My Girls.....

I mentioned August was a tough month...lots of bad and sad things. This story is one of the really sad ones, really haven't been able to write it without crying for the last few months.
A bit of backstory is necessary, 6 years ago I was retired out of my job and I'm not really one to sit around. Was trying to figure out what to do...I loved animals, especially dogs, so why not a pet sitter. I did my homework on all of it, contracts, pricing, etc. My great friend Becky let me take care of her babies...I loved it and starting promoting myself. Six years ago I got a call from a lady through care.com, wanted me to take care of her three babies. It was my first real job and I jumped at the chance. I met the three great girls, Brandi, Lola and Lucy and I was there for them for the next six years!!!

Three sweet girls....Brandi, Lola and Lucy in the back!!!

For the first three or four years we had so many good times.....we walked miles a day and played outside when we weren't walking. I will tell you the girls were not young when I started....Lola 9 1/2, Brandi 9 and Lucy around 7. When you are with dogs for so many years it's hard to see them slowing down. I guess the last two years were when it got so noticeable. Brandi's arthritis got so bad she was having a hard time doing our walks and Lola was having a myriad of health problems....but we just kept moving along...until this year. Brandi had developed problems in her mouth, cancer, they were to discover then a few months later Lola too. By August both the girls were very sick and the decision was to put them down to save them from anymore suffering. It was also decided they would go the same day since they were as close as if they had been sisters. They would have a hard time without the other.

Brandi and Lola in younger years....long before I met them.

Luckily I got to spend the day before with them....probably about three hours talking about all the fun we had and giving them some extra loving.....

I managed till the end of my visit not to cry....and that was tough. The next morning they were gone. I will truly miss them , I do every one that I take care of.......

I hope you are at the Rainbow Bridge with Lizzy and all the other babies that have gone before....

To the best and sometimes the saddest job......

Happy Halloween!!!

Hope all of you have a safe holiday. I'm going to do what I do every year since my son was too old to trick-or-treat.....lock up, turn all the lights inside and out off , and watch a scary movie. Well tonight I will be watching something that will be scary for LA...the Astros winning the World Series. Let's just say Houston could use a pick me up after Harvey....know it doesn't solve a problem...but pretty cool for us.

Want to say thanks to my son for the great pic....his pumpkin from a week ago looks scarier than ever!!!

Go 'stros...

See you soon...

Mr. Bono......

Bono got a wonderful new home two weeks ago. I didn't write about it at the time because he was a difficult dog when he came to us six years ago....and I wanted to make sure he was going to fit well into his new environment. Things are going well...so let me tell a story....

Yes...I said six years. Sometimes dogs come in that have problems that prevent them from getting homes immediately. Bono had some dog aggression with many of the other dogs and crate aggression. We had so many dogs at the time I think he just didn't get as much one on one time as he should have. Over time he mellowed considerably, except the crate deal, and  my friend Denise and I decided to start taking him to shows and about a year ago I posted him on Petfinder. He was really good at shows and he started getting some applications coming his way....he is a stunning black and white boy. Over the months I got a ton of apps from people with lots of kids or cats or both. Not situations I could put him in. I never did despair that a good home would come along and in August I got a call that changed everything for Bono.
I don't know how James got my number....if from Petfinder I will have to take care of that...but he did. He said he and his son were interested in a 3 year old black and white that we had posted....told him we didn't have a dog like that but we had a seven year old that was looking for a good home.....did he want to see him? He said yes but  lived 3 hours away so that wasn't going to happen too soon. We tried to arrange a meeting when they were in town.....but then our friend, Harvey, blew in and all bets were off. Weeks went by, but they were still interested, three weeks ago they finally were in town and got to meet Bono. It was love, despite all of Bono's quirks. We arranged to bring him to their place the next weekend.
We spent the week getting him all cleaned up and up to date with shots. That Saturday morning we took off bright and early (thanks Denise and Ron especially for driving) on our long trip. Bono was great spending most of the time on my lap...but greatly confused by the length of the drive. When we got there I knew he was going to have a fine home!! Huge fenced in backyard.....they even put up some hot wire like I had suggested.....

and a lovely home to run around in. We brought a crate....but I doubt if they will use it....basically it will be three bachelors living together.

