Autumn is Back

Autumn is back--no, not the season, the dog :) My former greyhound foster, Autumn (formerly Rico's Wanda) is back and this time she is here to stay. Yes, I know. I'm crazy, BUT Autumn is an awesome dog. She is so easy. She acts like she never left. I have fostered her twice and I said if she ever "bounced" again, I was adopting her. No ifs and or buts. I knew in my gut that she would come back to me one day. I just didn't know when.

She and my other dogs get along great. She remembers where everything is and all of the household routines.

Within a short period of time after arriving at my house, she was getting toys out and roaching in a dog bed. I know she'll miss her former family and they her. But they made a selfless decision in rehoming her with me. She just wasn't happy being an only dog in an apartment.

Autumn was a pretty good racer in her day and so, was used to be pretty active. Now she has plenty of dog buddies to hang with, room to run and play, and she will have plenty of activities to do. She's a great Meet & Greet dog. Plus, I plan to test her for pet therapy. I'll also let her try some different activities to see if there's a dog sport she would like to participate in.

And heaven help me. This is the last dog I can adopt at this time in my life. My heart and house are full.

Looks like I need to update my blog banner and get a new group photo :)

Never Say Never

I should know better than to deal in absolutes. I frequently comment on how much I despise the words "always" and "never." Yet, in the past I had found myself saying I could never have 4 dogs. Well, guess what? I have had 4 dogs for about 2.5 years. Then my new mantra was I could never have 5 dogs. All my animals have to fit with me in my crew cab pick up truck since I just bought the travel trailer last year. But, guess what? Yes, I have added a 5th dog my my pack and my life. And she's small enough to fit in the truck with everyone.

Many people already suspected that I was going to keep Bella the beagle mix puppy from Floyd County Animal Control that I was fostering for Road Trip Home. She's the 6 month old puppy that I was sent her photo about a day before she was due to be put to sleep.

I just couldn't let that happen. I contacted a rescue I foster for, Road Trip Home. They agreed to take her but their intake isolation/quarantine was full. So my vet quarantined her for me for 2 weeks. Then the plan was for me to foster her until March 22 when she would head up to Maine to be adopted out from Animal Welfare Society (AWS). AWS is the wonderful shelter where my other fosters have been adopted out from.

I visited her about every other during her two week quarantine. I kept a change of clothes in my garage that I would wear to the vet's office for our visits. I didn't want to defeat the purpose of the quarantine. She came home with me February 26. I changed her name to Daisy. My dogs and even my cat took her quickly. In fact, she and Blaze became great friends pretty quickly and Cori followed shortly after. Chloe (my 9 year Greyhound) even played a little with her. Rio was my hold out. She tolerated Daisy but wasn't interested in pursuing a friendship. Daisy persevered. Rio will now play with her some and even let Daisy sit or lay with her.

I knew I was in trouble when in taking her out to places like Rio's agility trials to socialize her and everyone fell in love with her and kept telling me I should keep her. And then I could not imagine my house and pack without her. 

I contacted the RTH folks and surprised the heck out of them when I said I wanted to adopt her. They were happy, but concerned that I would foster any longer for them. I told RTH that I understand greatly the need for fosters prior to transport so yes, I would definitely keep fostering for them once Daisy really settles in.

Daisy was just recently spayed as part of her adoption and is now recovering. The rest of her siblings have been being sweet and gentle with her while

So Daisy has officially joined Team Zero Gravity. Hopefully as she grows and develops she'll be interested in agility, nose works, musical freestyle and maybe even pet therapy. Time will tell. She is shy but friendly and definitely reminds me of a younger Rio. She really likes other dogs. She likes some people right off the bat. Others she has to warm up to more. New places are a little overwhelming to her, but she loves to travel and GO TO places. I also know that just like Rio, time and patience will pay off. And just like Rio, Daisy will be worth it.

The only negative is that this new development also means I need a new group photo taken in the near future...Seems like the only constant in life is change :)

She has already been added to the Team Zero Gravity blog banner and her photo is listed on right side of the blog.

There's never a dull moment with Team Zero Gravity!

Cori's Day to Shine

I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from the folks at the local library where Cori and I do pet therapy at. Cori is a Reading Education Assistance Dog.

