Loving little changes and growth

Learning to enjoy and revel in the little changes and growth of a rescued pet and puppy mill survivor increases those bonds you make with that pet and is so very rewarding!

I am constantly amazed at how much peace and happiness my bunch share with me. To look in their eyes you can truly see how much they love you and how happy they become. Or to watch a little girl like Abby here who always smiles when she sleeps, and wonder how she does it when you know she was abused and unloved for the first 7 years of her life. For her to bounce back and be so happy through it all and believe me, she does love everyone she meets. Little things like this melts my heart and fills me to the brim with happiness.

To be able to come home to these two little dogs who are always genuinely ecstatic to see me in the evenings, makes my day complete and releases the day's stresses from work. This makes my house a home and a happy place.

I cannot begin to imagine anyone who could be so cruel in their treatment of these animals, nor can I begin to imagine the horrors they must have gone through. I only know that I've seen them bounce back, learn to be happy, no longer afraid, and learn to trust people again.

Brody is still making advances and showing his happiness and personality every day. He doesn't like me out of his sight when I'm home, he's learned to be more and more relaxed around strangers in the house, he's learned to play, finally give tentative kisses to me on the nose or cheek and it is an absolute joy to watch how excited he gets when it's bed time and he loves snuggling in bed with me and the cats. He's also learned to be patient and very gentle in waking me when he has to go out in the middle of the night. Unlike Punkin who thinks I should wake to suit him when he wants and be a little smug devil about it.

Both dogs love to sleep on the couch and cuddle with me and their kitten buddies who are both rescues themselves. However, quite often if I make the mistake of getting up for something, they tend to take over the sofa. Then as much as I hate to move them, if I want to sit somewhere other than the floor, I have to move them.

Abby loves everyone who walks through the door for the most part, though there has only been one person who ever came into the house that she did not like and expressed that dislike by barking and growling at that person. She loves all the kittens I have fostered in past and wants to mother them all. She still mothers the two who've stayed as they grow and they adore her, that's their momma dog. Although I will say that Punkin, pictured above, really loves Brody best and is rarely far from him.

It has been an amazing journey learning from them and watching them grow and develop their personalities. And I love how they talk, Corgis have their own talk and don't just bark to bark, they talk. I have also firmly decided that there is nothing cuter than watching a corgi from behind as he goes downstairs. Always, always makes me smile. Or watching him race up the stairs and stand with a goofy doggie grin at the top waiting for me. I never miss an opportunity to tell and express to them how much I love them.

Although the new thing we're working on for Brody is his becoming protective of me. He will woof or growl sometimes at the roommate's dog if he perceives he's in my space and does this really only when both the rommie and I are in the room. He has also woofed and watched others in the house warily. We've been working on redirecting. I have to say that he's smart and quick to pick up the redirection, but never loses sight of a potential "threat" to me. The moment I see him tense and start a low growl, we redirect with a firm no, or his name and placing my hand on him. This works for him and he won't jump down and try to chase off Rico, thereby starting an argument. He'll quiet down and just watch, then in a couple minutes he ignores the situation and gives me a tentative kiss. looking for the approval for being a good boy. Which is my cue to give him his favorite thing, and ear massage, which calms him further.

Currently Brody's favorite game is to play tag with the kittens, or rather, catch me if you can and I'll sneak up and swat you game. Watching this interplay always makes me laugh. You'll see the kittens egg him on, (sometimes Abby gets in on it) he chase the kittens, and when they come round a corner or back down the stairs, the kittens are chasing him. Even my slightly older female cat, Jasmine gets in on the fun. A lot of the time Punkin likes to run up behind or onto something and wait till the dogs go by and playfully swat them and run starting the chase all over again. And if the doggies actually corner one, the kitten usually rolls over and lets the dogs molest them or push them around with their noses, then he gets up and the chase begins again. Binx is the most tolerant about the dogs molesting him. And it's these stories that makes my veterinarian laugh and surprised. He thought perhaps the corgis were herding the cats, as that's their nature. I just laugh and say it's the other way round. And then show him pictures like the one above and he gets it, smiling and amazed that they're all such best friends.

Don't get me wrong, both dogs still have fears of things that make them anxious, for example any sharp report/sound that sounds like a gun will send them both, especially Brody into a panic and he will get very clingy. Unhappy people or upset folks make them anxious and Abby does her best at redirection by distraction by talking at them, and being silly and dancing around. She's trying to get the person to let go of the anger and laugh at her. Bless her lil' heart.

