In Loving Memory.......

Everyone at Ruffledale are mourning the loss of one of our most beloved daycare dogs. Cartman, a sweet 2 year old English Mastif passed away last week.

All of us loved having Cartman at Ruffledale. He was always the life of the party, playing with dogs of all shapes and sizes, and of course always getting into arguments with "regular" Packer a boxer. It was a given that no matter where Cartman was in the facility, his best friend and brother Butters was by his side, (or biting his back legs.)

Each of us at Ruffledale have great memories of Cartman, to his love of food and treats to how wonderful he was in the bath. Even at his large size he was one of the easiest dogs to give a bath too. Although he out weighed each and everyone of us here, he was just a big lovable teddy bear, a "gentle giant," that we all loved to hug.

Everyone who entered the building would comment on "That gigantic dog on the couch and the cute little one laying on top of him." He was also a great window display, I remember pulling up to the store and laughing because of Cartman's face looking out at me and in the background his brother Butters curled up on his back.

Cartman's love of life and the great friendships he shared will greatly be missed but never forgotten. We send our love to the family of Cartman, we know how much he meant to you and how he was a huge part of your life. We Thank You for letting us spend time with Cartman. We love you! TeAnna and the Crew at Ruffledale

Dog of the Month for January; PATCHES!!

About Patches;

Patches is a Dalmation and Heeler cross. She just turned 12 years old in October of 2009!! Although Patches is an older girl, she still loves to play with the most silly and rambunctious puppies here at Ruffledale. She LOVES to be wild and play!! Patches’ favorite toy is a Frisbee! There is nothing better to her (except maybe some peanut butter doggie bones Mmmmmm) When Patches was a younger pup, she used to like to climb up trees chasing after her frisbee. She would also do “No Paw Cartwheels” to catch it! She still loves her Frisbee but takes a less dramatic approach to catching it now! Patches also loves going hiking. She likes to find sticks to carry around and it is an especially good hike if Patches can find a chipmunk to chase up a tree or a little snow she can roll around in. Patches is an expert stick hunter, and will find the biggest stick (or small log!) that she can possibly carry. Even if it is an entire field of nothing but snow, Patches will somehow still find a stick.

When Patches fist came home, her new parents got her at 8 weeks old as a “Pound Puppy.” Her new Dad bought her a crate for bedtime and said she needed to sleep there and no way could she be on the bed. Well Patches already knew how to use her big sad puppy eyes. She only needed to let out one little wimper along with her “Sad Eyes” and Dad took her out of the crate and put her in bed. Patches has slept in bed with her Mom and Dad ever since! Spoiled Patches!! Patches most favorite moment was when she was fist introduced to a Ham Shank. she was so excited, that she accidentally bit her Dad’s hand while he was giving it to her. Patches was very sorry, but she could not resist the warm and tender juiciness. Mmmm Sooo Sooo yummy.

There are a lot of thins that make Patches unique and special. Patches has one special talent that is extremely unique to her. When Patches is traveling she can tell when the elevation changes. Her Mom and Dad’s theory is that she can sense the change from the pressure in her ears. Hmmm very interesting. But if Patches can tell that the elevation is going up, she expects to get to go on a hike in the mountain to find a big stick to carry around! Everyone here at Ruffledale loves when Patches comes to spend a weekend or even longer here with us. She is so sweet and we love to hear her ferocious growls when she is playing with one of the most wild and crazy puppies here!