Month: August 2021

Dogs I Have Loved Part III

By buckjones1951

On August 30, 2021

Continuing the stories of the dogs I have loved. After Ginger passed, we got Toby He was called Toby the Wonder Dog after he survived an encounter with a train. Since I have covered several incidents with Toby in previous blogs, I will move on to our next dog, Lizzie. We got Izzie from the Pikes Peak Humane Society (Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region (hsppr.org)). We went down there looking for a puppy and she was, I think, the only puppy there. We had a chance to visit with her in a separate room and fell in love. Because she was picked up as a stray, the Humane Society needed to hold her to allow time for her previous owner to come in and claim her. It was disappointing that we could not take her home. However, we could put a deposit on her for first dibs after the holding time elapsed. If she was claimed though, we would forfeit our deposit. We put our money down and after the waiting period went to see if she was available. When we got there, we prayed before going in believing God would provide us with the right dog. She was available and we adopted Lizzie, which was what the Humane Society staff called her. She was a sweet puppy and my wife held her in the car on the way home crying happy tears.

Lizzie lying on the love seat — Lizzie on the Loveseat

After our experiences with Ginger and Toby, we decided to go to training classes with Lizzie. Initially, my wife would take her to class so Lizzie would be her dog. But Lizzie was too strong for her and I ended up taking her to classes and she ended up as my dog, much like Bailey. Though my wife walked her regularly without any problems. She was smart and trained easily even passing the American Kennel Club K9 Good Citizen test (American Kennel Club (akc.org)). Unlike Bailey, Lizzie was well socialized and got along well with all the other dogs in class. One of the dogs was a wolf hybrid named Thunder who looked like a wolf. He was large and imposing but he and Lizzie became good friends and would sit or lie down next to each other licking each other’s faces. Though not as friendly as Lizzie, Thunder did not have any issues with the other dogs, except for a large male Airedale. They had to be kept separate or they would fight. I think it is interesting how dogs like people don’t always get along with everyone.

Lizzie at obedience training — Lizzie at training class

With the training and her social personality, Lizzie became an exceptional pet. She was also a ‘ball dog’. Ball dogs can be seen at most parks around. They are the dogs that will chase the ball, over and over and over again, until they are exhausted. They are not distracted by other dogs or people and are totally focused on the ball. Most retrievers are ball dogs, but many others are as well even dachshunds. Lizzie was a mixed breed who loved to chase the ball and would chase it until she was so tired, she would just lie down. Even when I went out into the backyard to do some work, she would bring me her soccer ball and bark until I threw it. She would continue to bark and chase the ball for as long as I was out there. Lizzie was perhaps the best dog we have owned because of her temperament and her training.

Lizzie and Richard playing ball — Lizzie playing ball with our grandson

Because we spent the time to train Lizzie, and the resultant good behavior, I think it prepared us for the challenges we were to face with Bailey.

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Dogs I Have Loved Part II

By buckjones1951

On August 20, 2021

In Uncategorized

To continue the narrative I started in the last blog about the dogs that were part of my family. After Fidora passed, my wife and daughters brought home our next dog, Ginger. She was a 6-month-old Australian Shepherd mix they got from a family. Apparently, she was too much for them to handle. We probably should have known she misbehaved because she jumped up on the girls when they went to get her. Her behavior problems persisted after they brought her home. Ginger would run out the door whenever it opened if we weren’t paying attention. She would also get out of the yard when she could. One day, she got out and wandered off. We looked for her and called for her but couldn’t find her. Eventually, we went to the local Humane Society to see if they had picked her up as a stray. While we were at the reception desk waiting with the noise of the dogs barking in the rear, my youngest daughter got scared and went to put her arms around my leg. Unfortunately, leg she grabbed the leg wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots only it was not mine, but another man’s leg. He was very kind and understanding, but it makes a fun family story. When we went back to look at the dogs, I wasn’t sure we would recognize her. She was a normal-looking black dog among a lot of other dogs. But I didn’t need to worry about that, because she recognized us, and we took her back home.

