Keeping Busy

An update from the Brindle today. He's been busy the last while, up until going on house arrest this week due to a bum leg.

A while ago he helped me out while I was taking a photo of a shawl I had just finished knitting.

Then, after a busy day of battling a particularly tough pig's ear, he fell into bed exhausted.

He was also most pleased with me when I managed to get him a lovely new Pro-Fleece that had been donated by Tybrush Pet Supply to a fundraiser for our buddy Harley. It had to be inspected but received the two paws up.

With all these goings on the Brindle finally retired to his chair for a well deserved nap. No I do not know how he managed to compact his body into that.

Dirty Dog

Josie's recent journey eventually wound around to the discussion of white Boxers and keeping them clean. And then I received the following:

"With all the talk of white boxers getting dirty I would like to send in a couple of old photos of our white girl Hope - these were taken back when she was about 8 months old - she will be 8 years old this december - we've never had a boxer that liked water as much as she did and when she was let out in the yard after a summer rain she proceeded to play in the mud - these photos show the results"

Is this not one of the saddest faces you've ever seen?

Boxers of Many Colours

Today we have a share from one of our quieter BML members. I'm glad Kim decided to send me these because we've been missing out on some cuties.

"Although I follow the BML I do not post very often. Seeing the two whites together I almost started crying because the boy looks so much like my big guy Mr Kazper who died two years ago. While I still have my little girl Zoee who is also a white, a few months after losing Mr Kazper I found a black Boxer. Now at the time I did not realize Blacks were not official, and to be honest I could care less what is official. He has turned out to be one massive Boxer at 120lbs. Took my Mr Beau and Mr Kazper 10 years to get to 110lbs.

Thought I would share a few pictures I have of my guys including Mr Kazper playing his part as a fireman when i took him along for a photo shoot I was doing for a local company."

Kody's first day

Kody & Zoee

Kody checking out ice cream

Kody

Kody, sitting pretty

Kody smiling

Fireman Kazpar

Rubin's Birthday

Last week, in the midst of all the excitement, Janet sent us an email announcing that it was Rubin's birthday and she made him a chicken cake. Well that inspired all kinds of questions which resulted in the following email to me.

"Here are a few of the pics of Rubin's Bday party. Several people have asked about his chicken cake, it was just some chicken nuggets. I stacked them up, put treats around it and candles on it. The dogs loved it!"

 

Rubin was not sure if he could eat it or not.

But Bella showed him it was ok.

Rubin takes a taste.

Tango and Rubin look at the cake.

Tango decides to try some.

Group shot - Bella, (Rubin's  girlfriend)

Brewster, Tango and Rubin

 

 

The Rest of the Family (part VI)

After spending a night in Albuquerque MJ was ready for the last leg of her journey, on to Phoenix to meet the rest of the family. She quite happily piled in the car with her new dad, Clay, and grandma, Maryann.

From Maryann "That little girlie is a great traveler.  She slept a lot of the way, but would occasionally get up and look out the window ... then come up between the console and give ear kisses.  Clay is smitten ... he talks to her in a falsetto voice.  :)"

"We got home and took her right outside.  I then got Dempsey from his crate and put his slip lead on.  They smelled and smelled.  At first, MJ didn't even appear to notice him!  He sure noticed her!  But after awhile, then SHE started sniffing.  Off came Dempsey's slip lead ... then they roamed the backyard together."

"It was starting to get dark but I did get a "family portrait" of Clay and both Boxers."

"After awhile, I let Olly out.  He was a bit more "forward" than Dempsey and MJ growled at him.  Olly learned real quick.  From then on, they did just fine."

 I'm going to finish up with the photo of the new family in the truck ready to go home for the first time.

Josie, Dempsey and Clay

Yes, her name is Josie. :)

Josephine Marcus - always called Josie - was a real woman who met Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, AZ.  After the gunfight at the OK Corral ... and the resulting problems with the Cowboys (a gang headed by Ike Clanton), Wyatt left AZ and ended up finding Josie again in San Francisco.  They lived the rest of their lives together, probably in a common law marriage because nobody can find a marriage certificate.  They did, however, present themselves as married.  So, while she was a movie character, she was very real and played a part in Arizona history.

Best of all, it was name she responded to best so she chose it for herself.

As for the end of the story, Clay says it best:

"I want to thank everyone who was involved in this.  I will never forget it and neither will Josie or Dempsey!!!  Mom, thank you for being you and telling me there is always a way!!!   At times in one's life we wonder if there are still good people out there that would do great and wonderful things for strangers, or anyone for that matter, and not expect anything to gain or in return.  I was someone who often asked myself that question.  I am a true believer now that there are more true and kind people out there than not.  I also want to thank Greater Ohio Boxer Rescue (Rachel), for trusting me in giving Josie a great life.  I would like to also thank those of you that were not directly involved but sent messages of a safe journey and wanted to know step by step what was happening and following JOSIE all the way home!!!   Remember to pay it forward.  I know I WILL!!!!   Thanks to all and thanks for welcoming me to the BML!!!"

And all of this... this is what makes the BML so very special.

The End

The Homestretch (part V)

So here we are, Mary Jane is getting back on the road with Kathy and heading to meet her new papa in Albuquerque. Kathy and MJ had some good bonding time together and of course parted as friends.

