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<title>Simply Phantom</title>
<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom</link>
<description>Dogster diary for the dog Phantom</description>
<language>en</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2013 by Phantom &amp; Dogster</copyright>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 03:06:16 PDT</pubDate>
<generator>Dogster Pet-o-matic Gennie - http://www.dogster.com</generator>
<ttl>360</ttl>

	<item>
		<title>New Chickens</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/724153</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 3 Jun 2011 12:35:47 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/724153</guid>
		<description>We've got a bunch of new rhode island reds living here now.  There are five of them.  Mom and grandp ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ We've got a bunch of new rhode island reds living here now.  There are five of them.  Mom and grandpa got them from a store.  They came home and told grandma that her grocery store eggs had hatched on the way home.  She didn't believe them.  They were tiny little ladies on that first day.  They have been here for at least a few months now and are growing up.  They have almost lost all of their down and are now beautiful red feathered ladies.  Mom says they will at least double in size before being full grown.  

They are living on the screened in porch until the chicken coop is finished.  They have learned where the door to the outside world is and they love to run out of it and find little pieces of plastic to tote around the yard.  The humans try and keep a good eye on them, but they almost always find a way to get into trouble everyday.  Sometimes they are getting stalked by a cat or one day one of them wandered off and got lost.  Luckily mom found her the next day hiding under the car port.  At night they roost on a shoe rack.  They have to stay locked up on the porch at night because we have lots of foxes around and they love to eat chickens.]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>ADOPT 2011 CONTEST</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/720880</link>

				<pubdate>Tue, 3 May 2011 14:46:49 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/720880</guid>
		<description>My story with adoption started when my mom brought me home for the first time.  I came from a relati ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ My story with adoption started when my mom brought me home for the first time.  I came from a relative of hers that bred cattle dogs to be working dogs.  I am a goat herder.  Mom has lots of foster dogs for the humane society here and the day I first got here there were almost twenty of them.  There were big ones and small ones; healthy ones and sick ones; short haired and long haired dogs.  It was pretty amazing for a little pup and a lot to take in quickly.  Boy did I have a lot of friends growing up.

Now mom says I am the perfect dog to live this kind of lifestyle.  I never meet a dog that I don't want to get to know.  I love to help take care of puppies.  I have played momma to a few litters of homeless puppies.  If they are not old enough I help keep them clean and mom feeds them.  If they are older, I help mom take them for walks and play with them.  I love to play with all the little puppies.

I've seen a lot of dogs come to and leave this house.  Some breeds are easier to adopt than others.  My big black doggie friends tend to stay here for quite some time before finding a forever home.  They are difficult to find homes for and are often here longer than any of the other dogs.  I wish it wasn't so because some of them are really great.  Hounds also have a tough time.  There were eight of them when I first came here and they were up for adoption for much longer than any other dogs I have seen since.  Older dogs also have a tough time.  We haven't really had many of them here, but some foster homes have had them until they day they died because everyone wants a puppy.  I don't understand this at all.  Puppies might look cute, but they sure are a lot of work.  Older dogs are great because they don't eat your furniture or have terrible potty training issues.  The pups that get adopted out the easiest are generally young, small, and light colored.

Overall, I enjoy helping mom with all the rescue dogs.  Sometimes she gets pretty stressed out, so we take her for a walk and let her cool her head.  She loves to take pictures of all of us, so I make sure she brings her camera and that everyone poses pretty for her.  We have some really good times around here though and all the dogs get along pretty well.  I wish more people would adopt pets.  We love to meet people and hear all about their stories and send them off with a new best friend.  It is a great feeling every time one of our pups finds a home and we are grateful to all of the people that have made so many wonderful dogs a part of their family.]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Just Be Kind</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/673954</link>

				<pubdate>Thu, 27 May 2010 12:48:01 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/673954</guid>
		<description>I was surfing around looking at news about animal adoptions the other day and I came across an artic ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ I was surfing around looking at news about animal adoptions the other day and I came across an article about a rescue that was helping a man that had hundreds of dogs living on his property.  The man seemed nice and was frequently seen in the pictures helping the rescue workers move and identify his former pets.  There was a comment section after the article and it really made me sad.  A lot of people were saying very mean things about this man and completely forgetting that understanding people and not judging them is very important.  

I'm certain the man never meant for things to go the way they did.  He was probably trying to help homeless pets that he found and things got out of control.  What this man needed was help not judgement.  All of the dogs had names and it seemed like he genuinely loved his entire pack.  Did he need to be educated?  Yes, we all know the importance of spay/neuter.  Did he need help?  Of course, and thankfully there were rescuers around that were helping him.  He did not, however, need snide remarks from people that didn't know anything about him.  I sincerely hope that he never sees what those people said about him because I'm sure he would be devastated.

