Tag: dog

Blogging · stories · Truth or Fiction · writing

Truth or Fiction

JackieP15 Comments

To my few (and I do mean few) loyal readers, thank you for stopping in every week. As for last weeks story, it was……false!

Not to say I haven’t heard ghostly footsteps before, or even seen them! Just not like I said in my story. One day I will write about how it came about that I actually saw them. Just not today. Or last week. ha!

Anyway, on to this weeks story. Is it Truth or Fiction? You tell me.

 

via Pixabay

 

 

 

A Good Deed

 

She had heard from a friend about a dog in need. Everyone knew how much she loved animals and this friend was very concerned about this dog. It was her friends’ neighbors dog. Tied up in the backyard with a heavy chain. No food, no water…in the middle of summer. Also, they were having an unusually hot summer, even for this hellish place.

Her friend said she tried talking to the neighbor and offered to take the dog off his hands. But no go. The neighbor wasn’t giving up the dog even if it was painfully (for the dog) obvious he wasn’t taking proper care of it. Half the time this guy wasn’t even home. Who knows how often, if ever, the dog got fed and watered. Her friend said she had been living next door for six months and never saw the dog off the chain. Once she thought she heard the man beating the dog but by the time she got outside the man was gone and the dog was shaking and crying. She felt terrible for days afterward.

The friend reported the man to the Humane Society but no one ever came to investigate. Short staffed they told her. So that’s why she told her story to her, in tears, not knowing who else to turn to.

That same night, after her friend’s tear-filled story, she went to see the dog for herself. She wasn’t sure what she expected but it sure wasn’t the pitiful sight she saw. The man should be shot! Treating any animal this way. She peered over the back fence and in the bright moonlight could make out the form of the dog cowering away from her as far as its heavy chain would let it. It didn’t bark, didn’t whine, didn’t make a sound. Which made the sight of it all the more powerful in her eyes.

She pulled out the small binoculars from her pants pocket and held them up to her eyes with one hand while she stood unsteadily on the stool she brought with her just for this reason. It was 2 am in the morning and the small breeze touching her cheek was still on the hot side. Even at night, there was no relief of the unrelenting heat. The neighborhood was quiet and dark. Just a few street lights dotted the overgrown alley she had parked in. She was glad the dog didn’t bark but her heart broke knowing it didn’t bark because it had probably been beaten too often for doing just that. She slowly looked around the backyard. No doghouse, no tree or bush for shade in the middle of the day. She didn’t see any water or food dishes which made her angry. Just the poor dog chained up with a chain that was stuck in the ground with a heavy metal stake.

As she looked at the dog, her breath sucked in and tears formed in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Taking that closer look she could see the dog was in pain. It must be in terrible pain she thought to herself. She couldn’t see the chain that was around its neck. She couldn’t see it as it was embedded in its neck! Oh my god! The chain had been wrapped around its neck so tight that it wasn’t even visible! It clearly wasn’t hidden by rolls of fat either as the dog clearly looked malnourished and skinny.

From what she could see in the moonlight the dog was a beagle or of beagle mix. It was medium in size but so skinny it broke her heart. Tonight was to have been just a reconnaissance sort of mission. Now though, she knew she had to get that dog tonight! If she could do anything about it that poor animal was NOT spending another moment in that yard with that chain and in such misery. She was going to rescue it tonight.

She stepped down off the stool and went to the back of her car. From the trunk, she pulled out a set of bolt cutters. She had put them in her car earlier. She had learned a long time ago to go to these rescues prepared for emergencies. This definitely was an emergency situation. She tossed them over the fence then thought….”How am I going to climb over the fence with a dog in my arms?” This was more of a two-person operation but she was by herself and there was no one she could call at 2 AM.

Her mind worked furiously to come up with a solution to her problem. Even if she could call someone she didn’t want one of her friends to chance getting caught helping her and being arrested for stealing. No, she had to do this on her own and it had to be tonight!

Her eyes spotted the two old blankets she had in her car. She always kept one or two for picking up injured animals from the side of the road. Which she had done a few times.

What if she fashioned some kind of sling? She could put the dog in the sling and with her hands free, climb back over the fence. Perfect! She grabbed the bigger of the two blankets and quickly tied two opposite corners together and slung it over her shoulder. Now, back to the rescue.

