Fido didn't make the list...

I love the lists that appear in the paper this time of year, hottest day, coldest day, most popular movies, trends and foods... even most popular pet names. 


From Psychology Today, take a gander at the list and see where your Fido or Fluffy placed. My BennieBear made the list twice! 


Growing up I had a Blackie (guess what color my Cocker Spaniel was?) and through the years we've had a Scooter, a Maggie, Apache, Bunny Toes and Lizzie. There have been River's and Tanner's, Seymore's and Lebowski's! 

What about your family, are your pets on the list?

Cotton Candy Sunsets

This will be our first Christmas without our sweet Ben, the house still feels empty without him. Every year he thought the trees were just for him... I'd come home from shopping and he'd be curled up underneath the boughs, the presents pushed aside to make room for his round little body! I'd scold and he'd move to his bed, he knew he was in trouble! He was a good boy though... most of the time! 

 

He endeared himself to almost everyone he met, especially my Mother. She and Ben had a special bond, he would set at her feet waiting for a pat on the head. She even tolerated him up on the couch, something that always surprised me!
 

One year when she was visiting, we decided to drive into Fayetteville and see the beautiful Lights of the Ozarks. Ben begged to go so the two of them were sitting in the back seat taking in the gorgeous displays. We were in Holiday Heaven as we made our way around the square, oohing and aahing. Just then Ben caught a glimpse of the horse and carriage behind us and came UNGLUED, barking his head off... scared everyone to death!

 

  

I hope where ever he is, there are trees to lay under and ice cubes for his water bowl....

Saying his prayers...

Ben here...

Haven't written in a while, life is never quiet enough for me to get a good nap here on Granny Mountain. Two old people and a dog, shouldn't be this much coming and going! Mom and Dad take turns being gone, he leaves then she leaves then he comes back then she comes back with those white sacks full of stuff. Sometimes she sets them in the floor and I can get a sniff of whatever she's found, good things like Pupperoni and rotisserie chicken. I guess she just goes up and down the road finding them, I wish she would let me go sometime. Halloween must be coming up, she put the pumpkins out and made me try on these stupid Devil Horns. I have to be good to get the Pupperoni, so I just grin and bear it. Saying my prayers at night is one way I stay on the right track. 

Dear God, here is a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good dog...
1. I will not eat the cat's food before he eats it or after he throws it up..
2. I will not roll on dead possums, fish, or squirrels just because I like the way they smell.
3. The litter box is not a cookie jar.
4. The sofa is not a 'face towel'.
5. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
6. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
7. Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable way of saying 'hello'.
8. I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee table.
9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house - not after.
10. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt across the carpet.
11. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch.
12. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy', so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.
Amen. Can I have a Pupperoni now?

Nothing Short of a Miracle

This morning I want to tell you about a MIRACLE. Really. Our senior citizen Cocker Spaniel Ben has been suffering with an immune system disorder caused from years of steriod and antibiotic use. He's a typical Cocker with ear, eye and skin problems. Inheirant to the breed vets tell us. He was a rescue dog who came to us by way of a broken heart...read about that HERE. He was pretty healthy when we got him, guessing his age at 1-3 years old he was an adult dog who didn't "fit" into his previous family. We welcomed him with open arms and had no idea what was ahead of us.

It wasn't long before ear infections became common. Vet visits...drops, washes and pills. Two weeks of meds, then ok for a short time until another round of infection and more meds. More visits, more meds. Try this, try that...two drops 4X daily, 1 pill 2X daily, flush with K-9 solution. Malaseb, Batril Otic, Miconazole, Otomax, Ketoclor...you get the idea. Ear infections, eye infections and then the big one, skin infections. Yeast, then secondary bacterial infections.We changed his diet, we added probiotic and enzymes and vitamins. But still he was miserable, we were miserable and the house was beginning to smell like old man feet. Not because an old man lived here, because Ben lived here.

I could write pages on this but I'm not going to. I want to tell you that in one week a product has removed the yeast from him. It's called Vetericyn and it is nothing short of a miracle for human and animal use. Microcyn is the technology and it's saving people's lives right now. It's healing burn wounds and diabetic wounds and it's applications are changing the way medicine treats staph and MRSA, the most resistant to antibiotics.

Pass this along on Facebook or Twitter or send to a friend. A vet should have known about this, I found out on the Internet while searching. It was as simple as going to the feed store last Monday and buying one bottle of Vetericyn. Hundreds of dollars and 6 years or $29 at the feed store and one week to cured??? And really, we all need to look up Oculus Innovative Science and buy stock...right now.

 Please visit Vetericyn.com and read about this wonderful product!

