My Love For Animals {TRIVIA}

I have a deep rooted addiction to all animals. And this section of my site is dedicated to that addiction. I have found more love, understanding, and companionship through my association with animals then most people find in a lifetime. I've always offered sanctuary and care to needy animals and my rewards have been greater then my efforts..

                                                                                                                                                          

Let me first introduce the immediate members of my family. Above is a picture of my Lady the Lab. Here's a little Trivia on the Labrador:

The Labrador Retriever is a strongly built, medium-sized, short-coupled, dog possessing a sound, athletic, well-balanced conformation that enables it to function as a retrieving gun dog; the substance and soundness to hunt waterfowl or upland game for long hours under difficult conditions; the character and quality to win in the show ring; and the temperament to be a family companion. Physical features and mental characteristics should denote a dog bred to perform as an efficient Retriever of game with a stable temperament suitable for a variety of pursuits beyond the hunting environment.

The most distinguishing characteristics of the Labrador Retriever are its short, dense, weather resistant coat; an "otter" tail; a clean-cut head with broad back skull and moderate stop; powerful jaws; and its "kind," friendly eyes, expressing character, intelligence and good temperament.

When an animal shares my domain it becomes a permanent member of my family and is given unconditional love for the rest of its life. Lady is one of my children. This Lady is the second four legged Lady to share my Life the first one died over three years ago. Lady 1 was the best companion I ever had and Lady 2 is doing a pretty good job filling her paws.


I hunted through pictures of dogs for a long time trying to find out what kind a breed Charley was. I finally come to the conclusion that my Charley is a mongrel (mutt)


This is my Charley! He's the sweetest thing on four legs. In the background is my Lady. 

Charley likes to bark but he doesn't bite. Charley is also one of my kids. Not much Trivia on Charley. A "pure bred" dog is a group of dogs that look alike and are the product of parents with a similar appearance and which, when mated together, reproduce their kind. A mongrel or Mutt is a dog whose parents are unknown or is not considered to be pure bred. Poor boy but take it from me you're as good as any pure bred can be.


My Lady and Charley can tell me more in just a few seconds by wagging their tails then most humans can tell if they wag their tongues all day.


A dear friend (Tina) sent me this picture of a black Lab.

            

Many years ago I raised Morgan Horses. It was a happy time. I had several champions that my wife and I showed all over the country. I think all horses are beautiful specially the Morgan.


The birth of the Morgan breed

The Morgan Horse - An American Legend
Justin Morgan was a living legend. In the manner of so many heroes, he began as an unremarkable colt and became the father of an entire breed of horses recognized for quality and dependability.
Born in 1789, Justin Morgan started life as a small, rough-coated colt known as "Figure." In 1791, he left his birthplace in Springfield, Massachusetts with his new owner, the soft-spoken schoolteacher Justin Morgan, by whose name the stallion eventually became known. Although his breeding was unknown (thought to be of Dutch, Thoroughbred, or Arabian breeding), the quality of Justin Morgan's ancestry showed in his straight clean legs; deep muscling over his quarters and shoulders; and fine, intelligent head with large expressive eyes and short, pricked ears. Add to these the quality of his movement, a thick but silky mane and tail, and a clean-cut throatlatch, and you have the conformation of the ideal light horse. Despite these fine qualities, Justin Morgan's lack of size was such that his debt-ridden owner found no buyers on their journey north to Randolph Center, Vermont. It was simply fate that no one but, his new owner realized what a little giant he was.




Well, I can't leave out my other four legged family. My family of stray cats. Every morning and every evening I feed and offer love to all the homeless felines in my neighborhood. I've even given them names. They're wild and won't let anyone near them except for me. Yes!! I consider them part of my family.


Cat Having Kittens

A placental mammal, the cat gives birth to young that have developed inside her body. Nine weeks after fertilization, hormones stimulate the cat’s uterus to contract and expel the kittens. Here, one kitten has already been born. The next can be seen emerging from the birth canal of the mother, shrouded in the amniotic sac that encloses each developing kitten in the womb. When the membrane breaks, the young animal takes its first breath of air. The mother licks the newborn clean and dry and chews through the umbilical cord still connecting it to the placenta. Another kitten is born within half an hour, by which time the first two, blind but not helpless, have smelled and felt their way to their mother’s belly to begin feeding. The placenta, or afterbirth, follows the last kitten. In the wild the mother eats this organ, both to obtain valuable nourishment when she is tired and immobile and to eliminate the smell of blood so attractive to predators.


