Happy New Year.....

I wish all of you a very happy 2017. 2016 has been a bad year for me starting with a death of a friend....my dad moving and leaving me with a house and 50 years of stuff to deal with and then I lost my beautiful Miss Lizzy. All I hope is that this year will be a bit better. I have to thank my friend, Denise, without her the house thing would have driven me crazy. Also all the volunteers for Husky Haven...we can't get along without you. I have much more to say, but have been working a lot and am tired. I am happy to have my other three babies, TJ, Tanky and Faith happy and healthy. So one more pic of my girl before the end of the year......

Miss you.......

Happy New Year...be careful....

A Few Things.....

Just wanted to post a few pictures as we get to the end of 2016...crazy to think another year is gone already.....or maybe as you get older it feels shorter!!
On Monday our wonderful volunteer and friend, Michelle, drove over to get a new foster companion for her boy Jake. Miss Amika is a beautiful red....and she hardly ever gets a look. We decided to see if she would be friendly with Jake and in no time they were fast friends. Just on the rescue side, fosters are so important...they teach a dog how to be in a home and deal with people and other dogs....thereby making them more adoptable. As you can see they are very pretty together....

Amika is on the left and Jake on the right...they do look good.....
Every day I spend doing a lot of driving....I'm a petsitter and have a ton of clients. I really love checking out the decorations at this time of year and especially like those blown up figures. Last year I loved the pig, but this year I saw a ton of those. My new favorite is this one.....never seen him before.....

Love that Hippo...reminds me of that Christmas song....
Have a wonderful evening...
More as we get closer to 2017....

Mr Kaskea.....

Last week when I posted I mentioned that we had a couple of great adoptions....but I didn't want to jinx them so I just didn't write about them. But right before Christmas I got a call from Kaskea's new family and they love him so much!!!
His journey to Dallas ( yes, the boy is up north) began about 2 months ago. Sandra and Harold had lost their sweet Husky a month or so before that and he was looking on HH website and saw Kaskea's picture and they made a decision that he was going to be their boy. He had to have a couple of tests run which delayed them picking him up.....but finally December 19th was the agreed upon date for them to drive to Houston. I had a couple of the girls, Michelle and Ally, come over on the 17th to help clean him up and get him into great shape. Kaskea is a wooly , which means he has a much fluffier, longer coat than a regular Husky.  So it was a bit more time consuming than usual.....but here's what he looked like when we were finished......

Pretty good looking!!!

Since he loves puddles we literally had to keep him crated and took him for walks to keep him clean till Monday....he hated us....but our hard work was not going to be trashed before he met his mom and dad....after that....well....
They drove down that Monday and it was an instant attraction.....they didn't bring their other dog because of the length of the drive , but since they'd had many Huskies we figured they knew the breed. He has since met his friend , Mya, and is having a great time in his new home.....

With his new mom and dad....

Getting ready for the long drive!!!

I got a note today that they had taken him to the vet and he is in perfect health.....so glad to hear that!!! He has a great new home....wish you the very best little boy. I am expecting pictures of him with Mya....when I get them I will update. 

More adoptions and fosters before the end of the year....other fun things too!!
Have a wonderful evening......

My Christmas Dogs.....

So we had a couple of adoptions this week and I was going to post....but I figured I jinxed Sukari by posting.....so you have to see my dogs instead!!!! When Lizzy got sick two years ago I stopped making the dogs wear any kind of Christmas stuff.....just didn't want to bug her...so they didn't have to by default. In Faith's case she came to me around that time so she never had to partake. Sorry guys it's Christmas...and we are going to start that tradition again!!!!

TJ just decided that he would fall on the floor and ignore me.....I guess he has taken Lizzy's place as totally non-interested!!!(The collar was kind of small for him too!!)

Tank just looked at me...again Mom....if I have to I will give you the full Tanky charm!!!

And Faith....she actually stood like that looking at me for a full five minutes wondering what was coming next....as soon as I took it off she ran to the other end of the room!!!
I think they look so cute....probably have to mix it up with some other collars...bet they can hardly wait!!!
Miss you Miss Lizzy....know you are happy you don't have to deal with that anymore.....
Have a wonderful afternoon!!!

Some Adoptions I Missed.......

