Category: animals

What can you say about Sweetheart?

SHE’S A SWEETHEART!

We’ve always had dogs. When we bought our house as newlyweds in Fremont, our realtor gave us a cocker spaniel puppy as a house warming gift.  Apollo was the first. Then we got a companion for Apollo. Kira was also a cocker. She was so sweet. A very good girl. As Kira was getting older we got her a German Shepard puppy named Niya to keep her young. And then as Niya was aging along came Mali and Bruno. The Pekinese mutt brother and sister pair. Mali and Bruno made the trip with us to Florida.  We lived in our trailer on Kate and Frank’s property with the dogs and Lulu.  It wasn’t too long after Mali passed away that Sweetheart came into our lives. Although at first she wasn’t even our dog. 

Frank’s papa Cannon found her alone and lost on a rural road near his house.  Jimmy Cannon took her in and she was his and Granny Donna’s dog for a couple of years.  Donna was the one that named her Sweetheart!  She really knew something by giving her that name. Even though Sweetheart totally lives up the her name as one the the sweetest dogs I’ve ever known, it was the little heart shaped markings on her head that gave granny Donna the idea to name her Sweetheart.  We really didn’t meet Sweetheart until Papa Cannon gave Sweetheart to Parker. 

So Sweetheart came the Kate and Frank’s in early 2018. They already had Rusty and Scout and we had Bruno. Sweetheart fit right in. even though she was a small dog, she either didn’t know it or didn’t care. She would play and mix it up with the other dogs. She was such a small little thing but when the big dogs started running around and playing hard she was all in with them. Her signature move was to always try to go for the back leg. When Rusty and Scout got playing they would run REAL fast and if you got in the way, watch out!  That didn’t bother Sweetheart. She’d at least try to get in the mix and go for that back leg whenever she had a chance. Rusty must have outweighed her by 50 pounds. Scout was still a pup by most counts but still had Sweetheart by 20 pounds. Even though Sweetheart was new to the family, outnumbered and outweighed, she stole everyone’s heart. Rusty and Scout were gentle with her. They loved her too. When Kate got a Boston Terrier pup named Opal, Sweetheart put up with all her shenanigans too.  In my eyes he became the momma dog of the pack.

I swear that Sweetheart can tell who in the room needs her most then she will gravitate towards that person (or dog).  She will ask for attention then snuggle up or sit. Just being there. Its by no means one sided. She doesn’t mind a little attention either. When we first met her she would immediately roll over for tummy rubs.  She loves those tummy rubs.

It was one big happy dog family at the Lee family ranch, except for Bruno. Bru was always an odd duck. Even back in California. He was a grump. He had anxiety. He was a pain the ass at times. Mali was the good one who evened out Bruno. When Mali passed there was no Ying to Bruno’s Yang. That was about to change. Barb started to have Sweetheart spend more and more time at our trailer. At first it was just to hang out after dinner, then Kate would call Sweetheart home and she would run from our trailer to there house. But over time Sweetheart started to spend more time with us. I think it did help Bruno. Even though Bruno did maintain his overall grumpiness, having Sweetheart there did seem to help.  I can tell you that whenever Bruno was showing signs of anxiety Sweetheart would pick up on it and give Bruno attention. Now all the while that we are living in the trailer, we also had our cat Lulu with us. She transitioned from and indoor/outdoor cat in Fremont to a full time trailer cat. She adapted well to indoor life. When Sweetheart started coming over Lulu stayed hidden. But Sweetheart had the good vibes and eventually even hard as nails Lulu, if not accepted Sweetheart, at least put up with her and recognized her. What a Sweetheart!

When we bought the Jacksonville Beach house we were still living at the ranch and coming to the beach on weekends. We started to bring Sweetheart with us as Bruno’s therapy dog lol. If we wanted to go out Bruno and Sweetheart would have each others company.  Sweetheart was there for Bruno big time when there were thunder storms or fireworks going off. Bruno would freak out to the point where we sometimes had to medicate him.  But Sweetheart came to be the calming force during those trying times for Bru Bru. She would lick his face and let him know that everything would be alright. She was just THERE for him. Over time I have realized that she is there for whoever needs her.

At some point Kate just let us have Sweetheart since she was with us all the time anyway. So Sweetheart became our dog. She adapted to full time life at the beach very well. Her and Bruno got along even if Bruno was trying to be a jerk old man to her. Lulu came on board and it wasn’t long before all three were sleeping on the bed with us at night. One big happy family.  All pets get old and die and eventually it was just Sweetheart who is home with us now. As good as she is with other animals Sweetheart really liked being the only show in town. Of course Barb had always spoiled our animals and Sweetheart was ne exception. Sweetheart is living the good life. A beach life. 