This next one doesn't have four legs but I include him in my animal kingdom. This would be Almighty Cash the mighty bald eagle. Go to the directory and you'll find the story. Almighty Cash keeper of the skies. The Almighty Bald Eagle.

The bald eagle was designated as the national bird of the United States in 1782. Its name does not imply a lack of feathers, but instead is derived from the word piebald, meaning “marked with white.” The bald eagle reigns as the second-largest bird of prey in North America, after the California condor.


We sure can't leave out the King


The largest member of the cat family The mighty lion. Who's size and strength have captured human imagination since ancient times, when they were given the nickname king of beasts. Lions are also known for their mighty roar, a fearsome sound that can be heard by humans more than five miles away. I've always admired the Lions dominating appearance he really has the stature of a true King.

Adult male lions can be as much as 50 percent larger than females, but it is to other males that they must appear threatening. Their manes make them appear bigger without adding weight. If a smaller male realizes he is at a disadvantage, a confrontation may end without a fight. In the event of an attack, the mane also serves to snag or cushion the impact of an opponent’s claws and teeth. Although lions are now protected from sport hunting, they are increasingly threatened by the disappearance of land and food as humans encroach upon their habitat.


Now here's a magnificent creature. Beautiful, graceful and another favorite of mine. The one and only Jaguar, considered to be the largest American cat.

The jaguar is found from the southern United States to northern Argentina, but it is especially abundant in the dense forests of Central America and Brazil. A mature jaguar is about six feet long, not including the tail, which is two to three feet in length. It stands two feet high at its shoulders. Its coat is a rich yellow to rusty-red, and occasionally black, spotted with large black rosettes, each consisting of a circle of spots surrounding a central spot. The head and body are massive, and the legs are relatively short and thick. An adept climber and an excellent swimmer. In the pre-Columbian civilizations of Peru and Central America, it was worshiped as a god. .

PRINCESS SHEEBA SPEAKS

Let me tell you my brief story, that is if you can spend a minute or two but bare in mind I’m not a writer that is something Big Daddy Cash can do. Cash didn’t know what he was in for when he adopted me you see I’m a four legged holy terror but I can’t help it cause I’m just a wee little puppy doing what wee little puppies do. Hmm, let me see, oh yes it all had its beginning on Cashes birthday; he saw me on a TV show about animals needing a home and said I want that cute little puppy and I want her today. He called the humane society and adopted me right on the spot. I’m one of the lucky ones because I had one day before I was to be euthanized. Anyway right from the start I had six four legged brothers and sisters, five canines and one feline. I didn’t know it at the time but a feline is a cat. All together we are one big happy family even the cat. Big daddy Cash is the master of our domain it is a true to life menagerie. Finding a home with this animal loving son of a gun was my lucky day. Well I said I’d be brief and I meant it maybe Big Daddy will write a little something about me just for the fun of it. Da, da, da, That’s all Folks!! Sheeba

MY HAPPY CANINES

My Happy Canines

My brother had two dogs that he couldn’t take care of because of his crazy life style. He told me that he was going to take his dogs to the humane society and have them put to sleep. He knew that I had, had a Labrador retriever that was my constant companion for 14 years. He also knew that I had this great affection for all animals. When he approached me with the proposition that I take the Lab. I gave him a positive no. No, No, No! This was on a weekend, he planned to take them to the pound on the following Monday.

Needless to say, that weekend I didn’t get much sleep, thinking about those two poor animals that were going to be killed. How could I not give them a home, not just the Lab. but both of them? Their survival was left entirely up to me. Well, the first thing Monday morning, I called my brother and told him to bring both dogs over. I told him I’d keep them until I could find them a home.



Since they were young adults they were pretty set in their habits and ways. It was obvious that they had not been given much love and affection because they feared me and were suspicious of all my efforts. It was empathy and compassion that drew me to them at first. The more I worked with them the more I started to care for them.

