Tag Archives: puppies

Adorable adoptables in Northern Virginia: Alice & Ernie

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Every Sunday I’ll be featuring adoptable pets from local rescue groups.  This week, I’ll be sharing adorable adoptables from Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) and A Forever Home Rescue Foundation (A Forever Home).

November is Adopt-a-Senior-Pet Month, so I’ve got some lovely senior pets to share with you today.  You know I think that senior pets rock, so let’s find them some homes!

First up, meet Alice!  This Beagle/Dachshund mix is approximately 8 years old.   Here’s her bio from A Forever Home:

“Hi, my name is Alice. I am beagle/dachshund mix. I am housebroken,
crate trained and moderately active. My favorite past time is spending
time with my foster mom and my foster sister who I am laying with in the
picture. She says I am an angel because I don’t chew on anything and
she can trust me when I am out of her site. I am not good with young
children as they make me nervous so I would do best in a home with no
children under 12 years of age. I prefer to be the only pet so I can
get all the hugs and kisses. I walk nicely on a leash and am not a big
barker.”

If you have lots of hugs and kisses for Alice, visit A Forever Home for more information or email Info@aforeverhome.org.  To view the other pets available for adoption at A Forever Home, click here.

A Forever Home also has a weekly adoption event at the PetCo in Chantilly.  For the address and to find out more info, click here. 
(If you have your eye on a specific pet, please email for information
first – not all pets will be at the weekly event.  However, there are a
lot of awesome pets in need of homes, so if you’re in the neighborhood,
stop by and meet some of them!)

Up next, meet Ernie!  Ernie is one of the wonderful dogs I met when I took photos at FOHA.  Here’s his bio from FOHA:

Ernie 22
“Sweet Ernie is losing his sight and hearing and would truly benefit
from a quieter environment. He was one of many stray dogs who end up on
the PTS list in a rural pound. His rescuer said that he would dig holes
and sleep in the corners of the pen instead of sleeping in his house, as
if he had no concept of shelter. He even had to learn to eat out of a
bowl.

FOHA must seem like Heaven to Ernie. He has shelter, heat in the
winter, a/c in the summer, nutritious food, a full water bowl, a bed,
and TLC from his favorite volunteers. But we know Ernie’s life could be
even better if he had a family and home to call his own.

Ernie loves going for walks. He is great on the leash and pretty
low-energy. After all, he is in his twilight years. Ernie is very
affectionate and would make a great addition to any family.

Ernie 24
Ernie has won the hearts of the volunteers with his mild manners and
trusting personality, won’t you give him the chance to win your heart
too? Email Cheryl at fosteradog@foha.org.”

If Ernie sounds like the guy for you, visit Friends of Homeless Animals for more information, call 703-385-0224 or email doginfo@foha.org.  To see the other dogs (or cats) available for adoption at FOHA, please click here.

Do you have room in your home (and your heart) for one of these pups?  Then contact A Forever Home or FOHA.  If you know someone else who might be in the market for an awesome companion, please share this post.


Bios and photo of Alice used with permission from A Forever Home.  Photos of Ernie by me.
 

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Please tell me I’m not the only one who remembers this stuff…

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Today’s links are even more random than usual, if that’s possible. Full disclosure: I considered doing a Twilight theme.  The punny names were especially easy – though I would not be surprised if someone already has a pet named Robert Cattinson.  (Yup. Someone beat me to it.)

Anyway, although I am going to see Breaking Dawn tonight (I didn’t love the book, but I can’t resist a movie night), I decided to spare you from my other puns (such as Edward Seagullen).  You’re welcome for the random linkage instead…

