Three Down...

Five to go - fosters, that is. Camilla went to another foster home just before my husband left. Hank is back with his mommy. Suzy went to another foster home tonight.

Freddie has a home visit on Saturday. Fingers crossed! He so deserves a forever home of his own.

Hopefully we can figure out something for Tyler really soon. Then that would just leave Eddie, Clara, & Geneva. I can't even imagine what it would be like to just have our own dogs here. Seems like it would be a walk in the park compared to this!


It's your time to shine, Freddie!

Daily Dose of "Aww"

Hank's reunion with his momma today, 12.27.10, after being apart for nine months. She was deployed to Afghanistan, and he stayed at our house.




My cute white puppy, Bolt. I mean Sidney.

The Day After...

Christmas! It was a great day. Today we are just relaxing.

What a Difference a Year Makes

I just went back and re-read my blogs from around this time last year. We had fourteen dogs in the home at the time, and it was a pretty different crowd from who we have now. Some found their forever homes, one went back to his family when they got back on their feet, and one completed her time on this Earth.

When I think of Christmas time last year, I think of all the time spent out at the sanctuary with Tyler during our time off. I think of Teddy, who was rescued from his chain after ten long years at the end of it. I think of little Sammy who we nursed back to health after he died on the operating table while being neutered. Now Tyler lives with us as Adam works on a permanent placement for him. Teddy and Sammy went to great homes.


Tyler

Colby, our own Christmas puppy, turned four today. He has been with us for three years, and he is the most wonderful gentle dog you could hope for. I wished him Happy Birthday, but I don't think he knows what I was saying.


Happy Birthday, ColbyJack!!


Current Roster: Mason, Nala, Keifer, Sid, Colby, Katie, Jill, Spec, and (probably) Stan. That's nine. SNIPSA dogs Eddie, Clara, Freddie, Suzy, and Geneva make fourteen. Tyler the HHS dog makes fifteen, and Hank makes sixteen. Hank will be going back to his mommy soon. Freddie, Suzy, and Geneva will hopefully be going to new fosters soon. And Tyler should be going somewhere where he will be more comfortable in the next couple months.

Other than all that, we are healthy and happy this holiday season. We've got our own routine going now that Adam is gone. Things will only get better and better for all these dogs in 2011!

Spectre Update

Spectre ended up staying at our regular clinic for three days, and her wound was packed three times while she was under anesthesia. On the third day they were able to sew up a little more of the wound, so the improvement was tremendous when I picked her up after work that Monday.

She had a LOT of meds and treatments here at home over the last two weeks. She has been an incredible little patient - very tolerant and easy to care for. She goes in this week to get her stitches out, and then we just wait for a little while for the remainder of the injury to close on it's own.

The other pups are doing well, healthy and happy. We are working on finding better situations for Tyler & Freddie. Hank leaves soon - I think. I have been taking the girls to adoption events. Hoping for some new forever homes soon!


me & my baby

FML

Spectre in happier times


Spectre's wounds abscessed and started erupting sometime late Wednesday night, leading to major complications. By Thursday morning I knew she needed medical attention. We decided she would be stable enough until Friday morning when she could see our regular vet. I anxiously took her in at 8 am sharp when the clinic opened. She was put under this morning for a procedure to irrigate the wounds and pack them. She gets new packs daily for 3-5 days, then they will close the wounds and insert a drain. I imagine her final appointment will be to remove the drain. I feel horrible; this whole thing makes me sick. There was no way to know that the abscesses would occur. I'm not sure how long this process will take or how much it will cost. I hope she will have a swift recovery from here on out. :(

A Cute Picture to Make it Better

Baby Clara!

One of Those Days

Yesterday was "one of those days". Early in the morning I put all the dogs out, then brought them back inside and went to bed. When I woke up for good later, there were accidents everywhere.

Then I noticed there was a dead rat in the backyard. I didn't want the dogs fighting over it or bringing it inside, so I knew I had to dispose of it. I literally went out there four or five times over the course of two hours, and it freaked me out too much. I finally asked the neighbor to come get it. He quickly marched over behind me, scooped it up, and took it away in a bag. Thank goodness.