Stepping onto the stool she grabbed the top of the wooden fence and hauled her body over the top and dropped the few inches to the ground. She stood to make sure nothing was changed in the quiet of the night then when she was satisfied with the silence she grabbed the bolt cutters and walked quickly to the dog. Her heart broke as the dog just whimpered and shook and strained on his chain. It must be in so much pain from the embedded chain yet still tried to get away from a potential threat.

She crouched down in front of the dog and slowly held out her hand for it to sniff. Softly talking to it she took her time so as not to scare the dog further, even though she could be caught at any time. The dogs fear was palpable. It was heartbreaking. She slowly reached in her pocket for a dog treat. A nice soft one, as she didn’t know how well it could eat just yet. The dog stopped whining but still shook with fear as it sniffed the treat. Its hunger overcame its fear and it took the treat from her hand and ate it with a few chomps. It whimpered a bit, either from the pain of swallowing or from gratefulness of having something to eat. She wasn’t sure.

The woman took precious seconds to pet and reassure the dog in soft words as she slowly lifted the bolt cutters and cut the chain. The dog winced a bit when it was done but moved closer to the woman in seemingly understanding of what the woman was about. She gently and slowly lifted the dog in her arms, all the while talking in soft warm tones to it to reassure it. She settled the dog in the sling and cradled it to her body as a mother would cradle a baby.

She picked up the fallen bolt cutters and walked quickly to the back fence. Now came the tricky part. Getting over the fence with the dog without hurting it any further. Taking a deep breath she gave a little jump and grabbed the top of the fence. She never really was very athletic and in that instant regretted it. She was determined though and with anger still burning in her heart for the mistreatment of the dog she hauled her body to the top of the fence and threw a leg over. The dog whimpered either in pain, fear, or both but didn’t struggle in the sling.

Once her leg was over the fence the rest was easy. She did manage to scrape her forearms climbing over the fence but didn’t even feel it for the adrenaline coursing through her body. Once over the fence, she grabbed the bolt cutters and stool and as fast as she could she tossed them in the trunk and closed it. She ran to the passenger side of the car and settled the dog on the passenger seat still inside the sling. Closing the door as softly as she could she quickly made her way to the drivers’ side, slid in and turned the car on and drove out of the alley.

She didn’t seem to breathe until she was safely inside her garage with the door down. No matter how many times she rescued an animal there was always that chance she could get caught. The adrenaline rush seemed to leave her then and she broke down crying. The dog in the passenger side whimpered and tried to crawl into her lap. It seemed to understand and appreciate all she had done for it.

Even though it was in pain, hungry and scared it sensed that she had just done a good thing for it and was trying to make HER feel better. Animals are like that. Full of love given the chance. Now, this dog had that chance.

 

 

 

 

 

Is this story Truth or Fiction? Have you ever rescued an animal in need? If so tell me about it! 

Humor · Mi Vida Loca · My Incomplete List of Small Pleasures · nonfiction · postaday

My Incomplete List of Small Pleasures ~~ June 23, 2016

JackieP17 Comments

I haven’t done one of these in a while, so today I thought would be a good day to do My Incomplete List of Small Pleasures.

 

The Incomplete

 

 

  • Friends….they make me laugh, smile, think and enjoy. I have some very good friends on here. Thank you all! ❤
  • Sunshine…..it’s hard to feel too down when I step outside and the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the bees are buzzing. I’m so glad I can enjoy it all.
  • Writing….it has saved my sanity. It helps me feel like I’ve accomplished something in life. Finally.
  • Music….When I’m feeling really low as I have the past few weeks since mom died, music has soothed me. I listen to it and it helps calm my soul.
  • Reading….I’ve been doing a whole lot of reading lately. If I’m not listening to music, I’m reading. I’ve been reading books that take me away for a while, that pull me into another world and let me forget about some things.
  • My dog Sam….. Most of you know how much I love this little dog. He seems to know when I need extra attention. He will even let me hug him (he hates getting hugged). At night when we first go to bed, we have this little hugging session. Then he lays as close to me as he can and lays his head on my stomach. It makes me feel better.

sam

  • Good hearted people…… They are out there folks. After I read about all the horrible things people can do to others my heart warms when I find one that is friendly and warm-hearted.
  • The inventor of the electric fan……. Really. It’s been a bit on the warm side here this week and I have fans all over the house. Especially in my bedroom. Not only do they cool me off, they provide that necessary ‘white sound’ that I need to go to sleep. So yay, Mr. Inventor! (I would Google who invented it, but I’m lazy)
  • List posts……..Because without them, my blogging days would be even less lately. ha!

