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My dogs are Rex (named after both the Foundation (http://www.rexfoundation.org) and the valiant border collie in Babe) and Callie (named after my grandmother Callaghan, not to mention California on the golden shore and Caledonia, what makes your big head so hard). My life pretty much revolves around them. Rex is a border collie/Lab mix, Callie is a deaf Dalmatian with brown spots. They're quite the pair.

OMG a bc/lab mix? I can't even imagine what that personality would be like... a love-able slobbering tennis ball fetching type A who likes to organize your shoes by heel size? Wow! I'm not being flippant, Rex sounds like a neat combo- OK- pets...do husbands count? (tee hee) All my critters were rescued, abandoned, or the offspring of a rescue. Almost everyone is spayed or neutered- the only exceptions are for age/health reasons. Dogs: Ringo, 12 yr old male athritic Aussie; Riley, 12 yr old male lab/rottie; Lightning, 10 or 11 yr old female bc; Capris, 3 yr old female BC/Aussie/Heinz 57 that my Australian & Oz friends say reminds them of a Kelpie Dog. Cats: Lady, 13 - 14 yr old mostly black calico with a diamond on her forehead; Smoke, 13- 14 yr old long haired smokey tortoise shell (her name is actually Smoke Detector, as my step kids thought that's what she sounded like when she was born); Murf, 11 yr old tiger who weighs 20 pounds and is a stroke victim from when an owl or hawk tried to take him (he was only 13 pounds then); Meesha, 7 yr old white with black spots, and her sister Sasha who looks almost exactly alike, but Sasha has bigger spots... Goats: Billie Holidoe, about 4 months old- my horse found her 3 months ago... don't know where she came from. Opie, 3 months old, I adopted him from Pennsylvania where he was hand raised. Opie doesn't know he's a goat... Pigs: Wilbur, 9 or 10 yr old pot we rescued from a yard sale (and he started the whole pig thang); Weesie, 10 or 11 yr old pot we got to keep Wilbur company- she now has uterine tumors and is being treated for end of life issues; Moe, 7 or 8 yr old that was found running from dogs; Shy, 7 or 8 yr old that was found holding some big draft horses hostage; Miss Piggy, literally rescued during her spay surgery when her owner abandoned her on the table; Lightning, came with Miss Piggy- he's deaf as a doorknob; Zeappo, rescued from the freezer (it's illegal in TN to slaughter pots- they have the same protections as dogs & cats); Squealer (or Nixon), same; Kim-Him, same, he also has the distinction of being an hermaphadyte, Carribean, rescued from animal control; Lucy, was someone's housepig and abandoned; and Babe, another house pig who had to be given away when the family had to bring an elderly relative in... Horses: Bud, a 27 yr old retired police horse, quarter horse (qh); Jate, an 11 yr old qh with a blown out knee- got him from a therapy program who couldn't use him anymore; Coal, 7 yr old black miniature (genetically arab); Dancer, 7 yr old Palimino miniature (Coal's cousin); Beamer (show name: Mid-Life Crisis), coming 5 yr old Belgian/qh PMU foal I rescued when he was 5 months old; Rohan & Rune, two 3 yr old Norwegian Fjord half brothers, also PMU foals rescued when they were 6 months old. We've had a few too many of our pet family cross the rainbow bridge- our peafowl, George & Gracie & their offspring, Foo our bunny, Buddy our first rescue horse, all our guineas (only Chick Corea was named), "Drive By" our rooster ( we don't have chickens, we were the victims of a drive by roostering), Suzie and Eeama our pigs; Rosie, Beaux, Chip, Katie, Penny, our dogs; Sam, Hoover, Lewis, Ginger, Mr. Cat, Marnie, Paloma, Artie our cats....

Ah.. yeah.. Feeding takes about 1.5 hours- needless to say I'm always late to anything off- farm!makes it hard to go on vacation too- have to get a farm sitter, let all the vets know, make sure I've got feed stashed for how-ever long we're going to be gone- but the real kicker is the vet bills... I try to apply for spay/neuter help with the non-profit rescues- a few have funding for such things. Sometimes I get feed donated- but the regular stuff, well that's on me- luckily have some great vets, a great farrier, and a husband who understands (rolls his eyes a lot, but understands).