Well...I didn't exactly miss them...just need to catch up. It is true that losing Miss Lizzy threw me for a bit...that was a hard one for me.
Anyway...in September we had a couple of really wonderful adoptions. I posted this pic of Miss Liesl last December when we thought she had a potential adopter......

Turns out....they weren't really interested at all....could never figure that out......
But as usual, we work shows , pics on social media and whatever we can do to get our dogs in great homes. Turns out, for Liesl, that she found the perfect home from someone that had helped Husky Haven at a show a couple of years before but wasn't ready to adopt just yet. Huskies have pretty high prey drive.....not good with cats or small dogs...but Liesl didn't have that problem. She now has a fantastic home with a couple of new friends.....

Getting ready to move into her new house!!!!

She is so sweet and gentle.....and loving her new life......
Onyx also was a sweet girl and when we got an app to look at her and three other dogs I immediately wanted to get her in a new home. She was the only one that I thought might be ok with smaller dogs. Over Labor Day weekend we took her to meet her potential adopters, and see if she would be ok with some occasional visitors.

A new friend....

                                       

A couple of more new friends....

We went on a walk and to the dog park with these guys and , as you can tell, all was well. I know that her foster Michelle was sad to see her go, but she knows we want them to have a wonderful future....

Onyx enjoying herself.....

On a less happy note before I close.....Miss Sukari was brought back after a month.....supposedly Dad developed an allergy. I feel very bad for her....but I'm going to try to work on a new , wonderful home for her. 

Have a wonderful day.....

Love you girls but enjoy your new homes....

Miss you Lizzy......

Miss Sukari.....

I posted a month or so ago that we had gone to Bridgeland just before Halloween and Sukari was the highlight of the day. We had a bunch of people come back and look at her many times and I was absolutely positive that we would be flooded with applications to adopt her.

Who could resist that face?

And then, as it goes a lot in rescue, a week passed and no apps for any of the dogs at the show. I can tell you sometimes I get really down when we do so much work and I feel we aren't helping.
But, the next day an application did come in for Sukari and it was the family I hoped would adopt her. First time dog owners, and we all know Huskies can be a handful, but they really fell in love with her. They came out the next weekend with their son, who had a great time with Sukari, and decided she was the dog for them. I told them I could do the home check and bring her the next day. They asked me for a list of necessities for her and we were set up. I arrived with Sukari and the house was perfect....the fence had problems that could be fixed pretty easily....but I didn't know if I should leave her or not , but our director and I talked and decided as long as they fixed the fence we could make it work. They had everything set up for her...as I was leaving they were getting ready for a walk but I got a pic before they took off......

So happy for her and Joshua has a new companion!!!
Love you little girl......have a wonderful life!!
Oh and they fixed the fence the next day.....
Have a great afternoon....

Senior Saturday.......

November was Adopt-A-Senior pet month. With that thought we decided to get some of the senior kids out for an afternoon of fun with the public. Kaila gets to go a lot of places and Baci sometimes, but Bono almost never gets out. He has a few quirks so we decided that a small show would be a good place for his introduction. Let me tell you he had the time of his life, the girls did as well!! I've really been pushing lately to get some of the older dogs into homes.....it's a hard sell. I know there have to be people out there that would love to have a senior for a few years....look how cute they are....

Baci is 11 but still has lots of energy!!! 

Bono, 7, having a great time with Bobby!!!

11 year old Kaila would just love to cuddle with you!!!

I'm hoping soon that we can get these kids in a wonderful homes!!!!
Have a great evening.......see you very soon!!!!

Bridgeland......

I actually like the show we do at Bridgeland.....it's close to where I am and only 6 hours of work on a Saturday!!! So we went to Bridgeland on October 29th.
I have to say I missed this show last year, Lizzy was sick to her stomach and I couldn't leave her all day. Rained last year, this year it was 90 degrees....under the tent it was a few degrees hotter....couldn't get cloud cover or a breeze all day. In Houston you never know what you're going to get at this time of year!!!! Anyway...I got a late note from one of my volunteers that she couldn't make it that day and so I decided to pick up Sukari so at least we would have a dog. Good call on my part...Miss Sukari was the only dog there from about 10 till 11:30...she didn't mind though, she loves to be the belle of the ball!!

Sukari looking pretty!!!