King

When your children leave home, your life changes forever. It really begins as they become teenagers. Daughter Stephanie is at that stage right now. She runs a shuttle service for Jackson and Gavin, her day begins early and ends late, after all there are other things that need to get done too. I remember this well. We lived on another part of Beaver Lake when they were that age, 8 miles from town... it was a good thing gas was 89cents. When you are going through it, you just do it. It's part of the "Parent Contract!"

Flash forward a few years and your life is now your own. The kids are grown, your meals can be anything that sounds good at anytime of the day and bedtime is no longer dictated by the kids' needs. But in households all over America, the family dog/cat moves up a notch. Maybe more than a "notch." I say America because I seriously doubt every country treats the family pet as the King!

Ben has a routine that 2 year old toddlers use to get their way. He demands breakfast, stamping his feet and circling... his best attempt at convincing us to get up from coffee and paper to fix his meal immediately. Sometimes we fold and just do it, anything to hush the child dog. Ben's really a senior citizen just like us, he came to us from a rescue group 10 years ago... so he's somewhere around 13 now. Even so, he retains that sweet cocker spaniel babyface!

Just try saying no to this face...

It's really more like this face!

We are doing the best we can as parents dog owners. Some days we actually remember how to say the word "NO!"

20 and 10 and -4

Ben here...

All day long Mom's been talking on the phone and I keep hearing her say something about a "blizzard." I think I had a bite of one of those one time when we went through Dairy Queen. The tv's been turned to the "number channel" and they keep saying 20's and 10 and -4 degrees over and over.

She stands there and looks at it all worried so I'm getting nervous too. The last time she looked like this, we had an ice storm and we were pretty much stuck at home for a few days. She was gone for a while today and when she came back she had a lot of those white bags. I smelled a yummy chicken but most of it was useless stuff like bread and fruit. I did see a new package of Pupperoni's so that's good. 

I kinda like the snow, it's not bad when you have a coat like a polar bear. I'm just gonna chill and see what happens. 

My best bud Ringo will be over first thing in the morning to see if I want to play. He only knows how to play the run in the snow game...not as much fun as the sit in the snow game! One thing for sure, Mom will be in the kitchen baking something,...that's her modus operandi!

Bad Hair Day

Ben here, Spring has arrived on GrannyMountain. I know that for sure because Mom took me for my Spring haircut last week.

One day I just wake up and I'm too "furry for myself!"

I just can't do a thing with my hair...

I know the haircuts I DON"T want...

Nothing too Avant Garde...

This is too fancy for GrannyMountain and my busy life of chasing squirrels, swimming in the lake and eating poses a problem when your ears get in the food!

I draw the line at bows!

I like some things about my day at the "spa"... this isn't one of them!

I do like watching the other dogs get their do's...

Some dogs get the "full treatment"...

I'm a down to Earth kinda guy, no frills for me!
Bring on Summer!

Life is Good!

Ben, here. Mom's taking the day off so it's me or nothin'. Not too much going on here on GrannyMountain. I've been supervising putting mulch down in all the flowerbeds. It takes them forever to do a project anymore, nearly two weeks to put down 12 truckloads of mulch. Dad has reset the stepping stones that go down the hillside on the east side of the house. One of the things that isn't so fun about living here is that it's hard to walk without feeling like you are going to slip and roll down the mountain! Not me of course, I have 4 wheel drive!


I'm planning my summer...
*Sleeping on the patios
*Going out on the boat
*Watching for deer to bark at
*Eating hot dogs that fall off the Grandkids plates
*Riding around in the golf cart every chance I get

It's pretty laid back, dress code is swimsuits and flip flops but I like to just wear a short coat...Life is good!

Excitement on GrannyMountain

Ben here...just wanted to tell you we had some excitement on GrannyMountain Thursday night. It was breezy and nice, so we were setting out on the top deck enjoying the beautiful stars. In the distance I saw the headlights of our neighbors Gator. They hurriedly came down the road, an odd thing since we live in a pretty remote area. We went out to see what was wrong and their 17 year old dog Chuckie had got out of the door and was missing. He's deaf and blind now so he is strictly a house dog, like me. But somehow the worst had happened and at 10pm he was lost in the woods. There were neighbors everywhere with flashlights, in golf carts or ATV's searching for Chuckie. It didn't take long to find him, but I'm thinking he was a pretty lucky pup. I kind of shiver to think what would happen to me if I got lost and couldn't find my way home. I take for granted my leopard bed, my placemat with the bowls that are always full and just being able to close my eyes and not be afraid that something might eat me. I kinda like the smell of bacon frying, my favorite place on the couch (whenever Mom gets up) and treats for no reason. So, all of you pups out there thinking that going for a night time stroll might be fun, think again....

They don't call it Home Sweet Home for nothing!

