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Likes: I like other dogs to play with, going for walks, running while Mommy rides her bike , Pulling the wagon or sled, People, My feline fur-brothers.
Pet-Peeves: I DON'T like the BSL and being restricted just because of my breed. I don't like my muzzle and not being able to play outside like I used to. I don't like the lack of socializing that is important for ALL doggies.
Favorite Toy: Lambie (my stuffed toy), huge dino bones, balls, sticks, my rope, frizbee
Favorite Food: YUM! Auntie Em's Shasta star cookies (named after me) her peanut butter and banana cookies, cheese, marrow bones that we call 'cookies', rollover and human food when I get it..
Favorite Walk: Acres and acres of private property with bush, a pond and lots of fun places to explore where I doesn't need my leash and muzzle with my cousin Lucy, and going for walks with my friend, Brutus, because he is VERY handsome.
Best Tricks: I can say 'Mom' ,'I love you' and 'I did' in human,sit, sit pretty, lay down, roll over, stay, come, jump, catch and hug. I used to play dead when we were done playing, but mommy said, 'Dead doggies don't get COOKIES!', so I would be alive again.
Arrival Story: I never meant to get a dog as I had lost my old dog of 20 years. Three years later, I was asked if I would house break and train this pup to be gentle as they has an infant and young son.
I have disabilities and health problems, but I took the pup and a few months later, the couple asked me if I would like to keep her. It had to be fate that brought us together, because she was my answer to prayers that would give me back some 'normality' in life once more.
She got me out of phobias of leaving my own house and speaking to strangers that I had since 1995 after a fall caused a broken neck. It left me with all sorts of disabilities and nerve damage in my arms and hands.
On good days we now walk all over, ride a bike with her running beside me, plus she pulls my groceries home by wagon or sled. She also takes my garbage out the same way.
She can tell before I do that I'm about to have a panic attack and if I happen to not be with her when I'm severely stressed or in one, she has a special way to relax me.
She is the confidence that I lack and together we are whole. She was my Service Dog, only not certified as she got caught in the red tape of the BSL and not allowed to certify a 'restricted' or 'grandfathered' dog due to Ontario's Pit bull Ban.
I was taking all the wrong routes to have her certified as my Servce Dog, but because of wonderful people, they have put me on the right road where breed does not play a part of it. I'm happy to say, Shasta now is a certified service dog and while she still must wear her muzzle due to Ontario Law, she has given me abundant freedom.
As a PSD dog, she requires her mouth to alert and respond to my attacks, which isn't possible with her muzzle on. Prayfully we win our court battle and the muzzles come off and our rights given back to us...but if not *sob*, I will have to continue to fight to have her exempt from the muzzle law to help me in the way she should.
She may not have a metal to show for it, but she is my hero and has my heart to prove it and while she's qualified as my Service Dog, I would not trade her for any 'acceptable' breed as she has given me back life and now I will fight for hers.
Both her and I will remain 'restricted' until we win the breed ban and then she will show the world what a wonderful Service Dog she truly is without the muzzle finally.
Our last battle happened at the end of last year, 2007 when I went again for her dog license. This time I was so exausted, sore and could barely stand and I wasn't going to leave until we got this settled once and for all.
I wasn't going to allow them to push me aside because of her breed and give me the run around regarding her certification. I knew everything was in order and I wanted it acknowlegded and put right on her file.
Shasta's full focus was on me even when one of the staff members asked if sh could pat her and I know the pain and exhaustion showed in my face and body that I could barely stand.
Came our turn and again I got the same story as last year, 'I'm new and don't know how to do this.' I stood my ground (even if barely) and demanded I wasn't going to go through what I went through last year. I had all her papers again even though they were on record and showed her right on the form where it said; "Guide Dogs, Service Dogs with certification: NO FEE'
She called a woman from the office and they brought me a chair to sit in while they went back into the office. The manager came out with Shasta's file and showed me that from then on I will never have a problem again. Her file finally had her listed as a Certified Service/Guide Dog rather than a Pit bul terrierl. She was now officially acknowleged for what she was rather than her breed.
WE WON!
Bio: Shasta has sucessfully completed her CGN course and received her certificate from CKC, TT certificate & Public Access certification.
As a Certified Service Dog, Shasta specializes in Physical Aid, Alert & Responce, PSD and Mobility.
She loves people, kids, and animals. She knows the difference between work and play and is excellent in both.
