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This post has nothing to do with actual buisiness practices in the field, or maybe it does… About 7 months ago I was working on a big jeffersonian porch for my attourney. His yellow lab had just had a litter and he asked if I wanted a pup. Thinking about my busy schedule and having one more mouth to feed made me decline. After about a week of working at the same residence one of the pups allways made his prescence known at dinner time. I’d give him my left overs and we kind of made freinds. I decided to take my client up on his offer and took that same pup, after all people pay a lot of money for labs so they must be good dogs right? I named him Buddy. Due to some stern protests from my beatiful bride I decided to keep the pup with me during the day. He did typical, (getting into crap), things that pups do, for about 3 weeks, that made me second geuss myself about keeping him. However, the dern little pup was smart as a danged whip, and the little sucker allways tried to get where I was, even tried to climb scaffolds. Couldn’t help but love the little guy. He went to work with me for 7 full months. Like I mentioned before that dog was smart as hell. Tried out some new help one time. He showed up with a brand new tool belt from the home depot claiming he’d done this and that,(you know the tale). After dinner the first day my new help reached in his pouch for his new square and pulled out a hand slap-full of fresh dog puddin’, still “smokin”! He never showed up again. About two weeks after that incident I had a menapaused psycho in high heels giving me the “what-for” about her new window color, (she picked out, by the way ). I mean I was walking away as fast as I could move! Poor lady stayed on my trail just a gripin’. She was so fixed on her death mission she paid no heed to the debris on the jobsite. Two steps outside the house and she slipped-and- smeared, all up her leg, another one of “buddy’s” PRIZE-WINNERS! Her own husband couldn’t hold back his tears of laughter. I never did see that lady again, and it took us another week to finish work. Like I said, smart dog! That dog never whined, asked to get off work early or broke any of my tools. Great jobsite pal. Anyway, with my usual luck, my “buddy” got run over when a good freind of ours moved my truck at his josite. Total accident, but I miss the hell out of that dog. Any of yall got a “buddy” you haul to work with you. Any funny stories. Like to hear’em! Yall take it easy! Jon J.
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Total accident, my ass. Please do all of us responsible dog owners a favor and don't get another dog. Your story made me sick.
Red dog
*I don't know what about my discussion made you mad. Didn't mean to offend responsible dog owners. I thought I was responsible. I miss that dog terribly. Thats kinda why I wrote about "buddy", because I wish he was still here. You might be the dog trainer from hell but you weren't on the jobsite and could'nt have the slightest clue of the circumstances of how he got run over. I would however be interested in you meeting me face to face with your smart ass attitude and allow me to get my hands on your little chicken-neck. But no offence pal, just a little private meetin' behind the barn. SINCERELY, JON J.
*Maybe Red Dog's comments were harsh but did you really let your dog run loose on your client's property and crap in your employees tools and all over your customer's yard?
*Ryan, I probably shouldn't have posted the message in the first place. Seemed to totally come off wrong to yall fine folks, and it didn't really have anything to do with building. Like I mentioned before, "buddy" was a young pup, not a full fledged dog. He was scolded for crapping in incorrect places. He had his designated "spot" which every one was fully aware of including clients. Even as smart as I thought the dog was, it still took a couple, or three weeks, past the time of having him, to get the idea of the do's and dont's. Buts thats not to say I was the best trainer or dog owner. I loved the animal tried to make him part of my family. He, (buddy), didn't run loose all over the place. Don't have time on a job to be chasin a pup. He stayed in the truck bed, (and in the shade), up until meal time or after the tools were got up at the days end. It was during one of those times when he was allowed to roam a little bit when he got run over. I was busy going over a change order with a client and one of his kids wanted to move my truck. The pup was standing right at my heel when all of a sudden he bolted under my truck barking at something. The truck was already backing up with the driver having his head craned to peer rearward, and aparrently couldn't hear me or the home owner screamin'. Happened that quick. Hell, the home owner was tore up, and the driver was in tears. They offered to get me another dog, but you know, it just don't seem like you can buy a great freind, so I declined. I appreciated the gesture though. I wrote my "discussion" out of rememberance of some of the funny things that pup did when he was real young, no more than 10 or 12 weeks old. But I geuss it offended "Red-Dog", and possibly a few others. I didn't plan it that way. Should not have posted it I reckon'. when I get home from work today I see if I can't figure out how to delete the dicussion. My apologies, Jon J.
