Nothing could rank much higher in our historic, dog-loving community than a solider and his dog. Here’s a special opportunity for Franklin dog lovers to support our military troops through Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet (GASP).

Currently Shawna Michaud is state director in Tennessee and Kentucky for this group which finds homes for the pets of deployed soldiers. GASP locates, interviews and monitors these homes, providing soldiers an option to surrendering ownership of a pet to an animal shelter or humane society.

An average stay in a foster home is 9-12 months. Meanwhile, a soldier has the peace of knowing that his/her beloved pet is waiting for its owner’s safe return after deployment.

Shawna is always on the lookout for foster homes.

“We might not use them right away,” she says, “but having more foster homes on our roster allows us to make a great pairing of foster home and pet.”

Interested? Contact Shawna at gasp.tn@gmail.com

You can connect to guardianangelsforsoldierspet.org through the Franklin Dog Blogroll which can be accessed on any of our “Pages.”

Franklin Dog: All that’s good about the famous dogs of Franklin.

As dogs enhance the lives of families and individuals, they can also connect us on an individual and community level.

It’s an event that every Franklin Dog needs to attend! The grand opening and dedication of a dog park at the historic Park at Harlinsdale Farm will be Monday, April 12 at 6 p.m.

The first 100 people (and their dogs) to visit the off-leash fenced park will receive a memento.

This amazing property is located on Franklin Road between downtown and Mack Hatcher. The 200-acre Harlinsdale Farm has been called the most significant historic farm associated with the modern Tennessee Walking Horse industry. Purchased by the City of Franklin, the park’s first phase was opened in September 2007.

The dog park, named The K-9 Korral, features half an acre of fenced area that was formerly the horses’ paddock. It is located on the south side of the barn, right off the parking lot area.

A notice from the Parks Department advises that dog licenses and rabies tags and vaccinations must be current, and dogs must be over 4 months old. when outside the fenced area, dogs must be leashed.

For more information, call the Parks Administration at 794-2103.

Core Value 3: OUR COMMUNITY AND ITS HERITAGE

We believe that as dogs can enhance the lives of families and individuals, they can also connect us on an individual and community level. We look for ways to use dogs to build bridge between members of our community. We recognize accomplishments of Franklin dogs, especially in the area of service to the community, and also work with owners interested in using their dogs to reach out to others. The Franklin Dog brand embraces our community’s history and its pride as a significant Civil War battleground.

Taken at Franklin's "Dickens of a Christmas"

Sitting on your coffee table may be a makeshift scrapbookof less-than-professional snapshots of your Franklin dog. But visit www.framedbyfletcher.com and see why there are a couple of Franklin dogs with portfolios to brag about. After all, they’re owned by quite a creative couple, professional photographers Jonathan and Blakley Fletcher.

Weddings, portraits, special events — the website showcases work in a multitude of categories, including pets. You’ll also find emotion-packed pictures of historic Franklin. The couple fell in love with the city on an earlier visit and moved here last year from Houston, TX putting them closer to family in north Mississippi.

Jonathan and Blakley didn’t come alone. About eight years ago, the Fletcher home welcomed two chihuahua pups (sisters, actually), Sandy (the boss) and Cheesecake (afraid of her shadow, afraid of walking on hardwood floors and afraid of drinking out of a bowl that is anything but plastic).

“We can’t imagine life without them,” Jonathan says.

So which is easier to photograph: people or pets?

Here’s a tip for even amateur photographers: “We find it’s best to find out what makes the pet happiest and photograph them doing just that. Some of my favorite photos of one of our dogs is her in a completely airborne, leaping position as she chases her little miniature soccer ball across the yard. Chasing the ball is what makes her the happiest, and you can’t help but see that and smile when you look at the photo,” he says.

“Sure sometimes a dog will lick the camera lens, whereas a human client might not,” he says. “But it’s all a part of the fun.”

Sandy in flight

Core Value 3: COMMUNITY AND ITS HERITAGE

We believe that as dogs can enhance the lives of families and individuals, they can also connect us on an individual and community level. We look for ways to use dogs to build bridges between members of our community. We recognize accomplishments of Franklin dogs, especially in the area of serve to the community, and also work with owners interested in using their dogs to reach out to others. The Franklin Dog brand embraces our community’s history and its pride as a significant Civil War battleground.

Piper is a little Franklin dog with a great big job! And as her owner, I’m glad to be teaming up with her! She was seemingly custom made to curl up in the lap of a child and lovingly listen as they read to her and play with her long silky ears.

A 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Piper is a Registered Delta Therapy Dog (Go to a Page, See Blogroll: Therapy ARC) and a Reading Education Assistance Dog (Go to a Page, See Blogroll: READ).

The mission of the READ program is to improve the literacy skills of children through the assistance of registered therapy teams as literacy mentors. Piper and I make up one of many READ teams in the Middle Tennessee area.

If you would like an opportunity to meet and READ to Piper or some of her buddies, join them at the Williamson County Library on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Several teams are available for individual 15-minute appointments with a child. Advanced reservation is required, so please call 595-1244 for your appointment.

We are proud of the good work Piper and her READing Dog friends are doing in our community!

Heather Pass

Becoming a READ team

Here’s the process Piper and I went through to become a team. It took about six months.

1. To become a READing dog, you must first become a Delta Registered Pet Partner Therapy Team. The process is detailed here: http://www.therapyarc.org/Pet_Partner_Process.htm. Because of scheduling conflict with the classes, we choose to order the workbook from the Delta website and self train for the evaluation. We spent about six weeks doing this.