The afternoon brought the biggest upset. About six dogs were in the kitchen close together and a fight broke out. It was horrible. Freddie got a hold of Spectre and wouldn't let go. She was so frightened there was pee and poop flying everywhere - along with fur, saliva, and blood. Awful. I got bit when I was trying to help her. I had to separate all the dogs and then get things cleaned up while I let them calm down. They're going to have to be separated for awhile now. Sigh. From two shifts in the pup shuffle to four - all because of a fight. Grrr.

And now I think little Eddie is a little bit sick. :( He has a touch of a cough and coughed up a little phlegm/bile in his crate today. Hopefully it's nothing. I would love not to have sick and injured dogs at some point in this six months.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

And I love it! Somewhere in the last few years, Christmas has become this mega-inflated supersize holiday - that's ok with me! I love having the feeling of holiday merriment for well over two months. For me the holidays are about the spirit and the feeling of togetherness, not the stuff.

This first week with my husband gone went just fine. Suzy stayed at the vet's for three days; she is now good as new. Katie is just about done with her antibiotics for her gash from the ghost dog fight I never heard or saw. Our two dogs that went with my husband are also adjusting to apartment living. They were a little lethargic and lacking appetites, but seem to be back to normal this weekend.

This week we had two big events at work; they went off without a hitch. Smashingly, in fact. This coming week is a short work week - just three days. WOOHOO!

Last night I spent some time just window-shopping at the mall with a good friend. Clara, Monkey, and I attended an adoption even today at the farmer's market. As always, it is a good experience in socialization for them, but neither had a lot of serious interest. Sigh. I got a haircut after the event then went and got a replacement fleece for the one Clara tore this week; I also picked up a few groceries for the week and the items I volunteered to bring for Thanksgiving dinner. Not that I think anyone has interest in these mundane details - I'm keeping this blog as a journal for myself, really. But anyone reading is welcome to read!

I'm ready to spend Thanksgiving with good friends and eating good food in just a few short days. Friends are the family you choose for yourself. Aww.

Overwhelmed.

It's been just over 36 hours now since I've been holding down the fort solo. Not that I'm counting or anything. :P I was getting stressed towards the end of my day, because I will have a few days this week that I can't get home early ie the time my husband normally got home for the dogs. I don't think the dogs can tell the difference though; it's just one more hour of napping for them.

Between being tired and hungry myself, knowing the dogs need to be taken care of immediately, and having tons of housework to do I was a little overwhelmed tonight. I took care of the dogs, made a quick dinner for myself, and then relaxed for an hour before cleaning for an hour. The house looked like a tornado went through here after the whirlwind of packing this weekend. Tonight I picked everything up and put it where it belongs - clothes, dog stuff, trash, papers, mail, etc. Now the house is ready for me to dust, sweep, and mop tomorrow. My goal is to clean and organize for an hour every day, and see where it gets me at the end of six months!

My immediate response to feeling overwhelmed is thinking that I wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for all the dogs. If we had a normal amount of dogs things wouldn't be like this. After feeling like this for a bit, I think about how I let continuous feelings of being overwhelmed get in the way of doing anything at all about it. I have a feeling that if I'm able to build small daily habits and try a little more - at the same time working our way down to a few less dogs - that we will be able to strike a balance in our home.

I really have enjoyed cleaning/organizing/decorating blogs lately. It is inspiring me and motivating me to create my own cozy little home where we can relax and enjoy ourselves. Watching "Hoarders" - as I am right this second - makes me feel a little more hopeful, too. At least I don't have that much clutter!

And He's Gone...

He left yesterday at 6:30 am. We had a very fun going-away for him Friday night with all his (work) friends, and Saturday we worked together all day getting the U-Haul and car situated, getting everything packed, etc. He was very calm and organized, which was great. It made for a stress-free day for both of us.

After he left I got the dogs all taken care of then I went to my favorite place for lunch. Then I ran to Petsmart and Walmart to pick up a few things, and after I washed my car and gassed it up before my work week began.

