Find-a-Home Fridays

I originally started this blog both as a place to write about and post photos of Lily (as an attempt to slightly ameliorate the fact that she was/is slowly taking over my facebook page) and as a way to bring attention to the adoptable dogs I foster and otherwise encounter through my volunteer work with various animal rescue organizations, principally Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. While the Lily aspect of the blog is chugging along smoothly, I feel like I've been slacking in my efforts to also use this blog to help other dogs who are still searching for a forever home like Lily has already found.

So, to rectify this lacking, I have decided to start a new feature which I will be calling "Find-a-Home Fridays." On (most) Fridays, I will post about an adoptable dog whom I find especially appealing and who is in need of a good home. The likelihood is that many of these dogs will be available through Lucky Dog; that is the organization with which I am most involved and therefore also the organization with whose dogs I am most familiar. However, I have a (somewhat masochistic) habit of occasionally browsing Petfinder, so there will also likely be some dogs I stumble across through that avenue. In addition, I will encourage any friends I have who are currently fostering (or any readers of this blog!) to send me photos and info about their foster dogs so that they too can gain a little extra exposure by being featured on the blog.

I do want to give credit where credit is due and (gratefully) acknowledge that this idea was inspired by my friend Lynn over at Faith, Trust, & Foster Pups and the "Share the Luck" feature she does on her blog. And, the decision to run the feature on Fridays was inspired by the "Adoptable Fridays" over at Dog Shaming (if you're not already addicted to Dog Shaming, you should be). I figure, the more of us who are working to raise awareness about the many wonderful adoptable pups out there, the better!

I also want to acknowledge that I realize that my little blog has relatively few readers. So, if you see a dog featured on Find-a-Home Fridays who you think is particularly cute, or who you think might be a great match for someone you know, PLEASE share my posts! Share, share away :)

Stay tuned for the first installment of Find-a-Home Fridays at the end of this week!

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Lily's Vacation Home

Many dog owners struggle with what to do with their pups when they go out of town. There are a variety of options, including putting the dog in boarding (also known as a "doggy hotel"), hiring a pet sitter, or arranging for the dog to stay with friends or family. We have been extremely lucky that, so far, we have never needed to put Lily in boarding. While I know there are some great doggy hotels that we certainly wouldn't rule out as options if needed in the future, for both financial and comfort reasons I prefer for Lily to stay with someone that we know. Boarding can be expensive (in our area it runs $40-$60 per 24 hour period), and I feel better knowing exactly who is taking care of Lil and that she's getting plenty of individual attention.

We particularly lucked out in that Lily now has what I refer to as her "vacation home." Peter's wonderful coworkers, Kendra and Steve, have been generous enough to let Lily stay with them almost every time Peter and I have gone out of town since we adopted her. Kendra and Steve have a young daughter, Audrey, and their own rescue dog, Lizzy, a Wheaten Terrier/Golden Retriever mix.

While Lily gets along well with pretty much all friendly dogs, she has a special relationship with Lizzy. They are clearly attached to each other, and it is so much fun to watch them play together or follow each other around. While I'm sure Lily's fondness for Lizzy is based in part simply on the fact that she has spent more time with Lizzy than with any other dog (at least since we adopted her), Lily and Lizzy also have very similar temperaments. They're both gentle and sweet, and they have a similar play style in that neither of them likes to play rough. I always feel better about leaving Lily behind to go on a trip knowing that she'll get to spend the time hanging out with her BFF.

Lily and Lizzy cuddling

We are so thankful to Kendra and Steve (and Audrey and Lizzy!) for generously making their home Lily's "vacation home." It makes a huge difference to me to be able to go out of town and not have to worry about Lily, knowing that she's in such good hands. The only thing I worry about each time is that when we return and go to pick Lily up she won't want to come home!

adorable picture that Audrey drew of Lizzy and Lily

Wordless Wednesday

Flea Market for Beagle Rescue

Got plans for this Saturday yet? No? Then come on out to the Flea Market for Beagle Rescue (to benefit Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland)! Hunt for bargains and/or enjoy some yummy homemade food. I'll be contributing peanut butter cookies, double chocolate chunk cookies, and dark chocolate brownies with walnuts to the bake sale!

Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland is desperately in need of funds. If you're a local reader of this blog, please come out to show your support and have some fun shopping at the same time!

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Favorite Stuffie

Lily's not that into stuffed toys in general. She prefers more interactive toys that involve food, like her Kong and her Bob-a-Lot. However, she is particularly attached to one stuffed toy, a fuzzy brown dog that is clearly her favorite. It was the first stuffed toy we bought for her, right before we brought her home. Peter thinks it's her favorite because of its shape and texture, but I prefer to think she associates it with finding her forever home.

Lucky Dog 4th Anniversary Barbeque Celebration

This past weekend we attended Lucky Dog's anniversary barbeque and fundraiser, held at the same great location as the doggie Easter egg hunt. We weren't able to attend this event last year because of a scheduling conflict, so I was excited that we were able to make it this year!

When we arrived at the event, we parked on a nearby street and began walking towards the house/yard where the barbeque was being held. Lily started whining in excitement as soon as it came into view; I'm not sure if this was just because she saw all the other dogs or if she remembered how much fun she's had at past events there, but I like to think it was the latter. We entered the yard and Lily immediately wandered off to investigate all the interesting smells and other dogs while Peter and I checked in at the registration table (we had purchased our tickets online in advance).

check-in table

The food at the barbeque was stellar, both for humans and dogs! The human food included hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, chips, several different kinds of salad, watermelon, brownies, cookies, and cake, as well as assorted soft drinks, beer, and wine. The food for the dogs, provided by Dogma Bakery, included three different kinds of dog treats, as well as two different flavors of doggie ice cream (peanut butter and cheese) and doggie beer. Spoiled lucky Lily got to try all three kinds of treats, both flavors of doggie ice cream, and doggie beer, as well as a piece of Peter's hamburger.

grilling food for the humans

Dogma Bakery table

doggie ice cream and treats

doggie beer (with samples) and treats

Lily sampling doggie ice cream

Lily trying doggie beer

The "entertainment" at the event included a DJ and a silent auction, but ultimately, of course, by far the most entertaining thing to do was watch the dogs enjoy themselves. The pups got to run around and play off-leash on the 1.5 acre fenced property. There were four kiddie pools set out for them to cool off in (I tried to get Lily to partake in this activity, but she was having none of it-- I had to settle for pouring some cool water over her back instead). There was also agility equipment set up for the dogs (and their owners) to try out.

silent auction

more silent auction

kiddie pools (notice Lily all the way on the right)

little boy helping his dog cool off in the kiddie pool

Lily immediately exiting the kiddie pool when I tried to put her in it

hanging out with other dogs

doggie greetings

Despite Lily's antipathy towards the kiddie pools and the agility equipment, I think it's pretty clear from the photos I took that she had a great time! This is definitely an event that will get added to our annual roster.

tired Lily in the car on the way home

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

Lily enjoying herself at Lucky Dog's 4th anniversary barbeque and fundraiser:

Check back tomorrow for my recap of this great event!