Pocket Petunia’s big adventure!

February 23, 2012 By in Uncategorized 20 Comments

Remember Pocket Petunia from Love-A-Bull, our flash foster who we placed in an amazing foster home a couple of weeks ago? Well boy has she been having some big adventures!

Yesterday I joined Petunia and her foster mama at an Austin area elementary school for a Healing Species Dogs of Character assembly, in which little Peety was one of the stars! Healing Species is an award-winning, evidence-based character education program that brings rescue dogs into schools to talk to kids about issues that are otherwise hard to discuss effectively. Children learn about rescue dogs in general, and the story of each participating dog is told — along with a theme that the kids can apply to their own lives.

Some folks may have read about Healing Species Texas’ Director Joy Southard on our friend Jackie’s blog last fall. Jackie connected us with Joy, knowing we would have a lot in common. When Joy let us know that she was bringing her amazing program to Austin and needed a child-loving dog with a great story, I immediately thought of little Peety. And as serendipity would have it, Peety’s human foster brother goes to the very school where the assembly was going to be presented!

First thing in the morning, I met the Healing Species Texas team, including little Jackie O — who teaches kids about being nice to the new kid and not judging those who are different:

And Quincy — who teaches kids about speaking out if you’re being bullied or abused, and not giving up until somebody helps:

Little Petunia had her own lesson to teach — about how sometimes people are shy or scared in new situations because of bad things that have happened to them in the past, and it’s important to be kind and accepting to them — and it’s important for them to try to be brave and overcome their fears.

Pocket Petunia did great all in all, even though this was her first time in a big noisy, crowded building. The girl adores children, but 200 of them is more than even she knows what to do with. She was a little shy, but acted very sweetly with the kids who came up after the assembly to pet her.

After the assembly was through, Petunia was ready for a nap — it’s hard work, being so sweet and cute!

For info on adopting Pocket Petunia from Love-A-Bull, click here.

For info on bringing Healing Species Texas to your local school or other facility, click here.

What they really said

February 22, 2012 By in Uncategorized 43 Comments

It seems that long, long before foster dad and I started seriously talking about making the Dude a perma-dog in our house, the boys were already plotting. Here’s evidence from January 17 — just two weeks after the Dude’s arrival:

"I think I'd like for you to be my foreverdog"

I think I'd like for you to be my foreverdog too . . .

Reality Bites: the consequences of falling in love

February 21, 2012 By in Chick, Snickerdoodle 71 Comments

When B and I met in 2004, he had his sights set on law school in general, and Texas in particular. I was pretty settled in my DC life — I hadn’t ever lived anywhere else. In a few short weeks, it became clear — he was moving to Austin, and so was I.

I didn’t have a plan, and at the time it felt like I was giving up a lot to make the move. It was exciting, but scary. I was dazzled to have B in my life and be so sure about that puzzle piece, but felt a little crazy giving up what seemed like so much. But I jumped in with both feet, and life has been one amazing ride.

Eight years later, we met Snickerdoodle. As we have done with a handful of foster dogs in the past, we started joking a few days into his stay with us: “I’m going to keep him.” Only the more we joked about it, the more we realized that we weren’t sure if we were joking.

Obviously, the Dude fits in to our family quite well. Our own Chick took to him pretty much right away, which is a real rarity for him. Over the past weeks as we’ve walked into a room to find them laying on top of each other in a sweet, napping dogpile, we’ve gotten to thinking — is it possible that we have chosen the Dude for ourselves, and Chick chosen him for himself, too?

As with any other big decisions, this one comes with consequences. The biggest? The fostering career that we have put so much of our hearts into will have to go on hiatus, at least for a while.  As much as we love the idea of a houseful of dogs, we just can’t properly care for more than two — the Chick and one other.

This scares us a whole lot in some ways. Because everything will be different. And it excites us a whole lot in other ways. Because everything will be different.

Stay tuned to follow along on this ever-wild ride.

 

 

Through the safety of a big picture window

February 20, 2012 By in Uncategorized 29 Comments

Through the safety of our big antique window, the boys sit and watch the world go by.

When it rains, they stay clean and dry. When it’s chilly, they stay toasty warm. When the boogieman (aka the UPS man) comes calling, they are protected by the thin, clear pane. When a neighbor’s adventuresome tabby cat struts by to dig in our garden, they can only stare intently.

