Peaceabull

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Wordless Wednesday 

Last night I was thumbing through pictures on my phone all the way back (2 1/2 weeks!) to the day we brought Sugar and her babies into rescue.  Toby was adopted and went home last Friday and the pictures his new parents post show how he is thriving with their love and care. Though I’m not surprised by that at all, I was shocked when I came upon Sugar’s intake photo.

  

It honestly hadn’t occurred to me that she had blossomed so much already. 

I’ve posted this on all of my social media sites and am truly not seeking recognition, I’m simply astounded at the difference just basic care and good food makes.

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Hit Me With a Ton of (Yellow) Bricks

For as long as I’ve been reading dog blogs I’ve been coveting something but just never seemed like the right time to order-until now.  For the third quarter of this year (July, August, September) the Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition will be the Rescue Partner recipient from Yellow Brick Home!  (and I swoon)

I have wanted a  painting/portrait done of the boys since before Julius even came along, but I was always just so wishy washy about it.  Also, I knew that working with Kim at Yellow Brick Home is an experience and I wasn’t sure I could do justice verbally to showcase my boys. In my mind I sift through pictures and pick out adjectives to describe the boys in order to help capture their essence.   I’m pretty sure I know how to have Julius done, but as ever Ray the Complex has me worried.  How will I ever begin to describe him?

Well I’m  sure to find out because not only is our Coalition  set to earn 10% from the purchases at Yellow Brick Home for the next quarter, but for the next three days you can shop and snag yourself a nice discount too!  Who wouldn’t want one!??

Just enter the code WELOVEFWPBC to receive 10% off everything in the petshop!  Wait!  What if you’re not exactly ready to order?  No problem, get a gift certificate (or two) and still reap the benefits.

Who will you have immortalized in a mini portrait?

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True Love Ways

This year the hubby and I will be celebrating 15 years of marriage and I’m going to venture a guess that I’m not the same gal he married that decade and a half ago. But then again in some ways I am. I’m pretty free-spirited and always have been, so that remains the same. Being that it was not a first marriage for either of us, we kept it casual, personal and private while integrating my daughter in a triple ring ceremony to bond our new family then we went for a quick get away to Chicago to see a ball game. It isn’t that I don’t love getting dressed up and going to glamorous events from time to time, but I just feel that for the most part, I enjoy the simple things.

A few years ago when I ignored the fact that I’d been gaining weight I ended up needing to have my wedding rings cut off my finger. I had waited so long that I probably got a bit of nerve damage in my finger and for well over a year, I couldn’t bear the feel of anything on that finger. The next phase was that I could wear a loose ring for about an hour or so before slowly increasing the time. In the meantime, the hubby and I discussed that by our 15th anniversary my finger should be healed enough to think about resetting my stones or replacing the ring. I began searching for cool and unusual settings, started pinning ideas and eventually came up with something that I love with all my heart, though I think my hubby feels badly that he isn’t able to bedeck me in fancy jewels.

  

It’s just a plain silver band which I’ve been wearing since Christmas and on it is stamped “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

How else do I know he loves me? After insisting we can’t foster (and not complaining too much about our little guests) he’s been helping more than I thought he would but even better? He volunteered to clean the litter boxes this morning. True love ways.

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Wednesday Woe

Many of you know by now, that we lost one of our little puppies.  Our Joy is gone.  She left this world just before noon on Tuesday and I’ve made her final arrangements to come home to us.  It’s ironic that occasionally I’d read about someone (usually a foster or rescue) who loses a dog after just a very short time and they are all broken up about it.  I’m usually a bit pragmatic about it thinking “you hardly know that dog.”  But now I “get it.”


Yesterday I was briefly sad, but mostly distraught thinking of the 6 remaining souls in my care.  We had to ensure that their environment remained clean and safe so that we could get these babies to their forever homes.  Already a freaky maniac about cleaning, I re-cleaned, re-bleached, and re-disinfected (hospital strength)  everything I could think of.  The remaining puppies were tested and as of now are all negative but that only slightly eases my mind and makes me even more vigilant than before.