Charley was a mongrel about four years old and Lady was a pure bred right around three. Both dogs were plumb full of love but they didn’t show it because they didn’t know what love was. It took me about a year to earn their trust and respect before they could really show their love. When they had confidence in themselves and me they started learning in leaps and bounds. Now, there is an unconditional love that has bound us together forever and ever. Charley and Lady have both become a part of me as well as I them. My home is their home and their home is mine.

Little Charley is really quite an exceptional guy. He shows his love in a good many ways, to Lady, to me and to the neighborhood kids. For example; he’ll wait for Lady to eat her food and if Lady’s still hungry he’ll step aside and let her have his. He’ll lay and lick Lady for hours until her whole body is clean. He loves all children and lets them do anything they want when they’re playing with him. When it comes to me, he follows me where ever I go. When I’m working in my office he’s always right there at my feet, wagging his tail, wiggling his ears and making funny little noises that sound like a purring kitten.

Lady is also real neat, she is always a lady and she struts like a queen. She loves to be mauled and she’ll maul you right back. As big as she is she’s as gentle as can be and she also likes to lay or sit right next to me. She’s somewhat spoiled and likes attention all of the time and you better believe that she gets it, and that’s just fine.

I love my dogs and my dogs love me.
Together we make a happy family.
There’s Charley, Lady, then there’s me
The three of us enjoy each others company.

With these guys in my life I’m never alone.
They both wait at the door for me to get home.
They love to take long walks to the park.
And sometimes we walk the streets after dark.

Ladies a Lab as sweet as she can be.
And my little Charles’s a mystery.
They have their own room in our domain.
A yard where running and romping is their game.

We take care of stray cats in our neighborhood.
We feed and love them and show brotherhood.
Yes there’s lots of love in my little family.
And it’s right up front for all to see.

I think that is how Lady and Charley would tell their story if they could talk Let’s see, I’ve told you about Lady and Charley but that‘s only the beginning of my story. It’s time for me to tell you about Bear my golden retriever.
I have a huge back yard surrounded by a 7 foot fence and a double gate with links and steel. I keep the gate locked always so it’s a safe haven for my animals. I’ll have to paint you a picture to get you in the proper frame of mind. Picture this; it’s the middle of the winter, there’s four feet of snow on the ground and the winds are having conniption fits. Low and behold this 200lb dog shows up just outside the gates but I wouldn’t let him in because I figured he’d eventually go home where he belonged. He was hungry so I put dry food out for him and that seem to appease him. Then I went in the house and forgot all about him. The next morning I grabbed my snow shovel and went outside the gates to clear the driveway and I noticed a large pile of snow along side my truck. I didn’t give it a second thought because the snow had been drifting all through the night leaving large drifts all over the place.

I finished cleaning my driveway then went over to clean my truck and low and behold that big pile of snow started to move. You got that right!! It was Bear (I named him Bear because he looked like a big polar bear). Bear adopted us and now he’s a part of our happy family. “Bear was a gift from God and a real blessing in disguise.”
If you have love in your heart to share the gifts that you give will let the whole world know that you care and if you have love in your home I can promise you that you’ll never be alone. Yes I love one liners and yes, that was mine…
Okay, now you know about Charley, Lady and Bear but my family keeps growing and growing so there is more to this story. Each member is as important as the last and each one with a story.
Sweetheart is comfortably stretched out in her lounge chair making eyes at me so I wink at her and say; “Don’t worry Sweetheart your story is next.”

So now the main focus is on my little sweetheart, Sweetheart. Sweetheart is named Sweetheart because she truly is a sweetheart (Sure a lot of sweethearts laying the foundation). When I was telling you about Lady and Charley she climbed up on the upper most part of her lounger with one ear perked up and the other hanging lazy over her cheek. She kept her big brown eyes on me the whole time I was writing. I think that somehow she knew I wasn’t writing about her. It was like she was jealous in wonderment. I had to keep assuring her that her turn was coming.

Just looking at her with those big brown eyes, one ear up and one ear down and a painted on smile you can’t help but know that she’s a sweetheart.

