This little 8-pound Chihuahua mix arrived a few days ago, sent to us by Rebecca Y. at Becky's Bridge, a rescue group in Shreveport, Louisiana. She had pulled him from a shelter in Garland, Texas, the week before. The lady who transported him for Rebecca described him as "really sweet but filthy – wet with…

Alayne got these photos the other evening when we were bringing the dogs in for the last time at night. Blind Owen the Beagle and Miss Irene suddenly started playing together, chasing each other across the floor and around the room. Alayne went to get the camera and started clicking away. It had been hard…

This is what happens when Widget wants to stretch her legs occasionally during her 24-hour nap-fest and finds her exit down the ramp blocked … in this case, by blind Madison. Even though Widget is blind, she knows Madison is there and lying across the bottom step of the ramp. She doesn't want to step…

John Woestendiek, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former journalist at the Baltimore Sun who now blogs on all-things-dog at Ohmidog!, has been on an extended trip across the United States with his dog Ace, inspired by (and retracing part of) John Steinbeck's journey in "Travels with Charley." John had first met us back in Ovando when he…

Our beautiful blind girl Patti died tonight, just a few minutes before 7 p.m. She passed away here at home peacefully, lying on a big soft fleece bed in the dog room, covered with a fleece blanket. It was three weeks since she was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. She was one of our stars, a favorite…

Here is another set of shots of Irene trying to win over Fuzzy … though as usual, she didn't get anywhere. More sweet nothings in his ear, starting in the photo above. Maybe she thought he was hard of hearing and she needed to get closer, so she lifts up his ear: She wondered if…

After a year of carrying the "table-hounds" down the hall to the dog room so Alayne and I could eat our own meals in peace, I finally found the doggie barrier we had used in Montana to keep the dogs out of the dining room and kitchen. A few weeks ago I put it back…

It was just over a week ago that Alayne and I had been talking about blind Patti's remarkable health — since her initial eye surgery after coming to us way back in 2003, we couldn't remember another trip she made to the vet clinic other than for routine care like dentals. Maybe we shouldn't have…

When we moved here last year we knew there was a septic tank and field out there "somewhere" under the dog yards, but there was no access to the tank — everything was totally buried, so we had no idea exactly where it was. I know this is fairly common, but given the fact that…

Little Irene has been busy making the rounds, checking out potential boyfriends left and right. She may be tiny, but she's brash and bold, and some fellows prefer the kind of girl who is a little more discrete in her affections. Fuzzy, for instance. Irene just can't get enough of him, but he's already had…