They wiggle their tails in greeting at the mailman and the neighbors, and paint runny-nose-messages on the glass to the other dogs walking with their owners. When we hop in the car or head down the street for a run, their little eyes, noses, and ears are peering intently at us, beckoning us to come home soon. When we return, the boys are roused from their peaceful slumber by the sound of the key jingling in the lock, and their curious foreheads pop into view, like groundhogs checking on the weather.

Chix-A-Lot Friday: I am a really big deal (and another package for the Doodle)

February 17, 2012 By in Chick, Snickerdoodle 42 Comments

I already suspected that I was a really big deal because of the way people always dote on me and tell me how handsome and clever and charming and sweet and soft I am. But now I KNOW I am a big deal. Wanna know how?

Well my foster brother Dude is sick with the heart-eating worms, so he’s been getting lots of extra treats and pets and packages in the mail from blog-friends. But here’s the thing: I am not sick with any kind of worms at all, but I am also getting extra treats, pets, and packages! Obviously there is no sickness-reason for me to be getting special things, so I must be getting them just because I am such a big deal — right? And believe me– I am not complaining.

Last week we got another package in the mail from one of our blog readers, a nice lady from a cold place in the North. Her name is Kate. Mama gets packages all the time with business stuff and rescue stuff and shoes and books and other things, so I didn’t think much of it. But the second that package came through the door and I gave it a quick sniff, I knew. I could smell that the address label said not “Mama” but “Sir Chick and Snickerdoodle” on the front of it. Hooray for me!

So the Dude and I stared her down patiently waited until she opened it. And when she did, we couldn’t believe our eyes. We were so amazed by how beautiful the insides of the box were that we nearly forgot about the jars of treats that were underneath all the beautifulness. Mama must be some kind of magician because she took all that beautifulness, untangled it, and hung it on the wall, until it looked like this:

I bet you don’t even know what that is, right? Well I will tell you! It’s like an advent calendar, only for counting down not till Christmas, but till Dude has officially kicked all of his wormies!

There is one card for each day between last week and the day that the Dude can officially play tug-of-war and go running with me.

Inside each card, there is a happy thought for them people, and another for us dogs. Like this. (I will let you guess which happy thought is for them humans and which is for us dogs):

And boy oh boy, our gift-giver sure did hit the nail on the head! How did she know that mama loves lunchtime margaritas, and that we love packages in the mail with doggie treats inside? She must be a mindreader!

So every evening, mama plucks another card off our Dude-vent calendar and grabs two cookies from the cute jars that Kate sent us, and we go into our very favorite room– the movie / office / dog / guestroom / home of The Dora. Mama asks me and the Dude to lay down on the rug, and reads us our happy thought for the day. Then we each get a cookie.

We can’t get over the yumminess of the cookies, the thoughtfulness of our blog friend Kate, or how beautifully our Dude-vent calendar matches our favorite rug in our favorite room. Mama says nobody has ever done anything quite so creative for us before. She even got a little leaky-eyed when she opened up the package and saw all of the beautifulness inside and read all of those words on the big piece of paper. And now eveningtime is our favorite time of the day! Thank you Kate, we just know that Mr. Dude’s recovery is going to speed on by!

Chickerdoodle cookies to mend a dog’s heart

February 16, 2012 By in Chick, Snickerdoodle 22 Comments

The party just doesn’t end for the Dude and the Chick, does it? The gorgeous, hand-knit scarves they received from a special facebook fan aren’t the only gift the boys received to help Doodlebug heal from his heartworms. The other day in the mail, we received another package — this one from our dear blog-friend Alana (and her two beautiful pit bull type dogs, Molly and foster-ish Brodie). Check out this package full of treats!

They’re not unappreciative, but the boys passed right over the toys: a soft, fuzzy, squeaky heart for the Dude to serve as a role model for his own ailing heart and a rope toy for the Chick-man so he can get out his crazies playing with mama and dad instead of bugging his brother who has to remain calm for the next six weeks. Why did they ignore their lovely new toys? Because of the scrumptious, handmade cookies that Alana, Molly, and Brodie made for them.

Fantastic, right? They even look and smell like human snickerdoodle cookies — but these are a special creation just for our boys — Chickerdoodles!

A seasoned mama to big, block-headed dogs with a huge appetite for cookies, Alana must have known that treats are the absolute best way to get a couple of greedy boys to pose for photos with their bounty.

A big thank you from Texas to Alaska for the goodies, friends!

 

A little gift to raise the spirits

February 15, 2012 By in Chick, Snickerdoodle 48 Comments

It’s been rainy in Central Texas lately, which is a real blessing. We’re in the midst of a historic drought, so a little bit of moisture for the earth makes us pretty happy.

