Aw, shucks.

Sometimes there's not much to say, but a picture is worth a thousand words. And yes, he IS smiling, no kidding. He only does this when I'm giving him my full attention. Lucky thing he's a good boy. He could get away with just about anything with that face:-)

Savannah Smiles:-)

The lighter blonde of the two dogs (on the right) is Savannah. She was a foster of mine in 2008. She was adopted by a wonderful family who let me know that she now has recently acquired a little "brother" :-) The little girl in the picture is one of Savannah's humans. I've been working in rescue since 2004. Savannah came along in early 2008. She was a special situation because the family that originally had her are dear, dear friends of mine. To be perfectly honest, my first true love of dogs started because of my friendship with these folks. Her human has been a friend of mine since I was 16. I gotta tell ya, that was a long, um, long time ago:-)
The owner's love for the dog led her to find a new placement because of a rough situation that all dedicated animal lovers hope that they are never put into. It was heartwrenching and I'm glad I was able to help.

Savannah is a beautiful malinois/shepherd mix. She's smart, loving and fiercely loyal. That being said, you can imagine the pain of having to part with this dog. There are truly legitimate reasons that a loving owner may need to part with a family companion. This was one of them. I think of this everytime I hear some lame excuse for dumping a dog.

Anyway, tonight I got a wonderful note with this picture of Savannah and her new playmate, Clark. Cute, eh? I love getting good news about dogs that have been with us. Heck, I like good news of almost any knd, but this is definitely my favorite kind:-) It seems Savannah and Clark are doing a great job of wearing each other out when they're not playing with the kids. Congrats to Savannah and her new family and thanks to all of you who continue to adopt from rescues and shelters. We couldn't do it without you:-) Happy New Year!

New Year, New Hopes

Here we are, just entering 2011. I'm sure it'll be weeks before I get the year right. My students always love the beginning when they get to correct me constantly about the dates:-) Thankfully for me, I'm cool with that. I've always taught my students that no one is perfect and as long as you are kind when pointing out errors (as I try to be with them!) it's all good. (which is a good thing because I'm easily distracted and when one of the kids asks me something I don't know, perfect segway to get on the internet or look it up in a book and find the answer!) Love technology. Wish I was as savvy at it as my 4th graders!

Dates aside, I guess, like everyone, I find myself reflecting on the year and all that has happened-good and not so good. Overall, I'm pretty lucky. This year brought me new projects such as the school garden. I had many outgoing and lovable fosters who were fortunate enough to find great homes (Goldie Boy is still my pride though:-) Wasn't so sure about him at first. What a diamond in the rough he turned out to be. They were mostly younger than what I'm used to working with (which is a challenge in and of itself) but what a hoot they were. A far cry from the stoic beauties from last year that I had to say tearful farewells too (RIP: Trinity, Chester, Buddy and Jester). That's one of the sad things when working with older dogs who have come from scary situations. Just don't know what they've been through and how to fix the health issues that can come along. Course, every moment is worth it. I've had many, many more older bubs who have happily gone on to live with their families without the issues that plagued these guys. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw for them. Though I love how our founder Ellen has explained it. At least these beautiful creatures know the happiness of love and comfort before they pass whether it was with me or their forever homes. I like thinking of it that way. Helps to be able to keep going for the next ones. Course this year has been a good one with the fosters. I've been fascinated with the adoptions I've had this year.

Of course, my bubs have all been well and then there was the addition of Ginger to our family:-) What a pistol that one is. She came in like a lamb and has turned into a real lion, lol. She acts completely demure and coy when she wants my attention, but when one of the other dogs comes up to steal her thunder, out pops that lion. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it's definitely funny. These guys always keep me in stitches with their antics. I get to come home to happy every day. I may have mentioned that before, but it's worth mentioning again.

Sadly, I did have to say goodbye to Leo and Butler, my sweet little ratboys. I sure do miss their little antics. With life constantly changing I had to make the decision to hold off on anymore rats for the time being. To much running around and not enough time. I always hated that they were stuck in their cages too much. They didn't seem to mind:-) but I always did. I've had rats since 1999. Heck, I had them before I even found Lexy and Squirt and that's saying something. Someday again. . .

Like everyone else I've had ups and downs with family, friends and the job, though that's life, eh? I am pretty happy about my new position working with all the grades. This break has reminded me that I need to put more fun back into learning. (this has probably been the best holiday break ever) It really is sad how mandates and districts can literally ruin the joy of learning for our bright young minds. However, there are ways around that:-) Hopefully there will be some big changes with my classes this next semester that will help to bring more kids that can't wait to come instead of "do I really have to?"

