Meet Hannah and Sugar-Bear: Two Wonderful Newfoundland Hounds.

Finally, I have some pictures of my beloved dogs to share. CyberGal had a senior moment, running off to my week long dog sitting job without checking to make sure I had fresh batteries in my digital camera. (Oh, yeah, as though you'd never done that, HA!) So, thanks to computers and the Internet, this first shot is of Hanna this Christmas.Yes she is a BIG girl.

Hannah is a Newfy mix. We don't know with what, but she has much longer legs than the usual Newf. She can easily drink coffee right out of my mug (when I'm dumb enough to leave the mug near the edge of the breakfast table.) Didn't seem to affect her. Only, now she barks with a Columbian accent.

Hannah is a slightly confused 120 pound lap dog want-to-be. When she was a puppy, she was allowed into someone's lap and she still tries to capture those heavenly days, but she is so big and tall, she can straddle your lap. She attempts to "cuddle" by leaning her weight in on the seated human she has come to visit.

Dog and cat sitting is a wonderful job for those of us who love animals. The only bad thing about the job, is, once the animal associates my appearance with the exiting of "their" people, they become unhappy and moody. Hannah gets the sulks. I'll pet her and she'll refuse to pick up her head, or move in any way. Unlike Sugar-Bear, who refused to eat or drink for at least twenty-four hours, Hannah recovers very quickly.

It is always best to meet with the animal I will be sitting before the owners go away. This step was omitted on my first official dog sitting job with an extremely high strung Dalmatian. This poor creature cowered under a coffee table, drooling, whimpering and trembling for our first three days together. It really tore my heart out. So, I now have a hard and fast rule about meeting the pet in the presence of their owners in their home.


This beautiful photo above is of Sugar-Bear, who died a few years ago. This photo was an international contest winner, featured in a magazine about Newfoundland Hounds. Sugar-Bear was built like a pure Newf. She had shorter legs and a bit thicker build. She was extremely laid back and NOTHING bothered her. Well, except when I'd show up and John and Maria would disappear for a week, or weekend. THAT bothered her.

I have many sweet memories of my charges. Sugar-Bear would always show her affection for me by licking my ears. I'd be sitting on the floor, petting, or brushing her and we'd drift into this lovely petting, licking and laughing good time. Sugar-Bear, like every other dog I've known loved to be brushed. She'd routinely fall asleep while I'd brush her lush, soft inch-long fur. Hannah, on the other hand would rather do ANYTHING other then be groomed. I mean, she HATES it. But with long hair, one must be groomed. She's the only dog I've ever worked with who has managed to make me feel guilty when I bring out the dreaded brush. She lowers her head in resignation and then tries to high tail it out of the room. But I grab that collar and enforce my will upon her. She then lies down with a pointed sigh. Sheesh!

I will continue about my beloved dogs and cats in another post. Off to bed now, and dog sitting for the weekend.