Confessions of a Volunteer Junkie, or, Would That Be a Junkie Volunteer?

Confession is good for the soul and this leads me to coming clean with the fact that I make lists of what to blog about, as if it matters. Sometimes the logic behind such a list proves to be a clearinghouse - getting rid of clutter on my mind, things you could not possibly be interested in reading. Admittedly there are topics listed which escape me when I return, prepared to turn them into eloquent and clever deliverances.

But my favorites are the lists which have topics unrelated to each other and I have before me a challenge or two - how to tie them all together, if need be, and how to connect them to the basis of the blog: the paws to love gig. Then, does it really matter? In the big scheme, probably not.

Therefore I just go with it.

Waiting for my 4 hour assignment at Barnes & Noble, where I'll be wrapping packages for Illinois Humane (helps dogs and cats), I am alerted to the presence of a Lost Boy. He appears to be about 6 and is lingering and looking around in the coffee shop area which is frequently inhabited by readers who don't buy anything to read, drink or eat. They need parking meters for those people. I digress. But, please note, I did get the paws reference in already so have a modicum of pride, which, in time, may grow. Back to the boy for now.

Leaving my Santa hat and purchases I approach the boy about the same time another concerned woman did. We thank each other for being so darned observant. I established myself at eye level with him and asked if he is lost. Of course, it's his mother who is lost. We go directly to the Nook Ladies. As they begin to search for a roving clerk to help, his mom and sisters show up. He got a talking to...but I swear he did nothing wrong. I think she was just stern but not raving mad. The girls, so obviously without flaws, lauded it over him. I think he was saddened for his shoulders slumped. Hopefully by Christmas morning Santa had let all this go and stuffed his stocking. Poor little tike.

Same Location, Different Day - For some reason, B & N draws us in and while my husband's hunt was for a potholder making kit (really?) and while he was at the craft store next to B & N (really?), sensible I went for a peppermint mocha, recommended by a fellow wrapper from the previous excursion. And, there I sit, taking in the story being relayed at the next table over. Do NOT tell me this is not a part of what you do when you are in close confines and others are chatting away. You listen. I know you do. I read blogs full of stories repeated by blog writers. Such funny or meaningful things cannot happen to each of you. You're repeating what you hear. Well, seated at this particular table were a mom and two grown children, let's say in their late 30's or early 40's. The mom and daughter had been somewhere and were sharing the tale with the brother/son. Where they had been required some knowledge of food items so perhaps they'd been shopping or at a class. Regardless, the big joke, such as it was, comes in handy for me as another reference to paws, for they were chortling over the mom trying to locate "canine peppers". OK, it was funny to them.

We know our way to B & N, clearly. On occasion we go out on adventures. My husband has a GPS but I do not. He leaves his in the house, perhaps sensing he may need it there, although the house is relatively right-sized for us and we have lived there for 16 years, not to mention that there's not suitable outlet to plug it into. Besides if your starting point and destination are one and the same will you get any useful results or will the voice you've selected merely snicker? Well, ponder it. In the meantime, we're off somewhere and looking for a store we've heard about. We've been to a couple of other places first. He heads for his vehicle (which does not have the GPS inside). I inquire, "Are we driving?" Seems a reasonable question to me. His response was, well, I suppose typical: "Yes, since we don't know where we are going we're driving". Go ahead, make sense of that.

Let me clarify the title of this submission, please. You probably got the reference to wrapping gifts as being a volunteer effort. Well, later that same week we also traveled to receive a truckload of pet food which was later distributed to pet owners a bit down on their luck and unable to afford food. How freaking (not freakin' - really freaking because it makes me want to scream) sad. The objective is to keep pets in homes by helping their owners feed them. I cannot imagine not being able to put down a bowl of kibble but rather having to take my pet(s) to a shelter where who knows what will happen to them, and then returning to complete loneliness. Sometimes the love of a pet is all a person has.

We saw further proof of this when we delivered Christmas dinners on Christmas morning. One 90 year old woman received hers and talked about her cat. It's her cat she spends every day with - she has no one else. For some people it's a bird or a dog, but a pet makes all the difference in the world. Love. Unconditionally given. Wow.

If you can, see shelter pets through the eyes of their past owners - loved enough to give them up, hoping a good home will be provided, worried that time is limited.

If you can, buy cat food or pet food, or make a cash donation to a pet food bank.

Start your own journey as a junkie volunteer - get hooked on doing good things!

Season's Greetings from Team Beagle

Fun in the Snow

Bob and Brew enjoyed the Thanksgiving Snow!

Congratulations to Ch STARBUCK TORBAY'S EASY MONEY

Congratulations to Patty who earned her championship this last weekend.  Finally tally was 18 points and 3 majors.  Maribel and Alberto are very proud parents.

Patty (formerly Maria) spent a month with Team Beagle a year ago before she went off to her forever home.

For more pictures of this cute girl check out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jlkautz/Maria4th5thWeekWithTeamBeagle#
http://picasaweb.google.com/jlkautz/Maria3rdWeekWithTeamBeagle#
http://picasaweb.google.com/jlkautz/Maria2ndWeekWithTeamBeagle#
http://picasaweb.google.com/jlkautz/Maria1stWeekWithTeamBeagle#

FAR OUT Sunday

The moon last night was spectacularly eerie; clouds stretched across it made it so. This shot was as early as 6:30 and it felt like midnight! Getting the photo taken meant making a body tripod just to avoid blurring. The whole thing was neay to see! Helped me realize, again, what a wonder this universe is! As far away as the moon is, it is a relatively close neighbor and remains a mystery to most of us. When you think about it - and do think about it sometime - the changes it makes, the way it impacts tides, which in turn impact so much else...kinda the butterfly flapping its wings progression. Hmmmmm.