When we made friends with the McCormick family next door, Sweetheart was part of the package.  Time as passed, McCormick had a baby girl who is now three years old and Sweetheart’s best friend. Ada walks (with adult supervision) Sweetheart around the block. Sweetheart keeps just the right pace with Ada, never pulling, just walking.  Sweetheart also made friends with the McCormick dog Shay so we can all go over and visit no problem. We have also watched Shay for a few days while they went to Michigan. Again Sweetheart was cool with it.

Kelly got Betty. Betty is a rescue from Thailand. A good dog but not a dog’s dog.  Betty is in the perfect situation with Kelly. Single life, no other pets, no drama. Betty pretty much wants to eat sleep and get belly rubs from Kelly. Otherwise leave her alone.  Kelly still wanted to visit her Florida family but was having trepidation over introducing Betty to Sweetheart. Knowing Sweetheart we figured it would be fine, but Kelly was not so sure with Betty. But as always it was Sweetheart who made it happen. She gave Betty her space. Didn’t push and eventually became friends. Old lady  and was ready to cut her 8 week stay short if Betty wasn’t having it. We got some sort of DNA/age test done on both of them and turns out they are both around 9-10 years old. So what started out as trepidation for Kelly turned into a good thing. Old lady Betty, the street dog from Thailand had a friend in the little farm dog from Florida. They would go on walks together and mostly ignore each other, that until there was a good smell to smell. Then they would both get their noses in there together. The Smell Sisters! There have been a few time when we took them to the beach that they would get the zoomies! So great to see these two old ladies having some fun on the beach. 

Sweetheart made the recent cross country drive with Barb and I to visit Kelly in Long Beach. She sat right in between us on her little dog bed the whole way there and back. Road dog!!

Kelly gave Sweetheart the gift of a DNA test that included an age estimate.  DNA revealed she is mostly Chihuahua and Boston terrier with a little jack Russell terrier mixed in. That proves to be true. She has the Boston markings all the way.  Her age was estimated to be 10 years old! So she must’ve been around 2 years old when Papa Cannon rescued her way back when. She’s an old lady now!

Now a days its just the normal routine. Up early, feed Sweetheart, outside for a poop or pee or both. Morning walk. Morning nap. Afternoon nap. Dinner, evening walk, bed.  We have Opal come over and stay once in a while, and although Opal can be a pain, she does seem to calm down after a while. I think Sweetheart has a lot to do with that.

Sarah and Mom Smith just arrived with two cats Harry and Hazel are two mellow house cats. Sweetheart met them in our cross country trip so everyone either gets along or totally ignores each other.

So there you have it. The bestest dog. Our Sweetheart.

When I’m at the beach, either sitting or walking, I generally don’t engage other people on the beach in conversation.  I’m just not that kind of guy that can easily walk up to a stranger and start a conversation. Barb on the other hand can talk to anyone. She can chat up other dog walkers or just anyone. She actually met a couple that we’ve gone to a couple of concerts with. She’s good that way.

So I was sitting at the beach today after walking Sweetheart, just watching the waves and the world go by. More people than normal for a winter’s Thursday. Mostly because it was great weather after freezing temps last week. 

I see a guy down the beach walking this way. Didn’t pay much more attention until he was steps away asking me if I wanted my dog to go to heaven with me when I die. This gentleman seems to be about my age. Big belly. Shorts and a tank top that says Jesus on it. He was either mildly drunk or full of the holy spirit, I couldn’t tell which. He went on a bit more about something or other (Jesus) as sweetheart tangled his legs up with her leash. Good girl!

As he got himself untangled and was about to  go on his way, he said that I should not go north of the pier near Neptune Beach because many witches live there.

Noted

I think it was when I was in Long Beach watching Betty that the whole crow thing started.  I knew previously that if you treat a crow nicely and feed it snacks that one day that crow may bring you a treasure.  When in California Kelly had a crow that she was trying to befriend. I was feeding it while she hiked and really did start a routine of showing up and being fed every day.  Barb’s girlfriend Marie has “adopted” a couple of crows that she now feeds daily.

