Johnnie Cash UPDATE!

I know you all are anxious to hear about how Johnnie is doing in her now home. To put it simply, she’s doing absolutely fabulous! Here are bits and pieces from email updates I’ve been getting from her adopters (yes, they are awesome at keeping me updated!).

Day 1 – 3

“You were not kidding, she is a sleepy dog!  We bought her a dog bed and as soon as we brought it home she knew it was for her.  When we put it on the ground she grabbed it and started “nesting” almost immediately!

If anything she is an angel in the house.  Not too crazy at all, actually very calm.  Whenever she wants to play she grabs a toy out of the toy bin and starts playing with it.  Sometimes she’ll follow us around the condo and is always very interested about what we are doing in the kitchen!  We bought hotdogs, string cheese, plain yogurt and pumpkin to use.  We haven’t used the pumpkin yet.   Today I’m going to make pumpkin and yogurt ice treats to put in her Kong for later.”

Day 7

“We had a very good experience taking her over to the family house yesterday.  We walked her around the block, and then Stella and Max met us around the corner for a group walk.  It went very well and we ended up staying until 10:30!  There were a few moments were she got too excited, but we were able to correct it.  At the end of the night she was sleeping in my lap.  I love her cuddles.

Thank you so much for your continued help and advice.  Yes, it feels like the week has gone so well considering it’s been such a big transition for JC!!!  She is the most loving girl, and we are so ecstatic about her and her wagging butt.”

Day 14

We had quite the busy weekend with my family and JC!  We went to Shenandoah Saturday and took JC to Hazeltop and Rapidan Loop for nice day hike.  She did really well on the hike and we brought extra food and drink for her, too.  It rained a little on us and Johnnie gave us a classic Eeyore face, but as soon as the rain stopped her smile came back!  I attached a picture of us at Rapidan with her (and her stylish backpack!).  T and I decided to buy a year pass to Shenandoah!

Day 20

“Everything with JC is going really well!  Everyone falls in love with her where ever we go, and we keep finding more toys to give her.  We bought an “invincible” squeaky toy and she pretty much destroyed it in 10 or so minutes…

Here are some more pics to brighten your day!  My dad told me she is the most photogenic dog he has ever met!”

And with that, I will share with everyone the photos that literally made my day week month:

I know you’re thinking what I’m thinking right now: couldn’t be more perfect, right? I love her. I love them. I love their little family. I love the happiness. I love the LOVE.

A perfect way to kick off a three-day weekend! Happy almost Memorial Day!

Exotic Birds… in the ‘Burbs?

Imagine if you saw this big guy hanging out in your backyard.

Yep, that’s what people have been seeing in my area for the last two months. This handsome bird finally came in as a stray after being sited in local neighborhoods. I honestly had never seen one of these beautiful birds up close – he is really stunning!

Off to rescue he will go. It sure isn’t every day when you walk into work to see this!

Catching Up With An Old Friend

I never realized how much I would appreciate adopting one of my fosters out to someone who lives locally and who ended up becoming a friend to me. The day Johnnie went home I was so bummed that I’d just given away my best friend. That afternoon I got a text from Otis’ dad saying he got stuck at work for longer than expected and if I wanted a canine pick-me-up could I swing by and take Otis for a walk. Um, yes please!!!

It’s no surprise that Otie’s goofy grin and complete bat sh*t crazy hurricane greeting immediately put a smile on my face. You never realize how much you miss ‘em until they’re back! We went for a relaxing walk along the Potomac River, soaking up the evening air. It felt so good to just be hanging out with my buddy again.

Then this past weekend I learned that R had gone on a day trip so I asked if he wanted me to walk Otie again. He told me his neighbors were feeding Otis and letting him out but he’d probably love to go for a walk! It was a gorgeous Friday afternoon so I scooped him up and headed to Virginia to meet Mark. We recently discovered another great path along the Virginia side of the Potomac and we quickly escaped weekend rush hour traffic to find our secluded spot. It was perfect. Otis and Mark actually seemed to enjoy each other’s company since Otis was able to relax, run around a little bit and warm up to Mark.  As you can see we also enjoyed cooling off in the river!

I am happy whenever my fosters get adopted to the perfect home, but it’s just so great when they go somewhere that lets me see them this often!

Calling All Readers: Ask Me Anything

In the past I’ve loved when other bloggers have done “ASK ME!” type blog posts. Kate With a Camera has done it and I’m positive others have but I cannot for the life of me remember. In any case, it’s a fun way to learn a little more about the folks behind the blog or anything else you’re curious about really.

So please, my faithful readers, leave a comment asking me something you want to hear more about. I will try to answer most, if not all, of them (within reason, of course ;-)) over the next few weeks.

