Adopt a Shelter Dog Month!

Welcome to October. I can't believe I'm saying that! Where has 2009 gone? One good thing about the speedy year is that we can now celebrate "Adopt a Shelter Dog" month.

I'd like to spend the month collecting great shelter dog-related stories. My first one came to me today via Twitter--a contest called "Reading Rufus Rhymes to Rover." Rufus Rhymes is a book by Ron Burns, an artist and dog lover. Ron's work is amazing, and I just WISH I could have him complete a portrait of my pup.

His promotion this month, which encourages shelter pup parents to post a video of themselves reading Rufus Rhymes, is "a way to celebrate fellow dog rescuers and raise awareness for the millions of dogs currently available for adoption at shelters across the U.S." Take a look at his site, then take a video of your shelter dog and win your very own portrait!

Happy Birthday to You!

OK, it’s time to get this blog show on the road. Shortly after I started this blog, one of my family dogs died. I wrote briefly about it here, but I haven’t been able to really give it a heartfelt go since then. Now, I think I’m ready, and I definitely have stories to share!

Like Freckles' birthday last month...

I spoil my dog all the time, and I tell people it’s because the first year of his life was so hard (not to mention I firmly believe that he practiced his sad faces while waiting to be adopted. He’s impossible sometimes!). He was in and out of a shelter and was scared of anything that moved when I first got him. Since then, he’s become a really chill dog, and I like to think it’s in part to all the great things he gets to do….like birthdays!

Freckles turned 3 this year. It just so happened that my boyfriend’s parents were in town for it, so we had a big shindig for him. Freckles got his own birthday cake. No candles or songs, but he loved the cake so much that we had to frantically throw him outside before he smashed all the blue icing into the carpet.