It’s also been raining gifts and surprises in our house over the past few weeks, since the Dude was diagnosed with severe, late-stage heartworms. We’ve been amazed at the kindness and generosity of our blog and facebook friends, who have sent cards, notes, emails, photos, and even a couple of little packages to help the Dude make it through his nasty ten-week treatment (and help the Chick be the sweet, loving big brother he needs to be).

A few days ago, we got this package in the mail from our facebook-friend Rachel from Tumball, Texas:

It was a beautiful card with a historic photo of a pit bull type dog dressed up in a jaunty top hat, pipe, and party suit, and a pair of custom, hand-knit, perfectly sized scarves! Naturally, the boys –who LOVE to dress up — couldn’t wait to wear them on the first chilly occasion they god, and pulled them out this weekend for the 10-minute “snow” storm we had.

The scarves are so cozy and chic that they make the boys feel like 1920s artists and writers, sitting around at an outdoor french cafe drinking cognac and tea, arguing about love and politics!

Thank you Rachel!

Nothing says “I love you” like a knucklebone . . .

February 14, 2012 By in Snickerdoodle 42 Comments

If you are vegan, you know you love your dogs if you bravely march up to the meat counter at your neighborhood grocery to ask for raw cow bones. Foster mom has never done this before, but after much reading and convincing by various dog trainer and vet friends, I finally buckled. I went to our closest Central Market  and bought a six-pound femur bone. It was totally disgusting — covered in little bits of fat, meat, and other inner nasties — but in a weird way, totally satisfying, too.

The Dude got to come home in between his two back-to-back heartworm shots to cuddle up on the couch with his Chick and some blankets, and I felt like buying him a delicious and heroic treat to celebrate. Plus, it’s Valentine’s Day. And to a dog, what says “I love you” better than a six-pound raw cow bone? I had visions of the two boys being happily reunited for the night, and then peacefully gnawing on their bones in the living room, forgetting about all of their  troubles.

Unfortunately, the plan didn’t work out quite so. Chick was excited to see the Dude only until he realized that there was a cow bone in the house, in which case his mind went completely blank except for the bone – the bone – the bone – thebonethebone – THEBONE.THEBONE.THEBONE.

Dude, on the other hand, wasn’t excited to see the Chick OR the bone — the combo of the heartworm injection and the pain and anti-inflammatory meds have made him totally drowsy, mopey, and without an appetite.

All in all, we’re just happy to be together. Wishing you plenty of togetherness on this Valentine’s Day, too.

High five!

February 13, 2012 By in Uncategorized 42 Comments

Well, it’s the big day. This morning we’re shipping the Doodlebug off to the vet’s office for a sleepover. But not a fun sleepover — this one involves two heavy injections into his deep lumbar muscle tissue — hardly your average dog’s idea of a good time.

But we keep telling him: six weeks from now — assuming all goes well — the Dude will be heartworm and trouble free. We’re already planning his adventures. We’ve been talking them up so much, in fact, that he’s been getting pumped up for his vet stay and heartworm treatment.

Giant needles in my spine? Game on! Bring it on, heartworms. I’m gonna destroy you! High five!

Chix-a-Lot Friday: Big brother worries

February 10, 2012 By in Chick 38 Comments

Yo, it’s me: Big Brother. You may be wondering: what am I doing here, sniffing this empty dog t-shirt that I got as a gift from my foster-great-aunt Margaret (thank you Aunt Malgosia)?

Well, I’m just practicing being alone. For what, you might ask? For next Monday, I will tell you. When my Foster Kid, the Dude, has to go in to the vet’s office for his second round of heartworm treatment.

It’s been almost four weeks now since the morning he woke up coughing blood and had to get his first injection to kill the evil worms that are trying to eat his heart and soul (go to hell little wormies, we quite like the Dude’s heart and soul and would prefer to keep them for ourselves, thankyouverymuch). And mama says that means he’s due for his next round. I’m not sure what’s so round about these special heartworm shots (all the shots I’ve ever seen are pokey and come in a tube and are most definitely not round). But anyhow, this next time he has to go to the vet on Monday, get a shot, and then stay there for a whole 24 hours and get another shot. After that, they’re going to keep him for even more hours so they can monitor him and make sure he’s doing ok.

I don’t know about you, but I think that sounds like an awful lot of hours for a dog to be at the vet’s office. I’m thinking about sending him a care package to keep him company, and maybe putting myself and his “Foster Kid” t-shirt in the package too. I wonder if we’d help him make it through ok!