Heart-Earned Cash

Aspen needs some of your "heart-earned" cash in order to survive.

My foster dog, Aspen, aka Lillian, aka Layla, needs help to be able to continue to live, as she has a heart condition that requires surgery. She has a loving adoptive family now, but her surgery will be... less than affordable. Can you help out?

Help us save her life...

Have a Heart for Aspen (aka Lillian, aka Layla)

I am devastated. One of our foster pups, Aspen (aka Lillian), is in need of heart surgery to save her life. If you have ever been touched by any of my foster dog stories, please check your wallet to see if you have one dollar or more to chip in to save this baby's life.

Click here to chip in to Aspen's heart surgery: http://onetail.chipin.com/aspens-heart-surgery

Information posted from One Tail at a Time Rescue:

Baby Aspen needs everyones help. She came to rescue however somehow a major medical was missed. In the meantime a loving couple adopted Aspen while we tried to figure out all that was wrong with Aspens heart. To know Aspen is to love her and so we didn't stop with the first diagnosis but went forward to a cardiologist who then he himself said to go to the specialist at Tufts. Along the way we realized this was becoming far out of the realm of our little rescues ability. While at Tufts the specialist gave everyone hope that surgery could help and give Aspen a chance at life. So will you help us to give Aspen and her family that chance? Every penny counts and our rescue is hoping to reach this goal as the procedure is expected to be twice that.

Sweet "Nilah" Needs a Foster Mom (or Dad)

This is a photo of the sweet girl, "Nilah," who is a 7 month old Shepherd mix currently being treated for non-contagious mange. Poor little thing...She is very stressed out in the shelter environment so it is taking her longer to recover. She desperately needs a loving and patient foster home while she is undergoing her treatment for the next couple of months.

Nilah would do better in a foster home without small children or other dogs.

Do you room in your home (and in your heart) for Nilah?

Call Angie at 540-339-9505 or download and send a foster application, available online at www.rvspca.org.

The Gift of the Vine

Wine Gourmet hosted a wine tasting on Saturday to benefit the Roanoke Valley SPCA. This event combined two of my favorite things: partaking in wine and saving animals. It was the first time I have wandered into the store on Electric Road, close to Katie's Ice Cream in Promenade Park. Wine Gourmet's support of Roanoke Valley SPCA has earned them a new wine-drinking customer. I am typically a red wine drinker, but I really enjoyed a white wine that they offered in the tasting, the Superstition Riesling Pinot Blanc.

From the Superstition wines website:

Superstition wine combines the crisp, fruity minerality of one of the world’s finest Rieslings with the creamy, nutty nuances of Pinot Blanc. The taste is spellbinding, as the Riesling’s food-friendliness harmonizes with the Pinot Blanc’s approachable softness.

I thought it was really clever of Wine Gourmet owner and staff to select a beautiful bottle with a cat pictured on the label, in honor of the RVSPCA.

I ended up buying a few bottles, as did my mother and my friend who accompanied me to the tasting. A delightful time was had by all. When you get a chance, stop by the store and thank them for hosting the event and giving the "gift of the vine" to support RVSPCA.

www.rvspca.org

2011 Pups In Review

2011 was a crazy puppy year for the Merritt family. We fostered 35 puppies in our home. (And folks say that having ONE puppy is tough! I love each one of the puppies, with their unique personalities and funny moments.

I wish the best to Max, Jackson, Rosalina, Kate, Omega, Rikki, Rita, Rose, Oreo, Muffin, Carrie, Caine, Cassie, Charity, Precious, Punkin, Dudley, Lillian, Jace, Alek, Rain, Jaken, William, Augie, Axel, Aubrey, Aaron, Austin, Arnie, Abe, Archer, Forrest, Jenny, Hannah, and Henry.

I remember the first foster pup like it was yesterday. Max is a beautiful yellow lab. He was "into" everything...or maybe it seemed that way because he was our first puppy experience in a long time. I put him in the cage at the shelter and wished him luck, and then I boo-hoo-cried all the way home. I snapped a quick photo of him before I left the SPCA.

Max was adopted very quickly. I know this because I checked the RVSPCA website every day until his picture disappeared. I bet he is laying on some lucky family's couch right now, watching football or chewing on a rawhide.

Jackson was an easy puppy. No chewing, no whining, rarely a puppy behavior in sight. Kevin was in love with this one. We almost became "foster failures" with this little cutie.

Rosalina gave me a poison ivy rash when I had to drag her scared little butt out of the bushes in my backyard. She was TERRIFIED. She warmed up to us, though, and I have heard that she was adopted by a lovely family who is friends with another adoptive family of another one of my foster pups, Omega. The kids and dogs in our house helped her to overcome some of her fears, and she is the poster child for my blog at the top of this page.

Kate's full name was "Duchess Catherine of Cambridge." We fostered her right after Prince William married Kate Middleton. Our royal foster pup came with us to games during Lindsay's softball season. She got lots of attention from the preteen softball players while they should've been keeping their eye on the ball.

