Sunday's Grab-bag: BARK FOR LIFE!

This is Kacey. 

 

 

Kacey's mom is a melanoma survivor.  I had Kacey in English last year, and I had her older sister Jamie long enough ago that I'd rather not list the years. Jamie is pictured below, on the right, with Sarah on the left, also a former student. 

 

 And here's a close-up of Sarah's dog, Aussie.

What brought all of us together? The American Cancer Society had a Bark for Life in our local park yesterday. Kacey told me about it a few weeks ago, at which point I started badgering Luke and Kim to come with me and bring Leroy and Fanny.

Now, here's the thing.  I have never taken Wiley to anything quite like this before. Based on his history of total aversion to all things new, all wide open spaces, and all other dogs, I knew he would not like this. But since we have spent the last six months working hard on breaking him into the big wide world, I was determined to try this, especially because it was for such a good cause.

Hubs had some baseball coach duties to attend to, and so it was just Wiley, Leroy, and Fanny with me, Luke, and Kim. 

We were lucky enough to preregister (thanks Leslie) so Kim checked us in and got our SWAG (Stuff We All Get) bags and bandanas while I finished filling out the form. 

Then it was time to put the bandanas on the dogs. If you look at the picture of Kim dressing Fanny on the left, you'll see Luke's hands and phone on the right of that frame. On the right of the picture below is the photo Luke took about a second later!  Purely serendipitous but isn't it cute?

Once we got the dogs all done up, we surveyed the scene and came up with a game plan. Wiley's game plan was to flee, immediately.

He was extremely wary, as you can see in his wide and alert eyes.

There was quite a lot going on.

And dogs everywhere. I mean, I expected there to be lots of dogs at the Bark for Life, but Wiley was not sure which way to look. There was even a police dog there!

I saw this dog a number of times. It's so pretty!

We walked around the outskirts of the park, giving all the dogs time to settle in. Fanny was fine, but Leroy was a bit overstimulated. I mean he was a wild man. And Wiley, well, he was his neurotic self. He was actually fine when other dogs were near but when people let their dogs run right up to him (which I don't understand and I don't think is proper dog etiquette) he would flinch away. He did best when he was directly following Fanny and Leroy.

Eventually we found a somewhat quiet spot where Luke and Kim were hoping to get a family picture taken. However, Leroy was not quite cooperating. Luke gave him a stern scolding, which you can see in the 2nd picture of the collage below, and then said "Take a picture of me wringing his neck!" So I did. Now readers. . . if you read the blog regularly you know that Luke adores Leroy. He is not really wringing his neck. Luke does not think wringing necks is funny. Don't send me or Luke hate mail about this silly picture, okay?

 Meanwhile, Wiley continued to neurotically wait to leave.

The good news is they eventually got a good family photo, just not in this location.

We went over towards the pond, thinking it would be slightly quieter and thus there would be fewer distractions for Fanny and Leroy. 

That didn't go quite as planned, thanks to this guy.

Once Fanny caught sight of this duck it was all downhill from there. Kim had to use her nurse muscles to restrain her.

I know the light is a bit distracting in the picture below but I'm including it anyway.

 You can see Luke trying to calm Fanny down while Kim has her in a headlock. And in the bottom you can see Wiley, just looking on neurotically. 

Anyway, eventually someone with excellent photography skills (ahem ahem) was able to snap this:

Yay me! And in return, Kimberly took this picture of me and Wiley. Thanks Kim!

We let Leroy check out just a few more dogs, like this pretty Rhodesian Ridgeback:

and these two dogs who were just arriving:

We saw Wonder Dog!

And this big dog greeting this tiny wiener:

We checked out the stand from the Hillside SPCA, former home of Wiley and Fanny.

And then we ventured into survivor territory.

Wiley is a cancer survivor.

So is my mom. She is two years lung cancer-free.

 
 Interesting fact: this picture was taken the day before she had surgery to have her lower right lobe from her lung removed. I came up to church to surprise her, and we were dressed alike! haha. Total coincidence but I loved it.

Mom lost both her brothers, Bill and Jack, to lung cancer. They died within six months of each other.

Uncle Jack's wife, my Aunt Joan, is a breast cancer survivor. What can be said about cancer that hasn't been said already?

It's a scourge. There are too many losses and not enough survivor stories.  Luke lost his mother Lynne to pancreatic cancer five years ago.

That's why I'm so appreciative that he went with us to the benefit. It's easy to say we should support something like this, but it's a lot harder to do when it affects you so personally.

I think I can say with certainty that Fanny and Kim are probably the only ones who actually had fun yesterday. Luke and I were too worked up about Wiley and Leroy to relax and enjoy the moment. But I'm still really glad we went, and I will go again in the future. The Bark for Life was very upbeat and positive. Plus- take a look at all the goodies in our SWAG bags!

I know Wiley could be quite happy without all the extra excitement I force into his life, but at the end of the day, he did just fine. 

Many thanks to the American Cancer Society for putting this event together, and to Kacey for making sure I knew about it.  And if you've read all the way to the end of this long post, then many thanks to you as well! Don't forget we are always looking for your rescue stories. Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.  

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Feel-Good Friday: What A Week.