I've talked to them quite a few times since he has been there and everyone is happy....Bono has the run of the house at night and so far likes a few special sleeping spots. I'm happy this boy in in a home and getting the attention he so deserves!!!

Have a great evening....

See you soon.

A Puppy Tail......

Ok....this will be a tale, not about a puppy and really this guy is only a Husky mix. But, I do love this dog and want to find him the perfect home. I haven't mentioned it on my blog....but the director of our rescue, Husky Haven , has cancer and I am trying to find homes for the babies still there. The one I'm talking about tonight is sweet Mr. Cherokee. If I could have five dogs I would take him when I take Volga...but that's a lot of dogs!!! Cherokee is a wonderful dog, sweet and loving, perfect in my estimation. He loves the girls and gets along pretty well with the other male dogs too. I've never tested him with smaller dogs or cats , so I have no idea if he'd get along. He's red and white and about 5 1/2 to six years old. Up to date on shots and ready to go!!!!!

If you're looking to bring a great guy into your home.....Cherokee is your man!!!!

I apologize for not being around for awhile. August was a terrible month ending with Harvey. I'm back and want to help our kids get great homes.

See you soon....
Have a wonderful evening....

One Year Ago.......

On this date I lost my beautiful girl , Lizzy , to pancreatic cancer. She was a fighter...they told me she had three months and she was around for two years. I think of her every day and miss that face everyday. The last week of her life I knew something was going on.....especially that Friday when I went to take her for a walk and she just turned around and started back to the house. Her walks were everything to her. She was my first dog and she was one of a kind. Today I am posting many pictures to remember her by......

Tank, me and Miss Lizzy!!!

Her fav summer spot.....

With Rudi...one of my fosters....he looks like her son.....

Just relaxing......

One of the few times she got to go to a show...we were usually working them....

Her with my first foster Zena.....

Just back from the hospital after getting the bad news......

She lost so much weight when she got sick.....from 53 to the 30 pounds she was for those two years....

Her last b-day, eating a cupcake Cyndii made for her....and almost my hand too!!!!

The last two pictures I took of her............

I'll be thinking about you everyday girl.....I hope you are having some fun at the Rainbow Bridge......

A Road Trip......

Most of my friends know that I really don't like road trips.....I guess driving from L.A. to Houston in my younger years about ten times and everything in between...just got me tired of trips. But recently I got a new car (for me) and decided I wanted to just take it for a spin.
My opportunity came up a couple of weeks later when my friend asked if I could drive her to College Station. The event was to pick up her new Bulldog puppy....I had written how she had lost her beautiful Harley. She had looked at rescues....Bulldogs are hard to find....and decided that since Jazzy was an alpha female....it might be easier to go with a puppy.
So we started off on a Saturday morning....with my luck, it was raining almost the whole way. But my new Jeep was pretty fun to drive and we made it there in pretty good time!! It's too bad that there was an Exxon on every exit and she wasn't too specific....but we finally found them and this......

Mr Howie....how cute. I love puppies as long as they aren't mine!!!!

Apparently he slept the whole way from Waco.....so he was super awake all the way back to Houston. There he got to meet Miss Jazzy....

She did check him out. Didn't know what to make of him....but was really good considering how much bigger she is ( by the way she thinks she's a lap dog!! ).

Told him to look at the camera....can't depend on dogs!!!!

Settling in.......

I will definitely update you on this little man....probably not going to be little for too long!!!!
Have a wonderful afternoon...
See you soon.

Happy 4th of July.......

I wanted to wish you a wonderful day. Be careful out there....always a lot of people partying on a holiday like today. Make sure your fur kids are safe too...mine don't really like the fireworks, I agree with them. I decided to repost pics of my kids from last year I liked them and thought they would be fine for today.....