She and I visit our local library twice a month. Children sign up to come in and read to her. It's a great program and has been proven to help improve literacy rates in children: Research and Results of Reading Education Assistance Dog Programs

Cori loves it. It's funny too because Cori is a somewhat shy dog. She's not a fan of new places (especially new buildings). She's also not a fan of crowds or the hustle and bustle of being out in public. Yet at our local library, in our reading room, with the children, she shines and is in her element. Cori would NOT enjoy visiting a hospital or assisted living facility. Yet, at the library with the children, she's clearly happy and comfortable.

She greets each child as they come in to read to her. She then lays down by them while they read to her. She looks at any pictures in the book when the children show them to her. When the child's session is done, she gets up and walks them to the door. She amazes me with her warm, comfort and enjoyment of these sessions.

In fact, a photo of her with one of her favorite readers was just in our local paper this week: http://www.ledgernews.com/news/top_stories/lending-a-supportive-ear/image_d2c226de-8b1e-11e2-a78a-0019bb30f31a.html

Here's the photo from the little blurb

 

Once a child has read with Cori 10 times, she gives them a free book to keep and even "pawtographs" it for them. So far, she has had 3 children read 10 times with her and get their "pawtographed" book.

 

 

It's a very rewarding experience of working as a team with one of my dogs while helping to ignite the passion to read and to learn in children.

 

To me, it just goes to show you that there are all kinds of different pet therapy opportunities out there and that different dogs with different personalities can be therapy dogs. You just have to know your dog and know what they like and don't like; where they are comfortable and where they are not. And of course, they have to be naturally friendly and like people.

 

I want to take a moment to thank Lisa Poole from my greyhound group (Southeastern Greyhound Adoptions) and now CAREing Paws. She is the person who ignited my desire to do pet therapy. I also have to thank Melissa Saul (CAREing Paws) and Merilee Kelley (READing Paws) who helped train and test us as a team. And of course, last but not least, I want to thank the folks at RT Jones Library (namely Emma Ingle, Susan White, Kristina Canoles, Vickie Sellers and Melanie Pullen) who helped establish the program, keep it running smoothly and provide support for us at our library. As you can see, it's an overall team effort--but well worth it!

 

I also want to thank my girl, Cori who is a special girl. I am so glad she came into my life and enjoys doing pet therapy with me. I am very blessed indeed!

Revolving Door

Sometimes it seems like my house has a revolving door on it! Last week Road Trip Home foster puppy, Lizzie left to make her journey to Maine (going to Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk: http://animalwelfaresociety.org) in search of her forever home.

She made it there safely and is now up for adoption. I hope she finds as wonderful a home as Penny and Linus found. BTW, I got a cute photo of those 2 munchkins from their family. The family titled the photo The Sentinels. It makes my heart sing to know that Penny & Linus have such a fabulous home and that their family keeps me updated on their doings :) Penny has always been adorable. Linus has turned into a very handsome young man.

 

This week I am dog sitting ONE of my favorite former greyhound fosters, Autumn, while her family is out of town. Anytime I keep her for them, she always remembers where everything is and what the household routines are.  She's a sweetheart!

 

 

Then next week, Bella comes into foster with me. She's still at my vet in a 2 week standard quarantine coming (since she came from a crowded animal control).

Bella is a cute 5 month old lab probably beagle mix. She's sweet and playful. Right now, she's slated to head to Maine 3/23 with Road Trip Home.

My own dogs (and even my cat) have become very used to the "revolving door" with dogs/puppies coming and going. The only one who is probably not happy about it is Reggie. When I have a foster or other dogs/puppies who are not mine own at my house, he has to stay in his cage for his own safely. Reggie has a bad habit of getting on the floor and walking around like a little person :)

Sometime soon, I'll tell you more about Reggie. He's quite a character!

The Big 5-0

When my 40th birthday sucked big time, I decided I was going to go on a fun trip for my 50th. That's a pretty darn big milestone and I didn't want to let that just go by. Since I wanted my sister, Terri who is my BFF, to come with me, I rattled off the list of places that were in the running for the BIG 5-0 trip. Based on Terri's response, we decided it would be a trip to Vegas.

My dad said he would love to go and so did my brother-in-law, John. We decided to we would be the fabulously fun four! All the arrangements were made (thanks to Pat Hand with Dancing Moon Travel Agency, pet sitters Katherine Caceres and Kate Crawford, and to my mom who helped hold the forts down for the family in Ohio). We departed Jan 29 and came home Feb 1. Just a few days which was just the right amount of time.

Off we went. We stayed at the GORGEOUS Wynn Hotel thanks to Pat & Dancing Moon Travel.