Any way she’s colored pure gold with a white mask on her face that goes from her snout to her forehead. She’s got what looks like a lazy ear, her tail is shaped like an L and she walks with a slight limp. This is what I’m about to explain…

In 2004 I rented one of my apartments to a young couple who raised Pit Bulls. The young man was Steve his wife’s name was Nicole and they had a 5 year old daughter named Brittney. I’m mentioning this because it will make it easier to tell Sweethearts story.

Sweetheart’s life began with this family and now I am going to reveal the shocking truth.

Sweetheart’s original name was “Fighting Bitch”. What I didn’t know when I rented to Steve was that he raised Pit Bulls to be fighters. The meaner he could make them the better fighters they’d become. It turned out that Steve was a drug addicts a thief and a liar, but that’s another story.

The “Fighting Bitch” as Sweetheart was called was beaten, starved and chained. The beatings were often and torturess and starving her would make her fight for her food. They called her the Bitch and her life was really a BITCH.

Sweetheart had one professional fight and lost to a larger and meaner Pit Bull. Her ear was almost torn from her head, her tail was broken in the middle and her left hind leg had multiple fractures. Had I known what was going on right under my nose I surely would have stopped it, called the humane society and had Steve arrested for animal abuse.

I knew nothing!!


At least not until a domestic problem surfaced. It appears that Steve had a lot of money bet on the “Fighting Bitches” fight, when she lost Steve celebrated by getting obnoxiously drunk, came home and severely beat is wife and daughter. His neighbor called the police and he was arrested for child abuse. I didn’t see Steve again and Nicole took her daughter Brittney, left in the middle of the night and hasn’t been heard or seen since.

When I went in to clean up the apartment a week later I found Sweetheart chained in a closet more dead then alive. She has been a gift and a pleasure given to us through the mercy of God and a prize member of my family ever since.

She is sitting here beside me looking me right in the eye she’s pleased that I finally told her story. For a dog that was trained to be mean she’s got to be the sweetest most loving creature in all of humanity.

Next it’s time for Bobby! I don’t know too much about Bobby only that he was a runaway feeding out of all the garbage cans in the neighborhood and the dog catchers couldn’t catch him. I guess he heard that I loved animals and decided that my place was a good place to settle down. One step ahead of the law and tired of running he jumped the 7 foot fence and refused to leave. This left me with two choices, take him in or turn him over to the law and the law in my neck of the woods executes Pit Bulls.

**********

Since they were young adults they were pretty set in their habits and ways. It was obvious that they had not been given much love and affection because they feared me and were suspicious of all my efforts. It was empathy and compassion that drew me to them at first. The more I worked with them the more I started to care for them.

Charley was a mongrel about four years old and Lady was a pure bred right around three. Both dogs were plumb full of love but they didn’t show it because they didn’t know what love was. It took me about a year to earn their trust and respect before they could really show their love. When they had confidence in themselves and me they started learning in leaps and bounds. Now, there is an unconditional love that has bound us together for ever and ever. Charley and Lady have both become a part of me as well as I them. My home is their home and their home is mine.

Little Charley is really quite an exceptional guy. He shows his love in a good many ways, to Lady, to me and to the neighborhood kids. For example; he’ll wait for Lady to eat her food and if Lady’s still hungry he’ll step aside and let her have his. He’ll lay and lick Lady for hours until her whole body is clean. He loves all children and lets them do anything they want when they’re playing with him. When it comes to me, he follows me where ever I go. When I’m working in my office he’s always right there at my feet, wagging his tail, wiggling his ears and making funny little noises that sound like a purring kitten.

Lady is also real neat, she is always a lady and she struts like a queen. She loves to be mauled and she’ll maul you right back. As big as she is she’s as gentle as can be and she also likes to lay or sit right next to me. She’s somewhat spoiled and likes attention all of the time and you better believe that she gets it, and that’s just fine.

I love my dogs and my dogs love me.
Together we make a happy family.
There’s Charley, Lady, then there’s me
The three of us enjoy each other’s company.

With these guys in my life I’m never alone.
They both wait at the door for me to get home.
They love to take long walks to the park.
And sometimes we walk the streets after dark.

