Chiro-sister's birthing day/night

As I mentioned before, chiro-sister Ruthie had her baby. During the labor, her dog Albus was by her side at all times--except when she went into the birthing tub. Albus was pacing about. He could hear Ruth, but he couldn't see her. Midwife Nancy suggested Hubby call him up onto a nearby chair so he could see her. So he did. And then! For a dog who hates water . . .

SPLASH!

I managed to get this photo. Keep in mind that it was dark & I was just pointing & hoping I'd catch it. Nancy said this was a first; a dog jumping into the tub. Ruth picked him up & handed him to Hubby.

Drying off.

All tuckered out. Plus Mum told him to get in his bed. He jolly-well did!

Then Ruth moved back to the bed . . .

Albus on the bed at Ruth's feet; midwife assistant.

Ruthie was so AMAZING! As Mum says, "They don't call it labor for nothing."

9.3 lbs!!! 15 inch head with man hands!

Midwife Nancy & Mum

When I was going thru my power outage of 5 days, Ruthie said how hard that must have been, and how did I survive? After the baby finally came at 6:34 a.m., Ruthie said, "That is the hardest thing I've ever done."

[Pause . . . wait for it . . . ]

"Yeah," I said. "But could you live without electricity for 5 days?" Hahahaha ;-)

Day of Rest

Last weekend I doggie-sat for my chiro-sister. His name is Albus, a rescued Jack Russell. [Eddie Izzard: small yappy-type dog] or, as a friend calls him, "The spoiled white sausage." Hahahaha Chiro-sister called to check in with me, and I snapped this pic for her; sunning himself on the back porch. "Yeah, he likes to do that. Sometimes he gets sunburned," she said. HAPPY Day of Rest! :-) H.

Beneficial

Yesterday was a rainy . . .

then not rainy day:

Chiro-sister & I went for a w-a-l-k with her dog down to:

I told Ruth about how Dave Dobson suggested replacing words like good & bad with words that had less of an emotional charge. We learn those words at a very young age, and they get reinforced particularly during the toilet training phase of our lives. This is Ruth's d-o-g:

Albus relaxing by the labyrinth

This is a doting and doted upon little guy. Ruth was giving him a treat, and she says, "Who's a good boy?" And then I hear, "Errr . . . who's beneficial?" Hahahahaha

Monday for Mari

I've been reading Patricia McConnell's For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend. Brilliant-brilliant-brilliant! Now some people argue that dogs don't have emotions because they are animals. As if. As if they don't have brains with the same sort of neurotransmitters that humans have. I think these assertions are made by auditory people who think that just because animals can't talk, they can't feel. What's wonderful about Patricia McConnell is that she's a scientist, and backs up her information with a lot of neuroscience and other sciencey-type research. I found particularly fascinating the different physiological clues and facial expressions that dogs make that give us insights into what they're feeling or trying to communicate.  Pay attention to body posture; stiffness, leaning forward or back. A dog who bites out of fear has a different physiology compared to one who bites out of aggression.  

Humans and dogs have many of the same facial expressions, so I went thru a few pix to look for illustrations from the book. One of the first things is to look at the mouth; opened & relaxed (a dog's version of smiling) or closed, denoting tension. Here's Remi:

Hmmm . . . closed mouth. Also brow furrowed. I think he was thinking, "What?" 

Here he is, mouth open and he is leaning into me--all 145 lbs. of him!  Patricia McConnell says that dogs are not "huggers" like us primates, but I'm not embracing him full on or very tightly. I let him cozy up to me.

Remi in the center of the labyrinth. Mouth smiling.  He always came and joined me in the center of the labyrinth, and so I asked him to stay so I could take his picture. You can see him leaning forward wanting to come out.

Here's mama Barkley:

I always thought of this as a serious picture. Mouth closed. 

But here she is in the background with a happy, relaxed mouth:

And Remi resting his big head on Mum. He liked to do that.  :-)  "Yes, you're very sweet. Now go away," says Mum. "And you're not a dog, you're a horse."

Here's Albus, my sister's dog. Looking very happy sitting outside the labyrinth.

Here he is at the beach. Mouth closed, and looking a bit tense (or perhaps he's enjoying the breeze flapping his ears?) He went after a woman when he was off-leash that week. This was also the trip where he bit my niece. He was not a good dog to be around lots of kiddiewink noise.

And one of my favourite pictures:

Millie, mouth smiling AND eyes closed. Melting.  :-) 

Maggie & Millie, smiling with Mari. 

Patricia talks about "whale eye," a fear look where the whites of the eyes are showing. I don't know if  this qualifies, but Maggie was awfully patient and sweet with nephew Rowan:

Rowan's mouth open, Maggie's mouth closed. 

When I took this photo last year, I thought it was really sweet. Now I think Millie's not looking too happy. 

Maggie, 2011. Not so Christmasy-cheery. Sorry Mags! 

This was one of my favourite sequences of photos. I was outside taking Millie's picture. I didn't know what she was looking at, but she was watching Tabby Bobcat walking on the ramp behind me:  

I didn't know Tabby was behind me until!  I felt her jump on my back while I simultaneously snapped the look of surprise on Millie's face!

Yes, dogs show surprise the same way humans do: raised eyebrow muscles and the jaw drops down a bit.

And we'll end with more happy pix of Maggie & Millie:

Here are Millie & Maggie the first day I brought them home to the River House; sitting by the labyrinth.  :-)

SO happy sniffing for whatever rodent was under the river-dusty car!

Happy Millie sitting at the top of the ramp . . . 

Heh heh heh. Blocking Maggie's way--but she doesn't look too unhappy about it!

Millie's favourite spot at the River house; sitting in front of the living room window. Happy mouth,  & she sees SOMEthing fascinating in that field!

I'm leaving you with this picture of Maggie & Tabby Bobcat together on the front porch of the Lake House because it's just so sweet:

HAPPY Monday!

Multi-post Day

Chiro-sister Ruthie's beach message.

In front of Brother D's sand castle.

Her dog, Albus.

The wind catches his ears and he gets Windy Dog Ear Syndrome. Hahahaha

Lots of photos from yesterday, so I've done more than one post. Scroll down...

P.S. Special Hello to B. Bliss who wrote me a sweet email yesterday. Go check out her blog; awesome photos and quotes!

Day of Rest: Snowy Pix

Yesterday at the early stages of the blizzard:

Ruthie & Albus who's not a fan of his coat!

This morning:

Blue Sky!

Ruthie's year-round tree ornies.

Back porch.

I watched the snow rise on this table all yesterday! Really? More?!

'member the Mother Mary Statue Rescue? Here she is this morning. Back tomorrow with M&M Monday! :-)