Yeah, I am very amazed at the resilience of these two little dogs, who are learning to love, play and be happy as they should have been all their lives. And watching them learn to forgive humans and trust us again. Yeah love, patience and compassion goes a long ways. They're so sunny and make my heart complete.

If you've never adopted a rescued dog, do so, it's so very worth it, and you'll be surprised at who rescued who. We humans have a lot to learn from animals, and it's time to help stop acts of cruelty and neglect. Do what you can, adopt, volunteer, foster, educate.... Doesn't matter the breed to species, they all deserve our respect and we can learn a lot from them. Please never buy, always adopt. Get involved, learn yourself to care about something other than yourself, it's so very worth it, I promise.

Progress and contentment!

Ah yeah.... I think that I fall more in love with my fur kids everyday. Everyday they bring me so much joy, laughter and contentment. And the strides that my boy Brody is making in coming out of his shell is amazing!

However, I had to post this pic, this is a typical evening at home, all cuddled up and snoozing on the sofa with me while we watch TV. Brody has become quite the snuggler.

And Bedtime is his favorite time. He's getting good at crashing and taking up space on the other side of the bed! Well unless it's a very cold night, then he wants to snuggle next to me under the covers with his head on the pillow like mom.

And those cold nights gets everyone into the bed, I do believe that for me, king-sized is a necessity!

But onto other things. Brody was very fearful of everything when he first came home. And has always been fearful of new people and men especially. It usually takes him a month or more to warm up to someone new. However, recently I had a new roommate move in with her dog on the first of the month. The animals all loved her right off. And within two days of her moving in, Brody was greeting her with a smile and tail wagging, or butt wiggling like Corgis do.

Last week though she had to be gone for a few days for surgery then stay with her mom over the weekend. The morning of that day, we were both up getting ready, and the dogs knew she was anxious. So they both trotted back to the bathroom to wiggle their butts, smile and say good morning to her. All I saw was the hind ends outside the door as they stood there patiently, wiggling, for her to say good morning and smile. Once they accomplished that mission, they themselves were so happy!

She came back home with her doggie last night, Brody and Abby were thrilled to see her and talked and wiggled. Made my evening. As they did this morning, when she came out to let Rico outside, Brody just trotted as quick as he could over to her to greet her with a smile and wiggle.

These are big, no huge steps, for him! It's wonderful to see him accept someone new and know when they need a smile or loving. Then holding his head up high with a swagger to his trot, come back to me as if to say, "Mission Accomplished!" Then he'll make us laugh by going in search of his two bestest buddies, kittens Binx and Punkin to start a game of tag. And yes, he and those two kittens are the best of friends and really do play so well together.

Everyday I believe these fur kids teach me more about forgiving and unbridled love. To see the love reflected back in their eyes to me, to finally be giving me a kiss on the nose, or purr when I pick them up, to reaching up for a hug (as Jasmine does), warms my heart and totally makes my days brighter and happier.

I have to say a huge THANK YOU to National Mill Dog Rescue for rescuing these two wonderful dogs, and allowing me to share my life with them. They mean so very much to me!

My tribe, or if you'd rather, my pack.

My house isn't perfect and spotless, it's mostly furry, even within 5 minutes of cleaning the floors and surfaces. Some folks might cringe over that, but it's impossible to keep a spotless home, or rather less dust bunnies everywhere if you share your home and life with animal companions. And personally, I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's moments like this one that makes my life content, my home a loving and happy place, and makes it my sanctuary. And it happens to make it a sanctuary for the rescued adopted fur kids my home, despite what changes happen around us.

This was Abby last evening, on the sofa while I enjoyed a bit of mindless downtime watching TV. She was softly snoring, and smiling while she sleeps. It's moments of realization like this that keeps my heart full of happiness, bursting with love and compassion.

It's watching her greet everyone with a smile and pure joy to be meeting someone and getting loving! It's seeing my other boy, Brody come out of his shell and accept my new roommate after two days with wags and a tentative kiss on the hand, wanting a pet and kind words from her. It's seeing him ecstatically happy like this and playing with the kittens or his toys.