Unfortunately Suzy fell ill late Saturday night; she is currently at the vet's in-home clinic getting treatment. We should find out today what is going on with her. I also must have had a ghost dog fight at the house; I never heard one, but Katie has a nasty gash on her side. So I have one sick dog and one injured dog. Thank goodness I have extremely easy access to the best vet care available. I'm so grateful for the support system I have here.

I feel positive about this situation. Last time we were apart because of the military, I didn't know anyone here. Now we have lots of friends that we are lucky enough to consider as family. We were newly married and new home-owners. Now that we've been married for four years we have experience of dealing with things under our belt, and I'm confident that I can handle any crisis that could come up. Plus, it's not like a deployment; he's safe, access to communication is not an issue, and he's even in the same time zone! This is a wonderful opportunity to advance his career. This six-month training will yield years of possibilities for him.

While he's gone I plan to: take care of myself, take care of the dogs, get the house in order, and spend time with my friends. This will be a period of growth for us as individuals and as a couple. I'm ready.

I'm Gonna be a Single Mom

Camilla, March 2010


My husband got orders to move to Florida for a six-month military training, so as of this Sunday I will be holding down the fort by myself. I can't go along with him because I have a career here, we own a home, and we have all the dogs. So with two weeks' notice we are getting ready to send him off.

He is taking two of our own dogs with him, so that will help me out some. A good friend is taking over foster care for Camilla and possibly Eddie at a later date. Hank's mom will be home from Afghanistan in December, and then hopefully throughout the six months I will be able to adopt out any remaining fosters.

Upon the completion of his training my husband will either be stationed back here or out in the Baltimore/DC area. Hoping he gets Texas so we don't have to sell the house and move all the dogs. We'll see. This will be an interesting six months for sure.

Happy Howl-o-ween!

We had a great holiday here - did lots of things to celebrate. On Saturday we took a few of our fosters to the Howl-o-ween bash over at Park North plaza. SNIPSA was the featured rescue group and adoption event. I got free sweet tea from Bill Miller's, a sammy from the Quizno's table, custard from Freddy's and a free massage from...? Not sure where. :-/ None of our fosters got adopted, but several other SNIPSA dogs found their forever homes that day.

Odds & Ends from Here & There

Reina



Geneva AKA Monkey


It's been awhile since I've blogged. Not because I've been too busy; I make time to do the things I want to do. I just feel the same way and don't really want to think about it.

Since August, Freddie has been adopted and returned. The annual Race for the Rescues was a great event; it raised approximately 50K and had more runners than ever before. We've had a successful Big Fix #7. Big Fix #8 is rapidly approaching. We switched the dogs to grain-free food. Adam brought Suzy Q home over Labor Day weekend. Suzy just got heartworm treatment, and she's coping well.

I believe Bandit is in the process of being re-homed up in the Dallas area. Right now we have a couple leads on both Clara and Suzy. We had inquiries on Tyler and Stan this week. Our dogs are doing well; Adam has been working with everyone's socialization a lot lately. We attended an adoption event today at the Pearl Farmer's Market. No adoptions for us, but good experience and exposure for the pups.

We lost our beloved Reina one year ago. Her memory lives on in our hearts, and we still miss her. Keifer will be having some tissue/bumps removed from her face on Monday, and it will be sent off for evaluation. Hoping and praying everything comes back free and clear of any dangers for her.

Guess that's about it for dog-related updates.

RM

Gridlocked

I feel total despair right now. I am desperate for these fosters to find their own wonderful forever homes. Fostering is supposed to be a temporary situation, and some of these fosters have been not-so temporary fixtures here. My heart is breaking because we have so many it is such an undertaking just to feed, water, and provide basic care for them. They deserve so much more in the way of attention, training, and TLC. They deserve their own loving family where they can be the sole focus. I just feel completely burned out. We have had Stan for going on two years, Camilla for nine months, the two puppies for six months, and Freddie for several months. Now we have Tyler, who has special needs and is a work in progress, as well as Geneva - who knows how long we will have her. She is small and easy, so hopefully someone will snatch her up. Not to mention Hank, who we are babysitting for far longer than anticipated. He's easy too, but he IS another very large dog in the house.

