Tag Archives: rescues

11 posts to read to your dog…

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… or you know, to have your dog read to you. (Seriously though, if your dog can read to you, please send video footage. I’d like to be your manager.)

Anyway, It’s time for another monthly roundup. Here are eleven posts that made me smile during the month of October:

  1. Guest Post: Why I Approved 1 Border Collie’s Adoption to 1 Particular Family from Champion of My Heart – I love the idea behind this post, and I love hearing how it all began.
  2. Jemma, The Ohio Puppy Mill Chihuahua, Rescued and Healed! from Dog House Adoptions – Success stories always warm the cockles of my heart, whatever those are. (Anyone? Bueller?)
  3. Favorite Video Friday – Sheltie Puppy Zoomies from No Dog About It – The cuteness. It is too much. I swoon.
  4. Adopt a Shelter Dog Month: My Favorite Videos – from Talking Dogs – Take that, Sarah McLachlan. You’re not ruining my day.
  5. If Dogs Wrote Advice Columns from Something Wagging This Way Comes – Tavish would probably just advise me to give him a treat.

    via giphy.com

  6. Bark & Bites – Dog Baby Decor from My Life in Blog Years – Would it be weird if I made it my decor too? I mean, I’m just saying…
  7. Our trip home – A Journey to Adoption from Wag the Dog UK – A sweet tale, for sure. I love a happy ending.
  8. The Story of How I Rescued Jen from Rumpydog – Do you ever wonder how your dogs would tell this story about you?
  9. Oh Lord, My Water Broke from Heart Like a Dog – It’s not what you think.
  10. Funny Bone Monday, 44 – the Llama Edition from the Jones Natural Chews blog – All I can think about is The Emperor’s New Groove. That is not a bad thing.
  11. Service Dog Training: The Things a Dog Trainer Learns from Her Dogs from Smart Dog University – What do you learn from your dogs?

Did I miss any of your favorites? Share them in the comments!

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Senior dogs rock: Maturity is totally underrated

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It’s time for your weekly linkage. I’ve chosen today’s theme for one simple reason. Senior dogs rock.

  1. First up, your punny pet names: Lickey Rooney and Ben Catlock.
  2. This month, I’m doing a series of posts about senior pets on the Grouchy Puppy blog. Head on over and check out my first post to find out how an old dog can teach you some new tricks.
  3. These dogs with old man faces are awesome, as are the accompanying Sanka and Matlock references.
  4. I’m loving these photos of senior dogs across America from Nancy LeVine.
  5. This is slightly off topic, but I don’t care. History is old. This Animals From History ebook looks amazing. (There are puns!) I want to hang prints of the illustrations around my house. It would totally class up the joint.
  6. These vintage art dogs are also pretty great.

Finally, I give you today’s video. This mature dog is pretty charming, don’t you think?

In case you missed it, here’s what else we were up to on the blog this week:

Oh, and don’t forget to swing by Kol’s Notes to enter to win a cool custom pet portrait from AJ Emm!

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Adopt your very own unicorn…

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…or, you know, a dog named Unicorn. But you can call her Corny. (I can relate. I’m pretty corny myself.)

In any event, the following video is rated U for Unicorn.

I didn’t quite get the weird dude at the end, but what can you do? It’s not like I’ve gone out and made my own parody adoption video, after all. He’s still coming out ahead of Sarah McLachlan. Humor always wins over soul-crushing depression.

Speaking of unicorns, I wish that Corny had rocked a unicorn costume somewhere in there. Thank goodness that my other favorite Bella has anticipated my needs. She knew what I needed before I even knew myself.

Also, speaking of being corny… thanks to those of you who totally appreciate my special brand of rambling nonsense. To you I say…

via giphy.com

Hope you had a great Halloween… I’m off to celebrate by watching a few of my favorite specials! (The dogs are not in costume, but they’ll more than make up for that at our Christmas card shoot.) Unicorn wishes and rainbow dreams, my friends…

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Eat pie. Help dogs. And people.

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I like pie.

I like helping dogs.

I like helping people.

I never dared to dream that I would able to combine these three interests into one activity. The pie piece (feel free to groan) always threw me off. However, someone out there has solved this puzzle. Now, you can eat pie that helps puppies and people.