Doing rescue work for all these years me and mom have met lots of interesting people and their pets.  We always do our best not to judge them and to help them in any way we can.  Sometimes it is difficult not to judge people, but we do our best and try to understand what happened to them and where they are coming from.  We have accepted surrenders before and seen the tears in the eyes of the people that have to get rid of their pets.  They didn't love them any less because they weren't going to have them the next day.  They were genuinely going to miss their pets because they loved them.

Anyway I suppose that is enough of my ranting.  The point is please consider what people have been through and are going through before making a judgement on them.  We all love our pets and never know what kind of situation we may be in one day.  I hope that it never happens, but one day any one of us may need an understanding, helping hand.

Love Your Pets and Love Your Fellow Humans,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Some of My New Friends</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/666461</link>

				<pubdate>Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:45:36 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/666461</guid>
		<description>Well, as usual, I have lots of new furiends to tell you about.  The foster pups we had before have a ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Well, as usual, I have lots of new furiends to tell you about.  The foster pups we had before have all found homes now.  Big congrats to them and big hugs to their new forever families.  

We have a couple of new foster pups.  One is named Cody.  He is partially blind in one eye and when he first got here he acted like he had been abused.  He is really happy now and lives with the goats and goat dogs.  The other foster pup is Little Dude.  He had a fungus infection, which he has now recovered from, and now he is being treated for demodex.  He is really sweet and loving and is going to be an excellent pet for someone once his skin conditions are all healed up.

Mom's cousin had to send his dogs to live here because they were barking a lot and the neighbors started to complain about them a lot.  Bear is a husky/german shepherd mix.  He has lots of problems with wanting to use his teeth on the other animals.  He has hurt a few of the animals, so now he has to stay in a pen by himself.  He's really a good boy, but just has some issues.  Choso is my half-sister.  We have the same dad, but Choso's mom was a stray that mom helped to find homes for her puppies.  Right now Choso is living inside with me and mom.  She is very sweet and naps in the bathroom floor most of the time.  I like having another ACD around to play with.  

I've got a couple more friends I want to tell you guys about, but I really need to help mom get everyone fed and then we are taking new pictures of some of the dogs and cats, so I'll see you guys later.

Peace, Love, and Progress;

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Everything Changes</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/619495</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 7 Sep 2009 14:20:00 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/619495</guid>
		<description>I can't believe how long it has been since I wrote a diary entry.  Well, I guess it doesn't matter a ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ I can't believe how long it has been since I wrote a diary entry.  Well, I guess it doesn't matter as long as I'm here now.  I was going to tell you guys about all the changes that had occured around here.

First off, mom and grandpa built all new dog pens here.  They are really nice and the dogs have lots of room to run around.  They had to be re-built because the baby goats didn't know not to walk through the electric fence.  They would walk into the dog pens and well. . .it is sort of obvious.  Mom and grandpa worked all day building the pens and sorting out the dogs.  They were dirty and sweaty, but were very proud of their work.

Speedy the chicken isn't with us anymore.  She had a seizure and died.  It still makes me sad to think that if she hadn't fallen off the chicken truck that someone would have eaten her.  We miss Speedy, but we know she was happy while she was here.  She had even started to lay eggs (which she promptly ate).  She was a real clown of a chicken and thought that grandpa was her best friend.  

Also, I have new cat friends and bad news about old cat friends.  Yoko and Luna are no longer with us.  Frankie is still here though.  She has gotten very big, mom says she's a little overweight.  She looks fine to me.  When Frankie was the only cat here mom decided to get her a friend.  She took Frankie to grandma and grandpa's house to pick out a friend.  Well, Frankie didn't like anyone, so mom picked out a young cat that we now call Jekyll.  Frankie didn't like her at first, but Jekyll was very keen to be her friend and followed her everywhere.  They are really good friends now and run and play all over the yard with each other when they go outside.  We also have more cats now.  Cordelia was brought here when her family moved away and left her and her kittens.  The kittens are Space Ghost, Zorac, E, Pip, Hermia, and Boondock Anew.  In other words the cats have taken over.  Everywhere I turn there is a cat, it's not bad though because they groom me and make me smell like a cat tongue.

One more quick change, we have foster puppies.  Chance, Charm, and Cooper are living here temporarily until they have homes of their own.  Cooper is almost ready to go to his new home and hopefully Chance and Charm will be heading to forever homes soon.

The dogs have to be fed and walked, so I've got to go.

