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June 2014
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August 2014

My experience of letting go, being grateful, and seeing this old dog as a bridge

With each passing day my dog is closer to the end of her time with us. Our time has been rich with positive experiences and lessons. It has been so good that now it feels scary to imagine my life, and my day, without her big, mouth breathing, hairy presence. I’ll confess that I encouraged her to feel a certain equality in our relationship. Yes, I’m her guardian and caregiver but also her buddy. Her trust in me is everything. 

image from www.grouchypuppy.com

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Adoptable Senior Dog(s) of the Week: Fred and Ethel

Everyone in the San Francisco Bay Area, both Muttville Senior Dog Rescue and Maddie's Fund are urgently working to find a new home for bonded siblings, Fred and Ethel. They are the most adorable little Chihuahuas that you could hope to meet, very sweet and loving.

muttville.org

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Overwhelmed Schnauzer briefly faints from emotional family reunion

This little dog is a wiggling mess of happiness. If you want to see how much one little dog can love a person, watch this video clip. 

 

I  was relieved to read the comments from the original video that noted the family had the dog checked out by a veterinarian after the fainting spell.

How did this emotional reunion make you feel? Did you smile from the obvious joy from the Schnauzer or were you distracted by her extreme reaction? 

 

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Who else needs a really fun dog toy that you can make yourself?

What a great project and fun dog toy! This video was circulating on Facebook last month. They are calling it a bottle game in the video. Not only does the dog toy look simple to put together, the materials look easily sourced. Everyone with a dog who enjoys puzzles and treats will love this.

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Plan ahead. Simple Ways to Protect Loved Ones.

In San Francisco, we live with earthquakes. The memories of past quakes, and the knowledge of future ones. That means having enough basic supplies, first aid and water for 72 hours - for everyone in the household including pets. This type of disaster preparedness is in addition to having an exit strategy from the home in case of fire, something probably more likely to happen than an earthquake.

In other parts of the country, such as New Orleans, people prepare for hurricane season and having an evacuation plan. Wherever you live, and especially if you have both children and pets, planning ahead is key.

Simple pet safety for every home

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Vintage dog show photos

#FlashbackFriday fun with this vintage photo of my mother showing one of our dogs in the obedience ring at a California dog show circa 1974.

image from www.grouchypuppy.com

 

 

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Influence Positively Interview: Christie Keith

Christie Keith is social media manager for The Shelter Pet Project, the first public service campaign promoting an animal welfare cause in the Ad Council's 60-year history.

After reading her column on SFGate.com for years, I was excited to not only meet Christie in person at the kick-off meeting for Maddie's Pet Adoption Days but get a selfie with her. During our short chat I knew she was a perfect addition to this interview series. Christie is the kind of person who uses her wit, thoughtfulness and mad skills so that the rest of us can make a difference in the lives of animals. If you get a chance to join in one of her webinars for Maddie's Institute, do it. You'll come away feeling empowered and smarter than you were an hour ago.

www.grouchypuppy.com

She also consults on social media and communications for a number of veterinary and animal welfare organizations, including Maddie's Fund and Dr. Marty Becker, the veterinarian on "The Dr. Oz Show" and "Good Morning America."

Learn more about this social media maven, and who inspires her the most as she answers our five light-hearted questions [...]

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The emotional toll: Will it cause me to avoid having another dog?

When you fall in love with a dog, you can fall head over heels real quick or the love can grow slowly over time. When we adopted our dog, I didn't immediately fall in love. I was too busy evaluating whether she made a good match for our lifestyle, our home and our personalities. Maybe being a dog lover I already knew how I could feel about Cleo generally, but as a responsible adult who knew how important it was to ensure this adoption was forever, I could be dispassionate -- at least for awhile. That "awhile" is now so far in the past that I can't remember what it feels like not to worry and weep over my dog's eventual passing.

www.grouchypuppy.com

Will I avoid having another dog because of the emotional toll?

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