Fun fact: Generosity pie (as opposed to humble pie) totally has no calories.*

If you buy a Thanksgiving pie (or you know, a Tuesday pie – why should we limit pie to holidays?) using this link, you can benefit two charities at once! City Dogs Rescue in DC is selling pies to support Food & Friends, another DC charity. The mission of Food & Friends is “to foster a community caring for men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses by preparing and delivering specialized meals and groceries in conjunction with nutrition counseling.”

The proceeds from the pie sales go to help Food & Friends support people in need. In addition, for each pie that City Dogs Rescue sells, Friendship Hospital for Animals has generously offered to give CDR over $20 in free vet services.

So, as you can see, eating pie allows you to help both people and pets. If I’m doing my math right, that means that you’re actually required to eat pie now. Such a sacrifice. We’ll get through it together, okay?

Eat pie. Help dogs.

Pies start at $25 and can be picked up at over thirty locations in DC, Maryland, and Virginia on Tuesday, November 26, 2013. If you don’t live in the area (or don’t like pie for some confusing reason**), you can even order your pie to be donated to a Food & Friends client for the holidays. Click here or on the photo above to order.

I’ve volunteered with Food & Friends in the past, and it’s truly an amazing organization. I’ve dabbled in volunteer blogging for City Dogs Rescue too, and they’re also pretty rad. (I can’t believe I just used that word. I’m so tragically unhip these days.) So, get out there and order some pies. You can never have too much pie.

*This is not really a fact, although it’s still fun.

**I am puzzled by your very existence. What did pie ever do to you?

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#BtC4A: Turning shelter dogs into social butterflies?

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Blog the ChangeIt’s time for yet another edition of Blog the Change for Animals. This time around, I thought I’d talk about dog socialization and the ways in which shelter dogs can benefit from being socialized. Sometimes, socialization at the shelter can make a huge difference in the life of a dog.

I was inspired to write about this topic today because of a program that’s currently going on at Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA), a local no-kill shelter (and the reason I have a Tavish snoring by my side). FOHA has started play groups for some of the dogs – they get together weekly to work on socialization.  The play groups often result in fun videos like this one:

I love that FOHA focuses on dog socialization. It’s a great way to get the dogs out of their runs and to let them learn how to interact with people and other dogs in a relaxed setting. While this type of group might not work for every dog, it can help prepare some dogs for their future adoptive families. Structured play groups can enrich the lives of dogs while they are in the shelter. In addition, these type of groups can be useful for training and assessment. Finally, they can give shelters a chance to show off some of their adoptable pups having fun and being adorable (like the dogs in the video above).

I’m far from an expert on this issue, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you have any experience with shelter play groups? Would you be interested in implementing this sort of program at your local shelter? For more information about play groups, check out Playing for Life!, a training and behavior program focused on this issue.

I’m not the only one blogging the change for animals today. Check out these other great posts:

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Calling all DC/northern Virginia dogs: #Barktoberfest is this Saturday!

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Are you a dog? Do you have a dog? Do you like dogs? How about cats? Do you live in the DC/northern Virginia area? Do you enjoy seeing dogs in costume? Do you like fun? If your answer to any of those questions is yes, then I’ve got an event for you…

(As an aside, if your answer to my first question is yes… I’m intrigued. How did you end up on my website? Obviously, you have learned to use a computer, so maybe you can also write emails? If so, let’s chat. I have much to ask you, dog genius.)

Anyway… if you’re in the DC/northern Virginia area, get out your calendar and pencil in plans for Saturday. Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) is hosting its annual fall festival – Barktoberfest – this Saturday, September 28! Join FOHA at the Loudoun County Fairgrounds in Leesburg from 10am to 5pm. Continue reading →

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How can taking a photo save a life?

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I happened to see that Seth Casteel, the photographer behind Underwater Dogs and the founder of Second Chance Photos, was featured on Buzzfeed last month.  Through Second Chance Photos, Seth works with shelters and rescue groups to improve the quality of their photos in order to help more animals get adopted.

