That time I found a rattlesnake at work.

Let's all travel back to Monday... 

I am sitting at my desk when mom comes in with her new rescue dog that is still terrified of everyone. About an hour later someone leaves the door open and he gets out in to the back yard. 

How the heck do you catch a dog that doesn't trust you and isn't driven by food? 

A lot of coaxing and chasing. 

Somehow in the chaos, my dads dog comes to the back along with my cousins 4 month old puppy. CHAOS. 

Haley (dad's dog) and Remi (the scared little basset/beagle)

Don't they look cute. They aren't. Not when you are chasing them around 400 cars.

Any who... at one point we are along the back fence. We go to the left and hit the end. They go around the front of the cars to the right and I chase them back. The we go left again. We are running in a tiny lane about 12 inches wide between the back of the cars and the fence. 

About the 3rd back-and-forth I heard leaves rustling and a distinct rattle. I look down and about 6 inches from my feet I saw what looked like a black snake. Then I noticed the rustling sound was his freaking TAIL!

And he was standing a foot off the ground. 

This picture freaks me out. 

I froze. It felt like 5 minutes, but it was more like 30 seconds. It clicked that I was looking at a Timber Rattler. A dark, pre-shed, post-winter timber rattler. I ran backwards fast and saw mom and dad running towards where the snake was. I knew I had already made it angry. I started screaming "rattle snake, rattle snake, rattle snake!" at the top of my lungs.

We got away from it and I stood shaking in the middle of the yard. Then I noticed the dogs were still running along the fence. Past the snake. Over and over again. 

I started screaming their names, begging them to come. Four years ago my sister's 4 pound mini dachsund was bitten by a Copperhead. She almost died but my sister rushed her to the puppy ER and hubs and I kept her the following week for all the fun creams and pills. 

I just knew that one of these three were going to be the next victim. Somehow all of my screaming scared the snake and it got away when I was focused on getting away so the dogs were okay. After 45 minutes we wrangled all the brats, but I am still shaken up. 

Who thinks they are going to find a RATTLE SNAKE at work? 

Not me. I was grouchy and touchy for the rest of the day. And cleaning the barn? I jumped every time my horse moved. I am typically okay with snakes. I worked at a zoo! But, it's different when a rattle snake decides he hates you.

Rescue, Rescue, Rescue!!!!!

I often wonder why people think that buying from breeders and pet stores is the only way to get a purebred dog. All you have to do is go online and type in whatever type of dog you want followed by "adopt" or "rescue." That's how I found Riley. Yeah, he isn't the type of dog I wanted. They actually had the dog I wanted, but I saw Riley and fell in love. It's a decision I do not regret. Read that story here. 

My parents are boxer fans. They actually raised them before they decided that adoption is the way to go. Seriously, there are hundreds of dogs in shelters. We do not need to add to the number. Why aren't they good enough? Why can't people browse through the hundreds of dogs there? Because people are lazy. People are into designer things and think they have to have expensive dogs. Well, guess what...my parents adopted a purebred boxer with papers from a rescue. Check out her story at this link. 

So again, why can't you find what you are looking for at a rescue? If it's because you don't have time then you don't have time to own a dog. I know that sounds harsh, but dogs take a lot of time. You have to feed and water and exercise. You have to train them and set the boundaries, this comforts them. You have to make time to take them to the vet. You have to have time to be there for them. So many people don't understand this and they end up surrendering them to shelters. Please do your research.

If the reason is simply because you don't know where to start, message me. Leave me a comment with your email address. I will help you, no matter where you are. Let me know what you are looking for, your lifestyle, what traits you like. I will then look at the rescues online for you. I can point you in the right direction. I do it for people everyday. Free of charge. I just want these dogs to know love from a good, responsible home. 

Here are some local rescues I am loving right now: 

Posey Shelter Pet Promoters Inc Cedartown, Ga (where we got Hallie)

Check them out on petfinder

Society of Humane Friends of Georgia- Jail Dogs!

