Sunday Fun Day at The Shelter with....

James!

Yep that's right not only did I get my butt up the day after the race and head to the shelter...James went with me and I am so glad he did. We got twice as many dogs walked which meant I got to walk 7 dogs instead of 14...and that might have sent me over the edge physically. Regardless it was a really good day at the shelter.

Here is who we saw:

I had James start with Buddy who is so sweet. I forgot he was a little hyper, but once you get him on a bench its all kisses from there.

I grabbed crazy Cola. She is so pretty and sweet when she lays down but she is so full of energy and just jumps and romps and wants to be free. 

Then James walked Izzy who is very sweet and definitely loves to explore the outdoors. 

I walked Percy. Percy was new to me and oh so sweet. He had the perfect amount of energy but pulled a lot on the leash. I hope he gets better he was making himself cough :-(

Then James got Ruby who I think was one of his most favorites. She was so calm and chill and really just enjoyed his company. 

I spent some time with Little...who was definitely little and sweet and just whined. She wanted to be held and loved on the entire time. She was really cute and I had never seen a small dog with the brindle coat before she was really pretty. 

Then James got Mister who he thought was gonna just be crazy and silly but once he got Mister on a bench with him, I am pretty sure Mister fell in love with James' belly rubs and I think James loved him too. 

I walked Angel Rosie who I met last week and she is really sweet. I was happy to visit with her again. She is just a great sized dog with a really great personality. 

In the middle of putting dogs up and getting dogs out...they were bringing in some new ones to the adoption floor and out came this sweet as can be chocolate lab that was probably 4-5 months. They have never had a chocolate before so of course I fell in love.

Then I told James to get Hardy, hoping they would bond because Hardy is so nervous and shy, but it didn't work, so I took Hardy and just sat on the grass with him and loved on him. I hate that he hates being out of his kennel so much. I guess its just his safe place. 

So James went and got Hank, the Radio star and I think he liked him a lot, but by this time I think James was getting pretty tired. It was a really hot day, and getting these dogs out and up the hill is definitely a work out. 

I said lets just do one more so I grabbed a newby Barb who was so cool looking and just loved to roll roll roll in the grass and get loved on. 

James grabbed this sweet little boy who was asleep through all the loud dogs barking I showed James how adorable Bernard  was and told him he just had to take him. He was another hound/bassett mix and James spent some time with him. 

When we got back to the kennel James grabbed the next in line Mable so we could finish an entire row and I said no no no let me take her she is a little leash bitter so he grabbed Lizzie and I took Mable and she actually did really good. She did bite the leash like crazy for the first few minutes, but after that she did great and she even acted calm and sat and just watched stuff a few times...I was impressed :-)

Before we left the kennel I had to go back and visit the Chocolate and see if it was a book or girl...it was a boy and guess what...His name started with a B....Bo. Adorable. Guess chocolates will always have a special place in my heart. 

That ended our walking and I wanted to make two more stops. One in the puppy room to ooh and aww over the babies...which we did. Then to the front rooms I wanted to give Katie and Waldo some love before we left. I hope they get to go home soon :-)

Runners Are You Ready????

This morning was the day. I got up early, early to get my body up and ready for the 13.1 it was about to do. Yep today was the Country Music Marathon   Mom, Marti and I all completed it this year. The guys of course were very supportive. :-)

I always take a pre-race picture with the pups. 

I think Bailey was more excited than anyone this early in the am :-)

Happy he is so awesome to get up early and support me in all my races 

Mom and Marti ( Larry Garrett's Niece)

Marti came to Nashville with her cousin Jean Ann to run the race back in 2009

And Mom and I got talked into for our first 1/2 ever. 

This was our 4th Country Music 1/2 and our 5th 1/2 Marathon.

 

Mom and I getting ready to run

One of my favorite things about this race is the people. 

It is so amazing to see 30,000+ people gather to run a race.

It gives me chills 

My other tattoo. 

Mom and I just after crossing the start line :-)

We started the race at 7:22:14am

We crossed the 5k mark at 8:00:39am

38:25

This years race was a little different. Mom and I separated due to the heat and it was a really different experience. It was so hard for me to leave her behind but she was feeling the heat very early in the race and I felt good and knew my endurance would drop fast.

I crossed the 10k mark at 8:39:05am

1:16:51

This is me running down Division down into The Gulch...Working towards mile 10. 

