The Best Things in Life Are In Shelters and Rescue Organizations

Today I entered my beloved K Team in the 2019 Photo Calendar Contest with the Dumb Friends League. 

I did it for a few reasons. One - Kizzie, the Matriarch of the K Team, was adopted there 4.5 years ago. 

Two - Koko (Koko Loco, Koko Bean, Kokoro - Spirit in Japanese) was adopted there 4.5 years ago.

Three - Kukki (Cookie in Japanese) was adopted there 5 weeks ago.

Kazzy Boy came from another shelter, but he was a shelter kitty, too. 

And years ago our A-choo was adopted from there - about 1993.

I almost entered Kia, 

but then thought - I may never stop. I've had a lot of dogs and cats in my life...

The annual Photo Calendar Contest helps raise a lot of money for the shelter - and it's fun!

The K Team donates food and toys and blankets to the Dumb Friends League and have for years. We donate money when we can. They do good work. Our Vet has volunteered there for years. She does good work.

There are A LOT of shelters and rescues and fosters and volunteers and transporters in the world who do amazing work. I am in awe of them and I am humbled by them.  

It makes me enormously happy to peruse the entries into the Photo Calendar Contest. It is much safer for me than perusing the "Adopt" page. When I am looking at the entries into the photo contest I can smile endlessly knowing that these adorable animals have loving, happy homes. 

And I want to vote for every single one.  Maybe they should expand beyond a calendar and make a book...

Celebrating My Girls and Boy

I don't know who declared it but apparently it is National Dog Day!  Woo-hoo!

When we said good-bye to our beloved Simba

we walked around in a fog for several days. Before she passed we knew she was slowing down and someday that final good-bye would come. My thought at the time was when she passed, I didn't want another dog. She was irreplaceable. We still had our 21 year old cat, A-choo, so I thought well... maybe we will adopt an older cat to keep her company. And when her time comes we'll adopt another adult cat to keep that one company.

Of course when the time really came my head was so cloudy, my heart so broken I couldn't think of bringing another soul into the family at all.

After a few weeks I began to feel an incredible void. Simba was my constant companion. We walked several mornings a week in the huge State Park at the end of our street.

She was by my side every day in my studio.

I have to admit, though, as winter was approaching (she passed in September) the idea of staying inside by the fire with a couple of cats as opposed to bundling up and trudging thru the cold and snow was appealing.

As much as I love cats (and I truly do adore them ~ we just adopted 12 year old Kia the cat!) there is something about having a dog in your life... Simba always got me up and moving early in the day. We enjoyed our morning walks in nature. It cleared my head and inspired me. Some of my best photography was done on walks with her. And there is something about the excitement a dog expresses when you come home ~ whether it has been 5 minutes or 5 days. That unconditional love...

A home just seems more complete with a dog.

So when my friend, Janet, gently suggested -- when I felt ready -- to just take a walk thru a shelter and, you know, just look.  Later my husband and I laughed and said, "That's like telling us to 'just go look at new cars.'"  We could never do it without buying one.

Of course our walk thru the shelter found us coming home with a 6 year old puppy. Kizzie's adoption story is on my other blog, Oh My Sweet Goodness.  

And when A-choo passed rather than adopting an adult cat, back to the shelter we went to adopt another 6 year old puppy ~ and puppy described him to a tee. Enter Koko. 

So today I celebrate Simba - the love of my life for 16 years and Kizzie and Koko ~ who brighten my world every single day. It has been almost two years since Simba passed and I think of her every day. In fact this blog post started out to be about Kizzie and Koko. But Simba spoke to my heart more loudly.

Kizzie

you are my snuggle buddy ~ my sweet girl ~ my good girl. Y

Koko

you make me laugh every day ~ you make me happy ~ you're my boy, my sweet, crazy boy.

How blessed I am to have all of you in my life and in my heart. YYY