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Gizmo - The Wonder Dog

On January 8, 2009 we lost Gizmo. In the early morning he crossed our road to investigate a dead squirrel (his passion was squirrel chasing) and lost his life to an ill-timed call to return home. We still grieve the loss of this very special friend. As my sister Linda said, dog spelled backwards is the word for unconditional love. Gizmo was that and more. May you all be so blessed to have such a friend in your life.

Gizmo is a rescue case. Ralph found him while on the way home from work in the early summer of 2000. He was about six months old, 4 pounds of skin and bones, a black and brown terrier type with a cropped tail. He arrived with a broken but already healing rear leg. He jumped into Ralph arms and heart when offered a lift and escape from becoming tire tread. I was dismayed to see our forth dog entering our home but quickly came to love him too. His training fell mostly to me as I was home more, and he was so independent from living on his own that he was a tough one. "Come" was when he felt like joining you, and "no" was for the moment. But eventually we came to an understanding and he has agreed to listen to us most the time.

He now weighs a healthy 24 pounds, stands 16" tall at his shoulder and looks like a miniature Rottwieler. He is called a Mountain Feist (see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/feist.htm) and traces back to a Rat Terrier. They are small game hunters and Gismo loves to be in the woods. When I go riding Gizmo is with me (usually running in front or directly behind the horse's rear legs). He has shown no interest in bears we have encountered but small things I can not see he will run after. He is a very good watch dog but does not yap needlessly except when Ralph drives in the driveway. Then he is all excitement. With very little encouragement he can be enticed to race around the house or just in big circles in the pasture at the speed of . . . well, Gizmo.  He is very fast.

He also does this on the beach, which he loves. He will race out into the waves just before he has to swim and then race back up the beach. He makes everyone who sees him smile. Little children usually try to approach him, sometimes he lets them get a touch before racing off and other times he stays just out of reach. Once he led a little girl (parents following) 100 yards down the beach this way. He can also jump from your feet into your arms, a vertical five foot leap. He has a bed he sleeps on and one of our requests is "beddie" for him to go to it. His bedtime is 7:30 pm and if his bed is not near it will be Ralph's lap. Gizmo adores Ralph, loves Janice, and tolerates everyone else.

Gizmo thinks Skidboots of Texas is a dog worth knowing.

Click on pictures to see LARGE - then click "Back."

May 8

I am having a great time. We took a couple of long and hot rides in the Monster but otherwise I am a happy guy. We have camped in a place under trees with lots of squirrels and then we camped at a place where I met my buddy "Buster." Buster is a Bull Mastiff/Boxer Mix. He might be bigger but I'm tougher. He  says he's going to be even bigger. Too bad because he will not be able to race around under these dining tables & chairs then. The first day we took the horses out on the trail together. We led the way through the woods and over rocks, logs and streams. It was great fun. At one  point he just made a series of jumps through a creek but I had to swim for it! Good thing I'm a good swimmer. When I'm not playing with Buster or running with the horses I like to lie in the sun where I can see all the activity. Another day I led 5 horses out on the trails, all by myself!  The humans did a pretty good job of keeping up but they did not fly through the grass like me.  How can they enjoy being so high and  missing all the small things I see? I also love hanging my head out the window of the Monster when I am not sleeping.

May 19

Well, they are packing up. I can tell when they start moving my bed around and food is no longer where I last saw it. They fold up those great lounge chairs I like to sleep in when Ralph is not. This farm has four dogs. One is Shanty, a speed demon who gave me a running. One day she and I went on the trail together. That was a long day. The horses went about 20 miles and they thought THEY went a long way! Shanty and I did more like 30! And at one point Sue and Janice got all upset with us! Something about a snake. I guess they were worried that we were going to get bit but that rattlesnake was more tired than I was and never moved the first time I went by. The second time (when I returned to see what Janice was all upset about) it had curled up, I think to get out of my way. But I went over to Janice and we went on and later when I asked to get up when I got tired she let me ride in front of her for about 2 miles and then we got to Ralph. When we got home I helped her on that gadget we use to tell everyone about what a great time we are having and to look at pictures.

May 28

An interesting place this is. There are lots of people coming and going all the time. And I am not suppose to bark at them. I usually don't as very few come to my door. A couple of times I was watching over Ralph or Janice in the big house and someone came for me to bark at. And there are many doors for me to watch there. The biggest ones are where the most people come. I guarded them a long time one day. And Ralph took some other doors down and I knew it was my job to not let anyone come through the opening. There are no other dogs here so I have a lot to do. But when I am not guarding or soaking in the sun, I take Ralph for a walk.  I walked him by this red pipe and he made a big fuss about it but it was not very interesting to me. He seemed to think it was special. I want to chase the stray cats. And I even did a couple of times. The best, though, was riding on the loud, skinny truck-like thing. It is like our Monster truck without any windows! Wow! This strange guy called Bubba took me up on it. Everyone was laughing and I heard them say we looked alike. That wasn't nice as I know I am not bad looking.