Poor Michelle and her sister were supposed to bring two dogs....had a dead battery...but still got there with two dogs before noon!!! Considering the heat and all the people we really did have a good time. We sold lots of merchandise and got a few applications for adoption I am working on. Have to thank Laura for helping me set-up and all my volunteers...Michelle, Heather, Sameera, Alex, Brianna, Jon and Faith.

Drifter is so sweet!!!

 Sapphire chilling!!!

Kaila checking things out!!!!

We did have fun.....I hope everyone agrees....I know the dogs slept well that night....hopefully just another step to getting them forever homes.....

Miss you Miss Liz....

Have a great evening!!!!

Last Weekend......

So last Saturday we took our dogs to Houston Baptist University. HBU's mascot is from Husky Haven so they asked me five months ago to help put together an event with them. Of course I was thrilled and got my friend, Denise, involved with me. We had pics taken with the women's basketball team, meetings, etc. Denise and I worked tirelessly for the October 15th date when HBU would have homecoming and we would have a huge event. Best laid plans......needless to say. I am going to write some more and share more pics, but suffice to say our dogs had the very best time. I have a few pics here and a lot more to come.....thanks Lady Huskies for loving on the dogs!!!

Amika front, Kaskea in the back

Cherokee

Kaila watching the game with her buddy, Nache

Sapphire having the best time.....

These were my pics, but I'm going to be posting pictures taken by Laura, they are so much more professional!!!!
Have a wonderful evening!!!!

Ten years.....

Kind of a strange day to come back to my blog.....ten years ago my mom died. I think about her everyday and will never forget her. I found this picture when I was cleaning out the house.....she was beautiful. I repost this poem....could not have said it better....
Love you Mom..........and Lizzy and Ash.....miss all of you

In honor of my grandmother." VIRGINIA RUTH BAUMGARTNER June 2, 1928 - October 12, 2006 
In honor of your memory I took paper to pen; 
I never knew the real you who you were or where you've been. 
I only knew the woman who'd put a smile on my face; 
I never knew the story behind the wrinkles on your face. 
The many storms you weathered and the calms when you made peace; 
I wish I had been old enough to learn the secrets that you'd keep. 
So, without you we wander on into the rest of our lives; 
Without the wisdom we could've gained when you were alive. 
We wander on... I wrote these words for you for the rest of them to hear; 
It's time for you to move along to eternity without fear. 
And may you now be at peace in a place without love or hate; 
Where everything is perfect beyond life's golden gates. 
The rest of us will strive and struggle and keep you in our hearts; 
I'll always remember this piece of wisdom The whole is the sum of it's parts. 
A time will come when we're all gone we'll see each other again; 
I wish you could have taught me more and I'm sure you will again. 
I won't forget the time we shared I will not forget you; 
It wasn't until your time had come that you taught me what you knew. 
Forgive me as I wander on... R.I.P. Virginia Baumgartner; 
What you couldn't teach me in life I learned only by your death. Written by Ian Poole October 13, 2006

6 Weeks......

I know I haven't been posting...I really have a lot of stories to tell...but the last few weeks feel I've felt so unmotivated. Miss Lizzy so much....so quiet and different here without her. All of her stuff is still there....crate, blanket, food bowl...I just can't move it , it will probably be there for a long time. I know there is no time limit on grief....my Mom has been gone ten years and I feel that every day. When they called me a couple of weeks ago to pick her up , I was, of course, hoping for this.......

But instead got this.....

Not quite the same....but she will always be there. The boys are having a power struggle to figure out who is going to fill the void.....no one can. She always kept them in line, didn't realize it so much till now. Love you Lizzy.........
Have a nice holiday weekend......

Sadly.....

It isn't anymore. I will be keeping my blog title even though my girl passed this last weekend. I want to honor her in any way I can.....
Here's what happened. In my last blog post I commented that she was on anti nausea and diarrhea meds for the last two weeks. She seemed to be ok but was having a hard time with food despite the meds. I talked to my doc and she told me if they weren't working it might be time to make that hard decision. Last Friday she slept all day and I tried to get her out for a walk, but there was absolutely no interest. She ate some , but not a normal amount.....she threw it up anyway. Saturday morning I went to the rescue like I always do, when I came back she had thrown up the little she had eaten. When she stepped out of her crate her poor belly was swollen three or four times its regular size and all she could do was walk around in circles, drink water and throw up. My son and I got her in the car and went straight to the vets, I was hoping my personal vet was there and thank goodness she was. When I walked in they asked what was going on.....I told them I thought it was time and some of the girls teared up because they had been working with Miss Lizzy for so long.They have a private space for this now....quiet and away from the front and other rooms. When the doc saw her she know it was time....I knew in my head but to this day not in my heart. They gave her a sedative and I got a chance to hold her and say my last goodbyes...then the meds and it was over in a second. I stayed in that room 45 minutes just holding and rocking her. I know she is in a better place....and I know the last two years were tough on her.....she made it 18 months longer than was expected. I miss her like crazy....many times this week I have been looking for her when I let the others out, only to realize she will never be there. Run free my beautiful, sweet girl.....

