Kitty

Okay, so I did find a few cute pics after I loaded them off my card today! Angel loves to sit behind my head on the back of the chairs, and I call her my little "kitty" when she does it!

Scruffy Girl

No pics right now, but I hope to post one maybe tomorrow if all goes well! By "all goes well", I mean her bathing and grooming session we hope to get done! Angel gets mats so easily and she really doesn't like to be combed or brushed much at all. She always has a dirty face because she likes to burrow her face into piles of leaves and it makes her face all brownish. She looks like a little orphan dog right now! I just got so busy through the holidays that I neglected her grooming...sorry Angel. If it makes her feel any better, I need a cut and color too! :) We are terrified to take her to a groomer. Our last dog, Sophie, did not like going there at all and would slip her collar on the way in. That was the last time we took her. We figured if she was that miserable there, we would do it ourselves. With Angel, she just doesn't like strangers. I mean, she REALLY doesn't like them. So to have one all up in her business would probably not go so well. Since we're still trying to establish safety and security for her, we want to hold off on meeting with groomers and trainers for now. That means poor Angel will continue to have bad haircuts until I learn what I'm doing! My dad suggested getting her an anti-anxiety med, but our last dog needed that and it really didn't make a difference. Not only that, I hate giving them unnecessary medications. So, we will just deal with it, as we do all of her quirks! I keep relating Angel's issues to parents who may have a child with an issue. You certainly don't get rid of your child because they aren't exactly what you expected, right? You learn to work with them, help them to succeed, praise whenever you see progress, and encourage them!! So, it is with us, to do all of those things for dear Angel. And like the kids say, "so what if she doesn't like people? It will just keep the bad ones away!" Amen!

Tree Sleeper

Angel and I are going to be very busy decorating a birthday cake tomorrow, so I thought I'd better double-post tonight. Serena is turning 13 tomorrow! I officially have two teenagers in the house! Angel loves them to pieces and I think sometimes she relates to them on a more "mommy" level, which is awesome to see. Last night I put the new fleece sheets and fluffy blankets on their beds. Angel "tucked" them in the best way she knows how-she curled up and snuggled with them awhile. It makes our girls so happy to have her in bed with them, but she just won't stay! She sleeps with us on my side of the bed most nights unless she chooses her own bed! Anyway, my favorite present this year was from my girls! They secretly photographed Angel one evening, then took the picture to have it printed and framed! I absolutely love the picture they chose, and I was pretty touched by it. They obviously know what I most treasure...pictures of my family! So, Angel curled up under the tree late on Christmas afternoon, on the CMU windbreaker I bought for Steve. She kept leaving and then coming back, and I didn't move the shirt because I thought she looked so cute. Steve didn't care either! Anyway, this is one of my favorite pictures of her, and the framed photo is actually right behind her!

An Angel's Christmas

Angel was pure joy for us on Christmas! We went shopping for her (not with her!) at PetSmart and we bought her tons of new stuff! Add that to the stuff she got from Grammy and Grampy, and she raked in quite a haul!

Just like the girls, Ang got to open up one gift on Christmas Eve....a brand new bed! She sniffed and sniffed at that thing until finally she settled right in!

I was trying to get a Christmas Eve picture with Angel and the girls in front of the tree. Angel was too excited about her new candy cane squeaker from Grammy and Grampy to settle down! That thing just makes her crazy. I love this picture anyway.

Angel climbed right up on Natalie and gave her sweet kisses on Christmas Eve. The next morning she did the same thing to Serena! Angel girl just gives us so much love!

Angel was so fun to watch getting into her stocking! She stuck her face right in! What a joy to have a dog at Christmas time again, and what a joy to have Angel!

Happy Birthday Angelbabies!

I heard some cool news yesterday...Yesterday, December 18th was Angel's puppies' birthdays! Happy first birthday to you all!! I wish I knew all your names (I know a couple)! If you are following, please let me know the name of the "angelbaby" you have and if you'd like to share something, that would be great too! Angel still seems to be a baby herself at just over 2 years old. She's doing great and we gave her a big hug yesterday on behalf of all the puppy mamas!! I heard she was an awesome mama to them and that 2 are in heaven, but that her remaining four are very happy pups.

