morning fun

Rupert adores Esmae and Esmae adores Rupert.
They love to play with each other, and they also love to snuggle together.
In my home dogs are not allowed on the bed, but when I walked into the bedroom and saw this I couldn't resist taking a photo.

The birthday girl

Hip Hip Hooray for the birthday girl!
It is Esmae's first birthday, and wow what a year it has been.
Esmae is such a fun and beautiful dog to be around, she is very smart as well.
She was very patient while posing for these pictures but much more enjoyed the outdoor photo shoot.
I think she was even maybe? getting a bit ticked off while I tried to get the perfect shot while she was wearing her birthday tiara..
at the end it is best to just let sleeping dogs lie.
Happy 1st birthday Esmae looking forward to many more.

can't help himself

Rupert came to live with us last winter, I have had the finches the entire time.
For some reason Rupert has just discovered them and is enjoying watching them.
Rupert is such a clown that you can't help but love him, he also loves to chatter to himself or us.

buds

This is Carlos and Finnigan sporting their cold weather gear, evn though they do grow thick winter coats I hate to see animals with snow on their backs.
These 2 quickly became best friends and can often been seen playing everyday.

In rememberence and a new attitude

In the fall of 2008 I lost my beloved Australian shepherd (Rhea) to cancer, it was a very aggressive type and I didn't see it coming, she was diagnosed and died within 2 weeks. I did a lot with this dog from competing in obedience and pet therapy, she was a great friend. Her 13Th birthday would have been on Dec 16Th. Lately she has been on my mind a lot so maybe writing this will help me have some closure on her death.
I don't deal well with grief, I still am not over my dad's death and that was over 20 years ago, or maybe I should say that I am do not deal well with sudden grief? I found out my dad had died when I was pulled out of school ( it was an accident, I don't talk about it much, it still makes me cry) and then of course Rhea was a sudden cancer.
I have lost family members in the past and they have been older and so expected, as well I lost my wonderful Siegfried cat to renal disease this past fall, this too was expected.
Life is too short to be unhappy, I moved to Lethbridge about 4 years ago, and I have not made enough of an effort to make friends and to be a member of the community, well if my past and sudden losses have taught me anything it is to seize the day and to do what you want to do, you may not get another chance.
So with that being said I am making more of an effort to gain friends and to get out being social again, I have had enough of being lonely!

Massey and Me

Massey is my 4yr old aussie shepherd, we have gone through a lot of ups and downs together training wise, mainly because I did not fully "get" her.
I would get upset when she became distracted in our training sessions: now I understand that she is not being bad, it is just her coping mechanisms when I put too much pressure on her.
With the help of my agility instructors they have shown me what I need to do for Massey, together we are working as a true team, it is a great feeling to have your dog work with you, especially with all the frustration I have had in the past.
I now know how it can be working with her and look forward to our future as a team.
Kinda soppy I know, but it is how I feel.

About the blog name

Many of you might be wondering about the name "save the ladybird", and while I do not have a great answer the answer is; I have always loved ladybirds (ladybugs) , and always feel myself quite fortunate when I see one.
I was out for lunch a couple of days ago w/ some friends and found one inside the restaurant, I was mortified that they were wanting to squish it, after I rescued it from them I set it free outside in the safety of a potted tree.
On Sunday morning I happily showed my husband another ladybird inside our house, he too wanted to squish it, but after a discussion common sense prevailed and the ladybird was allowed to remain in the safety of our house.
So that is the reason behind my blog name and next time you see a ladybird you will think of me. :0)

Me a blogger? who knew!

Well here I am , entering the blogging world. Please bear w/ me as I figure this whole thing out. A number of friends have encouraged me to go for it , so here I am jumping in w/ both feet!
Today is halloween and Esmae and I went to a doggy dressup party at the local doggy daycare, oh what fun was had by all, there was a costume contest and party games (Esmae won the musical mat game) and received a stuffed pumpkin for her performance, unfortunately jealousy took over ( Massey also wanted the pumpkin) and the pumpkin has now gone out to the great vegatable patch in the sky. :0(
I am now sitting down figureing this out w/ a cup of hawaiin coffee.
More later.