Jesus Dognaps Puppy

Jesus Dognaps Puppy!
My eldest son decided to keep the puppy he saved. When Sadie had pups on my bed one rolled off and got its little head stuck between the bars of the radiator. Luckily the heat was not on at the time. It took my son two hours to get the puppy loose. By then they had bonded. He got the puppy a tiny collar and little "Aries" became part of our household.

All this week the other puppies have been going to new homes. The first went to a family who has four children. There is just something wonderful about the combination of puppies and children. That pup was so happy! As I watched her playing chase with them, rolling and bouncing through the grass I knew she was going to have a wonderful life. Later the family came back and told me that the first puppy had potty trained so easily and was so sweet they wanted a second pup to keep it company. Soon all but two pups were given to wonderful homes. One of those is getting picked up tomorrow. The other was to be picked up yesterday by a Rapper friend of the family. He has a nice house and a large, fenced in back yard. He goes by the name of "Jesus". I knew he'd be by, but didn't know when. I spent the morning outside playing with two dogs, three puppies, our miniature lynx and my 3 yr old grandson. After the child got picked up I weeded the garden, then went inside for lunch after putting the pups back in their pen. About 45 minutes later my eldest son came in from work and asked where his dog was? I went to look in the pen and, sure enough, it was gone and the gate was ajar! Three of us searched the neighborhood. I then called in a missing dog report. My son was heartbroken and I felt really bad. I couldn't imagine how I could have neglected to close that gate properly. Then I remembered a pup was to be picked up. We called Jesus, but he wasn't answering his phone. Finally Jesus called us back and we found out he had taken the wrong puppy! I asked, "Jesus, what were you thinking?!" He said, "Well I've been buying toys, collar, leashes and all sorts of stuff for the dog for weeks now. I just thought you put a collar on it so no one would take my dog". Soon the pup was back in my son's arms, exhausted after a long afternoon of play in Jesus' backyard. Just another example of how we worry about things only to find out Jesus had everything under control all along! lol

Is your house killing you?

Let me preface this writing by stating that I like my house and I love my family. The odd thing is that, when I travel on business I feel much healthier and more relaxed than I do in my own home. I sleep better, wake more refreshed, and have none of the aches, pains or headaches that surface upon my return home. I related this information to my husband and he immediately grabbed for the guilt, feeling he was somehow to blame. I assured him it was not his fault. In fact, there is often more stress when I am away than when I am at home. Still, I was puzzled, and wracked my brain as to why I felt so crummy when I returned home.
I prayed about it, and this morning I received an answer. I awoke early, about 5a.m. and felt wonderful. Then, I dozed off again. When I awoke the next time the puppies were whining for breakfast, the alarm clock was going off and the traffic was going by outside my open window. Instantly my head and body ached and I was in a foul mood. Bingo! It was the noise! I have a nice home in a small city of about 64,000, but it is on a pretty busy street.
When I travel the places I stay are quiet--no T.V., no traffic noises, alarms, sirens, etc.--only silence and the sounds of nature. Could this really be the answer? Could noise cause my body to feel this way? It was time to find out, so off I went in search of answers. The first thing I found out was that noise of 45 decibals or higher can indeed cause sleep depravation, irritability, high blood pressure, ulcers, erectile dysfunction, heartburn, indigestion, stress, mental illness, depression, tension headaches, aggression and heart problems. One burst of sound from a passing truck has been known to alter endocrine, neurological and cardiovascular functions. Prolonged or frequent exposure to such sounds can make the physiological disturbances chronic. The noise from the average alarm clock or hairdryer tests out to be around 80 decibals. This means those can cause many of the above symptoms, but not hearing loss. Hearing loss usually occurs at around 85 decibals. Regular traffic as heard by a pedestrian is about 90 decibals and the noise from a garbage truck keys in at 100 decibals. Thunder and airplanes taking off are 120 decibals and air raid sirens come in with a resounding 140 decibals.
It's no wonder I feel the way I do when I am at home! I had no idea! I'm so glad I'm fixing up my current home to sell. A move to a quieter area is definitely in order. Thankfully, I'm a Reiki Master and healer, so I can fix the problem until I am ready to re-locate. However, if you are stressed and have no idea why, take a look at where your house is located. That could provide a very surprising answer.

Did I Succeed?

I want to tell you a story. It will supply part of the reason for why I have not been posting much recently. What I did, I did out of love for an animal, but also out of love to help homeless and suffering animals everywhere. Did I succeed on the last count? I'll tell you the story and let you be the judge.

One day I was looking at a myspace post of animals that needed to be rescued. One of them stole my heart. She was a 5 yr. old mutt, an Airedale mix. She was currently in a no-kill shelter that had to close. Homes had to be found for these animals or they would be sent to a regular shelter. Due to her age, her chances of getting adopted were slim. I did not want to see her put down. So, I decided to rescue Sadie. Transport was arranged. We agreed to meet her keepers halfway. So, one Saturday we got in the car and drove across WI, IL, and IN to pick up Sadie. After a 3 hr. wait her keepers finally showed up with her. I was surprised to find out that she was about 5 times bigger than I had been led to believe. Still, we loaded her into the car and headed home. The stench was amazing! I didn't know anything could smell that bad!

After a five and a half hour drive home we got her into the bath immediately. Her collar was encrusted with over half an inch of feces and had to be thrown away. A long bath later the smell was better, but not eliminated. The next morning I took her to the groomer who was finally able to get her smelling ok again.

As I looked at her I remarked to my husband that I thought she may have been taken away from a litter of pups as her teats were hanging really low. Since we were now busy trying to housebreak and train this very large animal I didn't think much more about it. Two weeks later, on Easter morning, my husband came home to find her giving birth to a litter of seven pups on our bed. A set of sheets, an electric blanket, a comforter and a mattress were destroyed in the process, but the puppies were adorable. So far, we have arranged for four of them to go to good homes when they are able to in a couple of weeks. When I went into this I was hoping my actions would not only help Sadie, but would encourage people to help others like her. Would this story make you want to rescue an animal?

Let's look at it from another angle. Sadie's normal weight should be between 60 and 70 pounds. When she got to the no-kill shelter two years ago Sadie was pregnant with a litter of pups and weighed 25 pounds. (All but one of those pups survived.) Sadie now has food addiction issues and must be closely watched as she will eat almost anything. Both of Sadies ears were black with infection when she got to the shelter also. As they healed, they thickened, causing her to now have ears that resemble wings. Her front teeth are all broken off and jagged, but I'm guessing the nerves are dead as it does not seem to cause her any pain. (It looks like she had a close encounter with a steel-toed boot.) She tucks her tail, cries and hides if anyone raises their voice around her. (This has made potty training difficult, to say the least.) The woman running the shelter was over 65 and had two heart attacks over the last year(hence the reason she needed to close the shelter). While she was in the hospital all but one of her volunteers quit. So, two people were now trying to care for 27 dogs and over 40 cats. When I got her Sadie was well-fed and all her shots were current. There is only so much a physically ill person can due with such a burden, and I think she did her best.

If any dog deserved a good home it's Sadie and I am so glad we could help her. She has been through hell and did not deserve a death sentence. There is a good chance that, had I not adopted her, not only would she be dead, but the seven pups would be dead also. There are still many "Sadie's" out there that need help. I really do hope others get involved in animal rescue to bring some love and light into their dark worlds.