Sleeping (Grab) Bag

I took the above picture on a summer day when Wiley was just not interested in getting out of bed.  As you might be able to infer from the alarm clock in the top right corner, his back legs are on our pillows. I think he looks like an orangutan in this picture, because his front legs look freakishly long from this angle.  And yes, he does have them resting on a pile of blankets, extending straight out into the air.  There are cuter pictures than this one of sleeping pets, but this is one of my favorites anyway.  Wiley seems so relaxed and comfortable and at peace. Readers, I know some of you know exactly what I mean when I say he was a scared shell of a dog when we brought him home.  This pose, this moment captured in time, reminds me that we have brought him as much happiness as he has brought us.   

 

Now a humorous segue.

Okay, onto the rest! With winter limping along to a close, I guess I'm celebrating the concept of hibernation with all these sleeping posts. Nonetheless, I spend a lot of time on the internet looking at images of animals. Seriously. Way too much time for a grown woman.    Today I can at least justify that time spent by sharing some of my personal favorites about sleeping. They all produce reactions, whether I'm laughing or "squeeing" as it's called these days.  The pictures are hyperlinked to their sources if you want to track them down.

I just . . . can't. . . even. . . 

These dogs are brilliant.

This is how I feel every day when I get home from work.

 When I first looked at this I thought "Is this a Husky or is it a Malamute?"  Then I thought "Who cares?  It's flippin' adorable!"

I am terrified of visiting Australia. Between the poisonous insects and serpents, the "dust-wave," the exposure to sun (I am so white I refract sunshine), and the chances of running into Russell Crowe, I'm totally okay with the idea of never going there. But if I could just see this one time, in person, I would go.

And now,  I treat you to one solid minute of warm fuzzy feelings via this pug puppy who cannot stay awake. Click on the pic.

Okay, that should bring you enough smiles to get through the rest of your Thursday.  Don't forget you can still submit your sleeping pet pictures for next week. Check out what everyone else has submitted so far on yesterday's post.  As always, we welcome your own rescue stories.

Photo Share: Sleeping, Part One

Today is Part One of our Photo Share Sleep Special!  Let's get the obvious out of the way. I have to quote the proverb: it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. First of all, it's grammatically correct. YAY. Also it can be a very true sentiment sometimes. And in Wiley's case, below, he just refused to get up.

I will be sharing submitted photos next week too, and I have a little something sleep-related for tomorrow.  Many of the pets shared here today are veterans of the Rescue Dog Blog.  I will link to their original posts for any newcomers if you're interested.

 Jesse and Dora are pretty brave to sleep here in a house full of children who could accidentally shut the drawer!

Duke is in puppy sleep. Puppy sleep is the best sleep.

Speaking of puppy sleep, here's Lilly sleeping on a houseguest.

And in this picture, I can't tell who's getting more out of this experience, Luke or Leroy.

 

 I think it's obvious Leroy prefers hedgehog cuddles to human cuddles.

Amelia, however, is all about cuddling up with her human, Stacy.

And Bogey is seeking comfort on the lap of his mom since his brother Cameron wasn't around. Guess what? Bogey will be a featured dog in the next few weeks on the blog.

 

Isis and Ares know when they can't find a human to sleep with, they will always have each other. Poor Mickey (top right of pic) just looks on longingly.

Finally, Stewie and Rosco will make themselves comfortable where ever and however they can.   Stewie, by the way, will be on the blog in the next few weeks as well.

Rosco was one of our earliest posts, and continues to be an awesome success story with Katie and Matt. He also has an upcoming human sibling who is still a bun cooking in the oven!

Ok, so now that you've seen round one, the gauntlet has been thrown.  Do you have a pet who looks cute when it's sleeping (<---ridiculous question, all pets look cute when they're sleeping)? Then share the pictures with us!  I will run part two of this next Wednesday. That gives you one whole week to follow your pet around obsessively waiting for them to fall asleep and look precious. No excuses people!

Also, don't forget to follow us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog
Twitter: @RescueDogBlog
Instagram: @rescuedogblog

Jesse and Dora

 Jesse and Dora were in the Jerusalem SPCA in Jerusalem, Israel, when Santa Claus offered to save them for Carrie and her family around Christmas of 2004.  Carrie wanted to get two cats, but her husband Scot would only agree to it if he had a say in the choice, since he did not consider himself a "cat person."