There are crows in our neighborhood that we see (and hear)  all the time. Especially when we walk along the creek trail by our house. There is a myriad of wildlife hanging out there. Ducks, geese, Ibis, turtles crows and more!  So we took it upon ourselves to start the great crow experiment.  For a couple of months now we would bring a small bag of nuts on our dog walks and if we saw a crow we would put a nut on the post by the trail. The crow would immediately swoop down in gobble it up.  We’d place  a nut on every other post and sure enough the crow would follow us down the line. Around the bend and headed to home, we would place a bigger pile of nuts on the last post before heading home. Barb even started calling to them on our walks. She’d use the clicking/clucking type noise that you hear crows do. We’d get on the creek trail there and start clicking and clucking away. Good thing only the crows heard us!

So we’ve been doing this regular for the last two months that Kelly has been here. Morning creek trail walk with the dogs. Bring nuts. So now on most days the crows see us before we see them.  The come flying in and hanging out, waiting for a snack.  Sometimes just one crow. Mostly its three that hang our together but a few times we had up to five crows hanging out for morning nuts.  Still putting a big pile on the last post before heading home, but on a few days these crows would follow us all the way (not very far) home. If they made it all the way home with us they would get what’s left of the nuts in a stepping stone next to our mailbox. So a couple of time now there have been crows waiting for us outside the house when we start our walk! Coincidence? I think not. 

Kelly suggested that we start looking for crow treasure. From reading up, most people have a designated spot. One spot and one spot only, to feed the crows. then the crows would reciprocate by bringing treasure to the food box. Crow treasure and include shiny things like bottle tops, the tab from an aluminum can, a button, little pieces of colorful plastic or metal. Since we feed “our” crows all along the creek trail I had to keep an eye out. There has been nothing until today. 

Normal morning creek trail walk. The crows caught up with us eventually and I gave them small bites along the way. Then at the last post where we usually put the final big pile of nuts, I see laying there a bone! Yes, a BONE!!  At first I thought someone just put a bone there for whatever reason. I threw on the grass and placed the pile there and proceeded on our way. When I got home I called Kelly and told her about the bone. “THATS A TREASURE!” she said. Turns our that crows do leave bones that they find as a thank you. She also informed me that we now need to get a crow box to store the crow treasure.  Definitely looking for an upgrade from bones but its interesting! 

Its getting real this week.  After months of planning and preparation, I started work on the front yard.  The plan is to move all the pea gravel, remove the lawn, then use a combination of stepping stones, slate, rocks, plants and ground cover to transform our front yard from a 1800 square foot water waster into a drought tolerant, water efficient yard. 

So I started this week by moving all the large rocks, slate and bird bath to the driveway, then started hauling pea gravel, wheelbarrow load by wheelbarrow load to the back corner of the yard. Its a slow process but I am making progress.  Need to have all the pea gravel moved by thursday so we can come in and remove the sod on Friday.  Good to see little Mali enjoying the lawn while she can. Next week she will be laying on a stepping stone because the grass will be GONE!

Barb was going through some old pictures and found this gem. Our faithful old girl Kira used to sleep on a dog bed in the corner of our closet.  Over time,  Luke the cat used to find time to catch a  snooze in there during the day.  There was some overlap time and some times when they would both just sleep in there together.  Ah, the good old days when dogs slept on the floor. Love ya Kira! Love ya Luke!

Mali and Lammi

I didn’t want too much time to pass without saying good bye to a good friend and great dog. Staci’s faithful loyal and true boy, Jackson, passed away last week.  He had become sick and we found out just a few days before that he had cancer.  Staci did the right thing and didn’t let him suffer.  Jack lived  a good life and touched many. He was really REALLY a great dog. You will be missed my friend!

I have a lot of pictures of Jackie but here are my top four. The first says it all. Jackson in his element. Peaceful and handsome on his mom’s lap. All is good in the world. The next is little puppy Jack on the first day we met him. Staci brought him over to introduce him to the family. After a long day of fun, he was OUT!

Six months later Jack was back  and after a exhausting morning playing with Niya, I look out on the front porch and Jack is OUT LIKE A LIGHT! I mean he was sleeping so hard. You can really tell in the picture.

I love this one of a still young Jackson, trying to figure out how to open that damn back door! He was smart. Almost too smart.

 Until we meet again Jack…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hgdhxxK7Ms&list=UUc1Vjr2tLNvab1PB71YZD2g&index=1&feature=plcp

Staci and Colin came for a visit!  You can tell from the picture that he was thrilled to be here. Mali and Bruno didn’t know what to make of him. Either way it was great to see the little guy, if only for a while. He was grumpy when he wasn’t eating so Staci fed him and tucked him back in the car seat for the ride home. Sure is a cutie pie!