I was so happy to see James and Larry. I had been alone since mile 5.

I crossed the 10 mile mark at 9:27:33am

2:05:19

As I was running and feeling great and knowing when to walk and when to run again I knew the only reason I was so successful is thanks to my awesome trainer, my Mom. Even though we were apart I could hear her tell me when to do what. The last 3 miles where so hard without her...but I made it and it was my best time so far

I crossed the Finish Line at

10:11:20am

2:49:06

We made it, but not together :-( 

So I know another race is in our future. 

If I have in my way it will be 

December 2013

Vegas!

Sweet Jack Has Gone Home!!!!

Over the past few weeks Jack has definitely become one of my favorites. Its not too hard to figure out why...He is a lab mix...He is a He...His name is Jack & He is adorable. He is a black lab mix with just a hint of brown in his coat on his back. He is under 50 lbs and about 2 years old. One of the things I love about Jack is his sweetness...but he also has amazing energy. He could jump so high in his kennel straight up & almost hit is head. He was amazing in the pen. If someone worked with him he could be an amazing frisbee, trick dog. I found out that this weekend he was adopted!!!! I am so so happy for him. I really wanted to see him one last time because I didn't really say good bye. But, he was the last dog I walked last Sunday, I saved him for last cause I love him so much...maybe my heart kind of knew he'd get his break & have someone decide he was the one for them. I hope he has an amazing new home & life.

I Love You Jack!!! Good Luck To You!!!

Pasta Dinner...Amazing Dinner

The night before the race all racers and fellow spectators gather at Mom's house for a fabulous meal. And this year again was AMAZING!!!!!

Fundraiser Success!!!!

As my previous post mentioned....this Spring I did a fundraiser for Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. I am very proud to say that I raised over $700 to help this organization. I am so very happy to spot light them and to introduce what they do to all my friends and family. I am excited to see the growth of this Sanctuary and see there continue love and support for the animals they rescue and get into furever homes. Thank you to all of you who supported this fundraiser it couldn't have been a success without you!!!! UPDATE: WE RAISED $790

Freedom Farm would like to send out a big THANK YOU to Bethany Lane!!!! We received a check in the mail for close to $700 from Bethany for a fundraiser she had for FFAS. She took donations for her and her mom to run in the Country Music Marathon this coming Saturday. Good Luck and Thank you Thank you Thank you. This money will be used to treat Missy for her heartworms.

This was a very well received thank you. But, it definitely made me realize how much organizations like this need support financial from locals. There are so many animals out there that need help and some cases are more expensive than others and no rescue wants to refuse to give help for lack of funds. Find a local organization and support them if you can. It will mean so much to them and mean the world to the animals you help!

60 Hours to Go!

The 1/2 Marathon is just around the corner and I have to say I am a little nervous. I am super excited because the event is always amazing. The chills I get seeing all those people at the start line and crossing the finish line with my Mom make it all very worth it. But, the training is hard and so is the 13.1 miles. Wish us luck as we attempt to have a great race in some much dreaded heat!

NHA Spot Lights

Each week NHA gets to Spot Light of there animals in hopes of setting fire to the adoption process. I have seen such great success with these spot lights its amazing. I am so thankful for The Big 98 WSIX  and Channel 4's More At MidDay for showing their support of the shelter and the animals there. I love listening and watching Fridays to see how each dog or cat did. Its a really great thing to see going on here in Nashville!!!!

Here are some photos from different spot lights:

Where's Waldo ??? Back Stage Pass!!!!

Hank Needs a Home!!! Back Stage Pass!!!

I love keeping up with these cause Kenny is the one involved and he won Top Cat with Willie when Billy and I won Top Dog. He is great and his love for animals is awesome. The dogs also get breakfast at a drive thru on these days which is a fun special treat!

*****Since Writing This More Radio Stations Have Joined In...Very Cool*****

Lunch Breaks

I am a bit jealous that James gets to go home and have lunch and see our babies...but I am so glad that one of us gets to. Bailey loves lunch time with Daddy!

And sometimes they get special treats too! Billy loves MILK!!!!

We Love Our Bill Bill

 At our house Bailey is a spoiled little baby. She demands your attention almost all of the time and she is the little sister that will step on her brother or push him away for just about anything. She likes to shove herself right in the middle. And we absolutely love her.

