A friend gave Cubbie a new toy. It’s some type of furry creature (with eyes) attached to a ball. The ball is battery operated and rolls all across the floor.

At first, Cubbie barked up a storm and seemed terrified of the wild creature rolling across our floor.

After a bit, he stopped barking but wasn’t sure what to think. He began to creep up to the “creature.” Cubbie’s body was shaking, and he would crouch very low to the ground. He wanted the furry tail, but he didn’t want anything to do with the mechanical ball.

He would get close to the tail, make a grab for it and when it rolled out of his reach he would back up as if it attacked him. It was hilarious to watch!

Cubbie watched and followed the creature all around the house. Sometimes he kept his distance, sometimes he got brave enough to get close (but only in his crouched, ready position).

We shut the ball off, to show him it was nothing to be scared of, and he began chewing on the furry tail. I was afraid he would destroy it too quickly, so we turned the ball back on. This time, Cubbie was more brave. He knew he wanted that furry tail! He began getting just close enough to attempt to grab only the tail into his mouth. Once he got the tip of the tail, he began backing up trying to get the tail away from the ball, but of course, it didn’t work. He was so funny pulling this tail hoping and hoping to get a chance to chew on it again.

After a while, Cubbie took a break. He jumped on the couch to watch the toy and he was panting and panting. I figured he had enough excitement, so I put the toy away. The next time I need to distract him or wear him out, I’ll turn it back on!

Posted under Cubbie stories

Recently I did a story with a new animal rescue. Rural Iowa Animal Rescue is located in Buchanan County near Rowley.

The Johnsons take in all types of animals including dogs, cats, horses and llamas. The couple recently go eight horses from western Iowa.

Here is a link to my full story.

After the story aired, we got numerous calls to the station from people asking how to contact the rescue. Amanda sent me this email. This email is the best part of my job.

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Thank you so much for coming out and doing a story on the Rural Iowa Animal Rescue! We have had a great response! We have someone willing to donate enough hay to feed all the rescue horses for ONE MONTH! That is awesome and desperately needed! We have one horse that has been adopted and is just waiting to get the final hoof work done before she can go to her new home. A lady saw the story on the news and called asking if she could adopt the horse with the broken leg that cannot be ridden. This lady broke her back and cannot ride but loves horses and so she made a connection with this mare and is coming out Wednesday to meet her! Oh and someone is interested in Arizona! Thanks so much for featuring her. She has been with us for about two months and she needs a home to call her own before she bonds too much with us and us with her! haha!

Thanks again for your time and passion for our cause! We really appreciate it and you have given these horses a chance that they would not have had without you!

Thanks so much!
Amanda Johnson
Founder/Director
Rural Iowa Animal Rescue
2991 Iowa Avenue
Rowley, Iowa 52329
319-961-4465

Posted under In the News

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped out with and attended the Cubbie Tails Ballpark Day at the Waterloo Bucks. I am so happy with how everything turned out. I’ll admit I was a little worried at first, but more than an hour into the game I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout!

It was a great day for baseball, and so far we’ve raised about $800 for the Cedar Bend Humane Society! I still have some t-shirts left. If you’d like one, let me know and you can pick it up at the KWWL studio in Waterloo. The cost is $10.

The dog themed quilt from Crazy To Quilt Shop in Cedar Falls was a big hit in the raffle. Sandy Johnson won the quilt and Kim Sommermeyer won a gift card to Jiva Salon and Spa in Cedar Falls. (Mark Schnackenberg drew the winners for me).

I still have the two framed, nature pictures. They’re worth between at least $80 and $100, so I want to make sure we can get some good money for the humane society. I have pictures posted in a previous blog, if you’re interested in making a bid, let me know! One is pretty big, tall and has a horse scene. The other is long and has a bird scene.

I hope everyone who came had a good time. I know Cubbie did! He is completely passed out on the floor right now. I’m willing to bet he’ll only wake up when I make him take another potty break, and then he’ll go right back to bed until morning.

Thanks so much to the Waterloo Bucks for allowing us to bring our dogs. One dog almost got loose on the field, but other than that it was pretty uneventful.

Here are pictures of some of the dogs. THANKS EVERYONE!!

Posted under Pet Events

I got this email about a missing dog.

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We are missing our german shepherd, she is four years old, female, black and tan. Was last seen napping on our deck near Frederika on July 18 at 6am when I left for work. When Greg went outside about 10, she was gone. She has not been seen since, no trace of her at all. We have contacted just about anyone we have been able to think of, made numerous phone calls, put posts on the internet, and am in the process of making fliers now. She has never been one to wander out of the yard, and our other dogs are still home. We are now at a loss for what to do next.
Thanks
Cynthia Cobb

Posted under Uncategorized

It’s finally here! The Second Annual Cubbie Tails Fundraiser for the Cedar Bend Humane Society is tomorrow (Sunday, July 26) at the Waterloo Bucks baseball game.