I am back. Whew! I was sick, sick, sick - as a dog. I was feeling very bad for almost a week. Ralph and Janice said it was my fault for eating old horse nuggets when we arrived at a big canyon in a desert. I can't believe that something so good could make me feel so bad but it did. They even took me to an animal doctor which I never like. Ralph was very nice to me and let me hide my head in his lap.  

I did help around camp. Ralph was having a hard time with this power machine so I gave him a paw. I also continue to show the horses the way though sometimes they leave me in our portable house.  And I kept Janice and Ralph away from the edge of this grand canyon.

Some good news is that I found my long lost cousin, Lan Anders (pictured on the right), in Arizona. He is a therapist and has a radio show called "Assk me anything." His motto is "No Ands, Ifs or Butts." He is very involved in the program "no dog left behind." A real forward thinking dog. 

This is a hot and rocky place. Well, most of the places are hot for a guy wearing a black fur coat and I have never seen so much rock. But they are great for warming the backside on. I do prefer heat over cold. And some of these water holes are so cold I must run through them very fast so I don't get too much water on me. When I get too cold I just go to Janice and she gets Ralph to make it warmer. Ralph and Janice made a big fuss about this rock and kept taking my picture and calling me "Gizmo on Mt. Zion." There are lots of these little critters that chatter at me from rocks and old trees. I am getting close to catching one. Janice calls them chipmunks but I call them tasty hunks. I now have my own water bottle and cup for the trail and I drank it all on this red rock trail. Janice shared some red spaghetti with me. I think the tasty hunks were jealous as they tried to get my food. I'm trying to make them my food. I just want a taste! And I promise to share!

July 18

I am meeting fellow canines from all over! I tried to make friends with a bunch at a big ranch but the bull was more friendly than they were. I had to stay in our home on wheels a lot because they would try to push me around and I would not say "Uncle." I might be small but I am not a wimp. Ralph seemed to like one of them called "Dawight" because he did a dumb dog trick where Ralph would toss a rock with his foot and Dawight would catch it and put it back on Ralph's foot. Hmph! I can ride a horse! 

And I can run anywhere a horse can go. We went to this really neat place with lots of rock (again) and I was looking for tasty hunks. We did not stay long enough for me to catch one but then we went to a place with these really BIG cows! I wanted to get a close up look but Janice held me back. There were also some hot places with water but that is too much like a bath so I stayed away. Not that Ralph would have let me off that leash! But at least he lets me go everywhere they go! 

For seven changes of days now we have been at a home with an Akita and she is real nice but does not come to play. So I have spent a lot of time resting up and when no one is looking I like to bake on top of the ashes left from fires. Nice and warm! Janice likes them too because she is always making them.

July 31

I spent almost all day home alone! Ralph and Janice went off in the Monster. I was left in charge, of course, and I had quite a time doing so. A big black bear that was almost as big as Silver Girl tried to climb into the trailer and I barked and growled and ran from window to door as that bear tried to claw its way in. Each time the paw swiped at a window I bit it - real good! One time he tried to pull me through the window but I was too fast for him and he got quite mad. He made a mess of things but I got a bite into his big black paw that made him howl like a mad bear that he is and off he ran. I spent the rest of the day dreaming of making him into a good meal. Hmm! That was a good day of dreaming.

I did take a big plunge into a cold river. I was jumping from rock to rock following Ralph and Janice and my pads did not grip. I fell and went rushing downriver. I could just hear Ralph yelling at me to swim, swim above the noise of the rushing water! I was swimming for my life, believe me! That water was fast! But I swam back to Ralph and he helped me to another rock. Brrrr! Then I just stood in the sun.

I met a really neat cane'. His call name is Moses. Seems to work for him as he is quite devoted to his friends, Nolan and Marsha, who Ralph and Janice really like. We did a lot together, including the swim. But I never saw him ride a horse like I do. I think I am improving and I heard Ralph say he has too. We share a lot: he let me wear his "dew rag" and we shared his Gatorade®. I got a blue tongue. Cool man!

Wow! I am meeting some cool dogs! Most of them love to run with horses like I do. But Bitsy was a bit too small to do that. Well, her legs were. And then there was Sugar Bear or "Sug" as he was called. He was B-I-G! He is already an old man but he can run a long ways. He loved playing fetch so I did play some of that with him. Ralph played with him more than I and Sug started "owning" the rug at the door. I didn't like that much. And another day I went riding with Janice and there were three other 'canes, all Janice and Jur. 