Moving Forward

To say that Johnnie got adopted at just the right time would be an understatement. In the days and weeks following her leaving us, people would ask me, “How are you doing without her!?” The truth is that I barely had time to think about how sad I was. Of course I missed her, but life picked up to what felt like lightning speed and hasn’t stopped since. Johnnie Cash was a reminder of why I try not to foster during event season. While we all adored having her around, my understanding parents spent many evenings watching her for me while I was stuck at work for long hours. When she left it was a bittersweet relief to be able to be away from the house for days at a time (just call me ‘schlep’!!).

I know you’re all wondering what’s next. Well, I don’t have a good answer for you.  Things are changing for me right now, and in fact there is a lot about life that’s up in the air. I’m finally moving out this summer, but that means my ability to foster is probably going to be limited. It’s likely I’m moving into DC and I just have no idea what my life style will allow.

I’m also in the process of switching jobs. I accepted a part time position at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington in Virginia at the end of March and have been juggling both shelters (and commutes!) equally since then. I’m officially leaving the Montgomery County Humane Society at the end of June – a change that is bittersweet, exciting and scary – and will then continue with AWLA and other adventures, hence why I am moving into the city. It’s been an exhausting challenge but I’m thrilled to join the AWLA team and officially “cross the [Potomac] river” as they say here in the DMV!

In addition to all this, I’ve started working towards becoming a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT). I’ll tell you more about that as it progresses, but I’ve decided that I can no longer ignore how much I love learning about training and putting it into practice and watching the wheels turn in dogs’ brains as we work together. Johnnie got me so hooked on figuring out how to communicate with a bouncy dog. It’s going to take a long time – years, probably – but I’ve already kicked off my education. Not sure where it’ll take me but I am very excited about all I am going to learn.

Virgil Ocampo Photography

So forgive me that I am not running to the shelter to scoop up a new foster. I want to, believe me – but I am simply not as brave as Love and a Six-Foot Leash who picked up a foster dog right before they moved to Texas!  Because I can’t take a shelter dog home and I’m already falling in love with them right and left, I’ve thought up a few different ideas for helping them get adopted, which of course I will discuss on the blog in the coming weeks. My current crush is a pit bull/bull dog mix named Henny. I see Johnnie’s energy and happiness in her and just can’t get her out of my mind. So I will help her, just not through long term fostering.

It feels different declaring a “break” this time around than it did the last two times because I have so much on the horizon to look forward to and plan for. I’m at a completely different point in my life right now than I was after Baxter and even after Otis. It’s crazy to realize how much things have changed in just a year and a half. It’s also pretty nuts to think about the fact that you all have been with me literally every day during this journey! So we’ll keep moving forward and seeing where life takes us. Thanks for sticking around :)

Pups and Pints and Everything Nice

If you’ve been following the blog for its entire life (about a year and a half) you probably know by now how much I love what I do. I basically get to plan really fun events for people and their dogs, all to raise money for homeless animals. Everything from holiday themed parties to adoption events at microbreweries to fundraisers on rooftop bars, for the last two years I’ve had the pleasure of putting my creativity to work to help animals.

Most recently, we teamed up with a fabulous sponsor to hold a new event that we named Pups & Pints. The sponsor, Bone Jour, knew a local restaurant owner who was interested in holding a fundraiser for the Humane Society (which is usually how awesome events like this get started). A few planning meetings later and we had an outdoor party featuring a band, beer and free stuff – all with your dog. Sounds like the best event ever, right?

On top of all that, the band that The Irish Inn (the generous restaurant) booked to play is actually one of my all time favorite local groups. I first saw The 19^th Street Band about a year ago and instantly fell in love when they did back to back covers of Sublime, Taylor Swift and Mumford and Sons.  When I found out that they were going to be donating their time to this event I could not contain my excitement. Yes at their shows I am that fan dancing the night away on the dance floor even when no one else is out there!

As with any event you’re putting together for the first time, the unknown about how many people are going to show up is really terrifying. For the first ten minutes of the event I was convinced no one was coming. Then all of a sudden it was like everyone got off work at the same time and came over, and it became packed! Whew!

The evening ended up being full of laughing, dancing, drinking (not me of course :-)), singing and celebrating the success that the event was for homeless animals. The dogs didn’t even seem to mind the music! Thanks to the efforts of The Irish Inn, Bone Jour and The 19th Street Band we raised a ton of money for shelter animals.  If you enjoy supporting your local organizations, I suggest you head over to their websites and see what they’ve got planned for this summer – after all, “event season” is in full swing!

Happy Friday, y’all!

Don’t You Hate When That Happens?

Don’t worry, Johnnie – that’s what happens when I can’t find my guacamole in my Chipotle bag either. Gosh darnit!