Lita continued
May 5th: Sorry I haven't written in here very much lately. We are very
busy keeping everybody involved with building the pet lodge singing
from the same page. As I type this, Lita and Corky are playing their
hearts out back here in the weight/computer room. She continues to
do better and better, and surprises me every day how much better
she's fitting in. Knowing we will be moving some time in the next six
months or so, I wonder how well she'll accept the move? For that
matter, I wonder how well the other eleven kids will take it? I guess it
will be up to us to make their transition as pleasant as possible. I
would think, though, Lita may have a little more difficulty moving than
our other clowns. Judging by how long it took her to adapt to this
home, it may be quite upsetting to her to move into a new place. Well,
we'll just have to see to it that it's done properly, to where there won't
be so much stress.
On June 3rd, the Douglas County Humane Society is holding their
annual pledge walk. We will be taking as many of our crew as we
possibly can, and I would REALLY like to take Lita. She doesn't walk
so well on a leash, so there is no way I can walk more than just her. So
we'll have to recruit someone to walk some of our greyhounds. Please
join us for the pledge walk! We always have a great time! And while
you're making plans, please plan to walk your dog with the Humane
Society in Douglasville's 4th of July parade. This is an event that's an
absolute riot to march in.
May17th: Nothing major going on for Lita recently. Tina and I spend
time at the kennel site nearly every day, and I walk Lita for a mile or so
each evening. She still pulls bad, but seems to be easing up some the
past few days. I try to introduce her to new things every day, even if it's
nothing more than a screw driver, trying to take some of her
spookiness away. Simple things like a roll of paper towels really
worries her, but once I can get her to sniff and check things out, the
next time she sees it, you can tell the worry is gone. As time goes on,
she seems to accept new things and experiences much quicker.
She's a very smart, but cautious little girl. But she's steadily moving
forward, making progress every week. I can't help but be proud of
her.
June 3rd: Dr. Brisbin has asked us to bring Lita to some sort of
function taking place in North Augusta, SC this coming Thursday
evening. He said there will be some dignitaries present, and would
very much like for them to see Lita. So we're planning on heading to
North Augusta Thursday with Lita. Dr. Brisbin shocked me when he
told me as thanks he is going to place one of his New Guinea singing
dogs, Jingle, with Tina and I. We met Jingle the day we picked Lita up
at Dr. Brisbin's facility in Aiken, SC this past January 10th. Singing
dogs are among the rarest of wild canids, found only on the Island of
New Guinea (no surprise, huh?). Jingle is the cutest, sweetest little
girl, and Tina and I fell in love with her that day. Unlike Lita (in the
beginning), who was completely wild, Jingle is well socialized, and
isn't afraid of us. Gee, life just keeps getting more and more
interesting! You can click here to visit the New Guinea Singing Dog
Conservation Society, of which we are members. Here's a picture or
two of Jingle to click on. More will follow once Jingle joins the family.
I'll have to do some deep thinking to come up with a song for Jingles
page. Any suggestions?
Jingle's pictures
June 8th: Tina and I are leaving for Augusta, GA today for a whirlwind
trip to join Dr. Brisbin at a Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy
fundraiser on the banks of the Savannah River. Dr. Brisbin, proud of a
Lita just as we are, wanted her there to show the potential saving
these beautiful dogs can yield. Tina and I just finished Lita's first bath
EVER. Having been the proud owner of a basset hound - mine and
Tina's first dog as a couple, who lived 17 years - we are absolutely
amazed at the fact that Lita, being born approximately 11-07-04, and
having never been bathed in all this time, she had no odor. Basset
hounds, bless their heart, stink coming out of the bath tub. Lita's bath
water was barely dingy. She, as I expected from such a good girl, was
a perfect lady taking her bath. Hopefully, as long as I can remember to
take pictures today, we should have plenty of shots of today's
experience.