See you guys later and hope everyone is happy and safe,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>A Brand New Day</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/573132</link>

				<pubdate>Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:38:27 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/573132</guid>
		<description>As a herding dog I appreciate every second of life I have and I enjoy it to the fullest.  But there  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ As a herding dog I appreciate every second of life I have and I enjoy it to the fullest.  But there are animals out there who never get a chance to have the fun that I take for granted.  Everyone, I'm sure, can think of lots of examples.  This world we live in is full of abuse, but I'm speaking specifically of my new friend.  Her name is Speedy.  

Speedy is a chicken.  Me and mom found her in the fast land of the highway.  She had fallen off the chicken truck that was bound for the slaughter house.  I'm not trying to judge people, but Speedy just made me think about how some animals are born with the specific purpose of being killed and eaten.  Speedy was confused when she was put in the dirt and grass because all she had ever lived on before was woodchips.  She had never seen the sky or chased a fly across the yard.  

Well now Speedy gets to chase all the flies she wants to and believe me she is already enjoying herself.  She followed me and mom all over the yard once she regained her legs.  I guess we were her new friends, but now she has struck out on her own.  She lives next to our fish pond and enjoys wading in the shallow parts.  She seems to be really enjoying her new found freedom and I hope her happiness will continue.

Happiness is revealed by those who acquire the chance at it.  

Just be Happy Speedy, be Happy,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title></title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/377763</link>

				<pubdate>Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:30:30 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/377763</guid>
		<description>Hi everyone, hope you're all having a great time.  I sure am, but then I always have a great time.   ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Hi everyone, hope you're all having a great time.  I sure am, but then I always have a great time.  That's just one of the perks of being an off the wall kind of dog like I am.  

Anyway, I'm sure everyone wants to know what happened with Buster.  Well, he's still here.  He has a  dogster page, but it's not connected to mine.  You can find him by typing Buster for the name and Claxton for the town.  Mom is still looking for a home for him and trying not to pull all her hair out at the same time.  Mom and Buster are NOT best friends.  She always brags on him when she works with him and says he's really smart and he wants to make people happy.  He also barks for attention and that's one of mom's biggest pet peeves.  That's why I'm so quiet.  Except when I play, but usually mom is growling and barking too, so it's just fun.  Buster has other bad qualities.  He is mean to cats.  He got loose and killed two kittens and one of mom's cats that was outside for a potty break.  Mom keeps giving him more and more chances, but if he doesn't find a home soon I don't know if she'll keep him much longer.  Everyone keeps saying he needs to be put down, but mom says there is a home for him somewhere.  

In other adoptable dog news, Rosebud had a fun and mischievious time the other day.  Grandma and mom let her ride to pick Aria up from being spayed and when they got home Rosebud jumped out the car and ran across the highway into the field with the donkeys and horse.  She then scooted under the gate and proceeded to chase a donkey.  When mom screamed at her she turned around and the donkey started chasing her.  She ran all the way to the gate with that donkey right on her heels and when she got there the donkey ran back to the other donkeys and so did Rosebud.  Then she started chasing the whole group of them.  She wouldn't come to mom, so mom had to climb the gate and go out in the field.  I understand enjoying herding things, but you have to know when to stop or else you're not a very good herding dog.  Rosebud finally stopped and started walking towards the corner of the field and so did mom.  When she got closer she saw the horse was down there.  He refused to run for Rosebud, so she went walking off to another field.  When she was far enough away that the horse felt safe he turned towards mom and ran right past her to the donkeys.  Mom then had to walk through two fields and then through a field with weeds up to her chest to catch Rosebud.  It was funny because mom was wearing flip-flops and a big spider jumped on her toe.  Grandma was waiting on the other side on the fence and grabbed Rosebud's collar and held her until mom got there.  Then mom had to toss her through a hole in the fence and finally Aria and Rosebud got to go back home.

Me and mom live with three cats now.  Of course there is Yoko and then mom found Luna on the side of the road.  She was laying on the white line too afraid to move and mom jumped out the car and grabbed her.  Last, but not least we have Frankie (Frankenstein).  She's one of Yoko's kittens.  That's right Yoko had kittens, can anyone spell accident.  I couldn't, so mom helped me.  Mom's other three dogs live outside (Flat, Tipper, and Dingo).  I'll tell you all about them next time, but for now I think  a nap is in order.

Hey, I can't keep up this crazy pace all the time can I,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Tough Decisions</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/202787</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 4 Sep 2006 23:57:07 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/202787</guid>
		<description>Difficult.  Tough.  Hard.  No I'm not describing my new toy that looks like a tire.  These are words ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Difficult.  Tough.  Hard.  No I'm not describing my new toy that looks like a tire.  These are words that come to my mind when I think of what my mom has had to decide.  She has been distant with me lately, but I know it's because she has a lot on her mind.  She hasn't been the happiest or her most patient lately.  Our games of fetch haven't lasted as long.  I'll be happier when she's happier, but until then, I'll be the best Phantom I can be.  What's happenning?  I'll let you know.  I'll try to keep it short, but you know how I like to talk.

