All women are born equal , then some accessorize . Kelly Twilley accessorizes . She makes jewelry and sells it at Trade Day in Collinsville , Alabama . Her profile picture shows her with a beaded necklace , earrings , and two Shetland Sheepdogs . Kelly knows how to accessorize . But when I got to know her , I quickly learned that her dogs were not an accessory . Her dogs were rescued from a puppy mill . In February of 2008 Kelly heard that her local SPCA had a male Sheltie that was in pretty rough shape . Kelly wanted a female but went to see him anyway . When she got there she learned that the Sheltie was rescued from a puppy mill along with 130 other dogs . It took her ten minutes to catch him , but when she did , it took only a few seconds for him to fall asleep in her arms . Kelly took him home and named him Bailey . About two years later , I set up an agility field in Dogtown , AL and started giving lessons . Kelly brought her Border Collie , Emma . After class I was talking to the group about the work I was doing teaching agility to reactive and fearful dogs . Agility gave the owners ' and their dogs the confidence to go for walks and socialize . Kelly told me Bailey 's story and how he was still of fearful new people and situations . I said , " let 's give it a try " . The following week Kelly and Bailey had a private lesson . He was afraid of everything . Just walking through the gate to get onto the field was a challenge . Bailey quickly found a safe spot in the tunnel . Each time he got scared , he would go in and not come out . Bailey 's most difficult obstacle was the dog walk . We started slowly by putting him on the contact zone of the descending plank and let him run down . Each week we moved him further back , closer to the top of the ascending plank . When he did not progress as quickly as Emma , I reminded Kelly that the work we were doing was not about agility , it was about building confidence . Once Bailey gained confidence on the agility field he would be more confident in other situations . Then one week he surprised Kelly by jumping into the car to come to agility class . Soon Bailey was running all the way through the tunnel and over the dog walk . Then he started greeting people and letting friends and family pet him and hold him . Kelly 's self - esteem grew , she was ready to rescue another puppy mill Sheltie . Kelly searched PetFinder and found a 5 - year - old female in a Sheltie rescue just three hours from home . After a four long weeks of filling out applications , phone interviews and waiting , Molly was hers . Kelly said , " I had no idea what bad shape a dog can be in until I met Molly " . She set up a kennel in the front yard under a shade tree for her . Molly spent her first weeks there ; she escaped 3 times . Kelly started her in agility . As soon as Kelly put Molly down on the agility field she ran away . Before we could teacher her anything , Molly needed to feel safe , she didn 't trust anyone yet so we taught her to come to a spot , the table . Kelly put food on the table and we waited . Molly came and went . Kelly put more food on the table and we waited . Molly came and went . After each repetition the time between recalls got shorter and Kelly 's patience grew longer . When Kelly got home , she put a dog bed just outside the patio door . Then she used the same technique and taught Molly to come to that spot . Soon Kelly felt safe enough to let Molly out of her kennel . Molly now spends most of her time in her spot by the door watching for squirrels to chase away . Bailey and Molly will never compete at an agility trial . Their trial happens everyday . They struggle to conquer their fears and to love and trust people . Although Kelly admits she had no idea what she was getting into when she adopted a puppy mill rescue , she says she is more confident and more patient than she ever was before . She is now designing jewelry based on the collar Molly was wearing when she got her . For reasons I would rather not share , I took my blog down from WordPress and " unpublished " my book from Amazon . Within the last couple of weeks I have posted some of the short stories from my book and reblogged some of the posts I wrote here . If you are visiting my blog for the first time , all of the content is new . If you have been following my blog then some of the posts will look familiar . If you bought my book , I want to say thank you , and hope you will enjoy reading some of the stories again . I have decided not to publish the second book of short stories I was working on and have posted some of the stories here for the first time . All of the stories I have written are about Me And My Dogs and our journey through life . Moving forward I am also going to include stories about You And Your Dogs . If you would like to share a story with me please email it to Stories @ MeAndMyDogs . biz . Include your contact information so I can get back to you . Thanks for continuing to follow me , and I look forward to hearing your stories . My friends have decided it was time to get my field back into condition to do some dog agility . The tornado did a lot of damage to it . But it is not the damage from the tornado that is keeping me from the field , it is what happened the day before the tornado , the day my mother died . Today my agility field is covered in layers of debris . It is in the woods and in