Pictures from the Sheltie Rescue of Greater Lafayette picnic. All dogs are rescues. There were 73 Shelties, 1 Collie and a Standard Poodle for a total of 75 dogs with 67 people.

This was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. 75 dogs turned loose in an enormous fenced in yard. Must have been an acre or so.

I expected trouble. I was wrong. Not a fight, not a commotion, not anything. Just dogs playing, hanging out, visiting their foster moms and dads. It was completely incredible!!!!

They even had some agility things set up for those Shelties that were involved in agility training as you can see on the left.

Seems most of the folks have more than one Sheltie. One wonderful lady and her husband have 6 Shelties + 1 Sheltie they are fostering and a Pomeranian! 8 dogs. Scotty was pretty interested in the one they are fostering now. :)

All in all, a fabulous day with an incredible group of people and totally amazing dogs!

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Diet Over

Scotty's special diet to see if he has food allergies ended yesterday. He's not allergic to food. There was no change when he was on his special food. He's still itchy. :(

But he was a happy boy today! He gets a treat when he goes outside. Today he got carrots in addition to his marshmallows and diet treats. He gets his meds in marshmallows and we have diet treats left over. But boy oh boy does he like carrots! lol He was a vacuum cleaner!

And he was ever so curious when we went out to get a box that had just been delivered. He helped me open it up and was quite impressed (ok, so he sniffed them a lot) with the fabulous, made in the USA Microthin flexible cutting boards. These are just works of art! A must see!

http://www.gardenpartytea.com

The Sheltie Rescue Group Yard Sale

Scotty and I packed up a bunch of brand new and very neat stuff to take to the Sheltie Rescue of Greater Lafayette. They're having their annual garage sale to raise funds next week, May 16th and 17th at 3124 Portsmouth Drive W, Lafayette, IN 47909. 3-8PM on the 16th and 8-5 on the 17th. Just in case you happen to be in the neighborhood. Tell 'em Jo & Scotty sent you. :)

Scotty was happy to see his friends but he stayed where he could always see me even though he was content to let others hold his leash while I unloaded the van.

We missed our trip to the nursing home this week. We'll have to see if we can get there tomorrow but things have been hopping here.

We're getting ready to introduce some new lines on the Garden Party Tea website. New doggie stuff. Stay tuned!!!

Someone asked about therapy dogs

Someone asked about therapy dogs and visiting nursing homes so I thought I'd answer here too.

Scotty is very laid back. Most shelties are not. Due to his temperament, he is well suited for the nursing home circuit.

His first mama died last Dec at 86. She and her friend, Jan, took Jan's shelties and Scotty to visit nursing homes, hospitals and so on. Scotty was more or less "trained" by the other shelties, I think.

I called the director of the local nursing home and she was just thrilled when I volunteered to bring Scotty. I just go in, stick my head in the door of a room and ask if they'd like a visit from a pretty dog. All but one have said yes. She didn't like dogs so I just wave to her as we go on by now.

Most are up and in their wheelchairs so they have to bend down to pet Scotty. I need to figure out a way to get him up about 6". Thinking of a wagon. He could sit in that and let them pet him. I can't keep lifting him and holding him up. Puts us both in a very awkward position and makes my back hurt quick!

The ones that are still in the beds almost always want me to put Scotty up in the bed with them. So I do. He lays down right next to them, lets them pet him to their hearts content and I give them treats to feed him. They're so thrilled to see him it just makes your heart smile.

One lady was sitting in her wheelchair out by the nurses station just sobbing her heart out. The nurse asked me to take Scotty over to her and when she saw him, she quieted right down and pet him.

It's kind of hard on me and I think hard on Scotty when he knows they're very, very sick. The first lady he visited in the nursing home up here has passed on. I think he knew she didn't have long. But then days like last Friday, he was all smiles because everyone he went to visit was doing ok.

We went into an activity that they were doing and they stopped so they could visit with Scotty. Pushed the tables out of the way and circled their wheelchairs around him. He loves the attention but he's always so careful with the people. He's very gentle and quiet so that he doesn't scare or startle them.

All in all, my boy is a pretty amazing little guy. And I'm sure you can tell that I love him dearly.

Excitiing times in Indiana

Scotty, Denis and I have been having some exciting times through no fault of our own! We are about 1 1/2 hrs from the epicenter of the Illinois earthquakes. The first one we all slept through. The second one found Scotty and me in the center of the house watching the glass lamp shades rattle on the antique oil lamps! Scotty had been sound asleep but was up like a shot! wow! We just don't GET earthquakes in Indiana!

Then yesterday, Scotty heard something outside. He sounded off immediately! When I went to see, the FedEx man had left this Doggy Pal and Lil Kitty on the front step. As soon as I brought in the box, Scotty relaxed. He had done his job and scared off any intruder. :) He's so cute and protective.

Got a call today from the lady that tried to keep Scotty when her friend, his first "mom", passed away. Her dogs just wouldn't accept him.

At any rate, she told me that she had gotten a call from a nursing home that is about 70 miles northeast of us. That activity director was looking for someone with a therapy dog to visit them. I wish I could. But I just think that's too far for us to commit. Disappointing, especially since I saw what happened with this guy last week.