Ladies a Lab as sweet as she can be.
And my little Charles’s a mystery.
They have their own room in our domain.
A yard where running and romping is their game.

We take care of stray cats in our neighborhood.
We feed and love them and show brotherhood.
Yes there’s lots of love in my little family.
And it’s right up front for all to see.

I think that is how Lady and Charley would tell their story if they could talk Let’s see, I’ve told you about Lady and Charley but that‘s only the beginning of my story. It’s time for me to tell you about Bear my golden retriever.
I have a huge back yard surrounded by a 7 foot fence and a double gate with links and steel. I keep the gate locked always so it’s a safe haven for my animals. I’ll have to paint you a picture to get you in the proper frame of mind. Picture this; it’s the middle of the winter, there’s four feet of snow on the ground and the winds are having conniption fits. Low and behold this 200lb dog shows up just outside the gates but I wouldn’t let him in because I figured he’d eventually go home where he belonged. He was hungry so I put dry food out for him and that seem to appease him. Then I went in the house and forgot all about him. The next morning I grabbed my snow shovel and went outside the gates to clear the driveway and I noticed a large pile of snow along side my truck. I didn’t give it a second thought because the snow had been drifting all through the night leaving large drifts all over the place.

I finished cleaning my driveway then went over to clean my truck and low and behold that big pile of snow started to move. You got that right!! It was Bear (I named him Bear because he looked like a big polar bear). Bear adopted us and now he’s a part of our happy family. “Bear was a gift from God and a real blessing in disguise.”
If you have love in your heart to share the gifts that you give will let the whole world know that you care and if you have love in your home I can promise you that you’ll never be alone. Yes I love one liners and yes, that was mine…
Okay, now you know about Charley, Lady and Bear but my family keeps growing and growing so there is more to this story. Each member is as important as the last and each one with a story.
Sweetheart is comfortably stretched out in her lounge chair making eyes at me so I wink at her and say; “Don’t worry Sweetheart your story is next.”

So now the main focus is on my little sweetheart, Sweetheart. Sweetheart is named Sweetheart because she truly is a sweetheart (Sure a lot of sweethearts laying the foundation). When I was telling you about Lady and Charley she climbed up on the upper most part of her lounger with one ear perked up and the other hanging lazy over her cheek. She kept her big brown eyes on me the whole time I was writing. I think that somehow she knew I wasn’t writing about her. It was like she was jealous in wonderment. I had to keep assuring her that her turn was coming.

Just looking at her with those big brown eyes, one ear up and one ear down and a painted on smile you can’t help but know that she’s a sweetheart.

Any way she’s colored pure gold with a white mask on her face that goes from her snout to her forehead. She’s got what looks like a lazy ear, her tail is shaped like an L and she walks with a slight limp. This is what I’m about to explain…

In 2004 I rented one of my apartments to a young couple who raised Pit Bulls. The young man was Steve his wife’s name was Nicole and they had a 5 year old daughter named Brittney. I’m mentioning this because it will make it easier to tell Sweethearts story.

Sweetheart’s life began with this family and now I am going to reveal the shocking truth.

Sweetheart’s original name was “Fighting Bitch”. What I didn’t know when I rented to Steve was that he raised Pit Bulls to be fighters. The meaner he could make them the better fighters they’d become. It turned out that Steve was a drug addicts a thief and a liar, but that’s another story.

The “Fighting Bitch” as Sweetheart was called was beaten, starved and chained. The beatings were often and torturess and starving her would make her fight for her food. They called her the Bitch and her life was really a BITCH.

Sweetheart had one professional fight and lost to a larger and meaner Pit Bull. Her ear was almost torn from her head, her tail was broken in the middle and her left hind leg had multiple fractures. Had I known what was going on right under my nose I surely would have stopped it, called the humane society and had Steve arrested for animal abuse.

I knew nothing!!


At least not until a domestic problem surfaced. It appears that Steve had a lot of money bet on the “Fighting Bitches” fight, when she lost Steve celebrated by getting obnoxiously drunk, came home and severely beat is wife and daughter. His neighbor called the police and he was arrested for child abuse. I didn’t see Steve again and Nicole took her daughter Brittney, left in the middle of the night and hasn’t been heard or seen since.

