Dogs of the Greater South Avenue Area, an update

I have to do this update every year or so because nothing remains the same.  The dog population in the Valdese's Greater South Avenue Metropolitan area is a moderately fluid one.  So here goes.

First there's old Pickles, the Valdese Dog herself.  Part bluetick & part lab, she thinks it is the most natural thing in the world for people to tell her she's a pretty dog.  One little girl, commenting on Pickles' coat, noted she was "all ticked up".  And I guess she is - she has the markings of a bluetick.  Personality wise, she's more bluetick than lab, but I'm not sure that explains anything.   She has a very good barking voice, and is one of the more routine oriented animals I've had the pleasure of knowing.

A new dog in the area is Lilly - a German Shepherd/Labrador mix, very friendly & a very pretty dog.  She's all black except for a white star on her chest, but her ears and face look more German Shepherd than Lab.  She and Pickles seem to get along pretty well.  Lilly still has those sharp needle like puppy teeth, and huge paws that she'll grow into.

Next to Lilly is Skipper the Rottweiler, and next to Skipper is Marly the Jack Russel like dog.  Next to that Marley is another Marly, this one a yellow Lab, and she is a new dog.  She's been over to play with Pickles and they seem to have a good time.  This Marly is still a pup, but is really quite mellow when left to her own devices. 

Next to Marly is old Black - a big black dog that is old as the hills.  He sometimes wonders on to our property and Pickles goes ballistic. Thing about Black is, he's old, and being old, he's in no hurry.  Chances are he doesn't know - or perhaps he doesn't care that he's annoying the heck out of old Gnarls Barkley.   There is a dog that lives with Black, and I believe his name is Dick, though we just call him Little Black.  He's small, of indeterminate breeding, and was lost for a couple of days last week.  He's back now, safe and sound. 

Polly, who used to live close by, has moved.

Then there's the two Yorkies, Teddy and Rocky (I think), and a poodle named Ginger.  Ginger is an older dog, but she's new to the area, and an addition to Teddy & Rocky's group - they seem to be a happy threesome from what I can tell.

Also new is Betsy, who seems to have never met a stranger.  She's a small dog, but she's run and jumped in my lap before, while we were sitting out on the front porch.  I'm not sure what kind (if any) of dog Betsy is, but Pickles seems to like her.  Betsy has no fear.

Petie is still with us, and he barked at me the other day.  It surprised me because it's been awhile since he's hurled one of his banshee like barks my way, I thought he'd gotten used to me.    He's a small white dog, not sure what kind. 

Sampson, a big ol' (and thankfully friendly) dog has moved on.

Pedrone is a white (and deaf) pit bull, who seems to be good natured.  He looks strong enough to pull down an oak tree if he was a mind to, but whenever Pickles and I walk past him he just looks at us, if he bothers to pay attention to us at all. 

Can't say the same about Lucky Bear though - this is a black dog that's chained to a long run - and she acts like she'll tear us apart.  I've been told that she and Pickles has been nose to nose with no ill effects, but I see Lucky Bear as a good deterent to venturing onto that property. There are 3 or 4 other dogs associated with the Lucky Bear family, but I don't know their names.

There is also a Pup across the street (more or less), a brown and tan dog, large paws, but we've not been properly introduced.

Case is a dog I've met that lives just past South Ave, a Bischon Frise.  Pretty little dog.

And I haven't seen 'Tino (short for Valentino) the dog in a long time, so I don't know what happened to him.

There are dozens and dozens of other dogs I'm aware of from my Valdese travels, but these are just the ones I've come in contact with that are pretty close to South Avenue.  It's a lot.

My last update on the signs

Well, I have to do something to occupy my mind when I'm walking the dog. But this is the final, latest and greatest, end all and be all of the signs.

Ok, to recap. First there was one McCain sign & one Obama sign, just a couple of doors from each other down on Praley. Then an Obama sign popped up on South Avenue, but two more McCain signs showed up on Pineburr, while the McCain sign on Praley was missing.

Ok, a couple of days ago, the house with the Obama sign sprouted another Obama sign, so it had one close to the road, and another close to the house. The McCain sign that went missing showed up again, but this time near the house and not near the road.

Today, I noticed that the Obama sign near the road (at the house with two Obama signs) was no longer there, but the one near the house was.

Sheesh. Maybe there is some political sign shenanigans going on by the good citizens of Valdese.

Anyway. The way it stands now, on my dog walking route, there are 3 signs for McCain, and 2 for Obama. By the way, the Obama sign on Praley has been there for a couple of months at least. The other signs showed up much more recently.

What's it all mean? Beats me.

Update on the signs.

Ah, the signs they are a-changin'.

On my dog walking route around the South Avenue enviorns, the signs are now arrayed thusly:

The original McCain sign is gone - don't know how or where or why, but it's gone. However, two more have sprouted up. Also, one other Obama sign is now on display, so......it's a tie. Two of each. If the signs are any indication (and they aren't) it's going to be a close race in the South Avenue neighborhood.