Today, I’m kind of a wreck.

It’s sinking in that one of my little charges has moved on and as I randomly allow myself to feel the pain of her loss, I also am comforted by the thought that she has a whole crew of souls who have moved on to welcome her and one of our followers wrote this:

“The puppies (sic) eyes blinked open as the light shone down.  No pain? No hurt? What was this? A small child cried in the corner; scared no doubt. Then the puppy knew.  She was needed.  She approached the child, eyes wide, scared herself, and then the two embraced in everlasting love for all eternity.” That was Joy’s essence and I believe she left us so that she could comfort that little lost soul.

That was our Joy.

I’d like to thank everyone who has donated to our GoFundMe.  It has allowed us the treatment for Joy.  Our puppies are not completely out of the woods yet, so we will continue to share the link and until they are safe, I won’t relax.

(When the puppies returned from the Vet’s office, there may or may not have been a crazy woman following them, taking pictures of their poop, just to make sure it was “good.”)

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In With Both Feet

Anyone remember this list? Well, my dream of Fostering has come to fruition with a vengeance and then some.  On Friday I became the new Foster Mama to Sugar and her 7 (seven!) puppies.  When I jump in, I do it with both feet.

  
I have so much to tell you guys about this amazing dog and her puppies about the generosity of their fairy godmother and about what a super great Foster boy Julius is but I already have bad news.  One of our teeny gals has come down with Parvovirus and is at the Vet for treatment.

   
          
  

She is our tiny little Joy and she needs some help to get through this.  The Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition is a very small rescue.  When we were alerted to this little family needing help, we had to think long and hard about whether or not we could handle a mama and 7 pups.  We only have a  handful of Fosters and even two of those are currently full.  The whole family has to stay together because the puppies are only 6 weeks old.  While they theoretically could be separated, I just couldn’t let that happen (hello? Remember Ray and his siblings?) so I had to step up.  Now I need you to step up.  Naturally, we would love contributions either through GoFundMe, or I can give you the name and number of the Vet we are using and you can contribute that way. We need you to share, share, share our link and most importantly we need some extra good healing vibes sent to our little Joy.

  

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Do Good, Look Great

Though the Peace-a-Bull boys have a fairly extensive collar collection (maybe not like this one-but whose is?!) I’m always looking to add to it and if I can do that and give back at the same time, it’s always a win-win.

As nearly everyone in the Blogosphere knows, Sirius Republic is one of those companies that fit the above bill and I’m hoping that all of our real life friends will make that discovery as well.  I’m often told that the gals at Juli’s Day Play wait to see what collar he will be sporting upon arrival and it is rare that we don’t get compliments on the collars when we are out and about.

captain

What I love about these collars besides the adora-bility is the durability.  I have every single Sirius collar we’ve ever purchased and they look fantastic.

siriusray

We’ve partnered with them in the past to provide some embroidered Adopt Me collars for the pooches at Allen County SPCA and after two years of hard wear, they are still going strong.

Glamour, now Kya, modeling the goods.

Glamour, now Kya, modeling the goods.

Now you and I have an opportunity to help another great local organization and one that is pretty obviously near and dear to my heart.  The Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition is a local non-profit  which strives “to improve the conditions for Pit Bull type dogs in Northern Indiana through education, public awareness and by providing resources for Pit Bulls in need” and also as recently as this year has begun much more of a focus on rescue work. In the few months that I have been more active, we’ve not only adopted some wonderful dogs to great homes, but we’ve helped two families with compassion fosters, by fostering the dogs so that their people could get on their feet and provide all the necessities.  Yeah, I’m pretty proud of that stuff.

But what can we do?  Shop.

Head on over to the Sirius Republic website, build a custom collar for your beloved pooch (or kitty!) and at check out, enter the code RPFW95 so that the Pit Bull Coalition will earn up to 20% back from your purchase!  What’s that you say?  You want to buy a collar but don’t have a furry friend?  Head to Sirius Republic, customize a collar and they will embroider “Adopt Me” on it for no extra cost and you can have it sent* to the Pit Bull Coalition!

