Another Big One for Bindi

We traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for 3 days of shows and the hopes of showing we have a bitch worthy enough to be in the ring. Was her Best of Breed win just a fluke?

Friday was a heart stopper. Judge Gary Doerge pulled Bindi and another bitch, Sugar, out together and looked them over and then sent them around. Sugar misbehaved chasing Bindi. He then switched them up and sent them around again and this time Bindi messed up -and lost Winner's Bitch. She did get the Reserve win, though. Sugar went on to win the Breed, so that made it feel a little better.

Saturday was a judge that put up a very nice bitch. Bindi was 3rd in the Open.

Sunday, Bindi went dead last in the Sweeps class. Our hearts were sinking.

Until the regular classes. Judge Toddie Clark moved a lot of bitches around behind Bindi (who was first on the ring) and I am sure gave many owners heart attacks in the process - not to mention one professional handler who prematurely cheered from the sidelines prior to knowing just where Mrs. Clark was going to place the bitch she usually handles.

What a thrill. She won the hugely competitive Open class. All the other class winners came in and Toddie Clark sent them around one time and immediately picked Bindi. There was no back and forth. Bindi was her pick.

Another 5 point major.

Her 2nd major.

10 points to date. Only 5 more to go.

We came to Atlanta and we showed off a bitch that can compete

The hosts of the show were wonderful and the prizes were spectacular. Below is what Bindi took home on Sunday

Reflections of the last 4 years

Today is my 4th Anniversary.

2006 was a big year for me. Not only did I quit the best job I have ever had - or ever will for that matter - I left Michigan and moved to Florida and then I went to San Francisco and got married. Oh. And bought a house.

Big year.

Sometimes I still look around and wonder what the heck I am doing here. But then I come home and I know exactly what I am doing here. 3 dogs, 1 cat, a semi-refinished house and a husband that loves me and I love him. Life doesn't get any better than that. To think that I nearly did not make the move down here. Panic tends to set in when you are about to uproot everything you know and follow someone back to his home state and his home town.

It has taken me some time to feel this way. I think it was only this past year and a half that I started to relax and feel good. Partly because I no longer have the stress of working at the law firm I used to work at when I first moved down here. Boy did I hate that job. A bad job and bad employers can put your life so out of whack it's amazing. Now that I no loner work there, I am relaxed and finally happier since I have been here.

Now I look around and I pretty much have what I want. I have a great part-time job that has flexible hours and the majority of the work can be done from home. I have 3 dogs that I can spend time with and have fun with and I have a husband that is supportive and tolerant. I have friends down here in Florida that I consider to be true friends. I have met many wonderful and caring people and I am so much better knowing them and having them in my life.

I think I made the right decision.

Bindi's Best of Breed Win!

I can not believe that this was not my first blog when I decided to start blogging again. Shame on me.

We have been (in)patiently waiting and training and working with our young bitch, Bindi, to get her ready for the ring. To say she is a wild child is an understatement. She loves the ring and she loves the other dogs in the ring and most of all - she loves the food she gets. She will jump and pounce and play. We showed her very sparingly after the November supported shows - wanting to see how she progressed so we only entered her here and there. Oh, and to help with a major but I am sure that will go un-reciprocated.

In May it all started to come together. She was shown one day in Vero Beach and went Reserve Winner's Bitch in a nice class of bitches, and then went Best of Breed puppy (although she was not supposed to be in that - another long story).

And then came Orlando. Our own back yard, and 5 and 4 point majors for the girls. One could only hope.

Friday we got the biggest surprise of our lives. I was just excited when she got Winner's Bitch. That meant her first points AND the coveted major. And then a funny thing happened in the breed ring.

In the breed ring we have the #14 Ridgeback in the Country. We also have the #5 Ridgeback in the country and 2 other Specials that are Best of Breed winners on any given day. When the judge pulled Bindi out and then the other bitch all I could do was watch from the corner where I held on to Finn.

"Holy crap. Did my bitch just win the Breed."

Yes. She did. And a 5 point major. Wow. Words can not describe the feeling you have when all the hard work pays off. It was a thrill.

She didn't do anything in the Groups except get experience being in that environment and getting Matt seen. She didn't do anything the rest of the week-end, but for one day she was the best Ridgeback in Orlando and that's more than you can ask for.

The War on pet hair has met its match

I have wood floors in half of my house. I hate them. Period. Wood floors and Rhodesian Ridgebacks were not meant to co-exist. On any day, I can look across the floor and see dust bunnies, hair piles and dirt; even if the floors had just been swept. Broom and dustpan just do not seem to work. The broom scatters the hair all in to the air, the dustpan is not level enough to the floor to allow all of the sweepings inside and it's a major pain in the arse to sweep under and around items.