It is so rewarding, and I love them to pieces. I'm so proud of the progress he's made since I got him a little over a year ago. He was so frightened when he came home, scared of anyone new, any noise, didn't know how to bark or talk or wag his little bitty tail or play. He's learned now, though he's still wary of strangers and still scared of men, and it usually takes up to a month for him to warm up enough to say hello or sniff a new person, this time he accepted my new roomie in two days, and to watch him this morning as he greeted her when she got up with wags and a little talk as if to say "Good Morning! We're here to share a smile!", confirmed that these two rescued me too. Very much made my morning and a great start to the day.

See these two have time to make up, to love, play and be doggies, and to especially accept love and care. They both were rescued from an illegal breeder in the Midwest, which is another word for puppy mill. Abby spent 7 years of her life in a crate, doing nothing but giving birth, not knowing kindness or proper care or love. But she never let go of her sunny outlook, she's learned to walk and get around again, dance and get up a step, be cuddled and love it, snuggle with me on the sofa, and play. She really does love everyone she meets, and tells them so. Brody spent the first two years of his life in the same mill, and I have no idea what was done to him, but the fear is taking time to overcome, and it's a testament of what love, tenderness and care can do to help change this. He's such a happy boy now, and loves to play with the kittens, (they're his best buddies), race me up the stairs to snuggle with me at bedtime, or push his way in to being the center of my lap or attention on the sofa.

Think about it though, these two like so many other dogs, didn't know what a bed was, much less a dog bed, what living inside is, what it is to be petted with loving words and a soft hand, to be encouraged to talk back with you, to play or run in a yard with grass and leaves. They know what it's like now, and they love it. Brody loves the brisk mornings and loves to run for the sheer joy of running around the yard, then comes up for loving words and a pet to run around again. Brings a smile to my face every time. And to see Abby dance and talk to me when I come home from work, or be so happy at supper time or knowing I'm giving them a treat. To see her get to momma the kittens and love on them and play, or just sleep with a smile all the time keeps me content and very loved and happy.

Please, always adopt, you won't be sorry, they'll give so much back to you if you'll let them, they'll truly change your life. Doesn't matter the age, if they want to share their heart, soul, and life with you, let them in. Kitty, doggy, rabbit or horse or other unwanted animal, they'll tell you when they have picked you. Let's put the evil puppy mills out of business!

Cuteness and Wondering if the house will survive

Ahhhhh, we all love kittens and puppies don't we? They're so cute and you just want to cuddle them to pieces don't you? Well, yes, they're cute, and fun and make you laugh, but they have their exasperating moments too.

Well, surviving multiple kittens in the house can be challenging! Up until I'd adopted Jasmine over a year ago now, it had been a very, very long time since I'd had a kitten in the house. I will say, she was fun and a careful kitten. She has never broken or purposely knocked things off while being a wild child.

HA! What was I thinking last June when I agreed to help out the Espanola Valley Shelter and foster some kittens for awhile? I think I must have been out of my mind some days. But honestly, I don't regret it for a moment. There have been a lot of laughs involved.

And while I did not intend to keep any of the kittens I fostered, well, I'll have to admit, there were two foster failures.

Meet Punkin and Binx. They both decided they needed to stay with me and the rest of the menagerie in the house. Cute and innocent looking right? Riiiiight..... While they have their absolute adorable moments and lovey dovey moments, there are also those moments of sheer exasperation. AND, don't forget, Jasmine is still technically a kitten!

Add to that a corgi that's still learning to be a puppy and play himself, and you get mayhem and then you wonder if the house will ever survive or be the same again!

It was great when they were small and had not learned about getting up onto the counters and all the potential delights that might be up there. And while Abby was able to keep them somewhat corralled. Now they're getting big fast and nothing is safe. And I will say it is startling the first few times Punkin discovered he could get up on the top shelf by my closet door over my head when I go into the closet and managing to scare the hell out of me when I come out, (I think he's pretending to be a bird of prey or some such) I wonder if I'll die young of heart failure.

Lets see.... to date I've lost a lamp, a ceramic piece I'd made when I was a kid, a couple dishes, loaves of gluten free bread that my roommate keeps leaving out on the counter, I have numerous ventilation holes all over my legs where they insist on climbing up me like a tree, tooth marked mail and papers, disappearing rubber bands, socks disappearing, hmmmmm, pretty much everything. OH! And trying to teach stubborn kittens what NO means with a squirt bottle feels like a losing battle some days!