Vivi has my dream menagerie... As to the BC/Lab mix,it's really a good one and I plan to seek it out for future dogs. With Rex at least, and also with a couple of my former fosters, you get the best of both worlds--brainy, loving, etc. Of course if you don't want a high energy dog this mix is not for you. Case in point, Dalmatians are notorious for being "hyper," or so people tell me, but compared to Rex, Callie's a couch potato. And even at 12 with two knee replacements, Rex loves to run. Just not as much as when he was young. The differences in the two dogs are pretty interesting (and Callie is much the better for having Rex as a brother). Both very smart, but Rex tends to use his mighty brain to worry about doing the right thing and keeping things in order, whereas Callie's is entirely devoted to getting her own way.

Wanna come farm sit? You can bring Callie & Rex- They'd love it here... Rex sounds wonderful- I love that he didn't lose the brain- Callie sounds like quite the character-

My goodness - what a heard of animals.We have one puppy that is just 4 months old. Moose Jackson is our little schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix). Today was his 1st day of puppy training. Prior to Moose, we had Bear Rex, who unfortunately was hit by a car and passed after only 6 months. Needless to say, Moose is not going off leash.

I love the concept of a schnoodle- Moose sounds adorable and best of luck with his puppy training. Do you have any puppy parks in your area? Great places to let your bundle of energy off leash to run and mingle and you don't have to worry about cars... I'm sorry about Bear Rex. Loosing a loved one is hard, especially when they're so young. He'll be waiting for you at the rainbow bridge.

wow izzie, what an incredible story- any chance you could post the love letter? wow!

I have two cats I'll have to get pics but, my big guys is named Samson, and the other little girl is named Delilah, and get this they dont get along at all. Everytime they fight I tell Delilah to stop going after Samsons hair. Banjomike0319 picking along the waterside.

marye said to post about my cool looking dog here, so I will. Auggie was a once in a lifetime dog and I miss him a lot. He gained full membership in my local circle of 'head friends when he snuck a box of Wip-its out of a buddy's knapsack and carried it right into our circle, dropped it in the middle and sat down (not that he partook or anything). He was a big guy at 125# but you never met a gentler, sweeter creature. OK, tearing up now... here's his Dogster page: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/63375

Deepest sympathies on losing Auggie. They do leave such a hole in your heart when they go. My Rex is pushing 13 and in generally good health, but I sure do cherish every day I have with him.

Jake Kiko _______________ My feeble, get-rich-quick attempts: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsassZearth… http://www.pocononature.com http://attorney.dui.dwi.lawyer.googlepages.com/

Hi folks! That's my best buddy Earl in my picture.

Auggie looks cool. I almost got a burnese mtn dog, they're smart....but opted for a mutt because the b.m.d. that I was looking at was like $700. The bigger the breed of dog, the shorter their lifespans are....sorry for your loss.

I have 1 Dog and 4 cats The Dog is a 3 month old Alsation called Nico The Cats are called simi, Snowie, Harley and Gabriella Bob Spanish Jam

What a list of cool animals.My husband and I have 3 dogs Monkey,Macy and Charlie.We hope to get a few chickens and ducks this summer.You have my dream,I would love to have a farm full of friends.

What an incredible letter- brings tears to my eyes. izzie, you are a very lucky lady to have found such a wonderful cat sitter. Thanks for sharing the letter- Vivi

Sure miss my dog Lucky, he sure was a real Grateful Dead dog though, his fav hiking spot and amp. was Red Rocks. I had to put him down in Late March for he had cancer real bad. I sure do miss him lots ;(.......the day he got put down ( vet came and did at home), we laid on the deck together and listened to Ladder to The Stars, the all live 2-cd set off all Live Dylan songs from the Dead and JGB

I've got a golden retriever that I named "Cosmo" after Cosmic Charlie. As soon as I adopted him, my wife thought I was going to name him Jerry, but I said that was too obvious. So I started reeling off characters from Dead songs and we considered a few others from literature (i.e., "Scout" from "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Hunter" from Robert Hunter and Hunter Thompson) and from the area that we live in near Philly (i.e., "Franklin" for Ben Franklin and "Franklin's Tower" and "Parker" since we got him in Parkesburg, PA), but my wife liked Cosmic Charlie, and she suggested Cosmo as a morph of that name, and it stuck. And if it's possible for a dog to live up to a name like Cosmo, well, he does it admirably. Tim "Bound to cover just a little more ground"

We have 2 adorable and funny pets. One is a mischievous Pug Betty Boop and the other one is a cuddly hermit crab named Pinky. Pinky was called "Sharpy" when he lived in a pointy seashell then one day he decided to move into the pretty pink shell so he is now a she and her name is Pinky. Betty is not sure what to think about that.