A Forever Love

As a child, our family had a couple of dogs. I don't remember the first one, as I was just a baby. Her name was Freckles. She was a cocker spaniel and had a litter of pups. I only know this because there is a picture of me at about 9 months old, poking my finger at the puppies and smiling. My second dog was Pepi, a male poodle mix. I can't exactly remember when we got Pepi, but I'm pretty sure my dad just brought him home one day. As was the case with our second dog, Bo, another black poodle mix, who needed a home as well. He never checked with mom, he knew she'd just make room for the dog, give it a bath, and spoil it rotten. I grew up with both dogs, but they were always my parents' dogs, never just mine. Muffin, our first cat, was found in the trunk of my dad's car. Molly (actually a boy), our maine coon, just showed up one day and my mom and I both began secretly feeding him. We also "secretly" built him a shelter together right outside the sliding glass door. It didn't take long before Molly became a house cat and lived for almost 20 years. Both Pepi and Bo were hit on the busy road we lived on. Muffin died of feline leukemia, as did Molly. Four of the worst days of my childhood. Ones I will never forget. My first dog that belonged to me was Sophie, a bearded collie mix, who we adopted from a local shelter. Apparently she was found wandering a busy road. She was black and white, fluffy, adorable, friendly, and about 13 weeks old. On the day we adopted her, the shelter had just received a request from someone else...a medical research lab! How relieved we were that we got there just in time and she became our family. It was love at first sight! We didn't have any kids back then, so she quickly became our "baby". She made friends everywhere. People would stop us to tell us what a beautiful dog she was. When we brought our babies home from the hospital, Sophie was the first to give them a gentle nudge and stolen lick! She watched Disney movies with them, ate their dropped cheerios, and followed them in the stroller. I won't share the rest of the story, because it's still pretty hard to talk about. We lost 15 year old Sophie in June of 2011, after the hardest week of our lives. Why am I sharing all of this? Well, it just occurred to me that every animal we have ever had was a rescue. Every animal we've had came with a story, usually a sad one. We've never "picked out" a perfectly new puppy or kitten. We've always chosen a pet with a past, a problem, a need. My heart has always been moved at the thought of a pet being left in a shelter. I wish I could save them all. I wish people knew the blessing that they are, whether they are unsocialized, old, or whatever their handicaps are. And because of these so-called 'imperfect' pets, my life will never be the same. And had the shelter rep known exactly who I am and what my heart is, we would have Yofi with us now. Instead, we were met with cynicism, mistrust, and were unfairly judged. That certainly had nothing to do with the animals. That was personal, and she didn't even know us! Here's the thing. Her mistake caused Yofi to become someone's "dream come true" (her new mommy's actual words). So it worked out almost the same way we received all of our animals! And how could I be sad about that? I can't! I have received comments that I won't publish for your privacy, but I want to respond in some way. My heart has been so touched by yours. The fact that you have cared so much for Angel and for all of the dogs is just amazing to me. You are a unique individual!! (there are more than one of you out there!) I want you to know that Yofi's new family is AMAZING! Our lives are very similar, our families are similar, and our dogs are definitely similar. For this person to contact me and say the kind things that have been said to me is what I would call my Christmas Blessing. Her words were healing to our broken hearts and gave us hope that we will see Yofi again, only in a playdate setting with his mom! And not only that, we will plan a future "puppies and families" reunion with Angel! So all is well, and I hope you feel better knowing that. As far as adopting any of Angel's "friends", we will pray about it, but at this time I'm not sure we could handle being let down again. I am praying for the dogs to find perfect families in the meantime. And I am hoping that you will encourage your friends and families to go out to the petfinder websites and find yourself a pet to love. You will be forever changed, forever grateful, and forever have love in your hearts!!

Christmas Card Photo

Yay! She made the family Christmas card! She's cuter when she smiles, but we'll take it!