June 17th: Woops, I forgot to write about Lita's experience on June
8th, Thursday a week ago. At Dr. Brisbin's request, we attended the
2006 Swamp Soiree fundraiser, held annually by the Southeastern
Natural Sciences Academy on the banks of the Savannah River in
Augusta, GA. After a very rocky first ten or fifteen minutes, Lita settled
down and seemed to enjoy herself. We helped Dr. Brisbin and his
lovely wife, Donna, introduce most of these people to two rare breeds,
the U.S.'s very own Carolina Dog/American Dingo and the New
Guinea Singing Dog. Lita and Dr. Brisbin's Carolina Dog, Star, did a
super job of representing their breed, and one of Dr. Brisbin's NGSDs,
Jingle, introduced several hundred attendees to the beautiful, very
rare, and endangered New Guinea Singing Dog. Tina and I had a ball
talking with these super nice, very dog friendly people. When they
were told Lita was a wild-caught Carolina Dog, and heard of her
training up to this point, they were amazed. To show his appreciation
for Tina and I helping him, Dr. Brisbin allowed us to adopt Jingle and
take her home with us. Heck, we'd have done it for free! Lita has
been overjoyed to see Jingle once again, but Jingle tries to keep her
distance from this happy girl. See, Singers aren't pack animals, as
are most other members of the family Canidae, and could probably
have gone the rest of her life without seeing Lita again. Oh, I was
wrong about taking lots of pictures. We took the camera, but were so
busy, I never got it out of the car....typical.
July 7th: Lita is becoming so much just a regular member of our family
now, there doesn't seem to be as much to write about. Now it's
nothing but tail wags and a happy face. This is what I was waiting for
from the very beginning. We still have work to do, but gains come so
easily now, it's as if she is just a regular dog, and not the wild girl she
was six months ago.
August 21st: I know, it's been a long time since I've written anything
about Lita, but every day is pretty much the same these days. She has
turned into one of those dogs who just makes you laugh every time
you're with her, but there's nothing much special going on. BUT, all
that changed yesterday when I found a message written by a man
looking for a female Carolina Dog to mate with his two year old male.
It just so happens that the next time Lita goes in heat it will be her third
time and she will be two years old. I responded to his message,
sending him a link to our site and Lita's picture page. He replied,
obviously as excited as we are, with his dog Rio's story and some
photos. It seems these two, both born in the wild, surviving against the
odds, have found there way into the home of folks who want to do their
part to help Carolina Dogs, our very own American Dingos, keep on
surviving. But we want them to, well, you know, not have to work so
hard at it this time around. Now, Rio as of now isn't registered, but
considering his outstanding phenotype, he certainly deserves to be. I
will contact Dr. Brisbin, make him aware of Rio and his family, and ask
his help making Rio an official member of one of the oldest breeds in
the world, and one who most certainly deserves our admiration,
protection and enjoyment. Rio has the classic Carolina Dog look,
similar to the tropical Dingo of Australia. Lita, on the other hand,
shares her looks with the nearly extinct Alpine Dingo. It astounds me
to think these two dogs, half a world away, share so much with an
almost identical, much more well known breed, the Australian Dingo.
As it stands, we have a casual agreement, and a shared enthusiasm,
but as we help Rio become registered with the UKC, and as the time
comes, probably this coming spring, we will get more serious, and a
whole lot more excited, about making Rio and Lita a couple. The
puppies these two will have will be a sight to see, and I can't wait!
Click on this link to see pictures of Rio. Rio and Lita
Dec. 29th: Lita is still doing well, and seems to get funnier every day.
I'm telling you, living in a home where humor is king, they will show their
funny side before too long. We are nearly finished building our new
home, as well as being near finishing the pet lodge, and we're very
interested/concerned how well Lita and Jingle will take to the huge
change in their lives. From our point of view things should only get
better for Lita, because up to this point, she's only had a small pen to
run loose in without being on a leash. Although I do believe she
couldn't be chased off with a stick, since she came from the wild, so I
wouldn't doubt that she might take an opportunity to wonder around
some. But the new place, built with dogs in mind, will have a very
large, very secure fenced yard. Not secure enough for Jingle, but Lita
will do fine. Her having seen a lot of new people and a lot of new
experiences since coming to our home almost a year ago, she should
bounce back quickly. Now, Jingle, she's a whole different deal.
