29
Aug 2014
“Pit bulls are horrendous dogs.” “If you get a pit bull, my kids will never come to your house.” “There’s no trusting pit bulls. They were bred to kill.” “You’re brave for wanting to be around pit bulls; I will always be scared of them.” Life is built through a series of choices. For instance: I chose to give pit bulls a chance to show me what kind of dogs they really are. I chose to participate in the Priceless Pets Pack Walk in June with my boyfriend. I chose to walk......
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28
Aug 2014
Yesterday, I became a foster failure….again. I adopted old man Wally. I’m pretty sure you all saw this coming before I did but I truly had every intention of finding this guy his forever home. I just didn’t realize that it was right here with Penny, Elvis, and I. Let me break down Wally’s story real quick for those of you who don’t know…. Wally was stuffed in a night depository box at a high kill shelter. Our girl pulling dogs at the time could not let him spend his last days......
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27
Aug 2014
As most of you know, I took in a mom and her 9 pups about 8 weeks ago. Let me tell you how much I knew about newborn puppies and momma dogs….NOTHING. All I knew is that this mom and pups needed some shelter or they were going to the pound which pretty much means death. I had the room in my house and that was good enough for me to take them in. After all, with all the volunteers at, Priceless Pets, I had plenty of help to coach me through......
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25
Aug 2014
Don’t you look at me so smug And say I’m going bad. Who are you to judge me And the life that I live? I know that I’m not perfect And that I don’t claim to be. So before you point your fingers, Be sure your hands are clean.- Bob Marley About 5 weeks ago I pulled a dog named, Mozart, from a high kill shelter. He was minutes away from being put down. Mozart was an owner surrender and it was looking like he would spend his last days in the......
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21
Aug 2014
There are many lessons I’ve learned that I still need to write about, but one of my biggest milestones happened to me this past weekend, so I would like to write about that. On Saturday, my boyfriend and I took Elvis on a hike close to Mt. Baldy – without John. Although John assured me that he trusted me, I wasn’t sure I trusted myself. What if something went wrong? What if Elvis ran away? I knew Elvis would never attack anyone, but what if another dog attacked him? These thoughts ran......
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19
Aug 2014
The longer I foster (and I haven’t been doing it that long compared to most people in animal rescue) the more I hear the question(s), “How do you do it?” “Don’t you get attached?” The short answer to those questions are, “Because if I don’t, who will?” and “Yes, absolutely. 100%” I think I’ve negotiated with myself into how I could keep every foster that comes through my house. It’s impossible to not get attached, In fact, if you’re not getting attached, you probably shouldn’t foster. You gotta remember, you’re taking in......
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18
Aug 2014
I wrote this Friday night. As positive and upbeat as I tend to be I do have my vulnerable moments when it comes to all these dogs. One thing is for sure, animal rescue tests your emotions daily. Friday night was tough for me. So it’s Friday night and I had every intention of going out tonight. I needed a “break”. I don’t even know if ”exhausted” is the right word to use to describe how I’m feeling. I cleaned the house and I started giving all the dogs their evening meds......
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14
Aug 2014
The first time I walked the dogs with John, I walked Elvis. And Elvis walked like he had never walked on a leash before. He was everywhere, running onto the grass, smelling the trees, stopping abruptly and randomly. John, of course, knew what Elvis was capable of. He would watch Elvis and me, and not really give any direction, but rather kind of see how I handled it. Also, at the time, John didn’t know that I wanted to learn more about dogs; he thought I just wanted to walk, so he......
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13
Aug 2014
Last week, I pulled Clarabella from a high kill shelter. And this girl was a mess. Skin and bones, severe flea allergies, timid, shy, and showed signs of abuse. As with all my fosters, I will keep a journal of their progress as I help Priceless Pets find her forever home. Socialization: Clarabella has shown zero signs of dog aggression. In fact, she’s actually interacted with Penny, Elvis and Wally with no problem. Even though her time with them is very limited and supervised she doesn’t really pay too much attention to......
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12
Aug 2014
No matter how much you plan for life, it will never go as you expect. Whether it’s rain during a June wedding or a heatwave in the middle of a winter vacation, sometimes you just can’t plan for things. You have 2 choices when things like this happen, you can curse the wind or you can roll with it and adjust. As most of you know by now, I have another mange case. Her name is Lilly. Actually, I’m dealing with two (her brother Sully) but Lilly is much worse. Like “Kurtis......
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11
Aug 2014
While I don’t get as many ignorant people telling me things about my “killer dogs”, I still get the random ignorant person who says the dumbest thing. With that being said, I was walking Penny & Elvis when this lady came up to me and said… Lady: Can my dog meet your dogs? Me: Sure. Lady: Wow. Your pit bulls are really friendly. That’s odd. Are they always this friendly? Me: No, only on Wednesdays. Every other day of the week they try to kill people. Lady: But today is Thursday. Me:......
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08
Aug 2014
So I’m happy to announce that Priceless Pets has given me another great opportunity, specifically the queen bee herself, Miss Lisa Price! If you don’t know who Lisa Price is, let’s just say she puts the “Price” in Priceless! As soon as I can catch up with her, I will be doing an entire blog post on this amazing woman! A few weeks ago, Lisa called me on the phone and told me she wants to enroll me in a pet therapy program. Basically, she’s sending me to school to be able......
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07
Aug 2014
The first thing John asked me when I met him was: “Why do you want to learn more about dogs?” The first thought that went through my head when he asked that was, “What, am I on a freaking interview??” The second thought that crossed my mind was, “He’s going to ask me that when I’m offering to help him with his fosters?!” Needless to say, the question caught me by surprise. But it shouldn’t have. In fact, every person who ever wants to interact with animals should be required to answer......
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06
Aug 2014
In the short time I’ve been fostering, it seems that after I adopt out one of my dogs, everyone tells me to “take a break” but this is my life now. You can’t take a break from “life”. The term “busy” becomes irrelevant and at the end of the day, you make time for what you want to make time for and if there’s a sick dog I can help, you better believe I’m going to make time for that pup. With that being said, I want you all to meet the......
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05
Aug 2014
Everyone meet the August “Pet of the Month”! His name is Fester. He’s a 2 year old bull terrier who was pulled from a high kill shelter by Priceless Pets. Fester is also deaf. It’s safe to say that someone paid a lot of money for Fester and like most dogs that cost a lot of money, you get a lot of over breeding. With over breeding you get problems like being deaf. From the scars that were already on his face, he was obviously very neglected and not taken care of. His......
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04
Aug 2014
Jude was adopted on Friday! And as most of you know, I write every foster a letter once they’ve been adopted. While caring for them gets easier, letting them go hurts every time. It’s such a good feeling at the same time, though. I know it’s hard to explain but these letters have become a form of closure for me and definitely help me realize how important fostering is. Here Jude’s letter…. Hey Jude, It’s hard to believe it’s already been a month since I picked you up from the pound. I......
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