Good Times! With many more coming up!
And here is Bowzer lounging around because he doesn't have to build no stinking railing! It's a dogs life!
Me and Lily building a little railing on a sunny day. Free shot of my stubbly man leg u just cant get that anywhere :) It's worth looking at just to see how pretty lily is in the sunshine...
HERE'S MISS MISHI in her new favourite spot.
I was a little shocked to hear that she was priorly a breeder who was tied with little to no human socializing.
No treats. No warm fuzzies.
Just because she is such a pet. She took to 'home life' like a fish in water. Like Bowzer just wasn't a sled dog, he's a big baby, Mishi is not a tied out breeding dog by nature (I don't believe that any are but I mean she's a princess, like a living stuffed toy dog.) She literally bounces around with joy and tries so hard to play with Zeus (which was a big reason I got her but Zeus won't have it, he wants to play with Lily lol)
She gets into mischief like no one else, steals the treats off the counter now lol. I have proof which I will post as well. I would peg her for a 2 year old. Yayy Mishi!!!!
And OMG just imagining what her pups must have been like. Mishi is like a big soft fluffy ball of happines, little baby balls of happiness? Off the charts! Apparently she came from a decent enough home and they obviously kept her in excellent health, perhaps her joy comes from her beautiful babies. She just seems like a pup to me, not a Mommie. I can't even imagine it but it must have been something to see!! She's an Alaskan Husky/Mix. I think the mix is part polar bear.
So I guess Zoe is staying lol...
They've been playing and hanging out together all afternoon.
Soooo cute...
Mama gets a break :)
This 'ride' has been crazy in so many ways and has gone in so many unexpected directions I can't even believe it. Crazy Beautiful. And sometimes not so beautiful lol. A lot of stinky :)
It's a lot of learn as I go, group and regroup. Wait and see what's happening and decide things from there. I'm feeling really good that I've been able to accomplish so much.
I've once again been pleasantly surprised by how adaptive the newest addition is. I was expecting a real hard case and instead she is just a sweet pet. She's responding well to toilet training, seems to prefer to go outside even. She's calm with some anxiety around being on leash but nothing extreme that a good secure harness and a little patience and time can't handle.
Another big worry was whether or not she would be an escape risk. I am fortifying my smaller fence but at this time I'm typing as I sit in the yard and watch her calmly walk around and veg with the rest of them. No sign at all that she even wants to escape, she's happy to be 'one of us' and laying around on the couch collecting toys! Just unreal considering her history.
So I'm seeing that both Zoe and Mishi are potential re-home contenders. They are not hard cases like Zeus. In order to be able to do what I set out to do - provide sanctuary, transition training and homes for animals successfully on an ongoing basis I will have to make choices and let go sometimes as does everyone so I've decided that once I am able to have them potty trained and comfortable I will put them up as available for adoption. So if you know anyone who may be interested in giving these beautiful little girls a home please invite them to follow their progress at The Pet Project :)
Also I am considering providing this service to anyone who may be interested in adopting an animal that is not 'home ready' yet. Again, if you know anyone who may need something like this please let them know about our page.
Gotta run, now the chickens are squawking l
INTRODUCING ZOE - SITUATION NORMAL LOL - So after a series of unfortunate events I had to go and get Luki (turns out she is named Zola so I'm going to go with that, I like it, it matches Zeus and I'll shorten it to Zoe a name that I love) last night, last minute at 8:00pm. We got back around 3:30 am then made the transition to bring her inside. She slept most of the way home, wasn't sure of the stairs, had a few spills when she got in because preparations weren't complete for her early arrival but fit in right away.
I tried to pen her for the night just to give her some time to settle in but no one was having it! I ended up letting her out, after some 4am meet and greet she slept on a bed out in the kitchen beside Zeus, which was fantastic because although he sleeps by the doorway, he won't sleep in with us, now he has a friend.
I had meant to document the process but unfortunately left my phone in the car and I couldn't get out to get it until a little later this am. She really is stunning in that she acts like she's been here all of her life. There are some minor leash issues that I am confident will resolve early and are already workable.
Here I was expecting the incredible hulk but she is just a delicate little sweetheart who lets me pet her, comes up to me regularly, tries to play with the other dogs, is totally chill when left to her own devices and PLAYS WITH TOYS??? She found the toy stash by herself and took it upon herself to load up with four of them on her bed lol.
She will go outside to pee if I take her on leash no problem at all and I think that she will be fine to go loose in the fenced area when the weather is nice and she has settled in a bit. She hasn't made any escape attempts at all, I think that she is actually quite happy already. She hangs out with us like she's been doing it all of her life. Zoe has already passed many of Zeus's milestones in one half day (to be fair I wasn't set up as well when he got here so he had to wait on a few
GOOD MORNING! IT'S GETTING EASIER!!