  1. First up, your punny pet name: Meowrice Sendak.
  2. Time for a little shameless self-promotion – I posted a new recipe on the cupcake blog!
  3. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, crack open a dog beer and let’s get to the fun stuff.
  4. The other day I wrote a guest post for My Brown Newfies inspired by Where the Wild Things Are. The Internet has returned the favor – it’s where the wild pugs are!
  5. So, I remember when Passions had that weird talking doll. (Anyone else? I didn’t watch that particular soap opera, but I would occasionally pass it when channel surfing and get creeped out.)  It appears that one soap opera has decided to top that storyline – it’s a talking dog trying to convince a talking baby to hand over some hidden paternity test results.  (Don’t worry, I’ll give you a few minutes to read that completely bonkers sentence a few more times.)
  6. In other “things no one else probably remembers” news, 2gether (MTV’s parody boy band from the ’90s) is considering a reunion. U plus me equals us, baby.  (Calculus.)
  7. Speaking of TV… I’m not normally one to share ads, but I giggle whenever I see this Microsoft ad.  After all, I was the type of kid who would have happily made a
    PowerPoint presentation about why I needed a dog.  (I’m also reminded of
    Marshall’s chart and graph obsession on How I Met Your Mother.  I can totally relate.)
  8. Bonus graph: things I associate with Sarah McLachlan. (Thank goodness for the series of non-depressing pet adoption videos from Will My Dog Hate Me, right?)

Continuing with the advertising theme… this FedEx ad featuring dominoes, a goose wearing a bow tie, and an adorable puppy is pure awesome:



(via Best Week Ever)

I mean, it’s not catvertising, but it’ll do…

That’s all I’ve got for you today.  Also, don’t forget to vote for The Old Dog House in the Pepsi Refresh Project once a day until November 30… it’s a wonderfully simple way to help senior dogs.

Have a great weekend!

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Help senior dogs by voting for The Old Dog House

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I have a treat for you today… a guest post from my pal Chandra of Daley’s Dog Years, a fantastic blog about senior dog life.  Enjoy!

Every day of the year, amazing humans known as animal rescuers save the lives of homeless senior dogs. November is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month, offering all of us who know and love senior animals an opportunity to pitch in by encouraging adopters to choose a grey muzzle. Today, I’m thrilled to share an additional way this month that you can help homeless senior dogs, with just one click of your computer mouse per day!

The Old Dog House, a nonprofit senior dog rescue and sanctuary in Jacksonville, Florida is currently in the running for $25,000 in funding from the Pepsi Refresh Project.

When older dogs find themselves homeless, their health and wellness needs have often been neglected and those issues contribute to the several months time it can take for senior dogs to get adopted. The Old Dog House is seeking $25,000 in funding to build a warm water therapy pool on its property, a fantastic idea for the health and wellness of the dogs in its care.

The project directly speaks to The Old Dog House’s mission to rehome the senior dogs it rescues and rehabilitates. “A warm water therapy pool will give the dogs the opportunity to exercise without any impact on their joints, allowing muscle development and improving overall health,” writes Kim Siegmund Stordahl, president of The Old Dog House. “If we’re funded, we will share the wealth with other rescue groups in our community by allowing them to utilize the pool for their dogs.”

Meet Sam, one of the residents

Currently, the closest warm water therapy pool is a two-hour drive away so a win for The Old Dog House is a win for all senior dogs in the area—in addition to those in local rescue, The Old Dog House would like to make the pool available to senior dogs in the community.

So how do we help make this great project idea a reality? Vote every day, through November 30, online here or text the code 109539 to Pepsi (73774). Each day you have five votes to spread among all the great ideas up for funding!

Seven times a year, people and organizations submit their project ideas to the Pepsi Refresh Project. The ideas are organized into categories and voted on by funding amount—$5,000, $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000. The Old Dog House’s idea is in the “We Heart Animals” section of the $25,000 Communities category.

Muttley, another one of the adorable residents

Only the project ideas voted into the top 15 slots in each category are eligible for funding. Right now, the Old Dog House’s project idea is ranked #32 in its funding category so we need your vote and those of all your friends!

Learn more about The Old Dog House at its site here and find it on Facebook here. Currently, The Old Dog House has nine dogs in its care—three permanent residents due to physical/medical issues, five adoptables and one who will be available for adoption once medical issues are treated. See all their adorable photos here.

Photo caption quoted from The Old Dog House:

“Every dog at The Old Dog House is viewed and treated as part of the family. We do not have kennels, runs, or cages, rather they live in a true home environment with all of the comforts of home. Since establishing the rescue in 2006, foster homes, besides our own, have been few and far between, limiting the number of older and senior dogs we are able to help. So, we did a little brainstorming and turned our attention to our old, dilapidated 1930’s detached garage. The only thing it was housing was bugs and some moving boxes! In 2010, down it came and in its place stands The Old Dog House, equipped with all the comforts of a home – heating and air conditioning, a bathroom, cable TV, WIFI, radiant heat floor (yes, it does get cold in Jacksonville!!), stereo, couch with a chaise lounge – well, you get the idea! We can comfortably house 4-6 dog-friendly dogs in The Old Dog House. Also, it is a comfortable place for volunteers to come hang out with The Old Dogs to keep them happy and socialized.”