When I went in to clean up the apartment a week later I found Sweetheart chained in a closet more dead than alive. She has been a gift and a pleasure given to us through the mercy of God and a prize member of my family ever since.

She is sitting here beside me looking me right in the eye she’s pleased that I finally told her story. For a dog that was trained to be mean she’s got to be the sweetest most loving creature in all of humanity.

Next it’s time for Bobby! I don’t know too much about Bobby only that he was a runaway feeding out of all the garbage cans in the neighborhood and the dog catchers couldn’t catch him. I guess he heard that I loved animals and decided that my place was a good place to settle down. One step ahead of the law and tired of running he jumped the 7 foot fence and refused to leave. This left me with two choices, take him in or turn him over to the law and the law in my neck of the woods executes Pit Bulls.

**********

OOGY

I have a wall to wall TV and all five of my dogs like to stretch out in front of the set and watch the shows. The screen is right across the room from where I do all my writing. Even though I keep the TV on all the time I seldom watch it because I am totally involved writing and taking care of business on my computer. My dogs, well that’s another story, the only thing better then watching TV is their dinner.

I love to write animal stories Whenever I hear an unusual story about animals my writers instinct flurries. Sweetheart my little Bull Terrier came over to my desk and tugged on my pant leg to let me know there was something of interest on TV, she wanted me to watch. Oprah Winfrey who was featuring a story about a white disfigured Bull Dog named Oogy. She had the family that adopted Oogy on her show along with Oogy.


This is their story;


When Oogy was just a puppy his owners raised fighting Bulls. Oogy was a runt and couldn’t be used as a fighter so his owners tied him to a stake and used him as bait for the pit bulls in the fighting ring. The fighting Bulls injured him so bad that his owners threw him in a cage and left him to die. Thank God the police raided the place or he would have died. The police took him to Ardmore Animal Hospital, where he was saved by Dr. Bianco, the hospital veterinarian. He was treated for a severely damage face, the whole side of his face was ripped off, his jaw was crushed and his skull was badly damaged, it was a miracle that he was still alive.


Larry and his twin boys were at the Ardmore Animal Hospital to drop off their cat when Oogy walked down the hall and right into their hearts. Larry said; "He looked like part of him had melted and he just covered us with kisses. It's like he didn't know that anything bad had happened to him, he was so full of love, he jumped right up in our arms."


Oogy had found a new family and he adopted them immediately. It was love at first sight for all of them.


Oogy had found a loving home, but he still had an agonizing road to recovery. A second major surgery was necessary to rebuild Oogy's face and put an end to his chronic pain.


Larry said; "I think that every day my family tries to atone for what happened to Oogy. He's been through the worst imaginable horrors, and we feel very lucky because of what he gives back, he gives us an immeasurable amount of devotion and love."


Larry continues; "I think that Oogy symbolizes to people the indomitable survivor that they see in themselves and that there is love on the other side of adversity."


Larry and Jennifer Levin, Noah and Dan the Levin twins and Oogy are now a happy family. Oogy might not be the prettiest dog, but Oogy's brought everyone more love than anyone can imagine. The twins Noah and Dan say their lives have changed in many different ways all because a dog named Oogy joined their family.


Although Noah and Dan will be off to college soon, Larry plans to make sure Oogy still gets plenty of attention. "One of the things I want to do for Oogy is train him to work with kids and take him to kid's hospitals, because I think he'll be an inspiration to young kids who are facing a lot of adversity."


If your heart's been touched this Valentine's Day and you'd like a little Oogy of your own, there are animals available for adoption in shelters across this country. Oprah; "It's a huge commitment to be a dog owner because it's adding another member to your family. But if you decide that that's what you want to do, they give a lot of love"

TIPSY

NOTE: A car sped pass me on the freeway and a gunny sack flew out it’s window bouncing along side the freeway. I stopped to check it out and inside the bag was four baby Dingo’s. Three dead puppies and one just barely alive. If I could have caught the man responsible I would have thrown him in front of a speeding car. Anyway I buried the three dead puppies and took the live one home and nursed him back to a healthy young Dingo. I named the little guy Freeway. This has nothing to do with this story, it is just something I thought you would like to know.