I just can't see the light at the end of the tunnel for these dogs, and it makes me very very sad right now...

The Latest Casualty

On Friday the 13th our beloved new leather couch fell victim to Miss Camilla's teeth. Now, we have probably lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of items to the dogs' chewing, and I'm *mostly* to the point where it doesn't bother me anymore. It's part of life with the pack. BUT this destruction was just downright depressing. Sigh.

On this day Stanford also ripped the mattress and box spring in the guest room. Spectre also decided it was time to start pulling up the tiles again and munching on them for a snack. I keep telling myself that "they're just things, they're just things".

101 Posts!

Wow, I didn't realize I had written this many posts until I just logged in, and it said '100 posts on August 5'. How cool. To celebrate - some new doggy pictures!

Geneva AKA "Monkey"

Mason & Geneva

We found this darling little girl limping down Eisenhower Road three weeks ago. We have since found out that she was once adopted out through the Universal City shelter. The lady who adopted her gave her away to an Air Force family; they left her behind when they PCSed to Germany. So she has had at least three homes; I think it's more like four or five. When she came in to the UC shelter she was already spayed. She is now a SNIPSA dog and living happily with us until she finds her forever home. She is approximately 3-4 years old, spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped. She loves people and other dogs and was easily crate trained. If you are interested in this little girl please contact me!

August Update

Well, Big Fix 6 was a smashing success. I think our team altered, vaccinated, and microchipped over 175 animals that day. It was horribly hot and humid, but so worth it.

Speaking of horribly hot and humid, that's exactly how I would describe the indoor adoption event in July. It actually felt like a sauna, and it made both the dogs and the humans miserable. You actually had to go OUTSIDE to cool off. Not ok.

Fosters available for adoption right now: Camilla, Eduardo, Clara, Freddie, Stanford, Geneva, and Tyler.

Sadly, Tyler's home fell through and even more sad - he tested positive for heartworms tonight. Also, several of the dogs have a cough that seems to be pretty contagious. Sigh. Kinda feels like our dog world is caving in on us right now. We'll get through it, though. We always do.

Upcoming SNIPSA Events

Saturday, July 17
Indoor Adoption Event

Saturday, July 24
Big Fix Spay & Neuter Clinic

More details to follow...

Your Daily Dose of Cuteness

Teddy Bear got Adopted!

Teddy was adopted by the perfect family last Tuesday. He makes the fourth dog in the pack, and everyone loves him. He has learned to use the doggy door, and his new parents are extremely patient and loving. We could not have dreamed up a better home for him. Adam misses him terribly, but we know we gave him the chance at the best life possible.

Runaway Dogs

About two weeks ago I agreed to do a home visit for SNIPSA for two dogs going to the same home. It was hot, I had several things to do at the office when I picked them up, and I was trying to stay on a schedule. First I picked up and dropped off some stuff, and then I loaded up the dogs one at a time. I opened the truck windows about six inches and turned the A/C on full blast.

Then I realized I needed to get food for them out of the shed in the backyard at the office. There were two large Labs back there, and it was muddy. I was still in my work clothes...You can see where this is going. When I brought the food in through the office, one of the labs nosed his way into the door. He ran up to the food bin, nosed the lid off, and started helping himself to some kibble. As I was going after him the other one followed. First lab growled to protect his food and sent kibble flying. Now there's dog food and mud on the floor. Great. I got the dogs back into the yard and cleaned up the mess inside. I take the food and head out to the truck, finally.

As I approach the truck I can't see the dogs that I had loaded up. When I'm next to the truck they're....GONE! I jumped in the truck, tore down the drive and slammed the gate behind me. I immediately see them; a nice lady is holding their leashes and giving them water just down the block. She had already called the number on their ID tags, which reaches the director of SNIPSA. I called her right away to tell her to disregard the voicemail about the found dogs. Everything was ok; they were back in my possession. Huge sigh of relief.

And if you're wondering, I did NOT tell their new family about my little fiasco that happened just minutes before their visit. Both dogs were adopted as a result of that visit and they are living happily with their new family.

Oh, Teddy Bear...

