Archive for the ‘news’ Category

If I, Corky the shelter dog, look puzzled in this picture, I am.

I had to ask why is Dexter our rescue kitty lying down in my bed smacking his lips after eating tuna? The answer I expected is NOT because he has tuna juice on his lips!

Let’s try that again, only with a more direct question: WHY is Dexter in MY BED?!!

He’s cute. He’s a kitten. I get it. He’s so cute I want to gag sometimes! I let him play wrestle and tackle me then let him win. Sam our cat does, too. He uses my bushy tail for a toy. I let him.

Dexter has been living here 12 short days while going from abandoned and dumped on the street in our neighborhood to King of the Castle. Let’s hope he matures quickly and learns to share the wealth with the cat and me.

We love the little rascal and want him to stay a part of our happy family, so it’s okay if I let him borrow my bed. He needs to learn it’s still mine!

Here’s a video of our newest family member, Dexter the rescue kitty. He lives here after being dumped on the street in our neighborhood when he only weighed 1.1 lbs. In the video Dexter the attack kitty is pestering Sam, our 12 year old (rescue) cat, by swatting and biting his tail.

Sam is being good and just lets the kitty have fun. Watch for my cameo appearance, Corky the shelter dog, at around 00:56 seconds just making sure everyone is playing fair. (Playtime: 01:39 min/sec)

I must admit Dexter the rescue kitty has cuteness galore. See more photos of Dexter the kitty on Flickr for close up shots showing his colors and other cute kitty poses. You can see this same video and more Corky the shelter dog videos on YouTube, too.

Sam our cat and I, Corky the rescue dog, have a new brother as of 5 July 2011. The photo collage shown here is my little younger brother Dexter the rescue kitty. He is an original cutie patootie who can give lessons on cuteness!

That makes 3 male rescue pets with a rescue dog, a rescue cat, and now a rescue kitty in our family, plus Mom and Dad!

Similar to me, who was dumped on the street and sent to doggy jail before being rescued, Dexter was dumped on the street in our neighborhood at night on July 5th. The poor little rascal was confused and scared because he is a teenie tiny little baby kitty.

Lucky for Dexter, he found us before the animal control people found him. He is a very young kitten and weighs exactly 1.1 lbs. which happens to be an important number. In Osceola County Florida shelter pets must be at least 2 lbs. to qualify for spay or neuter and adoption, so any stray pets captured under 2 lbs. are immediately put to sleep!

Once my parents heard that (and were told “Bring him back next week when he’s at least 2 lbs.”) they decided to keep him as our newest family member. They didn’t have a name picked out because they were unsure about keeping him. After watching him for 24 hours and thinking of cool names, they decided, so now Dexter joins Sam our cat, and me – Corky the shelter dog, for one big happy family.

For now we can only guess based on Dexter weighing 1.1 lbs. that he’s about 5 weeks old. Dexter the rescue kitty has brown tabby colors with tufted ear tips which look very much like a Maine Coon breed cat. We’ll find out if he is truly a Maine Coon Cat when he grows a little more and pick out a birthday from advice when he goes to the vet.

Who would have guessed the impact of the price of gas and doggy parks? The photo shown is Mill Slough Dog Park near home in Kissimmee, Florida. I go there lately because it is 5 minutes away by car.

It is enclosed with a run for larger dogs yet rather small compared to my favorite doggy park and the play area is shared by small and big dogs alike.

Any doggy park visit is better than staying home, so I am NOT COMPLAINING.

The cost of gas for a 2 hour round trip means some animal pal families may not be able to afford going often. That’s the case locally as the price of gas continued to rise in recent months. Mill Slough is not bad, but the biggest problem is being the only dog there almost every time I visit.

Happily gas prices are dropping and I may get back on track to visit my fave park more often. Crosses paws. Says doggy prayer.

Since Dad and I have been going 5-7 miles every day on walkies, he’s lost 10-15 lbs and I gained 1/2 lb plus one new friend, Buddy the cat. Earlier on the main site, a new Corky kitty pal video was released, and it’s being shown here, too:

Watch me, Corky the shelter dog, and my new buddy Buddy (the cat) as we meet on the street next to his house. For the hearing impaired you may want to view the video and read the narration while watching my buddy Buddy on the main site, or look for the video on my YouTube channel being uploaded soon.

Sam our cat is 10 years older than me and it took 2 years in my forever home for us to become pals. Yesterday Dad took video of both of us pets play wrestling and posted it as a new episode in my life story as Corky the shelter dog.

