earthdog. Can you imagine how much ball playing I can get in if he is gone for hours or better still overnight?????

Now there's something I can sink my teeth into......

Wow, it was an exciting evening and I am happy that I got to see it even if it wasn't a Pirates game. Who won anyway?????? After Jake caught the ball, I really didn't care......


Thanks Jake for a great time !!!!!!!! And if you ever want to try earthdog, please let me know.... I bet if we tried....we could have dug an earthdog tunnel under that pitchers mound..........

This is Asta Marie reportin' on my baseball game date....

Waggin' Wednesday...A Date, News and An Award

Hello Everyone...it's me Asta Marie.....

I am so excited to report that I have been invited out on a date with Jake of Florida of the Barkalot Boys.

Oops...I guess I should get up and decide what to wear as we are going to a baseball game this evening in Florida to watch the Marlins play the Cardinals and I have nothing to wear...... or do I?

Here is Jake's invitation......

Is it too late for you to join me tonight at the Cardinals-Marlins game? If so, there's tomorrow night. It's a good thing we didn't go last night though 'cause the game was stopped for rain -- although you might have enjoyed curling up inside a player's batting helmet!!One more thing, in the interest of full disclosure -- before you and I first barked at each other, I had written to Princess Willow, of the Zoo Crew, to see if Just Harry and I could be her fellows, because we had fallen in love with her puppy face. She never answered until now, and, as you can imagine, I'm a bit embarrassed, since you and I have just gotten to know each other and I'm not a Don Jake kind of guy. Just Harry is kind of happy about this, because he wasn't so keen on sharing anyway and is very eager to go out with Princess Willow all by himself. Hoping you'll understand...

Jake

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And again.....when I asked about what I should wear and if it was supposed to rain.

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Dear Asta Marie,

Thanks for being so understanding. Right now, I don't see any rain -- but this is South Florida and you never know. It will be really hot, though, that I can promise. How about if I bring the umbrella and you bring your hat? We'll have hot dogs and perhaps a soft pretzel, with a cold drink. They have ice cream too, I heard. And catching balls at the game is a sport in itself, so you be ready!!! Some folks bring their own gloves. I've asked our heron-cam to pick you up --he's a reliable fellow, remember he flew all the way to San Francisco with our folks -- and to be sure you get home safely. The game starts at 7:10.And, uh, could you post a perty photo on your blog -- with or without hat -- so everyone will believe it's really you with me.

Jake

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So I am being picked up by the heron-cam and I am pawsitively obsessing over what hat to wear...

Shall I be elegant like the idle rich ??

Or even hoity-toity like the super rich?????

Or should I dress down for the occassion and sport a baseball cap advertising my home team???

Actually, I think this one fits a bit better...what do you think?????

So I am waiting for heron-cam to pick me up and I am really getting excited. It is fun getting ready for a date and even more fun thinking about my first meeting with Jake. Wow, wish me luck.....

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Jackson Update

In case you haven't heard the latest news.......This was the latest report issued by the J's.

Jackson is doing well and is now out of intensive care. He will almost certainly be allowed home on Friday afternoon.

We're putting his proper birthday celebrations on hold until he's well enough to enjoy them fully but we do hope you'll drop by his blog on Friday to wish him a Happy Barkday!

Wow...all our wishing on the dogstar, barking and prayers have been answered....PAWSOME....

Don't forget to stop by Jax Blog and wish him a happy barkday on Friday.....as if we would ever forget....

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Do You Have Room in Your Hearts and Homes?

Or do you know someone else who might????? Here is a little girl who has had a hard life and has been rescued from a puppymill.

She is 8 years old and now up for adoption and her name is Darcy.......

Maybe someone has met a person who admired their WFT and might have some interest? She is not a "bouncing off the walls" wire but more of a lapdog. She needs to be in an only dog home but because she is so laid back, does not necessarily need a WFT-experienced home.

For more information contact Julie at jmjoffee@yahoo.com

Darcy....here's hopin' you find the best forever home and forever family...you deserve it.......

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A Bronze Medal

I am proud to have been awarded the bronze medal for swimming in the Pawlimpics. I accept it with much appreciation to Lenny and his parents who have spent so much time putting together the Pawlimpics and for all the joy it has brought doggies and their keepers around the world. But then that's what Pawlimpics are all about.....erasing borders.....

And here I am in the winning entry in my little swimming pool cooling off......

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Wow, that was exhausting....how does Dewey do this all the time?????

This is Asta Marie, WFT reporting on lots of stuff...........

A Wonderful Sunday

Happy weekend ta ya all....