Omega...what a handsome boy. Part Huskie, part lab...this guy looked like a blue-eyed, silver-haired lab puppy, only fluffier. A guy named Josh adopted Omega after seeing him on my blog. Josh came to several of our family outings because he loved Omega before he even adopted him. I'm thankful for adoptive daddies out there, and this guy was great!

The Rikki, Rita, and Rose Trilogy was our first attempt at having multiple foster puppies in the house. These ladies were seriously precious. Rose was much smaller and may have had another baby daddy...a hound perhaps (?). Rita and Rikki looked like American Bulldog mixes. I drew a quick picture of Rikki that still hangs on Lindsay's wall in her room.

I believe Oreo and Muffin might have been sisters, too, as they look like twins. I had them separately, two weeks at a time. Oreo's new name is "Lily" and lives with a wonderful family that I keep up with on Facebook. Muffin had a hot pink cast on one of her back legs.

Carrie, Caine, Cassie, and Charity were black lab pups. I remember laughing hysterically during feeding time, when these pups placed their entire bodies in the large feeding bowls in order to fend for themselves in getting every last morsel. I had to buy these babies colored collars to keep track of who-is-who.

Precious was...well, precious. An angel pup, she hung out with my hubs on the couch, and was full of soft kisses and love. I'm not sure if we put her down the whole time she was here. What a little lovey.

Our little Punkin was a larger puppy. She, like Rosalina, was timid at first, but at our house she learned that humans are not always awful. She enjoyed our dog pack (Sammy and Grace), and she had a blast playing with the kids. I am happy that we got to introduce her to a normal life.

Dudley was affectionately called Dumpster Dudley since he was found at a group of dumpsters in Franklin County. Seriously, what is wrong with people? I overcompensated for his sad start with lots of cuddling and lots of food. I'm a huge fan of emotional eating.

Lillian, aka Aspen, was our tiniest puppy (at that time), and we felt the need to hold a ruler up in some of her photos to show how little she was. She is so sweet, with a cute little kissable face.

The Fab Five: Jace, Alek, Rain, Jaken, William...what sweet black and choco-lab puppies! It was our largest foster litter yet, and perhaps one of the easiest. No one knew which of the pups was the cutest, and each one of us had a favorite. These guys were so very special to us. Here's a picture of the Fab Five while they lived in our home.

Then we had the "A" group...Augie, Axel, Aubrey, Aaron, Austin, Arnie, Abe, and Archer. Whew! Some of these guys are still available for adoption at Franklin County Humane Society. Axel had been attacked by larger dogs and left in a cardboard box to die. Arnie also had an abscess, assumably from a dog attack. I can only imagine the life that they had before the angels at Franklin County Humane Society saved their lives.

Axel, before he recovered fully from the dog attack

Finally, we had a group of four puppies: two chiweenies and two hound mix pups. The chiweenies, being a newish designer hybrid breed, got lots of attention from outside our house. I showed them off in my new Dooney & Bourke purse. I carried them to work with me. I had people contact me about them. What sweet babies they are! It is funny, though, how awesome the hound mix puppies were, and how little attention they were getting in comparison. I guess they "ain't nothing but" hound dogs. Hannah and Henry, my hound pups, were just as precious and beautiful. Luckily, all four of these pups have found furever homes.

I am so fortunate to have had the fostering experience in my life. Great memories were made with each of the foster pups. I encourage everyone I know to look within himself to see if he can spare some time for a foster pup in his home.

Foster opportunities are available at:
Roanoke Valley SPCA: 540-339-9505
and Franklin County Humane Society

Lindsay's Writing Assignment

My daughter, Lindsay, is 10 years old. She will be turning 11 in just a few days. Lindsay never ceases to amaze me with the beautiful way she looks at life. Today I was reading the papers that came home in her folder from school, and I happened across a lovely piece of writing about Lindsay's take on dog fostering. I thought it would be nice to share this with you.

Her writing assignment consisted of composing a letter to her teachers detailing her favorite part of the holiday weekend. Keep in mind that on the weekend referenced in the letter, Lindsay enjoyed playtime with friends and a splendid New Year's Eve Party (and she was allowed to stay up to see the ball drop). Yet, she chose to write about her experience with fostering puppies in our home.

It makes me so happy to participate in a volunteer activity that my daughter enjoys so much.

If you are interested in fostering a pet in your home, click here to contact a local shelter:
* Franklin County Humane Society
* Roanoke Valley SPCA

Check out the right side of my blog...look at how many puppies I have had the opportunity to help in just a short time. It is truly a rewarding experience.

Forrest and Jenny: The Chiweenies

Chiweenies....they're all the rage right now. Chiweenies are Chihuahua/Dachshund mix pups. While they are known as chiweenies, I fondly call my two "dachuahuas" because I like the way it rolls off the tongue.

These two babies are spoken for; so don't get your hopes up. 1,001 people have asked me if I can post pictures of these two little lovies.

These two are taken, but do not fear! There are plenty of pups that would love the warmth of your home. For more photos on adoptable pups: www.plannedpethoodrockymount.com