Teddy had another home visit where he had to pass the test with a cat. Unfortunately, this cat was rather reactive to him, which spurred a prey instinct in him. Needless to say he came back home with us that night. If he finds the perfect home we will place him, but if not he stays out the rest of his years with us. And I think that's just fine with him.

Hooray - Daddy's home!

The doggies' daddy, that is. Picked him up yesterday from the airport. We had dinner out to catch up, then he played his new video game and I cleaned the bedroom. Now we're both home for awhile, so we just get to sit back and see what life unfolds for us this summer.

I'm really kind of anxious/excited to see if we will get orders anywhere this year. I am anxious/worried that we will get orders where we can't take all our dogs. I guess we would cross that bridge when we come to it. Then again, we could get someplace really cool where we can bring the dogs along. Hoping it's the latter.

I think I'm going to join Planet Fitness this week. The thought of jogging and being outside sounds completely horrible. Even if it's at night it's still ridiculously warm.

Still trying to keep up with daily chores and my room "zones" that I set up a long time ago. Last night went well. I am determined to keep up with it every day. I have to. I hate living in a disaster zone.

Race for the Rescues 2010 / C25K

I've decided that I'd like to train for a 5K. And not just any 5K - the annual SNIPSA Race for the Rescues. I think it's a 5K anyway. I hope it is...

Anyhow, my goal is to jog it without stopping. And how, you might ask, am I going to be ready for that? I found a training program online, C25K (Couch to 5K). It is a nine-week program that builds up your endurance for a 5K. I think it's a great goal to work towards and something to look forward to. Hopefully I can start when Adam gets home, and maybe he will even be my coach!

Seven Pounds a Day

...Of dog food, that is. I've calculated that the dogs eat seven pounds of dog food a day. And that's just the regular formula which doesn't include the puppy food and the diet food. So eleven dogs are eating seven pounds of food a day. Can that be right? We just went through a thirty-five pound bag in about five days. Fortunately, we can afford it, and it's a lifestyle we choose.

In other ramblings, I had my first dog fight tonight since Adam's been gone. The dogs were playing in the den and somehow Camilla got caught in the middle; Camilla did not feel like playing. She got cranky with them and four of them jumped her. She has a scrape on her "udder" and a pretty good puncture near her lady bit. Yay for hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and extra antibiotics that we have on hand. There's really nothing you can do but let it heal and try to protect against infection. The things you learn from a house full of rescue dogs.


Cranky Camilla

Through the Years

I Suck at Housekeeping

Or rather, I should say that I suck at KEEPING UP with it. I am pretty good at it when I have time to do it. I have a daily schedule and weekly schedule I would like to stick to. However, any little thing that comes to throw off my schedule usually can and does. Home visits for the dogs, running errands, and just choosing to spend a night on quality time together [like a Starbucks/Barnes & Noble night :)]have a way of popping up.

I will admit that about half the time I'm off my schedule is because I'm too tired to get at it. The whole having energy deal is another issue in and of itself. I'm trying to take better care of myself so I can take better care of my household, hubby, and pups.

Today I:

1. took care of the dogs (letting them in and out all day, feeding them, watering them, cleaning up after them, and giving them their monthly heartguard).

2. paid the bills, tracked the budget

3. did my daily chores including: make the bed, de-clutter the whole house & put stuff where it belongs, sort the mail, dishes, counters, sweep, empty the trash, and two loads of laundry.

4. putzed around in the yard, picking up random trash that blew in with the storm and putting yard tools up on the patio.

I still have to feed the dogs dinner, shower, and do some laundry so I have something to wear to work this week. Can't go naked. Yikes. That's an ugly thought.


Not housekeeping-related.
May 29, 2010

Summer Splash

Camilla - up for adoption!


We had an adoption event today at the Pearl Farmer's Market. It was super duper hot, and the people were dropping like flies - both the volunteers and the crowds. The dogs were cranky.

Now I'm home relaxing with the doggies. Debating whether I should stay in or go out tonight. I'm getting hungry, so I need to make a decision fast.