When she was around two years old, she still ran out the door at every opportunity, which resulted in this free puppy becoming our most expensive dog. One day the kids were going out, and she ran out into the street in front of an on-coming car that hit her. We rushed her to the vet where they took x-rays and examined her. Fortunately, she didn’t have any internal injuries, but her shattered front leg would not heal correctly without expensive surgery. The vet gave us the option of the surgery, or he could put her down. Because she was still a young dog and the kids loved her, we decided on the surgery. The vet reconstructed her leg using pins and screws. She spent a few days at the vet’s clinic before she came home. Then she spent weeks under limited mobility conditions to allow her leg time to heal if it would. We set up a temporary enclosure in our garage to prevent her from moving around too much. The kids spent a lot of time praying for her healing and eventually she recovered full use of her leg. After that, she didn’t run out the door anymore, and she hated going to the vet. I had to carry or drag her into his office.

Ginger's first Christmas — Ginger with my wife and daughters soon after we got her

Ginger was the one dog that ended up being my wife’s dog. They would walk the floodway daily where she could run off-leash with no cars around. She had a real love, or hatred, for skunks. Like porcupines, dogs don’t seem to learn that you don’t mess with skunks. I don’t know if it just makes them mad or what, but it seems like once a dog encounters a skunk or porcupine, they must get back at them. The good thing about skunks is they don’t have quills. Of course, the stench is difficult to eliminate. Because we live near the floodway and skunks are common around our neighborhood, she didn’t need to be out of the yard to encounter one. We could let her out in the backyard in the evening and she might find one. When she did, she ran straight into the house after getting sprayed. Ugh!

When I would wrestle with the kids by getting on the floor putting a blanket over me, Ginger would attack the blanket that I was under. It was a madhouse when we played, with the kids laughing and screaming, the dog barking and attacking the blanket, and me growling like a monster. Fun memories like these, and even the hard memories, help bring a family closer together.

Playing with Ginger and the kids — Playing on the floor with Ginger and the kids

Ginger’s passing was probably the least traumatic of all our dogs. I let her out into the backyard one afternoon, and later, when I went out to check on her, I found her lying on the deck. She was dead and passed as the result of a heart attack or something similar, though we did not think it necessary to do an autopsy. With all the difficulties we had with her behavior, you would think we would have learned that dogs need training. Unfortunately, we didn’t, which leads us to our next dog, Toby the Wonder Dog.

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Dogs I Have Loved Part I

By doesbuck

On August 11, 2021

In Uncategorized

As far back as I remember, I have always been a dog person. I like cats just fine and we have owned several, though I am allergic to them, I prefer dogs. The first dog in my life was Princess. Before we moved into town, we lived North of the city in a place we called the Colonels. It was between Colorado Springs and Monument and West of the highway. Since I was young, I don’t remember a lot of details about the place except that it had an irrigation ditch running on one side and near to the house was an apple orchard. It was a good place for small kids to play outside with no traffic to worry about. However, we had rattlesnakes. One day, my brother and I were playing outside, and Princess started barking and raising a ruckus. When my mother came out to see what the fuss was about and got to Princess, she saw the rattlesnake coiled close to where we were playing. She killed the snake, and I am sure was grateful to Princess for alerting her of the danger.

Princess with my brother and me — Princess with me and my brother 1958

Another hazard of living in the country was porcupines. I don’t know what it is about porcupines and skunks, but dogs just can’t seem to leave them alone. I am not clear about all the details, but one evening Princess came in with a face full of porcupine quills. My dad got the pliers and, leading Princess to a doorway, had my mother hold the door closed on Princess’s neck. He then pulled the quills out of her face and mouth while the dog and both of us kids cried.

Princess and my dad — Princess with my dad 1955

After we moved into town, I remember watching Princess have puppies in the basement of the house we were living in on the Westside of Colorado Springs. She was a wonderful dog, and we had her from the time I was one or two years old until after I entered Junior High School (Middle School now). After Princess, we didn’t get another dog, but we had a cat.