The Dogs of South Avenue, an update

I posted an entry awhile back about the dogs of South Avenue, (only two of whom actually live on South Avenue) and this is just an update. I know a little more now than I did then about these creatures.

Lets see, theres Black Dog, Ol' Black, the dog that looks like Black Dog, Mean Dog, the Rottweiler, snack dogs, etc.

Black Dog's name is Polly, and she is 12 years old. She barks at Pickles Anne (our blue tick/lab mix), but who can blame her? She's fairly mellow, part of that I'm sure comes from being old. Polly's house is right on the corner of South Avenue and our road & we have to slow down to make that turn. She's usually lying in the yard, being all mellow and all. Well, one day when we were returning from our sojourn to the post office with me, Pickles & Patti Anne in the front seat of the truck, windows rolled down, I slowed to make that turn and Pickles Anne the dog jumped out of that window. We couldnt believe it. She was on a leash, which Patti Anne bravely held on to, the truck was still moving (I stopped it quickly - but smoothly, I must say), and this crazy dog just jumps out of it. Polly, who I'd never seen move before, jumped up and started barking. Pickles, who for some reason was unharmed, stood there and barked back. Lord what an idiot. But Polly's pretty cool.

Now when we approach Polly's house, Patti rolls her window up, and Pickles sits down and stares intently, looking for black dog.

I think I know where Black lives now, and sometimes he wonders are around the corner of one of our neighbor's sheds and barks at us. He'll never come any further tho.

I don't know too much about the dog who looks like black dog (black dog, who is really back and brown, is Polly). The dog who looks like black dog, really does looks like black dog, but isnt.

Mean dog isnt really that mean. I think he's just crazy.

The Rottweiler's name is Skipper, and his owner's back yard collides with our back yard. Pickles has regular, almost daily play sessions with Skipper now. Skipper the dog is good natured, which is a good thing cause he could eat Pickles up and have plenty of room for dessert. He weighs 110 lbs, Pickles maybe weighs 50 or so. Anyway they have a large fenced in area where they can play, and tho Pickles is more manueverable, Skipper is definately the stronger of the two, and much more dominant.

There are a couple of other dogs that come roaming thru our field every now and then. One only has 3 legs, the other looks exactly like him, except he has 4 legs. I'm not sure if they are friendly or not, and I'm not sure its a good idea to let a couple of large dogs roam the neighborhood.

Oh, gray cat's name is Emma Lou, still don't know Basset Hound's name. One of the snack dogs (Yorkie's) name is Rocky, can't remember the other. Pickles likes the other one, but Rocky's a tough guy, for a snack dog.

There are other quadropeds in the neighborhood - white dog, Huffman's dog, a couple of cats that live in the basement next door (we could use a good barn cat).

This is the extent of my knowledge to date. I'll keep ya posted.

Rain in Valdese

Lord knows I know we need rain. And I know its egocentric and selfish of me to wish it wouldn't rain so that I wouldnt have to mow grass. But you see, I have a lot of grass to mow - a couple of acres. The field looks very nice after its mowed, standing off in the distance and surveying the scene as a whole. If it doesnt rain, it'll stay that way for quite awhile. But if we have a two hour soaker, like this afternoon, I just know it'll start growing again, and I'll have to mow. Now, I do live out in the country, at least by some people's definition, so its not like I feel any pressure to have an immaculate yard. I mean, really, just walk South Avenue or Orchard or Praley or any other street in this area, and you'll get the idea. A well manicured lawn is the exception - sticks out like a sore thumb in fact. A well manicured lawn does not get my respect nor does it make me envious, nor (& I realize I'm probably using nor incorrectly, cause the only place neither appears in this little narrative is 6 words ago) does it cause me to hold its owner in high regard. It causes a little twich in a synapse in my brain, a small involuntary electrical firing that I'm not even aware of, and that's about it. But....I do have my standards, and when the grass starts to look like a minature wheat field, I sigh and maybe cuss a little under my breath, and grudingly decide its time to mow. And a heavy rain like we had today means I'll have to mow a week sooner than I otherwise would have had to. So. Ratz.

The Dogs of South Avenue

I only know these dogs by sight - I don't know any names. But the dogs of the South Avenue neighborhood generally have lacadaisical and sometimes cruel treatment by their owners, and they are getting along the best they know how. I've given names to all of them, and pretty much make up lives for them, not having the slightest clues of what their lives may really be.

Black dog lives at the top of the hill from us, and is really black and brown. Black dog was the first dog I was aware of (bitch - see the joke in an earlier post below), else I probably would have thought of another name for him. Black dog is never chained, is a very mellow, medium sized, long haired dog, and never barks. He rarely goes off his property, but when he does, its just to nose around a bit near by. I've never seen him on the other side of South Avenue. Living with Black Dog is Basset Hound, who sometimes howls when I pass him in my truck - I like that. I howl back. Also a new entry is little brown pup, who is not so little anymore. Like Black Dog, he's pure mutt. There is also a cat, affectionately known as Gray Cat, who lives there. These animals seem pretty mellow all in all, and I rarely see their owners.