TJ doesn't like having his picture taken.....probably be pretty embarrassed if he saw what I did to it!!!!! 

Tank on the other hand is always up for a photo opportunity!!!

Faith too!!!!

Sadly Sweet Lizzy is no longer here with us this holiday.....shocking that it's almost been a year since her passing to the Rainbow Bridge.....
Miss you baby girl......

I do wish all of you a safe and happy holiday....
See you soon.....

Another Sad Day......

I hate to write this after my last post....but bad things happen. My great friend, Elsie, lost her beautiful baby girl , Shadow, on Wednesday.

Poor baby had been in failing health over the last few months....not moving much and finally just stopping eating.I know her mom had been terribly worried.
She was a Husky Haven dog.....rescued from a puppy mill about 7 or 8 years ago. I actually remember her and some other dogs from that puppy mill coming in at the same time. They were all a little standoffish....the terrible conditions and abuse. Shadow also had 6 puppies that died of parvo...and of course she was heartworm positive. We are so grateful that Elsie chose her and gave her a wonderful home.....

Run free with all those friends that have gone before you to the Rainbow Bridge......we will miss you sweet girl.....

For Harley....

So once again a new angel has made his way to the Rainbow Bridge.....Harley succumbed to his tumors a few weeks ago. It always makes me sad to write about my client's puppies as they leave this world. As with Duke a few months ago I felt as if Harley was one of my family.

Harley loved to hang with Jazzy...he's the guy in the back. I had so much fun taking care of them...they were both big dogs but loved hugging and tons of attention. I know Jazzy and her Mom , Mary, miss Harley so much.....

Here is one of the last pics of the beautiful blue eyed boy.....and I don't need to fill in the blanks.
Here is Harley today.......

But this is how I prefer to remember him.....

We will miss you big boy....have a wonderful time with Lizzy and all of our other fantastic friends at the Rainbow Bridge........

Happy Memorial Day......

And I'm back. I know it's been a month since I posted....really so many things going on and I have been working on some other projects ( a book , for one ) so I've kind of been ignoring my blog. I am going to make up for that because I do really enjoy it. So, let's have a few updates!!
Miss Sukari finally found a wonderful new home last month. After her disaster of an adoption and return in November we tried really hard to find her a good home. A young couple from Louisiana came in with their dog , Blue, to meet her.....and although it wasn't love a first sight they were good together. The next week Denise and her husband drove Sukari to her new home. Things are going great!! She and Blue are having a wonderful time!!

Hoping our pretty girl is going to have a long, fun life in Louisiana!!
I get pictures and updates about once a month from Kaskea's mom and dad. They also call me once a month just to let me know how happy they are with him. I love that. He is doing great with Mya, they love to play and run around. So happy for him!!!

They are also very diligent about grooming since he is a wooly.
My last pic of the day is one very familiar guy, BLD. Apparently he loves to sleep in front of the fridge.....

Charlene says he is helping to keep everyone from over snacking!!
I don't have much news about our director.....she has been going to chemo treatments and I guess we will see how it goes. I like to be optimistic..
Once again have a safe holiday....
See you soon.....

So the Cat's Out of the Bag......

I know I haven't been here for almost a month. I'ts a combo of many things...lots of work , my Dad having about ten Dr. appointments this last month ( That will sap the energy out of you).....and finding out that Husky Haven's director has cancer. I had known she was sick for some months but it wasn't till late last year she started going to a series of docs......diagnosis was about a month ago and I have been trying to get the last six dogs into good homes...depending on what happens. Our director is going through chemo, so we don't know what the future holds. I will be featuring the dogs on my FB and this blog in hopes to get them a new place. Please send good thoughts.......
See you soon.....really.....

For Duke.....

