Life Without A Dog

Hello Everyone. It's been a long time since I've written a blog post. Ever since Cookie passed and living in a no pets allowed apartment, it's been hard for me to write about dogs. I love living with my husband and I love the location of where we live. It doesn't take long for me to go to work and it's convenient to everything. However, we're stuck here for another year.

I still love dogs (and cats). I'm patient enough to wait. But the decision to move has to be what's best for both of us. Right now, just isn't the time. It helps that I visit my mom who has Gigi and Homer. I also will be writing about their adventures. But right now, I'm just getting used to the fact that I'll live another year without them. Our property manager is very strict about that.

Living in the Present

So that's what I've been up to lately. I've been travelling more often which isn't something you can do as easily when you have a pet. To all of you who are in the same boat, I can only tell you this. Take the time before making a decision to find your next place. You don't want to rush into your next decision as this affects your life. Also, I plan to find ways to give back. Earlier this year, Ron and I participated in Bow Wow and Alley Cat Bowling with the Heartland Animal Shelter, which is a great way to combine your love for animals and giving back.

Anyhow, I just wanted to let you guys know what's been happening lately. I'll still be blogging, but less frequently than when I had dogs. I always check on the blog though, so feel free to comment below. Thank you all for stopping in to visit my blog.

Let's Discuss!

What have you done to get yourself through your no pet periods in life?

It's All Related!

If I Can't Have A Dog An Important Factor in Getting a Dog

The Magic Bullet Fund

There's nothing worse than seeing someone you love fighting cancer. It can be even more difficult when it's a little dog who can't talk but handles its pain with the greatest of dignity.

Now there's an organization that can help if you are having financial difficulties with paying your medical bills for fighting canine cancer. It's called The Magic Bullet Fund. This organization was named after Laurie Kaplan's dog Bullet. Grateful that she was able to care for Bullet while he was fighting cancer, she wondered what happened if she couldn't afford the treatment and realized she would be brokenhearted.

How The Program Works

With the cost of cancer treatments these days, this organization will give financial aid from $600 USD to $6,000 USD. If you are a primary caretaker or a shelter/rescue group can apply for aid for your ailing dog. You dog must fall into the proper age and weight range. They provide assistance for tumor removal surgery or chemotherapy treatments (there are specific requirements for chemotherapy treatments).

A Difference Is Made

This organization has helped over 100 dogs fight cancer and extend their life. It's a great resource for other similar funds for this reason. The volunteers who run this website are true heroes who dedicate their lives to making dogs' lives better. If you would like to help, you can donate to them or visit their website store.

Let's Discuss!

Did you know anyone in this situation? How have you been affected by a dog fighting cancer? Personally, seeing Elvis battle cancer was horrifying because he had such an aggressive form that hit him so quickly.

Note To Readers

I haven't been writing as much because of school and work demands. I hope to be back in full force next week and will try to get an additional post up over the weekend. Thank you all for your support and I hope you are having a great week.

White Knuckles

It All About The Dogs

These days it's a rarity to catch a video on MTV or VH1 anymore. That's why when there'a an ingenious video that comes out, I get excited. I've always been a fan of the bank Ok Go. I was enthralled by the absolute creativity of their Here We Go Again video and was completely blown away by This Too Shall Pass video. All of the videos that I've seen by this band have such a unique style and indcredible origniality. It's also a huge bonus that this band originates from Chicago.

So, imagine my surprise when I visited one of my favorite websites, Draw The Dog, who happened to have a special cartoon for the band's newest video White Knuckles. They use twelve dogs in the coolest ways. This video debuted on the Ellen Show on September 20th. The idea was conceived over five years ago. Working with trainers Lauren Henry and Roland Sonnenburg, their idea came alive in the video below. In less than two weeks, their video has been viewed over 5,300,000 times.

More Than Just Making Bucks

Ok Go has generously decided to give the net proceeds of the video's sales to the ASPCA, which is specifically earmarked to support rural, volunteer-run animal shelters in America. If you would like to learn more about this, please visit their video webpage at okgo.net.

Let's Discuss!

Have you seen this video? What's your favorite dog-friendly music video?

Read More About It!

Ok Go Website
Behind The Scenes Of The Video From The Ellen TV Show Website
The Inspiration Room

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Horses, Rabbits, and Skunks, Oh My!

Group Of Walkers at Walk For Love

Saturday

As you know, I'm always trying to find new activities to keep Homer at his peak performance. It turned out that Heartland Animal Shelter had a special event for walkers and runners. It was called the Walk Of Love - 9Ks for K9s. Runners would participate in the 9K run and walkers like myself would do the 2 mile (3.2km) walk.

I decided to do the walk with just Gigi and Homer. I had Cookie stay at home because it's been really humid lately and the humidity had been making her limp quite a bit. It rained the night before and the humidity really hadn't lightened up very much. Homer and Gigi on the other, hand were thrilled to have a workout session like this.