Game time is 3:05. Gates open at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.

I’ve got all the shirts folded by size, the raffle prizes are ready to go, all my signs are printed, I have plenty of volunteers and the weather should be wonderful!! The stress is starting lift from my shoulders.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, and the BEST news… the only expense I had this year was the shirts, which are already paid off thanks donations! All the money raised tomorrow from tickets and t-shirt sales will go directly to the humane society.

By the way, Ross at the Shirt Shack in Waterloo is so great to work with, and he is phenomenal about helping out the humane society. I can’t say enough good things about my experience with the Shirt Shack.

Anyway, I’m just putting the finishing touches on everything. The last thing to do later today is give Cubbie a bath! He needs to look presentable and not smell like worms.

Cubbie and I hope to see you Sunday at the ballpark. It should be a great day to watch some baseball!

Posted under Cubbie stories

“Second place is the first loser.” I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before. I guess it’s sad, but it’s also true.

We’ve all been there. We’ve all come in second place or been the second choice. While second isn’t bad, it’s not as good as first.

One of the best parts about having Cubbie is completely selfish. He always makes me feel like I’m number one. It’s an incredible ego boost.

We all like to feel wanted, appreciated, needed. Dogs make us feel all those things. When I come home from work or the grocery store or even just running out to the mailbox, Cubbie is thrilled to see me. Yes, Cubbie gets excited to see a lot of people, but with me, he’s always a little more excited. I’m his one and only Mom, and he makes me feel like I’m “top dog.”

We all experience times where we don’t feel good enough, but when it comes to how our dogs see us, we are more than good enough, we are perfect. It’s a great feeling to know with Cubbie I’m always his first choice.

Do I make mistakes with Cubbie? Sure. But he doesn’t hold anything against me.

During 26 years, I’ve learned friends can change through the years and men will come and go, but my relationship with my dog will not change. Cubbie will never dump me or cancel plans with me or grow apart from me. He’s happy just to sit next to me on the couch. Like I said, it’s selfish, but I like knowing I’m always number one in someone’s life. It feels good to be the first choice.

Cubbie always makes me feel important and good about myself. Who wouldn’t like that? Everyone deserves to feel on top of the world sometimes, and I feel like the most important person in the universe each time I come home to Cubbie. If you’re a pet owner, you know what I mean because to our pets we are the best, the brightest and the greatest. We are number one.

Posted under Cubbie stories

This is a good article about Oprah’s partnership with PAWS Chicago. The shelter is state-of-the art and well-known for reducing the number of animals euthanized. Oprah visited the shelter for a story on puppy mills in 2008. There’s a room at the shelter named after Oprah’s late dog, Sophie.

Posted under In the News

Cubbie loves rawhide bones, but because of his pancreatitis, he can’t eat them anymore.

Since he likes to chew and I like him to chew because it wears him out and helps clean his teeth, I needed to come up with a back up plan.

Now, I take some of my plastic containers I usually use for leftovers and fill them with water. I cut up a few pieces of fat free turkey dogs, toss them in the water and put the container in the freezer.

Several hours later… I take the frozen treat out of the freezer and give it to Cubbie.

He licks and chews the ice and licks some more until he can get a taste of the hot dog pieces. He doesn’t stop until he gets all the pieces out of the block of ice.

By the end, he’s tired and I feel his teeth are cleaner! Plus, I love the fact he won’t get sick because it’s just water.

Posted under Cubbie stories

Did you know a dog’s ear is very sensitive, full of sensory nerves that help to preserve hearing. NEVER blow into a dogs ear, even gently can hurt a dog. It’s not the actual act of wind, but the frequency at which you blow. It’s like running your fingers on a blackboard, amplified of times.

Also,
-Female dog bites are twice as numerous as male bites.
-The name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box is Bingo.
-The Beatles song Martha My Dear was written by Paul McCartney about his sheepdog Martha.”
-The canine nose works one million times more efficiently than the human nose.
-The average dog has 42 permanent teeth.

Interesting, right? I found this dog trivia at this website, along with a celebrity dog quiz that’s pretty fun.

Posted under Uncategorized

This could have been a very sad story, but thankfully, it has a happy ending.

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5-Legged Puppy Fetches $4K, Avoids Life in Freak Show: Sold to one of the nation’s largest carnival shows in Coney Island, N.Y., a Chihuahua-mix puppy was saved by a stranger who made a $4,000 counter-offer to give the 6-week-old dog a forever, normal home.

Posted under In the News