Thanks to Chandra for sharing this great cause.  I’m heading over to vote for The Old Dog House right now.  How about you?

 

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Weight Loss with a Wag Blog Tour

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I have a real treat for you today… my pal Peggy Frezon, the author of Dieting with My Dog, has offered me the chance to ask her a few questions as part of the “Weight Loss with a Wag” blog tour.  Fun, right?

Before we dive into the questions, I’ll share some quick background.  Peggy has written a book called Dieting With My Dog: One Busy Life, Two Full Figures, and Unconditional Love.  I know I’ve had my own struggles with weight, although I never stopped to think about how that could affect Bella.  Peggy’s book is definitely food for thought (pun totally intended).  She muses, “Were my bad habits causing my dog to gain weight too?”  It’s a great question.

However, it’s more than a book about weight loss – it’s about a journey that Peggy and her pup Kelly took together and the bond that they have.  I couldn’t wait to ask Peggy some questions about the book.  Read on, friend…


1. What inspired you to write this book? 
When Kelly’s vet told me that she needed to lose weight or she’d be at risk
for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and more…I realized,
I’d heard all those same warnings from my own doctor. I also realized
that there was a connection between overweight pets and overweight pet
parents, and many others were struggling the same as I was. I hope the
book will inspire others who want to get fit with their dog.

 

2. What is your biggest weight loss challenge? 
Probably exercise. I just don’t really enjoy running, dancing, lifting,
pedaling… and I’ve found that I have to keep doing it, and keep
working harder, in order to keep the weight off.

 

3. What did you find to be the most challenging part of the writing process? 
The writing part is easy, and I was lucky enough to get an agent right
away. Then came the long process of finding a publisher. This is
a difficult time in the publishing industry, with a shift toward ebooks,
and no one quite knowing how that is all going to fall, so editors are
skittish about taking new, unproven authors. I was lucky and my book was
accepted by an awesome publisher of great dog books.

 

4.  Do you have any tips for dieting with an older dog? 
Kelly is 9 so I guess she’s considered a senior now. I think it is always
important to have your vet check them over to make sure there are no
underlying problems that might contribute to weight gain. Next, I think
it’s important to know their limitations physically. Some older dogs
tire easily or have joints that hurt to walk and run. I think finding
the best, low fat, good nutrition food for your senior dog (whether you
prefer home made or commercial) will really help best in weight loss.
Also of course, healthy snacks like carrots and bananas.

 

5. Finally, a slightly off-topic question… what’s your favorite TV show? (You know I’m a pop culture junkie.)
Fun! Ok this is going to sound like I watch way too much TV!  I assume you
mean currently running TV.  I think 30 Rock is my favorite. No, Big Bang
Theory. Wait, I mean Modern Family. Parenthood. Wait!  I love Gordon
Ramsey! Ok, ok, do I have to admit it? I really enjoy Survivor.

Thanks again to Peggy for giving me the chance to interview her.  (Also, no shame on that TV answer… if I told you how many I watch, you’d think I do nothing else.)

You can learn more about Peggy’s book by following the “Weight Loss With A Wag” blog tour – so fun! You can also like Dieting with my Dog on Facebook.

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Adorable adoptables in northern Virginia: Dulci & Elizabeth

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Every Sunday I’ll be featuring adoptable pets from local rescue groups.  In particular, I’ll be sharing adorable adoptables from the Humane Society of Fairfax County (HSFC) and A Forever Home Rescue Foundation (A Forever Home).

November is Adopt-a-Senior-Pet Month, so I’ve got some lovely senior pets to share with you today.  You know I think that senior pets rock, so let’s find them some homes!

First up, meet Dulci!  This cute cat is approximately 9 years old.  Here’s her bio from HSFC:

“Very playful. Would make a great friend for another cat that needs a ‘perpetual kitten’ playmate. Likes to sleep on the foot of the bed or
your feet at night. Other than ‘hard play,’ her favorite past time is
eating!”

