Penny Sanford Designs

Jenny is a Good Sport!

Marianne stepped on Jenny's face today, on purpose, and Jenny did not even growl! For a highly prey-driven Westie, that is a HUGE deal!

Jenny was napping under the covers as I was doing some hand sewing. You can see her soft white fur peeking out from under the green striped sheet. Her nose is above and left of the yellow pin.

Marianne ambled by and noticed her. She peered intently at Jenny for about a minute, determining that Jenny was asleep. I think.

Then she put her foot right on top of Jenny's sleeping head...(why does this picture arbitrarily rotate?)

Jenny never growled or moved.

The Marvelous Major Mackie

My beloved Major Mackie, a rescue Westie, died a little over a week ago.

He had lived here on the farm more than 11 years. I estimate he was 14 years old. That is a good age for a Westie. It was not nearly long enough for me.

Mackie's Gotcha Day was January, 16, 2007. That was the day he came to live on the farm. The foster mom believed he was a Katrina dog, a dog surrendered by a family after Hurricane Katrina or found wandering after Hurricane Katrina.

Mackie died in his sleep after about a week of failing health. He had that Westie Lung Disease, and he managed well with it until that final week.

There are many posts about him on this blog, which I now cherish. I wish I had not stopped blogging for those four years. I would have had many more Mackie memories recorded.

Mackie had a "John Wayne" personality, but he always found a way to discretely tell me he loved me.  

His last best friend was a chicken named Marianne. She grieved Mackie's death for more than a week, and I thought I was going to lose her too. She started eating again two days ago, in day seven of her grieving fast.

Mackie let her eat from his bowl of rice and chicken. She slept next to him or on him. The night he died, she would not leave his side, roosting next to his cold stiff body until it was removed.

Ok, the tears have started. I will add to this post when I can. I love and miss you, my Mackadoo!

 

My Heartbeat, Jenny

I have not blogged in years. Not since June 15, 2014. 

This is another step of restoration, regeneration.

Here is precious, priceless Jenny.

My heartbeat.

Photographs taken after a l-o-n-g night of puppy tummy flu. Four sick dogs. All are better now and rapidly recovering.

Thank you, sweet Jenny-Smiles-A-Lot for loving me so faithfully through some tough years! Jenny came to live on the farm on March 31, 2009. She was already a year old, so she is ten years old now.

Thank You, Lord, for loving me through those dark valleys and back to restoration and regeneration.  Jeremiah 24:7

 

 

PennyCast 2: Molly and the Turkey.

Mollyandturkey

A Lilibeth/Belle Memorial Podcast

Memorialpodcast

 

Bath Time for Westies

Well, *fiddlesticks*!

I was trying to get in a post before midnight, and I just managed to erase half of my post. Fresh start:

We give the five Westies baths in the bathtub every couple of days and sometimes every day. Westies easily develop allergies to food or items in their surrounding. The stress our rescued Westies have endured in previous years leave them very succeptible to skin issues.



A bath with Epsom Salts not only kills any fleas, it lets their skin soak up Magnesium, soothes their little arthritic joints and dries up skin issues. Yes, Westie skin can dry with too many baths, but Epsom Salt leaves dog skin and human skin soft and moisturized. I don't know the chemistry of Epsom Sal+ Water = soft moisturized skin, but it works.

For these family baths, we've worked out a system.

I get in the tub (the Epsom Salt soaks are good for humans too) and wash the Westies in the tub with me. Gordon's role is to find, catch and bring the dog to me. They love their bath time, and they are SO playful when they are first out of the tub, but they also like to play Hide and Seek from Gordon before the bath.



These are a few shots of Lillibeth and Maisy getting their bath. From their expressions you would think I was torturing these babies. Not. Maisy Mae enjoys her bath so much that she tucks up her hind legs, props her chin on my tummy and floats in the soothing water. NO, there is not a picture of that!!!



This is a close up of the tatoo in Lillibeth's ear from the puppy mill. Charlotte has one too. All of the puppies we rescued from that blankety-blank puppy mill in 2007  had tatoos in their ears. They did not have names, only numbers.




