Grateful

Today I am grateful for the people that step up for the merry misfits (Joa's Arc).

In order to save the special ones, Joa's Arc needs to have at least: an agreed upon commitment, a foster and/or the funds to do so. We don't always have all three, but love when people step up by offering to foster in our time of need... even when it leads to us committing only to find out the pet is already safe.

There's no shortage of pets in need though, so don't stop volunteering, friends :)

More Snow

This winter is just not giving up and though lots of people are soo over it, I love seeing the joy the dogs get every time they see it... well, most of the dogs like Pip! Here he is bouncing around in the snow we got while we are babysitting him. We let him out in the middle of the night (little body = little bladder) and he was just having one heck of a time bouncing around!

It was so cute to see our little Pip all grown up, but still pouncing like he did as a pup. Little did Pip know though that the snow had just started...

By the time the snow ended the next day, it was up to his belly and we needed to dig paths for Pip to use when going to the bathroom.

It definitely wasn't the most snow we've accumulated during our many winter storms this year, but it absolutely looked like a lot with such a little dog romping around in it.

Oh! And you know what was also a trip? Trying to dry him off! Apparently he hasn't outgrown the idea that a towel is a vicious, vicious beast he needs to terrify with growls and try his hardest to shake to death - talk about spicing up what should be a pretty simple task when going from outside to back inside.

a whole year

I have wanted to do little write ups on the fosters Matt and I have had this year because they each have seemed to come with these incredible lessons. It's truly amazing. As I ran down the list of dogs who we've fostered in 2013 though, each time I was a little bugged because there was just one dog out of all our fosters missing - Daphne.

Daphne was our first foster dog, but she was adopted in October 2012 - making her the only dog we have fostered that wasn't during 2013 (even Cordi, our 2nd foster pup who we started fostering in 2012, wasn't adopted until early 2013).

Perhaps fate heard my slight OCD tiny irritation about the timing? Perhaps things finally hit their tipping point in her adoptive home? Perhaps there was a lesson to still be learned?

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

In any case, with 2013 closing, Matt & I find ourselves fostering Daphne again.

Oh, Daphne...

There's not really much I want to say right now about Daphne and the whole thing with her being back with us. Quite honestly, enough has been said about her (not on my part) ... and very little of it has any relevance and even less of it seems to be true.

What I will say is:
- she's here
- we're taking our time (even though she knows our dogs, routines, etc)
- we're covering all bases
- she's doing f*cking fabulously!

Don't wanna jinx it...

I don't want to jinx it ... but this might by our (mine & Matt's) new foster (forever?) baby!!

This little girl is a 3 month old Goldendoodle that I came across on Facebook that needs rescuing. She is with a breeder right now who has bad intentions for her simply because of the fact she's not perfect. :(

Unfortunately (or fortunately for us!), this pup has a condition which will probably cause complete blindness at a very young age. It is in fact the same condition Kreacher the 4 earred kitten has. A real diagnosis is almost impossible until she's at least 6 months old though, so we'll be fostering her for a rescue until then to see if there's anything the rescue can do to correct her eyes.

Will keep you posted!

Savings Alerts & a donation to Petfinder.Com Foundation!

ePetSaver.com: Save money and save pets! We donate 5 percent of every purchase to pet charities.

I signed up for these deal alerts for pet products, which are 50% to 75% off, and EPetSaver made a donation to Petfinder.com Foundation. Check it out!

It's my birthday!

It's my birthday & I'm trying to raise funds for the rescue, Joa's Arc. This rescue helps special needs animals (3 legs, neurological issues, eye deformities, broken bones, partially paralyzed, etc) in shelters that couldn't usually help them due to their limited space and funds. Joa's Arc raises money for the surgeries these animals need, network to find them safety and even foster when necessary - it is a wonderful cause and organization!

