• cats,  dog,  pets

    A to Z Challenge: “I”nterspecies coexistence or how cats and dogs get along!

    My husband and I have several cats (they were mine and he adopted them). We’d been married 10 years when I attended a Plants and Pets in the Park fundraiser for the Parke-Vermillion County Humane Society, to pick up a few spring plants. I found a few along with an 8-pound puppy that I couldn’t live without. A few weeks later, we adopted “Hershey” who they predicted would be about 45 pounds when full-grown. He is now 70+ pounds of pure love (it could be all the Cheez-Its and Twizzlers that my husband shares with him). A year after we adopted Hershey, my friend Sandy and I rescued a two-pound…

  • animals,  dog,  faith,  pets,  St. Francis,  writing

    St. Francis

    I’ve always loved animals. When I was young, we had turtles, a Welsh Corgi and my parents raised and showed English Springer Spaniels. Today, my husband and I have one dog, Hershey (although he prefers to think of himself as a person), and four cats (three are rescues). I shared this love of animals with a good friend of mine, Becky, who passed away last year from lymphoma. She was with me when I spied Hershey as a puppy and was supportive of Joe and me adopting him. Did you know that St. Francis of Assisi, who lived from 1182-1126, felt he could communicate with animals and that he was…

  • dog,  love,  pets,  writing

    “R”escue

    My entire family loves animals – dogs and cats especially, but we’ve had our fair share of turtles, hamsters, a pet rabbit – you get the idea! I think “love of animals” is in our DNA. Hershey at 8 months old, stopping to smell the roses! Photo © Diane Weidenbenner Before my husband and I got married, I promised him that we’d only (ever) have two kitties – I’d always had two because if I traveled and had to leave them alone in my condo, they wouldn’t be lonely. We’ve been married 13 years as of July 1 of this year and we have four cats and one dog. All…

  • Australian Cattle Dog,  Blogging A to Z Challenge,  dog,  life after 50,  pets,  writing

    Blogging from A to Z: Oh, no, my dog ate my …

    Woke up this morning to Hershey eating a paper item that he had acquired off my bedside table which I soon discovered was my blog calendar for the Blogging A to Z Challenge. Hershey is our (now two-year-old) Australian Cattle Dog/Labrador dog. We love him to death but it’s always a mystery as to what he’s eating next. I also found another hole in our down comforter this morning. I’ve already spent enough time on him in my blog post entitled, Hershey, an apology and Down for the count among others. Suffice it to say I need an extra day to recreate my blog calendar. So, this is my blog…

  • Dish Network,  dog,  faith,  pets,  writing

    Blogging from A to Z: Hershey, an apology

    Hershey, age 2 months, during his formative years. Note: Hershey is our 2-year-old Australian cattle dog/labrador retriever mix dog. Joe and I are first-time dog owners and we thought it was necessary in our puppy’s development for him to learn the importance of an earnest apology. Here, printed in its entirety, is his letter to Dish Network. Yes, he dictated it to me and I typed it, otherwise the company would not have been able to read his paw-writing. He insisted on us using a younger photo of him although he now weighs in at 51 pure-muscle pounds. Dear spare parts coordinator: My name is Hershey and I am 2…