Though making good progress over the past few weeks, still, to say
she's leery is putting it mildly. At times she seems to want to be
friends, then a few minutes later, she's back to being scared to death
of us. I've never seen anything like her. But, we'll do what we need to
do to make their move into a new home and new life go as smoothly
as we possibly can.
It's funny, but as I was typing this, I heard Jingle playing in the den. I
snuck up the hallway to find her either playing with Corky or by herself, I
couldn't tell which. She saw me, started wagging her tail and got a
very impish look on her face. I asked her if she wanted to go outside,
and with a happy look on her face, she ran to the front door, tail
wagging away. I took her out, she did her business, I gave her a treat
and made a big fuss, then came back in. Sometimes I get the feeling
we're about to make a huge breakthrough with Jingle. Then other
times.....not so much.
Feb 25th: We've been in our new house for two weeks as of today.
We were so worried how Lita and Jingle would take moving to a
completely new home, kind of figuring that our "normal" kids would just
be happy wherever their food bowl is. We still can't get over how well
both of them are doing here! Especially Jingle, the one we were
worried about the most! In fact, she seems happier here than she did
in our old house. She seems to be more comfortable here, choosing
to lay smack in the middle of the pack while we're all watching TV in
the evening. Lita is doing great, too, and hasn't seemed to notice the
change. I don't know, I wonder if it has anything to do with how much
sunlight there is in this house. Our old house was kind of dark inside,
but this new one is all windows, and is quite sunny indoors. It's not only
Jingle's mood, but she just seems more accepting of us and even
goes so far as to seem more loving. She's jumping up on our legs
when she wants a treat, something she never would have done in the
other house.
busy keeping everybody involved with building the pet lodge singing
from the same page. As I type this, Lita and Corky are playing their
hearts out back here in the weight/computer room. She continues to
do better and better, and surprises me every day how much better
she's fitting in. Knowing we will be moving some time in the next six
months or so, I wonder how well she'll accept the move? For that
matter, I wonder how well the other eleven kids will take it? I guess it
will be up to us to make their transition as pleasant as possible. I
would think, though, Lita may have a little more difficulty moving than
our other clowns. Judging by how long it took her to adapt to this
home, it may be quite upsetting to her to move into a new place. Well,
we'll just have to see to it that it's done properly, to where there won't
be so much stress.
On June 3rd, the Douglas County Humane Society is holding their
annual pledge walk. We will be taking as many of our crew as we
possibly can, and I would REALLY like to take Lita. She doesn't walk
so well on a leash, so there is no way I can walk more than just her. So
we'll have to recruit someone to walk some of our greyhounds. Please
join us for the pledge walk! We always have a great time! And while
you're making plans, please plan to walk your dog with the Humane
Society in Douglasville's 4th of July parade. This is an event that's an
absolute riot to march in.
May17th: Nothing major going on for Lita recently. Tina and I spend
time at the kennel site nearly every day, and I walk Lita for a mile or so
each evening. She still pulls bad, but seems to be easing up some the
past few days. I try to introduce her to new things every day, even if it's
nothing more than a screw driver, trying to take some of her
spookiness away. Simple things like a roll of paper towels really
worries her, but once I can get her to sniff and check things out, the
next time she sees it, you can tell the worry is gone. As time goes on,
she seems to accept new things and experiences much quicker.
She's a very smart, but cautious little girl. But she's steadily moving
forward, making progress every week. I can't help but be proud of
her.