********************

Hey there, friends and neighbors. Let me tell you all a distressing, story. I recently escaped, unscathed, and unnerved from an awfully dangerous encounter. It was with an Australian Dingo, not a normal Australian Dingo, but an evil Dingo who also happened to be a Werewolf.

It all began when I was driving to work and stopped at a crosswalk to let an old bloke walk by. Then out of nowhere, this blow-in on a scooter behind me started hollering and gave me the middle finger! It was totally crazy, him sitting there on his little two wheeler, the first thing I noticed was that the bloke looked exactly like a rope-able ready to explode! I thought I might be hallucinating, but at the next light the jerk pulled up right next to me and I got a closer look. And I saw it was true. He looked exactly like a bloke in a nightmare. So I rolled down the window and said:

"Hey buddy, Lair it up and rack off? I was just being courteous by letting that bloke cross the street. It's common courtesy so why don't you just hop on your scooter, scurry over to a nice cliff and drop out of sight.?"

Then Australian Dingo Werewolf points and pulls over at the next corner. And, as yours truly never backs down from confrontations with Dingo’s and Werewolves, I followed suit and run off into the ditch...

So there we were, the Australian Dingo Werewolf barking his lungs out, and me, well, I kept telling him to get the hell off his scooter. But the bloke wouldn't do it. This went on for a while, until finally I got tired and backed my car out of the ditch. But the whole incident caused an emotion explosion.

So, this afternoon I took my girlfriend to lunch with her miniature poodle at a cool outdoor restaurant. And guess who waited on us. That's right! I swear! I'm positive! I mean, I'm pretty darn sure that it was the same Australian Dingo Werewolf ! I was staring in shock and could hardly believe my eyes and the Australian Dingo Werewolf pretended to not even recognize me! His whole expression was just blank. I started to panic, because I knew he wanted a pint of my blood.

It was a bad scene, and the chow downers were totally unaware of the danger. I emerged undamaged in the end, but my girl friends miniature poodle thought it was a little weird that I kept making them taste my ice tea. And there was an awkward silence when I told our Australian Dingo Werewolf I'd give him a venomous feed if he promised not to poison my lunch. Of course, that was before I tripped the sucker when he brought over our orders, I thought I made it look like an accident, but you know what? Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if it was actually even the same bloke. I mean, can Australian Dingo Werewolves even drive scooters? Do they know how to wait tables? I don't think so!!

My doctor told me I better quit drinking rubbing and wood alcohol and drink coolaide and lemonaide instead.

KING

This Thought Box is a far cry from most of my Thought Boxes. It's more or less a get to know me, my way of thinking and my love for animals, put into words place. . When I started writing animal stories it was like putting my love on paper for the whole world to see. I've always loved animals and for some special reason animals have always loved me. My home is a favorite habitat for all animals, a refuge where animals can find love and understanding. Let me introduce myself so that you’ll know the one behind this truly amazing change of pace. I’m known as Big Daddy Cash the man with a story to tell. I live in the land of Zion, Salt Lake City, Utah right dab in the middle of the Rockies. I’m retired , I love to read and write and I thrive on the company of four legged people. You might say if you got four legs you’re my kind of people. Most people don’t consider animals people Well I don’t consider most two legged people animals, and that’s a fact!

True Story

“BEAR”

By Big Daddy Cash


My little family was happy and I thought it was complete with Lady, Charley, Sweetheart and me. We all live together in a two bedroom apartment where each of us has our own space. I have an office where I keep all my electronic toys. Lady has her own closet where she can hide during lightning and thunder storms. Charlie’s space is under my desk where he can get all tangled up in the wires and lay on top of my feet and Sweetheart has her own lounge chair and sofa. Now who could ask for anything more?

Recently I bought a king size bed and Lady, Charley and Sweetheart claimed it as theirs before I could even sit on it. Now in order for me to get any sleep I’ve had to learn how to twist and squirm in between them. I feel like a snake slithering into a comfortable place. When I wake up in the morning my kids have all moved around. Charley is under the covers in-between my legs, Lady is stretched out the whole length of the bed laying with her back next to mine and Sweetheart has become my pillow. That’s okay though because I like the feel of their nice warm bodies pushing up against me. I just love our sleeping arrangement, no one has it as good as us four. I love my little guys and they love me and I couldn’t imagine anyone else in our family.