 

 

 

 

What’s your pleasures today?

 

 

 

Comic ~ Sam and Me · Humor · nonfiction · postaday

Sam and Me Comic

JackieP18 Comments

Hello, people! It’s been a long time since I did a Sam and Me comic, so I thought I would do one today.

As many of you know, I won a dog house built by Damon Bennett of the DIY network on tv! Well, a few weeks ago (actually more like last month) I got some help in getting it in the backyard.

It weights about 500 lbs and is almost five feet tall at its peak. Well, needless to say, Sam is not exactly thrilled with it. Can you say ‘spoiled’? haha! I have to admit, I knew Sam wouldn’t go in it much as he’s strictly an inside dog. So it was fun to make a little comic about it. Hope you enjoy!

 

(c) JLPhillips 2016
(c) JLPhillips 2016

 

 

This is what the dog house looks like in real life.

Built by Damon Bennett!

 

 

 

Blog challenge · Comic ~ Sam and Me · Humor · NaBloPoMo · Nano Poblano · postaday

Sam and Me Comic

JackieP11 Comments

Hello people!

I do hope your weekend has gone well. With our crazy weather, we’ve been having recently (last week snow, today it’s 14C/58F), I’ve decided to do a Sam and Me comic about it. I haven’t done one in a while so why not….

 

samandme32

 

How’s the weather where you are at?

 

 

 

Blogging · Mi Vida Loca · Monday Meeting · NaBloPoMo · Nano Poblano · nonfiction · postaday

Monday Meeting ~~~ November 9, 2015

JackieP8 Comments

Monday Meeting

 

Today’s meeting is a bit late, but it’s still Monday so I did make it! I hope everyone’s weekend was great and the week brings sunshine and smiles to you.

Guess what I woke up to this morning? Snow!! About two inches of the white fluffy stuff was here and more was coming down. First major snow of the coming winter season. Of course, the husband and I had to go out in it this morning. We had to go to the hospital for his CT scan. We were there for three hours. They scanned his stomach and lungs for more tumors. We should know Thursday afternoon the results of the scan. The reason it took so long as he had to drink a liter of water with something mixed in it for his stomach scan. A big glass every half an hour for 2 hours. That’s a lot of water and a lot of sitting on their uncomfortable chairs.

At least he had me there to talk to. It was a long wait. Then they took him in to be scanned and injected him with their special devil’s potion of ink stuff. So he was full of it today. Ha, which doesn’t mean he isn’t usually full of something. 😉

All in all he’s doing pretty good, considering. I know he’s worried and scared, so am I, but he is handling it a lot better than most thought he would.

Sam got groomed last Monday too. The groomer I have is a wonderful woman named Tammy who runs a Mobile Dog Grooming trailer. I love that she comes to the house. Sure makes things easier on Sam. She took a picture of Sam for Christmas in an elf hat, fancy tutu collar next to a big box of toys. As soon as I can get a copy of it I will post it. She’s doing it for all her dogs and her customers as we don’t see her in December. She takes the month off to be with family during the holiday season. I can’t wait to see Sam in his Christmasy outfit.

Pretty boring week I had last week. Same for the weekend. Nothing much going on. Well, I mean there is always something going on, but some things I can’t mention as it’s not my story to tell. Let’s just say I’m so glad I don’t have kids and what kids we do have is the husband’s. 😉 Not that he needs the drama right now. Unfortunately, I can’t control everything he hears.

So that’s pretty much it for me for now. Next Monday will be a new update on things in the crazy world I live in.

 

 

 

Mi Vida Loca · Monday Meeting · nonfiction · postaday · Stories of my life

Monday Meeting ~~ September 21, 2015

JackieP13 Comments

Monday Meeting

 

Good Monday everyone! I do hope your weekend was a good one. Let’s get this meeting started.