June 3rd: Dr. Brisbin has asked us to bring Lita to some sort of
function taking place in North Augusta, SC this coming Thursday
evening. He said there will be some dignitaries present, and would
very much like for them to see Lita. So we're planning on heading to
North Augusta Thursday with Lita. Dr. Brisbin shocked me when he
told me as thanks he is going to place one of his New Guinea singing
dogs, Jingle, with Tina and I. We met Jingle the day we picked Lita up
at Dr. Brisbin's facility in Aiken, SC this past January 10th. Singing
dogs are among the rarest of wild canids, found only on the Island of
New Guinea (no surprise, huh?). Jingle is the cutest, sweetest little
girl, and Tina and I fell in love with her that day. Unlike Lita (in the
beginning), who was completely wild, Jingle is well socialized, and
isn't afraid of us. Gee, life just keeps getting more and more
interesting! You can click here to visit the New Guinea Singing Dog
Conservation Society, of which we are members. Here's a picture or
two of Jingle to click on. More will follow once Jingle joins the family.
I'll have to do some deep thinking to come up with a song for Jingles
page. Any suggestions?
Jingle's pictures
June 8th: Tina and I are leaving for Augusta, GA today for a whirlwind
trip to join Dr. Brisbin at a Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy
fundraiser on the banks of the Savannah River. Dr. Brisbin, proud of a
Lita just as we are, wanted her there to show the potential saving
these beautiful dogs can yield. Tina and I just finished Lita's first bath
EVER. Having been the proud owner of a basset hound - mine and
Tina's first dog as a couple, who lived 17 years - we are absolutely
amazed at the fact that Lita, being born approximately 11-07-04, and
having never been bathed in all this time, she had no odor. Basset
hounds, bless their heart, stink coming out of the bath tub. Lita's bath
water was barely dingy. She, as I expected from such a good girl, was
a perfect lady taking her bath. Hopefully, as long as I can remember to
take pictures today, we should have plenty of shots of today's
experience.
June 17th: Woops, I forgot to write about Lita's experience on June
8th, Thursday a week ago. At Dr. Brisbin's request, we attended the
2006 Swamp Soiree fundraiser, held annually by the Southeastern
Natural Sciences Academy on the banks of the Savannah River in
Augusta, GA. After a very rocky first ten or fifteen minutes, Lita settled
down and seemed to enjoy herself. We helped Dr. Brisbin and his
lovely wife, Donna, introduce most of these people to two rare breeds,
the U.S.'s very own Carolina Dog/American Dingo and the New
Guinea Singing Dog. Lita and Dr. Brisbin's Carolina Dog, Star, did a
super job of representing their breed, and one of Dr. Brisbin's NGSDs,
Jingle, introduced several hundred attendees to the beautiful, very
rare, and endangered New Guinea Singing Dog. Tina and I had a ball
talking with these super nice, very dog friendly people. When they
were told Lita was a wild-caught Carolina Dog, and heard of her
training up to this point, they were amazed. To show his appreciation
for Tina and I helping him, Dr. Brisbin allowed us to adopt Jingle and
take her home with us. Heck, we'd have done it for free! Lita has
been overjoyed to see Jingle once again, but Jingle tries to keep her
distance from this happy girl. See, Singers aren't pack animals, as
are most other members of the family Canidae, and could probably
have gone the rest of her life without seeing Lita again. Oh, I was
wrong about taking lots of pictures. We took the camera, but were so
busy, I never got it out of the car....typical.
July 7th: Lita is becoming so much just a regular member of our family
now, there doesn't seem to be as much to write about. Now it's
nothing but tail wags and a happy face. This is what I was waiting for
from the very beginning. We still have work to do, but gains come so
easily now, it's as if she is just a regular dog, and not the wild girl she
was six months ago.
August 21st: I know, it's been a long time since I've written anything
about Lita, but every day is pretty much the same these days. She has
turned into one of those dogs who just makes you laugh every time
you're with her, but there's nothing much special going on. BUT, all
that changed yesterday when I found a message written by a man
looking for a female Carolina Dog to mate with his two year old male.