Everything was just how it should be and then one day something unpredictable happened. Maybe our maker has already mapped out our destiny and when he thinks things are running to smoothly he gives them a twist. Who knows?

It was winter and the weather was terrible, snowing and blowing almost all week. My tenants were complaining about the drifted snow on the sidewalks and in the driveway. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t keep them clear the wind kept blowing and drifting the snow quicker than I could shovel. In some places the snow was piled as high as four or five feet and it just kept drifting from one place to another. I tried but I was fighting losing battle. I started shoveling at one end of my property and by the time I got to the other end I had to start all over again.

One evening my dogs and I were out side trying to free the gate to the back yard when Charley started barking at something outside the gate. A large animal that looked like a bear was pacing up and down on the other side of the gate. A closer look and I could see that it was a Golden Retriever the biggest retriever I’d ever laid eyes on. I tried to shoo him away but he wouldn’t go he went over and plopped down under the over hang by my tool shed. Which was probably the only dry place in the neighborhood.

By the looks of him I knew he must have a home and he just wanted to get out of the snow for awhile but I wasn’t about to let him in the yard. However he looked hungry so I gave him a large bowl of dry food and a pan of water. He lapped the food up and wolf down the water like he hadn’t had anything for days. He then laid down closed his eyes and went to sleep. I could see he wasn’t ready to leave not yet anyway.

It was about seven o’clock in the evening and I was expecting my brother and his wife for a surprise birthday party in less then one hour. Some of the guests had already arrived and I still had a lot to do to get ready for the party. I’d done what I could for the retriever so I went in the house and forgot all about the dog who was now sound asleep under the cover of my tool shed.

That night we had the worst storm of the winter lightning and thunder combined with snow and high winds. The winds were so violent that they blew the roof off my work shop and broke out the windows in one of my apartments. My brother and all the guests had to stay all night because the roads were so bad that no one wanted to risk getting stuck and not be able to make it safely home. I had bedrolls and blankets wall to wall in every room in the house. Lady, Charley and Sweetheart were scared of the thunder and lightning so they either hid or stuck right by me all through the night. If any thing could go wrong… it did!

I can’t believe the weather in this crazy state I’ve seen it when it has rained, snowed, sleeted and been sun shiny and beautiful all in the same day. Anyway the next morning the sun was shining and the snow was melting by nine o’clock everybody had gone to there homes. Since everything was normal accept for the mess the storm had left to clean up I decided to fix a large breakfast for me and my family. After wards I’d do what I could to take care of the havoc the storm had created.

When we finished our breakfast I grabbed my snow shovel and went outside to clear the driveway, damn I thought, this is going to take all day. There were piles and piles of snow all over and a specially large pile along side my truck but then there were large piles of snow all over so I didn’t give it a second thought. The snow had been drifting all through the night leaving large drifts, some six foot high..

I finished cleaning my driveway then went over to clean my truck and low and behold that big pile of snow started to move. Oh my God I thought; that must be the big dog from last night, God I forgot all about him.

It was the Golden Retriever he look just like a polar bear coming out of hibernation. I felt so sorry that I had forgotten all about him. He looked so scared and frightened it broke my heart that I had left him out in that lousy weather to fend for his self.

I shook the snow off him then opened the gate and he ran right to my door so I took him inside where it was warm and cozy and dried him in front of the open oven. He was so happy and contented that he purred like a kitten, believe it or not.

All the next week I searched for his owners without any luck. Guess what? This polar bear Golden Retriever had found a new family. I named him Bear because he looked like a big bear when we first seen him and he looked like a polar bear covered in snow. Anyway his name may have been Bear because when I’d call him he’d come running. He adopted us and now we’re a big happy family. Now it’s Lady, Charley, Sweetheart, Bear and me. Now was a year and a half ago.

Bear was a gift from God and a real blessing in disguise. If you have love in your heart to share, the gifts that you give will let the whole world know that you care and if you have love in your home I can promise you that you’ll never be alone. Yes I love one liners and yes , that was mine