Saturday, July 30, 2011

Oscar and Piper

Good news, everyone! (I can't say that phrase in my head without saying it in Professor Farnsworth's voice.) I found my card reader, so now the photo-dumping can commence again! Before I post some of the older pictures that were sitting in my camera, though, I had a little bit of fun this morning.

I'm way overdue for getting new pictures of my pup-pups, so I decided yesterday that it's photo shoot time. Now, I pretty much can only take decent pictures when I'm outside, but it's been WAY too hot to take the puppies out during the day just for some photos. Luckily, I was already up early this morning to go to grand opening at a new Dollar General (freebies!), so it wasn't too terribly hot this morning.

Of course, I can't take ALL the puppies out at once (can you say chaos?), so I'll be taking them out in shifts of two until everyone gets a few pictures. I was originally going to take Dolly and KiKi today, but I picked up a new collar for Oscar at Dollar General this morning (his old one was getting really dingy), so I decided to take Oscar and Piper this morning instead so I can get pictures before his new collar gets dirty. ^.^

Photo time!



For those of you who aren't familiar with my dogs, I'll tell you a bit about Oscar and Piper. Oscar is the black and tan, and Piper is the silver dapple (that is her silhouette in the picture above, also). Oscar and Piper are littermates, along with KiKi, and Dolly is their biological mother (Oops! They're all spayed/neutered now!). They are Miniature Dachshund/Shetland Sheepdog mixes and were born in June of 2006. They've been with me since birth. =)



Oscar and Piper are practically attached at the hip. They do everything together - they sleep in the same crate at night, they eat together, they groom each other, they play together - everything. They've been together since birth and I would never dream of separating them. I often refer to them as twins, even though they don't look alike.



Oscar is a total chunk - he takes after Dolly that way. In fact, he takes after Dolly almost exclusively - it's hard to tell he's actually a mix. He is absolutely precious and loving, and his eyes get so big and black sometimes that you think you might just fall into them. =) But, of all my dogs, Oscar hates change the most. He hates each new addition to the family until someone else comes along that he can divert his attention to. Big Boy has been with us for over a year now, and he STILL hates him. Oscar also hates strangers, and is our most fierce guard dog. Oscar will let you know every time someone slams a car door outside. Oscar is a hilarious dog, though, because he's harmless, but when he gets excited, he puffs himself out like he's Mr. Big Man and struts around like a rooster. We make fun of him all the time, but he doesn't seem to mind. ;) What a clown!



Piper is our athletic girl. She is kind and gentle, and very patient. She is more shy than aggressive, and it doesn't take her long to warm up to new dogs, although she is afraid of new people. When Piper wants kisses, she doesn't just ask for them - she smacks you in the face with her paw, so we have to hold her feet sometimes when we're cuddling with her. Piper is a super jumper, and definitely takes after the Shetland Sheepdog in her. She's not at all afraid to leap off the back of the couch onto the floor. And because she is such a sweetie, she made a fantastic babysitter when Munchie was just a wee thing and needed someone to watch him while we went about our business.



One day while the dogs were playing outside, I heard a commotion, so I went outside to check on them - but Piper was nowhere to be found! I was really, really starting to worry where my sweet girl had gotten off to, and I called Jason out to help me find her. Finally, it occurred to me that our super jumper, who liked to climb on things, could have climbed on a cage I had setting next to the fence and jumped over, whether she had intended to or not. So I peeked over, and lo and behold, there was Piper in the neighbor's backyard, looking positively terrified that she had ended up over there with no way back! The neighbors were cool with it and their feisty bull terrier was caged at the time, so there was no harm done, but poor Piper never pulled that trick again! We've since fenced that part of our yard off because the boys like to fence fight with the neighbor's Bull Terrier.



Oscar loves small stuffed toys. His favorite toy that we ever bought him was a small, fluffy ball that looks like duck. He carried his Duckie everywhere with him! They were best friends. Not only would he play with it, but he would also groom it, set it in his food bowl to "eat," cuddle with it at naptime, and carry it outside to go potty with him. I think Piper felt a little left out, as occasionally she would try to play with Duckie, too, and Oscar was NOT ok with that! Unfortunately, when Munchie came along, he got a hold of Duckie and ripped all his stuffing out, so Oscar can't have his little friend with him in the living room anymore, but I've sewed Duckie back together so that he can still sleep with him at night in his crate.



And those are my twins, Oscar and Piper. =) I'm hoping to be able to do photo shoots with the rest in the coming week, so hopefully I'll have the whole set done and uploaded soon.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Changing Names: Everybody's Leftovers

I was out in the garage today, sorting through boxes and letting my mind dance its little daydreams, and I couldn't help but smile. Because, you see, people may think we're crazy for salvaging things on big trash day, recycling and reusing containers like the world will end tomorrow, taking in sick, incontinent dogs, and all the other things we do that no one else would, but I find so much joy in living life with everyone's leftovers. And so, as you may have noticed, my blog has a new name. Not that I use it much to make it really matter, but I felt it time for a change.

And so here I sit with everybody's leftovers, only they aren't leftovers to my husband and I. Because in truth, we're kind of leftovers. We've been driven out, abandoned, ignored, and rejected, too. And so we welcome people, animals, and things into our lives that are unwanted and unloved, because we know all too well that just because someone or something isn't wanted, doesn't mean it doesn't have worth. They'll always have a home with us. A home where they are wanted. A home where they matter. And a home where they are loved.


Our Beagle/Basset mix, Junior, on the day I brought him home - the day he was scheduled to be euthanized because no one wanted a dog his age. He's been with us two and a half years now and is still going strong.