Later he uploaded it to my YouTube account, so here’s the YouTube version of “Play Wrestle or Play Dead”:

You can follow the link to my Life Story (above) to see all 8 episodes, or visit my 17 doggy videos on YouTube that include even more entertainment with cats, dogs, ducks, and more!

If you didn’t know already, pets DO celebrate holidays! This 2011 Valentine card for me, Corky, arrived Saturday in the mail.

Today is Valentine’s Day and the photo here shows me, Corky the shelter dog, reading a card from my cutie patootie puppy pal @Niqqi on Twitter. She lives in Illinois which is far far away from Florida, so the mailman brought me the card. Inside it reads:

Dear Corky,

Wishing you the pinkest Valentine’s Day ever!

Fluffs,

Niqqi – 2011

The photo features a closeup of the Valentine’s card (center), and then me looking up (left) while holding the card, and then me looking down (right) and reading the card.

Thank you! Thank you, Niqqi!

Today was another spoiled day in the life with Corky the shelter dog story as I got this stuffed toy owl from the flea market. For those from another state or planet, a flea market is NOT a place to get fleas, and besides that doggies should never have to buy them.

In some places a flea market is called a swap meet where people sell new or used stuff for a bargain. I didn’t see anyone swap stuff so why swap meet and I didn’t see any fleas, so why flea market? Humans are confusing!

Whatever you call it, Mom and Dad took me to the Orange County Fairgrounds Flea Market because they allow dogs. Last time we went I barked at half the people I met and some were scared. They don’t know the difference between a friendly bark and a you’re-gonna-get-bit bark. I only have a friendly bark (*Psst – look for the wagging tail as a sign of a friendly bark).

Anyway, the stuffed toy owl shown here was brand spanking new and made like the raccoon stuffed animal I got for Christmas. It’s lasted for months and months without a squeakerectomy, so the parents thought the owl was a good idea! Guess what. It wasn’t for sale.

Today I didn’t bark at half the people I met – maybe 1 in 10, and not at the man selling the owl toy. He LOVED doggies and thought I was extra extra cute and said “For Corky, it’s free!” He even gave me water and ice from his ice chest for a cool treat.

There you have it pals. If going to the flea market don’t worry about fleas. Next, always be friendly and extra cute and you might get free toys, too!

The residents of Winter Park should consider electing Steve Leary and Sarah Sprinkel to the city commission on March 8th for their public stand on Fleet Peeples Dog Park support.

The photo shown and taken earlier today is me, Corky the shelter dog, posing on a tree stump while exploring the wooded area of the park. Why do I endorse these candidates?

The city of Winter Park in Florida is home to Fleet Peeples Dog Park on Lake Baldwin, and last fall the city imposed a fee per dog to use the park effective January 1, 2011.

For now collecting the fee at the park is in limbo because the machine intended to collect the fee and issue a receipt has not been installed. Mr. Leary and Ms. Sprinkel are in favor of repealing the fee.

Quoting Mr. Leary from his website in reference to the park fee he states “The fees collected will not come close to equaling the expense required to enforce the fees. Only in government can you make such a fiscally, lopsided decision”.

Visitors to my website, my 3,200+ friends on Twitter, and fans of my blog and YouTube videos are encouraged to tweet their support for these candidates. Help me help them protect my most favorite place in the universe!

Visit their individual websites to learn more at Elect Steve Leary for Winter Park City Commission Seat #1 and Elect Sarah Sprinkel for Winter Park City Commission Seat #2 on March 8, 2011.

UPDATE 9 March 2011: Both candidates I endorsed won yesterday! Congratulations to Sarah Sprinkel and Steve Leary. With their support the repeal of the dog park fee at Fleet Peeples is one step closer to success! Puppy power may have helped!

FINAL UPDATE: Success! The access fee was repealed on a 3-2 vote by Ms Sprinkel and Mr Leary plus mayor Ken Bradley as reported in this article repeal announced in the Orlando Sentinel.

Today marks two years in my forever home since being rescued from doggy jail. Visit Corky the shelter dog videos on YouTube and you can see me captured and put in my jail cell or my interview with Mom before being adopted on this day in 2009.

I was a scruffy puppy when I was dumped on the street at 4 months old and left to wander. Having a nice family with 3 beds, food and safety, and a little older brother Sam the cat means life is grand.

As shown in this portrait of me in my forever home you can see I cleaned up pretty good for a street pup.

Want to help celebrate my anniversary?

Not all pets are as lucky as me, so on this two year forever home anniversary for Corky please consider adding a shelter pet to your family. I’m a mutt and sometimes a rescue mutt is your best choice for a special friend who stays loyal forever.