Hotel Pet Sitting

I love pet sitting in local hotel rooms!

I watched these four kids at the Best Western while their mom, Cathy, attended a meeting. We went for a really long walk, where they found snow and had a party. Rosy and Woody rolled and grabbed bites of snow while Joey watched and Gypsy stayed warm in my arms. They were hilarious.

Afterward, we went back to the room and everybody crashed out on the bed. Woody, a Mastiff-lab mix, runs and barks in his sleep. Rosy, I have known now and loved for years. Her mom left Rosy and her sister, Molly (no longer with us) when she worked in New Orleans and Mississippi helping animals left behind in Hurricane Katrina.

Joey is an adorable little old Shih Tzu, and Gypsy is a long-haired Chihuahua rescued in late 2008 from a puppy mill. I had a blast spending time with them, and they had fun too!

Watching Over Prancer, Blitzen and Kobe

 

Several times a week, I watch these kids -- Prancer, Blitzen and Kobe -- whenever their mom is at work. I love them like my own.

Their mom works 10 to 12 hours a day, so I go over to their house and take them out at lunch, then return to feed them dinner. They also go on all our hikes with us. It took me two months to teach them recall, but they have it down perfect now and come back to me on the trail when I call them.
Prancer is in the red sweater, Kobe in white, and little Blitzen in green. Look at the beautiful scenery that we’re blessed to hike in!

A Note from Miss Twink

Mom's grandson Sean with my new housemates

Originally posted January 13, 2011

In Miss Twinkie's Words:

OC Poundhounds said they would like to hear from me. So, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was at a Los Angeles County kill shelter when a nice woman who works for Best Friends Animal Society came and saved me. I was so grateful, but, then, I was put in a foster home. I am not a picky person, but I did not like the dad. He got mad at me because I talk a lot. I am very vocal for a Chihuahua.

They said I hated men and was a biter. My new Mom and Dad, Pat and Larry, got an e-mail about me. It said I had to leave the foster home and nobody wanted a dog who bites and hates men. My new family said send me up to them. That started the biggest adventure of my life. One morning, they brought me to a van that had about a hundred (actually, it turned out to be 36) little dogs like me. They were all barking. I thought I was done for. We were in that van for a long time, and, finally we stopped and there was a woman there who took me, but while I was still in the carrier, because I bite.

Me, in my new home

It was late at night when the woman took me to a house and opened the gate. I was pretty scared, so she had to coax me out of the carrier. She made me dinner, and I went back into my crate. When I woke up in the morning, I thought I might be back at the shelter, because there were a lot of dogs house (but it was just eight mostly small ones), and some cats too! I met my new Dad that morning. He gave me some delicious liver cookies. It was love at first bite. When he picked me up, I decided I could trust him. I snuggled his neck, he smelled good.

I had to go potty, so I went to the door. Mom let me outside into a white world. It was very cold and the white was falling from the sky. I had been a Southern California girl for 12 years. This place was nothing like home. I couldn’t even go, I was so skittish, so I ran back into the house. Mom showed me a grass patch, but it didn’t really feel like grass. I decided since I really had to go, that this grass was close enough, and I did my business.

Every day since I've been here, I’ve gone outside to check out that white stuff. Thank goodness, it quit falling from the sky! It was cold and confusing to me.

But today I went outside and there was grass out there. It was still cold, but it was real grass. It took a couple days for me to bond with the Mom, but now I love her. She’s the one who carries me around doing housework, and she's the one who feeds us. It turns out, the other dogs aren’t so scary, and there aren't so many. I even like a couple of them.

In fact this whole place is OK with me. I never want to leave. They love me just as I am.

They say that I’m offically a foster and I am still on Petfinder, but I’m not worried! After all, nobody wants a dog who bites and hates men. Shhh. If you don’t tell, I won't!

Introducing Twinkie

Originally posted January 11, 2011

Meet Twink. She's our new foster dog. The people at the Los Angeles County shelter she came from said she bites and hates men.

First off, she only has three front teeth (she's an older dog). Second, I said, "She hasn’t met my husband Larry yet!" The first night she growled a lot at the other dogs, which made her look kind of like a rabid bunny with just her three front teeth showing.

But by the next morning, she was sitting on Larry’s lap and following him around like his shadow.

I discovered she loves my fresh-baked, homemade Liver Cookies, plus she loves being carried around. She sits back and enjoys the ride. I carried her around and she helped me vacuum and dust, and then we Swiffered the house. She is a JOY!

A SLUMBER PARTY WITH KIVA

Originally posted January 6, 2011

Margaret, a friend, went out of town, so her dog Kiva came to stay.

Kiva came to me because she had escaped from her last two petsitters. Kiva is an escape artist.

As soon as she came in the house, she headed for the doggie door to the back yard. We have cats, so we have a round barrier along the entire top of the fence so they can't get out. Kiva checked it out, apparently soon realized there was no escaping, and she came back inside.

The front-yard fence is only 4-feet high, so I took her on lead the first time. After a few treats and a marrow bone, she never once tried to escape.

We had a snowstorm the first night she arrived. She loved the snow. She played with all my dogs, and the neighbor's dog even came over for a fun roll in the snow. Kiva was delightful. She can come and stay anytime!

Christmas Taking Care of Horses

Originally posted January 5, 2011

I had the best Christmas ever! I was given the job of taking care of two horses, 13 chickens, one dog (Oso, an Akita, two cats, and six Guinea pigs. It was wonderful!

I’d never before cared for horses. They were perfect kids.

And I had so much fun playing with Oso. He’s a real gentlemen of a dog -- gigantic, but so sweet.

A Rooster pecked me in the butt the first few days, but once he got to know me, he decided I wasn’t bad at all.

Meet Sweet Emma

Originally posted Dec. 19, 2011

Emma is my newest charge. She is the sweetest cat. At 16 years old, she’s still a play-bug. She loves chasing the laser light. She will let me (she actually insists) give her an entire body massage and never nip. I always massage every animal in my care who will let me.  Most do!

It’s not only a bonding experience, but it releases the gases from the muscles so they can relax better. My own babies love it, also, especially my Puggle, Wilma, and her sister, Sophia, the mighty Chihuahua.

Three Little Ladies

Originally posted Dec. 12, 2010

I’m watching the cutest girls, two 12-year-old Chihuahuas named Lucy and Eithel and an adorable Yorkie named Daphney, who is a puppy mill survivor.

Sean Along on the Trail

Originally posted Dec. 5, 2010

My grandson, Sean, is spending the weekend with us and went on the daily hike today. He’s 9 years old now, and I’ve been kid-testing dogs on him since he was a toddler. Maybe that’s why, when he grows up, he says he wants to work at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in the Bunnies care area!

We invited Paco, our 13-year-old long-haired Chihuahua, to go along with us today too. He gets a ride (compliments of me, because I carry him), but he still loves being out on the trail. Nine babies on the hike today. You should see them all running and having fun!

Training and Hiking With Treats

Originally posted Dec. 4, 2010

I took eight dogs out  hiking today, from a 3-pound Chihuahua to a 75-pound shepherd mix. They were great! And we had so much fun. The terriers are the fastest. Man, can they run.

It took me an entire month to train them to come back when I call them. I take homemade Liver Cookies for them when we hike. I think I could train any dog with these cookies! They LOVE them.

That's Lois Lane, my Hurricane Katrina survivor (the white long-haired Chihuahua), at the head of the pack!