She is now employed by Auntie Em's Merlin Munchies as an official taste tester for a brand new doggie cookie named after her, Shasta Stars. She gets paid in cookies.
She is a model at All For Paws modelling the 'Talk to the PAW' t-shirts with $5 each going towards the Legal Defence Fund.
The Banned Aid Coalition is fighting against the BSL. Please check out the groups I'm a member of.
Dog Legislation Council of Canada,
Advocates For The Underdog and London Dog Owners Association
Please watch this important video message, Message to the Media
Forums Motto: Treat me by my nature, not my breed. Dogster Local Spots I've Marked: Masonville Animal Hospital The Groups I'm In: "DOGSTERHOLICS", *~*StAffIeS, *~BuLL$hiT LeGi$LaTioN~*, *~BuLLiEs ArE Da BeSt~*, Bully Ed 101, Pit Bulls in Ont, Ban Stupid Legislation, Canadian Service Dogs, CosmoPooch! Magazine, Date a Doggy/or a Kitty, Dog House Runway, Jodidogs Support, Miss Dog Beauty Pageant, Miss Dogster Beauty Pageant, My 3 Pits & Friends, Pit Bulls, President Isabel's BSL Task Force, RIP PIT, Service Dogs Group, The PuppyDog Dolls, ~Royal Pits~, ~~~*♥Dog Park USA♥*~~~
I came onto Dogster today and went to visit one of my pals pages.
Normally, Viva Los Vagas would be playing in the back ground with a bright and colourful page full of funny things...just like my pal, Duncan.
But today I was stunned to learn my dear friend had passed on to Rainbow Bridge.
I went thru his page to find out why? how? when? Almost like I must be on the wrong page and it couldn't have been MY Duncan. As I read his diary the story of what happened was sad, yet enlightened by all the endearing poems that other friends of his wrote for him and his family, both fur and skin.
They liften me up and brought me out of the shock and grief I was feeling and I was able to see my funny friend again creating such laughter in Rainbow Bridge with this wonderful, spirited, comical friend of mine there. I wouldn't doubt if Duncan can get the angels to play Viva Las Vagas on their harps so listen closely through the hush of night and see if you can hear them play.
It's funny, but on March 28th, 2007, Duncan gave me a forever star. In it he barked, "Thank you for being such a loyal pal. I hope we will get to meet some day. Vuv, Duncan." Little did we know then that that day will come and it will be at the Rainbow Bridge.
Duncan, I love you and happy memories will always stay with me as you continue to make me bark out loud every time I think about you.
Anyone that happened to come to my page right up to today, may have seen my Valentines pic was still up. I looked up some of my buddies pages and they have Easter Bunnies and then I realized, I've been taking care of Mommy too long and becoming as forgetful as her. Maybe it's contagious, you think?
Well, I didn't put up an Easter pic, but I did add a few pictures to my album.
Mommy's been cold and shivering even when humans tell her it's nice out, so we haven't been out unless it's for doctors or dentist appointments. After that, she's so tired that she needs a nap, so I cuddle in right beside her and become her heating pad. I don't mind one bit though because as soon as she's better we'll be out and about all the time.
The last couple of times we were out, first it was just a little chilly, but not enough for my snowsuit, so I wore my boots (it was wet and muddy) and jogging suit. The last time since Mommy only needed to wear a sweater, she only put on a t-shirt on me. It's kinda snug becuz it was Mr. Monkey's t-shirt before he outgrew it (which he says he didn't when he saw me wearing it). But since it's a kids shirt and not a canine shirt, course it's not going to fit me exactly. It's the one...and I have a picture of him wearing it in my album, of the I (BIG RED (HEART for love) Pit bulls. BOL
Not much to bark about, except I HOPE my Uncle Bill brings me another BIG raw cow bone for Easter! My last visit one is pretty much done with hardly any grizzel left to naw out of it.
Although I haven't been barking much for a loooong while, I've been taking good care of Mommy. She just came out of a Chronic Fatigue flare, but the way her body feels, she thinks she may be going into a fibromyalgia flare. She says she hurts ALL over, but her mind is alert and all the hazy, fogginess is finally gone.
She hasn't been sick this whole while that I've been away from Dogster and my pals. That only happened like it always does after she pushes her body trying to get everything done for Christmas. Somehow her determination gets everything done, but she has t pay the price afterwards and that's when I take on the role of Nurse Shasta.
