Stevie

Some of the earliest dogs I featured on the blog were part of Rachel's pack. They are beautiful animals, Mika, Dio, and Logan. 

from left to right: Stevie, Logan, Mika, Dio

If you don't remember them or didn't meet them you should take a few minutes to check them out. Dio's behavior will probably get you belly laughing. Anyway, Rachel and her husband do more than adopt rescue dogs- they foster them too.  Many times the dogs aren't even with Rachel long enough to get their stories posted on the blog, but Stevie is a special case. 

Stevie and a few other dogs were seized by animal control in Greenville, Mississippi last October. They were starving and chained outside. Stevie was so emaciated and her collar was so embedded in her neck that animal control didn't think she would survive, so they took her to the vet to be euthanized.  

Well, Dr. Wilkerson, who Rachel says is an amazing person who devotes much of his time, energy, and money to saving animals, thought Stevie might have a chance. He operated to remove her collar, then put her on steroids and vitamins. She weighed less than 30 lbs and of course was heartworm positive. Once he thought Stevie had a real fighting chance he started sending her information around to various rescue groups in the south he thought might be interested. 

Of course that's how Rachel found out about her. The timing seemed right. Stevie still had to spend a bit of time recuperating at the vet's office before she could be fostered, and Rachel had a foster dog who was due to go to his forever home right around the same time. Her rescue group agreed to take Stevie in.  Amazingly, two people volunteered to do the entire rescue transport for Stevie, driving to Greenville and back to Nashville all in one day, just so the dog wouldn't have to go through the stress of switching cars and drivers after everything she'd already been through. 

The volunteers left at 4am on November 1, Rachel's foster dog left later that morning, and Stevie arrived at 7 that evening.

When Stevie arrived she was still a bag of bones but very social. They took her for a short walk and introduced her to each of their dogs, one at a time. 

There was a little skirmish with Mika, who is used to being in charge, but it was resolved quickly and Stevie took a nice nap until it was time for bed.

That first night, Rachel and her husband encouraged Stevie to get on the bed and sleep with them and the other dogs, just to give her the safe feeling of that experience. She was too weak to jump onto the bed.  

They picked her up and put her on the bottom of the bed and she slept deeply and soundly. I cannot imagine how safe and relieved Stevie felt that night.

Since then Stevie has settled into being a sassy girl. She doesn't take any crap from anybody but is still super sweet and affectionate.

 She is smart and Rachel says she doesn't have that independent, cat-like nature of husky. In fact Rachel says she doesn't act much like a husky at all. She doesn't run off, she doesn't howl, she comes when she's called, and she's silly, clumsy, and floppy. 

She is a jumper, though, and will leap so high she's eye level with Rachel. She  gets distracted easily and spins like crazy when she sees people or even, as Rachel says, butterflies. She has also gained 17 lbs! 

Rachel thinks Stevie would be a great dog for someone who likes huskies but isn't quite ready to deal with the demands of the breed. I know I rarely feature available dogs here because I don't want people to stop reading out of guilt or frustration over dogs they want to save but can't. However, this cuddly doggy is available!

 You can click here to see her post and here to see other dogs available through Southern Siberian Rescue. 

And now for some fun trivia. . . Rachel and her husband name all their fosters after rock stars. This girl is named Stevie after Stevie Nicks, because she "broke the chain." If you know Fleetwood Mac you'll get it. If you don't, you can click here for a link to the song "The Chain." I bet you'll recognize it when you hear it.  Such a cool idea! I love it Rachel. 

Thanks for sharing Stevie's story, and of course for sharing your home and your other rescue dogs with fosters who need to learn what it means to be part of a house full of love!

Stevie, you are destined for great things. I hope whomever adopts you keeps us posted on your new fabulous life! 

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog 

Twitter: @RescueDogBlog

Instagram: @rescuedogblog

Email me with your rescue story: pabibliophile@gmail.com

Summer Sunday

 

I'm not going to even say the "s-word" (snow). I'm not going to say the other "s-word" or the "w-word" either (storm and winter). 

 

I'm not going to ask how I got trapped in the world's ugliest snow globe. Boo and Hiss. We don't need any of that. I'm resorting to a different approach. . . the power of positive thinking! 

 

Spring follows winter here on planet Earth, at least in Pennsylvania it does. 

So forget all this crap and drudgery. I've selected some of my favorite sunny pictures of Wiley from warmer days. Look at them. Enjoy them. 

 

Imagine sitting comfortably in the sun. You aren't wearing 12 layers of clothes. When a soft breeze blows it doesn't hurt your face. You watch fat birds pull fatter worms from the supple ground. Somewhere in the distance a neighbor is listening to a baseball game while he works on his car, while you casually toss the ball for your dog.

Summer is our equivalent of a hurricane survival kit. We store up all the good feelings, memories, and sunshine we can, to get us through the lean days.

Says Emily Dickinson:

The Sky is Low, The Clouds Are Mean

The sky is low, the clouds are mean,

A travelling flake of snow

Across a barn or through a rut

Debates if it will go.

A narrow wind complains all day

How some one treated him;

Nature, like us, is sometimes caught

Without her diadem.

Although some may disagree,  in winter Nature is without her crown but in summer she is radiant and sovereign. 