Well readers, this has been quite a week in our household. If you've been following the blog, you know that Jenny had to get spayed this week, on the same day I needed a root canal. She seems to be doing really well and is almost back to her old self. 

However, we had another trip to the vet this week, and it was not planned. I found a new lump on Wiley. He had surgery for a lump back in February. You can read about that here. Naturally my heart sank when I found a new one, so it was right into the vet's office for him. Look at his sad face as he waits for the doctor.

 The lump was needle biopsied, and then we waited for the results.

The waiting is always brutal, but when the doctor came in he said he did not see anything abnormal on the slide. In his words, he did not "have a bad feeling about this lump." Dr. McDonald has been very candid with us in the past, so I felt very relieved to hear this from him, which is why it is my Feel-Good Friday story.  Please pray that Wiley's new lump just disappears, never to be seen nor heard from again.

When we came back from the vet I gave him doggie peanut butter ice cream. He got it before he even got his dinner!  Boy was he excited.

I asked Hubs to take a picture of Jenny and me after that, because I knew I wanted to write about her for Feel-Good Friday.

I know it looks like she is trying to get away from me in these pictures, but trust me- if she wanted to get away she would. She has no reservations about biting to get her point across. This is just Jenny allowing me to manhandle her, which she does quite often.

While we were posing, Wiley jumped up next to us on the couch.

He does this all the time, whether I'm holding Jenny or not. He will sit there and wait for me to pet him, so he can do this:

Hubs kept getting snapshots, like this one of Wiley's expressive face.

Later, when I was looking through the pictures, I discovered this:

Let me zoom in for you.

Hubs and I, and the other people I showed this to who know Wiley, could not stop laughing at this. I know you might think, "Oh no! That's not funny! He's a vicious sociopath!"  However, I can assure you that he must have been licking his lips or something in this picture. Neither of us noticed any kind of growling or body language to go along with this expression. However, that expression does pretty much sum up how he's felt about all of us since bringing Jenny in. 

Right after this he got down to come investigate Jenny a little closer.

See? All's well that ends well, and he and Jenny saw eye-to-eye.

Anyway, can I just tell you I am so ready for this week to be over? All combined, we have had a trip to the endodontist, the family doctor, the therapist, and two trips to the vet. That's just between Wiley, Jenny, and me. Let's hope my husband stays healthy. I'm grateful that we all have access to health care but man. . . this week was EXPENSIVE.  I'm thinking about shaving a corporate sponsor into Wiley's fur or renting Jenny out for Halloween. Any takers? They're high maintenance. lol 

Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com if you have a rescue story to share, pictures of Halloween or a Dynamic Duo, or a job opening for Wiley and Jenny so they can start supporting themselves. BOL.

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Pit Bull Strong

We have a very special dog to share today. Now, I think every dog is special, so I  don't want anyone to feel slighted. But Mac has been through an awful lot, and it never gets him down. His mom says he is "Pit Bull strong,"  and that must be how he manages.

Mac was being sold on a street corner when his mom saved him, and he and his siblings were definitely intended for dog fighting. 

 

In fact, since Mac was only 4lbs at 3 months old, in all likelihood if he survived he would have simply been a bait dog. He was covered in mange and malnourished, but his mom was determined to change that.

The original plan was to nurse Mac to health as a foster pup then find him a furever home, but his mom soon realized this dog was connected to her at a cellular level, and Mac never left. 

Poor Mac has genetic defects in both of his back legs and already has hip dysplasia since he was bred for fighting. 

 After multiple surgeries on the same knee he developed a terrible infection and a more invasive surgery had to be postponed.

Mac's medical bills are very costly, but he and his mom raised all the money for them by hand-making screen-print shirts. 

In fact, once they raised the money for his surgery, they realized they could keep on selling the tshirts and other awesome merchandise to help other dogs!

Mac has raised $2400 just this year alone!  The money is used to help other pit bulls like Mac who need a little extra help to find a furever home.

 

 His mom helps transport, foster, and nurse many different dogs from their local shelter and all over the country, thanks to the connections she has made on her facebook page. Her latest foster is Zayda, a mini Mac.

Mac also goes with his mom when she volunteers at the shelter, providing his calming presence to the dogs who need it.

Although no matter how hard he tries he cannot stay awake in the car!

 I have not even begun to show you what Mac is all about.  Please check out the rest of his story!  His mom updates his followers constantly so be prepared to see an abundance of adorable dog pictures and hear an abundance of optimism, because that's what Mac and his mom deliver. Here he is playing with his sister.

His story and his mom's unwavering devotion to changing the world to make it a safe place for all dogs is so worth your time. Plus there's this:

  To find out more about Mac, you can start right here at his web page: http://iampitbullstrong.com/

This site links to all his accounts, like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Here's a direct link if you're on Facebook: definitely make sure you like Mac's page.

Whatever you do, make sure you check out her Etsy shop. That's where you can purchase not only Mac's tshirts but also lots of other great stuff, like this:

Wiley and I are so grateful and encouraged by Mac and his mom and all they are doing for our canine pals.  We hope she continues to keep us posted on Mac. Wiley and I are saying a prayer for Mac's upcoming knee surgery and his overall health in general.

Readers, let's all do what we can for rescue dogs by sharing what rescue dogs can do for us. Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com

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