Yeah, they look innocent and cute.... Methinks they're devils in cute clothes. And despite all that, I do love them to pieces as do the dogs. They both love the dogs and play with them or cuddle them. And they are always up to inventing new games with Brody. Hoo Boy!

Point in case, I almost got bounced out of bed last night! Last night was only the second night that Brody has decided to sleep with me. Usually at bed time, the kittens come upstairs with me and we play a little bit of cover critters (where you have your hand or foot under the thick covers and the kittens attack and chase them) for about 5 or 10 minutes, then we turn out the lights and hit the hay.

Well, last night it became a whole different game, and me and the bed quickly became an amusement park/obstacle course with 3 cats/kittens and one 30 lb corgi. Seems Brody thought it would be fun to join in the game and that, gee, this bed is fun and bouncy! So I got bounced on, run over, bounced almost out of bed, and a wet nose in the ear when I replied with "OOF"! Took about 20 minutes for them to wear themselves out and finally snuggle up for sleep. Yes it was cold in these parts last night, and everyone decided mom is a portable heat pack.

I often wonder if the house will survive kitten hood. At least the boys aren't like Jasmine and think the plants are for their personal jungle stalking vantage points. So the plants might survive this round, but the chairs and couch have all been scaled so much now, things knocked off, papers all over when I get home, things dragged downstairs that I thought should stay upstairs, who knows?

At least with all the painting lately that I've been doing, the kittens aren't the ones wearing paint, it always seems to be Brody from brushing up against it while it's wet. And I think every week when I vacuum that I must collect enough hair to make more critters. But for all this, I have a fun and happy house with laughter in it and I love coming home to them!

I mean, come on, who wouldn't feel something looking at this? :)

Puppy Mill Survivors, Rescuing them or do they rescue us?

Wow, it's been a very long time since I've blogged on this one. :( So many changes and such. After my beloved Djinn passed in January 2010 I was down to the two cats, Yummy and Jasmine and my two little dogs. Well both the little dogs have passed to the Rainbow Bridge now sadly. But I'm not blogging about that today.

Today I wanted to express my experiences with the two amazing little corgis I've adopted in the last year and how they rescued me as much as they were rescued. And it is still a hard fact, animals pick us, they pick the person they choose to spend their lives with.

Meet Brody first. He was rescued from an illegal breeder in Iowa by National Mill Dog Rescue in Peyton, Colorado, outside of Colorado Springs. I had started following them last year as my ex and I were splitting and going through a divorce at the time. My littlest dog, Thumbelina became depressed and was trying to run away, and I realized I needed a companion for her to be happy with.

When Brody's picture came up on their list of available dogs, I knew in my heart he was meant to be with us. So I applied and then waited on tenterhooks for either acceptance or rejection. Well, as you guessed, I was accepted! So I drove to Colorado Springs the following weekend to meet him and adopt him, but making sure he wanted to be with me first.

What I met was a very frightened slightly underweight corgi who was so scared of everything. I sat on the floor with him for the better part of an hour, doing Tellington tTouch and talking and not giving up. It was about 20 minutes before he gave me a huge sigh and snuggled closer to me. That was the sign I was waiting for, acceptance and the first tentative bond to me.

So we washed him up and home we went after finding out a bit more about his history. Seems the breeder had no money to even begin to care for the dogs anymore, and told NMDR either come get them or they'll die. She'd been only feeding them moldy bread from dumpsters as she could. I knew this boy needed healing and love and it would take time to let him be the dog and pup he should be. He was only 2 yrs old at the time.

I got home with him, and Thumbelina was so excited and loved him on sight. As did the cats, Jasmine and Yummy, and they both went right up to greet him (unheard of for Jasmine as she detested the little dogs) and both washed his face, much to his consternation.

Those first weeks, we spent learning the routine, the fact of strangers and his yard. And getting him to eat regularly without fear of losing his food. During the first month with me, my daughter and two granddaughters moved in also. Who also helped him quite a bit to learn to adapt and accept change and people.

It was quickly discovered how quickly he was bonding to me, when at the end of the first month I went on a trip and the girls took care of him. He stressed out easily, stopped eating and had bad bloody diarrhea. Off to the vet we went when I got home. The vet diagnosed Colitis. and for a while the prescription helped. At this time I fell more and more in love with him. And he started coming out of his fear. Although he was still terrified of all men.