Before that Mommy's computer went. She had to send in her tower to Hewlet Packerd and they got it working like new. The only problem was Mommy was trying to back everything up just before it broke down and the DVD's she backed them on to ended up being blank. Figure that one out???
She's using her external back-up drive so that doesn't happen again. *paws crossed*
Needless to say, she had to reinstall everything from scratch again, but did have an old backup disk, so she didn't lose everything completely. Thank DOG!
In my new Valentine's pic you should know that NO...we did not get another brother for me. The black feline is Marcus, my Gramma's cat that comes to visit. He's like family since he comes here and we go there.
I always feel like the odd one when he's around though. Enok plays with him and basically ignores me the whole time Marcus is here. Maybe it's for the best because when the two of them wait until Mommy goes to sleep, you know within 5 minutes things are going to be crashing down and all rules will be broken. Me laying by Mommy's side is a sure sign I'm not going to get in trouble.
When everyone wakes up, the pair of them try to look SO innocent.
In late October, early November Mommy decided her old furniture was just too shabby to keep anymore. The same night Mommy was throwing it out, we got a new next door neighbour who only had 2 outdoor patio chairs in his apartment. Mommy wished she could have given it to him, but it wasn't worth giving to anybody no matter how badly they needed it. She appologized to him as she felt terrible. He could only see it in the dark, so naturally it didn't show the bad condition it was in. We did see 2 guys take away the mini upright freezer the next morning though. They're going to have a pain having to defrost it all the time and the handle was off with a screw sticking out that was always catching somene and scratching them.
Mommy did get an Occupational Therapist and through her, the management allowed Mommy to get in a plumber to hook up her condo washer in the apartment since the laundy room is on the 2nd floor and she can't take stairs. She also got some safety handles for inside of the bathtub so she doesn't have to worry about her balance anymore when taking a shower.
There's a bunch of things she was suppose to go for 2 quotes of everything, but then Christmas was coming and she never did find the time to go to the different places...then of course the flare hit.
Even with Mommy being in the flare, our place always looks nice except for maybe lack of dusting or vacuuming some days...and sometimes dishes go unwashed for a day or two or three... BOL
Enok isn't allowed on the furniture anymore and it took him awhile to learn that, but finally he followed Mommy's new rules. That is...until lately... He's been sneaking up on the ktchen table to take a nap. When Mommy see's him he knows he better run. What a brat cat!
The new furniture will be better for Mommy's allergies. She's gone for all leather in cream colour and the coffee table, end table and even the condo table is all in glass with chrome legs. Our dinette chairs are see through with chrome legs, so now those little munchkins, my skin nephews can't get away with kicking each other under the table without Mommy seeing who the real culpret is. BOL It's sort of like having Xray vision that you see EVEYTHING!!!
During her waking hours (maybe 3 at the longest), Mommy took old picture frames and plant pots and spray painted them all to the colours that go with the new colour sceme. Friends ask her when she went out and bought all those, but she loves using her creativity to make old things look new.
Her big project will be her huge above the couch abstract. It just doesn't fit in with the colours it is, so she's going to repaint it herself since she says she already has a nice canvess to paint on. She's going for a cleaner, open look with some bright colours rather than pastels this time and the property manager says they are going to paint our apartment, so she's going to let them, then paint over it to the colours she wants. That way they do all the hard work like sanding, priming and giving her a fresh coat to paint on. Smart huh?! She was just so glad they weren't doing it while she was in her flare, but now she's ready anytime.
I can't remember the last time we went out except for Mommy taking me out back to do my duty. But then of course this has been a really harsh winter that started off in the fall and never quit snowing ever since. FINALLY we are having warmer days and some of the snow is melting and we've had a day or two of rain until it turns into snow again. brrrr...
My skin brother got a new puppy. I haven't seen him yet, but his name is Norcol and he'd be almost 8 weeks old by now. Mommy and I can't wait for him to come visit. It'll be nice having a little cousin again... that is, until he grows bigger than me. He's a black lab mix that Michael bought from the Humane Society. He just couldn't bring himself to getting another Bullie and having the fear that owning a Bullie takes, plus he wanted to start from scratch again raising it the way he wanted rather than taking on the problems other people have created since him and his fiance work a lot, but the pup has the kids to look after him when they aren't there.
Well, I think I must have barked your ears off and brought you up to date.
Have a loving Valentines and plenty of wet kisses to your skin families.
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