Saturday Blog Hop: Goodbye Fenway

This week has been particularly hard on our family due to the death of one of our "pack" members. I have a variety of animals that bless my life, and each of them are treasured members of my family. That is why I have not blogged for the last 2 weeks. We noticed that our kitty, Fenway, was unstable on his feet last Friday and we immediately took him to the veterinarian. She did a number of tests on Fenway and his blood work showed that he had elevated ammonia levels and he had a fever of 105 degrees. We were looking at the possibilities of a liver shunt, toxoplasmosis, or FIP for a diagnosis. Fenway continued to get worse over the course of a few days, and his blood work came back negative for toxoplasmosis. A liver shunt was ruled out since he had a fever, so we are thinking that he had FIP. (He had the majority of the symptoms for this disease...) He was making no improvements in his ability to walk, and was having a hard time eating so we made the painful decision to euthanize him.


Fenway was a rescue kitty from the humane society. He is featured along with his brother in one of my December blog posts. I was supposed to only foster both of these boys, but after it became obvious that Abner would never be a candidate for adoption, we decided to keep them. Fenway was only a 5 pound kitty, but the hole that he has left in my house and heart is big enough for an lion. Fenway was always purring and snuggling with us, and even with his last breath he continued to purr. My house seems empty. He was a constant fixture on the couch or in bed, and I miss him greatly.


There are times I wonder: "Why does this one need me?" I wondered that with Fenway. He was such a perfect kitty, and I often thought that I would place him without Abner because I just didn't need 2 more kitties. I guess the answer is that God knew Fenway needed me, even though I didn't know that myself. I was able to give Fenway a home where he was safe, fed, and above all: loved. I have no regrets with this rescue. My only regret is that I couldn't have loved him a little longer....

Saturday Blog Hop: The Wisdom Of A Dog

We went letterboxing (http://www.atlasquest.com/) last weekend, and we took Suzy with us.  We went to several cemeteries looking for places to plant boxes.  One of the cemeteries had several neat gardens, and my daughter took a moment out of her day to pray at the Garden Of The Bible.  I took this picture because it honestly looks like Suzy is praying with her.  It is one of my favorites!

Spring: A Time to Renew

As spring rolls around every year, I am in awe.  To watch the world "wake up" from it's winter slumber is a miracle that amazes my over and over again.  I love to watch the rebirth of animals and plants.  I love that it is daylight longer.  My favorite thing about spring though, is that it gives me time to renew myself.  This is a season where I look forward to growing fresh vegetables, hiking with the dogs, and reading on the deck.  Take time to renew yourself this spring.  You deserve it!

The Adventures of Suzy the Pitbull

It's me Suzy!  Today my Hoomans took me out for a hike at Charleston Falls!  I had the best time.  The littleest Hooman is who walked me today.  I tell you what, she has more energy than me!  I loved all of it, except the little Hooman wanted me to wade in the creek with her.  I wanted no part of that!  The water is still very cold, and I get chilled very easy.  The Mommy Hooman had to remind her of this...

I met some new friends on my adventure today!  This was my friend, Zero.  He is still a puppy and has a lot of growing to do.  His paws were the size to my whole head! 

This is me and my little Hooman taking a break after our long hike.

I found the first sign of Spring.... Grass! 

I can't wait to pee on the grass again!  I HATE snow...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (One day late....)

St. Patrick's Day is an observed holiday in our house, and there is no school or work on this day.  Instead, there is a lot of Irish Dancing!  Yesterday was no different from any other year.  Katzya danced and we drove her around.  We had a blast!  We were blessed to spend the day with many friends and many laughs.  May the luck of the Irish be with you!

PS:  The luck of the Irish was with several other people and dogs yesterday also.  The Piqua shelter that has been the home base to a very large hoarding case, placed it's last 3 dogs into foster care yesterday, and with that 110 dogs are now on their way to new lives!  We pray that the 367 dogs that were owned by the same guy, but in a different county will be so lucky!

Meet Ava!

Photo credit given to Debi Canody


Meet Ava!

Ava was one of the dogs rescued from the "Jeff Burgess House of Hell".  Ava is somewhat shy due to the complete lack of socialization and care that she received during her stay with Jeff, however she is very sweet and  will make a great dog for someone!  Ava has no manners and we are going to start working on that tomorrow!  I see knowing how to sit in her near future!  :)  Ava WANTS to learn to be a dog.  I am hoping to be able to give her that. 

It was a little "hairy" here tonight when I brought Ava home.  Hazel (another rescue from the same place) does NOT like her!  It is not one of those warning snarls and growls.  It is all out: "I want to kill you!"  Hopefully, Hazel will be able to work out her issues, and will allow Ava into our pack.  (I promised Hazel that Ava would not be here forever....)   On a good note, Ava has been out in the backyard feeling grass on her feet for the first time in her life, and she has made friends with Chai (Belgian Tervuren) and Shelby (Chocolate Lab).  Ava has also learned how to sleep on the couch!

I will keep you posted on Miss Ava in the days to come, and if you know anyone who might be interested in adopting Ava please let me know!

Greatful Beings....

Sometimes I just look around my house and wonder what goes on in the minds of these dogs.  All of them are rescue dogs from one bad situation or another, and they are all so amazing!  People frequently ask, "Do all of those dogs get along?!"  Well the answer is yes, and as I sit here watching them I realize that this is because they are greatful to be here.  Each and every one of them....  This is apparent in the way that they interact with me as well as the way they interact with each other.  For example, the dog pictured above is Suzy.  Suzy is a pitbull mix that I got from the animal shelter.  Suzy was a cruelty case.  She was owned by a woman who left her out in a wire cage with flood water up to her stomach, and no food or clean water to drink.  When Suzy got here she was possesive of every resource we gave her including water!  This was because she had never had even basic care before, and she wanted all of the other dogs to know that the food and water was hers!  Sure enough though, Suzy has learned that there is no reason to act like that here.  Here Suzy is a dog who can just be herself.  She doesn't have to worry about her next meal.

Then there is Hazel.  Hazel was one of the dogs from the "Jeff Burgess House of Horrors".  She too was very possesive when she got here.  She didn't like dogs.  (Not a huge surprise to me...) She was cage aggressive and possessive over her food and water.  She is adjusting beautifully though.  She loves the other dogs, and has completely stopped resource guarding.  She is so greatful!  Today Hazel and I took a walk, and she looked so happy!  Her head was up and her tail was wagging.  It was so nice to see her like this.  A far cry from the scared dog that paced around my house and wouldn't even walk on leash 2 weeks ago.  Hazel is a wise, old soul and I have no doubt that she is greatful that she has been rescued.  The thing that I realize even more is that I am greatful to have rescued her.