At one time not so long ago just opening my eyes and trying to figure out the best way to manage getting everyone outside without fur flying (and other things) in part because I wasn't sure yet how Mishi was going to react outside without a leash or tie out and in part because Zeus was having an issue coming back in when I wanted him to so I had to leash and walk them both in the mornings.
I made a few changes. One of them was to fence in under my porch area so that he couldn't go in there to hide (making it extremely difficult to catch him even with a leash trailing which was necessary when I put him out if I wanted to be sure to get him back in - huge step up - and another that I've been busy with this past few weeks was to put up my enclosure and enlarge the fenced area - another brilliant step up for them, they LOVE IT.
So now this is all that I have to do. Zeus has resolved what ever was going on and will now go up the stairs when I ask him and Mishi has no issues being loose in the yard.
I contain the others in the small gate area outside the door when we first get up after we say our good mornings (which we all do, even Zeus joins in from the sidelines, it has been a thing since I got Lily because it's a great way to start the day for everyone - appreciation of this great gift that we have together and for this day we are having) This is so that I can let them all out at the same time because Zeus likes to be part of the pack and whatever will make Zeus happy makes me happy :) I then put Zeus's harness on him which is a 2 minute operation that even involves pets and loose hugs now. This is a small miracle. More on so much later as to the process with Zeus. It's been a long tough slog but he is my little miracle boy. So it looks relatively peaceful and it is possibly my favourite time of day, but it has been a process...
And tomorrow Luki!
CHICK CITY... I thought a picture of 'The Chicks' old place was in order. I'm loving their new digs too I'm sure as much as they are.
They are having a blast being able to be so much 'more chicken' now. Scratching around, flying here and there and sparring playfully with each other.
And so much easier to maintain - I woke up with a half full clean water bowl and food in their dish rather than waking up in the middle of the night and having to clean their dish and give them clean water and more food, half of which was wasted under their feet.
THAT meant that I could get the dogs outside first as well, big step up. More on that later, we have had a huge break through this morning but I want to snap a pic to show you our mornings now :)
And this is how it goes around here. Small breakthroughs. Sometimes almost imperceptible. But then one day you look around and can't believe how far everyone including your self has come and find that you are ready to move ahead even farther, to take on new challenges, go to a new level, but knowing that sometimes you need a break to be fresh and strong for the next new thing and that's ok too.
That's what life is about...
(I can't help but add my little tidbits of my life philosophy in here and there because that is a big part of what this journey is for me - life and living my own best life while the time is here. I like many have squandered enough of it in 'learning the basics' and learning to make good choices faster and knowing what is important to me and just how fragile it can all be. I hope that it makes things just a little more interesting for you and that you enjoy our journey together because I for one am so happy that you are here xo...)
Growing Chicks Indoors - Moving UP
IT'S MOVING DAY!
The baby chicks are moving on up to the big house! Well big-ger house.
Breaking out was beginning to be a daily thing and they just didn't have enough space or adequate room for a proper water/food bowl. I will be upgrading this as I go along. I want to add a perch and a bigger waterer. There are some interesting homemade waterers for chicks on Pinterest that I may try out. Coming soon!
For now the main points are that I used a dog crate that I've had here that has also held a red squirrel for awhile that adopted me until I took it the the wildlife sanctuary in Hunstville. (I'll look up his videos, they are just adorable. I miss him still.)
I covered the crate in chicken wire which is useless outside to keep any predators out anyway and have a roll left over from the chicken run that is now a dog run in the works (more on that coming up) and then wrapped the sides with saran wrap to help with drafts and to keep it warmer as it will not be as warm as the clear tote was but I don't believe that they need it that hot anyway anymore. I do have another light if I need it.
I cardboard'd the bottom as I had to flip it on its side so the plastic bottom wasn't big enough. It took a lot longer than I planned but it will be great to get me through until I can get their coop outside ready and they are ready for it.
Having them inside has been a lot easier and also I believe socialized them much more than they would have otherwise been.
I can already see personalities emerging in some of them. 'Flo' is a bigger grey guy I believe just because 'he' is acting like a rooster and quite a bit bigger than the others. Little Harry (so named for his black feathers with a striking white patch on his head) is kind of starting to look like the other black ones with some white on their head as his colour seems to be fading. So I may have 3 Harry's :) This is Harry and my other brother Harry and my other brother Harry who any of may be girls?
It's been a great
Growing Chicks
Just a day in Chick Ville
Yesterday during the storm I had the most delicious nap (utter exhaustion didn't hurt!) cuddled on the chair with Lily and the rest of them all lying around me safe and dry and happy. Even Zeus came in. He usually will only come as far as the door and sleeps on his bed there - which was another upgrade for him. At one time I was just happy to get him out of his filthy crate where he would cower at any attempt to interact with him.
It made me think of all of the others who are wet, scared, hungry, dirty and hopelessly alone right now and how happy that I am to have been able to make a difference as I picture Zeus's life and how different it would have been for him had things not played out the way that they did. (I will be posting that story later as it truly was a miracle sequence of events that brought him to me.)
