"The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too." - Samuel Butler For this week's Flashback Friday, I found this gem of a photo from about (gulp) 33 years ago! Our sweet boy "Sandy" was a "German Shepherd/Chow" mix, or so the local SPCA card said on the kennel door of an adorable little round golden ball of fluff with a pot belly who I instantly fell in love with! While I grew up with many dogs, Sandy was the first dog my husband and I had as a married couple. Sandy loved to ride in the back of my husband's pickup, hide in the piles of laundry in our first apartment as Mr. & Mrs., enjoy bubble baths in a bucket, and was such a gentle boy. I really did not see Chow in Sandy, and sometimes wonder if he didn't have Husky in there somewhere. He sort of looked like a beige version of my white boy, Wolf, but with beautiful brown...

 

Today's Flashback Friday photo is one of my favorite candid photographs I shot of my daughter and Harley in a loving embrace from seven-and-a-half years ago, when Harley was just two-and-a-half years old! Oh, my, how time flies!  "Time flies, but memories remain." ~Anonymous Flashback Fridays are brought to you by us - the FiveSibes - and our co-host, Love is being owned by a Husky , each Friday. We hope you'll find a photo or video from Memory Lane, post it, and link up to our blog hop each week! If you don't catch it on Friday, you can link up any time during the week! To catch our past Flashbacks, just enter "Flashback Friday" in the search box! We hope you'll come join us!  

For today's Flashback Friday, I thought it fitting to highlight past photos of my FiveSibes with my mom, their Hu-Nanny, who, as most of you know from previous posts, is currently in a rehab facility after her recent fall and illness. We are taking things day by day, and her spirit is amazing, even in the face of some steep uphill battles. Dogs have always brought such joy to her life, the many of her own over the years, and she always loved visits from my FiveSibes, since puppyhood! Here's a collage of Hu-Nanny with (clockwise from top): puppy Harley from 10 years ago, puppy Gibson from 9 years ago, with Bandit from thee years ago, with Wolf from two years ago, and sharing a candy cane with an 11-month old Chloe from Christmas 2008! "True love is when you touch someone with your spirit, and in return they touch your soul with their heart." ~Unknown Author Flashback Fridays are brought to you by us - the FiveSibes - and our co-host, Love is being ...

Gibson and fuzzy buddy resting.  When it rains, it certainly does pour. And sometimes in life, things happen so quickly, we never see that road sign that says, "Warning. Storms ahead." As many of you know, I've been light on blogging and on social media of late as my 94-year-old mother has recently had a severe health crisis after falling, being admitted to the hospital, diagnosed with pneumonia, a secondary infection, and four fractures of her one foot in addition to some serious bruises and contusions. She was transferred after a week into a rehab facility where she is currently non-ambulatory and has to be Hoyer-lifted from bed to wheelchair to bed. Will she walk again? Will she be able to return home? Her future at this point in time is uncertain. She has also had some bouts of confusion and memory loss. Some days far worse than others. She has been gaining her clarity and even her spark shines through at times. But seeing her struggle is indeed heartbreaking. ...

You most likely have heard the recent news about the "Freedom 46" - the 46 dogs (mainly Cocker Spaniels, plus a few other breeds) the Oldies But Goodies (OBG) Cocker Rescue helped to rescue from a property in Virginia. It just boggles the mind that people can treat animals in this manner...we hear story after story, and in this case, these poor dogs were residing in a "hot barn without anyone to give them proper exercise or keep their water dishes filled. Many were covered with their own feces and urine. OBG worked with Animal Control and with the support of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies to remove these dogs from that property," states Teresa Butler, the president of the OBG. "The dogs rescued from this property are now safely boarding with veterinarians that work with OBG and will be evaluated by veterinarians over the course of the next week with the goal of moving them into foster homes as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we do n...

"Frankie" Ekberg of The Husky Brothers Here's a story about a beautiful red and white Siberian Husky boy named "Frankie." Frankie is one of four Siberian Huskies from Long Island, New York known as The Husky Brothers, who are part of the Facebook group, The Empire State Snow Dog Club,  a group I'm proud to say I'm a member of! The Huskies also have their own Facebook page called The Husky Brothers, and older brothers Frankie and Cain have their own book, penned by their mom, Jodi Ekberg! The Husky Brothers are pretty well-known around the Long Island/New York City area. Frankie is a certified Therapy Dog, bringing lots of smiles and good wishes to ailing hospital patients. Frankie and Cain helped their hu-mom, Jodi, through cancer diagnosis, treatments, therapy, and depression, giving her the will to live and keep on working to get better...until one day, she did! Jodi was a guest on a past episode of my show "The Sibe Vibe" on Do...