Please consider donating to Joa's Arc for my special day or just to give yourself the warm fuzzy feeling of a good deed. Snail Mail address for checks and links for paypal (or FirstGiving) in the right tab here: Joa's Arc web blog

Caturday: Diamond Needs A Home

You might have seen this post on the Joa's Arc blog about trapping kitties in South Jersey. I was there that day and while trapping cats, we happened to catch this one absolutely beautiful girl ... long and lanky, she looked young: not a kitten, not an adult cat - but somewhere in between, that "awkward" stage that even cats experience. She was a brown and orange tabby (a "torbi" - a tabby, torti cat), the colors swirled around on her coat. I watched her creep up to the trap and the food inside slowly ... I was so excited when we caught her! That's when I saw her up close too and when I discovered she was even cuter... big eyes and a cute, little face. I gave her an exceptionally pretty name, as she deserved - Diamond.

Off the kitties went to be fixed the day after being trapped and while they were recovering, my friend Joan called me to say that Diamond was so cute, recovering well ... and did I want her ear tipped? Oh, Joan!!! I told her I would try to convince my mom about letting me try to socialize Diamond as she seemed like she was right on the edge of being friendly. My mom had gone trapping with us and had seen where the cats came from, she was more than happy for me to intake Diamond and see if we could find her a home instead of putting her back outside. When Joan called me back to see how the talk with my mom went, she informed me that Diamond was recovering in one of my loaned out carriers - that Joan sure knows a sucker (me) when she sees one, I guess.

I picked little Diamond up the next day and originally set her up on the porch in a cage. I figured I would give her a day or two to see if she was able to be worked with to be adopted out or if she was too scared/feral, in which case I decided we'd make her a barn cat since two sadly passed away during 2010 - Irish Momma of the garage cats and Tuxedo Cat of the back barn cats.

Needless to say with this post, Diamond is ready for a home! I think she'll need some time to open up in a home, but I can pick her up, I can love her, she purrs and she's playing all the time now. She's still caged and doesn't seek me out, but she's definitely not feral. She's beautiful and adorable and I think would make someone a wonderful cat if they were willing to put a little time into gaining her trust. She's already spayed, got her vaccinations and did I mention she's adorable?

If you know someone looking for a kitty, let them know Diamond is one special girl in need of a home!

Because this is too great NOT to share...

I should be working

It's not uncommon for a post of mine to be scheduled to pop up sometime while I'm working. However, this post is going up while I should be working ... and I'm not. Instead, I'm in my bath robe working on my resume and trying to decide what to do from here aside from "just move on" after being (insert gloomy, doomy music here) fired!

Yes, Thursday evening after my co-worker came in and I was no longer alone for hours like I had been in the morning, I was asked to follow my new manager and she led me into the E.D.'s office where the "controller" and another manager waited (not the E.D., by the way, which I found odd). From there, I can't really give you much reasoning or explanation. I was accused of "misrepresentation" ... which is outrageous.

(Insert quote from friend who wonderfully summed up the crazy/confusing situation:) "I did a google search for "misrepresent" and found this -
mis·rep·re·sent (ms-rpr-znt)
tr.v. mis·rep·re·sent·ed, mis·rep·re·sent·ing, mis·rep·re·sents
1. To give an incorrect or misleading representation of.
2. To serve incorrectly or dishonestly as an official representative of.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb 1. misrepresent - represent falsely; "This statement misrepresents my intentions"
belie
sentimentalize, sentimentalise - look at with sentimentality or turn into an object of sentiment; "Don't sentimentalize the past events"
distort, falsify, garble, warp - make false by mutilation or addition; as of a message or story
dissemble, feign, pretend, sham, affect - make believe with the intent to deceive; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache"
represent - serve as a means of expressing something; "The flower represents a young girl"
2. misrepresent - tamper, with the purpose of deception; "Fudge the figures"; "cook the books"; "falsify the data"
fudge, fake, falsify, wangle, manipulate, cook
chisel, cheat - engage in deceitful behavior; practice trickery or fraud; "Who's chiseling on the side?"
juggle - manipulate by or as if by moving around components; "juggle an account so as to hide a deficit"

So my question is this - HOW did you allegedly "misrepresent" the shelter?
Did you tell people they could get their car serviced there?
Did you embezzle the payroll?
Did you say you were Nancy Pelosi?
It would seem to me that a cause for firing should describe what that cause is."

