Sometimes It's Hard

The day before going to the cabin, we took our foster collie MaKayla on transport to her rescue.

We thought we might cry, but she had fun. ;)

When will another quiet, well-behaved collie like her come along?

We got to do another transport after we came back. (whew!) Oscar, a grumpy little doxie who had to be coaxed into a good mood. Once he was relaxed though, he was just as sweet as he could be! 

So...if you need a pet in the WNC area, please do take a look at our Petfinder page. We have tonnnnnnssss of adorable tinies this week.

Always check with your local shelter first and remember to spay and neuter your pets! 

(Lol...never thought I'd be saying that on a regular basis!)

Collie Love

I love collies.

One showed up this week in the shelter. We whisked her right home and alerted the Collie Rescue of the Carolinas. Tomorrow we drive her to meet them. It's gonna be hard.

There is something about their sweet intelligent faces always looking out for you...their fluffy elegant manes...their love for work and readiness to learn. Their hardy spirit wraps up adventure and home all in one. They're very American (Lassie, anyone?), but like me, they've been here a long time and trace their roots back to old country, Scotland mostly. So expressive and patient!

(Are the vintage pics in here not the best? That's a way to perk up a day! Look up 'vintage collies' on Flickr.) 

You see, my first (and only, in fact!) dog was a collie. That's us playing in the leaves. Her name was Essie (Esther) and she was our nanny-dog. 

So when a dog like MaKayla comes along, it's hard to let her go.

It's reminded me...of how much a collie completes a girl like me. 

MaKayla and me outside the shelter

FLICKR COLLAGE: 1. the friendship of a collie, 2. Lyle and Scott Cashmere 1954, 3. Collies, 4. Better Homes Garden--Fabtastic Collie in Front of Cottage Door-1927, 5. Growing the crop, 6. Rough Collie Puppy portrait, 7. Our New Collie Friend, Vinnie, 8. Blue merle collie,Vintage photo, 9. Collie in a yard, 10. Nætur Cató resting on the floor, 11. Carolyn 1940s, 12. Sittin' on the dog, 13. furry Friday fun, 14. Lady with collie, 15. 1970's, 16. glory be to dogs Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

This Weekend

Our Eliza got adopted!!!!

PetSmart had an Adopt-a-Thon event and all the pups from the shelter/fosters got to come. Not a single one left without a home to go to. Not a single one. What a miracle! Several people had prayed for that morning to go well and because of them, it did. Little Miss Eliza has an awesome new family with new doggie siblings (and a kitty!) and I can study in peace. :)

Life in the Doghouse

For a few hours yesterday, we were a 5-dog house. 

How did this happen? Simple enough. This week, we got to work with the local animal shelter, photographing the pups and then putting them online at Petfinder. The results: %100 of the adoptable dogs that week were placed! How wonderful is that?? Of course, we can't take all the credit. Cute puppies help a lot. ;)

There was a family of beagle/dachshunds among the lot. Two of the puppies were adopted right off and while the mum and dad waited for their transport to a foster home, they sat in our den. The third puppy, Ginger, a golden fluffball,  has excited adoptive parents coming to pick her up on Monday. So guess who gets to keep her until then? Yup. You should see me now, Bebe on one side, Judy on the other, little miss Ginger snoozing in her crate just a few feet away.... 

We're a 3-beaglemutt house. And it's pretty awesome.

(This blog will be returning to its regular diet of posies and pretties soon - look for a new foster-blog coming up!)

N.I.C.E.

Eli the Bunny is no more.

We're going to miss our grumpy clown. Bebe may think she's a cat, Abby may think she's a watch dog, but Eli always knew he was prince of rabbits. 

(N.I.C.E. was his ear tattoo from the show days - nearly eight years ago!)

February is for Bunnies

It's slightly late notice, but Eli and Abby (the resident house bunnies) would like for you to know that February is Adopt-a-Rescue-Rabbit-Month. If you are looking for a pet, rabbits are a quiet (usually), clean and lovable addition to a home. Giving them time and attention, you will find them full of personality. (Not much tops a bunny kiss.) Search for 'rabbits' at  www.petfinder.com or your local shelter/rescue. 

Bebe Jacket - Part 1

This little gal, she likes to quilt (and to sit upon quilts). She curled up behind me today in the floor and snoozed while I worked on part of Bebe's jacket.

