Friday, December 23, 2011

A Home for the Holidays

One of the greatest rewards of rescue work is finding a good home for your foster pup. You've seen them go from living hungry on the streets or discarded at a shelter to a home with their own bed, toys, all the food they can eat and most of all a family to love them.

I can't think of a foster dog or puppy I haven't loved. But some fosters just tug at your heart strings more than others. I've been lucky to have many of those. 

There are some that may have been born at your home.



Or some that have come to your home when they weren't in the best of health.


Some that changed your view of big or small dogs...


...Or changed your view of certain breeds...


And then there are some who you've gone through so much with 

and become closer to. They have a special place 

in your heart.

For me, that is 

Rudy.


My little Rudy. He had such a difficult start in his short life. His mom was abandoned on the street with little milk to feed her babies. Two of his siblings did not survive because of that. When he was 5 weeks old, we had a health scare with him and we weren't sure if he would make it. His siblings picked on him because he was the smallest and most frail of his litter. 

Frail. The meaning is "weak and delicate". No, Rudy is not frail. He is strong. He beat all of the odds with his incredible will to live. He may be small, but his spirit is huge!

I honestly thought Rudy would be the last of his litter to be adopted. He wouldn't have a home of his own for the holidays. Until last night, when a mom and her 3 year old son came to meet the football puppies. When we spoke on the phone, she was interested in Peyton, the biggest and fluffiest of the litter. A real looker!


Her little 3 year old son - cherubic in looks and spirit himself - was surrounded by all five of the puppies, fluffy and big. This boy took one look at little Rudy and said, "That one." The mom and son spent a lot of time with the puppies but the little boy kept going back to Rudy. He knew who he wanted. As I watched them interact, I could see Rudy growing as this little boy grew. I can see them playing ball together. I can see Rudy being his confidante when he has secrets to share. I could see him sleeping in the boy's room. This was a perfect match.

Rudy goes home with his new family tonight. The first of his litter to be adopted! This little boy found a best friend. Rudy found a home for the holidays. And a love to last his whole life.

Good job, Rudy, we will always remember all we went through together and be happy for the beautiful life you now have. Strong, sweet, spunky Rudy.





Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Thankful Thursday...it's almost Christmas

I am thankful for so much this week! 

I'm thankful for my daughter being home for Winter Break

and getting to spend so much time with her.

She makes me laugh so much!

Spending time with her is so special to me.


I'm thankful for my husband being able to work from home some days this week

because he doesn't have a lot of meetings to attend at the office!

Just having him around - even though he's working -

is comforting.



And of course, I am thankful for all of my own pets...




And my foster pets current....


And past...


And all of your blogs! I love reading them!



Wordless Wednesday...Are you sticking your tongue out at me?


That's not very nice! Especially right before Christmas!

I'm going to have lots of treats in my stocking 

(and maybe even a new home!)

and you? 







Monday, December 19, 2011

Monday Night Mischief


The puppies had their close ups recently as they are getting ready to go to their fur-ever homes.

Just in time for the holidays!

So, I formally introduce you to my bunch of football babies!




If you know anyone who would like to add love in the form of a fuzzy puppy to their lives,
 please let me know!

This is a blog hop hosted by 

http://www.alfiesblog.com/

http://snoopysdogblog.com/

http://www.mybrownnewfies.com/

and my friend,

http://lunadogslife.blogspot.com/.

Don't forget to visit all of the great

pet related blogs listed!




Thursday, December 15, 2011

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for puppies! 

Nothing has the ability to lift someone's mood like a cute puppy

or several cute puppies!!






I'm thankful I get to foster cute puppies!

This is a blog hop...enjoy!



Wednesday, December 14, 2011

WIN $112 CASH FOR YOURSELF AND $213 DONATION TO THE ANIMAL CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE




Two Little Cavaliers and Pamper Yourself in Pink got together with some truly amazing bloggers and small business owners to bring you a Social Media Event unlike any other we have done before. Not only will the winner of the event receive cash via Paypal but they will also get to name an animal charity near and dear to their hear that they would like a donation sent to.
The winner will receive $112 Cash Prize for themselves and $213 sent directly to their charity of choice!

All you need to do is use the Rafflecopter tool below to enter for your chance to win!

We encourage you to share an animal charity near and dear to your heart with all of us in the comment section. You never knwo who will be commenting after you who might be interested in learning more about your charity of choice. 


Please visit the others on this blog hop.


Don't forget to leave me a comment telling me who your favorite charity is! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Social Media for Social Good Holiday Event!




I'm fairly new to the blogging world but when given the opportunity to raise money for a favorite animal charity, I thought I'd give it a shot! I'm not 100% sure how this works, so bear with me, please!


Below you will find links to other blogs and how readers can enter a giveaway. I encourage everyone to check them out! Most of these blogs have FaceBook pages as well so don't forget to check them out on FaceBook, too! 

Please leave a comment letting me know what your favorite charity is!

My favorite charity is...kind of complicated. 

I have two but one led me to the other. The second one is my charity of choice and the charity in need. I just couldn't leave out the first one!

My first charity is:


Each year close to 2 million dogs being killed in public shelters. Westside German Shepherd Rescue pulls so many of these dogs ~ not just pure breds and not just German Shepherds. They pull dogs who need to be pulled, thanks to the big heart of their main volunteer. This particular woman is the backbone of Westside. She loves Shepherds, but most importantly, she loves dogs. This is why she has saved so many lives. She is very modest so she wouldn't want to be mentioned, but anyone who knows this organization knowswho I am talking about!