I was then asked to sign some paper which in hind sight I regret signing. Who signs something they don't understand?! Well, me, I guess. I was accused, confused and shocked. Combine all that and I'll do just about anything you ask because I'm not sure what else to do to get away.

The "meeting" to fire me was ended with: "You know, we're not going to say anything about the circumstances involving this, so whatever is said is up to you."

The sugar on top of that final "You know, we're not going to say anything about the circumstances" statement was that the very next morning, all staff was paged to the front lobby where the controller announced that I was fired to everyone and why (which apparently confused everyone else as much as it did to me).

I'm confused, I’m angry, I'm hurt and I don't know where to go from here. I'm trying to look at this in a good way. I'm trying to acknowledge the fact I hated the politics/policies there and wanted out ... but not this way. :( Who wants to get quetionably fired and then bad mouthed? I'm trying to stick with this good motto (maybe some higher up's shoulda watched more Disney when they were little!)


I'm hoping this is for the best. I hope the people that know me (even a little) know better than to believe any of the "excuses" being given. That's all I can really do...

I found this quote when looking for some words of support: "Keeping a positive work attitude can be one of the most challenging things you do. Especially, when you are impacted by negative influences in the workplace. One of the ways to keep your attitude positive is to think of your work as your business. If it was your business and more importantly your money that was being put into the workplace how would you act, what would you do to make the workplace, the product or service better." I'm keeping those words in mind with my next job. Hopefully it'll be a more positive environment and, either way, there's always room for self improvement, right?

Caturday: Striper

I'm not sure my aunt loves any hobby more than fishing ... and for this reason, she has her own boat to go out in to fish. But this Caturday post isn't about fish - no, it's about a cat.

A cat who likes to rub up against my aunt ... and apparently, play in my aunt's boat. For this reason, I'm calling him Striper! Seems appropriate for an orange cat too. This boy sounds like an absolute sweetheart who not only has a lot of love to give, but also just can't get enough attention and love either! Why such a nice boy is still outside in this cold, well, that's out of my hands.

I mean, there are enough feral cats out there that we should feel bad for, right? And they don't like people, so it's not like they could happily live inside and be spoiled like this boy could. Not to mention, my aunt has three crazy Brittanys, so all she can really offer is food, fresh water and some beautiful (extra spacious) shelter from the weather (as is the job of an excellent feral cat caregiver), not the lap of luxury of an inside cat safe from disease, cars, bad weather and with things like windows to sun bathe in and beds to curl up on with you. Again, why such a nice boy is still outside in this cold...

Perhaps we should consider this Caturday post a guilt trip? :)

Tea Tuesday

- brew a cup
- take a sip
(- swallow that sip)
- inhale one good, cleansing breath

Consider me silly, but I've been known to believe (and say) that band-aids, tea and/or hugs are the cure-all for almost everything. Due to my love and the busy-ness of life between working for a non-profit, my dad's condition, living with family and the general stress of all this, this is my weekly reminder that I need to occasionally unwind and relax with one of my own cures for all sorts of woes - tea. Oh, feel free to post about any moment to yourself. I mean, coffee & hot chocolate lovers are welcomed as well, of course ;) Along with the people that pick up a book for a moment, snap a picture that just makes them smile or arrange the flowers on their table just to breathe them in.

This particular Tuesday is a beautiful day, so my dad is outside wandering around. I brewed a mix of loose black tea my friend purchased for me recently and put it over ice. I'm going to enjoy it iced while I can because soon enough it's going to be nothing but frigid all the time! There are days on and off even now where it's sweater and hot tea weather.

"He escorted Merck around the Bad Newz compound. she noticed things others had not." - Jim Gorant's The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs And Their Tale Of Rescue And Redemption
While I am taking most of this time to myself to catch up on blog posts, I'm reading too. I have several books going right now, but this is the one I keep picking up the most.

Tea Tuesday is reminder to you too, my friends and wanderers that found your way here. Remember that all the good you do won't get done if you're not around. So, take a minute to relax with me at some point today.

Dogs On Thursday - Workin Girl

I have a new job and have already received one pay check. I'm pretty excited! What does this have to do with Dogs On Thursday? Well, take a look at this photo...