It's a free form process and I'm still not in the habit of taking photos as I go. So far it's been... cut out tissue paper pattern, try tissue paper pattern on dog, make another tissue paper pattern, cut 5" and 3" random strips from not-quite-scrap fabric, arrange, arrange again, stitch pairs together vertically, pin, stitch together horizontally...

Iron the windowpane, just like Miss Audrey taught me.

And, voila, a pieced fabric for the top of a cozy dog jacket!

(Slightly rumpled here from behind tied on the Bebe dog for size.) It's bigger than the finished product and will be trimmed into nice curves later. I hope it works. :crosses fingers:

Meanwhile, Judy the Pocket Beagle says that she would like one in yellow paisley, please ma'am. She pulled the fabric out of the stack herself! 

Foster Puppy #2

This is Jude (or Judy, rather) the beagle. She came in last night. She's only 10" tall (that's full-grown!). She's very shy, so - shhh!

Dog Gone Cute

Is this seersucker dog collar by Pecan Pie Puppies not the cutest thing you've seen all winter? The felt flower snaps off for ease of care (and dog napping). Bebe would love this!

something to entertain you

I'm supposed to be working on a new story, but Petfinder.com distracted me with it's entirely unexpected and far too cute Mutt-Maker. What does your dream mutt look like? 

See?

Told you Shih Tzu paws were cute. They're like tiny (and slightly mud-stained) bear paws.

Things about Cammy:

• She cannot tell where a squeaker's squeak is coming from. 
  
• Thus, she swears a mouse is under my armoire.
  
• She doesn't like dog bones.
  
• But she takes her medicine (cheese helps so much!)
  
• She likes to have her head rubbed.
  
• And ruffled.
  
• Especially first thing in the morning, when, if you get the right spot, she'll roll over on her back, happy as a lark.
  
• Feather dusters drive her crazy.
  

She goes on her way bright and early tomorrow morning. I hope they love her lots up in Virginia!

(PS - I got accepted into Master Gardeners today!!)

Quick, before the taters are done...

Being a stray and all, Cammy doesn't seem to respond to the name Cammy. Inspired by our groomer, we've been playing a game of calling her all sorts of names. "Emily?" "Gizmo?" "Heidi?" Nope. (Bebe, meanwhile, responds enthusiastically to all of the above. Love that dog!) 

So...if you had a dog like this, what would you call her? 

she's here!

...And sleeping behind me, stretched out on the floor. (Shih Tzu paws are pretty cute, just so you know.) 

Bebe's doing her best at coping with not being the only dog. (She liked that, just so you know!)

I'm enjoying having a small dog patter after me for a few days.  (It makes one feel quite vain, just so you know. ;D )

like a magazine theme or a month long festival or pony blinders

This blog is entirely too scattered. But a girl just can't condense herself into one 'genre' for any length of time, so this is hereby declared DOG MONTH! 

Upcoming posts:

• On fostering Cammy
  
• On fostering in general
  
• A quilted dog jacket for Bebe
  
• Dog books, stories, art, etc...
  

as we were saying...

This story begins several weeks ago, in the fall, when Laura, our niece De'Anna and me were walking back from the park. We happened upon a little black dog wandering around the streets. He looked old and sick and when we went back to check a while later, he was still there. We took him home and posted flyers all up and down the street. We contacted a local realtor, who has a heart for helping strays and generously offered to take him to a vet, but the little black dog didn't last through the night. About two weeks later, we got a call from the owners. His name was Sonny and he had been very sick for a very long time. 

The experience was wrenching, but inspired us to help other dogs in the future. The realtor promised to write us the next time a fostering opportunity came up and yesterday she did! 

A Shih Tzu mix named Cammy was in transport (something like an Underground Railroad for dogs) and needed a place to stay for two weeks. This we could do! You can't get too attached in two weeks, right?

There was some drama involved with getting her... (She's already fostered! No, she's adopted! No, they came, they saw, they left) which threw Cammy off the transport and put her on the euthanize list for this afternoon. But now she's safe and by 3 o'clock should be on her way here!

This is her Petfinder page here: Cammy. 

I'm so excited to help watch this baby until her next transport to a forever home! Anyone need a little dog? (This little dog is going to need a bath! And a bow...)