Watching the packs play

Boy, I could have really used a couple more hours of sleep this morning, how about you? I do have to say it is a lot nicer now that we have AC back in my bedroom. A great guy and his family have donated two window units to us since our compressor is not working. We had gone most of the summer without air condition and it was hot. I am grateful to have such a caring group of supporters.

Our boy Buddy is always happy to smile for the camera. In the video you saw Lilly the White Shepherd, Kirby the tan and black Shepherd, and Zeke the smaller agouti pattern Husky/Shepherd. Those three great dogs have now gotten great homes and are starting their path to a happy new life. The brindle mix and the white & brown mix are still both looking for their great new homes. As you can see they are very playful and get along well with other dogs, people and kids too. We would love to hear from you if you are interested in meeting Sasha or Violet so just give us a call or shoot an email.

Well, my last post about how strong the two remaining pups were getting was a bit premature. Kafira the biggest and strongest girl, with an attitude to match, left us last night. She started having some slight difficulty breathing and I knew we were on the same path as the others. Tumaini is the remaining pup and we are sending all our healing energies to her to get her through this. These young pups had such a harsh start to life. I can usually save an animal by combining Eastern and Western medicines but these guys were way behind the eight ball from the start. I do hope the Universe has good things for Tumaini. I would love to see her grow and do her litter mates & momma proud.

We have incurred some extra expenses with the vet during this time and if anyone can spare $5, $10, or $20 it would really help. I would be happy to sign a copy of my book and send it to anyone who donates $30 or more. You can go to our Petfinder site to click on the donation button for our pay pal account. Thank you in advance.

Right now I am watching five awfully cute doggies sleeping peacefully around the room. Coda has recovered nicely from his little squabble with his former pack. His wounds are healing up and he is loving life in the cottage. Nugget is my little buddy and in all his cuteness will get you every time. Chief, my boarder is really just a big love and Dan Jou our parvo survivor is thriving with her new pack. Pooh Bear the Border Collie is enjoying the extra attention from Cassondra. Pooh will be going to live with Cassondra when she finishes high school and simply loves her girl.

I can hear the rumble of thunder outside but none of the dogs care. Living life at the rescue can be stress free for the dogs when you are implementing the Dog Listening Way. I will be posting
videos of a DL (Dog Listener) tip of the Day to help you with your own dogs and I am happy to help you further. All you have to do is call or email me.

Up, up and away.

Good morning to you all. I hope everyone is having a great weekend full of fun and enjoyable times.

Kafira and Tumaini are growing stronger every day and we are very happy about that.

Funny story about last nights "play session" with Chief (my boarder at the moment) and my neighbors dog Gracie. You can read about Gracie in my book "From Wags To Riches" (www.fromwagstorichesbook.com). I do on occasion have a dog or two here that has either been adopted from us or from folks who know me when they have to go out of town. Since I follow theAmichien Bonding (Dog Listening) lifestyle with all the dogs here, people know it is a happy stress free place for the dogs to hang out. (On a side note, another boarding facility that utilizes our methods is the Bass Pet Resort in Kissimmi).

Well Chief is a really big Lab and he hangs with a pack of 3 other Blondie's and a Border Collie. Chief has also developed quite a liking to my neighbors Golden Retriever. So in the evening if I get some down time, I will take him over for a visit. The result is Gracie gets a slobber job all over her head and two very wore out doggies. They play like crazy and then crash out on the garage floor. My neighbor Jimmy & I get such a good laugh at watching the two.

On my way over last night, Gracie came running toward us to greet Chief and the two took off together. Well on their way back around they were like a freight train heading straight towards me. I did not even see it coming it happened so fast. Chief turned and ran right at me and totally cut my legs out from under me. Up in the air I went and then down I came. Flat on my face. I have to say it was not my most graceful of moments. It did smart a little and I have the bruises today to prove my high flying ability... or lack there of. I may be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound but big Labs are a different story.