I did some great horse leading too. One was on a famous trail where many horses, mules and oxen have been for a hundred years. Great smells! Janice called it Barlow Road and we went several times. And other times I just hung out with Ralph. He likes to sit and Janice likes to point that box at us that clicks and sometimes flashes a light in my eyes.

August 31

I do not like being left alone. I do not like being by myself. I do not like it much at all. I do not like being left like an old bone.

   Here's Ralph and I taking it easy after a day of running on the beach. The beach here is very soft so it is hard to run on. Jur, Silver Girl and I really had to work for every step we took. I love to race along the sand and surf and Janice joined me in a race. I won, of course. I also found new fun making sand angels and finding the perfect spot to make my mark in the sand. 

Once again, there was a place with several dogs and I showed them how to walk a log. There is always something fun to climb on!

  I got a bath. The great part about the bath is all the cuddling afterwards while I get rubbed in a towel. Ah, it feels so good and I smell so good I almost can not stand myself! Then Ralph usually holds me on his lap for awhile. Life is good! Somebody should use that!

We have done a lot of driving and you can see I have a very important job next to Ralph driving. I keep him very alert because I have him rub me so I know. Sometimes I point out  animals (especially canines) on the roadside. I know that is a big help to Ralph. And when we take a break from driving the Monster, we take these great walks on the beach. But one day Janice wanted me to pose on this fake truck. I know it was fake because the dog was a fake. I ride in a "Real" truck like a Real Dog.  

September 30

Wow! We arrived at this great place in a high mountain. I know it was high because the air was hard to breath and there was frozen water on the ground. Lots of that white stuff I like to roll in and make canine friends. I took Ralph and Janice and the horses on a ride and I was so excited - there were lots of big rocks. So I played a game to see how far I could go from rock to rock instead of using the trail. It was SO much fun! Take a look - click on me!

Yeah - more rocks! Rock-it! Everybody likes a rock to climb on!

November 6

Things are hot, hot, hot! And when it's not it is really cold for a 'cane with very little shag. I did some more trail blazing with  the horses and they followed me where I led - from desert to mountain peak. They are getting better about taking my lead. I was not so fortunate with this donkey (Janice says it's a Burro but what's the difference?) named Pepperoni.  The only thing I liked about it was its name.  We went to another hot sandy place and I raced around like I do with my  friend Sammy on the beach but I never found the beach here.    So I jumped all over Ralph about it!

We got to a great pad with this wonderful lady named Tiffany that loves on me and calls me "Little Man." Psst, I like that! She has 3 'canes but they were always threatening to do some awful things to me if they could get a hold of me which they tried one night. She really told them a thing or two. She and Janice took me in this great looking ride (distantly related to the Monster) to a place where lots of people came to look at things and me. I growled at a few just to show Tiffany I liked helping out there. But she did ask me to wear this Christmas bow and I like her so much I did. But no one else better try that! 

December 2

There's another 'cane hanging around. All she thinks about is smelling for birds. She eats, thinks, and breathes birds! I like birds but I think a true tasty morsel is a squirrel or chipmunk. She says she doesn't want to EAT a bird, just find it! How weird is that!? That's okay, she doesn't get to be in Ralph's lap like I do and she does not get to run ahead of the horses like I do with my pal, Simon. We just had two great days together. And we had to swim across a BIG water! I thought I was going to go down river but Janice cheered me on and I made it across before Simon.  

December 13

We are back at the home pad. It is fun to be home but I find fun wherever I go. I am back to being the only cool dog in the place. I get to run all I want. I know where all the hot spots are in the yard for great sunning. I checked out all the smells and I had quite a few squirrels I had to chase. My beddie is back in the big room behind the fire box which Ralph had hot. I do not like when they open it and it makes all those cracklin' sounds. Scary! But then I get kisses and rubs. Now lots of things are going in and out of the big pad. Looks like we will be moving again soon.

December 28

On the road again! And we went to a beach! Boy, do I like the beach!             I could run all day on a warm, sandy beach - the smell of sea, sand with fish or birds, and people. That was great fun but I also got to see my old friend, Molly. She used to visit me in Georgia but says Janice's Mom now takes her on walks every day and lets her play in her house and back yard. We had a great visit together.   

Next to the beach or being in Ralph's lap, I like to be in the woods. Isn't it great that I live with two humans that like the woods too. I had a great run through the woods to this big flowing water. It had a very small beach so I did not run on it. But there were birds to chase and then this little buzzing thing that made the humans laugh when I chased it. I would have caught it too, but they kept stopping me. Then Molly introduced me to a 'nine friend of hers, Willow. But I just called her Red. I wonder if humans have nick names for their friends like we do? I think red hairs are beautiful.