Puppies!!! Oh my goodness, I got to hold the cutest little beagle mix puppy who had been in with her sister that day from SOS Beagle Rescue to be spayed at the low cost spay/neuter clinic in the building where I'm working now. The wonderful woman who came to pick them up after they woke from surgery that night was nice enough to let us hold the cute little puppies, the one I'm holding and her sister who was solid red and white (the little girl I held had more of a ticked/freckled coat). They were adorable and definitely "mixes" the rescuer said since their ears were much longer than a Beagle's should be ... I just think it made them that much cuter though. What do you think? :) Who can complain about a job with puppies, right??

In an odd doggy case, we actually only have a handful of dogs right now where I'm working too - which is quite unusual! We're not intaking any dogs either at this time. Why??? Well, we're getting brand new kennels! We're knocking down the old dog kennels and putting in brad new ones which will be great for all the future dogs that come into the shelter I'm working at now. You can check out all the cool details here. Construction is suppose to start in the next week or two so hopefully by mid-April we'll be packed with dogs again in brand new, wonderful kennels piping them soft tunes to keep them calm.

Some people!!

I overheard a woman say today that she heard an "old wives' tale" that to keep her cat from getting fat, she should allow the cat to have a litter of kittens. Are you kidding me?! If nothing else, finding several kittens homes (because cats aren't already dying all the time from over population) is better than perhaps a slightly pudgy adult cat?!!

So, following this old wives' tale because they're always so true!, this woman formulated a plan! To ensure her cat would not get fat like this woman heard her cat would, she tempted a male cat into their house ... and then locked her cat and the male stray up in the bedroom. Oh my gawd!!!!

Dogs On Thursday - Thank You

What an absolutely tragedy: Killing of shelter animals in Houston raises uproar ~ "Houston police shot and killed all eight remaining cats and dogs lodged at the city's Animal Protection and Safety shelter on Tuesday"...

No this isn't very "new" and it's not strictly about dogs, but I had to find a place to post it somewhere. Absolutely awful that this happened, let a lone in such a brutal manner. I also had to find the place to agree with another fellow blogger in what she had to say as well: "It's not so easy to actually stand up and do that thing. In this economy. In a small town. In a remote state. But this person did it. Whoever you are, I say thank you."

Not Me Monday - A New Year

It was the fabulous (and famous) MckMama that started the idea of Not Me! Monday. Head over to MckMama’s blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing (but really have!).

Let's start this new year and new Not Me Monday off on a good note (or a few)...

Who didn't hastily, physically retaliate after getting randomly & brutally attacked, but instead showed patience, tolerance and respect for the law by simply pressing assault charges? Patience? Not me!
Who finally adopted out her foster kitten to the purrfect person? Oh, not me... Congrats, Olive and her new mom! Hope things work out wonderfully!
Who started a "gratitude journal and, so far, for every single day of the new year has faithfully filled in things I'm thankful for? Wow! That couldn't be me, could it?!
Who will be celebrating and remembering her aunt tomorrow, the day of her passing 8 years ago? Not me!
Who jumped with glee and considered getting it signed in blood when I was told I'd soon be allowed to foster a dog again sometime soon? Oh no, not me!

Yay! For me and all these "not me" things I did. Expect more sarcastic entries, but for now I thought a positive note was important.

Be good, my friends & readers.

New Year's Eve

Someone randomly, violently and for no good reason hurt me. I'm not sure how much I can write here because I'm pressing charges against this person. Paranoid me is worried if I post too much, I'll get myself in trouble OR if a buddy of this crazy girl this person comes across this and there's too much posted, she'll take it to twist around. Check out the heel prints I have on my shoulder now from getting kicked in the back of the head while I was lying down...


Here is what I will say though: I hope the incident that happened on new year's eve was the "cherry on top" of a horrific year (getting my dad's diagnosis, losing my job, moving back home and everything those things combined have forced me to deal with). I am thankful for my friends, will not let the bad outweigh the good of the night and I remain hopeful for the new year ... but I'm not considering it a "new year" until the wounds from that night are gone. Expect delayed resolutions until then as well.