So, I am off to get the last of the crew out to start the day and will see you all again real soon.

As the week draws to a close

Well, Friday is almost over and I had meant to post yesterday. Life has gotten a little extra full lately so here is the update.

Very sadly Balto passed away on Wen. night at the vets office. Late Wen evening Ellie was also starting to have trouble breathing. By the late morning it was time to take her to the vet to ease her suffering. She was following the exact same pattern as the previous three pups and there was no need to let her go on, knowing how it would end. On the upside of things I am feeling highly confident that the two remaining pups will pull through. Kafira and Tumaini (young lioness & hope) seem to be getting stronger. Their appetites are increasing daily and they are beginning to play as normal pups. I am still monitoring very closely as Tumaini has a small cough hanging on.

Rex, the Catahoula boy is improving greatly. He is starting to trot around and really wags his tail. He is a doll and going to make someone a fantastic companion once he completely kicks this virus.




Sam the GSD is continuing to make great strides. He is getting comfortable here and met a volunteer who has not been over recently. The greeting went very well with no signs of any aggression at all. In fact I believe she even got a small lick on the cheek.

Devon, our volunteer has been giving Mariposa some extra love these last few days and boy does Posa enjoy that. Posa is a really nice girl but needs some confidence restored as well as trust of the human kind.

Lambert is progressing in his rehab. After a very short bout with kennel cough, he is off and running. I made some attempts to introduce him to some of the other dogs over the last few days. He has interacted with Buddy the Lab, Sasha the pit bull mix, and today with Violet the pit bull mix. Lambert is a little over the top with his antics to say the least. Right out of the gate he is set on assuming the position of his supposed subject. Humpty wants to show em who's the boss. Lambert has some time and work to go yet before he will be a good candidate for adoption.

The last two video clips have come from my cell phone so the quality has been less then optimal. You can expect some more video shortly with much better viewing ability. I have a great weekend ahead and look forward to posting for you soon.

Life's uphill roads

Many people view death as the end. I have a very different view of things. I understand that we are all Spiritual beings having a physical experience. I understand that everything is energy, and energy is never created nor can it be destroyed. It simply moves into form, through form and into form again. In physics it is called the Law of Transmutation of Energy.

That is a whole lot to process and I have had years to work on it to begin to understand it. It makes our physical death more understandable and sometimes easier to deal with. Yesterday afternoon little Rin's physical experience came to a close. She died at the vet's just moments before I arrived. Late last night little Rego who had also struggled, left us for his next journey. I took Balto to the vet this morning to give him every chance as breathing was a struggle last night for him as well. The three remaining siblings seem to be doing very well. They are eating enthusiasticly on their own. They are just about 4 wks old now. Dr Rick at Park Ave. Animal Hospital does feel this is another case of distemper from Orange County. Raja, the pups mom is improving and we are keeping a close eye on her.

This is a very challenging time frame but I know it will all work the way it is supposed to. If we keep our thoughts and feeling on what we want to happen, we can stay focused and positive and only good will come of this. The key to remember is that what may not necessarily seem good right now can actually be here to help us grow.

In other parts of the rescue, we are making great progress. Sam the guard dog was introduced to his new pack. First he met Sasha the Pit Bull mix. Next was Buddy the Lab and last was Violet, the pit mix. He is now happily enjoying romping and playing as he realizes life is fun and he does not have to worry about the leadership role any longer. Sam is a wonderful dog and I look forward to sharing more stories as he progresses.

Oh What A Night.

Life really is good. No matter what the Universe brings us, it is all here to help us grow. I took Kaile to the airport late this afternoon and then made my way back home. As I pondered the visit, I realized just how much we accomplished. Our motto became "Oh, Just one more thing".

When I arrived home it was nice to have one of my senior volunteers (Cassondra) tell me everything for the afternoon had been completed. We headed for the cottage where the 6 GSD pups are located so I could feed them when I noticed one was having difficulty breathing. We gathered the pup up and were off to the vet. Seems like I have been to the vet more times these last few weeks then I have been in my own room.

