Dogs On Thursday On Friday

I am so very sorry this edition of 'Dogs On Thursday' is a day late.
My server has been down all day. (I think it ate too much Holiday food.)

I hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday season.
I can not believe it is going to be 2008 soon!
Where did the year go?

I have been having fun reading about the packages received by the members participating in the Dogs Holiday Ornament Swap!

It should be wrapping up very soon.

Please be to sure to contact your pal if you are going to be late mailing your package so they don't worry.
Also please don't forget to post about your loot and/or contact your pal so she knows your package was received.
And lastly if anyone is in need of a 'Dogs Ornament Swap Angel' please let me or Natalie know.

We will soon be posting about the next exciting event so stay tuned.

Now for today's 'Doggie Spotlight' meet Zeus!

He is beloved by Mindy and Rich:

Zeus was brought home by Rich in 1998 from a coworkers house with new puppies. He is a beagle and pit bull mix, and adjusted to his new home quickly. Mindy didn't get to meet Zeus until the end of 2006. There are a lot more photos of him now!

Here he is as a puppy with some new family members.

Zeus is very loyal and lovable. He loves to cuddle. Now that the colder winter weather is here, not does he only want to sleep in the bed with the humans, but also under the covers. He'll curl up wherever he can. If you're sitting up straight he'll put his head in your lap, but just behind your knees seems to be his favorite spot.
He is a pretty quiet dog. He'll only bark when the doorbell goes off or if there's a knock at the door. When we come home he'll greet us at the top of the stairs and sometimes whine with excitement.
You can try to pet him when he's saying "welcome back" but he's not satisfied until he's managed to lick your hand hello. Strangers and family alike are greeted by him this way. When he's settled onto a spot where he's hanging out, all you have to do is look at him and he'll thump his tail in anticipation of some petting. Usually he'll roll over onto his back too.
He does have a couple of funny habits. He likes to lick things (bed, couch, whatever he's sitting on) and will leave a big puddle of slobber until we divert his attention elsewhere. He will hang out in whatever room you're in and follow you when you get up, even if it's just one room away. He doesn't like noise. His worst enemy is the vacuum cleaner. Once that starts up, he'll move to another room. He doesn't take off, but somewhat calmly gets up and walks away. And if any luggage is being packed, he knows that somebody is leaving. He'll pace and pant a little bit but he pulls through it just fine every time. Sometimes that means he'll just go visit family for a day or two until we get back, and he's happy to see them too.

Overall, Zeus is our buddy and home just wouldn't be the same without him!

Dogs On Thursday

Happy warm and furry Holidays!

A giant thank you to Natalie for taking over and running Dogs On Thursday so smoothly while I was away.
I also want to say thank you to my My Mom and Gretchen for helping out too!
And a special Thank You to all who sent me such kind words and emails when my Grandmother passed away and while I was recovering from pneumonia.
I am feeling better now.
I sure missed everyone and I am glad to be back!

Since our group has grown quite a bit since the summer, Natalie has agreed to stay on permanently to help out here.

I hope the doggie Holiday Ornament Swap is going well and those of you involved are having fun.

While trying to catch up on your blogs I noticed many have recived such wonderful packages already.
For those participating in the swap; if you have not heard from your pal or you need an angel pal,(as these things happen.) please let me or Natalie know.

For this weeks 'Doggie Spotlight' it will be on my dear Elise who gave me such a comfort over the past trying month.

Elise was born April 15th 2005.

She came to live with us through a basset hound rescue who saved her and her brothers and sisters who were on their way to a pet store and a puppy farm.
Elise was the runt of her litter and quite small with big floppy ears and lots of warm slobbery puppy kisses.

She came to live with us she was just 8 weeks old.
She was very shy at first but in no time at all she became quite the active, lively puppy full of energy and chasing the cats through the house and trying to chew on them.
It was really hard trying to get pictures of her when she was a puppy because she was always on the move except when was sleeping and even then she only seemed to be recharging her batteries.
I was a bit overwhelmed with her at first as she was quite the hyper little thing, always barking, running and chewing on everything in sight, and I won't even get started about all the drool and slobber everywhere, even on our guests!

House training was a nightmare and at the age of 1 1/2, she finally understood to go pee outside but we had to replace several carpets by then!
She has finally mellowed out now and will only occasionally try and chew on the cats.
Even though she spends quite a bit of time with me and travels with me just about everywhere I go, she has always been my husbands baby and she will always run, jump and sit in his lap at night when he comes home from work and tell him all about her day while pushing off any of the cats with her nose.

My Husband had a terrible car accident almost 7 years ago when he was hit head on by a drunk driver and after 7 surgeries in 5 years on his leg, hip and knee he was told he would be permanently handicapped and would never be able to walk without an assisted device.
He became quite depressed then and was starting to give up on physical therapy.
As soon as Elise came home with us my husband became a completely different person and almost instantly the depression was gone.
He went back to physical therapy and even started the recomended hydrotherapy.
Now just this past autumn he has baffled all his doctors by walking Elise without any assistance at all.

But Elise and I are not baffled, we know it was her unconditional love that saved him and helped him to walk again.

This Woofie's Mom Is Very Ill

Doggie Spotlight on Oliver

Hope everyone is having fun finding their holiday goodies for family and friends....and swap pals. Remember to email me at gnatchat(at)gmail(dot)com if you have not heard from your swap pal or need anything this week. Please email me if you'd like to join our group as well.

And now...our Doggie Spotlight on Donna's Oliver.


Oliver's story is a simple one, but for our family a special one. We lost
a very beloved puppy about two Summers ago. Her name was Chelsea. She was a Golden Retriever that was close to our hearts. Unfortunately Chelsea left us at only 9 months old. She had a defective heart. It seemed wrong that such a big hearted dog, had a heart that didn't work right. After she was gone we thought that was the end of dogs as part of the family. But we didn't figure on Oliver......


A friend called about 1 month later and said that a Golden needed a home. The family that had him was going through a divorce and he was kept in the basement all day. A temporary home was found for him and would we like to see him? Off we went in our truck and we traveled about an hour from our home. As we pulled into the lovely home of the rescuer we saw a "largish" Golden barking and barreling up and down a run. I said to no one in particular " that can't be the puppy!" Well of course he was and we fell in love with him at first sight. It is hard to describe that excitement you get when you know a pup is coming home with you. He had all his papers in order and all his shots up to date. He ran to the truck and jumped right in and we never looked back. Our Oliver is quite a character as some of you know. But he is sweet and loving, full of fun and mischief and loves children like all Golden's do. We think he is a very handsome fellow and we have the best fun with him. He has a favorite game with my husband whenever they go for a walk. My husband puts his cap on and Oliver jumps up so high he nearly grabs the cap of his head! He is also is very popular with all the children in the park near our home. He runs into the park through a neighbor's gate and steals any unattended stuff toy around. Then begins another favorite game of keep away. He always has a line of children running around with him in the lead! Needless to say he gets plenty of exercise each day.


We have been blessed with 4 Goldens during our 33 year marriage and each one has been special, from our first dog as newlyweds, Sherlock, a sturdy male that had a joy for life, to our second one, Holly. A fine "lady" that we adopted one snowy Christmas Eve, to Chelsea our angel Pup. Then came Oliver and I can't think of any better way to add to a good line of beloved dogs that loved us unconditionally and taught us the meaning of loyalty, companionship and how just to have fun.