The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

When our parents are away from us, it seems like every minute lasts an hour.  We don’t know if they will return.  It is terribly frightening.  I don’t want my parents to know that worry because I Iove them.  But last Sunday I did, inadvertently, given them a taste of that fear. I have a different harness since the previous one injured my trachea.  When you get a new harness all those annoying tags that we are forced to wear have to be transferred from one harness to the other.  Earlier that day my Mom did just that using one of those little wire ring things. My Dad did not notice the tags.  When we left for our walk Daddy clipped my leash to the small ring with the tags.  We were on our usual walk when we passed my friend the Corgi’s house.  The Corgi came to the window to bark at us.  I went ahead, pulling the leash tight, and barked back at him. Suddenly the little ring holding my tags gave way.  My tags flew in the air.  I kept walking, now unleashed.  Where we live has ver

I don't care how you do it you are taking the next feeding

What is your most common sleep position?  Stretched out?  On your back?  Curled in a ball?  On your side?  On your tummy?   If you sleep with your parents or another dog do you snuggle with them?  Do you sleep with your butt on them on your head? Pocket:    I sleep curled up in a ball.  I like to sleep in the crook on one of my parents' knees.  I like to have my butt against them when I sleep. River:  I like to sprawl out when I sleep.  I like my whole body against my humans.

All dogs are heroes to their parents. This week I want to celebrate three dogs who saved their humans because they recognized it is our duty to put their lives before ours. The first dog is a nine-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier named Beast. Beast’s mom, Sandy Ruggerio, was outside with her two other dogs at her North Port Florida home when she heard the terrifying sound of a rattlesnake about to bite. Beast jumped on the snake, and after a brief struggle, he killed it. He was injured, and he is at the vet’s where he is responding to treatment for low blood cell count, but the doctor is confident that the amount will rise and soon Beast will back in family’s yard once again protecting them. We find our second hero dog on the lovely beaches of Salerno Italy. A father was playing on the shore with his two young daughters. A rogue wave pulled the girls out to sea. The father swam out and found one of the girls, but he could not see the second.  Fortunately, Lux, an accr

On Monday humans from around the world gathered to watch the total eclipse of the sun when the moon, the Earth, and the Sun were perfectly aligned briefly turning the world dark. The Earth, Sun, and moon perfectly aligned to block out the light? Please! This is why I love mankind. They believe anything. When I was a four-year-old dog, I made my first million kibbles by putting a fire breathing dragon on display. I charged ten kibbles a person. I told the people it was very dangerous to look directly at the dragon. If they did, they would go blind. The people willingly bought and put on glasses, which had a fire breathing dragon painted on the inside lens. People left raving about the dragon. Gullible humans. This Total Eclipse scheme was created by scientists who knew that humans could not accept the truth: Total Eclipse Day is when all the angels at Rainbow Bridge fly into the sun to go back to their loved ones. A number of angels flying into the sun is so   immense it blocks t

It has been three weeks since I impressed everyone at the vet’s office.  I don’t think they have recovered from seeing me. My parents were hoping that my jumper would have returned by now.  The vet said I had a pinched nerve in my back, and she gave me medication but I ate all the yummy pills, and I am still not jumping. (OK, listen: Don’t tell my parents but I have done some jumping.  When they go out Mommy puts her nightshirt on her recliner.  She lays it out nice and flat.  When they are gone, I jump in the recliner and roll around on the nightshirt bunching it into a ball.  Don’t tell my parents.  I don't think they have noticed.) I guess I am going to have to rely on my parents to continue to pick me up.  When they have the bottom of the recliner up, I sit on the floor and look up at them with very sad eyes that scream:  “Pick me up, I am so small and helpless.”  Then they lift me and put me in the chair. (When they aren’t home I fly onto that recliner.  I love havi

That bitch has ten more minutes to show up for our picnic date then  I am taking my bones and going home

On Wednesday night I injured my trachea, was coughing, and spitting up foam.  My parents thought I had injured my trachea and would be fine over time, but the more I coughed the more worried they became.  They decided to take me to the emergency vet knowing it would cost a lot of money.  In the car, I stopped coughing but they still took me.  So here is the question:  Would your parents have taken you to the vet or waited to see if you got better and at what point do your parents decide to take you to the emergency vet?

    There has to be a first time for everything.  Today, for the first time, I am honoring two birds with the honor Pup of the Week (although I did once give honorable mention to Leo’s family’s bird Tiki, and I believe, another family bird from the Gustavson pack.) This week’s honorees do not have names.  They were found by the father of Angels Rusty, Scooby, and Odie and their mortal brothers Max and Baron.  He was on a construction site.  He was taking down a soffit when he disturbed a nest holding three tiny newborn birds.  The boy’s dad knew that their terrific mom would take these birds in and help them grow.  She had performed this miracle several years before and she was confident she could do it again. An important lesson:  If you are going to take a baby from the wild and raise it until it is ready to be free don’t name it.  When you give it a name it becomes part of the family and you don’t want to send part of your family away.  While the Boys' Mom loved the b

Late last fall, on December 2 to be exact, a request came across my desk from one Geordie D. Dog to join my Ning social network “The Tanner Brigade.”  It is my responsibility to make sure only the top dogs are members of the Brigade.   This Geordie did seem like a good chap, so I stamped him as approved and he quickly moved onto the site. I was thrilled to see that Geordie quickly made himself at home and improved our little family by inviting us all to his Big Back Yard where we could gather and play.  I visit there several times a day for fun chat, games, and great companionship. Some of my favorite dogs have parents who are artists, and I was excited to see that Geordie had a mom was quite good with the pencil and coloring.  She posted several funny cartoons that always brought a smile to my face.  I wanted to share these sketches with the world, but I am the defendant in several pawright infringement suits and could not afford another, so the cartoons were limited to our mem

