Best of intentions

I just want to blog, but Candice has other intentions. Locked up in my room with Dani and Dorie (while they adjust to being at my parents' now) has me feeling bad for her ... but not bad enough that I'm going to deal with her kneading her long nails into my shoulder (I let her nails get long since I feel bad she has no teeth) ... or not going to blog!

Now that I've lost my job and have nothing but time, I want to write, blog, unpack (ok, I don't want to do that, but I need to), be with my pets, write some more, plan a vacation, work on my mom's blog, check on the sheep, run for a little, get an application together so I can adopt Bear out, etc. I've got the best of intentions, now I just need to work on following through and actually getting to all those things. Ah!

A quiet goodbye...

On my private journal. Feel free to email me if you want access.

Go Green!

As a person terribly interested in how we can preserve this planet that we all live on, I found this article very interesting (though not all that surprising) and just another sign of hope for the future now that a large part of the population is catching on. Check it out for yourself: Green Products Dominate Global Pet Expo on Zootoo.

Some of the things sounded a little out there, of course. For instance, this one product is supposed to "protect animals from fleas, ticks and mosquitoes with electromagnetic frequencies ... the tiny tags have a magnetized, non-toxic strip that wards off pests for up to four months". Any kind of electromagnetic frequency being given off doesn't sound trustworthy to me since just about everything is causing cancer nowadays ... so some sort of frequency must have a long term effect along those lines or something. Hey, if it is harmless and does work - awesome! But I'm going to remain a cynic with that one.

On a personal note, I'm actually considering making my own pet food ... dog food to start since my aunts have a good recipes they've already been using for quite awhile now and maybe cat food too if I'm feeling extra ambitious. It'll involve some major research to see which recipes are both yummy & safe, thus the need for some ambition. :) With all the pet food recalls, it's not a bad idea to consider making my own from here on out. I'm going to be home now that I lost my job to the economy, so I'll have the time to. Who knows, maybe some friends will want to buy some as well.

Oh, and if you're not a member yet of Zootoo, you should be. It's great for animal news and sharing info. You can find me on there too: JenW117

::sigh::

I have a feeling this blog is going to turn into more of a journal about rescuing myself than it is about rescuing animals. The blows seem to just keep coming and I'm just completely heart broken right now...

I partially blogged about my dad and that situation. I strictly posted the email I sent out because, honestly, I'm not sure I can sit down and spill my guts out about that whole ordeal and my feelings about it without A) sounding super whiny or B) breaking down and crying while I type which is just awfully messy if you know the way I cry. The news alone has been a lot to deal with and then there's been all the reading to find out about FTD and what's to come as well.

And then, this passed week, I lost my job... stupid economy! Losing my job means losing my income when I have student loans, medical bills, my credit card (thank god I'm pretty good at controlling my spending with that!!) and the payments for the car I just bought as well. If that's not bad enough, my apartment that I've been settled into for about a year and a half is provided through work, so I've lost that as well! I've been given a week to pack up and head out. I don't want to pack up, I don't want to move back in with my parents and I feel so bad taking my cats there too when they've been pretty stress-free at my apartment for so long now.

I don't get to see Ruby adopted out or see Donny needs more surgery or see if Freda gets all better or what's going to happen with the possible mass in Nickey or see my love Molly anymore or if Polly is going to get surgery. I've just really invested myself here in a way I don't even think my co-workers know and so this is all very sad for me. I used to walk around here sometimes at night just checking to see what the kitties were doing and making sure they were ok.

I'm just forced to hope this is for the best. I've been here for some great, great things like my work's 5th Anniversary and all the publicity with Tashi - it was so nice seeing other people recognize and appreciate the work done here. At least I was let go because of the economy so I can collect unemployment instead of having to quit in several months or something because of my dad (or who knows what might else go wrong at this point!).

Now, I'm going back to my parents, the farm, sheep and chickens and horses and too many guinea hens. At least I'll have lots of time to read, write ... and blog, right? Ahh ::sigh:: Who knows, maybe I'll even start rescuing again ... doing fundraisers or working with kick ass people like my friend who likes the special babies, like Joa (who has since been adopted!).

My dad, Bear, etc...

I just sent out this post to friends and am putting it here too as it's an update on my life and rescuing recently. Needless to say, as you read you'll understand I'm heartbroken. Why does everything have to be so hard? I don't rescue for this purpose, but don't I deserve good things?? And if not good, can't I just get a little bit of "fair" at least??? Anyway, this is the email I sent with some pictures thrown in as well...

Hi,

I found out just last week that the odd behaviors my dad has been exhibiting have been just as bad when he's away from us - work sent him home, in fact. It seems that it was not simply "depression" that he's been suffering from. My dad (my hero, supporter, driver when I lost my license to epilepsy and the guy who absolutely influenced my love for animals & me doing animal rescue) was re-diagnosed last week with fronto-temporal dementia. Here's some info on it:

http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_frontotemporal_dementia.asp

Needless to say, I'm very upset for my near future loss of my dad and worried about what's to come.

I'm writing to you about all of this because I have a dog that needs a home of his own and preferably soon before things get too bad around the house.

Currently, my parents' are fostering my most recent GA rescue - a big black & white boy we named Bear that everyone at the shelter down in GA loved, but he was out of time there. He was called a lab mix, but if you see him, he's got to have some sort of Mountain Dog in him too. He's got just the faintest bit of brown above his eyes, big head, muscular body and a perfectly white tipped tail. On top of that, his genes popped him out with beautiful freckling in his white patches, short hair, little eyes and big, thick skin around his face (you know, like the kind that is kind of all wrinkly and you can make funny faces with. I love it!!!)

All people can really say about him is that he's so ugly, he's freakin’ adorable!! He is great with my other dogs (1 female Golden, 1 female Doberman), did not eat my little sized, big attitude male Chihuahua foster when I brought him home and though I've had to correct his interest in my parents' cats, Bear has never actually tried to hurt any of them. He's house trained, sits to eat and though I know he's playful (likes to carry stuffed animals around like "babydolls" and wrestles with the Golden), he mostly prefers to just sleep near you. He's friendly to all and just a great dog that deserves a good home. I will write down his cons for you as well, of course:
- he pees a little when he gets nervous. I don’t know what happened to him before, but raise your voice even a fraction and he drops to the ground or pees a little and this happens for men more than women, which is another reason I want him out before things get bad with my dad like they could.
- he sheds a lot, though I’m still convinced that he’s blowing out his nasty shelter coat
- he drools. There is no excusing or reasoning that way, he drools like a St. Bernard sometimes!!!

He is fixed and up to date on vaccines of course too.

I'm sending you this email to you since we're friends, personal contacts in the animal-loving world. I haven't really come to terms fully about this diagnosis for my dad yet, so I'd like the reason for this posting to be kept as private as possible. Bear's safe in my parents' house, of course, it's just the extra burden on my whole family soon that I worry about. Bear deserves a good home and I don't want that to become a last priority, but things are out of my hands now with this.

Cross post Bear on your Petfinder site, let any friends know that might be looking to adopt, etc. People can email me at MeaMail44@aol.com

Bear needs and deserves to find a home.

Thanks so much,
Jenny W

PS- If anyone knows someone that wants to adopt a ridiculous Chihuahua, he’s my foster boy. Do not believe the vicious rumors about him, he’s “selective” with who he likes. :o) http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12645530