I didn’t get another dog until after I married. My wife and infant son lived in a small, rented house in Colorado Springs when we got Bathsheba. She was a black German Shepherd puppy full of energy. Though not purebred, she looked like it. Unfortunately, she either jumped the fence or someone took her from our front yard, and we never saw her again after having her for only a short time.

Not long after we lost Bathsheba, we got our next dog, Fidora. She was a Saint Bernard Mix. A large, very furry dog that we did not allow in the house. I have a lot of regrets about Fidora. She was a good dog but had to stay chained outside since we did not have an adequate fence even after we moved into our current home. When I think about it now, I feel like we really deprived not only her but also ourselves of the companionship she would have offered. Occasionally she would get loose. This was only a problem when the neighbor a few houses up the street would go by and she would act aggressively toward him for some unknown reason. He thought it was because they had several cats, but I’m not sure that was it. I think dogs are like people and just don’t get along with some people or some other dogs. When we put Fidora down because she had cancer, it caused a lot of sadness in the house with the kids crying and mourning her passing.

Fidora as a puppy with my son — Fidora with my son on a camping trip in the early 1970s

We have since had four more dogs, including our current dog, Bailey. I will spend a little time on each of them in the upcoming blogs. But we did allow each of them into our home as a part of our family, which is what I remember my family doing with Princess. Dogs have so much love and companionship to offer it is wrong to not allow them into your life if you are going to own one.

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A Few Writing Tools I Use As A Beginning Writer

By doesbuck

On August 4, 2021

In Uncategorized

Late last week I finished the main story arc of my novel. I am now going back and rewriting and editing what I have written. I will also complete some sub-arcs for minor but important characters intending to lead into a second novel. I have learned through participation in the local writing group, (ACFW Colorado Springs (acfwcosprings.com)), and reading various books on the subject (How to Make a Living with Your Writing, Bestselling Books By Joanna Penn and J.F.Penn | The Creative Penn ), is that to be successful as an author you need multiple books. If you write a successful book, readers will naturally look for more of your books to read. If they don’t find one, they will move on to another author. No pressure there!

It has only taken me four and a half years to get to this point of my first book, so I need to pick up the pace if I want to complete a second in time to keep the reader’s interest. This is a daunting task since I am just learning to write. I discovered there is a big difference between telling a story and turning it into a written work. In one of my earlier posts, I included a short story I wrote in high school, The Very Old and Toothless Dragon. Reading it now, I told the story, but I didn’t write a story. I did a lot of telling and not much showing which draws the reader into the story allowing them to take part in the action. Maybe someday I will rewrite it.

Last month, I took part in a Zoom meeting discussing the ‘craft’ of writing. During the meeting, the moderator asked me, as a new writer, what I found most helpful. My answer was the critique group. Where I submit a portion of my story to the group, one or more members of the group will read it and offer suggestions they think will improve it. I will also receive sections of other people’s work to read and critique. Since many involved in the group have multiple books published, I get some very helpful suggestions especially concerning the show and don’t tell aspect of writing. Though occasionally I will get conflicting suggestions. Having to critique another writer’s work I find difficult because I lack confidence in my ability as a writer. Both exercises have helped me, and I would suggest any aspiring writer get involved in a critique group.

A couple of tools I used to help me through times when I got stuck during the writing process are the W chart in the three-act structure, Author’s Bucket List: Plot Structure | Jordan Dane, and The Hero’s Journey: Step-By-Step Guide with Examples (prowritingaid.com). I am a pantser, which means I write by the seat of my pants. I don’t outline the story before I start, (a plotter). But occasionally I need to stop and see where I am and where the story needs to go, and these two tools help me make that decision.

My goal is still to have my first book completed late this year. (Written and ready for submission or self-publishing.) Continue to follow my blog for additional updates. Please subscribe using the pop-up box and if you have any comments or questions, use the Contact tab.