the summer the trees that shade it , cover it in the fall with leaves . Under the leaves are weeds . Weeds that grew from roots that were there long before it was an agility field . Below the weeds is a layer of soil brought there by the rain that washes down from the woods . The bottom layer , which may be gone , is wood chips . Wood chips that were brought in to create a natural footing for the dogs to run on . My higher power , Nature , who protects my field with a cover of organic materials , also wrapped me in protective blanket of family and friends . Much of the time I wouldhave spent on my field , I spent with my father and my sister and brothers . Each with our own fields of debris , we grieve for our mother who lies peacefully in the earth , in a field of lawn and trees . The layers of tears and excuses , reasons why I cannot return to my agility field are my grief . I can 't go there . It is too thick , too heavy , to overwhelming to clear away . It will take a leaf blower , weed eater , chipper mulcher , rakes and shovels to get the bottom . The bottom that nature has worked three seasons to renew is the foundation for me to build a new field , a new life , a new beginning . My friends are coming on Monday . I will provide the tools . They provide the strength ; the power to peel off the layers that Nature has protected me with . With each layer , they will be helping me get my life back . Together we will shred the debris , the pain of the past year and spread it on the field as Nature has done . My husband will bring new wood chips to make the footing for me to run on as Nature has intended . I need to build a bat house . When we moved here in 2007 , there was one bat living on the front porch behind the shutter . She didn 't bother anybody , and nobody bothered her . Recently , though , there seemed to be more bat poop on the porch than usual . I kept checking at different times of the night to see if she was okay . Then , one night , I saw them , yes , them : six bats ! There are now six bats living on my front porch ! My friend , Alison , who loves animals of all kinds , told me if I put a bat house close to where they are now and made the spot they 're in now uncomfortable , they may relocate to the new house . Bat houses are fairly easy to build ; there are basic plans on a number of different websites . The houses are all pretty much the same - typically made of a couple pieces of plywood and some nails . Fabricating one , I determined , would not take long ; so I made a list and got myself ready to go buy the materials . There are two home improvement stores I could go to get what I need - one blue and one orange . The blue one is brightly lit ; the shelves are well stocked with goods that are neatly organized ; and the people who work there are very helpful . The orange store is dark . The aisles are lined with displays in front of shelves that are often messy and disorganized . The employees always seem too busy to help . So went the conversation , recently , at a disc dog contest . I brought my dog , Boston , but not a crate to keep him in . I wanted to drive the two - seater sports car , and a crate just didn 't fit . I wanted both , drive the Z3 and bring a dog . So , I had to leave the crate at home . Boston did really well on the drive down . He wore his harness and special leash that was buckled into the seat . He likes riding this way with the top down . He rested his head on my bag on the floor in front of the passenger seat , and slept most of the three and a half hours it took to get to the event . Going into the blue home improvement store , for me , is like walking on stage in a theater . As the bright lights shined in my eyes , I thought I heard an announcement on the intercom declaring , " Heeeere 's Debbie ! " I adjusted my eyes and saw the voice was coming from an associate who 'd just greeted me , and asked if I needed help finding the items on my list . Everywhere I went , I was afraid to touch anything . There was always someone behind me who wanted to know what I was making and giving me suggestions on how to improve it . My list became crumbled and soft , as I held it tightly in my hand . Despite all the help they offered , I could not find what I was looking for , and now had no idea how to build a bat house . I was humiliated , so I left with only my list . Boston was calm that whole day . A couple of times someone would trip on him , because they did not see him lying down on the ground near the admin table . I am not sure why everyone was so surprised . Just because I don 't compete with him doesn 't mean that I don 't train him . I take him with me a lot of places , and most of the time he walks along nicely with me or lays down and waits until I 'm done . If he can ride in a car with the top down , he can sit in a chair under a tent . I took Boston with me when I later went to the orange home improvement store . We walked in the contractors ' entrance door and were greeted by an employee in an orange apron which made him look much bigger than he actually was , who said , " Is that an Irish Setter ? He 's beautiful . " " Sometimes I take him hunting . We don 't kill anything , though . We go to a wildlife management park and he runs in a field of tall grass and points and flushes birds . " Before I went for the plywood , I stopped in the paint department . I am planning on