cool ad from thai spca

"Know what it's like to be worshiped. Adopt a dog."
thaispca.org

Support Your Local Shelter

Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,

every shelter is full - we are lost, but not found,

Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare

we hope every minute that someone will care,

They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,

"Come here, Max and Sparkie - come fetch your new ball!!

But now we sit here and think of the days...

we were treated so fondly - we had cute, baby ways.

Once we were little, then we grew and we grew

now we're no longer young and we're no longer new.

So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,

they reacted so quickly - why were they so rash?

We "jump on the children:, "don't come when they call",

we "bark when they leave us", climb over the wall.

We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,

now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made.

If only they'd trained us, if only we knew...

we'd have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too.

We were left in the backyard, or worse -let to roam-

now we're tired and lonely and out of a home.

They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye...

"Maybe someone else will give you a try."

So now here we are, all confused and alone...

in a shelter with others who long for a home.

The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,

with so many to care for, they can't stay to chat,

They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer...we know that they wonder how long we'll be here.

We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads...

of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.

Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears -

our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.

If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the Inn -

could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?

We count on your kindness each day of the year -

can you give more than hope to everyone here?

Please make a donation to pay for the heat...

and help get us something special to eat.

The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,

and more of us will, if more people will give.

--Author Unknown

Happy & Sad News...

Sad news is that Maggie Moo, the Az Basset I have been sponsering, has passed on to Rainbow Bridge.

You can read her story here - "I'm a Sponser to Maggie Moo".

Rest in peace, sweet Maggie.

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Onto happier news, Farley took off in his plane yesterday afternoon. It was quite a sight to see. This is the plane they flew in, so tiny yet they were able to fit 3 humans and the hound.

This is what the rescue sent out via email last night -

"Sometimes a good basset just needs some helping hands....And in this case, Farley got many of them. Our shelter coordinating team located and tracked Mr. Farley, and Kacy Green bailed him out and fostered him until a ride from Chula Vista (San Diego) to Daphneyland could be found. Several days of trying to set up relay drivers finally found the Flying Angel Team of the Alsups signing up to personal escort Mr. Farley on a ride to Aqua Dulce Airport which is 5 minutes from Daphneyland. Despite poor weather conditions, rain, winds, cloud a low marine layer and icy conditions, Patrick Alsup flew into Aqua Dulce like the flying basset rescuer he is and Mr. Farley was greeted with hugs and kisses by Shirley & Joryn Queenen who drove him finally to the ranch. Farley is the sweetest guy and flew nicely and rode very well.He is acclimating in here at the ranch and does not look like the shelter reports of 7 years old.

"A huge welcome to Farley - seen here after his feet hit land with his favorite Pilot of Drool: Patrick Alsup." Farley is seeking a forever family - stay tuned!

This is the 5th flight in 2007 that has been made into Agua Dulce to bring us hounds from outlying areas, and our pilots are without doubt Winged Angels of Drool. The Alsups have made 4 of these flights, and the Laners have made one."

Wreath of Bassets

These are the Christmas cards I have received so far in my Howliday Card Exchange. I love getting cards in the mail and now I'm coming home to find about 3 per day. They're also one of the only Christmas-y thing I have in my house. (No tree, lights, etc - too much work). I made the wreath with an embroidery hoop and clothespins....super easy.
I'm sad to admit though, I'm a slacker so my unmailed cards are still sitting in a box by my couch, untouched. And my ink is in a target bag in my trunk, no labels or stamps purchased yet.....Farley leaves tomorrow, boo-hoo ;( so I will get caught up after that.

Did i mention that he gets his own private flight. so funny, can't wait to get pics of him taking off. A family in Torrance has their own little plane. They need to fly every so often to maintain the plane and licenses so they do this kind of thing all over California to help Bassets. I talked to the lady today and she told me her 12y/o granddaughter comes with them and acts as a personal flight attendant to the hound, who by the way, doesn't have to be crated. And when I told her he has a little case of seperation-anxiety she said she'd pick him up some Micky D's hamburgers so that he'd grow to like her real fast, lol. I feel like i'm sending my kid off to college or something. I even packed a bag for him with a bone, toy and baggy of food. :)

Farley & Cowboy

Love the tongue, too bad Cowboy's pouting on the sidelines.
Smiley & The Grumpster
Oh, ok. Kisses all around!

The boys are getting along better each day. Cowboy is selfish with me and Farley gets possessive so there have been a couple growls, but luckily nothing big. Farley has fully learned of his entitlement to bellyrubs. He is rolling over regularly for a rubdown. I can already see weight gain and feel some new meat on his ribs. His fur feels softer and he has taken great care to clean himself up pretty. I think he is learning his name but sometimes still pretends not to hear me. He love food. He doesn't beg at the table like Cowboy, instead he does "flat basset" on the kitchen floor with eyes that melt your heart. It works pretty good on getting him treats :)

Our First Foster Furchild

This is Farley. I pulled him from the Chula Vista Animal Shelter yesterday. He's about 7 years old and was found as a stray. He is staying with me likely until Saturday. I will then head up to Long Beach where I will pass him off to another person. They will take him the second leg of the relay transport. We are working on getting him to Daphneyland. Its a Basset Rescue with about 100 hounds. They work to find good forever homes for these poor hounds.
Farley is way underweight. He is about 2x the size of Cowboy in build and length but only weighs 5# more. He needs to put on a good 15-25#. And trust me he is trying - he eats like a hog!
Tonight he really opened up to us. He gave us kisses for the first time, sat on the couch and layed on my lap. He does this thing where he stand next to me when I am sitting on the ground. He leans into me until he is practically laying on me but still apppears to be standing. I think he is trying not to be vulnerable while still getting the love he wants and deserves. And in case you are wondering, yes, I am falling in love with this little man. He is a total lover and I am so excited to be involved in finding him a great, loving home!

