Dogs & Cats In Our Lives; Chicken Coop Sale at Tractor Supply

looked like this on garage door
 

DOGS IN OUR LIVES

Growing up we always had dogs and cats.  My parents had dachshunds for years, not one but two dogs that were inside and outside dogs.  In those days, dogs were considered mostly outside dogs, would NEVER be allowed in the living room and only cats would be allowed on the beds.  My mother was in love with having wood cut outs of dogs on her garage door and wherever we lived, somehow she got someone to cut them out and they would be painted "pink" to match the pink trim on the house.  I mean big cut outs, 2 of them facing each other on our big garage doors!  OMG, doesn't that sound ghastly??  Dachshund silhouettes for a while, like 3'-4' sized, but then she changed them to Scotties.  When we took vacations or little trips, the dog/s would stay home and a neighbor would come over once a day to feed and give water to them .Growing up, my Mother was a clean freak and hated cat hair or dog hair in her house. BUT as my mother was older and lived alone, it would make us all laugh because her cat and dog would be inside, on furniture, on her bed, and I had even seen her cat on the biggest NO NO of all, on the kitchen counter!!!

I have to say, even for about 10 years of our early married life, our dogs were OUTSIDE dogs and came inside in the evening, only allowed on the front tiled area or kitchen/laundry room area.  We lived in the country so our dogs were considered watch dogs and kept the deer away from my gardens.  The cats were allowed in the house and could sleep wherever they wished, but no cat box was in the house, we trained them to go to the door to ask out. 

WHAT AND WHEN DID WE ALL CHANGE? 
Maybe it was when one of our old, sweet, outside dogs died and we would get a new one, we softened up the rules.  And then we started to have not just one dog, but two dogs.  Several times in our lives, we even had THREE dogs at the same time. 

When we took trips, if it worked out, the dogs went with us.  If not, we would find a friendly and nice local kennel where we knew they were given very good and loving care.  NEVER left home by themselves!!! How could we have been so mean?  We even paid people to stay at our house to be with our dogs/cats to keep them company.

And now, our dogs come and go into any room of the house that they want, we have the swinging door in the back door.  They can sleep on almost any piece of furniture in the whole house, EXCEPT MY WHITE COUCH!!!  And they never sleep outside at night, they sleep either on their dog beds in our bedroom or on our bed.   The only time they slept outside was when both the dogs got into a skunk and after being washed several times, they had to stay inside the garage. And they are with us most of the time, all the time.

Haven't you changed over the years about how your animals live with you? 

Growing up, to buy a collar or lease, the display was in the very back of the store, near where the fish and they used to sell canaries!!!  Maybe 5-6 to choose from, none had studs or diamonds or were even PINK!!! Hasn't that all changed?  We now have whole stores devoted to dogs and cat collars, clothes, bowls, purses to carry them around; sweaters; treats, special foods, special beds; special toys, heating pads, special seats for the car, Halloween outfits, etc.

       The ultimate thing I saw one day, stopped at a stop sign in Sacramento, a big, burly man was driving and had a tiny chiwawas on his left arm looking out the window and the dog was dressed up in a cowboy outfit, hat, vest and a small set of plastic guns.  I couldn't stop laughing every time I thought about that moment, the dog was all dressed up to go for a drive with his owner to town, in his favorite outfit-a cowboy.

 CHICKEN NEWS:

 

     I just can't believe how many eggs I have been getting lately from my sweet hens. Not sure if they are just loving their new hen house that Frank built or a combination of the warmer weather and better living conditions!!! Whatever it is, I am happy and so are my egg customers. I do need and want to purchase more of the Marin chickens but they are so hard to find.

In case you are still interested in raising your own chicks or thinking about getting a new hen house yourself, my Tractor Supply representative sent me an email that they have extended their Chick Day Celebration at their stores and have a sale-SAVE $50 Chicken WARE Heavy-Duty Chick-N-Hutch, 2-4 Chicken Capacity.   I noticed when I was there last week they still have the necessary items to raise chicks like the heating lights, the chick food and the stock tanks which make excellent container to keep them safe and warm.

AND

 

 

they just happen to have a great sellection of dog and cat collars, beds, toys, snacks, food-but not sure if they have a cowboy outfit!!!!