In the shelter, the cats were in cages that were overflowing, and they were allowed to come and go. Some just wandered off in fact.  When Scot first stepped into the cage, a kitten wrapped itself around his neck and purred and purred. Decision made!  

Jesse had a weepy eye and cataracts, even as a kitten. Not only would his physical defects have worked against him in the adoption process, but he was also mostly black. The woman at the shelter told Carrie no one would have adopted him because black cats are perceived as very unlucky in their culture, more so than ours even. So she thanked Carrie and Scot for saving his life.

A two-headed cat is snuggling with Thomas.

 Dora and Jesse are very good with the children in the household: Thomas, Maggie, Scoty, and Georgia.  Actually there's a new baby too but the cats haven't met her yet.

"Hi guys! Need any help?"

 Jesse is the more affectionate of the two, but both of them sit pretty close in the wintertime when the heat isn't nearly efficient enough. 

Dora climbs the ladder of Maggie's bunkbed to wake her for school. She also is very particular about her television preferences. 

"Turn off the Puppy Bowl!"

Both endure being dressed up by Georgia, and Jesse sleeps with Georgia at night too so there are no hard feelings there. 

 They have plenty of big and little hands to give them attention, and they even have a balcony for bird watching! 

 Although, one time Jesse got way braver than he should have and leapt off the balcony onto the neighbor's below, via a clothesline!  GAH! It sounds like the plot of a Sylvester and Tweety cartoon. Luckily Jesse was unhurt, and he never tried that again.

The window is a nice safe place for a stare-down.

 These two cats have purred their way into Carrie's and Scot's home. They've made Carrie a bigger "cat person" than she ever expected to be, and Scot may never admit it, but he has a soft spot for them too. Wiley and I are so excited to share an international tale of his arch enemies: cats!  He feels very cosmopolitan and open-minded right now.

Wiley asked me to share one more thing.  In one of my December posts, I had asked you to keep a new-born baby, Charlotte Josephine, in your prayers because she needed open-heart surgery.  Well Carrie and Scot are Charlie Jo's parents, and I'm pleased to use this post to give you an update. That's her, looking silly up there.^^  Below is her two-month picture, and you can see she is happy and thriving! 

Thanks for joining us in supporting all kinds of rescue stories, and thanks to Carrie for sharing Jesse and Dora's story.  Don't forget to share your rescue story, and follow us on social media like Twitter @RescueDogBlog and Facebook.

Davey

Over the past few weeks I have expanded the Rescue Dog Blog to a number of different social networking sites.  It's been working out better than I could have imagined, putting Wiley and I in touch with animal lovers all over the world. I met today's feature through Instagram. Davey is currently living in Canada after a recent relocation. His mom, Holly, has such a big heart that I won't be able to tell all of her story in one post!  So, we'll start with this adorable guy and spread the joy over a few posts.

When Holly started volunteering at Lifeline Animal Placement and Protection in Wichita, KS, in March of 2010 she was not looking to adopt another pet. She had a Cocker Spaniel, three cats, and a guinea pig at home. However,  as she fell in love with her work and started going more frequently, she told her husband she was looking to adopt an bigger, older dog who would otherwise be overlooked. Davey must have known he would do great in the Canadian winters Holly didn't even know were in her future, so he had other plans.

He was so hyper in his cage in the shelter that he would bump his head on the top of it when he jumped.  Yep, sounds like a terrier. He loved Holly because she would let him out to play fetch, and he had lots of energy to burn.

Holly tried to ignore her growing connection with Davey, especially because she was still looking for a bigger dog. Readers, you know my feelings on this. Our dog destinies find us even when we try to hide from them.  As Holly said ,"This little guy was relentless in his love for me and he was starting to grow on me."

Eventually Holly decided it was time to bring this one-year old terrier mix into her home. She said it went even worse than she could have predicted!  He appeared to be entirely unexposed to living in a house, and you can imagine the results, including the vigorous enthusiasm for fetch and the marking of a lot of territory.