I'd like to thank you for being here, as we are only in the beginning stages. You give me hope that there is a chance and that in the short future we will be able to do even more and bigger things.
Have a Great Day!
From The Gang (guess I need a group photo eh?
Here's a video that lays it out a little. Excuse the mess, Bowzer has issues lol. He drags every bit of anything he can get his hands or should I say paws on into this room so right now it has the new beds I bought yesterday as well who knows what and I just haven't had time to do some clean up/declutter while I try to get the new run up - maybe today. Because Every Day Gets Better And Better...
Note dog under table. That's Mishi. She enjoys sleeping under the table or on the table. She loves to look out the window. I think that's a great use for this table. It's perfect. Sometimes things just go that way (like yesterday when I woke up absolutely crazy to have ice cream and by chance went to the freezer to get bread and my daughter had Oreo ice cream sitting there right in front of my face. I had to confess and got her a new one but I've never had a better tub of ice cream in my life! LMAO)
So here is our arrival.
She's doing great although it was a sleepless night. She was very active and trying to get Zeus to play lol. And he wouldn't. But it's early and it will be a challenge for him. Hopefully that will go better in time. Also she will settle, she's actually doing amazing for being brand new.
This morning the challenge is to get Zeus to come in so that I can shut the door so that she can come out of the sunroom area. I've been having big issues with him on that. He was doing so well, that's when I decided that we were ok to get a companion for him, and then suddenly he just stopped coming in for me (go figure!). I'm probably going to have to limit his freedom which I hate so much to do but it's becoming a problem :(
I really can't figure out why the change - I suspect that it is as simple as the fact that he has a fear of being contained and is extremely smart so he knows that when he goes up the stairs I can control him and he doesn't want that!
But it makes a big issue out of small things like catching him to go for walks, being able to shut my kitchen door or even closing him in so that I can take the others out or go somewhere if I need to.
I'm working on a run for Mishi (that's the name we finally landed on, it just suits her huskiness and is short for Marshmallow or Michelin Man :) That will solve a lot of issues for us as I will be able to just put her out right away.
I'm just taking it one day at a time. It's always an adjustment for the first little while.
This is the first day of the rest of our lives lol.
Oops posted wrong video below. This is the one of us all on the trail. This is a small snapshot of Zeus's life now. THIS is what it's all about.
We are given so much in this world. I see so many things going sideways just because resources are squandered and we don't appreciate what we have or what we can do. I ponder this a lot these days. Not so much on an individual level although that is where the fix is, but on a global level where so many things should be different and we are so used to things as they are that we don't even notice or use our own power to fix it where we can.
When I look at Zeus, I look at him as what I like to call a right turn - that's what I call a turn towards love and beauty and creating good things in this world. THAT is the Pet Project :)
And here's one that Robyn took of us all on one of our first walks.
I keep the leash over my shoulder because that one gets caught under his feet which creates issues although he is very good at stepping out.
Any slight thing will cause him to have a momentary panic. He can't help it. Sometimes I can tell that he wants to do something like come closer etc but his natural reaction right now is to run so he will do that. We've become used to him doing a few circles before he comes to eat etc.
We're hoping to see the day when he just jogs over with a tail wag and a happy face to let us pet him and hugs with the rest of the gang.
OK, got a few progressional videos of Zeus on walks.
Considering that at one time I wasn't sure that I would even be able to walk him, it's a true miracle to me how far he has come. Here is us when we first arrived.
Had I known exactly how scared he was I would have never attempted a walk. When we got back he proceeded to drag me under the porch, banged my head with a scratch and a bump on my forehead and a scratch down my back and a slight pulled shoulder. Almost slipped his harness pulling in a panic and I couldn't even get him in the house.
Thank goodness Robyn was here so she helped me to put his crate together and get him in there so we could carry him in the house (the crate was his safe spot as he had spent a lot of time in it. It stunk so bad that I had to open all my car windows on the way home.) The crate wouldn't fit in my car so he rode in the hatchback of my car. That's another pic for another post!
I was scrolling through and saw this post about Zeus's progress about a month ago and it is just so amazing (I use that word a lot!) how progress sneaks up on you. It is all about seeing the small things every day and then one day you look around and everything is better.
Here is the post... https://fb.watch/6ppH_C-VLm/
And here is one of the amazing things that we do now...
At one time Zeus was in my house, huge flight risk, unable to even go outside. Which believe me was not a whole lot of fun for either one of us. Talk about a labour of love lol.
Rather than sitting here posting about our progress, one memorable morning I was crying wiping up a pile of dog poop that he was running in circles through in a panic trailing his leash behind in my kitchen before I even had my morning coffee. Yes! That was the worst of it!
And now, he waits to go on our walk, walks ahead, sometimes rather than trailing behind walking in nervous circles (I have video here somewhere of his first time out of the car when we arrived), I can't even keep up with him now at times and he is a boss!! Go Zeussy!!! Life is good...