I have to tell you that Scotty keeps me in stitches a good bit of the time. 2 vets cautioned us that if we were not training Scotty, he would be training us. I'm happy to report that these 2 old dogs (my husband and I) are still trainable! LOL

Scotty told me the other day that he wanted to go outside. So I went to the foyer, got his leash, turned around....no Scotty. I said,"Hey, I thought you wanted to go for a walk!". He stuck his head around the corner of the door, looked at me with the leash in my hands, turned left and headed down the hall to the computer room to get my husband. He made it quite obviously which one of us was to take him for his walk. We both just cracked up.

He just spreads such joy wherever he goes. And tomorrow we will go visiting the nursing home again.

Our Debut

We're back from the nursing home and I have to tell you all....my Scotty is just amazing! He was SO good. And those old folks just lit up when they saw him. One lady wanted to keep him. Said he could sleep right there in her bed with her. lol

First lady we went to see was in bed. We put Scotty right up in the bed with her and she petted and petted him. I gave her a treat to give him and she just smiled when he ever so gently took it from her hand.

Found out later that they don't expect her to make it through the weekend.

Another lady just talked and talked and talked to us (the activity director took us around the first time) and to Scotty. When we left her room, the director talked about how wonderful it was. I hadn't a clue what she meant. Then she explained that the woman had not been able to even carry on a conversation since she'd been in the nursing home! Scotty opened her right up!

They told us to come back any time we wanted, as often as we wanted and stay as long as we want. They're delighted to have us! How cool is that?

Being a therapy dog

Scotty is quite interested in being a therapy dog from what I can tell. He is very calm and seems to like everyone he meets. This morning, I talked to the lady (Jan) that taught him and his first owner about Scotty being a therapy dog. She said he's happy going to visit in the nursing homes and that he never makes a peep. :)

I think he's going to be glad to go back to work. I'm afraid he's pretty bored just hanging out with me all day. When Denis gets home, they go for a long walk and then run up the hill. Denis says only maybe 100 feet or so but Scotty's little legs just churn as fast as they can go!

We're so happy to have this guy. And we're so grateful to the Sheltie Rescue of Greater Lafayette and to Peg Barton, the wonderful lady that runs it.

So Thursday, April 10, is the first trip to the nursing home. Wish us luck!

Scotty and I go to work next week!

Scotty was utilized as a therapy dog as mentioned previously. I called one of the local nursing homes to see if we could visit. The director was wonderful! She was delighted to hear from us and thrilled that we wanted to visit.

So our first visit will be April 10 and then we'll see about setting up a schedule. Since Scotty knows all about this, he's going to have to teach me!

Got a Call Yesterday

A lady had ordered one of our pet urns for her cat. She called to verify when I thought she would get it since it usually takes a couple weeks or so. It's so hard to lose a friend and these little fur people become so much a part of us. I felt badly for her loss.

On another note, the sun is shining in Indiana today! HURRAY! Scotty and I took a road trip to town because we wanted to get out and see the sun. Since it seems to be warming up, April is around the corner and the sun was shining, our thoughts turned to gardening again. We looked at garden stakes and stepping stones but all the ones we saw were just regular patio stones. Nothing really neat like the ones we have listed on our website.

Spring? Spring? Where???

Rumor has it Spring is in the air! Here in Indiana, we have rain in the air. And on the ground. And everywhere. I did notice a few daffodils popping up when Scotty and I took our walk. That's progress.

To cheer myself up and get ready for Spring, I have begun setting out my Geeky Beeks and Giggler Ducks. We're getting enough breeze to watch them move and sway. Their bright colors and adorable faces definitely make me grin every time I see them!

Here are a couple so you can see. The blue one is a Geeky Beeks Pucker Up! The pink one is a Giggler Duck.

I know the saying is that April showers bring May flowers. But this is March! I need some color, some beautiful weather, some SPRING! How about you?

A Quick Trip......

A quick trip to the doctor today confirmed that I have become allergic to the dishwashing detergent I've used for years. I suspect they "improved" it. So I'll be letting my wonderful husband do a few and washing my hands with the all natural soap I carry. I told the doctor that of all the things I might have developed an allergy to, dishwashing soap was not necessarily a bad thing. :)

It was interesting getting out the door to go to the doctors office this morning. I had a little four footed fellow that wanted to go with me. Didn't matter where I was going, Scotty needed to go too! But I stayed strong. And he stayed home.

A Week Ago .......

One week ago yesterday, we finally got the phone call we'd been awaiting! We were going to finally get our rescue Sheltie! We were lucky enough to find him through the Sheltie Rescue of Greater Lafayette.

Meet Scotty! He's a 5 year old Shetland Sheepdog, commonly known as a Sheltie. But there's nothing common about this guy!

He was trained as a therapy dog for visiting nursing homes and hospitals. His first Mama passed away in December. Scotty came to us Mar. 16. As soon as he gets more accustomed to us, I think Scotty and I may see if we can do some visiting here.

He's such a well mannered little guy and he's just such a joy to have with us!

You can tell we're dog lovers by one glance at our Garden Party Tea website. Expect to see even more lovely items with dogs on them soon!