Happy Thanksgiving!

As people today reflect on all the blessings their lives have to offer, I share one of my biggest with you. 

 Not only I am thankful that Wiley and I found each other, but I'm also thankful I have the lifestyle and necessities to keep a pet. 

I can give him (and Jenny) a safe home, good food, quality veterinary care, and face time with me. Some people leave in the morning and don't get home until 12 hours later. I'm blessed to spend plenty of quality time with my furkids. 

I'm blessed to have a husband who didn't bat an eyelid when I told him I wanted to adopt one of the most neurotic and high-needs dogs at the shelter, or when I wanted to add to that insanity by bringing in a stray cat and kittens "just until we can find them homes." And now he loves his foster failure Jenny.

While we're talking about blessings, what a good time to share Katie's little blessing Owen. 

Yesterday I was able to visit Owen and his furry brother Rosco, whom we've shared a number of times before on the blog, for example right here.  

 I may have accidentally taken my turkey hats along, only to find out Owen's Mema had already made him a turkey hat. Two turkeys!

Rosco was so excited to see me, so it was a bit of a challenge to get him to calm down long enough to sit still on the couch with Owen.  

Katie had a trick up her sleeve though. Ice cubes!

Rosco really loves them.

But Rosco really loves everyone and everything!

And while we're sharing adorable kids in this turkey hat. . .

I have to share my niece Sadie, who decided to start celebrating Thanksgiving on Halloween this year.

Is it me, or does that turkey hat make everyone cuter?  

Hmmm. Must remember to test this theory at Thanksgiving dinner this year. 

Happy Thanksgiving from Wiley and me! Enjoy all your blessings, big and small, furry and human.  Email pictures of your pets enjoying the holiday at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

Follow us on social media:  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog
Twitter: @RescueDogBlog
Instagram: @rescuedogblog  

Feel-Good Friday

 Wiley and Jenny are still learning to co-exist, and the process is not without its humorous moments for sure. I thought maybe for our Feel-Good Friday post I could share one of her feline moments and Wiley's reaction to it as a lead-in to one of my favorite funny videos that has been making the internet rounds of late.  

A few days ago Jenny jumped in the clothes basket while I was in the laundry room. 

These types of things, the very things cats do most, e.g. climb on the window sills or chase imaginary things at top speed, are the ones that upset Wiley, because he just doesn't know what to make of them. 

You can see his genuine consternation with her, and then the look of concern in his eyes. It's like he's saying, "Ma?  Are you seeing this? Are you going to do anything about this?"

Surprisingly he didn't bark at her, which is one of his go-to moves when she is someplace he thinks she shouldn't be. She kept a very watchful eye on him though.

I guess he thought he'd try a new approach to dealing with her, because he actually "sat up," begging for me to do something. BOL. 

God Bless my neurotic and jealous furkid. He's doing the best he can adjusting to Jenny, and better than I ever thought he'd do, but he still has a bit of a ways to go. 

Now, let's hope Jenny doesn't start to bully Wiley the way the cats in this video are bullying these dogs. Click on the picture below to watch a very funny two minutes of cats stealing dogs' beds.

How do your pets get along?  Any competition among them? Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

Follow us on social media:

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

    Twitter: @RescueDogBlog

  Instagram: @rescuedogblog

BARK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

****Ok, I have big cool Wiley news at the bottom of this post, but take your time and enjoy the whole page first.

Well? What do you think?  Go ahead. Take a minute to absorb it all. 

 

The regal stature. 

The powerful demeanor.

 Admit it- you're seeing my pets in a whole new light.  A whole new SUPERCUTE**** light.  Readers. . . I know there are lots of cute sibling pet costume combos out there. 

 How many are both cute and a sophisticated nod to millenia of history and mythology?

 Ok ok I'll calm down and stop tooting my own horn. Seriously though I have been working on this for weeks. I told my students to look for the pictures on the blog in a few days because I was so excited about them, and one young man said I should call Jenny "Catopatra."  I said I was leaning towards "Cleocatra," but thanks, Billy, for the suggestion.

Jenny does NOT take kindly to anything put on her head, so getting the head shots of her were exhausting. I knew getting the two animals together, while in costume, would be impossible. 

 

 I did manage to bribe Jenny to get closer to Wiley by putting a few pieces of food near him. Turns out she'll  brave quite a bit when food's being offered.

 

But check out how far away she gets each time, between bribes. When I saw her literally lean as far away from him as possible, as pictured in a few shots below, I could not stop laughing. 