Boy, did I have an exciting adventure last night. Everything was calm.  I was sitting with my Daddy watching television.  Daddy said it was time to take us outside.  I jumped down and when I landed my throat hit my harness, and I began to cough and spit up.  My parents fussed over me, and within ten minutes I stopped. Before bedtime, Daddy brushed my four teeth, and that set me off coughing and spitting up again.  My parents put me to bed hoping that I would stop but I didn’t.  I kept spitting up on the sheets.  Nothing could stop my coughing.  My parents decided to take me to the emergency vet. I coughed while they were getting dressed.  I coughed when they put their shoes on.  I coughed when the brought me out to the car.  I got in the car, looked around, said “wow, I have never been in a car before,” and I stopped coughing. It was cool to be in a car at night.  And we drove very fast.  We got to the vet’s, and my parents explained what happened.  Meanwhile, I am in Daddy’

When Dogs copy human photos

Our Mommy is thinking of putting us on some supplements for digestion, anxiety and joint issues.  Are you on any supplements?

There are some dogs I never want to meet at the Bridge.  I know I am going to meet them all, it would be easier to stop the tide from rushing in, but I still dread their appearance.  Chelsea Johnson is one such dog.  But Chelsea did arrive this week.  I stood next to her brother Junior, who had appeared less than a year before, a dual loss much too difficult for any parent to bear.  But, their Mom is Kristi Johnson, one of the bravest and most kind-hearted dog moms we know.  Her heart was crushed.  But she would not be laid low for long.  She has a very strong will.  That will have delayed Chelsea’s trip to the Bridge.  She gave her pup the strength to keep her heart beating long after her heart beats had run out. Many of you who are reading this know, Chelsea, if you don’t, then I am very sorry because Chelsea is a magnificent dog.  Loyal, strong, and brilliant Chelsea is a pup to aspire to.  Her mom often referred to Chelsea as her rock.  She was a dog who said, “put the load

When she lived on the mortal side with her dad Richard, Cassie loved to take walks.  They would trek everywhere together.  Cassie has declined to go on walks since arriving at the Bridge, waiting for her Dad.  But I convinced her to go on a special walk with me. We flew into the sun and landed in Paris.  We were by the beautiful Ponts de Arts Bridge.  We walked the seaside path where a fence runs along side it.  There are padlocks attached to it.  People attach the locks to it to secure their love with the most special person in their lives.  I took out two locks and Cassie and I each secured the padlocks to the fence to lock in our love for our parents. We went to a bistro and had an outstanding dinner.  Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower.  It was beautifully lit against the dark, night sky.  Cassie thought it was a tremendous idea to climb it.  I disagreed but I knew her dad would do it and I wanted to be a good companion.  I only made it up one level and stopped, but

This summer has been prime time for walking.  We take our stroll at dusk when the hot sun is setting, and the pavement has cooled.   My parents like to joke with us during our walk.  They tell me not to bark at everything I see, not to yip at the houses where I know a dog lives, not to howl if I see another dog walking near me.  My parents are very funny. There are very few cars when we walk.  We live in a senior citizen complex and dusk is pajama and tea time.  Some rebels like us and take a late night stroll while most of our neighbors are turning down their beds and fluffing their pillows. We are definitely the last dogs are out the street, which is good for us.  There is a big rock by the stream where everyone leaves their pee mail.  We get caught up on all the news of the day and leave our mail to be read by the early morning strollers. River and I like to do the down and under while we walk.  One of us is on the right, and the other is on the left.  The one of us on th

Rey, for the last time, I don't want to be a Jedi anymore

What thing do you do that annoys your parents the most? Pocket:  The barking, the barking, the barking and the barking. River:  The sitting on their laps and pawing their hand until they give me a belly rub.  It takes at least an hour to satisfy my belly rub need.

We all know what dogs do.  We take care of our humans right up to the day we pass over to Rainbow Bridge, and then after that.  Some of us are therapy dogs, and their humans depend on them even greater than our parents depend on us. Cody Joss, on the night of his high school graduation, never thought he would be in need of a therapy dog.  He was partying with friends in Cancun Mexico.  He became separated from them and cornered by a group of men with ill intent.  To escape Cody tried to jump over a privacy wall.  His back foot got caught, and he fell head first on to the cement.  He knew he was paralyzed when he hit the ground.  In fact, he had broken his neck.  He could not walk and only had limited use of his arms.  He went to a rehabilitation facility in Atlanta where he learned to eat, drive a wheelchair and get ready for work. Cody had a dog trainer friend who introduced him to Cody's new therapy dog Wrigley.  Cody attended the University of Tennessee where not only did W

I began the search for Hattie Mae a month ago.  My minions looked everywhere for the world’s most famous dog fashionista.  I started hearing whispers of a beautiful Jack Russell Terrier living in a remote cottage in the South of France.  I checked Google Angel and saw a little dog, wearing large sunglasses, sitting on a beach chair, being waited on by attentive poodles.  Could this be my lifelong friend? I fluttered down and waited for the poodles to be dismissed then I snuck up behind her.  “Hattie Mae?” I asked. “Who is there?” she asked.  “Come show yourself.  My vision isn’t very good.  Come close.” I walked in front of her.  She put a paw on my face.  “You seem familiar.”  I removed the cucumber slices covering her eyes to keep the wrinkles away.  “Oh, that’s better.  Why Foley Monster.  It is wonderful to see you.  Oh no, you are not here to take me?” she asked.   “Of course not Hattie.  It is not going to be your time for years.  And when it is they will send hundreds o