In November just before Thanksgiving, NMDR posted the last little female corgi who hadn't been adopted since July when they were rescued on their Facebook Page. I had met Abby when I was up there and would have adopted her too if I'd had the money at the time, and I noted this when I replied to their post. She was a happy girl and very outgoing. But she is handicapped and was 7 yrs old at the time. So the handicap meant to me that she'd been crated and bred over and over her whole life to date.

Let me note right now, that puppy mills and illegal breeders see dogs or cats as a commodity, and the animals live under horrid conditions and poor care and feeding. All to produce a commodity, puppies, to bring in the money the breeder craves. Apparently Abby couldn't use her back legs when she was rescued, and her  stifles are locked because she spent her life in a crate having litter after litter of puppies. She's learned to get around now very well and dances and runs and plays, despite her handicap.

This is no life for any animal and in my humble opinion, mills need to stop and be made illegal.

Well, another lovely woman, whom I did not know nor had I ever met, who lives in Colorado, offered and paid for Abby's adoption so that she could come home to live with us. Wow, and this was all arranged in about an hour! Many thanks and blessings to Carolyn Solseth for her heartfelt and beautiful generosity! This one was meant to be with me also. And my good friend Jessica who lives in Colorado Springs offered to bring her down a couple days before Thanksgiving when she came down to Santa Fe for the holidays.

I was overwhelmed and humbled with the love and compassion of all these folks and the hard work the Mill Dog Rescue did to accomplish all this!

We met Jessica in town with Abby, and she seemed to know who she was meant to be with and she hasn't looked back since. I just love the two of them to pieces.

Needless to say, they both rescued me too. I needed some emotional grounding and positivity in my life, and they give me that and so much more. And they've very much bonded to me. I look forward to going home each evening and playing and cuddling them both. And I discovered that Brody was very very bonded to me, and really suffered from anxiety any time I went somewhere overnight. This was evident in January, and figured out it wasn't colitis he suffered with, it was Inflamed Bowel and adrenal imbalances. So now he does just fine on an absolute grain free diet.

I have discovered over the summer that Abby loves to nurture. I discovered this when I helped out a local shelter by fostering kittens and Abby mothered them and tried to keep them corralled. Which provided much entertainment.

Brody is coming out of his shell, though he's still easily frightened, but now he quickly becomes curious about most things. He's learned to talk, (corgis talk and have their own language), he's learned to play and loves toys. And he loves the two kittens that ended up staying from fostering as they picked me and Abby.

The kittens love both of them, and encourage play. Every morning Brody and the kittens play tag and they'll all snuggle up together for nap time. This play time is the best entertainment time in the house. I've even been bounced off of the sofa when he's chasing them with great abandon! Sometimes Abby gets in on the game for a bit, but she's happy throwing her toy or bone for herself to play with.

The two of them have provided so much healing to me as I to them. They are never far from my side, they know when I'm blue and do their best to make me laugh or smile. They have become such happy souls. Though Brody is more accepting of strangers coming by than he ever was, he's still wary of men to a degree and will warm up to women more quickly then the men.

Recently, very recently, Brody has learned that there is another level to the house, and has conquered the stairs. He's gotten very good at racing up them after the kittens. I think they encouraged him to learn. And when he makes it successfully down to the bottom his whole body language is happy and proud and what he accomplished and comes to me for a good boy!

Recently he's discovered that this is where I disappear to at bed time. And last night he decided to follow me upstairs at bedtime. I intuitively knew he needed to be with me. So..... he discovered the king sized bed last night and slept with me. Such a gentleman and not a bed hog! The kittens thought this was just grand, and I woke up this morning to a pile of fur not far from me on the bed, one corgi and two kittens in a snuggled pile. Totally made my day.

These two loving and forgiving animals make my day everyday, make coming home a joyful thing, and I have never, ever in my life been so attached to two little dogs. My heart is lost to them. Yeah they rescued me.

And I will say that adopting a puppy mill rescued dog is very, very much worth the time and love. They will re-instill your love and wonder, patience and absolute compassion. It is a joy every day to watch Brody come out of his shell, explore the world, become the dog and pup he never was before NMDR rescued him, and love life without fear. Now Abby, she's probably one of the happiest most outgoing little girls I've ever seen in my life! She greets everyone with a true smile, loves everyone and everything, and those kittens are her babies. She loves mothering them, and they let her.

Thank you everyone at NMDR and Carolyn and Jessica for helping me to spend this time with these incredible dogs and learn about love all over again. Amazing.... simply amazing! And it was so wonderful to meet Carolyn last month in person! Love you to pieces lady!