Happy Ending

Steve and I had to spend some time away Christmas shopping today, and that meant I had to leave Angel. I don't usually leave her for more than a couple hours at a time unless someone is home, so it is always hard on both of us. She is so attached to me and I know it stresses her out, and I worry about her all day. Silly, I know, but I just don't like to break her little heart! My dad (Grampa) came by to take her outside and visit with her a bit, but it still scares her when someone comes in the door when she's not expecting them. We can't even say the word "grampa" or any other name of a friend or family member without her "oofing" at the door! When the girls got home from school, Angel cried and whimpered to them for several minutes, making the girls feel so bad for her. They took good care of her until Steve and I got home as they always do. Angel looks at Natalie (the oldest) as a psuedo-mom whenever I am gone. She curls up on Natalie's lap (usually my lap) or will go to her (usually me) when she needs to go outside. I look at that as a blessing every time my girls step up and give Angel the love and time that I also give her. And of course, don't forget daddy, who would move mountains for her! When we walked in the door, Angel was overjoyed! She came to me first as she always does, but then soon went looking for her daddy. Do you know any humans that are ever that happy to see you? I don't either. And speaking of happiness....I am very grateful to the new owner of Yofi, who contacted me after finding my blog quite by accident. (I believe there aren't really any accidents!) As I expected and hoped for, he has a wonderful new home and a loving family. I was touched that she would want to reach out to me at all. After all, some of my posts were filled with anguish and anger, not toward the new family, but toward the ones who made the mistakes (and I don't know who they were). I can now look at these mistakes as the blessing that went where it needed to go. We don't always know how God uses us, and sometimes it seems we get the short end of the stick, but sometimes our short end needs to happen in order for someone else to be blessed. From what I've been told, Yofi is a blessing to their family and they are a blessing to him. And that is a blessing to us. I hope you will all join me in congratulating them and wishing them the best. This has helped me to resolve this and to put it in its proper place. Thank you...you know who you are!

Christmas Wishes

I was a bit late in taking our annual Christmas card photo this year. For one, we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Yofi so that he could be a part of the card this year. When that fell apart, we decided to wait for it to snow. So we finally got at least half of our wish, and we took Angel outside for a photo session. Well, that girl just loves the snow! It was impossible to get her to focus. I tried to place her on the girls' laps on the front porch, but her head was turning in all directions and she was poised to jump! So I took a few shots anyway, and let's just say she probably won't make the card after all! Another thing that was on the girls' Christmas list besides Yofi, was to take Yofi shopping at Petsmart. Mainly because Angel isn't much of a people person and they were excited to finally be able to take a dog to the pet store. Well, that fell apart, of course, so we're just going to take the girls shopping for Angel instead. She'll probably get double the gifts now! I wish whoever decided to ignore our contact information regarding Yofi would have had to look our kids in the eyes when they did it. I wish they would have thought beyond their own agenda (obviously still working through some anger about this) to know that if a home was already chosen for him, it was for a good reason and it should have been honored. Anyway, I'm sure we can still fill a few wishes despite all of the human error in this world. And I am most certain that Angel will be spoiled, loved, enjoyed, and treasured on Christmas Day and always! She will most definitely get her wish of a family who dearly loves her and would do anything for her.

Angel's Christmas List

I think I know Angel pretty well by now. We've had her for just over 7 months, and she's the queen of the house. Just like the kids are starting to present their Christmas Lists, I can only imagine what Angel's might look like. Here's a peek... 1. My own laundry basket that I don't have to share with the clothes. Pink, of course. 2. Loud, squeaky, furry chipmunks. One for each day of the week, as I will certainly desqueak them the first chance I get. 3. Busy bones in packs of three. I don't know why. I just like busy bones. And the number 3. 4. A friend to play with would be nice once in awhile. These humans just don't understand my need to jump and bite at them. Babies. 5. A new U of M ball. I'm pretty sure one of these humans lost mine. I miss it. It's my favorite ball. My humans wing it everywhere in the house and it doesn't bounce too far for me to catch. Tennis balls are okay, but pretty lame if you ask me. 6. A few pieces of roasted chicken in my dog bowl once in awhile. How hard can it be? 7. I don't mind running loose in the garden, but it's a bit humiliating to smell like rosemary when I come in. Could I get a fenced in yard just for me? 8. I would like to meet Snoopy from Peanuts. Evidently my mom loves him, so I know I would too. I sure hope Angel finds a few of these things under the tree this year. I'm planning on putting a bow on her and calling her my best present yet!