Well, the weekend is just about over but we had a great day taday, Sunday, at earthdog practice..... The weatherman was callin' fer rain and cooler temperatures and so when we left this morning, we watched those big black clouds hang over Pittsburgh.......

Here's the Mon River again from the movin' car as we passed thru the city on our way ta the country....

Ya gotta love those bridges, don't ya???? and the hills too and the water....but we just kept on goin'........

We got put in the X-pen so Gram and Pap could attend the earthdog club meetin'....'n talk ta some new friends they made....

I don't know if ya remember Slider, the Welsh terrier from our first earthdog post....but here he is again with a new little sister, Callie.....also a Welsh terrier....Slider is on the right. Callie is a real cutie pie.....'n if I wasn't so intent on gettin' those rats taday...I woulda checked 'er out more....since Lacie was mean ta us maybe Callie would be willin' ta have a date with me. I guess I need ta ask 'er Mom, Linda, first before I approach 'er.....but isn't she a sweet little thing????

'We get ta see 'em both again next week when we go back fer the tests....can't wait.......

Now we had a good practice taday and Gram got some good video so ya can see what we do at earthdog practice.....Here it is....

After we were finished practicin' Gram went around and took some video of all the activity goin' on and there was a bunch of it....have a look see.....

Gee wasn't that a wild Sunday ?????? Can ya tell everyone had FUN FUN FUN ?????

Oh, one more thing...Gram was shoppin' in the Mall and found a sort of stuffed Wire Fox Terrier in a store there....Wait til ya see it....

And she also made a new batch of clay dogs for the Earthdog auction...they got dropped off taday but this slideshow has pictures of the clay dogs and the new stuffed dog....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had a swell time taday and we're all pretty tired. Hope your Sunday was great too.....Oh, and it waited til tonight ta rain....aren't we lucky ?????

This is Dewey Dewster reportin' on our great Sunday.......

Our Week in the Country

Hi ta everyone....

We just got home after more than a week at the cottage and we always have a lot ta do there. More than anything we just love all the room we have ta run and play.
We always have ta have covers over the furniture cause we come right in from outside wet, dirty or both and get right up on it.

I got Gram ta take a lot of video so ya can see what we do there. There is one of us playing ball with crab apples, my Mom curlin' up in a little pan, of us swimmin' and of us playin' with some new stuffed snakes that Gram bought us. Then there's a slideshow of stills Gram took of us too.

We hope ya have the time ta see 'em all and that ya enjoy 'em.....

We sure had a good time makin' 'em....

First, we wanted ta show ya a bit of the pretty things up here and us playin' in our pool. 'N if ya wanted ta find out how Mom gets inta those a little pans...here it is...

Here we are up at our Uncle Donny's place playin' ball with crab apples. And we got some special toys ta play with too....


And then Gram made a slideshow of us doin' lots of stuff while we were there..sit back 'n have a look.....


Don't know how ya all get video uploaded ta Blogger....we never could...sometimes we can get it uploaded ta Google video but then the code produces nothin' on the blog but a black screen. So this time after hours trying every which way, we put it on YouTube....hope the code works......

Now we're back home after our stay in the woods....we'll be back again fer another visit later in the month....boy, we sure love it there....hope ya all had the chance ta have some fun too......

We're all waitin' fer some news on Jackson's tests taday...boy, sure hope that dogstar was bright enough......

This is Dewey Dewster reportin' on fun at the cottage.....

A Fractured Fairytale and More.........

Hi ta all.....

This is gonna be a long post so grab a pawtini, curl up in yer favorite easy chair .....'n chew on a bully stick.....

We're at our cottage again 'n there's a ton of wildlife around here......now there's a big puddle of water across the road from us cause they're havin' a problem figurin' out how ta drain the road water there. We saw a lot of big tadpoles swimmin' around in the water earlier this summer....'n we hear frogs croakin' there at night now.....ribbit...ribbit....ribbit.......
I always like ta think about myself as bein' an action hero and I was tryin' ta remember the story about the beautiful princess who turned the frog inta a handsome prince.


Now I wondered what those frogs across the road looked like cause we really don't see 'em .....we only hear 'em croakin.....do they look silly like this guy ?????
Or a bit cartoonish like this little fellow ?????
Or much more like a real frog.....sorta like this guy????
And if I were ta kiss 'em would they turn inta a dashing prince who would grant me my every wish????

Would he be someone like the smilin' guy ridin' a white horse......

or a tall handsome blond hunk with a flowin' cape....?????

So I was scoutin' around here ta see if I could find the frog and give 'em a big kiss and I found this guy here.......... I just had ta get 'em in my mouth a bit 'n roll my tongue around 'em and kiss 'em real good cause I really wanted that prince and the wish of my life.......( fer Jackson ta get well again)

Instead I got this.......