I'll part with these words, please, never, ever buy a puppy, all that does is perpetrate the cycle of abuse and puppy mills. And leaves other dogs in shelters who are praying for a forever home on death row, to lose their lives. PLEASE always, always adopt! And these puppy mills survivors are all little furballs of miracles and can teach you so much! They're so very forgiving and quick to love and hope. I will also encourage you to support the work or NMDR or adopt so that can help more dogs. And if you can't do that, then support your local shelter, foster an animal even!

Ramblings and new kitten progressions....

Ok, I believe I am about totally resigned to the fact that my house may not survive kittenhood. And perhaps the best word I can create to describe her is that she has "Sassitude". Great word huh? Oh yeah, she has it too.

Once she got run of the house, she discovered what fun the houseplants were. They fast became her jungle, from where she could stalk unsuspecting victims from. And! She could dig and make mom crazy by getting dirt all over the floor! And before you can say it, no, she didn't use them for the litterbox, they are just playgrounds. And she was fast killing some of them much to my dismay. I would move them, set them back upright, you name it, and she'd figure out how to get back into them.

Finally in a state of desperation (I love my plants), I did a bit of research online and chose what seemed a simple and at least aesthetic solution. I got rocks, lovely round and polished type river rocks. I even finally repotted a couple that have been needing to be repotted for awhile now and installed rocks around all those that I could.

When I put the first plant back on it's rolling stand (great for large heavier pots), she immediately thought I'd put it back for her entertainment. I stood back and watched as she immediately jumped into the pot and found much to her dismay, no more soft earthy soil to play in, just this hard cold lumpy stuff. The look I got was humorous, "What the hell is this? And why is it in my play area?" It didn't take long and she got out and sulked. The plants now might survive kittenhood.

Now, I have to say we have also found her to be extremely intelligent and curious about everything. She pretty much follows me everywhere and watches all I do. This includes all things concerning the toilet. She is fascinated with the flushing process and where stuff goes. I can literally see her making the connections for things needing flushing. And lately I have been finding "things" in the toilet downstairs in the mornings. One morning it was one of her play mice, therefore it did not get flushed, and hubby and I have found dead leaves or paper in the bowl numerous times now. I am just waiting for her to figure out the flush mechanism or potty train herself. I wouldn't put it past her.

And the other thing for some reason is the lower bathroom sink drain plug, quite often I find it in the middle of the living room floor in the morning. Haven't figured out why though.

So far we've found that there isn't anything she cannot figure out if she wants it bad enough. And now that she's at the "teenage" long and lean stage, she has figured out her jumping capacity is much more than a couple months ago. Kitchen counters aren't way up there anymore, and the other counter is an excellent place to watch mom prepare interesting tasting food.

She has a chair at the table she has learned to sit at and watch us eat supper most evenings. However, recently when we had company visiting, obviously the smell of the cheeses on one evening's supper were too much for her and she just quick as you please jumped up into our guest's lap and started to help herself to the cheese on his plate. Much to everyone's shock and laughter.

When she's busy cuddling me though she always wants to know what I'm drinking, good thing she only, once in a great while, wants a sip of my water. She doesn't like the coffee, just likes to sniff it, and doesn't like my coconut milk. But I can say she loves cream cheese and mascarpone frosting! You might get shredded trying to keep it away from her.

For all her funny intelligent quirks she has, she's very loving, and has her sassy attitude. Scold her and the attitude takes over, she gets revenge. I come home to her happy to greet me then runs over by the dogs' area and flops out in the sunshine taunting them and doing her best to get my attention before they get some. She also loves to tease the dogs, then gets pissy when they get fed up. And finally someone who torments Yummy as much as he did the other cats when he was young. She's relentless. And he actually is very tolerant, but when he does have enough, watch out! He'll be just as relentless in getting back and pinning her down till she squeals. When he's fully engaged in the game it can sound like a heard of rhinos upstairs.

And for all her wonderful energy, I love how she's such a lazy bug in bed. Getting her to wake and move off of me can take 5 minutes or more. The more you try to move her, the more semi-liquid she becomes and seems to ooze out of your hands to take up more space than she did before you started this endeavor of rising. Most times it is easiest to gently roll her off with the covers.