My 5 year old longhair Cat is Jack a roe, and he loves to dance. The girl is Bobbie, she is a Manx we rescued in our neighborhood. She is about 1 year and 2 months.

Motley Crue:Jake - Stray purebreed Black Lab gorgeous 3 year old Maggie - 5 years old; Many Many breeds, mostly dalmation, german wirehair, and pointer, as nice of a girl as you can meet; loves to chase squirrels, vermin and the like Cats: Cowboy - Blonde long hair bow legged 12 year old Crazy Girl - 9 year old black & calico Sha-ne'ne' - (dont ask, my sister named her) - 12 year old; black & calico; great mouser Wouldnt be complete without a nod to Brittany (1989-2003); a great touring and perfect companion. Cheers! JG “The Omnipotent Grateful Dead!” - unknown

Got seven parrots, they are Percy, Max, Baby, Fritz, Peaches, Oscar, and Twinkles. (1 moluccan cockatoo, 1 goffin cockatoo, 1 Umbrella cockatoo, and four Cockatiels)Percy and Baby love to be pet, the others do not.Saved Baby form abusive family who were going to put her down, they didn't feel like taking care of a new baby and the bird. (warning don't get a parrot unless you are willing to work with them. they are allot of work. but it is worth it) Taping: Superlux SMK-H8K>XLRs>UA-5>Optical Cable>JB3 Photo: Fujifilm S7000 and Cannon Digital Elph Art:Charcoal, Pastels, etc...

My dogs are border collie mixes named Penny Lane and Cassidy. I have a Persian cat named Angel a Siamese mix named Casey Jones and an all white cat named Mr. Kitty. When my son is home from college he brings his husky Sasha. My house is a zoo. Let your life procede by its own design.

I have a beautiful and loving Boxer-girl named Delilah who is 3 yo and 2 kittie-boys Jerry and Cosmic Charlie, who are 11 and 10 yo. ;-) Mo

I too, have a {manx}-boy - full name: Sir Plunkerton Rumplebutt. ( plunk for short) he's kinda a grumpy-gus grey-lump regal-buddah-kitty, when he's not bein 'the evil plunkenstien'. his sister is 'shooosh' - no longer sushi, cuz she 'shoooshes' all over the house, or ya hafta tell her to 'shoosh' - she's quite the whiney-voiced talker. both are pound-pussies, i got plunk when he was 4 1/2 mths old, after having just buried my prior {{manx!}}-girl, {smudge-cat!}. he's now goin on 5 ( or is it 6?) shooosh is just barely 2y/o, goin on 6 wks - she's a live one, & quite the handful, but a very sweet luv. she's a motled mix-a torti, tabby & just plain freak. they are best buds, & i love watchin em 'tag team' over their toys, or me, or the garden.

That's my dog's name but I wish I could connect to some of my old friend's in the dead, just don't known where they have gone. I hope one of them find Dead net , maybe we can hook up. Anyway I love life. Can't beat it. The Grateful Dead gives me faith in myself, can't explain it but you know what I mean. I know you do. Peace Though Sharing !

I have two english bulldogs named Harvy and Matilda, that are ridiculous. You have to have a sense of humor to own a bulldog. I have two kittens- Bob and Pedro. I have 4 horses, Turk, Carmen, Blue, and Hand. Hand has had a horrible accident and has spent the last 2 months in the hospital. I pray for him everyday. Such a beautiful creature, I would do anything to have him be better. Have owned horses and animals my whole life. Currently working as a veterinarian....

On the horse rescue list Vivi (tn2nadoes) and I are on, someone else's horse is recuperating quite well from an accident it's a miracle he survived, so I hope poor Hand is soon on the mend. Where do you practice?