Say hello to my new little friend. The Swiffer Sweepervac. It took 24 hours for it to charge up, but when I used it the first time, I fell in love. Not only does it pick up dirt and dust, it also manages to get the hair, crumbs and other day to day items that fall to the floor. Lightweight, easy to push and manageable, this little vac makes taking care of the hardwoods very easy. No more do I have to haul out 5 different items for one chore. now all i do is put on a sweeper cloth, press the on button an away I go.

Thanks Swiffer. You have answered my prayers.

I recommend this to anyone with wood floors, ceramic tile, natural stone and other flat surface floors - not carpet - that have more than one dog!

Guest Blog from Adopt-A -Pet.Com

I was recently contacted by the Adopt-A-Pet people asking if they could put up a guest blog as well as a widget link to their site. Because it's for a great cause, I said yes. Please take the time to visit their site (link to the right) as well as the widget on the right side of this blog. The following is the guest blog from Adopt-A-Pet.com

What is Adopt-a-Pet.com
Adopt-a-Pet.com is the world's largest non-profit pet adoption website. We are like an ad agency for shelters and shelter pets. Sadly there are 4 million healthy adoptable companion animals killed in shelters each year due to overcrowding. We do our best to relieve that problem and put pets from shelters in the homes of pet seekers all over the country.

Our website makes it easy for anyone with an internet connection to find descriptions and pictures of adoptable animals by location, breed, gender, age, size, and color. Over 9,000 shelters posts pets on our website displaying over 130,000 pets available for adoption at any given time. We also help volunteers connect with shelters, and currently host over 14,000 people listed in our volunteer database for shelters.

What Makes Adopt-a-Pet.com Unique:
- On our website, people can use something we call “Search Saver.” This feature will notify users by e-mail when a particular pet of their specifications in available for adoption. For example, I can tell “Search Saver” where I live, and what type of breed I am looking for. When that animal is available, I am notified the next time a pet matching my search is added on Adopt-a-Pet.com.

- As of this summer we have now made it easy for our visitors to find pets and then recommend them to friends and family via Facebook, Twitter and other social applications. We are calling the idea “Social Petworking.” Here is how it works; once you have searched and found a pet in need, on the pet details page simply hover over the button labeled “SHARE,” there you can send the pet details page to any of your friends. For more information visit this page http://www.adoptapet.com/socialpetworking/signup.

- In addition to dogs and cats, we now feature all kinds of pets for adoption, including rabbits, farm animals, ferrets, hamsters and other small animals, horses, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and even fish. This was a major initiative that took many months to research and program into the site, and it is being well-received within the shelter community.

- By teaming up with the renowned street-artist Shepard Fairey, who designed the iconic Obama "Hope" image, we have available a number of stylish ways to promote pet adoption. Shepard was able to translate his work with Obama to an image that can be used to represent pet adoption support. Merchandise can be found at www.muttslikeme.com

- We have begun blogging and created a Twitter Page along with a Facebook Page. Our blog is located at http://blog.adoptapet.com/, there you can join our Facebook Group, or follow us on Twitter.

Common Questions About Pet Adoption

Q: Although there are millions of pets in shelters needing homes each year, many pet-owners-to-be don’t think about pet adoption when they’re looking for their new four-legged friend. Why do you think this is, and what can be done to turn that around?
A: Many people who want to get a pet just are not aware of how many great pets are available at shelters. They might also have the misconception that pets in shelters might be there because there was a problem with the animal. In fact, most pets end up in shelters not because of any problem with pet behavior, but because an owner died, moved, or simply didn't have the time or money to care for the animal. In some cases animals are lost and never found by their owners. These animals are healthy and very eager to please. Rescued pets are wonderful- just ask anyone who has one.

Some people are seeking purebred animals or puppies and think these animals are not available in shelters. In fact, nearly a quarter of all animals in shelters are purebred. Often someone buys an expensive purebred animal and then attempts to breed that animal to recoup their money. Often these animals are not placed in homes, and end up in the shelter. Puppies and kittens often up in shelters as well, but it is important to note that puppies require a lot of work and training and can be quite destructive (peeing on the carpet or chewing shoes). Puppies are great, but often people are much happier getting a dog who is older, and whose size and temperament is a known quantity.

