A volunteer describes her experiences walking and helping shelter dogs at a no kill animal shelter in a small, semi-rural Idaho college town.(Ongoing diary based on a memoir I wrote of the same title that I'm attempting to publish) Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
muddy paw prints on my back my shoes are always scuffed pooper scoopers in one pocket treats in the other the dog park is my favorite place to socialize it's become the new bar leashes, toys and dog hair in my car nose prints on my window
The generous and talented members of the College of Engineering and Architecture at Washington State University,( which is 8 miles away across the state line) designed and built these modernist dog houses for our shelter. I just think they're great, and the dogs love them too. Can you believe it,modernist architecture where the form actually follows the function? Check out the one black dog who is standing on top of his lookout tower and loving it. We have some very satisfied customers here! Thanks W.S.U. College of Engineering and Architecture for a great job and service to the animals. www.cea.wsu.edu
As of this post Lilly is still available for adoption. Anyone interested in her can contact www.humanesocietyofthepalouse.org/ I would adopt her myself but I live out in the country where there are birds of prey and other wild critters and I would have to escort her outside all the time so I'm thinking it would be best for her to be a town dog.
I walked Mongo and Pascual(my dog) together today. It was very windy and often times animals can get all worked up when it's windy or stormy. For some reason the animals that tend to be a handful to begin with are the ones even more affected by the wind. I took Mongo out and then brought him over to my car in order to get Pascual out. I kept him on a rather short leash so he would not jump up on my car and scratch it( I learned this from experience) as Pascual jumped out of the car Mongo got excited and lunged ahead to greet and sniff him, throwing me off balance to the extent of practically sitting on Mongo before I regained my footing, as I almost toppled over his back. That was incident number one in which I had a close call. This event alerted me to "the jogo perigoso" or dangerous game a reference to a Capoeira, Brazilian martial arts term, that was in store. I've had enough experience to know that windy, stormy days and one close call in terms of loosing my footing is a warning sign/ wake up call to cut things short and minimize risk. I kept thinking I'd take Mongo out for a longer walk along the lines of an hour but when we got to the fairgrounds and started running around in the big field, me encouraging Mongo to run in circles with and around me to expell energy, until he did some kind of lurching far ahead of me movement and I had to spin around in yet another Capoeira styled move so as I could side flip and land on two feet, with one more gancho(hook kick) to free my leg from the leash, at this point, I decided to cut it short to a twenty minute walk. Working with shelter dogs, one quickly learns that it is best not to tempt fate. I enclosed a youtube video of the Capoeira Mestre Bira Almeida a.k.a. Mestre Acordeon( he is playing the musical instrument the berimbau, while supervising the students). He has a more spiritual and creative/artistic approach/philosophy of Capoeira which has rekindled my interest, practice, and study of Capoeira after many years away( from the martial art form and Brazilian dance). I have also learned that this training helps in all walks or dog walks of life, it is a state of mind. Mestra Accordeon has a wonderful book explaining his view of Capoeira http://www.amazon.com/Capoeira-Brazilian-History-Philosophy-Practice/dp/0938190296#reader_0938190296
I am a ceramic and fiber artist living in the country, with a husband, and rescue Aussie Shepherd dog,occasional foster dogs.I garden organically using permacuture and food forest techniques, make food from scratch, make as many of the material things in my life myself, by hand;everything from clothing, jewelry, home accessories, food etc.,I am interested in aesthetics good, simple, quality forms and items that seem hard to come by in this mass produced world. Authenticity, quality, and truth in design and relationship is what I seek. I am a big proponent of g.i.g.o(garbage in garbage out)I strive for high quality and philosophical ideals and am curious to know how others define and create the nature of their life's journey. My current passions are; Big History,Economics and sustainable living, a kind of Gaia Economics as I refer to it is what intrigues me. Permaculture, Back to Eden Garden, Hugelculture, nordic skiing, hiking, bicycle touring and spiritual seeking.
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