Holidays With Pets

The upcoming holiday season creates all kind of scenerios! With our Yellow Lab and two cats, we can expect something funny or unusual to happen.
Dakota, the dog, always makes out well as far as gifts go. Every family member makes sure they select and wrap gifts for him, enjoying the process of him snooping and eventually un-wrapping the gifts. Typically, the amount of dog treats and bones lasts him months!
The cats do alright as well. Most of my family owns cats so it's fun to trade cute things and special treats.  A few years ago, my Mom introduced our cats to Temptations treats.  They aren't cheap! Well, one of the cats, Jinx, got hooked on them immediately. Two years later and we are still buying them for her. I swear she literally inhales them like a tiny vacumn cleaner. The other cat, Kenya, is not hooked on them, thankfully!
Kenya, our grey and white cat, now fourteen, has always had a bad habit of gnawing on gift ribbons.  She will start chewing and the next thing you know, she has four feet of ribbon devoured. So I have to lay presents out under the tree minus ribbons and bows. She will chew on foil also, like the foil that comes wrapped around Poinsetta plants.  What's up with that? She will even chew on some of the ornaments, depending on their content. But we are very careful and she has never had an incident. It's just important to keep our eye on her those couple days before we open packages.
Jinx, the orange cat, likes very much to stretch out under the tree when the lights are on.  She will sleep there for hours, maybe because it is warm and cozy under there. She looks so precious.
I wish you all and your loved ones and pets a happy holiday season, and a safe one!
If you enjoy reading my blog, please consider making a deposit to help support my pets and keep them happy.  Just go to (click this logo)and click the tab "Send Money". Then type in brbwhite@msn.com and designate how much you would like to send. Any amount is very much appreciated! Thank you so much.  I am delighted to see I have readers in Germany and Russia! Welcome to my blog! I am flattered.  Until next time....

My Banking Dog

Our Yellow Lab, Dakota, frequently travels around town with us while we run errands.  He is perfectly happy to lie on the back seat in the vehicle.  In winter, he gets a nice thermal blanket to cuddle in. In summer, he gets a cool percale sheet to help him stay cool. Of course, he always has water handy if we have left him in the vehicle without us.
He is well-aware of the family economics, as he is always tuning in his ears to our latest household news.  We find ourselves explaining the contents of the bags we return to the car!  If we open the back gate, he peers his face over the back of the seat, as if to analyze the bag count and see if there is any large bags of dog food involved - or at least, treats such as Milk Bone.
He even enjoys going through the bank window line.  He can be totally relaxed and almost comatose until we pull up to the banking window. Suddenly, he sits upright and stares into the bank window, making himself visible to the tellers.  This is his proven tactic for getting doggie treats sent out to him via the money carrier. 
Today was no different.  We glided up to the window, Dakota sat upright and pointed his face at the teller, as she declared "What a cute puppy!" Puppy!? He is 102 pounds, but you know, he never lost that puppy face even at eight years old.  She processed our banking and when the tray slid out, there was a little treat for him.  I took it and handed it to Dakota and by the time he finished scarfing it, she had sent a second one out.  'Tis the season, even for dogs! We always thank the tellers for their generosity.  I think maybe they expect one day Dakota will want to open a savings account.
...If you enjoy reading my blog and want to help support us and our pets (two cats and dog), it would be very much appreciated.  Just go to (click on the logo here), click the tab Send Money and then type in brbwhite@msn.com
Any amount would be happily used towards the luxuries we provide our beloved pets, as well as the donations we make routinely to the Humane Society in our town.
Thank you very much.  See you next time!

