Please Help Others

I was a very lucky little girl and got rescued and found a wonderful home. But there are others who are not so fortunate. Please give some serious thought to fostering or adopting, or you can also help by donating or volunteering. Thank you.

A Rescue Dog's Christmas Poem

Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,
every shelter is full—we are lost, but not found.
Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare,
we hope every minute that someone will care.

They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,
"Come here, Max and Sparkie—come fetch your new ball!!
But now we sit here and think of the days...
we were treated so fondly—we had cute, baby ways.

Once we were little, then we grew and we grew,
now we're no longer young and we're no longer new.
So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,
they reacted so quickly—why were they so rash?

We "jump on the children, "don't come when they call",
we "bark when they leave us", climb over the wall.
We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,
now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made.

If only they'd trained us, if only we knew...
we'd have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too.
We were left in the backyard, or worse—let to roam...
now we're tired and lonely and out of a home.

They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye...
"Maybe someone else will give you a try."
So now here we are, all confused and alone...
in a shelter with others who long for a home.

The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,
with so many to care for, they can't stay to chat.
They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer...
we know that they wonder how long we'll be here.

We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads...
of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.
Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears...
our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.

If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the Inn.
Could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?
We count on your kindness each day of the year.
Can you give more than hope to everyone here?

Please make a donation to pay for the heat...
and help get us something special to eat.
The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,
and more of us will, if more people will give.

— Author Unknown

Puppy Mills are Bad

First, let me say how sorry I am for being a bad blogger. I've been so busy since Labor Day that I just haven't had a chance to sit down at the computer. Actually, I hardly have time to sit down anyway. There's always something that needs my attention.

That said, I wanted to let you know that there has been a bunch of news about puppy mills lately. The most recent story is in Newsweek Magazine. As you know, I was born in a puppy mill in Ohio and rescued at a puppy sale by an undercover rescuer. I'm very glad I was rescued! Because the breeder was going to keep me as a puppy-making machine.

You see, I was born with an umbilical hernia. The puppy mill owner said that no pet store wanted to buy me because of the defect. He told the rescuer that he was just going to keep me for breed stock. Well... my rescuer told him that he really didn't want to do that because there was a chance that my hernia could be passed on to my puppies. (This has not been proven to be the case, but he believed her anyway.)

So, that was how I came to be rescued. The breeder was an idiot and sold me to the rescuer because he thought I was going to be more trouble than I was worth. As you'll see when you read the article, these puppy mill owners really have no concept of humanity when it comes the animals. They think of us only as a commodity with which to make money.

You can help by writing letters to the editor and writing to your representative in Congress. Please help. I was a very lukcy little girl and I have more love than a puppy mill pug could have ever dreamed. But for every one of us that gets rescued there are hundreds that aren't so lucky.

Labor Day Weekend at the Lake

We went on a grand road trip for Labor Day weekend! We drove all the way up to Daddy Dave's Godmother's house on Dickerson Lake. It's about a two and a half hour car ride. It was the longest car ride I'd ever been on. It was fun. I had the whole back of the car to myself and I had a good time standing and watching where we were going.

I got to try some stuff that I've never done before while we were at the lake. Like this thing called "Paddle Boating." It was fun! I rode on the front of the paddle boat and my daddies did all of the work. I liked the waves when a speedboat would go by. It made the paddle boat rock on the water. But I didn't get seasick. Later in the afternoon, I even took a ride on the big pontoon boat, but both Daddies forgot their cameras.

The coolest part of the whole weekend was that I got to go swimming for the first time in my life! I had so much fun! I started out slow, but soon I was swimming like a pro in water way over my head!

Follow-up Visit

You know... I really like Dr. Chris and all, but this seeing him two or three times a month crap is getting old. Usually, I'm all excited to see him, but lately I just get the feeling that something is going to go wrong and I'm gonna break out all over again and end up coming back to see him next week. Can't you tell by the look on my face?

My Favoritest Doctor

This is me and my Doctor at Banfield Pet Hospital at PetSmart. I met Dr. Chris two days after my daddies adopted me. We went to the Saturday Grand Opening of PetSmart and met Dr. Chris. He gave us a tour of the Hospital and we were really impressed with the place. Then on Monday, after the licenses and official stuff came through, I was Dr. Chris' first patient. I was having a horrible time with "puppy runs" and Dr. Chris cured me in one day. What a guy!

Since then we've become really close. Given that I see the Doc on the average of twice a month. Yep... I seem to have more than my fair share of issues. Particularly with allergies. First, we figured out it was lamb. Then we discovered it was tomatoes. Go figure. Recently, we had a really bad time with my yearly vaccinations. Ouch! I was one big, itchy hive. I had Dr. Chris worried. But I was better that night and then when I saw him the next day, I had stopped itching but I still had red bumps everywhere. A couple of days of steroids and everything should be fine. Except for whole "roid rage" thing. A pug with roid rage could be a very scary thing!

Looking Back

My daddy Dave got a letter in the mail the other day from my favorite veterinarian in the whole world letting him know that my wellness plan was renewing. Gosh, it's been a whole year! Dr. Chris over at Banfield is the most wonderful doctor. He really loves me and takes very good care of me. Especially because I seem to have more than my fair share of "stuff" that always seems to be going on.

Anyways, the note got me thinking that it's been a whole year that I've been going to Banfield and PetSmart. My daddies adopted me on Thursday, July 27, 2006 and the brand new PetSmart in Ann Arbor opened on Saturday the 29th. My daddies said that they had been hoping one would open in town.

My first big outing, after a day and a half of getting settled into my new home, was to go to the Grand Opening Party at PetSmart. That's when I met all the cool people that work there, and Dr. Chris. I started seeing Dr. Chris on Monday the 8th when they officially opened for patients. I was Dr. Chris' first patient at his new Hospital so we have a really special bond. I'll have to get daddy Dave to take a picture of me & Dr. Chris so I can put it on here for you to see. Keep checking back!

I've Been Recalled!

My daddy Doug found a news article at The Onion saying that I have been recalled! Oh poor me!

Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs

WASHINGTON, DC—While pug owners are accustomed to chronic dog malfunction, the latest animals are prone to more than the usual overheating, seizures, and joint failure.

Roxie's Blog

Hello. My name is Roxie. I am a Pug. This is my first blog.