Cairn Terrier Rescues

In September of 2011, my husband and I welcomed a pair of Cairn terrier rescues, named Nutmeg and Nora, into our home. We knew little of their background, except their owner had died, they had been in a kennel for two months, and they were no longer house-trained. It seemed like this would be a good…

Our Cairn Terrier rescue, Nora, went blind in July of 2015. At the time, she had just been diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease. She was in such bad shape that it didn’t seem feasible to take her to a veterinary ophthalmologist in Pittsburgh, when we didn’t think she’d be with us for much longer. A year later, Nora is still…

On Monday, I took Nora for another ACTH Stimulation blood test and fully anticipated a good report. Nora’s been almost back to normal after a pretty rough few weeks following her diagnosis of Cushing’s disease. Things got so bad at one point, I didn’t know if she would survive long enough for the Vetoryl to work. The recent increase…

Crossing my fingers, but Nora has had some good days since her meds for Cushing’s disease were increased. She almost seems like she’s back to normal. It’s weird to think that this isn’t a medication that we’ll be done with at some point. She supposed to take it for the rest of her life. And if she…

Composting is actually not cool. It is warm when done right, but you get what I mean. Did you know that two-thirds of everything we throw away is compostable? That’s what Don Blakesley, Erie County Recycling Coordinator, says. In Erie County (Pennsylvania) today, on average, each person generates 3,400 lbs. of trash per year. Want…

A couple of years ago, I resolved to love winter. Since Husband Jim has never moved me out of this frosty bucket, I figured I should bloom where I was planted, so to speak. This year, as for many, it has been hard to love winter. I’ll tell you who loves winter, though. Nutmeg and…

When I used to walk Happy and Scout, our 100-pound-plus Labrador retrievers, I was often annoyed by the little-dog walkers we’d encounter, who acted as if mine would engulf theirs like Jaws off the beach at Amity Island. Now that Happy and Scout are somewhere over the rainbow bridge, and I walk our Cairn Terrier…

I hope I didn’t scare you. For all we’ve gone through with these cairn terrier rescues, the thought of giving up Nutmeg and Nora has rarely crossed our minds, especially because I’m not sure how well anyone else would handle them, and therefore, I would worry about their future welfare. So, when we finally found…

On a damp and chilly September Sunday morning, Husband Jim and I completed our ninth hike in the Let’s Move Outside! Erie County Recreational Passport. We could smell the grapes in the air as we walked through the town. North East is located in the largest grape-growing region in the eastern United States, and you’ll find nine wineries there.…

The Girard Trail was the eighth one we walked as part of the Erie County Let’s Move Outside! project. This trail is pretty easy, and the map is very accurate, listing 27 historic landmarks along the way. As usual, we brought along our Cairn Terrier rescue pups, Nutmeg and Nora, and 3.5 miles later, they were still…