Dog and McDonalds

Our Yellow Lab, Dakota, loves McDonalds! I guess it goes without saying, most dogs would love fast food burgers! We don't make a steady habit of taking him there, but he sure does recognize the golden arches.
It's funny the way we order our food at the drive-through window.  My husband will order a couple regular burgers for himself and me, and then, almost verbatim each time, order "A plain burger, no bun, no pickles, no onions, no ketchup, no NOTHIN', it's for my DOG."  I sometimes visualize the order-taker laughing at him, because it's the same exact order every time.
After we get the order, we pull into a parking spot to eat.  Dakota's burger is so steamy hot in the little styrofoam container, we literally set his package on the roof of the vehicle or on the ground while it cools.  We always feel guilty eating our own, all the while knowing he is watching us and waiting for his own burger.  We usually end up tearing off bits of our burgers and buns to keep him pacified while his burger is on the cool down process. 
Finally the moment arrives when his meal is suitable to be eaten.  It's no exaggeration to say, he will eat two patties in less than five seconds.  We even break up the meat to slow him down but he still inhales it!  After that, he moves on to a few french fries, which he also loves. It's just so much fun to watch him eat his McDonalds meal in sheer happiness.
If you enjoy my blog and want to support us and our beloved pets and help spoil them (as well as pets we help through our own donations) just go to and click the Send Money tab. Type in my email address, brbwhite@msn.com
Choose whatever amount you want to send me; anything is greatly appreciated.  In advance, we thank you for your contributions and our animals thank you also.

Swimming With The Yellow Lab

Our Yellow Lab, Dakota, loves the water, as most dogs, and especially his breed do.  Last August we took Dakota over to a local lake for a cool dip, since the mercury was hovering around 88 here in Northwest Michigan.
We walked toward the lake, my husband picked up a large stick, knowing it would entice Dakota further to get into the water (as if he needed any encouragement), pitched the stick quite a ways out and Dakota leaped in to retreive it. 
After watching him swim rather awkwardly towards the stick, I began to think it was too far for him.  There was a pontoon boat full of teenagers bobbing in the water right next to us, and they seemed to be observing Dakota.  This was comforting to me, because they all looked able-bodied enough to help if need be.
Well, Dakota never made it to the stick, he turned around and started pounding the water with his front paws with a panic-stricken look on his face.  He was about 25' out.  I immediately tossed my camera to my husband, and went in after Dakota, myself being fully clothed, but not even thinking about that!
In the process of wading out there at high speed, I shouted to the teenagers, "My dog is drowning!" just so they would realize what other reason a fully clothed woman would find for swimming in her clothes.
Do you think they helped? Heck, no! They stood at the rail on the boat watching! I guess they found it entertaining when I finally reached my dog and got ahold of his chain collar. It wasn't easy trying to pull him in as he was still floundering around.  I wasn't real happy with the teenagers at that point.
We managed to get him on shore and he shook himself off, soaking me some more in the process.  We walked around the park in the warm sun, me in dripping wet clothes, just to dry out a bit.
Later on, in relating this story to others, they tell me dogs cannot drown, that my Yellow Lab was "acting out" for attention.  I'll admit we have a rather dramatic Lab on our hands, but I guess at the moment, I wasn't willing to consider his acting ability. 
Since then, we have been more cautious at the lake; afterall, Dakota is eight years old and not the lively puppy he thinks he is!
If you enjoy my blogs, please consider making a contribution to my time and also so that we may continue to pamper our beloved dog and our two cats, as well as the animal shelter canines and felines we like to try to support in these tough times.
If you go to
and log in, click the Send Money tab and then type in my email address, which is brbwhite@msn.com you can determine the amount of money, however small, you would like to assist us with! It is greatly appreciated by us and all the animals we love to love.

Boating With The Yellow Lab

As most people know, Yellow Labs are very fond of the water! During summer months, we take Dakota to Lake Michigan, about fifteen minutes from our house. He loves to fetch a stick and socialize with all the other dogs along the beach.