The director and founder has been the driving force of this rescue since 2002, giving endlessly of herself for these dogs she adores. I've never met someone more knowledgeable and dedicated than Robin. She is truly a "hands on" rescuer...no job is below her! You can read all about her here. Thanks to Robin, this organization has rescued and rehabilitated more than 4,000 dogs!


My heart is with this organization for all of the above reasons but there are two even more special reasons:

My Enzo baby!

My Chloe girl!

Westside has led me to another charity. McFarland Animal Shelter. This animal shelter is just starting out. Remember that Westside volunteer with the big heart that I just told you about? Well, she found this shelter and she makes regular runs there to bring supplies and rescue dogs! They are so in need of donations in the form of money, dog food, beds or anything dog related. We need to raise awareness of this shelter so more dogs can be saved and move to their fur-ever homes. They don't have a website yet, but they can be found on FaceBook. Please check it out and if you or anyone you know lives near McFarland (near Bakersfield, California) please have them look to this shelter to help find their next pet!
This is my charity of choice!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a comment!


Monday, December 12, 2011

The Real Monday Mischief!

I have finally overcome my technical difficulties to bring you today's Monday Mischief!

I love decorating for the holidays and Christmas is my favorite. However, I've forgotten what it's like to decorate with a new kitten around!


Little Victor was into everything! As soon as the tree was up, he was up the tree! There's nothing like turning around to see your new kitten hanging from your Christmas tree! Or perhaps drinking out of the base. Or batting the hanging ornaments. Yup, he did it all!




Let's not leave out our little friend, Dino. He is so mature that I forget he is still a puppy. A puppy who likes to open his (or in this case, my) gifts before Christmas! 


Nice work, Dino. 

The house got decorated...and redecorated by the pets but that's what makes it frustrating fun! I meant "fun"! :) We all participate in the festivity of the holidays!



Happy Monday Mischief! And thank you for having patience with my technical difficulties. I hope it was worth checking back!

This is a blog hop!
Enjoy!


Sunday, December 11, 2011

Monday Mischief...

...is coming!!!

Oops! I apologize...I'm having technical difficulty tonight....please come back!


Thursday, December 8, 2011

Thankful Thursday...Rudy

Today, I am thankful for Rudy, out littlest Football Puppy foster. Little Rudy had been at the rescue veterinarian for observation for a few days. He had been experiencing some issues that we didn't want to become more serious. As it turns out, thankfully, it was just a cold!

We got Rudy back last night and he is just wonderful! He loves to play with our kitten, Victor. As soon as Rudy got home, in my arms he went and Victor jumped up to play with him!






This is a blog hop...


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Wordless Wednesday... Zoe

There are no words for what Zoe brought to our lives.

...After a valiant fight, Zoe passed away yesterday morning at 6:30am....

 Zoe, we will never forget your beautiful soul. Your spirit lives on in our hearts and will forever.
My shoulder is always here for you.....


You are so loved.







Sunday, December 4, 2011

German Shepherd Love

One of my favorite dog breeds - well, probably my number one favorite - is German Shepherd. There is something about this breed that I've fallen in love with. My first dog as an adult was a German Shepherd and he was the dog love of my life.

I was 24 years old and living in an apartment when he came into my life as a 6 week old runt, his whole litter abandoned in a dumpster and found by a good friend of mine. She got the rest of the litter adopted out but no one wanted the little fella. He wasn't "strong", he wasn't big and he was darker than the other puppies in the litter. These were all complaints from the potential adopters.

I immediately fell in love. I sat on the ground and he trotted up to me. The distance must have been too great for his little body because once he got to my lap, he nuzzled in, his head on my heart and slept there. Fourteen years later, it was there he crossed the rainbow bridge. In my arms, his head on my heart.


Vinny started my lifelong love of German Shepherds. Over the fourteen years that he was with me (way too short, by the way), I grew a lot, I got married, had a child, got Vinny the yard he needed and loved. Vinny was with me through thick and thin. When our daughter was a baby, he was her protector. When she was a toddler, he was her playmate. As she grew older, he was her confidante.


Vinny is now gone, but his legacy led me to seek out a German Shepherd as my next dog and get involved with dog rescue. Years later, here I am a proud German Shepherd Rescue volunteer. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  

I've helped place many dogs with families and I've seen the happiness it brought. Every now and then, there is an extra special connection between a human and a dog. Something that is evident very early on. And something that warms my heart, making me appreciate both the dog and the human.

Recently, one of my fellow volunteers sent me pictures from a family who adopted one of her foster dogs. I was so touched by this amzing connection, I just had to post the pictures here. This German Shepherd is very lucky...as is this beautiful baby! This child has found a protector, a playmate and a confidante to be by his side for years to come! 

Sutter and Finn
Best Friends




Congratulations to Sutter's new family....they have found their Vinny.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Thankful Thursday...Thirsty Thursday

Today, Little Rudy is thankful for his big bowl of water.

Mmm, a nice big bowl of cold water all to myself.

Hey, wait a minute, I don't want to share.

HEY! What the heck? Can't a little guy catch a break??

To see what others are thankful for, 
go to: 


What are you thankful for?


LOOK!!!


Please check out this site for a Holiday Blogging Event for Pets in Need!