It just so happens that the next time Lita goes in heat it will be her third
time and she will be two years old. I responded to his message,
sending him a link to our site and Lita's picture page. He replied,
obviously as excited as we are, with his dog Rio's story and some
photos. It seems these two, both born in the wild, surviving against the
odds, have found there way into the home of folks who want to do their
part to help Carolina Dogs, our very own American Dingos, keep on
surviving. But we want them to, well, you know, not have to work so
hard at it this time around. Now, Rio as of now isn't registered, but
considering his outstanding phenotype, he certainly deserves to be. I
will contact Dr. Brisbin, make him aware of Rio and his family, and ask
his help making Rio an official member of one of the oldest breeds in
the world, and one who most certainly deserves our admiration,
protection and enjoyment. Rio has the classic Carolina Dog look,
similar to the tropical Dingo of Australia. Lita, on the other hand,
shares her looks with the nearly extinct Alpine Dingo. It astounds me
to think these two dogs, half a world away, share so much with an
almost identical, much more well known breed, the Australian Dingo.
As it stands, we have a casual agreement, and a shared enthusiasm,
but as we help Rio become registered with the UKC, and as the time
comes, probably this coming spring, we will get more serious, and a
whole lot more excited, about making Rio and Lita a couple. The
puppies these two will have will be a sight to see, and I can't wait!
Click on this link to see pictures of Rio. Rio and Lita
Dec. 29th: Lita is still doing well, and seems to get funnier every day.
I'm telling you, living in a home where humor is king, they will show their
funny side before too long. We are nearly finished building our new
home, as well as being near finishing the pet lodge, and we're very
interested/concerned how well Lita and Jingle will take to the huge
change in their lives. From our point of view things should only get
better for Lita, because up to this point, she's only had a small pen to
run loose in without being on a leash. Although I do believe she
couldn't be chased off with a stick, since she came from the wild, so I
wouldn't doubt that she might take an opportunity to wonder around
some. But the new place, built with dogs in mind, will have a very
large, very secure fenced yard. Not secure enough for Jingle, but Lita
will do fine. Her having seen a lot of new people and a lot of new
experiences since coming to our home almost a year ago, she should
bounce back quickly. Now, Jingle, she's a whole different deal.
Though making good progress over the past few weeks, still, to say
she's leery is putting it mildly. At times she seems to want to be
friends, then a few minutes later, she's back to being scared to death
of us. I've never seen anything like her. But, we'll do what we need to
do to make their move into a new home and new life go as smoothly
as we possibly can.
It's funny, but as I was typing this, I heard Jingle playing in the den. I
snuck up the hallway to find her either playing with Corky or by herself, I
couldn't tell which. She saw me, started wagging her tail and got a
very impish look on her face. I asked her if she wanted to go outside,
and with a happy look on her face, she ran to the front door, tail
wagging away. I took her out, she did her business, I gave her a treat
and made a big fuss, then came back in. Sometimes I get the feeling
we're about to make a huge breakthrough with Jingle. Then other
times.....not so much.
Feb 25th: We've been in our new house for two weeks as of today.
We were so worried how Lita and Jingle would take moving to a
completely new home, kind of figuring that our "normal" kids would just
be happy wherever their food bowl is. We still can't get over how well
both of them are doing here! Especially Jingle, the one we were
worried about the most! In fact, she seems happier here than she did
in our old house. She seems to be more comfortable here, choosing
to lay smack in the middle of the pack while we're all watching TV in
the evening. Lita is doing great, too, and hasn't seemed to notice the
change. I don't know, I wonder if it has anything to do with how much
sunlight there is in this house. Our old house was kind of dark inside,
but this new one is all windows, and is quite sunny indoors. It's not only
Jingle's mood, but she just seems more accepting of us and even
goes so far as to seem more loving. She's jumping up on our legs
when she wants a treat, something she never would have done in the
other house.