We have been using Park Ave. Vet in Apopka as they work very closely with the areas rescue organizations. Dr Rick and Dr John are both great guys willing to help even in after hour situations. I can always count on a smile when I enter from the front desk staff as well. Jessica, Amber, Barbara, & Alex are simply SO helpful.

We took an xray and the little puppy girl (Rin) definitely had some issues with the lungs. She had been eating on her own up to 48 hrs ago but this morning needed a tube feeding as the past 24 hr she had been more lethargic and not interested in food. We want to give this little girl as well as the others the best chance possible so she has been hospitalized on IV fluids, antibiotic and nebulizer treatments. We know this is a challenge but we are keeping our energies on the positive and hope she can fight through this.


I am going to ask that if anyone can offer to help us with the vet cost for Rin, please go to www.inharmony.petfinder.com and make a donation by clicking on the dontation button. We are a charity 501(c)3 organization so it is tax deductible.

I would like to take a moment to thank my volunteer Cassondra for all her hard work and effort and let her know she is greatly appreciated. I would also like to say thanks to Kaile for a great time and a job well done. See you soon Kaile :)

Kaile don't go...

Well, my two weeks of having an extra set of hand is coming to a close. Kaile has changed her flight once to stay longer but I don't think I can get her to extend her stay again. I have worked her to the bone and she has been absolutely great. We were able to accomplish so much while she was here and because of her, the 6 GSD pups are beginning to thrive. Kaile has kept a very motherly watch over the pups making sure they were fed on time and got their meds (both natural and allopathic). She had to learn to tube feed the first puppy we pulled from the momma GSD. Her name by the way is now Raja and it means hopeful one. I always believe in the importance of a name and we certainly all are hoping Raja will come through the kennel cough, heartworm issue, and trust issues.

Late night adventures

So I thought I would give myself and the volunteers a little down time. We were all going to go to the movies together. It was a good opportunity to bring along a dog that I am training as a service dog as well. While the one volunteer got the dog ready, she heard some squealing. I quickly went out to the back patio to find several of the dogs on top of another dog. I called them off and they left him but he had quite a few punctures and some lacerations. I believe what happened was the play got too intense and turned into a squabble. The pack has seven members four of which are siblings. I separated the injured boy and looked him over real good. He would be fine for the evening as I coated the wounds with betadine and left him to rest in the bathroom.

It was late when we returned from the show, and I needed to give the one volunteer a ride home. I dropped the others off at the rescue to begin to feed the 6 puppies and I was going to go quickly and check on Coda. Well, when I closed the bathroom door behind me, it seemed to close very tightly. After seeing Coda was fine, I tried to open the door. It was jammed! I knew the volunteer was waiting for me to give her a ride, so I figured she would come in and check on me when I failed to come out. I had left my cell phone in the car and was unable to call either.

One hour and fifteen minutes later!!!!

My other volunteer finally finished feeding all the pups and came to find out what was going on. She discovered the door knob was broken and she had to take it off. After some work we were able to get the door open. It was now almost 1 AM!!

Wow!! I could laugh at the whole thing because I am pretty laid back. By the time I got back home it was quite late, what a night. The next morning Coda went in to the vet to get a look over and shave down the wounds. He was fine, and is healing well. Pack dynamics is such an amazing thing. It is up to us to make sure everyone is safe in the pack when we can not be there and so for now Coda has joined a smaller pack until he is ready to go to his forever home.

Just Another Day at the Rescue

The morning started out like every other morning. Get up, get dogs out, feed the cats, clean litter, feed the parrots and the horse, etc etc. This last week has been a lot easier in some ways as one of our board of directors was in town and so I put her to work. Having two people for the AM rounds makes things go a lot faster. Most of the time I am on my own. I could definitely use some more good volunteers hint hint!