A picture of her paw as I was leaving the room.....

Hello....

Hope everything is going well out there....had a few problems over the last two weeks with Miss Lizzy's health. Right after the 4th she had a bad bout of nausea.....lots of vomiting....kind of like how this started two years ago. With anti-nausea meds she was ok....but had the same problem a couple of days ago. Back on the meds....but really no idea how this will play out. She still loves her food, which is good....but our days of one mile walks are long gone. We can only make it to the end of the street....and slowly. Sleeps most of the time, know she can't tell me if she's in pain, but I don't think she is. Two years ago this week when they told me her cancer would take her in six months I was devastated. I know we may be getting close....but hope I was a good mom to her. She's been a wonderful dog for me.....my first.

Lizzy napping yesterday....

Keep good thoughts for us....

Happy 4th!!!

The kids wanted to draw party hats on themselves to wish you a great day....

They wish everyone a safe holiday.....don't drink and drive....and if you have crazy people setting off fireworks like we have where we live, please keep your kids safe....
Have a wonderful evening!!!!

Tanky's Day Out.....

Sometimes I feel like I spend all my time worrying about Lizzy, to the detriment of my other three. I've decided that once a week I will take one of my other kids on an excursion just for them.....just the two of us. Tank was up today. He needed a bath.....he has an allergy to mosquito bites so every summer it is a struggle to keep him from scratching all the time. Also, he really likes baths!! Before we went to Unleashed for his bath I took him for a long walk in the park , which he loved, since he could pee on every tree there!!

Of course he would never look at me so I could get a good picture of him.....dogs!!! After his bath, and of course a treat just for him , we were on our way home.

He was very happy on the ride....here he is sitting right next to me. Love that little man, we had some fun today......next week Faith gets the same excursion.
If anyone knows some natural ways to help with the itching.....please let me know.
The kids have something special for tomorrow.
Have a great evening......

Hello.....Nice to Meet You....

That's how I feel....been gone so long. Haven't posted about my babies birthdays or Husky Haven or much else for that matter. So I'll update and then I can start fresh here!!
My Dad's house has a contract on it, he is happy in his senior living apartment, we finished the estate sale and now all we have left is to pack everything else up and give it to charity. In a few weeks my long nightmare (Denise's too) will be over...it really feels good and I hope I never have to do it again!!! Funny story though....the estate sale was a big hit and everyone asked what company set it up for us, it was so well done!!! When I said my friend and I they were shocked and asked if we were going into business......NO!!!!!
For the most part all the kids are doing well.....I did have a scare with Lizzy the other night. Both Lizzy and TJ like to lay outside in the evening (can't imagine why....the humidity is 1000%). I walked outside Monday and saw a pile of vomit by Lizzy....very much like two years ago. Then she had bad diarrhea and threw up all night.Obviously all I could think of was her problems of 2014...that scared me to death. Called the doc....we put her on anti nausea and anti diarrhea meds and hoped for the best....didn't want to think of the other option. The meds worked....here she was today on a walk......

Did you miss me...I missed you...rotten mom....

The girl is a fighter...I'll give her that!!!!
I swear I have tons of stuff and will be back in a couple days ( I will!!!)
Have a wonderful evening......

Happy Birthday Mom....

Today would have been my mom's 88th birthday. She has been gone these ten years and I miss her. Was going through my dad's house and found a ton of pics....some I'd never seen. Found this one...she was a beautiful  girl....

Love you mom and miss you.....

I Did it Again......

