Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving friends of the blog! I have a number of cute things to share with you here. First of all, I thought you'd enjoy these behind the scenes pictures that led to the final picture shared up above. It all started when I went in to feed Jenny this morning and remembered I had a little pilgrim owl from last year. I sat on the bed waiting for her to eat, and when she finished she came over to rub on me. That's when Wiley came in and they checked each other out.

  I got the owl out, and Wiley posed with it once. 

Then he grabbed it in his mouth, presumably to hold as ransom for a treat. I just sat still for a few moments and he gave up and laid down. 

That's when Jenny came up on the bed to see what he was up to. 

I did not put the owl in his paws in that position by the way. That's just the way it wound up. I realized if I played my cards right I just might be able to get them to pose together, which wasn't what I originally intended, but hey-they were almost being chummy. 

In the picture above, I'm pretty sure Wiley was thinking "Darn it cat! Stand still! We get the treats when we are still!" In the picture below he might want to eat her.

In the end I got a few good shots, the best of which became the first picture on this post; it might be the most cooperative they've ever been! I got some other good pictures of Wiley in some Thanksgiving accessories, such as these beeny-boppers.

Jenny was less enthused with them.

Later, when I was making sausage, Wiley brought the beeny-boppers to me, once again to try to get a treat.  This time it worked. Sigh.

I also ordered this pilgrim hat for him, not realizing how big it was. BOL!

And finally, my favorite accessory, this adorable bow tie. 

Here's a close-up. It has turkeys and says "Gobble til you wobble."  

He's very interested in the sausage on the counter here. 

I got his bowtie on Etsy from a new shop called Mister Butters. Guess what? Mister Butters is a rescue dog! In the interest of full disclosure, when I showed an interest in the bowtie the shop owner offered to expedite shipping to me at the same cost as regular shipping so I could get it in time for the holidays. You should check out Mister Butters's shop and get your pets some fancy bowties for Christmas! (And no-I don't get anything for free for saying that.) You can also follow Mister Butters Bow Ties on Facebook.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and for our international friends who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your Thursday is awesome! If you have a rescue pet, please contact me if you'd like to share its story here on the blog. 

Email: pabibliophile@gmail.com

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Happy Birthday Rush!

Readers, today is Rush's birthday, and what kind of Rescue Dog Blogger would I be if I didn't get his post up for his big day?

  I first introduced Rush way back in September when I wrote about what attracted Amy to greyhounds in the first place, and how bonded she became with Rush's sister Bijou.

 Rush, however, was her first furbaby, and he's the one who opened her heart to the world of greyhound  rescue. 

They go way back, over eight years to be precise.

Now they're celebrating his 12th birthday! wooohooooo!  See? Just look at this picture Amy took of him today celebrating with his brother Rammy. BOL!

Amy has been making a fuss over birthdays and gotcha days for quite some time now. Check out this cake!

She sets the bar pretty high but her boy deserves it. Check out this year's cake.

Rush was clearly digging it.

Of course it seems like Rush enjoys life in general.

So what if he's missing a few teeth? 

It only adds to his cuteness.

What a face!

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Rush and his brother Rammy know they live the sweet life with Amy.

Rush has had his naughty moments.

But undoubtedly he is spoiled silly because he has a special place in his mom's heart, beautiful captured in this picture by Sassafras Photography.

Happy Birthday Rush! Wiley and I wish you the best life with the best mom and family! 

If you have a rescue story you'd like to share, email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

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Happy Veterans Day

Readers it is my great pleasure to share today's post. In honor of Veteran's Day, I want to share some information about Warrior Canine Connection with you. 

 I first learned about this organization when I read about a live "Puppy Cam," which is exactly what it sounds like. When a new litter of puppies is born, people can go to a live feed of the puppies doing puppy-like things. If the puppies have grown up and moved on to the next phase of their life, camera footage plays from previous litters. It is, in short, a beautiful thing that got me through a tough summer a few years ago after our dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge but before I could work up the nerve to get another one. 

Here's where the program gets even better. These puppies are then socialized and trained with the help of veterans who are having a difficult time coping with life post-deployment. Working with the puppies builds confidence in themselves and others, gives the Warriors a sense of purpose, reduces their anxiety, and increases the positivity in their lives.

 But the Warrior Canine Connection doesn't stop their good work there. Once the puppies are trained and socialized properly, with some very specific skills in place, they are given to disabled veterans as service dogs! Isn't that a fantastic idea? Talk about capitalizing on all the very best things dogs have to offer!!!

This organization obviously makes for a great topic for Veterans Day, but I have an even deeper motivation. I kind of want to toot Wiley's horn a bit. You see, the Warrior Canine Connection mentioned a costume contest on their Facebook page as Halloween was approaching, and I entered Wiley. Well, as you might be able to guess, he won!  And boy was he in some great company!

Of course I think Wiley is adorable but when I saw some of these winners I was very proud to see Wiley alongside of them.  

His prize came in the mail about a week after Halloween. We were both impressed with the generosity of the Warrior Canine Connection. 

We thought the personalized certificate was a really nice touch, even if Wiley held it upside down the first time he posed with it.

He got it right the next time.

When he got the frisbee, I didn't even tell him to sit up. He just took the initiative.

So I got a little cocky, and gave him the treat bag to pose with.  

He promptly ran off with it to the living room and make pretty short work of it. Sigh. That's what I get for over-tempting him I suppose. 

Needless to say, he enjoyed the treats very thoroughly.

The lanyard will be great for me to use for my classroom keys or school ID, and Wiley said he doesn't mind if I take it for myself. He's generous that way. BOL. 

Anyway, we both want to say "THANK YOU" to Warrior Canine Connection and our Veterans. Our Vets should be one of our nation's greatest priorities since they have given us all of our greatest liberties. Thank you WCC for working on helping them through a difficult transition few of us could ever imagine, and on a much lighter note thanks for selecting Wiley as a contest winner and thank you for his goodies.

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served and are serving right now. We owe you everything.

Do you have a rescue pet?  I can share the story here if you contact me.

Email: pabibliophile@gmail.com

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