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Saturday, December 24, 2011

God Bless Us, Everyone!

It's Christmas Eve! We are just awakening from our nap and can't wait for Santa to come tonight. We have a full house, so tomorrow should be fun.

There are two foster (dog) siblings with us and our family!  We hope you are all settling in with your family and friends for your holiday traditions and remembering the reason we celebrate.

Tiny Tim (our foster brother) just got adopted, but is staying with us through Christmas since he has to finish rehab. He had a BIG surgery and was limping really bad. He is doing great and can run, play, and go for walks with us now. His new family has renamed him Tebow. He got the best gift....a forever home for Christmas!

We thought Chicklette was getting one too, but she did not! The family wasn't ready to make a commitment, so she will be with us a little longer. Maybe someone will want to adopt her for New Year's.

We think this is both of their first Christmas' as Tebow is only 10 months and Chicklette is 11-12 months.

Our human brother is finally understanding Christmas, so it has been fun watching that too....he gets some great toys that we all keep our eyes on!

Today it was in the 80's outside. Too hot for Christmas! This time last year we were packing up the car getting ready to go see snow for the first time. Today we talked about going to the beach....

Merry Christmas to all of our friends...canine and human alike!

With love,

Abbey and Bode

Friday, December 9, 2011

Not a normal Friday

Friday mornings are usually one of our favorites. Tara stays home in the morning and we work at night with her. We usually run errands, play in the yard, practice our training, and get some fun time in with our human brother.

Today is not a normal Friday! We had a new foster brother last night. He was really nice and we both really liked him (so did Chicklette, our current foster sister). Tiny Tim arrived around dinner time and things started to seem different. Tara turned our room (AKA the laundry room) into a cozy area full of blankets and dog beds. She took out our beds and food bowls and put up a baby gate so we couldn't go in. That was the first time we knew something was up! We were locked out of our own room!

Dad got home soon after and he had Tiny Tim with him. They placed him in our room and we noticed he wasn't moving so well. We all got to greet him and the humans went in the room with him to cuddle. We heard Tara making plans for the morning and learned that Tiny Tim was going into surgery in the morning.


Early this morning, Tara and our human brother loaded Tiny Tim in the car and came back without him. We  are wondering when he will come back! We didn't get to play with him, but got to see him and stay near him. We know something is wrong and wanted to give him comfort. We all don't seem to have the energy to do our normal Friday things. We are worried. Even Chicklette, who has more energy that most dogs! She is still a baby (11 months), but is also laying around with us. When the phone rings, we listen to see if Tara will say Tiny Tim's name, but not so far!

Tiny Tim has now been at the vet for over four hours. The vet said his leg and hip-ball-joint were in really bad condition and the surgery was going to be extensive. This could have all been prevented, but instead he was left to sit, untreated, in a kill shelter.

The phone just rang again, but it wasn't the vet....We will keep you updated! Please pray for Tiny Tim!
~~Abbey and Bode

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Interviews...


Our office is growing and this is causing Tara much stress. It is a good thing, but finding the right person is a hard task. Today we had some interviewing to do. Abbey and I were able to be a part of this.

Some of them went really well and have qualities that could work with the other amazing staff at our office...others, not  so much! We did all we could to let Tara and Kayla (she helped with the interviews) to know our thoughts. This included first impressions and during interviews.

I surprised Tara at one point as I was able to "turn on" some of the skills I use during counseling sessions and let her know something wasn't right. I am not sure if the candidate was lying or if she was nervous about the question, but her energy and changes in her demeanor gave me all sorts of red flags! Abbey was not in during that time but gave her feelings before it started.

Let's hope we are able to finish these interviews and find the perfect new administrative assistant...especially one that Abbey and I are comfortable with!

~Bode

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Cookie Exchange...

We write this blog together. We love this time of year. There is a pretty tree inside...yes, inside of our house...we put lights and colorful things on it to make it even prettier! There are lots of people visiting, lot of songs being sung, and outside the houses all have extra friends in their yards. We are still trying to figure out which are real and which are not!

There are lots of parties. Most of which we don't get to go to! Last night there was a cookie party...do you know that there we no dog cookies here? We could smell so many delicious things...so many had peanut butter in them. Yum!!

Everyone was sharing about their businesses (Tara calls it networking) and we were enjoying the attention from our friends and meeting new friends. Most people knew us, but we didn't know them! We are celebrities...just kidding! Abbey hates when I say that!

I think we should propose a canine cookie exchange for next Christmas. Who is in?

The cookies Tara brought home...


With hunger,

Bode

Sunday, December 4, 2011

I'm Forever....

This picture could not sum up more! Tara was thrilled when she found it, as are we! We are so blessed to be in our forever home with never any doubt about "until". We have been through many ups and downs, but our place in this family has never been questioned. We hear a lot of people tell Tara their stories and they are sad, but didn't you know when you go a furry kid that we are forever? Would you get rid of your two legged kid just because you got married, had another child, moved, etc? No, you wouldn't...why are we any different? Our foster siblings often have stories like this and it's not their fault, yet their life was almost ended because of the "until" thinkers"

Speaking of "until" owners...that's what they are...they aren't family, they just own a pet like they own their car and other items. It's a different mentality than the family thinkers!

Tara was at a charity event last night and was soooo mad! They were auctioning off a puppy. Yes, you read that correctly. There were people walking around with a puppy attempting to get people to get ogle of her cuteness and bid.

We have seen what happens to a lot of these "impulse buy" puppies....that's right, they get fostered in homes like ours because they are told to find a new home when something new comes around....their family wants to travel more, have more kids, move, the new dog doesn't like them, etc.

Does this charity not know they are causing doom....or death? They do such great things for humans, but not puppies? Just because it was cute baby shih tzu and they "won" her, doesn't mean it is a good thing. Impulsively getting a dog is one of the worst things to do! They are all cute and adorable, but they grow up and they need attention and love and training and time...yup...time...oh and money, which they can't make themselves! We need your time! We need your money...we can't pay our own bills! We are not humans, but need to know how to live with you humans.

How does this "auction puppy" get a home...by someone wanting to flaunt their money and be the winning bidder. No one checks out their home; if they are going to gift the puppy to someone; if they take care of their current pets, etc. Just because someone has money doesn't make them a good dog owner.

We know the goal was to raise money to help others, but why at the cost of an animal? It is unethical and inhumane. Once the novelty of the "win" wears off, what is the "winner" going to do with a puppy that needs walked, fed, potty trained, obedience trained, spade, medical appointments, shots, micro-chipped, etc? Are living animals now equal to stuffed animals that are given away as prizes at fairs or carnivals?

I will get off my soap box, as Bode has gone to bed while I am writing this, but agrees with what I have said. Please do not support or encourage the auctioning off of animals and remember those same animals may turn up in your local rescue (which could use your help!).

We would love to read feedback on this and realize it may cause some difference of opinions, but let's save some lives!

Until next time....
~~Abbey

Friday, December 2, 2011

another fitting article....as much as we want to be like you...we aren't! Just like toddlers need rules (we are learning this with our human brother)....so do we!

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/humandog.htm
This is us! We hate to admit it, but life has caused us anxiety around these people...especially those with their dogs off leash or on a retractable leash.

http://jessdolce.tumblr.com/post/13560756717/my-dog-is-friendly-a-public-service-announcement?ref=nf