But, Sweet Billy is just such a good boy and loves to be gentle and sweet with us on the couch at night. He is just a pleasure to watch tv with and love on...so we end up with a few pictures like this:

Shelter Sunday!!!!

This week was my first No Friday at The Shelter week and I was CRUSHED!!!! Yes CRUSHED!!!! However, a different day is better than no day at all so Sunday was my morning with the pups!!!!

I headed to the shelter to see who was new and who was still there. This was my first Sunday there...they are closed to the public til noon and I was really curious about how many other volunteers would be there.

I started my day with Fletcher. He was this sweet sweet yellow lab looking boy who just had the perfect amount of happy energy and was a great little boy. I loved meeting him, and walking him and talking to him.

Then there was Buddy. Buddy was right next to Fletcher and just had this look "Please Take Me, Please Take Me," so I did. Buddy is a kisser let me tell you. I got more kisses from that dog than all the dogs combined. He had this quick little tongue and he loved giving kisses. He would pull me to a bench just to kiss. He was adorable.

Then I went and hunted down Izzie who I had met previously but not walked. Izzie was great but nothing like I thought. She was a not focused on human dog. She wanted to hunt and chase birds and just run free. She would make a good farm dog.


Then I skipped over a few and grabbed Cola. Cola was absolutely nuts last time and I felt that I was up for a challenge. Cola has the most beautiful eyes and was so awesome and sweet whenever we stopped at a bench. She was still a bit crazy but definitely better than last week. She loves to roll over and roll in the grass and roll down the hill. It makes for a interesting walk to say the least. But I think she is great and she is full of energy. She will make someone a great pet.


Then I went to grab Hardy...When I got him out he was great and full of life and not his usual self. I kept talking to him telling him how proud I was and how much he had come out of his shell....remember this...and I will come back to Hardy.

 

Hardy                                                   Laurel

I didn't feel I was up for the challenge of Laurel, Hardy's brother so I grabbed Cucumber. Cucumber did great. I was a little nervous because I know last week he got pretty agitated with being the last dog and Mable got her all worked up. But Cucumber did great!

Then I grabbed Laurel who didn't want to go and the minute we got outside he pulled me back to the door. I tried to change his mind but he was not having it. So I put him back in his kennel. Then I looked at the two brothers side by side Laurel and Hardy and thought this is odd their personalities are opposite today...I took a look at their weight and was convinced they had been switched. I let an employee know and sure enough they had! Glad we got that worked out.

 

  Laurel                                                   Hardy                                                 

Then I grabbed sweet Minnie before heading to the back row. Minnie is just beautiful and I hate that she is still at the shelter. She is really into outside and loves to hunt I hope she gets to spend her days outside in her family's yard soon...she would love that!

Then I headed to the back all the way to the back and passed by my sweet Jack and promised I would grab him soon...I met a new sweet as can be pup Angel Rosie and an angel she was. She was the perfect size and so cuddly and lovey...she was just great. I was so happy to meet her today.

Then I grabbed Chuck who is a hound and he did great he didn't pull too much but he enjoyed his time outside. You never know with the hounds if they are even gonna care you are there or not.

Then I grabbed another knew to me girl...Susie. She was this medium sized cattle herding sheep dog looking thing. Grey and Black and was just awesome. She was a great size too and I was really happy to meet her today.

As the time was now noon lots of volunteers and possible adopters started to roll in. I knew they would grabbed the few I hadn't made it to yet...but I wanted to get in just a little bit of time with Jack before I left or someone else grabbed in so Jack and I had some good quality time together too.

The whole time I was walking dogs Sweet Bear was outside in a Kennel. He looked so sad I almost went in a visited him a few times but they put another dog in there with him so I left him alone. He seemed so jealous of the one on one attention the other dogs were getting that he wasn't even enjoying his outside time. I love Bear, I think he is great. I hope someone comes along soon for him!

The kennel area really became busy so I headed up front assuming that sweet Katie and Waldo were up there and they were. I had to help clean up there rooms a little bit...but I spent a little time with each of them and let them know how great they are and how much I love them. Hope they go home soon!!!

Sundays at the shelter are a little different. I like that it isn't open to the public til noon cause it did get quite busy. It is more of a time sacrifice cause going on Sundays means I'm leaving James, but luckily he doesn't mind and hopefully I can go back to Fridays soon. However, once the Marathon and our vacation is over a commitment on Sunday will be a little easier to manage.