chiefpropellerhead’s Neighborhood

Simba waiting for me to kick the ball

Did you know the Charleston Apple Store is dog friendly?

I didn't until today when one of the employees invited the dogs and I in while we were standing outside waiting.

The dogs had a good time in there and were very well behaved even though it was really crowded in the store.

I saw the 27" iMac and played with it a bit. Want.

Yay, another happy story from one of my former foster dogs, Mel.

Dear friends at Wild Heir, It has been a year now since we adopted Melody from your group, and wanted to let you know we are doing great!! She has really come out of her shyness for the most part, and is a joy to our family!! Enclosed are pictures, one at Sullivan's island, on the beach, which she loves, and the other with my son's dog, Izzie. They are best friends, love to wrestle and play tug of war as you can see. We live in VA, but out son lives in Charleston, so we were there to visit last week. I wish you could see her in person, you would be so proud, as we are!! Thanks for taking care of labs like Mel, and providing a place for families like ours to find a wonderful dog. Keep up the good work!

Nala's always had problems with gooey, yeasty ears and ear infections that flare up from time to time, but the past couple of weeks her ears have been particularly gooey. They're starting to clear up after a good flushing at the vet last week and treatment with Zymox.

A lot of things can cause chronic yeast infections in dogs and Nala has several of those working against her (loves water, floppy ears and slightly narrower ear canals than normal). They can also often a symptom of a food allergy or sensitivity, so to cover that possibility Nala's being switched to Nature's Logic Lamb for a while. It's still lamb (she's on California Natural Lamb & Rice now), but switches the carbohydrate component to millet. We'll see how she does on that for a little while. Simba will stay on the CN L&R, because he's still doing fine on it and there's no reason to switch him.

Today was the Coastal SC Lab Retriever Club's annual fall oyster roast. While everybody else was complaining about the weather, I was with a bunch of fellow Lab owners having a great time watching the dogs run and chase each other around, and leaping into the pond to chase after bumpers.

Wish I had remembered to bring my camera with me.

Nala's starting to show a little bit of grey in her muzzle these days.

Nala and Simba

I always love hearing from the people that adopted dogs I fostered. This was sent in for a Happy Tail entry from the people that adopted Barkley earlier this year.

Imagine that after years, you've decided to expand your household pack to include a companion for your 9-year old Lab, Maggie. Given Maggie's small size, you search the Lab rescues for another small one so as not to daunt Maggie. Having learned of Barkley, a 60-lb lab who was rescued from a shelter, the pack drives 8-hours to meet him at the Wild Heir South Carolina lab rescue.

You haven't taken into consideration that he was 60-lbs when you learned about him, i.e. a few months prior when he was only 9-months old. You arrive to find a 75-lb giant of a Lab who leaps over couches in one bound. ("He's not 60 pounds anymore...") He puts his paws on your shoulders and looks you in the eyes. But Maggie, whom you feared would be quite displeased with a year-old clumsy brother, is delighted with him, and you can't help but be either.

Barkley appears to have no qualms about leaving South Carolina with unfamiliar people and dog, in an unfamiliar SUV - leaping in the back (momentarily). He merely views the back seat as an exercise hurdle to get to the front. ("uhm, he's in your seat." ) You open the door, take him around to the back. By the time you're back in the car, he's back in the front. Repeat two more times.

He never appears confused or anxious about arriving in a new home. He paces the bed every night ("Did we get an insomniac?") until you realize he just wants on the bed. After that, you - and Maggie - are pillows for him to lay across while he sleeps. When it comes to sleeping, he never applies "lay down" but rather falls across you from a standing position. He buries his nose in your neck for the entire night.

All dogs are friends, all squirrels are foes, and moles are to be to be carried carefully in one cheek. ("What's in Barkley's mouth?) Leashes and Maggie's collar are edibles ("Why isn't Maggie's collar on? Why are her ID plates on the floor?") His Nylabone and tennis balls are pacifiers. Water is for slobbering across the kitchen, requiring you to put a rug down. Maggie's head is for drooling on. Vacuums are a terror, causing you to have to replace the Plexiglas door he broke through to escape one. (He wasn't injured.) Couches are for you to sit on - with Barkley's entire self on your lap. Maggie is his most beloved big sister and best friend whose side he won't leave.

Maggie, now 10-years old, is a pup again. Post-breakfast is Labrador wrestlemania, as indicated by the joyous sounds of thunder throughout the house and by every rug accordionned against a wall. She loves an ambush - hiding under a desk or chair and leaping out at him with a playful "snap snap" of her ferocious fangs. Every play session begins with each giving each other nose licks, and then pandemonium ensues. She lets him chase her just long enough to gain momentum and turn on him - the chased becomes the chaser - and he seems as delighted as she. She has taught him that the first thing to do every morning is check the tomato plant for new green tomatoes, thus ensuring we never get to eat a ripe one.

Such is our life with our beloved rescue Lab, Barkley. If you rescue a Lab, you will be blessed to have the same love, affection, fun and frivolity as we do.

Thanks to some misalignment in Google Maps, it took me a little bit of driving around Park West before I could find the dog park.

Located in the Mt. Pleasant Recreation Center in Park West, the dog park is a small fenced in area next to the tennis court. It's dominated by the retention pond in the center of the park, so there's not a lot of open field for dogs to run. However, if you've got a dog that loves water, that's not really going to matter much.

There are plenty of tennis balls around for dogs to run around and fetch, although most of them are in the pond so they'll need to be fished out.

One thing the dog park could use is a water hose to wash the pond water off the dogs when you're finished. There's also no water fountain for the dogs, so it's probably a good idea to bring your own water and bowl.

More dog park photos.

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