Happy Links!

It's time to put 2012 in the books. Wiley is always up for a celebration, but first he wants us to think about some of the enjoyable moments from this year.   

2012 has had some truly somber moments, and we have many to remember in our prayers. For the moment, however, let's focus on our blessings.  These are some of the best images of 2012.

Check out this link to see the 40 cutest dog gifs of the year, according to Buzzfeed.   By the way, a gif is a moving picture. So you get to see this dog, but in motion!  Do it-you won't be able to stop smiling.

This site is called Attack of the Cute.  The link takes you to their daily competition of cute photos, like the one here. You click on your favorite, and they keep cycling through to see if they can top it. 

The title of this piece is "Can You Make It Through This Post Without Squealing?"  With images like this one the answer is going to be no.

Please be safe if you're traveling for the holiday. Tomorrow we will share how Wiley celebrated the New Year, and this week we have an awesome rescue story about Petey!  Please make time to share your story too!

This is my required snow post.

It snowed here yesterday. Since it is the first significant snow of the season, it's all anyone talked about. Facebook blew up with pictures of people and animals playing in snow, landscapes covered in snow, and rulers measuring snow. And I hated every last flake. When I win Powerball I will be blogging from Savannah, Georgia, during the winter months. Of course, you're not here to read about me. You're here to read about the one member of our household who actually loves snow.

In Pennsylvania, he will definitely be indulged.  Anyway, let me tell you about the game Wiley invented for himself.

Our yard has a few stairs at the end of it, leading to our gate.

For reasons known only to Wiley, he decided to run up the little hill next to the steps and push his ball through the wrought iron banister, where it would land at my feet.

I swear we were not keeping him in a snowy prison. I don't know why he was so fascinated with this.  

 

 

 

The first time he dropped the ball, I kicked it down into the yard and he chased it.  

 

 

Where is it? Where is it?

Gotta find it! Gotta find it!

I found it!

After that there was no stopping him.

 

Kick it again!

And again!





                And again!

Eventually the cold took its toll on those of us who weren't wearing a fur coat. I had to insist we call it quits, much to his disappointment. Still, he waited patiently on the porch to get toweled off before he was allowed inside.

And please don't judge us by the number of dirty nose prints on the screen door. We are hoping that eventually it will be so covered people will think we have expensive frosted glass.

How did your dog handle the snow?  Also, please don't forget to share your rescue story if you haven't yet. We have a few good stories coming up this week, but then we will need some more. You can click on the link above to share them, or you can share them on our facebook page or via private message.

Play or snuggle?

 There are two ways to deal with a snowy day in Pennsylvania. We can take Wiley's approach:

“All animals except man know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.”

― Samuel Butler

Or we can take Ava and Jake's approach:

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."

-Jane Austen

As we head into the last weekend of 2012, let's try to enjoy it. After all, according to the Mayans it's all borrowed time anyway, right?  ;-) 

How will you and your pet spend the day? Share your story with us.

Family tree

I'm about 7 here, holding my Gramam's puppy, Maxie.

 My love of animals was ingrained in me from the very beginning. Heidi was my childhood dog, and what a sweetheart she was.  She was the epitome of a mutt, with poodle in there somewhere but who knows what else?  She was smart though, and very well-behaved.

Snuggling with Heidi in my footie pajamas.  My brother is reading something very ambitious!

     When Heidi went to the Rainbow Bridge, my parents took me to the SPCA and let me pick out a puppy.  What a great moment for a 10 year old girl, except for the fact that I wanted to take them all. That's where I met my Snickelfritz. Over the years she shared her house with many other rescued animals too.

  Below is Fritz with Echo, whom my brother found on the mountain-side

Fritz with Maggie, an SPCA mixed breed

   When my grandmother could no longer take care of her two SPCA rescues, they joined our family too.  Maxie was the dog's name and Tommy was the cat's name.

     There were always other assorted pets in our not-too-big house, like hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, and other dogs. I'm so grateful I was raised in a family that valued all of God's creations. Through my family's pets I learned about responsibility, compassion, patience, discipline, and fun. A great deal of fun.  In return I received so much unconditional love.         
     When we went to get our family portrait taken, in 1986, we took our Snickelfritz along.  At the time not too many people were dragging their dogs along for family portraits, and I was so thrilled we did. See?  Look at my smile. Doesn't it just say "THRILLED"? haha   And don't even think of making fun of my poofy mullet!  It was the mid-80s!  Mullets were required by law.

 

How did you become an animal lover?  Please share your story with us! And if you have any pictures of your childhood pets, make sure you share them!

So many presents!

I think it's safe to say Wiley does not want Christmas to be over.

During this holiday it became apparent that Wiley's got friends in low places. This dog got more presents than I did! First he got the edible card, which was gone in the blink of an eye.  Then he got a fun gift from Chester.  

This is Chester.

Chester's mom told me she bought this at a fundraiser stand for the Hillside SPCA, which is the shelter where Wiley came from.

 A tube from a toilet paper roll was filled with treats, then wrapped with tissue paper. 



 

It was easy for Wiley to open by himself and he loved the goodies. This gift was a big hit!

Wiley is gobbling up the Dinner Rounds.

In fact, when he was finished with it, he even picked up all the paper and carried it out to the kitchen so he could get another treat!

 

     He also got a gift from Harley. 

Meet Harley.

It was a homemade biscuit, peanut butter flavored!!  I would share pictures of him eating it, but he gobbled it up so fast there wasn't time to take pictures.












  Leroy got Wiley a gift too.

I guess he's trying to give Wiley a hint about his personal hygiene, because he got him some special bath soap.  Wiley's skin is pretty sensitive so this all natural soap should work out great.


  

 

Lastly, we have his presents from Nana and Pap. He got a whole bag of baby carrots, and this awesome toy:

He had a blast trying to figure out how to get the balls out of the dog's mouth. 

  Once he managed to free them all, he didn't even know where to begin!

Wiley got so much fun stuff that his dad and I decided to wait to give him our gifts, so he doesn't get a bellyache. 

He'll also have enough tennis balls to last until next year!  <-------- New Year's joke

In all seriousness, to be able to write a post about how many presents a dog received for Christmas certainly underscores how blessed we are. Thank you to all our friends and family for such thoughtful gifts!

Did your pet receive any special gifts?  Let us know!

Post-Christmas cuties.

     We had a few readers share some Christmas pictures of their pets, and it seems like things are coming up labrador. First, meet Duke!  Duke is a very handsome dog, and he knows it. He looks like he could be on the cover of a Christmas card!

Duke is a good sport for his mom, Kayla.

Next we have Jake. Jake is too much of a sweetheart to tell his mom Jen he doesn't want to wear his Christmas sweater. His eyes kind of give him away though.

We go from the big stoic breeds to a little puffball. Here is Gracie in her Christmas collar. She had never met Katie before, and yet here they are celebrating Christmas together.  Gracie has never met a person she didn't love.

Or maybe Gracie was just feeling extra friendly because she was drinking out of her dad's glass when he wasn't looking!?!

These pets were certainly a big part of our holidays, but I wouldn't expect anything less. If you have anything to add, please share it with us!

Furry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Not only was Santa good to Wiley, but he also got presents from some of his fur friends.  And wait until I show you what his Nana got him!  Did your pets have fun on Christmas?  Share some pictures of them with their presents and I will feature them on the blog!