*No appologies needed, and all types of discussions are allowed here. But this does sound like tavern material. By the way, I am sorry for your losing your dog.
*Ron, It was abundantly clear to me that you loved that dog and until I got to the end my stomach was hurting from laughing. I wasn't what you said, but how you said it. I am not sure why it was necessary that you take hits over this, but life often gives you tests and disappointments. I thank you for posting and I would be pleased to meet you behind the barn, or preferably a fishin' hole, anytime. I hope you find another "buddy." P.S. I think you missed your calling. That was a really great story with a lot of heart.
*Ryan, just fixin to delete this discussion when I read yor last thread. Appreciate the comment. Glenn, you sound like my kind of people. I'm from Alabama and would love to "fight about it". Incidently, you mentioned fishin'. Me and this electrician pal of mine are hittin the mountains for some trout on sunday. Vieenie sausage, sardines, cold drinks and plenty of copenhagen, Gonna have a blast. If your interested send an e-mail. The more the merrier. Appreciate the feedback. I don't know how I came off so badly either but it ain't the first time. Your right about the dissapointments too; You know how tough it is to tell a squallin' 17 year old girl, "don't worry about it", "wasn't your fualt", when you just lost a good freind. Then come home and tell all three of my own daugters, and try and console them. Only thing you got left is a feww good laughs about the "misadventures" of me and my dog. Hell, I was just trying to vent but there's allways a smart-ass in every crowd! Y'all take care, even you "Red-Di-k", er, I mean dog!
*I have no doubt you loved your puppy and wanted to him to be a part of your family. Unfortunately, for Buddy, that wasn't followed by smart and responsible dog ownership. You might think that you're doing a 9 month old puppy a favor by taking him to work every day, but you found out otherwise. There are way too many things that can happen to a mature dog on a construction site, not to mention a puppy. I have 4 dogs of my own and would love to take one to work with me most days, but what happened to your dog is the primary reason I don't. I truly hope you can learn something from this experience.My attitude is far from that of a smart ass. In the case that's it's not evident, I'm serious about this subject of being a responsible dog owner. The dogs deserve it. Red dog
*My mother is from Alabama. I grew up in Florida, but live in California, so guess I will miss your trip.Your story was funny, but mostly it was your writing style. You have a gift there. Go find some other funny things in your life to write about. Just don't send them to Red Dog. He is a little sensitive about this. His approach to dogs seems like one that OSHA would write. The dogs would be safer, but they wouldn't get to be dogs. Dogs eat out of cat litter boxes, chase cars, cats, cows, and kids. At least real dogs like Labs. Last I heard, Labradors were bred for hunting. They can get hurt doing that too. So can the hunters, though it is not nearly as dangerous as department store after Christmas sales. Now there is a death mission you don't want to get in the way of.Out here in California, the kids suit up in full body armour to roller skate in the driveway. The mothers are scared to death that one of them might skin a knee. How does a kid learn to not skin a knee unless he does it? They get babied all their life so when they leave home they decide to try something like base jumping (parachuting off a high rise building or El Capitan out here in Yosemite.) They get a real adrenalin rush before they crash into the rocks when the chute doesn't open in time. Bottom line is that freedom comes with some risk and occasionally bad things will happen no matter what we do.Have fun on the fishing trip, but what is this deal on trout? People from Alabama can't catch trout. Trout are Yankee fish. You can't fish for trout with Copenhagen or a baseball cap. These are very sensitive, finnicky fish. Like feeding a pedigreed cat. You can't catch them unless you sneak up on them wearing a $1500 outfit from LL Bean complete with a funny looking hat full of flies. And forget the vienna sausage. Trout fisherman have to eat pate' and escargot' and wash it down with Chardonnay or perhaps a Pinot Blanc. I suggest bass. You can catch bass while sitting in a chair with the radio on loud. You don't need to fool them. Just make them mad. I like it when they try to catch a top water lure on the fly.