First off, you have to understand the community we live in.  We have no animal shelter, so homeless dogs are just that "homeless."  Mom has always tried to help as many as she can.  This usually meant taking in the occasional stray, but there have been a lot of unfortunate canines around lately.  There is  a humane society here, but due to finances and the adoptability of certain breeds, there are many dogs they cannot help.  Labs (especially black labs), german shepherds, hounds, and many other large breeds are so difficult to find homes for that the humane society rarely (if ever) accepts them lately.  They are extremely overcrowded with dogs and that's why mom helped to start Mutts of Love, an independent rescue organization that I have barked about before.  

Mutts of Love is now overcrowded and it would be a huge strain to take even one more dog in.  Changes in financing have led to major problems.  Many of the female dogs are needing to be spayed soon and the money is getting tight.  Snowy got spayed and Flat is soon to be.  Dog food and heartworm prevention are Mutts of Love top priority now and take up most of the budget.  

The biggest set back is Nafeeza.  Mom left her in the goat pen overnight with some of the other dogs and she got into a fight and got hurt really bad.  Mom found her laying beside the fence, in too much pain to move, so she picked her up and transported her to the vet.  She had to stay up there for a whole week.  They wanted to keep her longer, but mom said she knew what to do to take care of her, so they let her come home.  She's almost well now, but her bill isn't anywhere near being paid off.  

Let's go back to this community.  I want to explain what, in my view, is the lowest level of life on this planet.  Animal Abandoners.  People are all the time leaving their animals near our home.  Mom does what she can, but enough is enough.  When we have 19 dogs at our house we can not take anymore.  Mom is to the point that she will have to start euthanizing all pets that are abandoned here.  Someone just recently threw out three sweet dogs at the dumpster.  Mom wouldn't bring home, but did go and feed them everyday.  One of them got hit by a car and had to be euthanized.  He sat out by the road all night and then we found him the next day.  Both of his back legs were broken.  His name was Bradley.  We don't know what happened to Penelope, we hope someone picked her up and gave her a loving home.  Buster, however, made it here and after trying to chase him off several times, mom gave up and put him in the dog pen.  He is not yet a part of the pack.  He doesn't want to be friends with the other dogs and doesn't eat much.  That takes the total up to twenty dogs.  Buster may have to go.  Mom says she'll give him a couple of weeks to find a home, but if not, he'll be taking one last trip to the vet.

Tough Decision Huh?
I hope there are no more to follow, but it's that time of year when many female dogs go into heat, so puppies will be coming soon and that just means more people will be throwing out the unwanted angels.  Maybe they'll throw them out far from here, but then mom won't be there to give them even a small chance.  

Loving.  Sweet.  Healthy.  His only crime is that he's homeless.  

Good Luck Buster,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Nothing to Report</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/175895</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 7 Jul 2006 00:24:54 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/175895</guid>
		<description>Well, I've started this diary entry five times now and have deleted every word.  I've tried writing  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Well, I've started this diary entry five times now and have deleted every word.  I've tried writing about my new workout to my over excited greetings, but nothing seems to work.  I guess it's just one of those days.  Don't get me wrong, I love to write these things, but today I'm just not feeling it.  I haven't really done anything today to begin with.  Me and mom didn't even take a walk.  We've just laid around and watched t.v.  I laid on the loveseat, the floor, the recliner, and in my crate today.  I took my vitamin, had my teeth brushed, ate my dog food, and got lots of cat naps.  The cats are really proud of me.  I scare them when I grunt in my sleep.  I guess this is what it's like to just take life easy.  

Well, I guess I could give you guys an update on everything here.  

My friend the chicken died.  It was pretty mysterious, mom went outside and she was dead.  No signs of trauma or sickness.  Mom has two new chickens now.  They're rhode island reds.  They look strange to me.  My friend chicken was white, but these little ones are red.  I like them, but they'll never take the old chicken's place.  She was one of a kind.  She stayed up until 3 a.m. and loved to chase cats.  I'll remember you fondly friend.

My five hound friends moved out.  Mom says they all live together with an older man and his wife.  I hope they are doing good in their new home and having lots of fun exploring.  Mom says they have lots of room to run and play and they can eat anytime they want to.  That sounds like a great place to me, but I'd rather be here with mom or in a frisbee factory.  Hmm... mom or a frisbee factory, now that's a tough choice.  Probably still mom though.  Yeah, frisbees are no fun without someone to throw them.

Of course the cats are doing great.  One of them is really old and is starting to show it.  Mom's not sure how much longer she'll be with us.  I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds real sad.  I hope she's here for a while longer, even if she does take mom's attention away from me sometimes.  I know I make a lot of cat cracks, about them sleeping and being lazy, but I really have grown quite attached to the little sleep-aholics.