Come on in. Find what you want to drink on the side table, also there are lots of things to munch on. Come, sit, relax and I’ll tell you about my week and then you can tell me about yours.

I haven’t been doing a lot this past week. More edits on A Case of Deceit. I’m almost done with the first major edits. Whooohooo! Then comes the fine tuning and time for my beta readers. So if you want to be a beta reader, please do let me know.

I am so looking forward to starting work on the next book in the DeeDee Watson, PI series. It’s going to be a fun time had by all. Well except the dead person, but I don’t want to give too much away. 😉

Fall has arrived early in my corner of Canada. The neighbor’s huge tree is turning colors already, at least a month too soon. I do hope this doesn’t mean a long hard winter. I might have to take a picture of it. The wind here as been awful! Blowing day and night. You’d think we live in a wind tunnel.

I learned a scary lesson the other day. I brought up Word to start my edits for the day and the program said the folder no longer existed! It said that I had deleted it! Now, I know I didn’t delete it. I am very conscientious about saving my work. Also, Word saves the work automatically. So I couldn’t figure out how it got deleted! All my edits…gone! Weeks worth. But, then I remember that I have Dropbox and I had set that up to automatically save my work in Word too. So my fingers flew to Dropbox and found the folder! All was not lost.

But…I usually save my books on a flash drive too and this time I had not done that. No more being lazy! Every day after edits are done I now save it in Dropbox AND on a  flash drive. Whew, I am NOT going to lose weeks of hard work because I was too lazy to save it in several places. I got my hand slapped good and proper. Lesson learned.

On the husband front…he now has an appointment with a therapist for Wednesday of this week. So that’s a good thing. The man who came out to the house to evaluate the husband will sit in on the first appointment to help the husband get comfortable with it. I am not going to the therapist with him unless they specifically want me there. I told the husband I want him to feel comfortable with saying anything he wants to the therapist, so I thought it was best I didn’t attend. I do hope he will get some more help with his depression. Maybe the pressure on me will ease a bit too.

I had a pleasant surprise last week also when I called my mother. She told me she wants a sweatshirt that says ‘Canada’ on it…from Canada. So now I am on the hunt for a sweatshirt! I have no idea why she insists she needs one from here, but if it makes her happy, then I will do my best to find one. Somehow I don’t think it will be too daunting a task. 😉 Especially since she is sending me the money for it. She is too funny sometimes. She told me her dialysis doctor told her she is too skinny and she needs to put on some weight. So she said she bought herself some ice cream for the first time in ages. Enjoy yourself Mom! You’re only 86 years young once in your life is what I told her.

Other than my dog Sam catching another mouse, things have been quiet around here. Oh yes, I have two cats. Big cats! But they are a bit on the lazy side. The biggest cat caught the mouse first, then promptly let it go in the living room. This was before I got up the other morning. So it was up to Sam to catch the darn thing for me! Which he did. That little dog is fast! He doesn’t let up either. It took a couple of hours, but he caught it and killed it. I disposed of it. Ugh. Welcome, Autumn to my side of the world! We live in the country, so every fall we have the mice issue. They don’t last long in the house.

That’s about it for me, pretty boring week actually. But that’s ok too, as I don’t like drama. Except in books….. 😉

 

How have you been doing? Anything exciting happening?

 

 

 

Blogging · Fiction · Flash Back Friday · Humor · postaday · stories · writing

Flashback Friday

JackieP11 Comments

Hello, people!

I hope the start of your weekend is fantastic! I’m taking a small break from my edits to bring you this flash from the past.

Here’s a short story I wrote way back in October of 2012. I hope you enjoy it. 🙂

 

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Yeah, I’m borrowing the title from Snoopy.  He said I could. We’re  close friends. Snoopy borrowed it from Sir Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton, and now there is a contest every year called

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

The contest uses the infamous phrase to showcase the worst extremes of this “purple prose”. It only uses one sentence, where I  thought it would be fun to write a story with that title. I kind of doubt it will be scary, but in honor of Halloween,  one of my favorite holidays, I thought I would borrow the phrase and see what happens.