Dad near the lobby at the Wynn

We were actually in the Encore Tower. My dad and I shared a room, and my sister and her hubby John had another room.

Below is the night time view from our room

Night time view from Encore room

And this is the day time view

Here's my Dad's and mine actual room. It was super nice.

We had fun walking around to see the different hotels and sights. Here's me and my dad at the MGM Grand. And the other photo is my Dad in the Luxor Hotel.



Many of meals were eaten at the Encore's Society Cafe. We just loved the food there.

John & Terri goofing off at the Society Cafe

On my actual birthday, Terri and I got tattoos of a greyhound running. She got hers on the top of her left arm. I got mine above my ankle. We had them done at King Ink at the Mirage Hotel. Terri's didn't hurt. Mine, ah, well, mine did. The artists doing ours said hands are feet are 2 of the more sensitive places (other than the obvious other sensitive places). It wasn't horrible, but it did hurt. It was about what I expected. I am glad we finally did it. She and I have been talking about getting them for awhile.

Kathy's tattoo right after getting it done.

We went out to a SUPER DUPER nice dinner at the Lakeside Restaurant on the Wynn property. Terri and John treated us. It was probably the best (and unfortunately most expensive dinner I have ever eaten). It was so nice of Terri and John to do that.

The restaurant overlooked the "Lake of Dreams" at the Wynn which is a cool waterfall where they put on a show over a span of 4 hours with different vignettes every 30 minutes at night. This the waterfall in the daytime.

The next day, we went to the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, location of the TV show Pawn Stars. My dad really wanted to see the store. We went early to avoid the long lines and crowds.

After the pawn shop visit, we headed down to Freemont St. We found this hilarious restaurant, Heart Attack Grill. They have a scale out front to weigh yourself. We decided it best NOT to eat lunch there ;)





The four of us decided to throw caution to the wind and we did the zipline down Freemont St. This is my 73 year old dad ziplining for the first time!

Needless to say we had a blast on the whole trip.

Meanwhile, back at home, Blaze and Cori had fun at Camp Greyhound (Kate Crawford's Many Hounds Inn).

The rest of Team Zero Gravity lazed about at home with their favorite pet sitter, Katherine.

The trip was fun, but it was good to get home. I will definitely always remember my 50th birthday in a good way. I guess I could even say that it pretty much cancels out my terrible 40th :)

I would go back to Vegas again if given the chance. There's still lots to see. We never did make it to Hoover Dam, nor did we even finish seeing the rest of the strip. Viva Las Vegas ;)






Updates on Some Former Fosters

Ok--so I've been lax about blogging lately. Bad me ;) Time to catch folks up on some of more recent fosters who are in loving forever home:

Pit Bull puppies, Penny & Linus are growing up fast and doing EXCELLENT in their home in Maine. I was in 7th heaven when the family who adopted my first pittie puppy, Penny ended up adopting my 2nd pittie puppy, Linus. They attend puppy classes (see photo below with their gentle leader training halters on).

Travis with Penny & Linus in their training class

They enjoy playing with their Maltese sister, Suki. Their dad, Travis adores them as do Travis' parents.

Suki, Linus and Penny playing

Penny & Linus have even been enjoying the cold weather since they have spiffy coats!

Penny & Linus in their winter coats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got to see former foster, Lacy recently at a lure coursing event put on by the Greyhound club I belong to.

Lacy is the pretty brindle getting ready to sit by her mama in the green shirt.

Of course, then there's Murphy is doing wonderful in his new home. He's having a great time playing with his big brindle Greyhound brother, Martin. Murphy's family just can't get over how smart he is.

Martin and Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a couple of adorable photos of Murphy form his lure coursing outing right before he got adopted.

Murphy watching the action

 

Great shot of Murphy

 

Murphy is about to crawl up in friend, David's lap!

 

In early January, me and my 2 Meet & Greet hounds, Cori and Blaze joined a dear friend, Eric (and one of his daughters) at the Cumming Petco M&G. Eric and his family adopted 2 of my former fosters, Sissy & T-Bone as siblings to their first Greyhound Katie. I count Katie as a "step" foster ;)

Below is a group shot.

Blaze, T-Bone, Katie, Sissy and Cori, plus Eric and Jord

And then there is my beloved Walker who is doing fabulously in his her forever home with his 2 brindle siblings.