Over Labor Day, my sister invited us out on their boat, and insisted we bring Dakota along.  He was pretty tough to get on board at the dock, weighing in at 102 lbs. But we managed. He immediately took his seat on the back bench, and let me tell you, he never moved.  He gripped the cushions with his nails the entire time we sped around Torch Lake. It was pretty warm, probably about 85, and so we were all a bit uncomfortable. My brother-in-law decided to fill a bucket with cool lake water, dip a cloth in, and lay it on Dakota's weary head. (see photo). From that point on, Dakota knew he was in good hands. My sister made sure he had plenty of meaty snacks and drinking water. It turned out to be a great, memorable day for all of us.  But needless to say, pulling in at the dock was a relief for Dakota.  He didn't even need help getting off the boat and began running around on solid ground.
I'm sure he left plenty of hair behind, but my sister and brother-in-law are such good sports about it all, they wouldn't have minded the clean up.
If you enjoy my blog and would like to support me and my dog and two cats, click on , then click Send Money tab, and type in my email address at brbwhite@msn.com
Anything you can contribute is helpful in taking excellent care of our dog and two cats, as well as helping us be generous with our canine and feline friends at the local animal shelter, where we like to donate food as often as we can. Thank you in advance.  I hope you follow me.

How We Got Our Yellow Lab

I've been blogging about our Yellow Lab, Dakota, recently, but I would like to tell you how we got him. 
We were living in Florida at the time, about eight years ago now, and knew we wanted a Yellow Lab. My husband would visit the animal shelter routinely in Orlando, about 20 miles from our house. We like to donate money or food as often as we can. This is a habit we continue to keep despite harder economic times in our household.
My husband spotted a 12 week old Yellow Lab at the shelter. He called me to tell me I needed to go over there and look at the dog also. When I arrived and asked to see the dog, they led me to the cutest puppy I'd ever seen!  I knew right away I wanted to own him and take care of him.
Unfortunately, he was already spoken for. We were both very upset and sad. I happened to meet the adoptive parent on my way out of the shelter. I told her if it didn't work out with the puppy, please give me a call because we really wanted him.
What do you know! A few days later the phone rang and it was her, asking me if we still wanted the puppy. I said "Yes!". She explained that she had adopted it for her son who lived in an apartment and it wasn't going to work out.

We made arrangements to meet her and the puppy. I remember it was July 4th.  When we pulled our car into the parking lot, she got out with the puppy and had a little red, white and blue bandana tied around his neck. He was just precious!
Once in our car, he was so calm, almost shy and subdued.
Long story short for now - but more later - we began to acquaint him with ourselves and our house and two cats....the rest is happy history!
If you enjoy my blog and would like to contribute to our pets and the pets we try to help at the local animal shelter humane society, please go to and click the Send Money tab. Then type in my email address, brbwhite@msn.com
Choose the amount of money you wish to send, and that's it! Please know how much I appreciate your help. The animals cannot ask for help themselves, and we do everything we can to ensure they are pampered and know they are loved.

The Dog Who Loves Snow

Today we got a light accumulation of snow, about a half inch.  It is still falling as I type and it has really brightened the scenery!
We walk our Yellow Lab, Dakota, a couple times a day through our neighborhood.  Today as he exited the garage, he was surprised to find the white stuff had returned, after a long summer and autumn.
He plunged into the snow sideways and scooted through it with his face leading the way. This is his ritual all winter. He will get entirely covered in snow, especially on his nose and around his eyes, and we have to repeatedly call him into the house, he enjoys it that much.
Sometimes we are out and about with him as a passenger. Naturally, in winter months, we run the heat in our truck.  As soon as we arrive home, and he jumps out of the truck, he leaps into the snow again as if to cool off from the warm environment of the vehicle.
The only thing we need to be cautious of is Dakota's ears, which can get infected from the moisture of the snow. We are very careful to dry his ears off because one year he got a bad infection.  He suffered with that, and we still feed bad about it.
If you enjoy reading my blog, and you would like to contribute to our pets and the pets we help through donations at our local humane society, simply click on this link, click the Send Money tab and type in brbwhite@msn.com.  Any contribution would be helpful to keep the pets pampered. We appreciate it very much, however large or small you choose.
Thank you for your interest. I'll see you soon!