Boo has grown up.  He only weighs seven pounds, but mom let's me play with him now.  I guess I'm more gentle than she once thought, but she still only let's me play when she can watch me.

Auntie Georgia is still at the nursing home and evidently ages very fast.  The last time I saw her she told me she was 200 years old.  That's amazing, I never knew people could be that old.  Lots of my other nursing home friends are still there, like Lisa and that man that thinks all dogs are squirrel dogs.

That weird tree isn't in the house anymore and the trees outside never made any presents.  Maybe it's only the inside trees that give off gifts.  I'll try and study this matter and let you dogs know how to maximize your trees gift-giving potential.

The trashman comes every week now and has started stealing our garbage.  I told mom she shouldn't leave it beside the road, but sure enough she puts it out there every week and every week that trashman steals it.  Some people will never learn, but on the upside I haven't run into anymore barb wire fences.

Pup hasn't killed anymore squirrels and Nightmare is doing great.  He's a real sweet cat and is very nice to me and mom, even though I haven't always been nice to him.

The most exciting thing here is my new friend Barney.  Mom stayed gone all day and night and then brought Barney home the next day.  He's just a puppy now, but is determined to be my best friend.  Mom says he's a Catahoula, but he doesn't look like a cat to me at all.  I'm not sure why she got him, but she told me he was unwanted and I needed a friend, so here he is.  I guess he can be my sidekick for now.  Friend status will have to come later once he's earned it, right now he's just too much of a puppy to keep up with me.  

Well, that's all the updates I can think of right now.  I hope all of you other dogs had a fun and exciting day.  I'm about ready for another nap.  

YAWN!!!

Take It Easy,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Animal Rescue?</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/169159</link>

				<pubdate>Wed, 21 Jun 2006 21:25:59 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/169159</guid>
		<description>Mom runs an independent animal rescue called Mutts of Love.  She told me that these animals need our ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Mom runs an independent animal rescue called Mutts of Love.  She told me that these animals need our help.  I don't understand.  Why do they need to be rescued?  They seem perfectly fine to me.  I'm an animal and I don't need to be rescued and these animals are all like me.  They're happy, playful, and love a good bowl of dog food.  Oh, sorry I forgot about the cats.  They also like to take naps (silly sleeping kitties).  

Well, let me think.  Some of the dogs that come here do need to gain weight.  Jarvinia and Flat especially did.  I'd never seen dogs that thin before, but they still wanted to play with me.  Mom says that everyone should know about Flat's story, so you can find her under 'my family' on this page.  Mom decided to keep Flat because she is so awesome.  So awesomely loud and annoying.  I've never met a dog that barks so much and when I run she jumps over me and thinks it's funny when I growl at her.  Flat is okay though.  She can keep up with my play schedule because she has limitless energy and something mom calls 'spunk'.  

Some of the dogs act really scared when they get here.  I think they think me or mom will hurt them.  Pup was like that.  Mom said it took more than a year before she could even correct Pup.  Everytime she would tell her no or give her a stern word Pup would fall down and act terrified.  Pup is perfectly normal now though.  She lives with the goats and protects them from foxes and coyotes.  I really like her, she plays with me a lot and loves to roll in the grass.

A lot of the dogs that come here like food way too much.  I mean, I like food and everything, but I'm not willing to fight, maim, and kill for it.  Misfit is very food aggressive and will bite any animal that gets near his food.  He got in a fight with a big dog named Muttley and mom had to break them up.  It was scary and I wanted to help mom, but I was too small.  Misfit really likes mom, so he listened and quit fighting when she came outside.  He ran and hid from Muttley while mom caught her.  Misfit just had one tooth mark on his ear, lucky for him, Muttley doesn't play when it comes to anything being aggressive to her.  Mom decided to keep Misfit too because she said she just couldn't stand to part with him and she wasn't sure how he would do away from her and Patchey.

Patchey is Misfit's best friend and she had a problem when she came here.  Patchey was given to the humane society and brought here as a foster.  When she came here she was covered in fleas.  I mean COVERED.  You couldn't put your paw on her without having 100 fleas under it.  Mom soaked her in frontline and gave her a flea bath three days in a row.  Finally after the fleas had settled...I mean after the dust had settled all the fleas were dead.  Patchey got her name because she had patches of missing fur where the fleas had bitten her so bad.  Now she and Misfit are the prince and princess and mom says they will never have to leave here.  

