My roses!

They are doing great this year, that is after the aphid invasion was put to a complete halt!

We put in this rose garden 16 years ago, the roses were birthday gift from my Mom and brother.

I also have 2 climbing rose bushes in my back yard.

Some day I’d like to rebuild our Arbor and put yellow climbing roses on it.

Mother’s Day!

Here’s what Mona got for me:

(Now I need to make an appt. for some pampering.)

Here’s what Gina got for me:

The Margaritas were very yummy! We had a nice BBQ and quiet day.

The card Gina made for me:

Here’s what Nee’ got for me:

Great replacement for the ones I had!

Here’s the card Nee’ made for me:

I made these cards for our Mom’s and sent them:

Here are the Thank You cards I made for the girls:

Got my paper peicing idea from Unity Stamp, May Kit of the Month.

…another sweet day #12

It was a great Mother’s Day, I talked to both my Mom and Rudy’s Mom on the phone.

A year ago!

A year ago on May 28th, our 15+ year old American Eskimo passed away. Was a very sad day for me! Immediately I called a local person that breeds Miniature American Eskimos and she told me she wouldn’t sell me a puppy. I was devastated!

Shasta  – Jan. 1993 to May 2008

This was the last pic taken of her.

Here’s what’s been in our local news:

Our Sheriff holding one of the puppies:

Good homes sought for 371 dogs

By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK — It’s 371 and counting.

That’s how many dogs need new homes after being rescued from living in small, filthy makeshift cages at an east Kennewick puppy mill.

Fortunately, the adoption process can start soon because owner Ella Stewart has agreed to give the dogs up, Benton County Sheriff Larry Taylor said Thursday.

“As you can see, these little babies need to have a home,” Taylor said as a fluffy white puppy nuzzled against his cheek. “Isn’t she just darling?”

Taylor beamed as he held the 6-week-old puppy — now named Snowball — and explained that Stewart and her lawyer contacted authorities late Wednesday and agreed to relinquish control of the miniature American Eskimo dogs.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful day,” Taylor said.

The dogs were seized Wednesday from Stewart’s home at 511 E. 27th Ave. and taken to a temporary kennel set up at the Benton County Fairgrounds.

The Humane Society of the United States is now working to get the dogs into shelters across the state and possibly Oregon and Idaho so they can be adopted.

The dogs range in age from being just 2 days old to their late teens. Two females are set to give birth any day, officials said.

Some will need foster care until they’re old enough to be adopted, while others will likely need extensive medical attention before being taken by new owners. Rescuers say the dogs have matted coats, urine burns, dental issues as a result of poor diet, bite wounds and old scarring.

Adoptions will be processed by the shelters once the dogs are ready.

Inga Gibson, state director with The Humane Society of the United States’ West Coast Regional Office, said each dog has to have a comprehensive exam before they can be transferred to area shelters. Some already have been taken to clinics for treatment.

“The hope is to have the dogs moved out in a couple of days,” Gibson said, adding that now the dogs “can finally get into the loving homes that they deserve.”

Ed Dawson, operations manager of the Benton-Franklin Humane Society, said they received dozens of calls Thursday from community members wanting to adopt dogs. BFHS is not affiliated with the national organization, Dawson said, but it is hoping to be involved with helping find homes for the dogs.

If Stewart, 66, hadn’t agreed to give up the dogs, the sheriff’s office would have had to keep control of them until her court case was completed. She’s been charged with one count of second-degree animal cruelty in Benton County District Court, but could face additional charges.

Sheriff Taylor said Stewart’s decision to relinquish ownership of the dogs isn’t an admission of her guilt or liability.

It took more than 13 hours for Benton County sheriff’s officials and about 60 animal rescue volunteers from various groups to seize the dogs Wednesday from the 2-acre property where Stewart has operated Sun Valley Kennel since 1967.

The younger puppies appeared more calm and docile as rescuers pulled them out of their cages, but many of the older ones barked loudly and growled at volunteers.

Scotlund Haisley, senior director of emergency services for The Humane Society of the United States, said Wednesday was the first time the dogs felt the security of having solid ground beneath them and “felt the kindness of the human touch.”

“The resilience of these guys is absolutely phenomenal,” Haisley said. “In one day … we’ve watched them turn into the dogs they were meant to be.”

Heather Ferguson, a volunteer with United Animal Nations who traveled from Surrey, British Columbia, to help, can attest to the changes already seen in the dogs. She walked around Thursday with a handful of dry food and tossed a few kibbles in cages with some of the more anxious dogs while softly talking to them.

As they got a little more brave, she gently petted them a couple of times while continuing to give them food. One dog wouldn’t even come near her on Wednesday, Ferguson said, but by Thursday it was happily eating out of her hand.

Community support for the dogs has been incredible, Taylor said. He said local veterinarians quickly answered the call for help after he made a plea for assistance at a news conference Wednesday. Some veterinarians were at the fairgrounds examining the dogs, while others opened their clinics to animals needing treatment.

All offered their services for free, Taylor said.

Donations are still being accepted to help cover the cost of food and supplies and any extended medical care that may be needed, he said. Checks made out to the Benton County Treasurer can be sent to Sheriff Taylor at 7122 W. Okanogan St., Building A, Kennewick, WA 99336.

For a list of shelters taking the dogs, check tricityherald.com and The Humane Society of the United States’ website at humanesociety. org.

Here’s a news article from our local news station:

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10441822

This is the same Breeder I had contacted last year.

Another visit in the night!

We got up this morning to find that the raccoon had visited again! Had taken off the lid to the trash can that we keep the dog and cat food in.

So Rudy took a bungee cord and fastened the lid on the can. Let’s hope this raccoon doesn’t out smart us again and get into the can again.

We also have gophers building mounds in our lawn every where and squirrels for Lucy to chase all of the time.

Living in a rural setting has it’s good and bad, but wouldn’t have it any other way, except when I run into a snake.

I remember when Shasta tangled with a skunk when she was a puppy, wow what a stink! Mona washed her in tomato juice and we had a pink puppy for a very long time!

And before that this morning, I found a tick walking up the dining room wall above Lucy’s kennel. So off to  Petco to buy drops to put on Lucy, came home and gave her a bath and checked her every where for ticks! Guees it’s tick season now!

I better call Gina and have her check Dude!