painting the bat house the same colors as my house and front porch shutter . According to Bat Conservation International , bats are pretty particular about what color their house is . They live behind the shutter , so they must like the color . I figured I would make their house the same . While Boston and I waited for our turn at the paint counter , a woman rode up on one of those battery - powered carts . She stopped and said , " Oh , you have a dog . I almost didn 't see him . " She spoke in a heavy southern accent . " No , no , honey , he is fine right where he is . He is beautiful ! Look at him , just lying there being so good . Is he one of those show dogs ? " She was a very distinguished looking black woman . Her hair was gray . Her forehead had creases in it that hid a lifetime of wisdom . Smiling put the deep wrinkles around her mouth and eyes . Although I 'd never met her before , I knew her . She laughed as she said , " I wish I could take my dog with me , hehe , she laughed . " He would be jumping out of the chair , getting into everything ! Oh , no , I can 't take him anywhere . " " You train dogs ! I see so many stray dogs in the street , Lord ! " She looked down at Boston . " Maybe if some of those dogs had training on them , they could find homes . What 's your name ? " " Well , Miss Debbie , I think you are a wonderful person . Stay who you are . I will keep you in my prayers . " She looked away and drove off . I got my paint and went to the aisle where the plywood is kept . Stay who you are . . . Who am I ? I thought , standing there in front of the stacks of plywood . I am a humble dog trainer . My dog does not catch flying discs or retrieve game birds , but he does sit in a chair and behave himself in public places . I shop in the orange home improvement store . I do not seek the spot light or announce my presence . And I pay respect to wise women . Women who have the wisdom of ages and smiles on their faces . For the first time in our life , my younger sister weighs less than me . Big bones are what she was always told , and she believed it . Her weight was normal . She wasn 't fat ; I was skinny . I remember one time when I was in junior high school . Our parents made us trade seats at the dinner table so I sat next to my father and she sat next to my mother . My father was to make sure that I ate . Not that my mother wasn 't attentive , I just did what my father told me to . This was the alternative to putting me in the hospital . I was too skinny and they worried I had something wrong with me . No one has called me skinny for a long time . When I joined the Navy after college , I had to drink a gallon of water on the way to the induction center so I would weigh the required minimum of 105 pounds . At boot camp I gained almost 20 pounds and after four years in the service I weighed 145 , the heaviest I weighed in my life . The pounds came off , but I had to work at it . For the first time in my life , I had to watch what I ate and exercise . My weight has fluctuated between 135 and 150 ever since . My sister Maryann on the other hand has always weighed more . Not much more , but more , always more than me . Earlier this year , there was an oil spill at her house and she had to move out for a few months . Her and her husband stayed with friends and family until they finally settled into a hotel . By the time the environmental protection agency allowed them to live in their house again , she lost 8 pounds . It was a good start , so she tried to lose more . As of today she lost 45 pounds . She now weighs 15 pounds less than me . Becky called me last week . Becky and her husband have dedicated their life to reducing the excessive population of dogs and cats . They run a non - profit group called Dade Animal Resource Team . The primary mission of DART is spay and neuter . They raise money and transport over a thousand dogs and cats every year to low - cost spay / neuter clinics . They also facilitate temporary care and adoptions of stray , abandoned and unwanted pets . I have helped them out occasionally by providing free training for foster and adoptive families . I haven 't done much , not as much as I could do . " The rain from the tornado washed most of the wood chips off the field and replaced them with a layer of dirt . We now have weeds growing . Bob and I want to solve the drainage problem before we buy new wood chips . We have a plan , we just need to get going on it . " My sister looks great . I told her she inspired me to lose some weight . I am at the high - end of my acceptable range . Maryann was surprised and said I was the second person that week that called her that . Her weight loss coach was the first . She didn 't say it , but I wondered if that was the first time anyone ever called her that , an inspiration . She has trudged her way through life , just getting by and trying to be happy . She went to school , worked , and raised two kids on her own . It was hard , it is hard , but she does it , she has done it for a long time . After a life time of doing for her family , Maryann is finally doing something for herself . " Thanks Becky , I may just take you up on that . But I want to put some drainage in the road , before I start on the field . I think that is where the dirt is coming from . " Oh no . Did I not tell Becky I got a puppy , that I bought a puppy ? I thought I had but Mom died