Remember that code!  RPFW95

Thanks for helping out the blockheads of Northeast Indiana while making your dog look Mah-velous.

*P.O. Box 13064

Fort Wayne,IN 46867

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Goals and Damages

A few days ago, as I was walking a Rhino out of the shelter, the thought struck me that this was possibly a bucket list item and then directly on the heels of that thought, was the realization that this was no longer a bucket list item and more of a “thing that I do.”  (Even more thrilling!)

  
Before I get to that, though, I need to apologize to not only our Animal Care facility but to the one from which we pulled Bentley, Jack and the other Vicktory Riders and any other which fall under this blanket.  While I believe in and support the no- kill movement, I will not be referring to these facilities as “kill shelters” and although we recently published this guest post, we did not realize we were still referring to these shelters as such.

Actually, back in March when members of the Pit Bull Coalition went to Bentley’s shelter to evaluate some intakes there, we brought back Miss VooDoo to be placed with the Allen County SPCA.  It didn’t even strike me that she was a ‘bucket list’ pull.  Next the five Vicktory Riders came with me to the SPCA and possibly because they were really going from one shelter to another it still didn’t connect in my mind.  On the day that I walked Rhino out of the shelter to be placed in a foster home, I realized that while he was leaving to different circumstances, he was the seventh dog to walk out of an open intake shelter with me.

 
(No, we aren’t fostering the Rhino) 

Have you ever achieved something that you thought would be momentous but became “a thing” you do? It almost seems more exciting now, but surprisingly life doesn’t come with fanfare. 

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It Takes A Village

 *Update: Bentley got adopted today.  5/6/15.  I won’t pretend  that while I’m happy that I might have had just the slightest twist to my heart when I got the news.  

Sometimes the stories that mean the most are hardest to write; at least they seem harder to start. This one has been pinging around in my head for awhile and I keep trying and discarding the beginning, so maybe it will help if I just let it flow.

I’m wondering if this story is so hard to start because there are so many morals to it. Maybe it’s just not organized as well as I’d like it to be for the telling.

Some people shy away from adopting a shelter dog because they don’t know the dog’s history. In many cases, even if a dog winds up at the shelter because the owner surrendered it (rather than showing up as a stray) we don’t really know the history. We know the provided history only. I guess there are the people who have run out of resources and have to surrender and then there are those who just need to “get rid” of their pet. It can’t be easy and those people may or may not be aware that their words at surrender could possibly condemn your dog unfairly.

The first time I saw Bentley was in a picture that was sent to me on March 26th.

 

I had been an official Board member of the Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition for a whole five days when a Board member from a neighboring shelter contacted me about an abundance of Pit Bulls currently at their facility. We set a time to come and evaluate possible candidates for our rescue and I was the first to arrive so the Warden’s wife took me on a mini tour and I met the 6 pit bulls in house. Immediately Bentley grabbed my attention. In a large, clean pole barn stood two long banks of double kennels which could be partitioned off in case of a full house. Amid all of the barking and jumping on kennel doors, sat a large red lump with an impossibly large head. As we walked along the line, I was given a brief recap of the little bit of info available on each dog. The majority of the dogs were known by the number on their kennel and not given names, unless they arrived with one.

Bentley and Trina were the only Pit bulls with names. Trina had become the Warden’s wife’s favorite and then there was the large red lump named Bentley. Apparently Bentley was surrendered with nearly the equivalent of a death sentence: “He’s great with people and kids, but tries to kill other animals, including horses.”

When the rest of the team arrived, we began bringing the dogs out to the yard for assessment. The younger dogs, the under one crew were about as expected and pretty much all fun, all the time. The young adult females were also good but with a few slight health issues and all the while we struggled a bit to find a “neutral dog” for the tests. We tried Trina as the neutral dog and she soon showed that not only was she not neutral, but she might not be a very good candidate for …anything. She was returned to her kennel and not evaluated. Finally after all five were seen, the Warden’s wife, turned plaintive eyes to us and asked that we just look at Bentley. Just try.

Long story short, Bentley quickly became the star of the day and left us all wondering about his true past. He and two others were selected for the Coalition-when space became available-but should be left to the adoption floor in the meantime, just in case.