On another note, I got the comment from my mom yesterday that we're going to put up new fencing out the side door and when we do ... I can get a foster dog! Wahoo!!! Warm up a few days, Mother Nature, so we can get posts in the ground and I can save another life, please!

Too Lazy Tuesday: Pets Good For Kids!

Here's my Too Lazy (Distract) Tuesday post for this week...

Down To Earth blog recently posted something that I thought applied well here in this blog:
There are many medical studies around now that assure us that exposing children to pets and normal household dirt is good for them. It builds up the immune system and allows the body to naturally develop antibodies that fight those germs. Back a few years, when I was growing up, and even when my boys were young in the 1980s it was common for children to play out side. Out there, among the dirt, bugs and grass stains, not only were they having fun swinging on ropes and riding bikes, they were building bone strength, muscle tissue and healthy immune systems.

Ok, sure, animals are only mentioned a little bit, but still - a valuable post all the same, I believe. Let's take that into the new year, folks: animals are actually GOOD for children as is fresh air, playing and some dirt & germs. Though we want to protect the next generation from as much as possible, we don't want to harm them in the process. Having a pet not only teaches humane treatment and responsibility, but promotes a more healthy immune system too.

Check out the whole thing here.

A Day For The Birds

Recently, I've been trying to figure out the best tattoo for my dad. Aside from my paw prints, my other 3 have meanings attached to my Aunt Jean. Focusing on figuring out what would be a great design for my dad has been something to distract me from the way we're losing him. I've come up with all types of ideas - "The Tree of Life" symbol (I have Chinese symbols and a Mayan calendar symbol tattooed on me now), this really neat picture I found with a tree in all 4 seasons, the leaf of a japanese thread leaf (one of his favorite trees), etc. There's only one I keep coming back to... feathers.

My dad is crazy about bald eagles: he has clocks with them on them, pictures, even a nutcracker and, once sick, one of the things he stole (and we had to return) was the weather vain off the house he grew up in - which just happened to have a bald eagle on top of it. He also loves red tail hawks (me too) and constantly points them out when we see them while driving. So, the feathers of those large birds makes the most sense to me ... but finding photos of feathers seems impossible on the internet. Most are just feathers people painted to look like those of these birds. So, I emailed out a bunch of people hoping for some photos: bird clubs, photographers, rehabilitaters, etc. Everyone was very kind, but one woman, Terri, was local and nice enough to invite me out to the wildlife rehabilitation center she works for: Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. What a trip!!

I'm bad with names and that goes for birds too, but I believe it was Aldora. I could be wrong. I can tell you for sure though that Terri was nice enough to hold on to this big guy so I could take some photos of him (I plan on framing some good ones for dad too). I want to say he was hit by a car (again, the foggy memory - I'm going to guess it was a bad meds day - stupid epilepsy of mine!) and it severely damaged his left eye - you can see a photo of it below. He was so handsome!!! I don't think I can say that enough. :) He was also apparently extra heavy. Terri took him to get a weight and he was 1500+ grams when apparently his max weight has been about 14oo grams or so in the winter. That's a big boy ... um, perhaps we can use the holiday season as an extra for the extra weight?? :) Whatever the case, he wears it well and Terri was nice enough to tolerate holding him for awhile. She was really nice.

My friend Beka was nice enough to meet me at the center that day to get some pictures herself and we were lucky enough to meet some other birds before they were put away, like this gorgeous owl. Look at those eyes! Too cute. His name is Squam and he is a Barred Owl. Terri tells me that Barred Owls have been on NJ's threatened list since the 1940's when we began to development their habitats of old growth forests.

Beka and I wandered around for a bit after meeting some of the birds and we took some more pictures of the other birds we saw there along the trails. Did you know bald eagles make the weirdest noise?! Well, it's true! The one started making this noise that sounded like a pig!! The photos below with the gloved hands holding the birds are the birds we were lucky enough to meet. The other photos involved trying to not get the cages in the photo shots and some cropping skills when I got home. The whole time we were there was really nice and a lot of fun, even though it was a little chilly out that day. Then again, of course I loved it - it was rescue in a whole new way that I haven't have the privledge of participating in yet. :) Check out more photos from our time there...









