Chasing Prairie Dogs around Santa Fe

Prairie Dog

They are everywhere -in every park, ankle breaking Prairie Dog holes. I love to chase them. The ee Ee ee sends a thrill down my spine. I chase and end up in a stare down, down the hole. Where I come from these are called varmits and people shoot them for fun.  Here in Santa Fe they have a shrine and even a patron saint that protects them from the City -that hires a truck to come and vacuum them up and move them somewhere else. No one knows where that is. I like to chase them. Lily

My name is Lily, Woof!

Love Notes from Your Dog

▪    My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you will be painful for me. Remember that before you get me.

▪    Give me time to understand what you want from me.

▪    Place your trust in me. It is crucial to my well being.

▪    Don’t be angry with me for long, and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, entertainment, and friends. I have only you.

▪    Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don’t understand your words, I understand your voice.

▪    Be aware that however you treat me, I’ll never forget it.

▪    Before you scold me for being so uncooperative, obstinate or lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me.

▪    Perhaps I am not getting the right food or I’ve been out in the sun too long, or my heart is getting old and weak.

▪    Take care of me when I get old, you too will grow old.

▪    Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say I can’t bear to watch, or let it happen in my absence. Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember, I love you.

Ten Commandments for Dogs
Author Unknown
Adapted from: International Society for Animal Rights

Behold the Power of Dog!

Puppies save three-year-old boy lost in freezing Virginia woods

BY JANE H. FURSE
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Monday, December 8th 2008, 1:57 PM

The two hero puppies who saved Jaylynn’s life.

A toddler lost in the Virginia woods was back home safe Sunday thanks to two puppies who kept him warm through a harrowing night of freezing temperatures.
Jaylynn Thorpe, 3, wandered away from his baby-sitter at 4 p.m. Friday and was missing for 21 hours as hundreds of friends, family and law enforcement officials searched for him in the thick woods of Halifax County, fearing the worst.
“The only thing we wanted to do was just keep searching until we found him,” Halifax County Sheriff Stanley Noblin told reporters.
Jaylynn’s frantic family knew time was not on its side.
“We didn’t forget the issue that 17 degrees was almost unbearable,” said his father, James Thorpe.
“People all over the State of Virginia was down there looking for that child. For a while there, one time, I didn’t know whether they would find him or not,” said the child’s grandmother and guardian, Katherine Elliot.
Officials said the lost little boy and the two family puppies wandered up to a mile in the dark, even across a highway, but it wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that members of the search team found him sitting by a tree, the two puppies nestled against him.
The little boy didn’t say anything, according to rescue team member Jerry Gentry, but instead “just opened his arms up like, ‘I’m ready to go.’”

“When I first saw him, he was like, ‘Momma, I got cold. I slept in the woods last night. The puppies kept me warm.’ He told me that … the dogs slept up against him. And I’m sure the body heat kept him warm,” said his mother, Sarah Ingram.
Billie Jo Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.
As the child was placed in an ambulance to be taken to a local hospital for examination, “The puppies were watching where he went.
“Where he went, they went,” Roach said.
As word went out that the child was alive and well, family members cheered and cried for joy.
“Praise the Lord! Welcome home, Jaylynn!” yelled his aunt, Amy Zimmerman.
Close to 300 people from North Carolina and Virginia joined in the search to find Jaylynn.
“I love you! God bless you,” Ingram told the rescue teams.

Hello dog world!

Welcome to Backcountry Paws . This is a blog about dog culture, dog gear, reviews and news. Keep tuned to enjoy all the latest dog news.

Janet Asher

Me and my dogs at the dog park in Santa fe