This old deep cast iron bath tub with its butter yellow tile in the bathroom upstairs has become a Happy Place for me. These pictures, taken at night with the strong overhead light have such a vintage feel.  They bring back memories of my childhood, playing with the plastic tug boats and yellow duckie. Somewhere we still have those bathtub toys.  The yellow duck has a place of pride atop the towel cabinet.

More to share about the fabric binding on the wash cloth...in another post, hopefully tomorrow! If you are already my friend on Facebook, then you are ahead of my blog postings.

Happy Bath Bubbles!

Email Philly Eagles re: hiring Michael Vick!

Here is a link to send the Philadelphia Eagles an email with your thoughts about them signing Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcon quarterback disgraced by huge dog fighting operation).

He was signed for two years at $1.6 million dollars for the first year. He may have spent 23 months in federal prison, but that does NOT make up for what he did to those dogs (torture, killed the losers, etc.)

Please share this with all dog lovers so that the Philly Eagles will know how the general population really feels about their hiring of Michael Vick!

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/fanzone/Thanks.asp

What is Jenny B up to these days?

Jenny B came to live with us here on the farm March 21, 2009. She has long since captured our hearts, all three humans. (Heck, she captured my heart in the first five seconds.)

Jenny B is busy being Jenny B these days.

She and Mackie have formed a very close bond. Anywhere Mackie goes, Jenny B is right behind him. Anything Mackie does, Jenny B is his shadow.

Sometimes they look like a tiny team of furry white horses the way they run together, as if they were in invisible traces.

Every morning, Jenny B wakes me up by licking my face, especially my nose. I've GOT to find a resource that tells why a dog wants to lick around a human's nose and mouth.

I don't want to stop her licking, but I do not like the face licking. 

She is so cute when she licks away my tears.  They must taste very different because she stops and studies my face before resuming her self-appointed role as tear-annihilator.

Jenny B is a Mama's girl, but she also flirts and plays with Gordon and Unc. Gordon has discovered that she can't stand for him to lightly blow in her ear...like he might blow over my ear...light and ticklish. Those two have turned it into a game of hide and seek among the pillows on the bed.

Gordon blows across her ear. Jenny B hides among the pillows. Gordon finds her and blows. Jenny B wriggles all over and scurries around on the bed to hide behind me or burrow under another pillow. It is quite a delight to see them play like this.

Jenny B patrols the back yard with Mackie, every time. During all this rain, she has come in soaked and muddy, just like Mackie. She brought in just as many seeds in her fur during those weeks it would not stop raining enough for Gordon and Unc to mow.  I'm sure she wonders why the Westies here get so many baths!

It's past time to give her a little trim, and I am deliberating whether to cut those adorable little tufts of hair around her eyes. They look SOOO cute. We have been brushing her every day and working with her to get her more accustomed to being groomed. We don't want to create any anxiety in her sheltered little life.

Jenny B is so tender and trusting and loving. As I mentioned before, she was hand-raised by a breeder who knows how to prepare the vibrant terrier personality for loving homes. Jenny B would be fabulous around children, and terriers are not always recommended for households with children.

You know there will be more photos and blog posts about Jenny B and all of our Westies! Until then, here are some Jenny B posts you may have missed:

Jenny B Learns to Sew
Jenny B's Perspective
Jenny B's Third Day
Jenny B's Second Day: A Real Beazer with an Adorable Beazer
Jenny B's First Day: Shhhh, The Baby is Sleeping
Jenny Be Still My Heart

Heavenly Sunshine

Today was the third day of beautiful, glorious, blessed sunshine!

Gordon caught these quick photos of the Westies sunbathing this afternoon.

It was so bright that even the appropriate camera adjustments could not adjust. But then, little white Westies are not easy to photograph in bright sunlight.

Unc planted basil and bell pepper seed in the cold frame this afternoon. He has a nice little garden started in spite of the rain. That is for another post with different photos.

Gordon and I are working steadily at our various projects. Plus the dogs. Plus Rosalie (who is missing at the moment...not unusual of her, but it still gives me anxiety until we find her.) Unc is great help with housekeeping and mowing.

Jenny B Update

I have not blogged much this week. Not by choice. Just busy. This is part of the reason:  That little Jenny B is an angel in a fur suit! She is in season, so we are following her around inside and outside like her own private militia!

As soon as she is out of this enforced quarantine, we will be taking her to Dr. Duncan for a snip snip.

More soon, I promise!