 Luckily Davey had a patient mom and dad who understood that there would be chaos before Davey learned how to be civilized.  Now just look at him:

Davey is now a gentleman, and Holly's husband even said "I could have a houseful of Davey's."  Who can blame him when he's looking at this every day?

Holly and her husband certainly do have a houseful, but that story can't be told all in one day.  I will fill you in on Davey's siblings, canine and feline and human, next week, but here's an adorable sneak peak.

 In the meantime, Davey's mom Holly writes a blog about her relocation to Canada. She has shared this specific post with us about adopting instead of buying.  It's a great read. Check it out and pass it on.

Two more days to get your sleeping pets pictures in for the photo share! Don't forget to share your  rescue stories and follow us on Twitter (@RescueDogBlog) if applicable.

 

Sunday's Gratitude: The Comics!

I had a specific Sunday routine growing up. Sunday School and church, then home to watch The Three Stooges and read the Sunday comics until it was time to set the table for the dinner Mom was making. 

 Over the years my tastes changed, so the absolutely hilarity I saw in Garfield and Odie when I was 8 years old has given way to the dry humor of Gary Larson in The Far Side. 

Now Marmaduke. . . he's always funny. I picked this cartoon because it reminded me of Wiley.

Inspired by a literary-themed week, I thought I'd dedicate today to some very light reading, doggie comic strips. 

 

Mother Goose and Grimm is always good for some doggy laughs.

And here are some dog comics that tie into the literary theme week and also get a lot of laughs from this English teacher.

HAHAHAHA I love that one ^^^.  Anyway, this week has a lot in store. One thing we really need are your pictures of sleeping pets for our photo share. There is still time to get them in. I'll start running the pictures on Wednesday, March 6.  Any pets are eligible, even if they are not dogs and not rescues. 

Speaking of rescues, that's our purpose here at the Rescue Dog Blog.  We want people to know how awesome rescue pets are, and to do that we need your rescue success stories. We even have a pair of rescued cats lined up for this week. Why? Why not? Anytime we can share the happiness a rescued pet brings to its family we can hope it influences someone to adopt.

Oh yeah, not only are we on Facebook, and Instagram, but we just joined Twitter @RescueDogBlog.  Follow us please. 

Finally, I'm sharing this picture to conclude Literary Characters' Week. It's Wiley, dressed as Sherlock, quoting Shakespeare. So he has his allusions a little mixed up?  He doesn't really know how to read you know.

What did you miss? 2/24-3/1

We are summarizing Literary Characters' Week today, although we do still have a little something planned for tomorrow. Before I review what we've shared and point you in the direction of our posts, I have to share a video.  This story brings together both the theme of the week, dogs as characters in books, and the impact of dogs on reading.  R.E.A.D. stands for Reading Education Assistance Dogs, and they are really making a difference with struggling and reluctant readers.  I'm not sure if Wiley will ever overcome his anxieties enough to be a part of something like this, but it is truly amazing.  Click on the picture below and watch the video, especially the first half.  It has all kinds of happy endings for everyone involved.

 

 

Now, on to the weekly round-up. On Sunday we had some deep and meaningful snuggling.  From there we launched Literary Characters Week on Monday with Huckleberry Finn.  Huck's story is a heartwarming tale of a lovable pup finding a great mom wiling to invest in him. Stanley (and Stella) were next, and their story was so encouraging. It took the combined efforts of a local pound, a local rescue group, foster families, and social media to bring Stanley to Niki, and now she can't imagine her life without him. 

His story reminds us that every little bit of effort counts.

Wednesday was a big day for Wiley as he made his debut as Sherlock, and on Thursday I shared a grab-bag of some of my favorite pictures of dogs named after literary characters. Finally, on Feel-Good Friday I invited readers to join me in remembering the television series Wishbone. If you don't know about it you have to check out the post. If you do remember it, I have an episode posted there for you to enjoy!

Now, don't forget about our big Photo Share starting this Wednesday. I need pictures of your sleeping pets. For photo shares I take pictures of any legal pets, even if they're not dogs and even if they're not rescues.  You can see to how submit your photo(s) right here. We have several options to make it easy on you.

As always, this blog depends on your rescue stories. Please share and encourage others to do so as well! Happy weekend!