The other bird we met, Killy, an American Kestrel. They have recently been placed on the endangered list due to habitat development...



I highly encourage you to check our Cedar Run's virtual tour and consider making a trip there. I know I'm going to head back some time with my friend, Robin, at least who was excited for me to be going there. Cedar Run has trails to walk along, so many animals to see and a great deal of information. They seem to be a wonderful, wonderful non-profit.

"Play Date"

In need of new pictures of Nennee, and an excuse to see friends, I snatched up my little foster kitten Olive and headed off to Smithy's for a "play date" with her critter crew.

Well, Olive wasn't too thrilled, she pretty much jumped up on to a little desk that my purse was on and did not move from there our entire visit - not angry or upset or "unsocial", she just preferred to watch everyone from a place they couldn't really get to her. Silly girl ... well, at least Olive didn't eat anyone or bolt up the steps and under a bed never to be seen again.

In other news from the visit:
- the food was great (Suzie AKA Momma Cat agrees. She licked a lot of the sauce off of the gnocchis while we were in the living room)
- Smithy's foster bunnies are adorable. I took photos for her so she can post them for adoption. Spike who seemed great before and after with them did have one incident - I'm not sure who started it, but I walked in on one leaping, bouncing, attacking bunny and a spinning, nipping Spike. They promptly separated. I'm blame Spike, but this also happened to be the one bunny that Smithy said got "weird" when left out too long alone.
- Nennee is adorable. Absolutely adorable. What a brat ... but too cute!
- My feelings towards Smithy's two newest pets (Ben & Jerry - the rats) are still out. While I held them when I first met them and won't deny that they're pretty cute, one of them bit Smithy recently. She claimed mistaken identity and that it was her fault for giving them treats through the cage, but I don't buy it. Rats will not be the next pet I'm fawning over.

Pictures to come...

Dogs In The Road

Straight from my twitter account: "Ah from laughing over the horny blues to chasing down stray dogs, my life is rarely that boring"

True story! We'll make this a "Dogs On Thursday" post cause it works and I haven't been able to post it until now ... oh and we're also going to completely neglect the back story on "the blues" because unless you were in the car, it'll make very little sense.

Well, after a couple glasses of wine (we were only goin to have one, but then the too sweet woman that owns the bar bought us another round), watching T's little brother's roller hockey team and laughing until my sides hurt, we were headed back to T's at the end of the night when all of a sudden ... myself and the two ladies I'm in the car with are shrieking - there's something in the road! Tan - not a deer with those floppy ears though - a dog! It's a dog! A blood hound, to be exact. And it slowly gets out of our way ... when we see another on the side of the road. T continue driving as this is not the best town, let alone at midnight, and we're still in shock.

T lives about 10 blocks down the road, in a different town, and I've already decided I'm going back to get those dogs. Not sure what I'll do from there, but they're not staying in the road! I take my nice rings off to stuff them in my bra (again, not a good area and I'd just decided to start wearing a very nice, VERY expensive heirloom), call a friend to see if she can find the number for the local animal control and get in my car ... T's going to follow me, and Ali too since it's on her way home anyway.

As I'm calling T to see if we're back in the same general area we saw them, I see the hound in the damn road again. It's about midnight and the only reason these dogs haven't been hit is because they're outside a shopping mart with LOTS of lights in the parking lot and spilling out into the road. The hound comes right up to us, the other dog (a smaller German Shepherd) has slipped under a fence and into someone's yard. I think this is about the time Ali leaves - she's afraid of big dogs. T on the other hand has gotten out of her car and has been standing with me and the hound. While I call 911, the hound also wanders away and into the yard.

Nice police officers show up and the one wanders over to the house to knock on the door and ask the home owner if they're his dogs that just wandered into his yard - they are. He pulled off the bottom part of his fencing earlier to clean the leaves out of his yard and hadn't put it back yet. I guess there wasn't enough time after vainly cleaning up leaves to ensure his dogs wouldn't be able to get under the fence and hit by a car. Geez!

Dogs inside, owner aware the police know he's got a fencing problem, T and I get back into our cars as she yells out goodnight and she's done her good deed of the week. :)