1 year ago tomorrow

this guy came home with me.
and what a year it's been.

Nations Dogs Dangerously Underpetted, Say Dogs

NEW YORK—At a press conference Monday, representatives of the Association of American Dogs announced that the nation's canines are dangerously underpetted. "Every night, thousands of U.S. dogs go to bed without so much as a scritch behind the ears," AAD president Banjo said. "If this sort of neglect from our masters continues, it could lead to widespread jumping on the furniture." Upon his owner's arrival in the press-conference room, Banjo abruptly ended his speech, frantically barking, leaping, and rolling over on his back in an effort to communicate his need for a vigorous belly rub.

cheery petals

a couple weeks ago james bought me some just-because flowers while he was shopping at home depot. i took a bunch of pics and thought i'd share. the beauty cheers me up from my howliday card spending incident (grr!) although i'm still bitter.
this one is my favorite. i love star-gazing lillies.

only $35 but still.....

i am so mad. i am participating in a howliday card exchange for my basset hound listserve. you make a card with your hound on it and send it to a bunch of people and then in return you receive a bunch of cards with hounds on them too. i signed up for the medium list which means I have to send about 100 cards and I should receive about the same number. (holy cow!) but anyway i finally have been trying to make our cards online. i made cute ones on shutterfly but it totaled nearly $60 for 100 of them and that was after a $22 discount.
i then found i could make em on vistaprint and pay only $22 for 100 cards (50% discount) - great deal, huh. well i made the cards and continued thru the checkout. with shipping and everything it was gonna cost $33. after i entered my credit card and everything it came to a process order screen that said something about a special deal. i figured it was just referring to the 50% off deal i was already getting. i pressed confirm and my order processed.....for $68!!!!! yep, they tricked me and added some special deal on the end for me to confirm. it added 150 cards to our order. i tried to cancel/change my order but whaduya know? they don't make changes or do refunds...to keep costs low or so they say. i think its more because this probably happens often.
so the lesson i learned - i should have trusted my longtime vendor shutterfly. instead i went with someone new to try and save a few bucks, only to spend $35 more than i intended and about $10 more than shutterfly would have charged. i know its only $35 but its Christmas and i'm broke and now i'm even broker.

grrrrr, thanks for letting me rant! if you want a holiday card i think i should have some extras. :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey Turkey stuffed with Stuffing.
Ham with Pineapple.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad. On Thanksgiving we prepared all the food at our house with the help of James' dad and brother. We then loaded up the car and drove a few blocks over to our friend, Noah's house. He lives right on the beach so we took the dogs and enjoyed our day over there. It was complete with a mini-keg of Irish Red from our favorite local brewery.

After we'd eaten we sat out on the porch and people-watched. A bum walked past who said he hadn't eaten in 2 days and was trying to walk to Seattle by next week. We loaded up a huge plate of food with a glass of beer for him. He sat on the sand and fully enjoyed his meal. He returned the plate without a morsel of food on it.

What a good photo of Cowboy and I...note James in the window reflection holding up a turkey bone to maintain Cowboy's attention.

While the bum enjoyed his food, the boys enjoyed a turkey carcass.And here they are resting peacefully with full bellies.

Da Boys....

Sweet sleeping lovehound
Curious Dukers
Smooshy basset
Mommy & Me
Couch hogs

get aLONG little doggy

So we wanted to measure Cowboy. He was stretched out on the floor and looked amazingly long. I needed to hurry - he gets distracted easily. James continued with bellyrubs to keep the stretch underway while I searched frantically for a measuring tape. Couldn't find one so I use some ribbon.
This is his stretched out length. It's pretty dang long, takes up basically the entire lenght of our couch. When I held it up to the wall it was up to my chest, I'd say 4 feet.
It then became the new, hot yet suspicious toy. I swear this boy is skeptical of everything. Once he gives the ok though, he can be so easily entertained.
Once he knew the ribbon was harmless he went to town. Chomp chomp chomp, pulling it through his teeth. It was so funny. He wanted to bite it so bad but instead it just slid right through his teeth like dental floss. What a goofball!

The First Official Cowboy Burger

Looks delicious doesn't it? And oh so colorful! From top: bun, mayo, mustard, ketchup, bacon, cheese, beef, onion, tomato, lettuce, bun. Yum yum yum. James made dinner friday night and I could definitely get used to this. It is a cross between the Rocky burger and the Hodad Burger. The process of cooking the beef is Rocky's style and the bacon secret comes from Hodad's. Now if only we could add Grease Pits Mayo-lettuce spread...it would truly be the best of all worlds!

Check it out

So Petsmart did a costume contest online and one of the people the drool (my basset hound listserve) entered their hound as snoop doggy dog. But there are tons of other funny ones. Check it out.

Click here.

The Basset 500

This is referred to as the Basset 500. It is a common trait among Bassets. They run in circles around and around. Cowboy does it alone all the time but when you get a group of Bassets together its even more hilarious. Picture them all running in a big circle howling and barking. Lol.