Did ya know that bugger was a TOAD........'n not a frog ?

A TOAD.......TOAD..........TOAD.......

Though most toads are bitter tasting and usually result in profuse drooling in any pet that tries to take a taste, only a couple of species of toads are truly poisonous. The poisonous secretions from these toads can affect animals who come in contact with them, causing a host of clinical signs.

Now we're lucky that we don't live in the part of the country where there are poisonous toads. Right after we told Levi's Mom ta watch out fer that toad that was in her backyard, I have ta go and kiss one. I was salivatin' all over the place...then I got a bit sick 'n threw up.......

Pap washed my mouth out a bit so I could get that horrible taste out of it.........
My Mom was so embarrassed that I kissed a toad instead of a frog that she curled up in the toy box and went ta sleep.....

Let this be a lesson ta me ta check the color of the hoppin' vermin before I decide ta give it a kiss....ya think I would know by now since I did this once before........

Our story was about the Toad Prince instead of the Frog Prince, I guess....we got it fractured just a bit there.....

This is Dewey Dewster reportin' from Titusville Pa on The Frog Prince.....

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Randy Pausch

This is Dewey's Gram here.....

Some of you may have noticed the picture of Dr. Randy Pausch on the top right portion of the blog. Many may have recognized the name and the face that went along with it and others might be trying to figure out who he was. Was he a relative of ours? ……no, he wasn’t….well…… who was he then?

Randolph Frederick Pausch was a little known professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August of 2006 and suffered through the aggressive treatments he sought to stave off the disease in relative obscurity. That is until he gave his “Last Lecture” to a packed auditorium at Carnegie Mellon University on September 18, 2007. His cancer had returned in August of 2007 and he was told that he would remain healthy for only another 3 to 6 months.

His last lecture, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," brought him a standing ovation and was viewed by millions of people around the world. Although becoming a celebrity was not one of his life goals, he became one as he testified before congress on cancer research, threw football passes with the Steelers at a practice session, was given a role in the new Star Trek movie, met with Sting and the Police, was honored by the president of the U.S., appeared on Good Morning America and The Oprah Winfrey Show and was interviewed by Diane Sawyer on several occasions.

Each time I saw him on TV, his eyes were sparkling and his upbeat attitude was infectious….here was a man with only months to live who was showing the world how to die with grace and dignity.

I remembered my sister-in-law's ( Mary Lou Thewes) brief struggle with that deadly disease. From diagnosis until death for her was less than 2 months. She died at the end of January 2007.

On May 18, 2008 Randy made a surprise appearance at the commencement ceremonies at Carnegie Mellon. He delivered a speech after which he carried his wife off the stage with a huge smile on his face.

I made it a point to check his personal web page for medical updates and for news on what he and his family had been doing….except for the last month or so.

As I listened to the radio in the car on July 25, 2008, I heard the news that he had passed away at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia,. He had moved there after his last lecture to be closer to his wife’s family. Randolph Frederick Pausch left this world surrounded by his family and close friends and in the same manner that he began his fight against that dreaded disease, in relative obscurity. The news of his death brought renewed interest in the celebrity that he had become his last year on earth. He packed a ton of living in those last few months that he had with his wife and children and the world was watching him.

I hope that his contagious enthusiasm for life and his deep love and devotion for his wife and family will live on in the minds of all who had the pleasure of knowing him for such a brief time. He left a legacy for his three young children so that they may know the man who was their father as they grow up. He touched many lives and taught people with life threatening illnesses how to manage their last days and how to create a positive attitude to carry them back to good health.

God speed Randy Pausch….may you rest in peace………

And Mary Lou.....if you're reading this from above.........we will always remember you and that smile that always filled your face....

Here's hoping that there is soon a cure for all cancers but we are praying for something that prolongs the lives of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

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Jackson We Love Ya !!!!

Now our friend Jackson got a spot of bad news last week ( hell it wasn't a spot, it was a boulder ) and we are all hoping that there is a treatment that will help cure him of his problems and that good news arrives at his house soon .

If everyone paws it forward and sends those healing vibes across the waters to Jackson, we know he will be OK.

Get Well, Jackson....we love ya !!!!!!

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Another Award fer the Terriers

Our friends, Momo and Pinot the Cavs in Toronto have passed on the big puffy red heart award ta us. We are proud ta accept it and send many thanks yer way...........

Didn't I tell ya this was gonna be a long post ?

Hope ya had enough bully stick ta last thru the whole thing........

This is Dewey Dewster signin' out from Titusville, Pa.

Have a Great Day Everyone !!!!!!!!

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