Yes, that is a smile on our MJ's face but she also had a big kiss for Kathy.

But before we get to the big moment you have to see this. The look on Clay's face at the first glimpse of his girly, live and in the fur.

And then, finally,  the official hand off from the last of the non-family drivers to the new dad.

Can there be any doubt in anyone's mind that our MJ (she kind of belongs to the whole BML) has found her way home?

Tomorrow, the final photos of MJ (or whoever), meeting the rest (almost) of her family.

Westbound and Down (part IV)

The following was sent to all of us on the BML from Mary Jane's second chauffeur, Ann.

"This morning we went to the show site and Ms. Mary Jane was welcomed by a number of folks who just loved her and she was more than willing to love them back.  I stayed to watch boxers show and the spoiled English Setter and then about 9:30 Ms. Mary Jane and I were Westbound and down, moving out and truckin', we were doing what they said could not be done :)  The song from Smokey and the Bandit kept running through my head all day.  I was in a country western mode today for music and believe it or not I heard that particular song three times on my journey with Mary Jane.   I kept thinking of Sally Field's character in the movie and finally remembered the name was Carrie and Mary Jane was definitely being "carried."  Possible name suggestion, Clay????

In  Joplin I stopped for gas and some refreshments.  Since Mary Jane had not eaten since yesterday morning I imagine, I purchased two plain hamburgers and she ate them both bun and all so at least I felt better than she had something in her stomach. (note: Ann has since told me it was Kathy that supplied the hamburgers)  She slept on and off and each stop at rest areas gave her more to be curious about  - no potty but she did take in the smells :)

I met Kathy at about 4:00 PM in OKC.  Again no potty when we got out but she did drink some more water!!!    She may be a traveler yet :)"

And so MJ made it to her second hand off and another sleepover, this time in Oklahoma City. She especially enjoyed her time in Kathy's backyard, she wandered and sniffed for nearly two hours while Kathy did some weeding and gardening. A productive evening for everyone!

I get to meet ALL the good people.

See? Here's another one!

I'm just a travellin' girl.

Nice yard, lots of good smells.

A big hello to all my fans!

I heard a rumour that people think my nub is cute so here it is.

The First Hand Off (part III)

When last we saw our intrepid Boxer girl formerly known as Mary Jane she had arrived in St Louis. After a good night's sleep she was ready to hit the road again for Oklahoma City.

In the meantime we have some photos from her sleepover, including her new friends.

I'm hoping by the time we get to the end of this journey MJ's dad will have decided to share her final name with us.

making friends

snoozing with a Beagle buddy

Gee... I wonder who that fine looking Boxer girl is...

First Leg of the Journey (part II)

Our little friend, still called Mary Jane at this point set off on her great journey on the morning of Saturday, June 16. This first day of her trip would take her from Dayton to St Louis. Her foster mom and dad got her up early, gave her a bath and headed out.

One has to wonder if our wee MJ had any idea what her weekend would bring.

Settling in for the journey.

Might be something interesting out there.

MJ (floor) hanging with her foster dad and Willie B.

Testing out the bed, seems comfy.

I like them, they agree that I'm adorable.

to be continued...

A Rescue Journey (part I)

Five days ago my co-admin on the Boxer Mailing List posted the following:

"Many of you remember the story of my younger son.  He would NOT get a dog because he didn't want to experience the pain of losing one.  Then, he decided he wanted a Boxer!  He adopted Dempsey from Greater Ohio Boxer Rescue and Dempsey was flown from Chicago to Phoenix on PetAirways.  The PetAirways flight was my Christmas/Birthday/Valentine's Day gift to my son.  :)

Now, the man-who-wouldn't-get-a-dog wants to adopt a buddy for Dempsey!  He wants another laid back Boxer (certainly NOT a Paris-Ivy type!).  And, once again, GOBR found the perfect Boxer girlie for him.

He wants to adopt her so I started looking at PetAirways again.  BIG PROBLEM:  that airline is no longer in the air!  I got a reply to a contact form that told me PetAirways plans on resuming flights later in 2012.  Then I looked on Google to see if I could find out why ... seems PetAirways got into a financial crunch because of a change in aircraft.  NY Times story (in Feb) quoted owners as saying they are committed to resuming flights for pets.

But ... that leaves my son out right now.  I just talked to him and he's so disappointed.  I will NOT fly a dog on a commercial airline (and no airline would fly pets in/out of Phoenix now anyway).  There's no way he can take 6 days off work to drive to Ohio and back.

Maybe this little Boxer girl just isn't meant to be his."

There is so much more to this story but for now I would like to introduce you to that perfect Boxer girlie. Her rescue name is Mary Jane but her new dad is going to change it, he says he won't know her name until he looks into her eyes.

Mary Jane with her foster mom.

Mary Jane (left) with her foster brother Bogie Bear

Mary Jane (left) with her other foster brother Registered Service Dog Willie B.

Murphy & Annie

Today we have some photos of Murphy and Annie enjoying summer, on the boat and at home. The Brindle thinks they're crazy to get that close to water on the boat.

Annie and Murphy (with the white neck) enjoying Lake Shasta in Northern California

Murphy enjoying his second time on the boat

Enjoying some Northern California sunshine on the deck