***********************************************************

source
source

I was home alone with my little dog Sam. The wind was howling through the trees, it almost sounded like moaning. Of course, that was just my imagination. Usually, storms don’t bother me. In fact, I love them. But this one seemed different. There was a feeling in the air, it was heavy, like a smelly wet blanket covering the whole house. We had lost the electricity an hour ago. But I had plenty of candles lit. I hate the dark, things happen in the dark that doesn’t happen in the light.

It wasn’t raining, not yet anyway. But the wind was blowing and the trees outside were hitting the side of the house. A steady bang, bang, bang. It was driving me crazy. I made a mental note to have the trees next to the house trimmed… soon.

The thunder could be heard rumbling over the wind. Every now and then the lightning would light up the house. Because of that and the candles, there were odd shadows flickering on the walls and ceilings. It would be a great night for Halloween. But that holiday was still a few weeks away.

I sat on the couch with Sam as close to my side as he could get. I liked the company, even if it was in the shape of a small dog. At least we had each other, and I wasn’t completely alone. I felt foolish. A grown woman afraid of the dark, but I couldn’t help myself. It was just that kind of night.

I heard a soft creak, like a footstep when the wind and thunder were silent for a few seconds.  It sounded like it was in the house! Sam and I just froze for a second, I felt the poor little guy shiver in fright. I have to admit it scared me too!

I gathered my courage together, picked up one of the candles and decided to take a look around the house. Yeah, stupid I know. I mean, in all the scary movies one sees, the girl always goes looking around the dark house on her own and meets up with the boogie man!

This wasn’t a movie. I would rather meet up with the boogie man on my terms then sit on the couch and await my doom. So off we went to search the house. Sam was close on my heels, I guess he wasn’t willing to be alone either.

We did a quick survey of the main floor and saw nothing unusual. So I decided to take a look upstairs. I slowly started to climb the stairs as the candle flickered at each step. I tried to listen to anything beyond the wind but heard nothing strange.

So step by slow step I continued upwards. We got to the landing and I stopped to give another listen. Nothing. I took a step forward and immediately heard a creak and I knew it wasn’t me that made it.

I decided to keep moving forward. I had to find out if someone else was in the house with me. It was either that or go hide somewhere and wait for the boogie man to find me! Neither option was the greatest. So taking my courage in hand once more I continued forward. I slowly walked down the hall. The first room I came to was the bathroom. Taking a quick look inside I knew no one was there, and yes, I looked in the shower too!

Poor little Sam was with me every step of the way. I made myself a promise that I would give Sam some extra special dog cookies once we were over this night! He deserved them for keeping me company on this scary night.

Taking a deep breath, I continued to the next room. My bedroom door was closed like usual.  I grabbed the door handle and slowly turned it. As I opened the bedroom door I heard it give a small screech, I never noticed that it needed oiling until now.

As I opened the door all the way and stepped inside the wind picked up in force and pushed the outside tree against the side of the house. The bang that followed made my heart jump and my hand holding the candle shake.

I walked into the room and took a quick look around as Sam stayed in the doorway.  I saw nothing out of the ordinary and even got enough courage to throw the closet door open and take a look. Nothing. Whew!

My heart slowed down just a bit and I left to check the last room. An extra bedroom. That door too is usually closed, but I noticed soon enough that it was open a crack. My heart started to beat fast once more.  I stood just outside the door wondering if I shouldn’t just turn and run. I took a deep silent breath as I put my hand against the door to push it open.

I gave it a slow push and took a quick look. I didn’t see anything so I took a step inside…then all hell broke loose!

There was an awful howl as two gray and white bodies streaked past me out the door. Sam gave a loud bark and took after them. Sam was yapping excitedly as I ran into the hallway just in time to see my two devil cats running hell-bent down the hall with Sam nipping at their tails!

Both cats raced toward the stairs and when the first one hit the curve before the stairs the second one almost ran him over. As their paws scrambled for footing they bounded down the stairs with the now brave Sam close on their butts!

I started running after Sam as fast as I could without putting out my candle. I heard a loud crash downstairs and wondered what piece of furniture was a victim of their flight.  Then I heard yapping and hissing and thought I better get down there quick!

Managing to get down the stairs without tripping in my haste, I entered the living room just as the lights came back on.

