by mydogyears
I didn’t know anybody the first time I stepped onto the athletic field cradling Lucas, my 9-week old wire coat Jack Russell Terrier. It was a defacto dog park in the Los Angeles neighborhood made famous by the murder of O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife. Two baseball diamonds and three contiguous soccer fields occupied in the early […]
Categories: Collection of Stories, Collection of Stories by Brenda Arèchiga • Tags: Christmas Puppy, Christmas Story, Jack Russell Terrier
by mydogyears
Categories: Collection of Stories by Brenda Arèchiga • Tags: Futurist, Rescue Dog
by mydogyears
COMING SOON!
Categories: Collection of Stories by Brenda Arèchiga
by mydogyears
It was a slow moving Saturday afternoon when the ringing phone took me by surprise almost as if I had forgotten that I had one. Fall hadn’t quite arrived just yet. A man’s deep voice very spoke to me on the other end. “My name is Toffler. I am looking for a reliable and caring […]
Categories: Collection of Stories by Brenda Arèchiga, Tails From The Trenches • Tags: Alvin Toffler, Bel-Air, Future Shock, Futurologist, German Shepherd, Lange Foundation, Los Angeles, Rescue Dog
by mydogyears
The alarm rang out like a school bell right as my head hit the pillow. My eyes didn’t even have time to close. They were wide open as I jolted into an upright position on the bed. It was hard to act with a hundred pound Golden Retriever, two Coton d’Tulieres and my own wire-haired […]
Categories: Collection of Stories, Collection of Stories by Brenda Arèchiga • Tags: Bud Yorkin, Bugsy Siegel, Clint Eastwood, Coton d’Tuliere, Golden Retriever, Henry Mancini, Hollywood Ghost Story, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, Old Hollywood
by mydogyears
I thought I had seen it all until last month when I consulted with a sleep deprived couple and their 17-month old Flat Coated Retriever. They needed help in the bedroom. Yes, you read that correctly. In the bedroom and in their bed, no less. As a friend of mine from Louisiana used to say, […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches • Tags: cuethedoglosangeles, flatcoatedretriever, forcefreedogtraining, positivedogbehavior
by mydogyears
In the world of dog lovers, there are many couples whose “firstborn” is their beloved dog. When a two-legged child finally arrives, the family is blended into one that includes the much loved canine as one of the children. This milestone transition can be an emotional one and is different for every dog owner. In […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
It is of course the most charming of ideas to have your beloved pup, dressed in canine finery, participate in your wedding. I have a client planning a December wedding that will include her adorable Goldendoodle puppy in a tuxedo. We are all hoping he will be out of his chewing phase well before the […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
One of the unexpected benefits of being part of the dog loving community is meeting people you would not otherwise have the opportunity to get to know. This is especially true when it comes to animal rescue. I have formed long lasting friendships and a virtual sisterhood with other volunteers as well as some of […]
Categories: Rescue Tails, Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
With the exterminator coming to take care of an ant infestation in our kitchen last weekend, we decided to take another Staycation to the perennial favorite, the Hyatt at the Huntington Dog Beach. It was nothing short of magical when we arrived to the dog beach on Friday night just before sunset. As always, it […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
It’s hard to say and may quite possibly be both. The story starts last Wednesday evening when my cockapoo Trixy caught one of her hind paws in our front door and tore her nail right out. She did it just as we walked in. It was a real gusher. Blood everywhere. So off we went […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
I can’t tell you how often people say to me, “Oh, it’d be so fun to work with animals.” Or quite frequently when I quote someone my fee for pet sitting or boarding dogs, they are shocked and say something rude like, “But I have a beautiful home, it would be like a vacation […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
I’ll never forget the tone in a client’s voice one day when, with much horror, she recounted having seen a sticker on her dog’s medical file that read “GERIATRIC.” Obviously she knew her standard poodle Rocky was 10 but to see the word “GERIATRIC” next to his name took her breath away. I experienced the […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
Last month with Halloween approaching I thought about writing a blog about pets and cute pet costumes. It was a trending topic and I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to post fun pictures of my Jack Russell Terrier Lucas in his custom made Dracula costume. Somehow though, I just wasn’t inspired. Probably because […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
One of the best things about what I do is that I get to meet new dogs all the time. Yesterday, we introduced Abbe, a rescued Shiba Inu mix into our group. She charmed us all by coming out on her first day, wearing a lovely scarf. No surprise really since Abbe’s Mom hails […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
I grew up in a family that drank goat’s milk and also unfortunately, ate goat. I am milk toxic so I have always stayed away from milk but I can still remember both of my parents drinking fresh goat’s milk right of out the goat. In a cup of course. Don’t want to make it […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
This weekend our dear friend Rupert came to stay with us for the weekend. We haven’t had him over since we bought a Prius Wagon so I wasn’t exactly sure how the weekend would go. You see Rupert is a 135lb Great Dane. I took comfort knowing that when Rupert was in rescue and being […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
Maggie is the 7lb Yorkie Terrier mix I rescued from Rachael Bohman at the Hesperia Shelter just over three weeks ago. With the help of Perfect Pet Rescue, Maggie found a wonderful new home on Saturday. Her Mom Harriet lives in the area and stopped by the event and she had an instant connection with […]
Categories: Rescue Tails, Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
We seem to have skipped Fall altogether here in Los Angeles and gone straight to winter. We even had our first rain on Wednesday. It was real rain too. Not just a drizzly morning. Or the sprinkles that makes Angelenos panic, “Isn’t this weather awful?!” It was real rain. Cold rain. I actually had to […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
I don’t know that I’ve ever met a shelter tech quite like Rachael Bohman at Hesperia Animal Control. I met her a few years ago when I adopted my own dog, Ruby, a gorgeous and sweet Terrier mix from her. Rachael was so accommodating and made the adoption happen. The shelter is about a hundred […]
Categories: Rescue Tails, Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
Lucas will be 13, yes 13 on October 16th. Hard to believe, it really has gone by in the blink of an eye. I can still remember the day I brought him home when he was only 9 weeks old. I wasn’t quite ready for a new dog and I had trouble bonding with him. […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
On Saturday, I took my whole crew plus a few guest dogs to the high desert on a dog rescue mission to Hesperia Animal Control. We went out there to save one dog. I haven’t been out there to pull a dog since April. It’s about 100 miles each way and we are gone all […]
Categories: Rescue Tails, Tails From The Trenches
by mydogyears
The dogs are celebrating. I can see it in their excited little faces. Lucas, my soon to be 13-year old Jack Russell Terrier also has alot more energy which makes me so happy. The overcast morning and crisp breeze means we can hike again. They’ve definitely enjoyed the beach this summer. We’ve also been sneaking […]
Categories: Tails From The Trenches