Gee, can you tell she has us firmly wrapped around her little paws? Yes, it's true. All she has to do is cuddle, purr, and look at me with those eyes, and I immediately become a puddle of goo. And the fact that she's quickly learned to modulate her purr vibration to resonate in my heart, makes the transition all that much sooner. And when she chooses to cuddle, it is always in my arms over my heart, and head and face rubbing my face. Yes, I really love my little girl and yes, she's spoiled. And yes, I do catch my wonderful husband watching her and smiling. I am glad for the smiles and laughter she's brought with her.

A few rants and gripes.....

Now, before I start on my little tirade here, I just want everyone to know that this is just how I feel about some things and how I've perceived them. Doesn't make them right, or less painful, it's how I feel....

First, I like to do what I can within my limits to help animals or pet owners. And I give where I can or help homeless pets find homes when I can or when I feel strongly that maybe that pet is destined to be in a particular place. So I follow quite a few non-profit animal rescue organizations, shelters, and pet adoption agencies on Facebook. One group I like to follow, because I really admire the guys and what they do and stand for. I actually very much admire anyone who goes out to help shelter, rescue and take care of animals needing the care and love. Believe me if I could, or had the means I would be helping as many as I could.

However, daily I watch so many other "fans" who will post these "Must save now" or "on Death Row, please save" links with pictures of animals in shelters to these guys' pages. And each and every person who posts these things seems to expect these celebrities to rescue each and every animal in each and every shelter. Sorry, it gets my goat (no pun intended). If that person is so concerned about the care or welfare of the animals, then find a way to help them on their own. And the harsh truth is that there simply is not enough homes out there for every animal needing a home, not safe and caring homes that is. And we cannot save every soul, and this thought simply breaks my heart.

One of the best things we can do to slow this trend and help animals is to help educate others, keep abreast of when your local shelters are having spay and neuter clinics and spread the word. Help dispel the myths about why it's wrong to spay or neuter. Help educate owners to see why it is in the best interest of the animals that they do alter their animals and not allow them to breed indiscriminately. Don't buy puppies and kittens, because for each animal you buy, you are ensuring another animal somewhere goes homeless or is euthanized.

And as far as purebreds being superior, that too is a myth, it's what is inside any given animal, their soul, their intelligence that counts, not that "Oh I have a dog that cost me 2 thousand dollars and he is so blue blooded..." That is just a status symbol, sorry, but it is, it's like saying a Lamborghini is superior to a Volkswagen, or Chevy, you know what it isn't. People think because it costs more it's got to be far superior to anything else. A mutt is just as valuable and is most likely to be just as loyal as the purbred.

Do remember though that through selective inbreeding and such, many purebreds are not the same healthy and happy dogs that they were 20 yrs ago even. So many have horrible genetic problems it truly is heartbreaking. So by propagating animal breeding by buying is propagating true suffering and illness and premature death on these animals.

Now please understand here I am mostly referring to dogs and cats which are probably the largest population of animals needing rescue or care.

So back to my original rant, I am not sure why these guys don't ask these people to please stop doing this and making all of us feel helpless and sad that we cannot rescue two or three dogs 3,000 miles away when we have so many right here in our own backyards that need our compassion and help. We simply cannot save each and every one of them. And now instead of being sad about them all, they've made me angry that they are playing on people's emotions and such. Because quite often these posts will have a "scheduled for euthanasia" date that was 2 or 3 days prior to the posting, so if those dates and such are true and correct then we are all to late anyway. Which in turn makes me angrier.

My second smaller rant or button pusher is those who tend to be very militant, and in your face types about any animal of any species that is allowed to breed or be bred, including horses, goats, etc. And they can get very very hurtful and mean in their approaches to the owners of those animals. Sorry, while indiscriminate breeding must stop, I also realize the mentality of livestock breeders and how that works (outside of Premarin Mares). And being militant or abusive is only going to alienate people and make them more determined to keep on doing what they are doing.

Personally sometimes it is better to discuss it with an open mind to hear why they may not wish to change, and be prepared to back up your reasoning why it's in the best interest of the animal and progeny to change their thinking and approach. But do so with care and compassion, not pushy and rude and mean.

I apologize if I have angered anyone, but this is how I feel about these issues. And sometimes I simply have to let it out and have my say of what I see or perceive. My husband is always telling me it's how you're perceived, which I take to be the whole package, the choice of words, the body language, etc.

Thank you...... and remember this poster before you buy a pet, and always vow to adopt first.