She's also sticking her tongue out in the top left picture. She's probably licking her lips but it's more fun to think she's expressing herself.

You can tell by Wiley's face that she's staring him right into submission. haha

While I was snapping shots, I told Wiley he had to pose like the Sphinx. He said "Like this mom?"

I told him he had to play it a little more cool.

Perfect! 

Thanks for stopping by to check on my beautiful Isis and Osiris. And thanks to the Egyptians for being so devoted to domesticated animals, most famously cats but dogs mattered to them too. 

Strange to think how long these creatures have been so closely intertwined with us.  Happy Halloween everyone, and don't forget to get lots of pictures of your pets in costume, or somehow enjoying Halloween. Send them to me at pabibliophile@gmail.com and be sure to scroll down to see my big cool Wiley news!

****Ok, so here's the big news. I have featured Buzzfeed Animals a number of times on this blog. Their posts are always entertaining and the pictures that go with them are sublime. 

Well. . .  WILEY HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR THEIR "CUTE OR NOT" page!!!!!!!!!! This is literally something I have hoped for since I started the blog back in December. Will you please, pretty please, go to this link: http://www.buzzfeed.com/cuteornot?id=2709876 and vote for this picture of Wiley?

I'm not too confident that we can beat pictures of adorable baby bunnies and snuggly puppies but I am excited just to see our boy on a page I frequent so regularly.  Thank you so much!

 

Follow us on social media:  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog
Twitter: @RescueDogBlog
Instagram: @rescuedogblog   

Help Your Pets Enjoy Halloween

We (Wiley, Jenny, and I) are very excited here at the Rescue Dog Blog as Halloween approaches. Last year at this time the blog was just an idea floating around in my crowded brain, but this year it is a reality, and more successful than I had ever dreamed. The secret to my success is Wiley and my readers. 

 

You see, we all have gorgeous and adorable pets, and people love looking at pictures of them. And let's be honest. . . is there a better time of year for ridiculously cute photos than Halloween? The answer is no. If you disagree with me the answer is still no. 

Before we go into any further discussion, I must share this really important infographic from The Uncommon Dog. Clicking on their name will take you to the home page of their website, which is filled with high-quality products for our precious pets. No, I don't get anything from them for sharing their site with you. However, I love that they cater to our dogs' specific needs, like making special beds, and stairs for our pets who need a little extra help before they hog our beds all night. 

Anyway, The Uncommon Dog has put these tips together all in one place to help us keep our pets safe, healthy, and happy at Halloween.

If the print isn't big enough here for you to read it, click here to go to the image directly, where you will be able to magnify it.

I especially like tips 6, 7, and 8, which address the kinds of stress Halloween trick-or-treaters and Halloween costumes can cause our pets. I may dress Wiley up for a 5 minute photo shoot, but he just isn't ready to venture out into a parade in a costume. 

He would have a meltdown about every part of it.  I also find out when kids will be trick-or-treating and avoid walking him during that time. He would be terrified of kids in costumes, and a terrified dog is an unpredictable dog.

Wiley's Halloween antics are limited to here in the house, with a never-ending supply of carrots. They make him highly cooperative. 

Jenny, on the other hand, was none too pleased to be sucked into my Halloween shenanigans.

 It was easy to put the Bee Costume on her, but as you can see from the look on her face, she would have stung me if she could. 

Getting the costume off of her?  Well.   That took some time. And some Neosporin for my scratches. 

 I deserved them, of course. 

If I had to do it all over again I would.

 Seriously.  Look at her expression. In the pictures below, the only difference between the two is the position of her tail because she was twitching it so hard.  She is one angry bee.

Wiley, on the other paw, is just my sweet little cooperative boy. Even though I have him dressed like a Super Hero Drag Queen, he still gives me some good quality pictures. 

Ok, from time to time he looks a bit sad.

Then I think of all the nights he wakes me up trying to spoon closer to me, literally kicking me in the ribs, and I think "Oh he can wear this stupid costume for a few more pictures." 

So, there's a little preview of Wiley's Halloween look. Guess what? He has not one, but two other costumes to show you, and I'm working on a third. In the meantime, I bet many of you have great Halloween pictures to share with our readers. Remember, we want your pets. Cats are welcomed too! Our job is to show the world that rescue pets are every bit as precious, special, and adorable as the alternatives. Email me at pabibliphile@gmail.com!

Follow us on social media:

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

    Twitter: @RescueDogBlog

  Instagram: @rescuedogblog