Back to Joy

Angel and I went on a nice long hike through the woods yesterday. I had to stop saying the word, "walk", because it just makes her so excited that I can't get her leashed! So now I say "hike?" and she tilts her cute little head at me, like "what"? It was a balmy day yesterday and the woods were a bit damp, but we stayed on the trails the whole time. Sometimes I let her take off on a "nose hunt", trying to seek out whatever she smells. I enjoy these times with Angel, just walking through the woods, talking to her now and then, watching her investigate, and getting some much-needed exercise for us both. These walks in the woods have served us both well. I was so upset yesterday over the loss of Yofi, but I chose to spend the day loving on Angel and just enjoying what I already have. We returned to the house relaxed and tired, and one of us took a long nap. It wasn't me! As we walked, I couldn't help but think of Sophie, our beardie who passed in June of 2011. She loved the woods and running like crazy, tongue flying, hair flying; you could almost imagine her laughing as she ran with reckless abandon. She never required a leash and we could just take her anywhere and she'd stay right with us. Before we lost her, I spent hours with this big almost 50 pound baby on my lap, stroking her fur and promising I'd never love another dog as much as I love her. Believe it or not, I find this to be true. Sophie has a spot in my heart that is uniquely hers. And now Angel has a spot that is hers and hers alone. I gave my heart to both of them. Losing Yofi made me realize that I have more room in my heart for lots of pets, and one day I will give yet another piece of my heart away. In the meantime, Angel and I have lots of stuff to do together! We are working on some new training to help her deal with strangers. We watch that show, "It's me or the Dog" with Victoria Stilwell. She had a method using a key word, such as "friend" when someone rings the doorbell or comes into the yard. I spent some time with this training, and it went well (without people) until I actually did it when she heard a doorbell on TV (drives her crazy). I said the word, "friend" while giving her a treat and she'd have nothing to do with it. Just kept looking at the door! She's still in fear of people and the unknown, but I can tell by how she treats my mom and dad that she wants so badly to love other humans. Natalie taught Angel "lay down" just last night! Angel is so smart! Right now we are trying to just handle the stranger anxiety, but it's fun to see her learn other commands too. The other night we took Angel with us on a Christmas Light tour around a neighboring town. It was one of those balmy nights where you could have the windows down in the car. Angel was in heaven, head out the window, on my lap, loving the ride. She loves rides and gets at least two a day! I so love having her around. Can you tell?

Sad

Angel is doing great and is as happy as can be. She's asleep on the couch nearby as I write this. I can't say that I am doing great today. In fact, our whole family is incredibly sad. I found out this morning that we will not be able to adopt Yofi after all. In fact, he has already been released to another family. All of my efforts to locate him and adopt him were futile. I had contacted the first shelter and simply asked if they could at least just let me know when or if he was being moved to another location. No one called, as I expected. After some information I was given prior to Thanksgiving, I was waiting for the shelter to contact me with the time and place we could finally come and get him. NO call came, and he was in fact moved, unbeknownst to anyone. So late Friday night I find this out, and I began crying, just knowing if he was moved, he was going to be adopted quicker than I could get to him. I applied for him anyway, trying to explain the story the best I could, letting them know that we were his intended family way back in October, but it was too late. So, that's it. We will not be reuniting mother and pup. We will not be able to take care of him the way we've been planning. We have puppy food to now donate to an area shelter. We have breaking hearts and I am angry. This poor dog that the legal system thought was important enough to remove, instead let him sit in a shelter for almost 2 months, while he sat there and got worms and fleas! The taxpayers of that community paid for that too. Some of those dogs were wanted and planned for by some of us out here and instead of making that a priority, these places did not care! These pets deserved so much better than this and for that I am just beside myself. Not only did the legal system let them down, but evidently, some of these shelters did too. I really can't go on, it will just get ugly. As angry as we all are, we do understand that everything happens for a reason. All I cared about was that he got out of there and into a home, and that has happened. It's just not ours. I wanted the best for him, and i hope and pray that is the case. It's just not with us. I understand that someone probably needed him more than we did. That maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Truth be told, it was going to be a financial stretch for us to get him and make sure he had all he needed. We were willing to make the sacrifice, but maybe it was going to be too much. Who knows. Life isn't fair, as we always teach our girls. It just isn't. And in this case, Yofi is making someone else incredibly happy. I can't be sad for that. I'm just sad for us. I just love Angel so incredibly much that I had already fallen in love with her pup. That's all. I just wanted to reunite them and give them both a blessed life and a fairytale ending. Maybe they will still get that despite the circumstances. And Angel really doesn't mind being an only dog. Believe me. She is the heart of our home and the daily blessing we all need. She loves us always! She gives us all she has every day, even with the sad events of her past. She's willing to take another chance, and that speaks volumes, even if it is from a dog's perspective! We will keep on loving her and meeting her every need, and that will keep us going. I am sorry if my words or the posting of this information causes undue stress to anyone, however, I don't mean any ill will. I pray that this post actually inspires my readers to act on the needs of the pets in shelters around them. I don't waste much time on yesterday and staying angry. Rather, I spend that energy trying to make things better. We can't go back, we can only go forward. Without the things we want, and sometimes without the plans we had in mind. Peace to you and yours this Christmas season.