three weeks after I got her and I have talked to so many people , and I don 't know what I said to whom , and … and . Oh no . I didn 't tell her . When I told her I wanted a puppy , she asked me to adopt one , " there is such a need " , she said . I bet I didn 't tell her because I didn 't want to tell her . Since I last spoke to Becky I agreed to foster a dog . A young Irish Setter named Zoey . Her owners couldn 't keep her , so she is staying with Bob and I until a permanent home is found . We can 't keep her . Five dogs are too many . It is too expensive and I can 't manage that many dogs at once . Besides , Zoey needs a home with a family ; she is a great family dog . My mother just died suddenly . Ma and Dad were on a cruise when she had cardiac arrest . They were in South America at the time . After having a good day together , they went to their cabin to take a nap . She woke up coughing and died moments later . It took one week for my father to get home . It took an additional week for my mother to arrive . I made the trip to my family 's house in nineteen hours . I had two of my dogs with me . My parents each traveled alone . While at my father 's house , I let the dogs out into the side yard to take care of their business and to play . I was on the phone making arrangements for my mother 's services . When I came back , they were gone . I called them but they did not come . I ran in the house to tell my father , and then ran out to the street to start looking for them . I asked everyone I saw if they had seen them . I explained , they did not live here ; they did not know how to get home . Some of the neighbors did see them . One said they went up the street , the other said they saw them going down the same street . The man who lives on the corner directly behind my father said they were playing in his yard , then ran off " in that direction , " as he pointed toward the golf course . It took two weeks for my mother to come home . The cruise line and the insurance company arranged everything . My brother and sister - in - law were in constant contact with them , making decisions about the details of her processing and her trip home . Her passport was with her , along with documentation from the ship describing her medical condition and treatment prior to her death . Two death certificates were prepared , one in Spanish and one in English . The English version was with her when she arrived in Boston , along with customs documents and a bag of black sand . It was a Friday night when the plane landed . A car from the funeral home was there to get her . She was home . When my dogs were gone for over an hour without being seen , I began to worry . Where could they have gone ? They must have wandered beyond the neighborhood . There is a golf course very close to my father 's house . Several of his neighbors told me , when their dogs ran off , that is where they would go . We contacted the clubhouse and asked them to call us if the dogs showed up there . When the call came , my brother and I rushed to get there . One dog , Boston , was playing in the pond and in the woods . When we grabbed him and leashed him , he was not the least concerned that he did not know where he was or that I was worried about him . He knew I would find him and bring him home , just as I did each time he 'd run off in the past . The groundskeeper who found Boston drove me around in a golf cart to look for Memphis . Then my family converged on the golf course to look . He was not there . My parents bought their plot and marker several years ago . The plot was in the same cemetery as their friends . The area they chose was new . It had just been cleared of trees . On the day we went to the cemetery to make the arrangements , we learned that we had to pick out a plot . " I thought we had a plot , " my father said . " " No , you picked out the area . Now you have to pick the exact plot " . To help him understand this , I told him , " Dad , you picked out the neighborhood , now you have to pick the house " . He chose a spot close to a water fountain and a stone bench . When the trees mature , there will be lots of shade . We continued to look for Memphis . I showed everyone I saw a picture of him on my cell phone . I gave them my business card and asked them to call if they saw him . My nieces and nephews joined the search . They rode their bikes around the neighborhood . My sister drove her car up and down the streets . We all whistled and called his name . When darkness approached , we went back to my father 's house in despair . We all knew Memphis would be spending the night outside . Everyone went home and it was just my father and I . He felt awful about Memphis being lost . I felt awful that he felt awful . He had lost his wife . I 'd lost a dog . It is not the same . I did not sleep that night . In the morning , I was out looking for him as soon as the sun came out . I went beyond the neighborhood to places I did not go the day before . By now , everyone in the neighborhood knew what he looked like and how to contact me . I was at least ten miles away from my father 's house when Bob called . He told me someone had found Memphis . The story is , when some local person let their dog in , Memphis came into the house , too . When Memphis finally stopped circling their kitchen island , they got Bob 's name and phone number from the plate on his