One Moment in Time

Yes, that is a tacky reference to one of the deceased Whitney Houston's greatest hits.  But there is something about the title that applies here, especially to my life.  You know how you can hear a song & it immediately reminds you of someone, or a 'moment in time'?  In the past 2 years, each foster dog we have had brings me memories of whatever may have been happening at the time we had him or her.  This time is no different.

'Hot Mess' Lily

A couple of months ago, my grandma mentioned she would like a dog!  That was a surprise, since she has only had a cat for as long as I can remember.  Her requirements were female & under 10lbs.  Knowing that we foster pit bull type dogs, none have been less that 50lbs., this was going to be interesting.  After about 2 months, I came across an ad on craigslist for the re-homing of a 6.5 lb, 2 year old, shih tzu mix.  All of the perfect qualities... housebroken, calm, gentle, spayed, etc.  I went to meet this little girl & discovered a HOT MESS.  She had never been groomed, so her mohawk hair was grown out, knotted in places & in her poor eyes.  When I took her into my car, I was gagging at the smell of cigarette smoke & cheap perfume.  Lily was a perfect guest in my car.  Once we got home was another story.

 For about 3 hours, she wouldn't come near me & if I tried to pet her, she snapped.  I tried to contact the owner to return her but didn't get a response.  I am so glad that I did not... by the next morning, I realized what a true gem Lily was.  I called the vet that allegedly did her shots & spay & found that I had been scammed via craigslist!!!  Am I surprised? Not really.  This poor dog had never been to the vet & wasn't spayed.  Luckily she landed in the right home & became our own personal rescue.  We immediately got her vetted & she went straight to the doggie spa for a makeover.  Did I mention she never had an issue with my other half? Never snapped at him upon their first meeting.  Figures. 

'After' Lily

Lily spent the next week with us to make sure her housebreaking was perfect & to observe her other behaviors & habits.  Sweet Lily is very loyal & well behaved.  We were concerned that 60lb. Pippa would tear her to shreds & boy, were we wrong.  They became fast friends.  And Ms. Lily was most definately the boss.  Lily has now been in grandma's home for the past 4 nights & they are inseperable.  Grandma says Lily is a pleasure & even feels her blood pressure has decreased a couple of points.  Another match made in heaven!  We can't wait to dog-sit Lily in a couple of weeks...we surprisingly enjoyed having a small dog here!

Lily's time here will always represent something bigger to us.  I was 7 weeks pregnant, unexpectedly.  We actually believed this was 'that' time, when we least expected it to happen, as things were going better than they ever had.  Hormone levels were through the roof, pregnancy symptoms were prominent & awful, & we had finally seen a heartbeat!  The day after we got Lily, we had an appointment & found that the heartbeat had stopped.  Devastation is an understatement.  It's been a very rough week & a half, but I thank Lily for the distraction & so she will always represent this time in our lives.

This year was the very first time Friends of Animal Care & Control were invited to participate in the International Kennel Club Dog Show at McCormick Place.  We volunteered for a 3 hour slot yesterday afternoon to showcase our Pippa!  We had an absolute blast.  All of the other vendors & demonstrations were great.  Being able to see dogs of every breed imaginable was amazing.  And best of all, Pippa was a ROCKSTAR!  With her adopt-me vest (thought it looks more like a bra!) & her pretty pink polka dotted daisy accessory (thanks Mom!), hoards of people were waiting to meet her, take pictures with her & hear her story.  Some people were even shocked to find out that she was a PIT BULL & even moreso, that she loves other dogs!  We definitely changed a few minds about the stereotype of the breed... even if it's just one person, we are effectively carrying out our personal mission.  Today Pip will be rewarded for her stellar behavior with a nice, long visit to her favorite dog park.

Pippa & her many fans!

The hubby got valuable info on turfing our backyard (not for football purposes... but for the dogs! ha ha) & I found a necklace I absolutely have to have.  If you're a dog lover like me, check out Lisa Welch Designs.  The paw print pendant has my name on it!

It's also 'that time of year'... traveling to a new ski destination in 2012... Crested Butte, Colorado!  Can't wait & definitely need to get away.

'Pitbulls are... beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man, without his vices...'

I went SKY DIVING!!!

Ok, so I am terrible with keeping up with my blog. So much has happened in such a short time.

First off, as stated in my title, I went sky diving. Call it my leap of faith after 2 failed IVF attempts in 2011. It was the scariest but most freeing experience I have ever had. My brave ex-partner went with me & our crazy instructors couldn't imagine why we needed an adrenaline rush considering we are paid to run toward gunfire. We felt the same about their professions. We have amazing & hysterical photos of this experience & look forward to doing it again in the summer months... when it's warm enough to not have to wear the hideous jumpsuits & winter hats.

As for Clyde... Adoption #2 fell through, again through no fault of his own. Clyde's stay with us has been the longest since we have started fostering. 8 months total! As you can imagine, he became quite a comfortable part of our family. But all is well that ends well & at the New Year of 2012, Clyde has found his final & forever home. Clyde is living with a single guy on the lakefront & accompanies his new dad to his martial arts classes where he watches & waits patiently to play with his dad's classmates when the session is over. What a lucky boy!

In September 2011, our beautiful boy Samson (now Sam) was adopted to a lovely family. With a dad, a work from home mom & their adult son, Sam is relished in affection & playtime all day, every day. They have recently begun therapy training with Sam, whom we know will put smiles on many, many faces once he has been certified & begins his work in hospitals.

And now we have Ms. Pippa. Or 'Hippa' as my 2 year old niece loves to call her. Pippa was previously named Starlet and is from the Safe Humane Court Case Program.  Pippa was confiscated in a search warrant where a convicted felon had 5 unspayed female pit bulls... obviously used for breeding. When I saw her cute mug on facebook, I couldn't resist & immediately brought the beagles to meet her. Pip has been thriving in our home, completely comfortable with the pack order... her being on the bottom! Her stereotypical badass 'look' makes her yet another true ambassador to the breed. Each & every dog she meets, her standard greeting is a kiss (lick) with her helicopter-style tail wag. We have hesitantly put her ad on Petfinder to see if the perfect adopter comes courting. As always, we feel Pippa may be 'THE ONE'. Our first foster failure???!!!! Stay tuned... only time will tell.

I received the wonderful gift of a really nice camera for Christmas & am hoping to take a class soon to improve my non-existent photography skills.  I look forward to getting some GREAT pictures to market all of our future fosters in 2012.

'God, give me by your grace, what you give to dogs by nature'...