It wasn't too sunny and parts of the forest preserve had quite a few wet spots. I was able to avoid most of them and the dogs were ready for anything. It was a tranquil walk. Since we had started a little later than the others, we saw most of the walkers with their dogs on their way back. The trees lined the path and really brought me back to the simplicity of nature. Because of the rain, the walk was shortened slightly but it was still a great way to start the day. I even ran into two horses that both Gigi and Homer were wanting to chase. In a couple moments, the horses were a distant memory.

Horses Off In The Distance

The finish line had breakfast from Whole Foods as they had sponsored the fundraiser. There was a photographer taking pictures of the walkers. There was even a pet psychic but since there was a line, I didn't want to wait. After a hectic morning, both Homer and Gigi had a relaxing day sleeping.

Sunday

This was a typical day spent with the dogs. I could tell that the temperature was rising. Taking the dogs for their usual walk, Homer's leash slipped off of my wrist and took off running. I followed with Cookie and Gigi trekking behind me. He ran about six houses down the block. I almost was able to grab him and then he took off into the backyard and through the bushes. I heard a woman say "Excuse Me" and just as I told her that it was my dog and I was about to squeeze through the bushes, Homer bounded back hot on the trail of a rabbit. I quickly grabbed him and had him say goodbye to the rabbit. After that, the walk finished smoothly.

The real fun began when my mom let Homer out for a couple of minutes before bedtime. Homer's nose found its way right to the skunk who was visiting our backyard. Sure enough, he got sprayed right in the face. He came in the house and the smell was potent. I had to put him back outside and put together a mixture to remove the smell. I made two batches of the hydrogen peroxide mixture. Homer got it pretty bad in the face, and was very sensitive the the mixture. I've found that pouring it on worked best.

After toweling him off, using the air freshener and cleaning the floors with white vinegar, it was about 12:30 in the morning. Homer was still a little shaken trying to rub his face on the carpeting so I gave him his favorite Kong Bone stuffed with string cheese to distract him. I am happy to report it did. After everything that happened, we were all exhausted after the whole incident.

Let's Discuss!

Have you had a day where your pets ran into a variety of other animals? What do you do when your dogs get sprayed by a skunk?

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Dog Calendars

2010 PADS Calendar

There's nothing like the beauty of a wall calendar. I've always had a calendar in my house. Even with all of the technology that's been created, nothing compares to the beauty of seeing gorgeous pictures that change every month.

A calendar is a great gift to give out at Christmas time. Everyone can use one. They make them about every topic imaginable. Dog calendars are always a huge seller. One of the calendar creators, For The Love Of Rescues, had their 2010 calendar sell out.

I came across these calendars and think they would make ideal gifts for the dog lover in your life. Better yet, all the profits from these go to animal charities.

Charity Calendars

ARF 2010 Celebrity Calendar

This calendar is from Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation. It features celebrities with their pets. I was very surprised to see Chelsey Sullenberger (the pilot who safely crash landed the U.S. Airways jet on the Hudson earlier this year) , as well as others on this. It is $15USD. Best of all, it has both dogs and cat-loving celebrities. Check out the site.

Bad Rap

This organization is one that helps Pit Bulls by rescuing them and educating the public on the beauty of these incredible animals. They have two types of highly stylized calendars. They may be a little pricey at $19.99USD but if know know a person who is a fan of the breed, it may be well worth it to take a look at the My Dog Is Family or the Happy Endings calendar.

Nascar Pets Calendar

Car Racing is the largest spectator sport here in America. NASCAR is synonymous with this sport. This calendar features racing giants like Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., as well as media celebrities like Jamie Little and John Roberts. All proceeds benefit the Greg Biffle Foundation, which was founded by NASCAR racer Greg Biffle in 2005 to improve the well being of animals. The cost for this calendar is $13.99USD.

PADS Charity Calendar

Pacific Assistance Dogs is an organization in Canada that has been training assistance dogs for the past 22 years. They train all types of dogs whether it be to assist with a hearing-impaired individual or those who have been affected by a physical disability. They even offer the option of personalizing the calendar. These sell for $12.00. You can even get them express-mailed if need be. Take a closer look here.

Penguins and Paws

If you know someone who loves the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins created a special calendar for 2010. It is one of the pricier selections out there at $23USD but the proceeds of the sales will benefit Animal Friends, an organization which is an organization in Pittsburgh that began as a shelter yet has evolved into so much more, and the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania, which helps out homeless pets too.

Calendar Collections

There are two websites I found that you can get your pick of calendars:

The Animal Rescue Site

At this site, they give you a choice of 9 calendars you can order. All of the sales will help benefit homeless dogs. Calendars start as little as $3.99USD.

Dogalogue

This is an organization based in Great Britain that helps transform the lives of of blind and partially-sighted people across the UK by working with Guidedogs.org. The amount of calendars is numerous and if you live in Europe, it may be easier to get a calendar before 2010 begins. Calendars start at £4.99.

Well these are some of my favorites. Are there any calendars that you guys like that I may have missed? If so, leave a comment below. I hope you all are enjoying the weekend and thanks for stopping in.