I'm going to get back to the title in a minute...it really all goes together. I don't talk about what I do a lot...but 5 1/2 years ago I was working for a large company and was basically retired out. I got a pension and all but wasn't planning on leaving so soon.....I really hadn't made any plans. I had made jewelry as work on the side for 15 years and I planned to continue that....but needed something to get me out of the house and have fun at the same time. What do I love more than anything...dogs...pet sitting seemed a good fit for me. I spent the next few months getting certifications and getting paperwork and stuff together and I was ready to go. Yes...my first few clients were my rescue friends...thanks Becky for getting me on my feet...but then I was sending out fliers and cards and the jobs really started coming in.
That gets me back to Duke. One of my very first clients , after I had passed out a ton of cards, was a Scottie breeder. She is a wonderful breeder and loves to show her dogs so I was called upon often to take care of the kids while she was at a show.

I love taking care of these babies, but in the midst of all this there was Duke. A big , old goofy Golden. When I would let a bunch of them out to play and Duke too....he would kind of walk right through them to get to me.....basically" She's here to see me so move along"!! He just loved running around and digging with them....

When she texted me last week to get me over, she gave me directions....but Duke wasn't on there. She let me know he had a problem with his spleen....had surgery....but didn't make it. I burst into tears as I have had a couple of times before when client dogs had problems and they were gone. Duke was a very special boy and I will miss him......

Hope you are having fun with Miss Liz.....
Bye boy....

Couple of Things.....

I wanted to catch you up with a couple of dogs. Last December , Mr. Kaskea , found himself a wonderful new home up in Dallas. He had a couple of problems, but mostly with other people, something I couldn't help them with. They called a friend who is a trainer and with a couple of corrections he is doing much better. He has no problem with his new friend, Mya, they are apparently inseparable. I'm so glad he finally got a happy home, he would always pace in his kennel and it made me so sad.....he has a beautiful yard to play in now.....

Mya and Kaskea

As you can see, life is good!!!

Last month I was working to get some of the dogs our director has into foster homes. She has not been feeling well and I thought we could give her a break. Still working on that but BLD did go to foster a month ago. One of our long term fosters has always wanted to take in BLD for awhile so last month she and her girls picked him up. You probably know from this blog that BLD is an attention hog....with good reason... he was horribly hurt when we took him in. So, she picked him up and later that night sent me this picture.....

So, it seems her husband went into the other room to do something and when he came back this is what greeted him. Let me say for the record the dogs are not allowed on the couch, but that has never stopped BLD from choosing to do what he wants....and apparently instructing everyone else to follow!!! I guess the couch is held hostage by the dogs now......

I have to say he looks really good and has been getting a ton of exercise which he really needed!!! Thanks so much guys for giving him a great place to run around.....

Just need to find spots for a few more dogs.....

Have a wonderful evening.....

Five Years......

Realized this week that it had been five years since I started this blog. The last two years have been tough....Miss Lizzy was always first in my mind...this wasn't. I have some cool posts planned for this week....you will get to meet my clients...and some updates too!!! But back to work for me tonight, should be back tomorrow!!!(besides I just wanted to pat myself on the back)
Have a wonderful evening....

Mr. Zane.....

So happily, Mr. Zane got a new home on Saturday. A friend of the rescue, Anthony, had found out about Zane through Denise and wanted to help him out. He had adopted Wayne and couple of years before when Denise was fostering him. I was happy to adopt Zane out to him but asked he be patient so I could get him through his month of antibiotics.....and spend some time monitoring him till he was doing better. He was finished with those meds last week and it was time for Zane to go to a forever home. Now Charlie/Wayne is a big guy and still a bit young, so I was hoping he could respect Zane and not get too crazy trying to play.They were great together. They had another dog at home but he said it wouldn't be a problem....ok.

Getting ready!!!!

On the way!!!

New home....another new friend!!!!

All of them are having a grand time....as I said Zane still needs some peace and quiet, but he's going to be ok. Thanks Anthony for giving a dog that has been through hell a wonderful spot to land!!!

Good luck Mr. Zane I know I will be getting plenty of photos!!

Have a great evening.....