Captain...Captain Crunch

Every now and then there are dogs that are extra special to me at the shelter. Sometimes its the way they look, or we bond on a walk, or their story of how they go there. Sometimes I don't know why they are special they just are. 

This boy, Captain has the most amazing face. I have gotten to walk him a few times, but mainly my time with Captain has been spent in one of the front rooms...just loving on him. He got to go home with one family, but they were not the perfect family for him. Captain was a favorite at the shelter, with the employees, volunteers and visitors. Everyone loves him and he is definitely a special dog!!!

So he got spotlighted on the radio and found the perfect fit!

See Captain visiting the radio station!

I am so so so happy for Captain and so thankful for his new Mom!

Greymont

Saturday morning I got to do something really cool. I got to meet the owner of Greymont Kennel, Ben Sloan and really talk to him about his job and what his facility is all about. My Dad is tennis friends with Ben so that's how I got the hook up.

When I first pulled up...I thought I am in heaven. It has all this green property and this perfect Front Porch on this Cabin like structure. I absolutely loved it. It was so great to hear how Ben had gotten started in this business. It was amazing to see how each step of the building process was really

Greymont Kennel

NHA

I was so pumped to return to the shelter this Fridays. Fridays just are perfect. Its a great way to start my day off. I usually have familiar faces...like Ashley there to help me. And when I am done I don't have to run home quickly and worry that I have left James alone all morning. It is just perfect. Over the next few months my Fridays might be a problem...but I love them while I have them and always look forward to them returning!


I started with Zeitlin who I met last week. An older, very sweet girl. I was so happy to see they had gotten her a cot for her kennel...she needs the extra padding she is a bit boney. 

Lil Bit I met today. He is just totally adorable and ready to go! He is 8 months old and full of cuteness! I think he will be adopted very soon!

Penny was a happy, hyper white and tan baby. She was really cute and had tons and tons of energy. She is just 7 months so thats to be expected. I was very happy to meet this sweet girl. 


Lucky was this awesome black dog with a face like my Gigi that got adopted earlier this year. He is just so adorable. A medium sized black baby that I just love. He looks like he had some skin issues so I am curious about his past. 


Hoss has been at the shelter a few weeks and I am drawn to him for his lab features but hadn't been able to walk him til today. He is definitely a Hoss and had no trouble pulling me up the hill. He is a short legged Lab mixed and just really cute. He is four so I worry about him finding his forever home. 

Red Rock I met today and I got in that kennel to hook her up and thought it was never gonna happen. She was so full of energy and couldn't get still. I thought this is gonna make for a fun walk. But, the minute we got the leash on and were out the door she did great. She was super sweet and chill. I am afraid her craziness in the kennel will keep people from getting her outside and seeing how great she is. 

Cabo has been there a little while and I think he is really sweet. He is five and a small medium dog. When I first met him he was in the big kennel. Then he spent some time in the real life room and today he was up front. I hope that gave him some extra exposure to possible adopters. Today I spent some time with him on the leash and in his room. He has a great attitude and I think he would make someone an awesome dog. I love his personality and his ears!!!

I end my day with walking Captain and spending time with him in his room. He is clearly a favorite and I just have to believe he will get his real forever family soon. Just look at that face!!!! Love him!

3-0

The Big 3-0 is a Big Birthday so I made sure I celebrated for a full week!!!!

I pre-partied by collecting some donations and taking them to ARC the weekend prior...that was a goal of mine.

Then on Tuesday...my actual Birthday
I got cupcakes at work :-) made by Cecilia

Then I picked up Mom from work and we went by my house so James and the dogs and us could all ride to Mom's house together. When I got home I had balloons and 2 dozen roses from James along with a sweet card. Then I had a cute card from B&B with a coupon for a family picnic!!!! And I had a sweet card from my Dad.

Then we headed to Mom's where the pups got to have some fun...one of my favorite gifts ;-)
I got a sweet card from Mom and then the four of us headed to Bone Fish for a nice dinner.