 Never mind those days of storms or heat waves. I'm pretending those don't exist, and I'm focusing on these happy smiling pictures of my beautiful furkid loving life.

And just in case that doesn't do it for you, here are some pictures of Rosco, Moose, and Owen. Rosco was one of our first featured dogs! Read his story here.  Their mom, Katie, has endless ideas about silly creative ways to have fun and keep busy. If these pictures don't make you smile, you'd better see the Wizard and ask for a new heart. 

Rosco doesn't seem too worried about the vehicle approaching him.

Look at that smile!

Keep your chin up kids. We'll be out of this winter soon enough.

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog
Twitter: @RescueDogBlog
Instagram: @rescuedogblog  

Email me with your rescue story: pabibliophile@gmail.com

Happy Heart's Day Feel-Good Feline Valentine's Friday

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

Or, as is the case with we dog lovers, the happiness of our pets is essential to our own!  

As you can see, I tormented (with love)  my pets for pictures. 

Jenny hated wearing the beads, but once she got them off she did not want to give them back. 

"These are my beads. There are many beads like them, but these are mine."

Some people like to call Valentine's Day a "Hallmark Holiday," meaning the whole point of it is to help companies that sell roses, chocolates, and cards make money. While that is certainly true to an extent, Valentine's Day is still a very special day to me. It is my parents' wedding anniversary, for starters.
 

“Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.”

— Tom Mullen

 Today is 44 years of marriage for them! 

I am so blessed to have two committed and loving parents in my life. It's also pretty important that they don't take themselves too seriously, as seen here in their peanut butter and jelly Halloween costume from this year.  Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

I love you in the morning,

And in the afternoon;

I love you in the evening,

And underneath the moon.

Valentine's Day is also my niece Olivia's birthday. 

 

Today she is 8 years old. COME ON. That cannot be. Happy Birthday Liv! 

I recently found out that this day is "Heart Day" in more than one way. Today is National Donor Day, one of the many ways awareness is raised about the life-saving gift of becoming a donor. You can read more about donation here, but don't forget that donating even includes blood and bone marrow. My mother's life has been saved by blood donations many, many times. I thank everyone who helped make that happen. 

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.
 (John 15:13)

 I have another organ story to tug at the heart. My friend Jacqueline's sister, Micayla, just underwent a kidney transplant on Tuesday, five years to the day after she was diagnosed with renal failure. The story of Micayla and her donor Sean is documented on their Facebook page, A Bean for A Queen.  

Both Micayla and Sean are doing well and their Facebook page is full of uplifting posts well worth a look. We hear far too many depressing stories these days.  God bless Sean for being such an amazing and generous person. Love, prayers, and health to Micayla and Sean. 

And guess what readers? I have more warm fuzziness for you.

“I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.” 

― Charles Dickens

   Valentine's Day marks the end of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.

 Little Charlie Jo, whom we have had on the blog before, most recently when she and Wiley met for the first time, (seen here), is a CHD baby.  Her mom put together the banner above, and here she is most recently for her 13th month pictures.  Stay healthy Charlie!

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
 (I Corinthians 13:13)

And finally, Happy Valentine's Day to my Valentine!  A few months ago we spontaneously stopped at the chapel in which we were married at Muhlenberg College, while on our way to Philly. It was decorated so beautifully for Christmas.  Brought back a lot of memories. . .

I hope you enjoyed my sappy little Feel-Good Friday Valentine's Day, Organ Donor and Heart Defect awareness post. BOL.

 Happy Valentine's Day from my furry valentine.

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog
Twitter: @RescueDogBlog
Instagram: @rescuedogblog  

Email me with your rescue story: pabibliophile@gmail.com

Winter Winner

 

As the Rescue Dog Blog expands Wiley and I have been trying to get it noticed in various forms of social media. We have over 1000 followers on Instagram, over 500 on Facebook, and around 250 on Twitter.  We believe the more people who get to see and read about what great pets/companions rescue dogs are, the more people will rescue. To that end, the other day on Twitter when @PSACsports asked for examples of school spirit, we couldn't resist participating.

You see Wiley's dad, aka the Hubs, is an assistant coach for Kutztown University's baseball team. They are a Division II school that's part of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, or PSAC.  Soooo, guess whatttt?  HE WON, of course. ;-)

His package came in the mail today.

He was pretty excited when I told him about it.

Now, getting the tshirt on him, which was the first time he was ever dressed, did not thrill him. It took a lot of carrots. This is his "Really mom?" expression.

Here are a few shots where you can see him looking right at the carrots. Eyes on the prize people. 

Anyway, he really wound up being quite cooperative, and so here he is saying "thank you" to the PSAC, in his own way.

The package even came with a nice little note from them thanking Wiley!

 You know what the best part about all this is? Spring sports season has begun!  Yes we may be surrounded by snow and ice and cold, but just like our athletes have begun readying themselves for their competitive season, having faith that it will be here soon enough, so too must we hang on in there, because it's coming! And Wiley will be rocking his new PSAC shirt when the spring weather gets here.

Follow us on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog
Twitter: @RescueDogBlog
Instagram: @rescuedogblog  

Email me with your rescue story: pabibliophile@gmail.com