Blog Hop - Pets!!

Now how could I resist that??? Pet is my middle name! Well, not actually my middle name but it does start with a P!! It should be anyway!! Next to my passion for children and adoption, is my passion for pets and honestly that particular passion started long before I understood the joys of mommy hood and the plight of so many kids in this world. I have been in pet rescue for many years and can remember people chastising me for being so involved with animal rescue and not "human rescue." I didn't realize it then but looking back, it was just a natural progression for me (a warm up as it were). As I matured and married and finally learned what it was like to love a child, my heart expanded to the point of breaking in my advocacy for pets and now children everywhere but in particular, China (as that is where our Lizzie is from). My hubby has always teased me about how difficult it is to watch any T.V. with me - nothing with kids, pets or elderly people!!! Nick Jr. is good for me! Nothing bad ever happens on Nick Jr.!!!! Hehe!!

Anyway, long story short, I am a HUGE animal lover and have been in dog and cat rescue for a long time. we have fostered many dogs and kittens and have plucked quite a few from the side of the road - just please don't ask my hubby about the time I made him stop on a VERY busy 2 lane road in the middle of a thunderstorm to chase down 2 lost pups or the time I jumped into the middle of a dog fight and ended up in the ER!!! I lived hard for a long time after those, um, adventures??? Not the brightest things I have ever done and I have to add, they were both pre-kid days!!! I have gotten a lot smarter since becoming a Mommy - right Honey??? The only ER visits I make now are for the kids and with 3 boys and 2 girls who act like boys, you would think we would have our own wing!! Sigh!!!

So my pet story really began when I was single and found my first puppy in the newspaper. She was $40 worth of pure puppy love and gosh, she was just about the cutest little thing that I had seen!!



Maggie was her name and just as blame my first born son for the bevy of kids that we have now, I blame Maggie for the, ahem, "dog fever" that has inflicted me!! She and I had lots of adventures together (we won't mention the stingray incident) and she actually helped me through a really rough time in my life. She was my first "baby" and she helped me to understand how pets can help to heal.

Next came sweet Grace.



Grace was just another mutt that my vet was trying to find a home for. They told me about her and the minute I met her, I was in love! She was cute and friendly and Maggie liked her, done!!! She was VERY attached to me and not very "man friendly." However, as soon as she met hubby, she liked him!! I knew that dog had good taste!!! Adopting Gracie was what turned my thoughts to all those wonderful animals out there who needed homes and how great it would be to help!

So then came my first foster baby, Tippy. Who wasn't with me for long but long enough for me to completely fall in love!



Then there was Homer the old hound dog!! That poor old guy had been through it, but was still such a sweet dog.



Homer actually led me to a really sweet elderly gentleman who had been abandoned by his family and was in very poor health and who needed him. Homer ended up being too much for Mr. H. to take care of, but I continued to visit and when Mr. H. was in the hospital and we knew he was not going to leave, the nurses let us "smuggle" our little Cocker Spaniel in so that he could pet her and be comforted by her. But I am getting ahead of myself!

After Homer, was Stanley or Stan the Man as we used to call him. Stanly was a challenge at first (to say the least) but after working out a few things (like ripping up my sofa and pillows every time I left the house), he ended up being a GREAT dog.



He was with me for a long time and was tough to let go. I found him a wonderful family though and just in time too, because I was to met hubby who had 2 dogs of his own, Dingo and Cricket!!! We were like the Brady Bunch - with dogs instead of kids!!!

Dingo was a German Shepherd/Husky and was very attached to hubby but was so sweet and so great and later, was wonderful with the kids.


He is what hooked hubby on pets. Well that and a dating and marrying a "crazy pet person!"

Then there was Cricket!!!!!!



Sweet little, baby Cricket who stole my heart the instant I saw her leading the pack of doggie delinquents who had escaped from hubby's backyard (a few days before we met). To this day, hubby insists that I married him just to get Cricket! Of course not, honey!!! It was YOU all along!!!! I promise!!!! Really!!!! Hehe!!!

In the midst of all of this, there was Mego,



and Bagel,



and Carney,



and Rosie (who ate an entire plate of fried chicken, bones and all, and lived to tell the tale)



and Daisey,



and sweet Bumper,



and hard headed but wonderful, Henry,



and Smiley girl!!



She was another tough case but with LOTS of love and attention, she ended being such a fabulous dog and lived a long a suuwweet life with her new family!!

After Smiley, we got married and moved to Florida for a while where we met Tippy #2.



Tippy was a 3 legged red dog who was headed for the pound. We took her as our first Florida foster and she never left!! So now we had 5 dogs!!! After our first son was born, our family would joke and laugh and say that we needed to have a child for every dog!!! No one is laughing now, except us but we're crazy!!!! Hahahahahaha!!!

While we lived in Florida, we had a few more doggie fosters and a couple of litters of kittens, but after our first son was born, we got the baby bug and spent the next 12 years in diapers and wipes and baby food and toys and NO SLEEP and fostering became a thing of the past - for a while.

We have lost all of our original gang of 5 but they are forever in our hearts and will always be remembered as the reason we met!



I don't think a day goes by that we don't talk about or mention one of them!

Now, we have Tazzie



our 90 pound "nanny" dog who has to be with the kids, watching over them at all times!! What a gentle giant he is!

Then there is Goose



who is the barker and the cuddler and the "smart one."

We also have Memow



who showed up one day and never left. We call her our cat/dog because we think that she thinks she is a dog!!

We did start fostering again, as soon as we felt like the kids were old enough to understand and it has been fun!! The kids are a big help, have learned such responsibility



and really seem to understand loving these dogs and then letting them go in order to help more.

There has been Coco,



and Kendell,



and Sophie and Aggie (the dynamic duo)



and our latest foster is Lily



who is another 3 legged sweetie!! She better get adopted quick or she may never leave!!

As you can see, pets are very important to me and have been a very important part of my family's life. They have taught my kids (and me) about compassion and unconditional love. They don't ask for much and give so much in return.

While our Christmas card has gone from this,



to this,



pets are still VERY important in our lives and will forever be!

I never, ever thought the kids would outnumber the dogs!

I think we have a bit of doggie catching up to do, don't you??? Hehe!!!

To see more Pet stories or to join in on the Pet themed blog hop click here,