A lot of other dogs come here too and usually have the same or similar problems.  I guess they do need to be rescued.  But why?  Whose doing these things to these dogs?  They're my friends and I can't understand why someone would starve them or hurt them.  I didn't think that I could help, but mom says I help them everyday.  I help rehabilitate them and show them that people can be good to dogs.  I play with them and get them to play with mom.  I thought I was just having fun, but mom says I'm very special because I love to help animals who are more unfortunate than me.  I go outside everyday and walk with mom while she feeds them.  We also take something called 'pack walks.'  Mom takes all of us dogs walking around the goat pen at one time off leash.  We have lots of fun with her and she enjoys every second of it.  You guys should come take a walk with us.

Wow, I'm still itching from thinking about those fleas!

You can check out the adoptable pets that mom has rescued on her website: http://muttsoflove.tripod.com/.  She works on it a lot and I sleep beside her chair and keep her company.  She's always looking for homes, so the dogs and cats can have better lives.  She says a shelter or rescue group is hardly the best place for a dog to live, but it's better than the streets.  

The best place to live is a warm loving home.  Do you have room in yours?

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>It's My First BIRTHDAY!</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/122186</link>

				<pubdate>Sat, 18 Feb 2006 16:47:04 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/122186</guid>
		<description>Happy birthday to me.  Happy birthday to me.  Oh hi, didn't notice you.  Guess what.  That's right,  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Happy birthday to me.  Happy birthday to me.  Oh hi, didn't notice you.  Guess what.  That's right, it's my birthday.  I've had  a lot of fun today.

For starters, I got great presents.  Mom bought me five new frisbees.  I know you non-frisbee dogs don't understand, but you can never have too many frisbees.  The first thing we did was go to the goat pen and play with them.  It was lots of fun I ran and caught them and mom just kept throwing them.  I was in frisbee heaven.  When I got tired mom let me cool off in a mud puddle.  She never let's me play in mud puddles, she claims I'll get dirty.  Me dirty, yeah right.  I got out and shook all the muddy water onto her.  HaHa.  Whose dirty now mom?  

This is the great part.  When I got home mom had a bag of my favorite treats.  True, it was just a small bag, but they're so hard to find.  She let me eat everyone of them.  Man they were delicious and my breath smelled pretty good too.  What kind of treats are they?  I can't tell you that.  You might try to bribe me or blackmail me with them.  Then, guess what.  Have you guessed yet?  I finished those treats and she had me some brand new bones.  

Then we sat down and watched a movie together.  That was fun, but I didn't get the movie.  I just enjoyed the cuddling time.  After the movie I took a long nap with my cat friend.  I guess he was wishing me a happy birthday too.  I'm still waiting on my cake and ice cream, though.  

OH WOW!  Mom just said it's time for cake and ice cream.  See you guys later.

Hope all you other birthday dogs had a happy birthday too,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Good Bye Friend</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/121643</link>

				<pubdate>Thu, 16 Feb 2006 22:42:04 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/121643</guid>
		<description>My human and I agree on a lot of things or at least we do now.  It wasn't always this way.  When I w ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ My human and I agree on a lot of things or at least we do now.  It wasn't always this way.  When I was eight weeks old I thought small cats were toys, so I played with one of them.  My human got very mad and sad at the same time.  I didn't understand at first.  She told me I almost killed the poor little kitty.  His name was Nightmare and I feel very bad that I put him through that nightmare.  I also regret putting my mom through it.  He's okay now.  He actually made an amazing recovery.  At least that's what mom and my vet say.  He went to the hospital and saw my doctor and they didn't give him a very good chance.  They said they would watch and see if he showed any improvements, but it wasn't good.  The next day they got a surprise.  Nightmare was up and hopping around his cage.  Turns out I didn't hurt him after all.  My mom was really relieved and secretly, so was I.  I've never tried to hurt another living thing, except flies (they're so annoying).  Anyway, now me and my mom agree that hurting other animals is bad.  She says one day, when we have the money, I get to be a vegetarian just like her.  I'm not exactly sure what that means, something about special dog food.  Whatever, if it has to do with better food, I'M IN!!!

Let me get to the point of my telling this story.  Today something very sad happened.  Why don't we just say tragic?  Me and my human went for a walk in the goat pen.  I was happy and so was she.  We always have so much fun when we go on walks.  My friend Pup, the American Bulldog that lives outside the house, followed us around the pen.  We played around and took some pictures before we got to the gate on the end of the pen.  When we did my human let Pup in as always.  This was overjoying because me and Pup always have fun playing and running together.  I didn't understand why at first, but Pup just ran past me.  When me and mom turned around Pup had run pretty far past us and looked like she was playing with something.  I thought she had a stick, but mom told me to lay down because she thought it might be a snake.  I didn't know what to do.  I was scared.  I had heard about snakes before and I didn't want to tangle with it so I listened to mom.  We got closer and discovered it wasn't a snake.  It was a squirrel.  