Then, to bring everything into perspective, aka reality, I found Thanksgiving dinner for the dogs when I went to the pet store yesterday. They will dine in style. Maybe I'll cook some rice for them to step it up even more. We are, after all, very thankful to have them and our kitties with us, day in, day out. They bring us joy, challenges, exercise, and loads of love. We're a little shaken now, by the news that at least dogs are discriminating - they do not necessarily present unconditional love as we have thought all along. So, maybe I'm gearing up for this big dinner on Thursday, for them, just to keep on their good sides!

ThankYouEveryDay not just one Thursday a year

Brimming is the word for the day. It may be the word for the rest of the year for my life is brimming with all sorts of wonderful outcomes. Much of it seems to rest on the pure joy of contentment but also on being able to ENjoy what surrounds me - terrific people and places. So indulge my sharing. Afterall, it is now when we offer our thanks.

First, I yanked the image of God and Dog off an email or link someone sent to me and it just makes me feel happy to see it. Having gone through the recent behavioral ordeal with Harmony I was so relieved to find something as simple as a calming collar would make a world of difference to her. Life has been borderline blissful since she received hers and we will gladly replace it in four weeks to maintain that mood for her and her "siblings". God, karma, fate - I did PRAY a LOT - it took! Much as I sometimes dislike FaceBook and how mean/nasty/snotty we all get on it, I do appreciate there was an ad for a calming collar and I was prompted to read up on them and ask the angelic office manager at my vet's about them. Got one. Put it on. Three hours later, Harmony was back to being her sweet self. Me too.

9 days ago I attracted a virus. It was a humdinger and I don't recall ever being this ill. Down. Out. So I slept for many days. The human body can survive on a little water and no food for several days. I did sufficiently well - rested and bounced back although the tum-tum still churns at times.  Anyway, this leads to my "release" on Friday to go out on a road trip. My fellow troublemaker and I have been making the most of the trend to "shop local", visiting small towns with the strength and might to fight back on negativity and the economy. This week we tackled two of them! These photos are of a place that has intrigued me for months and it just seemed like a great place to go on the way home from Virginia, IL. The 3-legged Dog Cafe, in Jacksonville did not disappoint! Here's the entrance - an understatement to be sure. Inside was spectacular. We treated ourselves to a late afternoon coffee and juice (not mixed together, no, silly). And, we each purchased flannel jammie bottoms because we are just those kinds of girls. We will NOT be wearing them in public. At least I won't be wearing mine in public and I won't go anywhere with her if she has hers on.

Before we landed there we did reach our original destination. This is an even longer story and does bring dogs back into the posting. See, I do pet transports most Saturdays, http://sites.google.com/site/animalrescuetransport/who-we-are and sometimes there are what is called cross-postings from different rescues or shelters who are wanting a home inspection done before a pet is placed into a home. It's not always a place close by. And, so it happened that a place in northern Wisconsin, needed a home visit done in Virginia, IL. I'm a whole lot closer than they are to Virginia so I said I'd go. Then the prospective new pet owner had an emergency so we re-scheduled. Then I became ill. I did what I had to do. Buckled down and sent my loving husband (who took over several volunteer assignments for me while I was wimping away in the recliner). Those people should not have to wait! Nor should Teddy.

And, here's how this trip all comes together: He discovers they live above their business which turns out to be EXACTLY what I love, a coffeehouse/restaurant/wine store/selective art items and tee shirts offered.http://www.dr-ugs.biz/. So, on my the Friday drive our first stop was at Dr.Ugs for soup, a roll, and I got myself tee shirt and a print of Venice for my driver. Then Saturday I went on transport and stopped at my favorite jewelry maker and left a message that she should connect with the good people of Dr.Ug's and display some jewelry there!http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elkhart-IL/The-Copper-Rooster/195676258214 

That felt so good. Why have Thanksgiving just one time a year? Isn't it an EVERY DAY opportunity?

Input Requested...but wait, there's more....

We have 5 dogs. That lovely little white dog (35 lbs) has developed a nasty behavior - she barks aggressively and appears to have severe separation anxiety and jealously. I've got a tee shirt on her. She has a calming collar. AND, she's taking a calming pill. She goes from wound up really tight (shaking, teeth chattering) to barking to crashed. Having attacked our oldest dog 4 weeks ago, in front of me, she can no longer be with the other dogs except when she's crashed and the oldest is in a covered crate. Then it is as if nothing happened at all - everyone is fine.

I'm the pack leader and they all know that. This one has been with us 3 years and although she argues with me she knows her place. She's the alpha.

She's been to obedience school, is extremely smart, loves to play "bring it" - our version of fetch.

She and a younger male dog stay in crates at night.

She gets walked (and does beautifully) daily.

She is wonderful in public - anywhere, with all people. At least she was until this started. Now I'm not sure.

I've switched her food gradually - all of them. No one else seemed bothered but the old or the new but now in addition to her dry food I have to give her some canned in order for her to eat. I know the pills cause panting and loss of appetite so watch her for water and food consumption. I do not free feed any of them.

It could be neurological or some other physical thing. I just don't know.

Any ideas?


Early morning, breaking news. Of all things, there was an ad on FB for calming collars so Saturday I asked our vet's wife about it as she manages the practice and we were busy decorating a Christmas tree (more another time). Tuesday, after exhausting pill options and reading about the collars, I bought one. It went on yesterday a.m. At first I didn't think it was making a difference and we had a terrible morning. By 2 p.m. "H" was back to her gleeful, frolicky self. The collar wins. We win! She will gladly be wearing one at least for two months. For those of you who may have a pet who suffers from an anxiety/fear/extremely negative energy - ask your pet doctor about a calming collar. These dispense pheromones for about 28-30 days. Day two begins and we are almost as normal as other people!