Oh, and my camera broke! So what a shame I have to get a new one *wink*. So hopefully better and more pics this year.

I have a lot of hopes for the new year. I hope to be more patient with humans, more outgoing with folks (believe it or not, I have done public speaking in front of large crowds, no problem, but can be stupidly shy in small groups when it's not work related) I want to get involved with more, get my graduate degree going full steam, get healthier and travel somewhere this year. These aren't necessarily resolutions. I suck at keeping those. I would like these to just be things to strive for. Oh and lastly, I'd love to be able to find the joy in life that my dogs do:-) Man, as humans we overthink waaaaay too much. Life can be GOOD even when it's bad. It can ALWAYS be worse. So hard to remember that sometimes. It's all a matter of perspective. As much as I hate to end this with cliche"ish" statements, I can't seem to help myself:
Life is too short to always worry about doing everything right and pleasing everyone around us. We do the best we can, strive for more for ourselves and those around us and pray that our higher power can overlook our flaws (even if we have a lot:-). Other than that, find happiness in the little things and remember to smile at people. You just never know what a difference it can make. Happy New Year out there! Give your critters(or your humans) a hug and hold on tight, 'cause here we go!

M.J. the Cat

This cat has continued to show just how brave he is with the dogs here at the house. He'll sneak by and has made a point to visit each and every nook and cranny. Lucky for him he's fast as lightning. Ginger, the little red dog, is still not a big fan of him. She'll barely tolerate him if I'm holding her, but if she sees him coming into the room, she'll try to bolt. He's one heck of a smart critter though. There's a gate up at the bedroom door, so he can get out, but the dogs can't get in. Most of the time, he's so quiet, I can hardly tell he's around. Other times I can hear him playing with a few of the toys we've managed to gather over the last month. He sure does love the catnip!

He does have a couple of favorite places to hang out.  One is in the basket that you see in the pictures.  It's on top of a bookshelf in my living room.  Far enough off the ground to keep the dogs from bothering him, but close enough to me that he's happy.  Never have I met a cat that needed the attention this one does!  Otherwise, there's a big dog bed in the room he stays in that he'll keep his toys in, oddly enough. He's a pretty cool cat, but at heart, I have to say I'm still a dog person.  Who knows, maybe if he didn't still give me the sniffles, I would feel differently, but I can definitely say I've enjoyed having him around.  He's due to go back to his other "home" hopefully next week since the holidays are over.  With Ginger as unpredictable as she is and new fosters coming in, he'll definitely be "safer" there anyway!  

Relaxin:-)

Cracks me up, these animals. The blue bed that ol' Blue is curled up in has been a favorite of all the dogs that have come through here and my own dogs too. I bought that years ago for my rats. It was one of the only things that the rats did not shred. It's too small for anyone but Cody or Ginger, but they all seem to love it.

Below Eclipse managed to fall asleep with feet in the air. Lexy was not amused:-)

Eclipse

Long overdue for an update. I seem to be saying that about a lot of things lately. This handsome little guy had a home for about 2 days, then it turned out the other dog in the home was a bit put off by Eclipse's exhuberance:-) And that's okay. Sometimes we'll find the best homes, but for a different dog than the one we were trying for. I've gotten a lot of inquiries on this young fellow. So far he's still here, doing great.

He's still a big baby, though learning new commands is no challenge for this guy. He's learned to crate up with no trouble. He knew sit, but now knows wait at the door as well as go when it's time to go out. We're doing hand signals as well. He gets a little over excited and needs reminders, but is doing great! I would be willing to bet that this guy would be a good candidate for the canine good citizen's test and make a great therapy dog (for visiting schools, nursing homes and the like.) He's great about just plopping his butt into the lap of whomever is closest and leaning til they make him move:-)

M.J. the cat is still here and it seems that Eclipse rather enjoys toying with the cat. At first I thought E was being a bully. Turns out the cat instigates as much as the dog! Unfortunately for them, my house is small and there have been a few noggins sliding into the walls, but that's nothing new. It's like hearing brakes skidding on the road. You wait for the sound of the crash and hope it doesn't come, but more often than not it does. I can't believe there's not yet a hole in my wall!

Eclipse has finally put on a few pounds and his coat is healthy and shiny. He's great with all the dogs (though still scared to death of Ol' Blue). Now that the holidays are winding down, we'll be able to get out to events more and hopefully get him placed into a new home soon.

Hope everyone had a happy Christmas! I know we did!