I told you we could call it tragic.  Anyway mom told Pup to put the squirrel down, but Pup wouldn't listen.  Instead she acted like she was going to give the squirrel to mom.  Mom got a stick and Pup dropped the squirrel.  Pup knew she had done something bad because she ducked her head and sat down with her tail between her legs.  I was sad.  It was like my day with Nightmare all over.  I helped mom check on the little squirrel, but it was too late.  I'm know I'm a tough dog, but I'm not afraid to say I cried.  We walked home, with Pup following behind us.  I know Pup didn't mean to hurt the squirrel, but it still upsets me.  I know now why we are not supposed to hurt other animals.  My human and I agree on at least one more thing now.

Your life was too short to be so free.  I won't forget the sorrow of your death.  Good Bye Friend,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Smelly Day</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/110220</link>

				<pubdate>Thu, 12 Jan 2006 17:29:21 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/110220</guid>
		<description>Okay, first off I have had a great day.  My human went running with me today.  It's so much fun, but ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Okay, first off I have had a great day.  My human went running with me today.  It's so much fun, but are all humans that slow.  I have to nip at her heels to speed her up.  It usually doesn't work though.  I tried running beside her, but I would have to walk.  I try to run around in the woods while she is on the road, but it's scary because the other day I ran head first into a barb wire fence.  OUCH!!!  A word of advice to other country dogs;  watch where your going.  Talk about a nasty surprise.  

Anyway back to my wonderful day.  After the run we went and played a game of fetch.  We had already played fetch once today so a second game was a bit of a surprise.  I won of course.  My human finally gave up throwing that ball because she knew I wasn't going to give up.  I made sure she had to keep it.  I don't know why she keeps trying to throw it away.  

My chicken friend got a job.  I didn't know they had jobs for us animals, but it turns out they do.  You know how trees make presents well, chickens make eggs.  Yep, I don't where they come from, but that chicken has a new one everyday.  Now that I think about it, I have a job too.  Herding the goats is my job and it's a wonderful job.  I'm glad I have that job, I don't know where I would find an egg everyday.  I wonder what kind of job the cats have.  Probably some kind of sleep study.  

After I discovered what an egg was the trashman came by.  I've never met a trashman before because my human just got this trashcan.  I ran out to see him and when I did I ran right through the ditch.  Did I mention the ditch is full of water?  Wow did I smell good!  I smelled even better than the trashman.  He thought it was funny, but my human didn't.  I had to go inside and take a shower because I smelled like a litter box.  It was a nice shower though because I was hot.  My human turned the water on colder than usual so I could keep my tongue in my mouth.  I don't know why it flops out all the time.  

After my shower I got to eat.  It was delicious and no you can't have any.  I don't share.  Oh, hey, I don't wanna forget, the cat plays with me now.  It is so exciting, he rubs on my head and I move it.  Well I guess you have to be there.  We have a lot of fun together though.  I hop around the house and he chases me.  One day I fell over and he pounced on me and bit my lip.  It hurt, but I know he was just playing and not biting me to be mean so I forgave him.  Then I laid on him.  Haha.  

Well, I'm tired I think I'll go curl up with my cat friend and sleep, thanks for listening,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Trees in the House?</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/107182</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 2 Jan 2006 00:05:42 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/107182</guid>
		<description>All right, let's get right to business.  My human has lost her mind.  For some strange reason she th ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ All right, let's get right to business.  My human has lost her mind.  For some strange reason she thinks it is okay for her to bring a tree in the house.  I mean I don't mind, but I don't get to bring sticks inside.  The weird thing is she stood it up in the corner and decorated it.  She put fuzzy strings and weird little hangy things on it.  I don't understand.  All the people that come over think it is so pretty.  I thought I was the pretty one.  

Here's the strangest part, you won't believe it.  The tree makes presents.  That's right presents.  One night I went to sleep and woke up and that tree had presents up under it.  Presents for my human and her friends, but also it had presents for me.  It must have known I didn't like it because it was very generous with my gifts.  It even had me a brand new frisbee.  One of my presents sang jingle bells when I bit it.  I just bit it harder so it would keep singing.  I'm waiting for all the trees outside to start dropping presents soon.  It must be like when the leaves fall off.  I still don't trust that tree though.  It just stands in the corner like it's waiting for something.  

The cats in the house didn't even think anything about it.  They said they see this tree every year and I'm just being paranoid.  Well excuse me if I don't take a nap every two seconds.  If that tree tries something I'll be ready.  Actually I am a little tired, maybe I should try one of those naps.  

I'll check on the tree when I wake up.