Friday I started of the day in a really cool way by getting to volunteer at the fair grounds with ARC after a local rescue happened a few weeks ago...a very cool experience. Then I got to celebrate again with a nice ride on the Pedal Tavern with Jay, Cheryl, Kari, Ryan, James, OB, Patti, Bob, Carol, Mom & Larry. It was a fun fun fun night!!!!


Then Saturday we got to celebrate again. During the day James went with me and we took the pups to the creek. I am sure to most thats not part of the celebration...but for me it totally is!!!!  The rest of the day we got to be at home with B&B and just be lazy!!! Then we got to celebrate at dinner at my Dad's with him, Lucia, Mandy, Donnie, Gracie, Abby, Lori, Sam, Michael, Victoria, Hannah, Phil, Marlene, and James and I. It was a great family dinner and it was fun to visit with everyone!!!!

Sunday, I celebrated by returning to my regular NHA shelter visit and going and walking and loving on dogs and making a donation of goodies there too!!!!

And...I finished celebrating by having a dinner with my BFF Tracy! It was a nice closer.

I am very thankful for all my family and friends I got to celebrate with. I don't know what 30 will be like but this week was great!

Headed Home

Over the past week or so...some of my either favorite shelter dogs or ones that have been there awhile have been adopted and I'm thrilled!

Bonnie

Dixie 

Izzy

Romeo

These are some great dogs that deserved finding a great home so much. I am so thankful to have gotten to know them and gotten to spend time with them. I am so so so happy for them. I hope they have a wonderful life with their new families!!! 

Good Luck and Love to You All!!!

Shelter Sunday!!!

So last shelter day was really different, but today was different too! When I got to the shelter half the dogs had already been walked. There was a group of people walking them that I guess got there early and the workers had them get the dogs out instead of clean. Anyway, this made for a day of fewer walks but lots of dog time for me.

Beans and I got to take a walk. He is a very unique looking dog and I'm really surprised he is still there. We had a good time walkung, talking & exploring.

 Zeitlin was a new dog to me. She was a smaller older tan dog...but very sweet. We actually took two laps around the yard because she refused to go inside the first time.

I went out to the front and found Captain running around like crazy. I couldn't believe he was back...but I loved seeing him and I know he will find a wonderful home soon. He is just too adorable!!!

Bonnie and I didn't walk, but I got some great kennel time with her and gave her lots of love. She has the best face and I love her so so so much!!!!

Romeo is another one of my favs...he had already been out too...so we just had some special play time.

Lucky and I went for a walk and I really like him. He is black and medium sized and just has this precious face. Alot like a girl I love here before...Gigi :-)

Buddy Tyson had already been out too. I like his eyes...he was in a really big kennel so we wrestled around for a bit too.

Then I saw Betty, she was just a pup sleeping oh so hard. I couldn't resist. I got on the ground and just loved on her. She was absolutely adorable.

Then I went up front to see what was going on again with Captain and I saw these two guys in the front room. Kenny thought one of them was named Bandit. So I will call them The Bandits. They were medium sized long haired dogs one more tan, one more black. One was shy and the other wasn't. I spent some time with them and loved on them.

Then I made my way to the real life room...where there are mainly puppies...but I saw these babies and just petted and loved on them and talked to them:

Serenity...Tobasco...Sunshine...Mo...Gracey Renea

Ferb

Cabo

Overall, another great day at the shelter!!!!

I Got To Go Too!!!!

