More Maggie

This is one of my favorite photos of my pretty girl.  It shows that she can (occasionally) have a serious side and her tremendous love for her tennis ball.  Her eyes are very expressive and content.  I think she looks stoic.

 

Hugs & Wags, Jess

Good News! Vick dogs are leading the way for pitbulls!

Two years ago, 51 pitbulls were confiscated from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels for dog fighting.   The usual process involved putting down all the dogs, due to fears that they would be aggressive and never be rehabilitated.  In this case, 47 of 51 of the dogs have been given a second chance...and they are thriving!  Some of them have even passed the rigorous training and tests to become therapy dogs.  I think these dogs can show us much about strength, trust, and second chances.

View a news clip about the dogs here.



Hugs & Wags, Jess

Cats!

Although dogs seem to be much more common subjects, cats can make great models too!

This is Raja.  She loves laying in the sun.  Aren't her eyes just gorgeous?  

Raja also has two lovely little kittens.

This is Bingo...she looks a lot like mama.

And this is Shadow.  He has his mama's eyes but is very shy.

Hugs & Wags, Jess

GABR Waddle 2010

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the 2010 Guardian Angle Basset Bash.   My sister-in-law, Brandy (and her Basset Hound, Jack), invited me to head to Dwight, IL with them for the event.  I have never been to anything like it!  The event is held in their fenced in doggy area, so everyone can let their pups run off-leash.  There were Basset's everywhere and they all seemed so friendly!

There were Basset races, a pooch smooch contest (it involved peanut butter, an owner's face, and a Basset), swing dancers, and even a king & queen.  At one point Brandy, Jack and I sat down on the ground for some rest and we made several new friends.  It seems that once you get down to their level, Basset's aren't shy about requesting pets and love.  Here are a few pictures from the day:

For more photos from this event, visit the Tails of Love Event Gallery.



Hugs & Wags, Jess

100 Ways to Help a Rescue

I found this great list recently and it gives some great idea no matter what your resources are.  Most rescues do what they can on very limited resources so every little bit helps.  Anyone have any other suggestions on how to help?

