Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 30, 2012

11

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday June 30, 2012 

15TH ANNUAL BASSET HOUND RESCUE PROVIDES A “DOGGONE” 
GOOD TIME WHILE RAISING FUNDS FOR THEIR SPECIAL CAUSE

By Joan Schmidt

 There are many 
different sports 
competitions/games 
and many different 
participants: human, 
feline, canine, 
equestrian and so on. 
Saturday, I had the 
pleasure of attending 
the 15th Annual Basset 
Hound Rescue of 
Southern California, 
and never saw so 
many Basset Hounds 
of various sizes and 
colors. I could have 
easily brought one 
home, but we already 
have three cats and a 
German Shepherd, so 
we are fine!

 The different 
competitions were a delight to watch. In the morning 
we were entertained by the Basset Boxer Relay races in 
teams of Bassets with owners, a Tail Wag Off, Kissing 
Contests and Treat Toss. Following these events were the 
introductions of the exhibitors, BHRSC (Basset Hounds of 
Southern California), Rescue Hounds and the volunteers.

 After a lunch break, competitions included Synchronized 
Swimming, Drooling Contest, The Jordan Schrufer 
Hound Howl Off ,and a, Basset Hound Costume Contest!

 During the morning and afternoon sessions, there were 
raffles and quite a few great prizes were given out, such as 
restaurant gift cards, a “movie night” basket, and a “pet 
goodie basket with gift card and toys” - just to mention 
a few.

 We enjoyed watching the “swim” and “drooling contests”, 
then walked around and admired so many beautiful pets! 
It was fun talking to the different owners. One woman 
called the event, “A Giant Petting Zoo”, after I sadly mentioned my little grandkids were out of town 
and couldn’t attend. 

 Some winners included Minnie Mouse and Bandit for their costumes. Among my favorites were 
a Lady Bug, Butterfly, Dogosaur and Hula Dancer! Caesar took the “Drooling” trophy and Dolly was 
the Champion Swimmer.

 We ran into old friends from Alta Loma, Bettie and John Weldon and daughter, Holly. They had 
two of their Basset Hounds with them. What a great time we had and what a wonderful, fun-filled 
way to raise funds for such a great organization, the Basset Hound Rescue of Southern California! (If 
you would like to make a donation to help this great cause or for more info on this great group and 
the service they provide, please go to www.BHRSC.ORG . )

 
I’ve often wondered what my dog, Tater, is thinking 
when she behaves in a certain way or responds in a 
particular manner. For example, when she suddenly 
awakes from a deep sleep, furrows her baggy brow, 
drawing her floppy ears to the front of her long face, and proceeds to stand and stare at me with 
nothing having incited her. Or, when she suddenly begins to paw at me while I am working at my 
computer to get my attention, for no apparent reason. When this happens, I am typically tempted 
to apply human thought patterns to her behavior in an attempt to make sense of it, but is that really 
appropriate? There are various schools of thought among animal lovers and pet professionals as to 
what is going on inside the mind of a canine, and like most things that matter in life, the quest to know 
best about a dog’s thoughts requires time and effort to research and discern before forming opinions. 
That’s why I decided to look further into the art of animal communication.

 I don’t claim to be a dog psychic, a clairvoyant, or an expert of any kind when it comes to 
understanding and communicating with animals, other than the fact that I love them with all my 
heart, and I make it my mission to have the best relationship I possibly can with them. However, I’ve 
always felt that animals are capable of deep thoughts and feelings and, in fact, there are times when 
I’m sure my dogs are having deeper thoughts than I am, so applying the precepts of human cognition 
would be somewhat of an insult to them. I took Tater to a 6-week behavioral training course at the 
Pasadena Human Society when she was 2 years old, and the trainer told me Tater is a very sensitive 
being who could get her feelings hurt by nothing more than a stern look from across the room. To 
me, this was good news because it meant it would take very little to get Tater’s attention and solicit a 
positive response. Just the fact that she could be that aware seemed remarkable to me. That’s when I 
realized how we humans really do communicate with our pets without realizing it, but we often forget 
to concentrate long enough or lend sufficient attention in order to know what our pets are trying to 
say back.

 My first introduction to animal communication was through a “Dog Planet” television program 
featuring Victoria Stilwell, about 5 years ago, and I must admit at first I was quite skeptical. In fact, 
I even had a good gut laugh during the show when Victoria told the pet owner what the dog was 
thinking and how the owner could make changes to solicit a more positive response from the dog. 

 Well, that was then and this is now! In recent years, I’ve spent numerous hours with lots of animals 
by virtue of my dog walking and pet sitting business, and that coupled with previous experiences as a 
youth owning horses, dogs, cats, chickens and rabbits has convinced me that if we humans would just 
take the time to listen to the animals, we can form much more meaningful relationships with them. 
When I finally got past my pessimism, it became second nature for me to try to accurately interpret 
animal behavior, which has allowed me to work more effectively with them for the desired results. So 
finally, at this point, I feel like I am on the right path of communicating with my beloved four-footed 
furry friends.