So I was super jealous that Mom was getting to go help ARC on Wednesday...I assumed they wouldn't need anymore help by Friday...but they did and they called me!!!! I was so excited that I could go and help and see what it was all about. So, on Friday morning instead of heading to NHA I headed to the fairground and I was there from 9-1. It was a great experience and all the volunteers new and regulars were so nice. We started the morning of course with the dos and don'ts and the how tos. Then we all split up in pairs and got the 51 dogs left fed. Of course it was very well organized and it was cool to see how each task was approached and kept in order. The dogs were all in groups called pods. Each dog had info attached to their crate to help know what had happened with that dog for the day and what kind of food they were to have. The good eaters got the extra healthy food...the older dogs got softer canned food...the picky eaters got either the cheap mix or that with canned food. They were so use to eating crap food or scraps they weren't ready for the good stuff yet. And all got extra nutrients sprinkled on top. With all the help it didn't take too long to get them fed. We took another break and went over some other info while the dogs finished eating. Then it was bathroom time/exercise time/crate cleaning time. We had to big pens so we split into groups and would on wheels roll crates one by one to the pen and let the dog run around and do their business while their crate got cleaned. Each dog was different...lots went pee or poop moments before we could get them in the pin...some where happy to be out of their crate others where scared. Regardless it was a great feeling to get these dogs moving around and give them a nice crate to return to. Once they made it back to their regular area they got a peanut butter filled kong...which most were very happy for. This process took the rest of the morning and was slow paced. If there had been more pins it could have gone a little faster. I can't imagine what it was like when there were other types of animals there and 130 dogs. The volunteers and workers there were amazing...I am so thankful for people like them. They were all really awesome. I was so happy to have this experience and so happy to play a small role in a local rescue. The situations these dogs came from are so sad...but I know they are all going to much better places now, thanks to ARC!

Below are some pictures from their website concerning these rescues

This is Lady one of the older dogs. She was there when I was there on Friday. I helped feed her and take her to the pin. She even got a cushy bed to make her crate softer for her. 

This is Kerry who was a leader when I was there. 

She was very helpful and nice to work with. 

Look at all that food!!!

This is where all the dogs were and this is what I mean by pods. 

ARC figured out that a lot of these dogs did better if they were in groups

and could see some of the others. 

I wasn't there early on when they were cleaning these babies.

Look at that water!!!!

This is one of the pens they let the dogs run in while they clean. 

Another pen

Lots of supplies donated!!!!

 

More supplies!!!

These dogs had little shelter and shade...little water and very little food.

Much better...clean and plenty of food and water. 

Goodbye 29

Since turning 30 is just around the corner I was thinking about all I have accomplished in my first 30 years. There are many things that I could forget and sweep under the rug...but there are also a lot of things I am really proud that I either accomplished or just got lucky and got to do...Here is the list I came up with:

Went to Aruba, Jamacia, and Mexico a few times
Went on 2 cruises
Graduated High School
Graduated College
Lived in a house on my own
Made Some Great Friends & Lost a few along the way
Bought a dog
Rescued a dog
Got a full time job
Vacationed with Just my Dad and Billy
Met a Great Guy
Became a Regular Volunteer @ a local shelter
Saw my BFF fall in love & get married
Got Engaged
And finally learned so much about who I was, who I am and who I want to be!

I'm sure I missed a lot of great things...but Guess I am ready for the next 30!!!!

Do you know ARC???

Animal Rescue Corps

Over the last 12 months facebook has really stepped it up with organizations really utilizing it as a constant stream of advertisement and communication. As a result I have really learned a lot about associations and organizations near and far.

One of the organizations I have grown to learn a lot about is Animal Rescue Corp. I became an angel due to a minimum donation and received a shirt I love for giving to a great organization.

In recent months and definitely not the first time, but ARC has played a really active role locally. Over the last few weeks there have been two large rescues in Wilson and White County where over 130 dogs plus other animals were saved. I made it a priority to collect and donate items.

Mom and I headed over there on Friday to drop off items and learn more, then we returned on Saturday for a second donation. For me it not only felt right but it made me feel extra good.  While there we both signed up to help and I am more than excited to say that my Mom will be helping them out on Wednesday. The cool part about this is that this will be one of the last days of these animals lives at the Nashville Fairground and my Mom gets to be a part of it.

I am so thankful for ARC and so thankful for the work they do all over the United States…I am sadden to know they are needed here but over joyed that an organization like this exists and that they are there to help wherever they are needed.

If you are familiar with the ARC definitely get to know them and support them!!!!