Click the link to go to the facebook page. This is an awesome program 

Southeastern Bloodhound rescue 

They have dogs all over the southeast. Check them out on petfinder. 

Hallie the boxer

So this post should have been posted months ago, but I haven't had the time or the motivation to blog. Lazy, I know. Most of you know Hallie by now. She is kind of a big deal. Here is how the little Diva ended up with the Castleberry crew.
You see we spend all show season qualifying for Oklahoma, where Grand Nationals and the World Championship is. This year Sara and her horse Rifle qualified so my parents loaded up the truck and went for a week of fun! I am still a little bitter by the way. Anyways, John, a fellow horse lover just happened to have one of his rescue/foster dogs there. That adorable little pup just happened to be a boxer.




















Let me explain the importance of the breed. My grandfather used to raise boxers. Big beautiful boxers with canadian bloodlines. The dogs were my grandfathers pride and joys. When the last one, Brutus, passed away we never got another one. Everyone in the family toyed with the idea but no one ever went through with it. In January, when papa passed away, I really wanted a boxer but ended up with Riley (see his story below). I'm rambling.
Well while in Oklahoma, Hallie attached herself to dads hip and he fell in love. When my parents left Oklahoma, Ms. Hallie jumped in the truck and refused to get out. They were not looking to adopt so they left without Hallie. Two weeks later mom, the sisters and I were secretly filling out adoption papers. And 1 week later.... Surprise!!!! Dad went to pick up his baby and they have been inseparable since.
Hallie's new life includes going to the office, barn and the farm. She enjoys breakfast and lunch ordered in ( she has to rough it and eat plain dog food for dinner). She has 3 "sisters" that adore her, a puppy friend named chloe and a dog bed for lounging during the day ( she sleeps next to her parents in the human bed). But most of the time Hallie spends her time going from person to person spreading love and joy. You can't have a bad day around her. It's not possible. Who rescued who?
Any who sorry for the long sappy post. I just love that little smooshy face rescue and hope she inspires other to rescue.

Riley's story

So we adopted Riley March 3rd, 2010. At the time I was on a mad hunt for a purebred boxer. I wanted to rescue but I wanted it to be a boxer. Papa had always had boxers and they were his favorites. When I was a kid he raised them and they have always had a special place in our family. I searched for a month. There were a few on Craigslist that I looked at. I set up a few appointments to meet the dogs and the owners, but nothing felt right. Then one night I typed in "boxer for adoption" in the search bar and a picture of a little black and white possibly pitt mix puppy popped up. Hmmm... not a boxer but he is cute. I clicked on the link and the saddest eyes were pretty much attacking my soul. Then I read he was going to be put down Tuesday at 4pm. It was Sunday. Monday morning I called and asked if they would hold him for me. The lady said no, I had until 4pm Tuesday.

Luckily, Chris was off that Tuesday (March 3rd) and we went to look at him. We walked in and I immediately saw why "boxer" brought me to the shelters link. There was the cutest purebred boxer female that was about 6 months old. I played with her about5 minutes and noted that she had been there 2 days and still had 29 days before she would be euthanized. We kept walking past cages and cages of puppys and dogs that were adorable. It was loud. Dogs were barking, music was blaring, inmates were yelling. We finally found "death row" and I almost walked past him. They called him "Ace" or #----- and he looked like he had given up on life. He was skinny even though there was a massive bowl of food in the corner. He was filthy and shaking. I tried to get him to come to me but he didn't have the strength or maybe he didn't have the urge to be loved. I turned to Chris and said he is mine. Chris was shocked. All he had heard for a month was boxer, boxer, boxer and now I wanted a filthy, skinny mutt. "What about the boxer at the beginning? Let's go see her one more time because you really wanted a boxer." I relunctantly said bye to "Ace" or #----- and went back to the boxer. She greeted me body wagging. Nope, no emotions, she was not the one. So we went in the office signed the papers and an inmate brought us the filthy, skinny black and white dog.