 

Think this perpetual kitten is for you?  If so, visit the HSFC website for more information.  To view the other pets available for adoption at HSFC, click here.

Up next, meet Elizabeth!  This Chow Chow mix is approximately 11 years old and weighs 36 pounds.   Here’s her bio from A Forever Home:

“Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I am looking for a new home. AFH rescued
me from an awful life where I had to live outside all of the time. No
one really cared about me when I lived outside and I developed heartworm
and had all sorts of infections and parasites. The doctor said I have
the worst arthritis that he has ever seen. All of my infections are now
gone. My heartworm has been treated and I have been eating good food so
I look and feel much better. I would love to live in a home with
carpet so I can walk around and follow my mom or dad or go into the
other rooms to check things out.

Oh, I am supposed to tell you that I am
completely house trained, so no worries there. It would also be nice if
there were only a couple of stairs to go to the back yard. Right now, I
have to be carried down a flight of stairs. And, sometimes when my
foster mom is busy in the yard, I start to walk up the stairs by myself.
Since my balance is not so good, she runs over to help so I do not fall
down and really hurt myself.

My foster mom says I am tenacious with a
high spirit who does not like to give up. She also says I try to frolic
and it makes her laugh. She really loves me, but thinks there is
someone who can offer me more that what she can provide and really wants
me to find the perfect forever home. I am so much better off now, but
my foster mom says I deserve the best since things were so bad for so
many years. And, who am I to argue? Be sure to contact AFH if you
would like to meet me. Thanks, Elizabeth

P.S. Be sure to watch my
video!”

If you think you have the perfect home for Elizabeth, visit A Forever Home for more information or email Info@aforeverhome.org.  To view the other pets available for adoption at A Forever Home, click here.

A Forever Home also has a weekly adoption event at the PetCo in Chantilly.  For the address and to find out more info, click here. 
(If you have your eye on a specific pet, please email for information
first – not all pets will be at the weekly event.  However, there are a
lot of awesome pets in need of homes, so if you’re in the neighborhood,
stop by and meet some of them!)

Do you have room in your home (and your heart) for one of these lovely ladies?  Then contact HSFC or A Forever Home.  If you know someone else who might be in the market for an awesome companion, please share this post.  Let’s find some homes for Dulci and Elizabeth!


Bios and photos used with permission from HSFC and A Forever Home.
 

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Take the pledge: don’t support puppy mill pet stores

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You may recall that for October’s Blog the Change for Animals, I joined several other bloggers to tell Petland USA to stop selling pets in its stores.  (If this issue is new to you, learn more about the pet store/puppy mill connection here.)

Over 45,000 people  have signed the petition, but Petland USA has not changed its ways.  For that reason, I’m sharing a call to action from Mary Haight (of the Dancing Dog Blog), who led the charge on this issue in October.

Want to get involved? Join us in telling Petland USA that until they stop supporting puppy mills, we’re not supporting them.  I’ve reproduced the instructions below.  For more info and background, visit here.

From Change.org:

Sometimes pictures can be more effective than words. Since
they have the power to help stop this, remind Petland USA what breeder
puppy mill dogs look like.  Estimates report there are more than a
million of them trapped in hopeless lives.

We need your help THIS WEEKEND with this simple action. It should only take 10 minutes of your time:

1) Download the images in this blog post to your computer (right-click and “save as”).
2) Post these images to your Facebook profile and ask your network to share.
3) If you have a blog, please re-post these instructions and
share widely! If not, please email your networks with a link to the original blog post.

[Editor’s Note: Over on the Change.org post there are actually 4 steps – however, upon learning of this weekend’s call to action, Petland blocked postings of these images to its franchise Facebook pages.  Guess they don’t want their customers to see where their pets might have come from….]

Spread the word and take the pledge – don’t support puppy mill pet stores!

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Corgis (and Ryan Gosling)… in… space!

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Before we get into the usual Friday linkage, I wanted to take a moment to thank the veterans who have served our country.  We owe them a great deal.  As always on this holiday, my thoughts go to the poem “In Flanders Field” – those verses say so very much.  If you have a chance, I also recommend you check out these amazing and inspiring photos from a new book on canine soldiers.