collar . I rushed to the address Bob gave me , which was less than a mile away from my father 's house . When I arrived , I was overwhelmed with emotion , and so glad to see him . Memphis was indifferent . He knew I would find him , just as I had done before . The wake was at the funeral home where my parents have been too many times before . The funeral was in the Catholic church where we were confirmed and where my sister and two of my brothers were married . It was nice . After the service , we drove my mother to her final resting spot near the fountain and stone bench . She is close to where my father lives and very near their friends . I stayed at my father 's house a few more weeks to help him adjust . Bob brought Carolina and Wisconsin with him , when he came for my mother 's services . When he left , he took Boston , Memphis and Wisconsin with him . Carolina stayed with me . We slept in the room down the hall from the room I grew up in . My old room was now my mother 's craft room . It is full of needlework , yarn and fabric . This is also where she kept her computer and paperwork . Each day , I sorted through these things and kept my father company . When it was time , I packed up my belongings and some of my mother 's , and loaded them in the car . I had a nineteen - hour drive . I didn 't have a passport or a collar that could help me get to where I was going . I was not in the neighborhood , close to my family . I did not know how to get home . There was nobody making travel arrangements for me . There was no one looking for me . I did not know the neighborhood or the house where I belonged . All I knew for sure was I wanted to be with my father , with my family . I wanted to be in my old room . Or in my mother 's room . I envy my mother . She was never lost ; she always knew where home was . She is home now . She is in a different house , but in the same neighborhood . I knew I should have quit . It is a problem we dog trainers seem to have ; we don 't know when to quit . Memphis was learning to swim . He jumped off the step . I wanted to him to do it again . On my left shoulder was the good angel saying STOP , on my right was the bad angel saying ONE MORE TIME . I did it . I coaxed him into the pool . He swam ; I got so excited I was jumping up and down . Memphis was so excited he started running around the pool . Then Boston started running around the pool . The two dogs collided and Boston broke his toe . I should have quit . Boston is a good dog . He does everything and nothing at all . We took him hunting , he loved it but we didn 't . I taught him agility , I loved it but he didn 't . We have reached an impasse where he doesn 't do much except dig holes and lay on the couch . I am okay with that . Really . I took him to a Sportsman store to socialize him . We looking at the hunting equipment when a man approached us and said " I bet that 's a house dog " . Why would he say that ? He was bred for the field . His father and grandfather are field champions . He is lean and muscular . He can run 35 miles an hour ( really he can , I paced him ) . How did this guy know , Boston was a house dog ? Better yet , why was I so offended by it ? My husband Bob is a business man . He works hard . In the fourteen years I have known him he risen from engineer to VP of manufacturing . He is driven . He hasn 't taken a vacation in at least fourteen years . He doesn 't quit and he always wins . He collects guitars . He has stores from Georgia to Wisconsin calling him when something special arrives that he may like . Did I mention he likes fast cars … Many of my friends rescue dogs and many of them are wonderful dogs . Most of those dogs have fewer issues than my dogs do . My dogs are not rescue dogs . I bought them and paid quite a bit of money for them . I like them fast , lean and athletic . So I am often asked , " what do you do with your dogs " ; I respond " not much " , " you ? " I train my dogs , I play with my dogs , but mostly I just like sitting on the porch and watching them run . I don 't do much else with them except take care of them and love them . Why do I have to do something with them ? I am starting to get a germ thing . I wipe the shopping cart with disinfectant before I do my grocery shopping , and I do notice that I get a different cart at the check out . I usually have to make a scene about not wanting plastic bags , so I don 't say anything about the cart . If I can push a door open with my hip I don 't put my hands on it or on handrails in public stairwells . Now you know . I wash my hands before and after every training session . I don 't have hand sanitizer in my car , not yet anyway . Anyway … So why do I have fast dogs ? It would take a thousand hours of therapy to find out . In isolation it is a good question . But it makes sense when you look at the whole me . I married a high drive man . I drive a fast car . I like my food fresh . These are all reflections of me . Real or not , this is the person I what people to see . I have a sign on the wall in my office it says My Goal In Life Is To Be The Person My Dog Thinks I Am . And it is more than that . My goal in life is to be the person I am on the inside . My dogs , my husband , and my car are just my skin . The man in the Sportsman shop saw through it . He saw what my dogs see , he saw the person who has to wipe shopping carts in the grocery store .