*Just re-read the whole thread. Your dog was run over because you let him run loose. The first poster was right.Chicken shit?? Jeff
*I lost a labrador to a car, lack of paying attention (I was really pretty preoccupied burying his Dad, who had died that week of a brain tumor.)They were the best dogs I've ever known.Now, I'm paranoid. I hear every car and look for the dog every time. I don't take him to jobsites unless I'm the only one there, and there are no dangerous areas or sharp junk laying around, which is to say, rarely.I'm sure Jon learned a tough lesson. No sense beating him up further, it's hard enough to lose a good dog. You gotta watch them though, they're just like little kids except faster.Sorry to hear,MD
*Jon,Your story about your Buddy was touching. About 16 years ago I was working in Vail Colorado. My boss had this stupid looking dog that looked like a Doberman with Beagle ears and a Golden Retriever tail. The boss brought him to work every day. We worked on the side of a mountain and the next closest job site was about 1/2 mile away. It was BEAUTIFUL. We'd watch the deer across the other mountain while working taking bets on how far down the mountain they would go each day. A paradise for a carpenter to be able to bring his Buddy to work with him. All the mountain terrain to run freely and just be a dog the way they were meant to be. Every day at about 9:30 am, depending if it snowed the night before so her truck could get up the mountain, the roach coach would show-up. The lady who owned the roach coach bought dog bones to sell because she knew that there were dogs on the site. By saying dogs I mean this mut that you couldn't help but love that my boss had and my Golden Retriever named Roamer. The lunch truck came by and we'd buy dog bones for the dogs. Roamer NEVER shit on anyones tools, pissed in the nail box, or got in the way. He was loved by everyone. One day the lovable mut my boss had made a big BOO-BOO. The architech came to the jobsite. He set his plans (joke book) on the deck and started to walk around checking things out. Well, old loveable just couldn't hold his kidneys any more and pissed all over the plans the architech set on the deck. That was the begining of the end of the rest of his life.Max, my boss at the time and owner of old loveable chained him to the bumper of his truck after severly scoulding him for pissing all over the plans. Old loveable sat very quitely.Turns out that my boss Max had to go to town with the architech. The architech pulled out in his nice new fancy car and then Max pulls out in his beat-up pick-up towing old loveable down that gravel road by the bumper all the way down the mountain. We YELLED and YELLED for Max to stop but with the generator and compressor going our warnings fell upon deaf ears.Max took loveable to the vet and loveable was a D.O.A.The moral. If you don't have your animal trained SAVE IT'S LIFE AND LEAVE IT AT HOME!!!!!!
*Howdy, Glenn, cuaght a few, My freind cleaned house. Over thirty fish he caught. Hey, the kind of fly fisherman your talkin about is called a yuppie tool fetishist. I don't believe in all that baggage. I just climb on in the water with my pole, two or three flies and my copenhagen in my hat in case I slip. Incidentally, copenhagen is a rednecks caviar!Bill Ensley, appreciate the post. Your right about tying a dog up. Once burnt, lesson learnt. I have learned a valuable lesson, but it aint gonna keep me from getting another dog. Just gotta wait till I get over the first one. Incidently, your post tore me up thinkin about it. I guess when it comes to pets its hard for any body to discern between whats best for the animals when your truly fond of him, (the dog). Mad Dog, good analogy about dogs bein' like kids only faster. Your right on the money with that point. I probably will become paranoid myself about dogs. I'm already one of those who'll run off the road to avoid hittin' a dog. I did learn a tough lesson and am paying for it with my loss. Sorry to hear about yours gettin hit.Hey Jeff, you wanna join your buddy red dog and meet me for a little prayer meetin' southern style. I'll be damned at the smart asses that crawl out of the wood work some times. Dang boy, your momma hold off from the hickory during your manners lessons. Hell I enjoyed readin some of your post before. Now I wished I could get a hold of you, and open up a big can of butt-whoopin on ya. You need it. Of course I do too, so your welcome to all you can take, and all you can tote! And if you can still talk afterwards, why then it'd be my pleasure to buy you a beer! Yall have a good'n! Jon J.