2. We scheduled our evaluation through the local Delta chapter: Therapy ARC http://www.therapyarc.org/. Contact Ken Bell at kensk9comcast.net. Evaluations are scheduled about four times a year. They fill up quickly.

3. After passing the evaluation, we sent in our completed registration packet and became an official therapy team.

Then, we decided to focus our Therapy by becoming a READ team.

1. First, we had to fill out the initial application online: http://readingpaws.org/Application%20for%20Training%20FormFL.htm.

2. Then we attended the one-day class to become READ certified. This class is offered a few times a year (contact Helen Wahl at Helen@READingPaws.org).

3. We began by working with the Williamson County Library once a month, and then requested a placement in a local elementary school. We are now serving at Crockett Elementary once a week.

If you have a question concerning any type of therapy work with your Franklin Dog, email it to therapy@franklindog.com.

Core Value 3: OUR COMMUNITY AND ITS HERITAGE

We believe that as dogs can enhance the lives of families and individuals, they can also connect us on an individual and community level. We look for ways to use dogs to build bridges between members of our community. We recognize accomplishments of Franklin dogs, especially in the area of service to the community, and also work with owners interested in using their dogs to reach out to others. The Franklin Dog brand embraces our community’s history and its pride as a significant Civil War battleground.

An MTGRR Success Story

In America and beyond, Golden Retrievers are a well-loved breed. And for a Golden in distress, there’s no better friend than the Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue, headquartered right here in Franklin.

Ginger is a MTGRR success story who happily calls herself a Franklin dog. She’s part of the Waller family consisting of Gerald, Marcie, Aaron and Daniel.

Ginger’s “before” story is not a happy one.  Rescued in late 2008 by MTGRR, she was one of six dogs that had been used all their lives to produce litters.

MTGRR volunteer Sarah Sherck explains, “Over-breeding and lack of vet treatment caused them to develop painful infection called mastitis. The infection can kill the litter and cause severe swelling and huge tumors. In addition, the excessive breeding resulted in an aggressive form of malignant ovarian cancer for at least one dog. MTGRR paid extensive medical bills to treat these dogs and placed them into loving and responsible hands, where they are getting affection, care, and kind attention for the first time in their lives.

Marcie, the “mom” at Ginger’s forever Franklin home, says, “It has taken some time for us to win Ginger over. We have had her a little over a year and I think she is finally convinced this is her forever home and that we are safe and love her very much.”

As dog-lovers the Wallers are truly golden. After they sadly had to say good-by to their oldest Golden due to bone cancer, they added another to their family — Bama, adopted a week before Thanksgiving.

MTGRR is regularly in need of foster homes before dogs are placed in their forever home. You can access their website through our blogroll

1. Go to any of the “Pages” listed on the left hand column of this webiste.

2. Once you’ve reached a “Page” look at down the left hand column, and under “Blogroll,” click on “Create a Profile for You and Your Franklin Dog.” This will take you to a page headed “Franklin Dog: Create Your Own Profile.”

3. On the right of the page, you’ll see a block that says, “Welcome to

Franklin Dog: Create Your Own Profile.” Click on “Sign Up.”

4. Fill in the requested information. Write down your password for future reference. On this “Create Your Profile”page, entered your Full Name and, if you have a picture of you, your dog, or you AND your dog, upload it.

Fill in the last two questions and click “Join.”

Voila! You’ll see a page with a message that says “Welcome to Franklin

Dog: Create you Own Profile, (Your Name)!”

5. Now, why don’t you go to the left of the page.

*Click on the individual pictures of Members to see other people who have joined.

*Or add some photos!

*Or go to the middle column under “Latest Activity” and see information

that other members have recently posted.

*Or go to the brown banner at the top of the page, click on “Add content,” and post some information about you and your Franklin Dog.

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Remember Beethoven’s Grille, the restaurant in Cool Springs that made all of us Franklin dog lovers think of a Saint Bernard? Well, the Chuy’s team is opening one of their popular Tex-Mex restaurants in that location.

http://www.chuys.com/#/nashville

What’s it got to do with Franklin Dogs? It seems that they’re building a wall of pictures of our famous Franklin Dogs.

They’re accepting framed dog photos from now until the end of October. The Chuy’s team will be available Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Facebook members can check it out at

http://www.facebook.com/ChuysNashville#/photo.php?pid=3123356&id=81925186839

Send your address to randy@franklindog.com and we’ll mail you a clear window sticker that declares you a “Proud Owner of a Franklin Dog.”

Your pet will be overwhelmed with emotion.

Being a supporter of a particular dog breed frequently includes participating in a local or regional chapter of the breed’s parent club. It is the national parent club that compiles the written breed standard honored by the American Kennel Club.

A favorite among sportsmen, the Brittany is celebrated in both field and conformation events. These versatile dogs have no better friend than Franklin resident Kent Patterson. Kent is secretary/treasurer of the regional Music City Brittany Club and also represents the East Central Region as a member of the board of directors of the American Brittany Club, the breed sponsor group for both the American Kennel Club and the American Field, two of the most significant breed registries in the country.

“The Music City Brittany Club is primarily a horseback field trial club with events held in mid-November and early March,” Kent explains. “We sponsor the Dixieland Brittany Championship in November.”

The club is made up of about 40 members in southern Kentucky and middle and west Tennessee. Kent himself has seven dogs and stays active in field trials and hunting.

http://www.musiccitybrittanyclub.org/

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