I can’t go anywhere near the meadow by my house lately without being attacked by grasshoppers. I don’t know what is going on but there are thousands of them. My sister Olive just runs around chasing and trying to eat them. She says they are tasty but kind of crunchy.
Olive finally took a break from eating grasshoppers and we both headed over to the animal shelter. We were immediately greeted by Clint. Clint was our featured dog last month. It was great to see him but I bet he would rather be in a nice home. On the other side of the shelter we met Petey. Petey is a handsome mix of border collie and pit bull. He’s a young fellow, probably about 2 years old.
I like guys that get into a little mischief now and then and Petey is just that type of dog. Petey can climb over the 6 foot fence at the shelter. If that wasn’t enough Petey also knows how to open the gate on his outside run. The staff added some extra security measures to the gate and Petey foiled them too. Never one to forget his friends, Petey has let himself out and then come back in to let out his friend Balou, a pit bull lab mix so they could play together. Perhaps there is a locksmith in town looking for a dog.
We took Petey to one of our favorite creeks and spent a morning running around and playing. Actually Olive and Petey did most of the playing. They ran in the creek together, went swimming and played tug-o-war with a stick. Petey listens pretty well and knows a few commands. He needs a little work on his car manners but I think he just needs some more experience. Petey gets along well with other dogs and people. He’s a smart guy and with some training and time he is going to be a superstar.
If you are interested in Petey, Clint, or any of the other fine animals at the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe you can always see pictures at hstt.org. If you would like to foster an animal or adopt drop an email to nanettecronk@sbcglobal.net or give a call to 530-587-5948. Have a great month and remember, ‘Don’t breed or buy while shelter animals die.’
Goodbye to Ziggy, Good Friend
When I was adopted in fall 2000, the first dog I met at my new house was a rottweiler/lab mix named Ziggy. Ziggy was bigger, louder and tougher than I was. We became great friends and spent many days hiking, snowboarding and hanging out together. One of my favorite things to do was to chase Ziggy and nip at his ankles. Ziggy would snarl, slobber and make noises that would scare most elephants. As scary as that was I knew he couldn’t catch me and even when he did, the fact that I didn’t become Ziggy-chow only proved our friendship.
Ziggy loved to jump off the docks at Donner Lake. He was an excellent landscaper, spending hours moving rocks with his nose till it was bloody and ripping bushes and trees out of the ground with his mouth. He was smart but stubborn. More than once when you called Ziggy he would look right at you and then go the other way. He knew what he was supposed to do. He just didn’t care. Always opinionated, Ziggy was never at a loss for words. If you had the tennis ball or the stick he would bark relentlessly until you threw it to him. Sometimes he just wanted to talk.
Ziggy passed away peacefully this month. The silence is deafening. Life is way too short, my friend.
~ Flip Speckleman