Through Adopt-a-Pet.com and without even leaving their home, people can search all their local shelters and see pictures and descriptions of the pets available for adoption. This way, they can find the exact pet they want, call the animal shelter or rescue group, and get information on how to adopt that specific animal.

Q: What are the 5 most important things a potential adopter should consider when choosing their new pet?
A: We actually have a blog post on this highlighting the top 10 things we believe are important when adopting. Here are five, the rest can be located by visiting this page http://www.adoptapet.com/public/guides/permanentpets.html.
1. You need to make a real commitment to care for your pet for its entire life.
2. Verify in advance that you’re allowed to keep a pet where you live.
3. Never adopt a pet on a whim or because you feel it’s love-at-first-sight
4. Provide sufficient exercise and stimulation during the first few weeks, this will help the pet adjust.
5. Make any necessary modifications to your yard and fence to provide for your pet’s safety.

Q: What are 5 positive aspects of pet adoption, and why it’s a good option?
A:
1. When you adopt an adult animal, you can see his/her size and temperament. This helps ensure that the pet is right for you and your family.
2. It feels great to know you have saved an animal’s life and everyone you meet will give you kudos for that for years to come.
3. Adopted pets are very loyal and know they have been given a new home.
4. Adopting a pet can be an important lesson to teach your children-- both about the value of life, and also about civic responsibility and even recycling- in this case recycling a living and loving animal into a new home.
5. Choosing a mixed breed animal can help avoid many of the genetic health problems that have developed in purebred animals due overbreeding and inbreeding.

Q: If someone reading this isn’t in a position to adopt a pet right at this time, but still wants to help homeless pets, what are 5 things they can do to get involved?
A:
1. People can do Social PETworking and Twitter Critter! They can run a search on Adopt-a-Pet.com, find a pet they want to help get exposure for, and use the share tools on our site to post the pet link on their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or other social network page. Or, they can email the link of a pet in need from our site to their friends.
2. They can place a link/graphic or even a search widget for Adopt-a-Pet.com on their personal website to encourage they users to see pets in need at local shelters. (hyper link "link" to our links page http://www.adoptapet.com/public/links/index.html where we have graphics to be used as links)(hyper link "search widget" to our search module page http://www.adoptapet.com/public/searchtools/ which itself is a link from our links page)
3. People can add their info to our volunteer database (link http://www.adoptapet.com/volunteer/signup) so shelters who need volunteers can find them.
4. People can search Adopt-a-Pet.com to find a local shelter, and make a cash donation to that shelter to help them with the costs of housing, feeding and medical care of shelter animals.
5. People can encourage other pet owners to spay or neuter their pet (link to our spay neuter page http://www.adoptapet.com/public/spay_and_neuter/index.html) to help prevent unwanted births.

The new Ride

For months we had talked about the need for a new vehicle - not only to transport dogs and people, but also to get out from under the monthly payment of nearly 500.00. So, with great trepidation I put my beloved 2006 F-150 on Craigslist.... and sold it within a day for exactly the price we were looking for.

Deep Sigh.

Within a few days, we managed to find exactly what we wanted - a 2005 Chevy Astro van with low miles.

It's not a bad van afterall.

Lots of room for the dogs and there is even dual a/c to keep everyone cool on those hot Florida days.

Of course pining for the truck I wasn't taken with the new van... until the first trip with the dogs. Then I knew the right decision had been made. Oh, that and not having to make that payment at the end of the month.

The Lazy Days of Summer

Summer in Florida is somewhat less than magical - at least in my opinion. The heat and

humidity make it impossible to stay out after the sun is up and by the time the sun goes down... you don't really want to be outside anymore. However, there are still gardens to weed, lawns to mow and dogs that need to run and play.

Beau, Finn and Bindi have spent many of these days out at the farm. It's the one place they can go where they can play with other Ridgebacks and run safely off leash and have a marvelous time. We usually leave for the farm early enough so that it is still cool and we are home by the time the sun makes its turn and the real heat settles in.

It has taken some time, but even Beau has started to play and run and swim now. I guess he is finally comfortable with the gang. It does my heart a world of good to see him off in the pond or running after the others than standing next to me with drool coming from his jowls.

As I watch them, it amazes me that the dogs of the farm - and there are many - readily accept my 3 in to their pack. I think it's because we have been going out there for over 2 years now and they feel that they know my 3 pretty well. There is always that initial growling and getting to know you and then they remember and it's off to the races.

For the most part, I get to sit under a shade tree and watch all of the action. After about 2 hours, the action slows down and that is when the baths start before we head in the car for home. Once at home, the afternoon is spent snoozing away and dreaming of the next time we visit the farm.