Days then weeks passed and the Coalition, always short of Fosters, did not have space and the Pit Bulls sat.

Waiting.

 

One month later, I received another message that the same shelter was full and needed some relief and this came at the same time that our own shelter was able to pull some dogs, though with the abundance of abandoned Pit bulls in our community, that type of dog as well as Chihuahuas and a few others was rarely “imported.” However, since Bentley had specially touched me, I was hopeful that he might be among the chosen to come to our shelter.

“What is the benefit of pulling dogs from one shelter just to put them in another one?” the Warden’s wife asked. The Allen County SPCA’s kennels are full of enrichment and some training for their temporary guests. Generally when walking through the kennels, one is greeted with soft music and otherwise silence. Dogs learn quickly that sitting quietly buys treats while jumping and barking brings nothing.

 

Bentley was pulled (have I mentioned how much I love that Executive Director of ours?) and quickly became a staff favorite as well as a garner of compliments from the Veterinarian’s office staff while visiting for his snip-snip.  Even on his first day at our shelter, I got the sense that he was happy to be there and he recognized his good fortune and saw his bright future.

Had we relied solely on the surrender information, and without a good word from the Warden’s wife, Bentley might not have been evaluated and certainly may have languished in the kennel until his space was needed. His big, sweet face haunted my mind, but had we not evaluated him, I might have let him go from my mind. Had he not shown himself to be a huge cinnamon sugar cookie of a dog, he might not have had a champion pulling for him. I don’t know.

 
What I do know is that despite whatever may or may not have happened in the past and because so many people stepped up and gave him a chance, Bentley’s future is bright.

But it takes a village.

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Expo Time!

What a beautiful weekend it was here in Northeast Indiana. On Saturday the sun was shining, birds were singing and what seemed like the entire neighborhood was outside doing yard work. Sunday was warm but overcast and that lead to rain which lead to good nap taking weather.

 

I actually didn’t do either thing on either day because it was time once again for the Northern Indiana Pet Expo and as is my custom, I worked volunteered both days. Each year rescues and shelters bring adoptable animals and vendors bring their wares and we immerse ourselves in All! Things! Pet! for the weekend. (Because we clearly aren’t about All! Things! Pet! the majority of the time.)  

 

This year was a bit different because for the first year I split my time between two organizations rather than dedicating the entire weekend to one.  On Saturday I spent the day with the adorable handful of love named Benson who became also known as Benny Boo Boo Boo Boo Boo Boo Boo. (Recommend that his be said in your best Kate Hudson voice.)

Benson

Benson

The rap on him was that he was a handful, but staff had been working really hard with him on his manners and it really showed. He was a delightful companion who is probably resting comfortably on his own sofa right about now.

 

Recently, after a bit of soul-searching, I wondered to myself why I wasn’t involved with the local Pit Bull Coalition after all I live with and love Pit Bull-type dogs and am committed to helping them, so what was I waiting for? The truth is, the Coalition has had its ups and downs and until I met one of the Board Members on a Pack walk, I wasn’t sure how the mission was being carried out. After learning more and going through the interview process, I’m pretty proud to say that I am a new Volunteer and Board Member of the Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition. As such, I worked at the Coalition booth on Sunday where we hosted the rambunctious but polite Titan (whom I’ve met and transported already)

Titan

Titan

and the very sweet and slightly shy Bug-A-Boo (with whom I clicked immediately).

Bug-a--Boo

Bug-a–Boo

I was bemused at how many people mistook Benson and Titan for Julius and Boo for Ray. Both received applications and will hopefully be in their forever homes soon as the waiting list for those waiting fosters in rescue goes on and on. In the meantime we do what we can for as many as we can. 

We hope your weekend was just as awesome.

 

 

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Peace

Before we even had Ray and I was planning this blog, it was my hope that the kitties would welcome their new canine companion as much as they loved their previous dog, Bam Bam who had passed a few years previously. It was with that hope that the name of the blog came to me A Peace-a-bull Assembly.

  

Success.