The cult of personality: I Still Want More Puppies

Just a goofy, lovable “shelter dog” (now adopted)

I’ve been a big fan of Seth’s work since 2011, when I had the chance to attend one of Seth’s workshops and to interview him for this blog. Since I last featured Seth on the blog, some big things have happened. In addition to Underwater Dogs being featured everywhere (it seems), Seth has partnered with Greater Good, The Animal Rescue Site, The Petfinder Foundation and John Paul Pet to inspire others to save lives through grooming and photography. Check out the campaign at One Picture Saves a Life.

Finally, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite quotes from my interview with Seth:

There is a great picture for every dog – you just have to find a way to figure out what that picture is.

If you try to force a photo shoot on a fearful dog, the photos are going to be negative. Try to understand what the fear is – the camera? you? the world? At some point, you may just have to put on a long lens and hide in the bushes.

The work you do will save lives. It may not always be easy, but shelter pets need your help. Be patient. Be dedicated. Shelter pets do not have a voice, but you can give them one.

If you’d like to read my full interview with Seth, check out Part I and Part II. If you’re interested in finding out what I learned when I attended Seth’s workshop, click here.

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If our pets ever learn to read, we’re all in big trouble…

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You know, if our pets could read what we say about them online, they might be both flattered and horrified. After all, we sometimes share their most embarrassing moments on the Internet for all to see.

I’m pretty sure that if Bella and Tavish could type, they’d start a blog about me in retaliation. I shudder to think of the photos they would post for Wordless Wednesday. (They’re cute when they sleep, but I’m a drooling mess.)

someecards.com - I wonder if my cat would think I'm too clingy if it ever saw how many of its pictures are on my Facebook page.

via someecards.com

Let’s just all be thankful that our pets can’t read, okay? Here are a few posts that made me smile in the month of July. Feel free to read them aloud to your illiterate pets:

  1. True Love from BZ Training – I’m pretty sure Bella’s true love is the air vent in our bedroom. I’m not sure about Tavish though.
  2. The Unbearable Cuteness of Being Free from Chronicles of Cardigan – An overload of amazing (and amusing) photos.
  3. 10 Funniest Reasons To Not Let Your Dog Go Along In Your Car This Summer from Something Wagging This Way Comes – I’ve often wished that my dog would count when I want to take the HOV lane.
  4. Get the ducks in a row from Rumblebum – The captions had me giggling like a fool. I’m okay with that.
  5. Accommodating Your Dog’s Feelings: I’m Just Going Out With The Garbage, Honey from Dawg Business – The things we do for our beloved pups…
  6. 10 Things My Anxious Dog Does That I Wish Were Socially Acceptable for Me to Do from A Brave Face – I’m especially keen on numbers 4 and 7.
  7. Favorite Friday Video – Best Friends, Border Collie Style from No Dog About It – I adore this video!
  8. Abandon All Hope, Ye Dog Toys Who Enter Here from Tales and Tails – Oh no, Mr. Bill… for the love of dog, oh no!
  9. My day as a dog from 24 Paws of Love – Not a bad idea at all.
  10. I Vow to My Foster Dog from Dog House Adoptions – Are you ready to say “I do”? (As to why this has resulted in me serenading the pups with Madonna, I do not know. “Cherish is the word I use to remind me of… your love.”)
  11. How do we benefit from loving an older dog? from Grouchy Puppy – As I’ve said before, senior dogs rock!

Did I miss any of your favorite posts from last month? It happens – although I’d like to do nothing but read all the blogs, that pesky job thing gets in the way. Also, as I mentioned above, it’s not like the pups can help by reading a few for me.  Anyway, feel free share your favorite July posts in the comments so that we can all enjoy them!

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20 posts you should read right now (instead of doing that whole job thing)

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It’s time for another monthly roundup! May was full of fantastic posts. I’ve pulled together a list of twenty that I really enjoyed, but I easily could have kept going. Stop being so awesome, pet bloggers.

Anyway, here are some posts that will likely prove more fun than doing your job, unless your job happens to involve lying in the grass while being licked by puppies.

(If that is your job, please contact me. I would like to send you my resume. Said resume will just include a video of me getting licked by Tavish and a portfolio of dog photos. The video portion will kind of look like this:

Sort of a slo-mo Tavish: I Still Want More Puppies

via giphy.com

However, Tavish is nowhere near this calm about it, reinforcing the entry on my resume that says I have advanced skills in dog licking acceptance.)

Moving on… let’s get back to those blog posts I mentioned. Continue reading →

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