Well I'm happy to be back spending a little time writing after these last three weeks. Some good things were my father's 90th birthday party ( he was quite shocked) , and beautiful Adam getting adopted. Basically though I've been cleaning my dad's house, throwing stuff away, organizing and getting ready for an estate sale, then sell the house. What a hassle, my friend, Denise, can attest to that, she has been so helpful but both of us are really tired of it. Just when you think you have most of it done you open a closet or a drawer and it's full of more stuff!!! Oh well, next weekend is the sale and move on from there!!
The dogs are really hating me right now....obviously I don't spend as much time as I should with them...at least that's what they tell me. I really don't see the problem since they are usually like this.....

The title of this post, however, refers to birds. Last year I had a family of birds grow up in a soda box on the ledge of one of my windows. It was great fun watching mom and dad build the nest and then feed the babies as they were growing. Unfortunately, the day they all decided to fly I wasn't paying attention, let the dogs out and two of the babies fell off the fence and on Lizzy. When she swatted them off she killed both of them....very sad. So a month ago when my son was here he was having a cig and told me we again had a family in that nest in the box. All winter I said I was going to throw it away so that wouldn't happen again.....right.

This morning...

I know it's hard to see, but today they were out of the nest so I knew they would take off soon. I just went out to check...they were all gone but hanging in the lawn trying to fly. The dogs are still in and I hope they get a chance to get away. I'm rooting for you!!! The box will go in the trash tomorrow...as fun as it was, just too nerve wracking for me.....
I have an adventure coming up this weekend...will see how that goes....
Have a great afternoon....

Happy 90th

My dad is 90 today. I've been thinking of things to say, but that is pretty terrific considering he is still going strong. I know he has problems, but I have friends 20 years younger that have health issues he doesn't have. I have been posting on this blog that I am going through his house and getting things ready to sell the house since he has moved into senior living. Very daunting task, but found so many pictures had to ask him about today. We went to lunch and I caught him off guard as I showed him pics I'd never seen.

Asked him about this....his high school basketball team(6th from the left) he was fifteen . He remembered every guy on that team....that was 75 years ago!!!
So this one....

My dad went to basic for the Navy at 17....WWII... they needed bodies. His basic was outside Chicago and then he went  to school to be a radio tech. This was taken by his mom before he was shipped out to the Pacific. He was shipwrecked not long after, everyone survived!!! His motivation was the GI Bill....his parents had grade school educations and he wanted to do something better for him....he did get a PhD in chemistry thanks to that. Smart man!!!
Last pic for today....

1955...back from the war...married to my beautiful mom. They were a beautiful couple!!
Dad...I know we have had issues, but those are long gone....I love you and am so glad you are happy....see for your party you have no idea is happening Saturday.
Have a wonderful afternoon, I had a great day with my dad....
Happy Cinco de Mayo.....

Keep Your Fingers Crossed......

Adam....our beautiful big boy, finally had a great family send in a foster application for him. We have been taking him to shows trying to get him some attention....don't know if that was it , but that's the story I'm going with. They came to see him last Friday and just fell in love. He is great with small kids, not all larger dogs are, and their one year old and three year old had a great time!!! I think they really wanted to adopt him on the spot....but he has one small problem. He's very storm phobic. We were going to have another round of storms that weekend and wanted them to be able to deal with that. The great thing is that the mom works from home so he will always have someone around. Haven't heard anything so hope no news is good news......

This beautiful picture was taken by one of our volunteers after she took Adam for a  walk....

Have a wonderful evening and keep good thoughts for our boy!!!!

A Lot of Work.....

This last week has been so busy. First cleaning up after that terrible storm.....some of my friends had flooded houses....and we were really close ourselves. I have been getting my dads house ready for an estate sale and then house sale and planning his 90th birthday party for next week. But when those things weren't happening we did manage to get some dogs out to a show or two.
We have been taking Onyx, Liesl and Adam out....they get along pretty well together. We have gone to two shows with these guys and they sure had a lot of fun and so enjoyed all the human interaction....but pictures speak louder than words!!

Onyx getting a  friendly pet.....

Liesl and Onyx having a conversation....

Adam getting some love....

This young man loved petting Onyx....

Dogs make good pillows too!!!

Adam on the way home....

Such a cute pic of Onyx I couldn't resist!!!

I'm hoping we will get in some applications for these sweet kids.....they all deserve wonderful forever homes!!!!
Keep us in your thoughts , seems we are going round 2 with Mother Nature this weekend....just what we need more rain!!!
Have a wonderful evening.......