100 Ways to Help Rescue

• 1. Foster a Dog
• 2. Adopt a dog
• 3. Transport a dog
• 4. Donate a dog bed, towels or other bedding
• 5. Donate MONEY
• 6. Donate a Kong - a Nylabone - a Hercules - a Buster cube
• 7. Donate a crate
• 8. Donate an exercise pen or baby gates
• 9. Donate a food dish or a stainless bucket for a crate
• 10. Donate a leash
• 11. Donate a collar
• 12. Donate some treats or a bag of food
• 13. Donate a Halti or Promise collar
• 14. Walk a dog
• 15. Groom a dog
• 16. Donate some grooming supplies (shampoos, combs, brushes, etc.)
• 17. Go to the local shelter and see if that Big White dog is a Pyr (or Kuvasz, or Saint, or whatever) or go with rescue to be a second opinion on the dog
• 18. Make a few phone calls
• 19. Mail out applications to people who've requested them
• 20. Provide local vet clinics with contact information for educational materials on Pyrs
• 21. Drive a dog to and from vet appointments
• 22. Donate long distance calling cards
• 23. Attend public education days and try to educate people on responsible pet ownership
• 24. Donate a gift certificate to a pet store
• 25. Donate a raffle item if your club is holding a fund raiser
• 26. Donate flea stuff (Advantage, etc.)
• 27. Donate heart-worm pills
• 28. Donate a first aid kit
• 29. Provide a shoulder to cry on when the rescue person is overwhelmed
• 30. Pay the boarding fees to board a dog for a week or two
• 31. Be a Santi-paws foster to give the foster a break for a few hours or days.
• 32. Clip coupons for dog food or treats.
• 33. Bake some homemade doggie biscuits.
• 34. Offer use of your computer to print forms
• 35. Host rescue photos with an information link on your website
• 36. Donate time to take good photos of foster Pyrs for adoption flyers, etc.
• 37. Conduct a home visit or accompany a rescue person on the home visit
• 38. Go with rescue person to the vet to help if there is more than one dog
• 39. Have a yard sale and donate the money to rescue
• 40. Be volunteer to do rescue in your area.
• 41. Take advantage of a promotion on the web or store offering a free ID tag and instead of getting it for your own dog, have the tag inscribed with your Club's name and phone # to contact This makes a reusable ID tag for dogs while in foster care.
• 42. Talk to all your friends about adopting and fostering rescue dogs
• 43. Donate vet services or a spay or neuter each year or some vaccinations
• 44. Interview vets to encourage them to offer discounts to rescues
• 45. Write a column for your local newspaper or club newsletter on dogs currently looking for homes or ways to help rescue
• 46. Take photos of dogs available for adoption for use by the Club
• 47. Maintain web sites listing/showing dogs available
• 48. Help organize and run fundraising events
• 49. Help maintain the paperwork files associated with each dog or enter the information into a database
• 50. Tattoo a rescued dog
• 51. Microchip a rescued dog
• 52. Loan your carpet steam cleaner to someone who has fostered a dog that was sick or marked in the house
• 53. Donate a bottle of bleach or other cleaning products
• 54. Donate or loan a portable dog run to someone who doesn't have an area for quarantining a dog that has an unknown vaccination history and has been in a shelter
• 55. Drive the fosters' children to an activity so that the foster can take the dog to obedience class
• 56. Use your video camera to film a rescue dog in action
• 57. Pay the cost of taking a dog to obedience class
• 58. Be the one to take the dog to its obedience class
• 59. Go to the foster home once a week with your children and dogs to help socialize the dog
• 60. Help the foster clean up the yard (yes, we also have to scoop what those foster dogs poop)
• 61. Offer to test the foster dog with cats
• 62. If you have livestock, offer to test the foster dog around the livestock.
• 63. Pay for the dog to be groomed or take the dog to a "Do It Yourself" Grooming Place
• 64. Bring the foster take-out so the foster doesn't have to cook dinner
• 65. Pay a house-cleaning service to do the spring cleaning for someone who fosters dogs all the time
• 66. Lend your artistic talents to your club's newsletter, fundraising ideas, t-shirt designs
• 67. Donate printer paper, envelopes and stamps to your rescue group
• 68. Go with a rescue person to the vet if a foster dog needs to be euthanized
• 69. Go to local shelters and meet with shelter staff about how to identify a Pyr.
• 70. Provide a shelter with breed information showing the different types of Pyrs and the different color combinations
• 71. Go to local businesses and solicit donations for a club's fundraising event
• 72. Offer to try and help owners be better pet owners by holding a grooming seminar
• 73. Help pet owners be better pet owners by being available to answer training questions
• 74. Donate or loan a crate if a dog needs to travel by air
• 75. Put together a *Pyr Owner's Manual* for those who adopt rescued Pyrs
• 76. Provide post-adoption follow up or support
• 77. Do a pre-placement home inspection for a potential adopter
• 78. Pay for an ad in your local/metropolitan paper to help place rescue dogs.
• 79. Volunteer to screen calls for that ad. (What? A Pyr is a big dog? I didn't know.)
• 80. When you buy your own dog food, buy an extra bag for a foster home.
• 81. Get some friends together to build/repair pens for a foster home.
• 82. If you are a breeder, spay/neuter all pet and LGD pups before they leave you. That way, their offspring won't become a rescue problem.
• 83. Microchip your own pups, and register the chips, so if your dogs ever come into rescue, you can be contacted to take responsibility for your pup
• 84. Donate a small percentage of the sale of each pup to rescue.
• 85. Save clean, groomed-out undercoat for that member who is a spinner and wants to make a hand-spun, woven item for fund-raising.
• 86. If your Rescue has an annual raffle, auction or other fund-raiser, when you see a really neat dog-item you "have to have" - buy two, and donate one to Rescue.
• 87. Make financial arrangements in your will to cover the cost of caring for your dogs after you are gone - so Rescue won't have to.
• 88. Make a bequest in your will to your local Rescue.
• 89. Volunteer to pet sit so the foster can take time off
• 90. Volunteer to take a foster dog or rescue dog to local pet stores and "adopt" days to educate the public about the breed
• 91. Offer to pet-sit or feed for a weekend so the foster family can get away for a holiday.
• 92. Donate a computer
• 93. Donate the use of your scanner or digital camera
• 94. Donate the use of a photocopier
• 95. Donate a fax machine
• 96. Donate a color printer
• 97. Donate printer cartridges
• 98. Donate a box of printer paper
• 99. Use your graphic skills to produce flyers and information pamphlets
• 100. Think of other ways to help Rescue, the dogs and your Rescue Representatives

Source

Hugs & Wags, Jess

Welcome to the all new Tails of Love Photography Blog!

It is only right that my first post would be a photo of my sweet girl.  Let me introduce everyone to Maggie.  She is an almost 6 year old American Staffordshire Terrier.  Maggie has more personality than any dog I've ever had.  She has been with me since she was 9 weeks old and I can't imagine life without her.

Hugs & Wags,
Jess