Next door to this menagerie are the two Snack Dog twins. These are Yorkies, and I called them Snack Dogs, because they'd make a good sized snack for a normal sized dog. I frequently see them running around the yard. Every now and then their owner has to track one of them down, but they don't seem to go far.

A bit further down South Avenue lives Mean Dog. Until recently Mean Dog charged the truck everytime it passed. He's chained to a run, and as far as that goes its pretty good. Whenever he saw the truck (not the car, just the truck), he'd stop whatever he was doing and run as fast as he could toward it, barking quite menacingly. Everytime he'd hit the end at full speed and end up flipping on his back, then lunging against it with all his strength, like he just wanted to tear the truck to pieces. It was great entertainment, dogs being so predictable and all. I decided Mean Dog was not the brightest bulb on the tree, 'cause it seems to me that after you do that 100 times or so, you'd learn to pull up before you got to the end. Perhaps I know nothing about dogs though. Anyway, Mean Dog recently stopped doing that, so I worry that he may be sick. He also has a harness on him now instead of a collar, so I don't know it that has anything to do with it. Mean Dog, unlike Black Dog, is all black, and looks like he has some Pit Bull in him. He's a mutt tho.

Not be confusing, but just off South Avenue, there lives a dog who's name is actually "Black". Ol' Black, here in North Carolina. Ol' Black is indeed black, and I only know about him because he apparently wondered off one day, and a kid came and got him, and called him 'Black'. I don't see him very often.

Within easy view of our back yard lives Rottweiler, who appears to be a purebred Rottweiler. I've watched him since he was a pup, and he's gotten to be a fairly large dog now. He was kept in a large fence enclosure & still is most of the time. Its quite large, & he has a nice dog house and the run of it. Recently an invisible fence was added to the property, so sometimes he's out in the yard itself, but gets shocked if he strays to close to the line.

We've gone thru one and a half dogs ourselves, both rescues of sort. The first dog was a little brown dog, at least part Chihuahua, who we called Turkey Dog, because we got her around Thanksgiving. This dog came from the neighbors. It was a little animal, a very young puppy, who wanted nothing more than to be with people, preferably on someone's lap, but they kept it on the back deck in a large cage, with no other shelter. When it rained it got soaked, if it was cold, it would freeze. And to top if off, it never stopped barking. It would bark for hours and hours, most of the night & one rainy morning after one rainy & sleep deprived night my wife had finally had enough and went and talked to the people about it. She came home with Turkey Dog. We werent really prepared for a dog then, so we only had it for a week. The first thing we did was make a warm and safe place in the bathroom for the dog to sleep & begin house training. And buy it something to chew on so it wouldn't chew on us. Turkey Dog learned quickly, became a lot calmer when she had a safe and warm place to sleep. She more or less paper trained herself, and did so within a day. Otherwise we just kept taking her out often, so it wasn't hard at all, she was on her way to being house broken. And she had a personality - she was a very nice dog. We talked to a person we knew who was involved in animal rescue, and she found a nice home for Turkey Dog. I'd never had, nor never wanted a snack sized dog before, but I had to admit, Turkey Dog, small as she was, was a good dog & I missed her for a long time. She was such a young pup, I'm glad she has a good life now.

The next dog, and looks like this one's a keeper, is Pickles, aka Pickles Dog, Pickles T. Dog etc. Pickles is a mix - Blue Tick & Labrador, and the Blue Tick personality seems dominant in her. She was completely unplanned. We had gone to Jamestown Flea Market, just to look around. We were leaving when we came upon a table were some people were selling some Pit Bull puppies. I was looking at them & petting them, trying to resist the urge to plop down 30 bucks for one, finding it hard to believe that these cute little things grew into very powerful dogs. The cute factor was winning over, but we began to walk away anyways. But right next to the table was this good ol' boy with a black & white dog stuffed into a crate too small for a dog half its size. It was asleep, but it could not move, could not stand up or turn or anything. My wife asked how much he wanted, he said she was free, so we took her on the spot & she's been with us ever since - just over a month now. She's a handful, but everybody is adjusting. She weighed 43 lbs back then, pobably is in the low 50's now, and is about 9 months old. Since my wife and I work from home we're in a good situation and are able to take her out 25 times a day, as needed. She's not quite gotten the knack of telling us when she needs to go, but there has been major house breaking progress, and we're getting there. Her favorite pastimes are eating ants, and barking at other animals. She wants Rottweiler bad - not sure why, she ain't gonna have pups, but she wants that bad boy. I once owned a Lab, a goofy and very friendly dog, who I never heard bark for almost a couple of years, then when he did it was astounding. Well this blue tick/lab mix barks extremely well, really lets loose when she feels the urge. But she's a friendly dog, not vicious at all.

More on Pickles (and our cat) later. Thanks for listening.