Blog Guilt

Star Prairie, Wisconsin
May 29, 2010


I feel badly that I have neglected my blog lately. My only explanation is that our last six weeks have been packed with: one major surgery, one business trip, and two personal vacations among other things. I'm excited to settle into a fun (albeit scorching) Texas summer.

I've been thinking I'd expand the blog focus a little beyond just the dog topics; that way I'll have more to write about and can share a broader perspective of this doggy mom's life. And at any rate it's my blog, and I'll do what I want to! Ha ha. I have absolutely been loving the fashion & beauty blogs that I follow, and even they seem to write beyond fashion & beauty to include lifestyle and personal updates. Another thing I have noticed about those blogs is that they pretty much blog 5-6 times a week. It keeps readers entertained and keeps the blog fresh and moving. Not that I am entertaining readers, but I like the idea of keeping a blog as a sort of a modern evolving journal.

Ok, I think that's enough of this late night babble. Until next time...

R

June already!

I was horrible about blogging in May. It went by in a flurry with my trip and all. Here is a picture of Vincent, the family dog.

We have an adoption event coming up this Saturday. Hopefully I'll be able to move one or two of these pups into their forever home. It will be HOT, so here's hoping I can keep them comfortable.

Dogs in Art

I had the pleasure of going to see the Menil Collection while I was in Houston. There was one artist in particular who was featured quite a bit, Mauritzio Cattelan. I found his pieces to be shocking, unique, and thought-provoking. They seemed to be statements about politics, religion, current events, and history. Particularly interesting to me were the taxidermied pieces. After researching online I found that one horse he used was a former race horse which died of natural causes. After an hour or two of searching, however, I could not find where the dogs in this piece came from. I am very curious to know the conditions under which the artist secured these animals for his pieces. If anyone knows, I would be interested to know as well!

Not only were dogs visible in this artist's work, but they were visible throughout the entire collection in the museum. It is evident from art and artifacts that dogs have been loyal companions to humans for centuries. As humans have evolved, so too have the roles of the canines ever-present in their environment.

Seeing the World through a New Lense

Freddie



Mason

Adam surprised me with a great new camera when I got back from my trip to Houston. We have been window-shopping and researching SLRs since we take so many pictures (of the dogs). We have been playing with it all weekend. Here are a couple shots taken with the new camera.

While Mom's Away...

...the dogs will lay (around)!



Mason & Hank

I'm out of town this week for work. Adam is still recovering from surgery at home and caring for the dogs solo. He is doing well on his own. My bed here is awfully empty without Mason hogging it!

Big Fix #5

Tyler, a Big Fix veteran!

Coming Saturday, May 8, 2010 @ Holy Rosary. Block-walking this Sunday. Let the madness begin!

Dash

I am so happy to report that Dasher went to his forever home on Sunday. We are so happy that he is going to have a wonderful life out in the country. We will definitely be visiting our gentle giant in his new home!

Flambeau Parade 2010

Once again, SNIPSA walked in the Flambeau Parade that is part of San Antonio's yearly Fiesta celebration. I got to the staging area under the bridge (with Mason in tow), decorated wagons for a couple hours, then waited a couple hours for the parade to start. We walked the streets of downtown San Antonio for about an hour; everyone loved seeing the doggies! Most importantly, we raised awareness for SNIPSA and San Antonio dogs. At the end of the parade route we had a pizza party. Mason loved walking in the parade - and he loved the pizza crusts that the kids dropped, too!

Hank the Houseguest

Hank's mommy got deployed for awhile, so he is staying with us. He has adjusted very well to the large pack, and he is an easy dog to have around. He looks just like my Mason I think.

Home Visits

Dasher & Teddy


Both Teddy and Dasher had home visits this week. Together with their "animal communicator", Teddy's applicants decided their cat household was not ready for a dog. However, Dasher's visit was successful and he will be going home this weekend. Hooray!

Gratuitous Cuteness

Enjoy!


Eddie



Clara

Current Fosters up for Adoption

Eduardo & Clara - "Eddie Bear" & "Clara Bearah"



Stanford - "Big Stan"



Frederick - "Freddy"



Teddy Bear



Dasher



Camilla - "Camilla Gorilla" - CG