Good Night,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Auntie Georgia</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/94672</link>

				<pubdate>Sat, 19 Nov 2005 10:21:30 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/94672</guid>
		<description>The other day I did something really fun.  Me and my chihuahua friend, Dewlanna, got in the car with ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ The other day I did something really fun.  Me and my chihuahua friend, Dewlanna, got in the car with my person and her mom.  We had no idea where we were going.  I thought it was just an ordinary ride to town, but we turned a different way.  We stopped at this strange building.  There weren't many cars, but I could smell a lot of people.  We went inside and a nice lady greeted us and said how pretty me and Dewlanna were.  By this time I was so excited because I knew this was going to be fun.  My person told me we were in a nursing home and I was supposed to be nice and let all the people pet me.  Well I have no problems with letting people pet me.  That sounded great.  First we went to something called the Alzheimer's Ward.  I don't know what those big, fancy words meant.  They all just seemed like regular people to me.  They loved me and I'm not one to judge anyway.  All people are the same to me.  Their purpose in life is to make sure I get as much love as I need.  Oh, and food, don't forget my food.  I met this very nice lady they called Auntie Georgia.  Wow, I wish I could have spent more time with her.  She held Dewlanna and kept calling us sweet baby angels.  She was so happy to see us she almost cried.  I don't like people to cry, but my person told me they were good tears.  Auntie Georgia said she was 94 years old.  I wonder if I could live to be that age.  I'm nine months old now, so that could take a while.  We went and saw every person we could.  One man was really excited to see us, but he didn't say anything, I just knew.  One girl, who had wheels, was really excited to see me.  I was excited to see her too.  I wish I could tell you about each person, but I need to go catch my frisbee.  Hey, maybe when it gets warmer I can show them my frisbee skills.  Wow, I'll go tell my person right now.

Always Remember People Like Auntie Georgia,
Even The Smallest Things Can Light Up Their Days,

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>I love rain!!!</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/82008</link>

				<pubdate>Sat, 8 Oct 2005 09:52:17 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/82008</guid>
		<description>My favorite place in the world is the beach.  Me and my human have so much fun running and swimming. ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ My favorite place in the world is the beach.  Me and my human have so much fun running and swimming.  We go to Jekyll Island.  It is a dog friendly beach about two hours from our home.  It seems like a long trip, but it is always worth it.  We have so much fun.  

Recently it has rained a lot.  I don't know why it won't stop.  It rains everyday almost all the time.  Yesterday it quit and my human took me out in the goat pen.  I thought I was going to make the goats come back home, but we stopped at the firebreak.  It's about halfway through the goat pen.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  It was like being at the beach just without the waves.  I ran as fast as I could through all the water.  I played fetch in the water and rolled and jumped with my friend Milo.  

We had a new friend with us today.  His name is Boo-Boo.  He is really tiny and I can't play with him because I'm too rough or at least that's my human says.  Boo is okay he learned to swim while we were out there.  I think he had a lot of fun too.  

I can't wait for my next trip to the beach, but until then I LOVE THE RAIN!!!

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>All my friends</title>
		<link>http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/78052</link>

				<pubdate>Thu, 22 Sep 2005 22:07:23 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Phantom ~ writing at dogster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.dogster.com/dogs/197259/diary/Simply_phantom/78052</guid>
		<description>I am only seven months old, but I have met more animals so far than most creatures ever will.  I kno ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ I am only seven months old, but I have met more animals so far than most creatures ever will.  I know all sorts of people.  The people from my humane society are very interesting and all smell like other animals.  I know lots of other people too, but they're not as intersting to smell.

A whole bunch of cats live near my home.  There are probably more than twenty, but most of them don't like my people friends.  If you ask me some of them like my people too much.  I really would like the two that live inside to go visit with the wild cats for awhile.

I also know a herd of goats.  We get along pretty well, but when my person says they need to go home I make sure they do.  I don't know what those goats would do if it wasn't for me.  They would probably stay in the woods their whole lives and never know what home is.  That's all right, I keep 'em straight.  One of the goats doesn't live with the herd.  I don't understand why she is separated, but she has a friend in her enclosure.  It is white and feathery, my person calls it a chicken.  Smells funny to me, but my person says we have to be extra nice to it because it fell off the truck on the way to the slaughter house.  That doesn't sound like a very fun place so I always make sure to be nice when I am around her.

Of course, I know all sorts of dogs.  My person has a lot of dogs living here.  She says they are something called foster dogs, but I don't know.  She says this is a temporary home for them, but they sure have been here a while.  One of them is very big and strong, but I can still play with her.  It doesn't matter if she is double my size, I'm still the best.  All the other dogs are great too, but I'd prefer just to lay in their water bowls.  

Well, it was fun telling you about my friends.  Hope to share more of my exciting life with you later.

Phantom Lord]]></content:encoded>
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