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Our Schnauzerland Philosophy

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your words and kindness in your heart. Speak kind words and you will hear kind echoes!
We sincerely hope that we have touched you in a positive way before you leave our website and hope that you are anxious to come for another visit.

God Bless you and your family.

I thought I would share this with you. This is exactly how I felt about Midge sleeping with me. I couldn't put it in words, but I have said for the last 9 months, I miss her breath at night the most and this explains it perfectly. I do believe God gave us dogs to be our very best friends with a non-cursed "true love"! The purest kind.

"There is one sound that dogs make which I have not included in my discussion of Doggish vocalizations. I didn't include it because it is an automatic sound, which probably was not intended by either evolution of the gods to be communication at all, but it has come to mean something to me. It is the sound of dogs breathing.

At night, when I lie down to sleep, my old dog Wiz lies on the bed beside me, while Odin lies on a cedar chip pillow on the floor close by my head. Just across the room, my puppy, Dancer, who is not quite fully house-trained, sleeps in his wire kennel. In the quiet and the darkness, sounds are amplified. I can hear the low, slow breathing of the big black dog, the short breaths of the orange puppy, and the occasional sniffle and snore of the old white dog. As I listen to those soft sounds, I think of some earlier man, lying in a cave or rude shelter, resting on a bed of hides or straw. It was a hostile, dangerous world. Weapons were primitive, resources often sparse, and there were menacing things that moved in the night. That long-gone ancestor also had dogs who lay beside him as he tried to sleep. His dogs breathed these same sounds and these sounds had meaning. They were not merely part of the language of nature - they were the sounds of safety and comfort, a recitation of the dog's eternal contract with humans.

"I am here with you," the dog's breath said. "We will face this life together. There is no beast or intruder that can steal up on you undetected because I am here, and I will be your eyes and ears. No harm will come to you because I am at your side to warn you, and to defend you if need be.

"We will hunt together tomorrow. We will herd together tomorrow. We will share sunshine tomorrow. We will explore this world together. We will play together, even though neither of us is any longer a child.

"If luck turns bad, then when you grieve, I will comfort you. You will never need to be alone again. I promise this. As your dog, I will sing this promise to you, and whisper it to you at night, every night, with my breath."

I can hear these words in my dogs' soft sounds of breathing, and just like my ancient ancestor, I understand these words and I am comforted. In my heart I know that if the language of dogs were so limited that this was the only message they could send, it would still be enough."
-Stanley Coren
How to Speak Dog www.stanleycoren.com

Dr. Coren gave his permission to add this
except to my site so all could enjoy it. He has
some wonderful books, check out his site! and
let me know if you buy some of his works.
I'm sure you will find many articles that make you think
of the animals and dogs you have and have had, and
bring more joy than sadness to your heart remembering!
I promise if you are grieving, it gets a little easier with time!
He has put into words many things that will make you smile
and remember the wonderful friend God gave you.

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is
fighting some kind of battle."

God Bless you,
Barbara
and all the staff at Schnauzerland

A Schnauzerland Angel

April 17, 2003 - June 21, 2006

My name is Lisa Conger, and I have a story to tell you. Please
indulge me while I tell you all about my Schnauzerland Angel and his life with me.

Elijah Conger was born on April 17, 2003 at Schnauzerland. He was a part of Schnauzerland's Angel project. After contacting Barbara, and telling her my need for an Angel, she brought Eli to me. You see, I have a mild case of cerebral palsy and a very bad case of hip dysplasia on both sides. Some days it is very, very hard to walk without the aid of pain medication. In fact, some days I can't walk without medication. My doctor says that I am not old enough for new hips yet. I have a wonderful husband and two lovely children, but Eli lived for me, gave me EVERYTHING he had. On bad pain days, he walked close beside me and let me lean into him. He did it on his on with no formal training. He stayed beside me when I lay on the couch because that was as far as I got out of bed. He put his head on my lap and just very quietly strengthened me with his Love. He had a goofy side that did not often show itself because you see, he took his job very seriously, and his job was me. But when he allowed himself to be goofy, he would roll over on his belly and get this goofy grin on his face! When the other giants would get too close to me playing when I was outside with them, Eli would get between me and them so they wouldn't bump me and make me fall. The times when I did fall, he would let me hold on to him to pick myself up. He was not a kisser, but when I would get down he would lick my cheek; as if to say, “Hang in there Mom, this too shall pass." One time he became protective. There was a tense situation here with a man, and he got in front of me, and growled a very fierce, deep, growl. He didn't show his teeth, just a growl. The man backed up and soon left. My husband always said he never worried about my safety so far out in the country, as he knew that Eli would die protecting me. My Eli just needed to be near me, he waited outside the shower for me. If I didn't let him into the bathroom, he would whine; but if he was in the room, he was happy. When I groomed him, he stood rock still. Never before in my life have I met a dog like Eli. When the God of my understanding seemed too far away, Eli was my God with skin on. My life has been forever changed by having him in it. There is a hole in my soul. What do I do now?