 

Walker

Maggie, Walker & Truly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoy keeping up with his doings in his family's blog: Those Brindle Kids

 

 

 

 

 

I am so blessed to have had some wonderful fosters who have touched my life. The ones in this blog are but just a few of the sweet fosters who have left their mark on my heart and soul. And I am forever grateful to the wonderful families to have given them the very best forever homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capturing Time

I am a photography nut. It's not that I'm a good or skilled photographer in any way shape or form. I just LOVE photos, mainly of what's important to me, family, friends, special events, places traveled and of course my furred and feathered loved ones.

Photos to me are snippets of time that I get to keep forever. Memories sometimes fade as we age, but photos preserve those moments. Lots of people like to take photos of special occasions and trips and other one time things, Sure, I like those too, but I found one year when I challenged myself to take at least a photo everyday, that I ended up loving all the day to day photos too that seemed unimportant at the time.


Thumper (friendly neighbor now at the Rainbow Bridge)



My sweet Maxx now waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge



My cuddly bear, Sheila now also waiting at the Rainbow Bridge

My first truck--oh the fun times we had together!

Another cute shot of Maxx who died on 2008

Let's face it, we have our every day lives. We have our routines (good or bad),  and often times they seem mundane and unimportant. But then when somethings in our life changes (as things do and always will), we reminisce about "the good old times". How many time have you wished you could go back and see photos of all the rooms in the house you group up in or all the fun places that you played as a kid or of people (and pets) no longer in your life? Chances are you might have SOME photos of those things, but probably not as many as you would like.

I take a lot (or buy) a lot of photos in any given year. These photos are places I have gone, dog or volunteer events I have participated in, and of course family & friends. Friends kid me because I always buy ALL of Rio's agility photos.

Rio at an agility trial

Yet, I still don't feel like I take (or get) enough photos my life (and the lives of my fellow Team Zero Gravity members). And I know I end up with more photos annually than the average person. I store my photos on Shutterfly (love them!) http://www.shutterfly.com. I've been using Shutterfly for about 11 or 12 years now. Shutterfly says I have almost 34,000 of my photos stored in albums in my account on their website :)

Anyway, in the fall of 2012, I got the chance to have some incredible photos taken of my dogs. I had a gift certificate for a local pet photographer, Leesia Teh (http://www.leesiateh.com/) towards a photo sitting for my dogs that I had won in an auction. I had seen some of her work and really liked it. I contacted Leesia about using my gift certificate. She went over the details about how she works and she does a shoot. She had me fill out a survey online all about my dogs. She tries to capture your pets as themselves --where their personalities shine through. That's exactly what I was looking for.

The date and time was all set. We had decided to do it at my house where all my dogs feel the most comfortable and where they could run around and be their goofy sweet selves. When Leesia showed up at my house (with just a camera--a really nice one, but just a camera--no special lighting or anything else), she greeted me and then instantly proceeded to introduce herself to my dogs. She already knew each by name from having read our survey. All my dogs liked her right off the bat.

She also met PJ (the cat) and Reggie (the parrot) and took a couple nice shots of them as well so I could have those as well.

PJ

Reggie

She spent some time just visiting with my dogs so they could get to know her and just relax and be themselves. We did pictures both inside and out. She took her time in order to capture my sweeties being themselves. It was a fun, leisurely shoot. It didn't feel like there was any time deadlines or rushing. I don't even know exactly how long she was there but it was quite a while.

The results were mind blowing. She got some of the most amazing and loving shots. I shared my proofs with others and everyone just loved them.

Here's a few (besides the ones top right):

Blaze and Cori

Cori, Chloe, Blaze and Rio

Blaze

Rio

Chloe

Cori

After I saw all the wonderful proofs, I knew I was in trouble. I knew I was going to spend a lot more money than I planned. But, I figured, it's not like we do something like this all the time--in fact, I had never done something like this. I would just make it work. I actually cashed in some savings bonds so I could buy a package, extra prints and products. It was worth every penny too. I will have these photos forever--long after my furred and feather family departs this Earth (I can't think about that or I will start to ball) and long after memories fade.

I added a slide show in the right side of the blog about 1/2 way done. See for your self, all the wonderful photos. If you decide to do as I did and capture some of these precious moments with our pets, I HIGHLY recommend you contact Leesia Teh to help you do that. And if you do, please tell her Kathy Rakestraw referred you. 'Cause if you do, I get a referral credit and um, there's a few more things I'd like to get :)

Make a pact with yourself to take more photos this year--even if you don't have them professionally done. You'll be glad you did.