Ben's Email

Ben here, just want to share a great email that I got last week...get out the tissues for this one! I think everyone will like this even if you don't have a dog...who knows, you may decide you need one after reading this! If you do, be sure and check out your local Humane Shelters or Rescue Groups first!

A GREAT DOG STORY

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease....in fact, she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable. Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember....live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

Weather Report

Ben here...well, the snow is still hanging around and we have a chance for more tonight and tomorrow. This is getting old. I am considering a move at this point to somewhere warmer, Figi would be nice. I know for a fact that we have airline miles that would make this possible...I heard Mom talking about it. I can't think of a thing that would keep me here.

Well, maybe I would miss my good friend Ringo. He lives across the road from me and comes to visit almost everyday. I share my dog biscuits with him since he's my buddy.

I helped Dad shovel the driveways.

It's a slow process.

I sit and wait patiently.

One shovel, two shovel, three shovel....you get the idea

I move forward as the snow "disappears" from the sidewalk...

Finally, progress!

Just a little more and I can reach my favorite potty place in the yard.

What's taking him so long???

hmmph...humans move so slow!

Guilt is Good!

Hi there, it's me Ben the dog...

blogging for Mom today so that she can have the day off.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I was at the kennel. That's not exactly the truth, I was at my groomer Dina's house having a wonderful time. I wasn't invited to San Antonio this year since Mom and Dad decided to fly. It's ok, I'm not too upset. It would have been noisy, they all talk at once in this family! River is my dog cousin and he would have shared things with me, but mostly we'd be stuck at home while the People shopped and went down on the Riverwalk.

So, my weekend wasn't too bad. I took lots of naps, ran and played in the country with Dina's Cockers and enjoyed a little turkey on Turkey Day! Now that they are home I'm giving them the "LOOK!"

You know what I mean, that sad eyed, Poor Me Look! It will be good for at least a week...extra treats, meat scraps and lots of petting.

Guilt is good!

What about me???

Ben here, just want to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. I'm not into the whole dress up thing, Devil Horns are as far as I will go! Here on GrannyMountain, we're giving little Halloween bags with candy and some cool sunglasses. We live in the "boondocks" so the only Trick or Treaters we have are neighbor's kids, 5 to be exact! That's 5 ding-dongs, 5 barks and 5 "Oh, your so cute Ben!"

Since it's Halloween we deserve something good to eat too! Ask your Mommie to make you some of these homemade jerky treats. They are YUMMY and healthy too. I get three if I wear the Devil Horns tonight...

Jerky Treats
This is a great little treat that can be made quickly. I use a premium dog food and use my smallest ice cream scooper (about 1 tablespoon of dog food). Just flatten with a fork to 1/4" thick and bake...Ben loves these for a special treat or in his dish with his dry food. I use the oven method and they turn out like jerky!

Microwave - Open a can of wet dog food. It's best to use a kind that is not overly moist or chunky, more loaf like in texture. Cut the roll into 1/4" slices. Then cut those slices into bite sized pieces for your dog. Microwave them on a microwave safe plate for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes (keeping in mind that microwave wattage differs, so you may need more or less time). The texture should be chewy and crispy. Cool completely before serving to your dog. Store the treats in the refrigerator for one week.

Oven - You can use the above directions, but instead of microwaving, place the bite sized pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes. Cool completely before serving to your dog. Store in the refrigerator for one week.
Printable Recipe

Ben, here....

Hey everyone, Mom has left the study so I'm going to do a quick blog. She monopolizes the computer most of the time not letting Dad or me near it! I'm napping anyway when she's blogging, so it's not a problem.

I have several favorite places to nap in the house, the hall, in the living room when the sun comes through the West windows and the study of course. I do love the tap, tap, tapping of the keyboard as she does whatever she does on that thing!

The neighborhood dogs wanted me to tell you that they take their jobs seriously. We are on call 24 hours a day to do our pet-ly duty to watch over our families. Being there when they need us is what we do best!

Joe the boxer that lives down off of Redbud isn't as dedicated as some of us.

I hate to say "It's All About Him," but the picture says alot.

Teddy is pretty laid back, sometimes his kids have trouble waking him up to play ball.

Sparky on the other hand is one dedicated pooch. He's my next door neighbor and they are expecting a new baby this fall!

Ringo lives across the street and he used to be a stray. He can take a nap anywhere, anytime...he doesn't need a sofa or a rug like me.

A pup has to learn from the start to take advantage of down time to get a few extra winks.

If there are other pets in the house you have to learn to share...

I have this problem sometimes too.

The furniture just doesn't allow enough room to stretch out.

Hope this gave you a little chuckle this morning!
Love,

Ben the Dog