We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment. ~George Eliot

Sophia & Vito

I swore I'd never have a dog. Too much responsibility, too much money.  Well that all changed when the hubby came home with our first little fluffer-muffin. He was so tiny & it was love at first sight for me. I never had kids so  Vito was my little baby. He loved to play with his ballie. He loved to play hide & go seek with me. We'd sit together on the couch eating House Special Fried Rice. Vito would always wait his turn for his little nibble of pork.  He really didn't know he was a dog until after 3 years I found Sophia and brought her home. 

Sophia loved her little food bowls

Vito's favorite place - right next to the fridge

A good little alpha-female, she taught Vito real quick who was boss and what dog life was all about. Those were the best 12 years of my life, even the last 2 while  we nursed them both through their heart problems. Sometimes the everyday trials of  life have a way of shutting our hearts down.  Those 2 precious creatures brought me so much love and joy that they pried this weary heart of mine wide open again. It's ironic that 2 critters with such hearts full of love had hearts that failed them. 

Well, it happens. I've lost count of my family and friends that have lost their dogs in this last year. We just have to love them everyday while they are with us.  We have to learn from them &  live like they do.  Live in the moment and love unconditionally.

Even after a year I couldn't get rid of their toys and other belongings. A few months ago, I finally took their bed to a local no-kill shelter to donate it. It was still in very good condition.  The manager of Englewood Animal Rescue Society (EARS) was so nice but said she could not take it. They only had an old washer that couldn't handle the bigger loads.  The poor old washer had seen better days.  It just broke my heart to see these people loving and caring for these unwanted cats and dogs but not having a good washing machine. I left the shelter but determined in my heart to try to find a way to fix that situation for them. 

 A few days later I got an email at my work that our company was giving each of our stores some money to use for any project that would make our community a better place. Well, I waited for my team to volunteer some ideas and I was the only person to turn in a project.  Yay, I got my project approved and EARS now has a new washer & dryer. 

It's amazing what a small thing like a washer and dryer can do to make a volunteer's life easier at a place like EARS.  They are wonderful people.

 I don't know that I could ever have a dog again. Maybe.... I just don't know but I happily support any organization that is rescuing, spaying/neutering, & volunteering their veterinarian skills for free. 

We love you Precious Ones - Sheldon Latte, Pender, Kayla, Bare, Star, MacGiver, Lady, Tyler, Vito, Sophia , and Cody (added 9/19/10) 

                                                                            

This year, The Pedigree Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a "Fan" or "Likes" The Pedigree Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far, more than one million bowls of food have been donated!

And get this: Pedigree will also donate a 20 pound bag of their new dog food (Pedigree Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs), to shelters across the country, for each blog post that mentions this adoption drive-wow!

All that you have to do is take a few minutes by September 19th, to do two things:

Become a "Fan" of The Pedigree Adoption Drive on Facebookright here
Write a short post on your blog that highlights The Pedigree Adoption Drive. Feel free to use Pedigree's tagline, "Dog's Rule".

Pedigree's search engines will automatically pick up these key words and, presto, the food will be donated!