I stood in the middle of the room and surveyed the damage. I blew out my candle and yelled at Sam to hush! He had the two devil cats Notwen and Pouncer cornered on top of the TV stand. I just had to laugh. One, because I felt so relieved that there wasn’t a boogie man in the house! Two, because Sam was so much smaller than either cat and he acted so proud that he got them hissing and cornered!

It took me a few minutes to get the animals calmed. Afterward, I just sat on my couch and laughed at myself. But, after that day, I make sure I always have plenty of candles in every room in the house. You know, just in case.

 

 

source
source
Blogging · Comic ~ Sam and Me · Humor · Mi Vida Loca · nonfiction · postaday · writing

Sam And Me Comic

JackieP23 Comments

Hello, people!

Today’s post is courtesy of Sam! My little buddy is bored with his Mom. He says we don’t play anymore, we don’t go sit outside, we don’t do anything! LOL

I’ve been busy working on the last chapter of ‘The ABC’s of Death’. I should have it posted within the next day or so. Exciting! It’s been two and a half months of me writing almost exclusively for this story. Now it’s nearing the end…of the story, not my characters.

I have a rough outline for the next Dee and Tee adventure! That will be revealed soon. I’m also in the middle of edits on ‘The Man in the Fedora’. I have re-named it for publishing. I am also in the middle of having a new book cover done. Soon to be ready, I hope!

But…I will let you in on the new title to the story! It’s going to be called…are you ready…you sure???? It’s going to be called…‘The Canine Caper’.

What do you think? Let me know!

In the meantime, poor Sam is bored with me hunched over the old keyboard all day, every day. Poor thing. I will have to get him a new toy soon. Maybe he will forgive me. Maybe.

samandme31

 

 

 

 

Fiction · postaday · writing

Doing A Guest Post

JackieP2 Comments

Hello people!

Today I am over at A Sign of Life doing a guest post. Please come over and take a gander. It’s a heartwarming story of a girl and her dog traveling.

Just like the owner of the blog I’m guest posting on! Except she’s traveling with her cat right now to new beginnings.

Please stop on by, read the story, and say hi!

 

Blog challenge · Cee's Share Your World · nonfiction

I Gotta Be Me!!! ~~~ Share Your World, Week 2, 2015

JackieP20 Comments

Hello People! Hope your week is going great! If not, I hope it gets better.

Now for some question and answers courtesy of Cee, over at Cee’s photography. She does this every week and it’s a great way to find new blogger friends or find out more about old blogger friends. So why not pop over there and give it a look? Join us! Thanks.

 

Are you a hugger or a non-hugger?

I’m a bit of both I think. I’ll give you a hug if you hug me first, but I very rarely, if ever initiate it on my own. The introvert in me, I think. I love hugs. So come on, give me a hug!

2

What’s your favorite ice-cream flavor?

The few times a year I have ice cream I will usually go with something with nuts in it. I love Rocky Road, or mint chocolate chip, something along those lines.

Do you prefer exercising your mind or your body? How frequently do you do either?

I enjoy doing both. I have slacked on the physical exercising since I hurt my knee months ago. Now I’m just lazy and I need to get out of that. As for the mind, I do lots of puzzles, reading, quizzes, word games, that sort of thing to try to keep it sharp. Plus, I love the challenge. I do it for my mind every day. Now I got to get my body on board.

Are you more of a dog person or a cat person? Why?

Probably more of a dog person. Although I love cats too. I better, since I have two of them critters. But, Sam, my dog is my buddy. He’s a little character, with a sharp mind and he’s funny. All these people saying dogs don’t have characters, well, they haven’t met my Sam. 😉

Basically though, I’m an animal person. I love all kinds.

1386443698

 

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I usually don’t answer this question, as last year was a super tough one for me. This year is starting out so much better, and it’s early yet! I am grateful for friends far and wide who have helped me and have promised to help me in the future. You people are the best. If it wasn’t for you I don’t know how lonely I would be. I also want to thank all of you that have contributed to my fundraiser for a mattress and fridge. You have made this year start out awesome! I have a deep respect and love for all of you. Thank you so much. You have no idea how this will help. (If you are wondering about my fundraiser, please click the sleeping lady in my sidebar and it will take you to my fundraiser page and that explains it all. Thank you.)

I’m looking forward to more writing this year and better sleep!