*Sure thing cowboy. "Course it's easy to sit at a keyboard and type. I think one poster summed it up best. Either train them or keep them home. Sorry if my concern for the dumb little animals offends ya! Never met an animal I didn't like, can't say the same for humans. Everyone makes mistakes, I'll keep the offer for a beer in mind. Jeff
*Jeff, your right about the traing issue. Since losing "buddy", I've often thought that if I had spent a little more time with him I could've kept him on the job site and avoided one of lifes disapointments. I kind of suscribe to Glenn Pickerin's idea of lettin a dog be a dog. I'm from the hills and I live in the hills so its natural for me to let a dog roam a bit. My biggest mistake, (I think), was getting into a discussion with the home owner before properly securing the pup. Anyhow, like I mentioned before, I probably should not have posted this message, or at least followed Ryan C.'s train of thought and put it in the "Tavern". Your concern for dumb animals was'nt offensive, Its admirable. I just thought you were bein a smart ass, guess I read wrong. But if you swiped one of my fishin poles, well we would be a fightin'. It is easy to type out stuff on a computer but I assure you that what I write is pretty much the same as in person, except you wouldn't comprehend good southern english. So your from P.A. huh? I wreslted in several national tournaments in college and got to meet Bruce Baumgartner once. He handed out the medals. Biggest yankee I ever even knew existed. He talked to me after I lost a match to a kid from Pitt-Johnstown, showed me what I did wrong. One hell of a nice fellow. I betcha he'd be one hell of a framer! You ever heard of Bruce Baumgartner? I figure he's a state hero to yall. Just curious. Beers in the fridge. Jon J.
*Jon,I lost my dog almost a year ago. Wrote a little story about it and posted it here. Got some great responses and many more stories.Click here: "Goodbye old Pal" 9/25/99 3:02amDan
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This post has nothing to do with actual buisiness practices in the field, or maybe it does... About 7 months ago I was working on a big jeffersonian porch for my attourney. His yellow lab had just had a litter and he asked if I wanted a pup. Thinking about my busy schedule and having one more mouth to feed made me decline. After about a week of working at the same residence one of the pups allways made his prescence known at dinner time. I'd give him my left overs and we kind of made freinds. I decided to take my client up on his offer and took that same pup, after all people pay a lot of money for labs so they must be good dogs right? I named him Buddy. Due to some stern protests from my beatiful bride I decided to keep the pup with me during the day. He did typical, (getting into crap), things that pups do, for about 3 weeks, that made me second geuss myself about keeping him. However, the dern little pup was smart as a danged whip, and the little sucker allways tried to get where I was, even tried to climb scaffolds. Couldn't help but love the little guy. He went to work with me for 7 full months. Like I mentioned before that dog was smart as hell. Tried out some new help one time. He showed up with a brand new tool belt from the home depot claiming he'd done this and that,(you know the tale). After dinner the first day my new help reached in his pouch for his new square and pulled out a hand slap-full of fresh dog puddin', still "smokin"! He never showed up again. About two weeks after that incident I had a menapaused psycho in high heels giving me the "what-for" about her new window color, (she picked out, by the way ). I mean I was walking away as fast as I could move! Poor lady stayed on my trail just a gripin'. She was so fixed on her death mission she paid no heed to the debris on the jobsite. Two steps outside the house and she slipped-and- smeared, all up her leg, another one of "buddy's" PRIZE-WINNERS! Her own husband couldn't hold back his tears of laughter. I never did see that lady again, and it took us another week to finish work. Like I said, smart dog! That dog never whined, asked to get off work early or broke any of my tools. Great jobsite pal. Anyway, with my usual luck, my "buddy" got run over when a good freind of ours moved my truck at his josite. Total accident, but I miss the hell out of that dog. Any of yall got a "buddy" you haul to work with you. Any funny stories. Like to hear'em! Yall take it easy! Jon J.