Im in West Palm Beach Florida. I work with small animals, and fortunately my husband is a large animal vet. Thanks for your concern, it means alot to me.....

to post Hand in the Positive Vibes topic. As far as I'm concerned, "folks in need" is not species specific. If you love 'em, you love 'em.

Here are my boys. The red one is Indy, and the more pale one is Merlin. Currently, they're visiting their mom, (we're divorced) who has shared custody. We have no kids, so that's as close as it gets! :-D I just wuv my kids! [sniff]

have a looky at Jack, aka 'jack-a-roe' Here is my 2 kids together, Jack and Bobie. They are alot of fun.

Oy! [smacking my lips] I just wuv puddies! Oy!

I have a B/W Tuxedo cat named Draq (drack) who will be 12yo on the 9th. Named after the Braum Stroker (spell?) version of the movie Dracula that came out around the time of his birth. He used to bite on my earlobes whilst I sat on the couch... He now is a mellow 'ol man' that loves a good lap but isnt found of my 1 & 3 yo kids..lol... "stop pulling that cats tail guys!"...

...And yes shes been a good girl.... Black lab was only 8mo at the time we got her almost 3 years ago. Was real tame for a month but "snapped" at the park and started going after kids and other dogs... My son was only a few mo old at the time so we had to give her to a household w/o kids...

Hi Kim, I hope Hand heals well and quickly... Please give him a carrot and a scratch from his extended family here- (big carrot from me)- Best, Vivi

Ed, when I was getting divorced from my starter husband, everything went smoothly until it came to our cat... (we were DINK's -double income no kids). We almost had a huge custody battle over it, and our friends just couldn't understand...I am impressed you & your ex managed to figure out a custody agreement. I tip my hat to you- Vivi

Vivi, our divorce was amicable. We decided that since the "kids" grew up in this house (I kept the house), they should stay here. She gets them about one week a month, or so. Even so, she always complains about how I take care of them.... "You don't brush them enough!"... You don't clean out the litter boxes enough!"... You don't clean out their bowls enough!"... nag, nag, nag... (I need a rolling eyes emoticon about here!) Ed

Thanks to all that send good well wishes for my horse. Just an update, he is doing well and is comfortable. He has made it now 2 months, which is incredible considering the situation. He is a remarkably strong willed animal with the desire and spirit to live. He is teaching me alot about keeping a positive outlook. He has been through four surgeries and is still kind and loving. Thanks to all for your good thoughts. It means alot to me. ....

well, my old lady came w/a cat, so that was the start-i'm allergic, so the 1st 4 yrs we terrorized each other, the next 4 we tolerated each other, & this year he likes me better than her cause i'll pet him w/my foot-since the SO works in wildlife rehab, we've also acquired a turtle w/a crooked spine, another turtle that bites everybody (no one else would take him), a bird that won't fly, & 2 white & tan rats-i'm a dog lover personally, & even though i traveled w/9 humans & 6 animals in 1 van, our trailer's too small for the rott/pit mix i'd love to have-once we can move to the country, i'm sure we'll have a zoo full

can anyone kindly offer me any advice about how to stop our dog farting so much...seriously...he has just driven me out of my office and away from this site for a good 15 minutes..last weekend we went camping and we had to spend much of a three hour car journey with all the windows open in the rain. He's only 2 years old, fit, well, full of energy and gets a healthy diet and loads of exercise, but my goodness .....if he didn't have a microchip in him he'd be playing on the motorway right now ......just kidding....about the motorway that is..the farts are very real!!

It's almost certainly the food. Try changing him gradually to a different type and see if that helps. Ask your vet if it persists, but I suspect something, probably grain or vegetable, disagreeing with him.

...I knew someone out there would have a suggestion...despite my disparaging comments and shameful public revelations about his intestinal turmoil Koki is a much loved and free spirited bundle of trouble...

I took my Rex to the vet for a followup today regarding some meds he's on, this being the great Dr. Frizell of Claremont Vet in Oakland, who's been his primary vet ever since I got him 11 years ago. Says Frizell: He's Old. Which, at 13, he is, of course. But he's sure enjoying the bone I stopped to buy him on the way home. Doctor's orders! Clean those teeth!