 Last week I invited Cindy Wood, a highly-respected and well-renowned animal communicator, 
to spend a little time with me and my two dogs in hopes of helping facilitate a better dynamic in our 
home. Cindy has been practicing the craft & skills of understanding animals through the interpretation 
of mental pictures for over 30 years, and she came highly recommended by one of my clients. It was 
the first time I had ever called on a professional animal communicator, and I could hardly wait for 
her to arrive. Let me just say that I was astounded at what she told me my two dogs were thinking! 
Cindy shared a list of things that Tater and Molly were picturing in their minds, that she could not 
have possibly known about otherwise. Suffice it to say that I had chill bumps throughout the entire 
consultation. Among the many mental pictures my dogs shared with Cindy during our visit, most 
remarkable was when Molly thanked me for moving her crate near the computer where I work during 
the day, so she could be closer and part of what’s going on in the household. The thing of it is, Cindy 
had no idea that Molly’s crate had previously been placed on the porch. This confirmed without a 
doubt that what Cindy said had come strictly from Molly’s thoughts, not from information I had 
shared with Cindy prior to our visit.

 Another thing Molly shared with Cindy through mental pictures is that she misses playing a game 
Molly calls “The Ups . That’s when the chill bumps really set in, and my tears began to flow because 
I knew what Molly was thinking about. I adopted Molly after her original owner Fred passed away a 
few weeks ago. The stairs at Fred’s house, Molly’s original home are very steep, and when Molly was 
recovering from distemper, Fred used to play a game to encourage her to go up and down the stairs 
as a means of therapy to help her get stronger and overcome the neurosis resulting from the disease. 
It was clear that Cindy was interpreting Molly’s unique thoughts and memories about her time with 
her deceased dad, and simply put, it blew my mind! 

 There were several other amazing things that Cindy shared based on the thoughts my two dogs had 
during our visit. One of the tidbits that Tater shared through Cindy was that she wanted me know to 
know she acts out at times to distract me from my sadness over Fred’s death. This made total sense to 
me. When I have to stop and correct Tater for doing something I don’t want her to do, it automatically 
takes me out of the darkness I feel from missing my friend, Fred. Cindy said it was clear to her that 
Tater considers it her job to distract me from the sadness. To me, that was the sweetest thing my 
precious pup could possibly want to say or do! It brought it all together for me, as far as figuring out 
why I often have such tender feelings toward Tater, in spite of her occasional less-desirable behavior. 
If I tried to apply my human thought patterns to this scenario, I would be foolish and frustrated, and 
I’d be doing Tater a great disservice. 

 Both Tater and Molly seemed comforted by the experience of having Cindy visit us and interpret 
what they had been trying to tell me for so long. It was an experience of a lifetime that I will treasure 
forever. And, I know I will be calling on Cindy in the future as needed, to help the 3 of us understand 
each other better. Also, it inspired me to nurture my own ability to understand what my canine 
companions are thinking and to appropriately reciprocate my canines’ gentle kindness.


COMMUNICATING WITH 
THE CANINE

Pet Adoption Today!

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Shabby Dog will be hosting a Pet Adoption 

10:00 am to 4:00 pm at

THE SHABBY DOG

31 East Montecito Avenue

Sierra Madre, CA 91024 (626) 836-5452

Enter our Raffle to WIN:

*Free Full Pet Groom

*Free Full Day Pet Daycare

*Free 1 Night Boarding

*$30.00 gift card Sierra Juice Co.

*$15.00 gift card Mother Moo Creamery

*Free Color & Cut from Gwen at Zello

*Gift Card Angels Everywear 

*Gift basket Savor The Flavor 

*Free Cut & Color Cappelli Court 

*Free Gift Card Wistaria Restaurant 

*Free Pet Photography session, AKA Photography studio 

*Free Gift Card Ixora Florist 

*Free 1 Month Classes Sierra Fitness

*1 Free TRX Suspension Training 

Session at Sierra Fitness 

 And Many More Sierra Madre Business Gift Cards! 

 Free Food & Drinks!

 
Meet a very special sweetheart, the adorable Ashley (A4441567). 
Ashley is a fantastic four year old tricolor female Beagle who was 
found in Covina on June 6th and brought to the Baldwin Park 
Animal Care Center. Weighing twenty-one pounds, Ashley 
walks very well on the leash, sits on command and is undoubtedly 
housebroken. She is very sociable with dogs and we think she 
will get along tremendously with children. She will roll over 
for a belly rub at the slightest opportunity and gaze up at you 
adoringly. Ashley is an all-around wonderful girl who will be the 
perfect indoor pet for absolutely anyone absolutely anywhere! 
To watch a video of Ashley please visit: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=XdczfPz7JDs

 To meet Ashley in person, please see her at the Baldwin Park 
Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton, Baldwin Park, CA 91706 
(Phone: 626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). She is currently 
available now. For any inquiries about Ashley, please reference her animal ID number: A4441567. The 
shelter is open seven days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-Thursday and 10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This is 
a high-intake shelter with a great need for adoptions. For more information about Ashley or the adoption 
process, contact United Hope for Animals Volunteer Adoption Coordinator Samantha at samanthasayon@
gmail.com or 661-309-2674. To learn more about United Hope for Animals’ partnership with the 
Baldwin Park Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, as well as the many dogs of all breeds, ages, 
and sizes available for adoption in local shelters, visit http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/about-us/
shelter-support-program/.

PET OF THE WEEK: ASHLEY Animal ID #A4441567