Mariposa, the pit bull who was attacked by a kennel mate killing her puppies and severely injuring her, is out in the cottage garden. Mariposa's full story will be ready shortly so check back soon. She has a sweet face and the wounds have healed now. I still have not introduced her to any other dogs. She is housed next to several and likes to bark at them on their way past her kennel. She has made big improvements and soon will have the chance to see if she plays well with others. Her heartworm treatment will begin shortly and I will keep everyone posted about how she does.

Buster, the name we gave to the Irish Wolfhound mix (really just a chow mix) is such a doll. He is so laid back, quiet, sweet and gentle. His fur is re growing and he is going to be a great companion for someone.

Sam, formerly Sambo the 7 yo GSD is now neutered and at our facility. His behavior rehab is underway and he seems quite happy to let go of the old job title of guard dog to begin a happy stress free life.

Lambert, the pit bull from Naples is progressing well after bouncing from place to place. His kind rescuer was so tireless in her efforts to help this boy. When the first potential home fell through, she found a rescue in S.Carolina to take him. Unfortunately their harsh training ways were not what Lamberts "Saving Lady" had in mind. We agreed to take him and work with our kind and gentle "Amichien Bonding" method. The woman drove back up to SC to get Lambert and bring him to us. He is a very sensitive boy.

LILLY GOT ADOPTED!! The beautiful White Shepherd who came from another rescue group, completely shut down and shy of people, is now full of love and play. She is now in a great home and starting her new life. Along with Lilly's adoption, Kirby and Zeke got some great homes too!

We took two beautiful Catahoula boys from Orange County Animal Control and unfortunately they had distemper. We sadly lost our brown boy after three days of rehab. The black boy Rex is pulling through and we expect to have a great story about his recovery soon.

Our biggest challenge is the momma GSD and her 6 pups. She was taken by animal control along with her pups. Each time there was a need to get her out to clean or do medical work on her, the catch pole was used. The Shepherd would fiercely bite the pole and was also biting her lip and mouth. She caused some damage to herself but that is now healing since we no do not use the pole here. Momma is incredibly scared, very protective, heartworm positive, and has kennel cough. She is being very instinctive about the rearing of her pups and in that high stress shelter environment she could just not get peace. Now we have worked hard at giving her the space to start to have peace.

Over the last week we have gradually had to bring the pups out to intervene as momma was not feeding enough. The pups started to cough as well and now needed some treatment. The pups are at 3 wks old so it was a time frame they could begin to eat on their own anyway. All the pups are improving and gaining weight. Momma is getting better and slightly less stressed. We have a long way to go with her but will give her the best shot possible. As a Dog Listener, I understand the best way to help these animals come from bad situations and blossom into happy dogs.

All the other fur-kids at the shelter are doing well and we will have some videos for you to enjoy in a short while. I am working on getting them up onto YouTube and will keep you posted. Until next time, keep your tail waggin and have a great day.... Peace & Harmony

Welcome and Thanks for Joining Us

Hello Everyone,
I am very happy to welcome you to a great adventure. If you want action, excitement, fun, and good times, you have come to the right Blog Spot. Over the next few days I will be posting all the amazing things that have been going on and will keep you updated on the progress of some very interesting stories.

The animal rescue is full and we have a lot of work each day with some very special needs fur-kids. Some of the updates you will read about is the heart wrenching story of Mariposa rescued from Orange County Animal Control. Also from Animal Control is the incredibly aggressive German Shep.Dog and her surviving 6 pups as well as the Catahoula boys with kennel cough. You will hear about Dan Jou, Lambert and Lilly, and the two special little boys recued from the woods in Jacksonville. Our stories and updates will help those who have supported some of these animals stay in touch with their success.

You will hear the great things that are being done to promote kind and gentle "training" methods to have calm, stress free, happy dogs. The local news is usually filled with the dark side of life. Even though some of our stories may not always have a happy ending, you can count on our blog to make you feel great about what is going on at "In Harmony With Nature" animal haven and in the world of Dog Listening.