Now, it’s time for your usual installment of No Frown Friday…

  1. We begin, as always, with punny pet names, this time with a farming twist: Billy Goat Idol.
  2. Take an iconic album cover.  Insert adorable kitten(s).  Achieve awesomeness.  (Bonus punny pet name: David Meowie.)
  3. Also awesome?  Puppies running in slow motion.  You know I can’t resist puppies having a Chariots of Fire moment.
  4. Apparently the Internet is all about giving me plenty of slow-mo dogs this week.  Thanks, Internet.
  5. This next one’s not slow-mo, but it’s fantastic… talk about a unique dog.
  6. Now it’s time to answer an age-old question.  Forget puppies versus babies, the real cute-off is between puppies and Ryan Gosling. (I’m beginning to think Gosling needs his own category on the blog.  Oh, fine – here you go.)

Another topic that makes frequent appearances?  Space.  So, without further ado, I give you this week’s video:  Corgis… in… space!



 (If you can’t get enough space, go watch Nyan Cat too.  Someone should come up with Nyan Gosling Cat.  Get on it, Internet.)

That concludes your regularly scheduled linkage.  Before I go, you should know that a pretty cool event is going on in blogland this weekend – it’s a Blogpocalypse!  A group of wonderful bloggers will be participating in a blogathon to raise support for various causes.  I hope you’ll check them out.  (If you do, you might even see a guest post from me over at My Brown Newfies!)

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Shelter employee fired for taking non-crappy photos of dogs

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Ernie 24
Shameless plug – adopt Ernie!

You know I’m all about the notion that better photos can help dogs get adopted.  It’s logical, after all.  I’m always drawn to a photo of a pup with more personality.  (Speaking of personality… at right, you’ll see a photo I took when I volunteered at a local shelter last month.)

Anyway, today I’m here to share a story about something that strikes me as completely illogical.  Let’s say you’re a shelter… you have a crappy camera and have some crappy photos of adoptable dogs up on your website.  An employee decides to use her higher-quality DSLR to snap some photos of dogs scheduled to be euthanized and shares them in hopes of finding a rescue group or potential adopter who could save the dogs.

This woman displayed initiative, saw a problem, and took steps to improve the situation. Sounds like Employee of the Year material to me.  In reality, she joined the ranks of the unemployed.


According to the New York Times, Emily Tanen was fired from Animal Care and Control of New York City for taking photographs of animals scheduled to be euthanized.  Why?  Her photographs apparently violated her employer’s rules regarding photos – specifically, who can take photos, how the animals can be photographed, and how the photos can be used.  (One rule precludes showing humans in photos with the animals – apparently this extends to body parts such as a hand.  Even with my limited experience, I can tell you that it’s not always possible to get a photo of a nervous dog without a human’s arm or elbow somewhere in the frame.)

Emily took some lovely photos of the dogs that put the official shelter photos to shame.  It sounds like those photos helped some animals escape death row. Instead of seeing the potential here, the shelter fired her.  (Another former volunteer has also expressed displeasure with the fact that the shelter wanted to tightly control any of the photographs he took instead of allowing him to post them on his Facebook page.  Since when is wider exposure for an animal in need of a home a bad thing?)

Don’t get me wrong – I realize that not all shelters have the time or resources to devote to getting some truly fantastic photographs of adoptable animals.  They may not have enough volunteers to do so – in fact, the article suggests that there are only a handful of volunteers to take photos for the entire city shelter system involved here.  In addition, I’m sure there are sometimes valid legal reasons that an organization like this one would want to control the use of photos or set forth standards.

However, why not try to find a middle ground?  Perhaps the shelter could have taken this opportunity to revisit its policies and come up with a plan for getting photos of the animals that would both be acceptable to the shelter and would increase the animals’ chances of adoption.  (Similarly, in the case of the other volunteer I mentioned above, perhaps agreeing to a reasonable way that the photos could be circulated while noting that he did not officially represent the shelter would have been an option.)

This story isn’t about a lack of resources – you have an employee who is willing and able to help take better photos of the animals.  Perhaps she violated the policy, but wouldn’t a reprimand would have made more sense than firing her?

You can read the full New York Times article here.

UPDATE 11/15/11: There appears to be an online petition circulating to get Emily her job back.  If you’d like to learn more, click here.

 

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