Monday, March 7, 2011

Gracie


Gracie and her buddy Rosie

With all my rants and warnings on puppy mills, back yard breeders, and puppy brokers, I found that I forgot to mention others. The dedicated people who rescue and remove those loving dogs and pups who through no fault of their own would have been destined to a life of no social contact, inbreeding, illness, and made to live in deplorable excrement filled conditions.


One such dog that was rescued from these horrendous conditions was a dog named Gracie. Gracie, with her one blue eye, who was probably deaf from birth, and needed surgery on her spine was a beautiful Dalmatian rescued from a puppy mill and moved into the home of a friend and fellow STDTC club member, Dagny.

Even though Gracie came from such conditions, she was not bitter about her first impression of humans, not aware of her deafness, and never short on love. She gave every ounce of her heart to the people she visited as a working Therapy dog.

I am glad that Chance, Steeler, and I had the chance to meet her and I imagine that in dog heaven she still has plenty of love to give, but we will miss her here on earth.





Sunday, February 20, 2011

Twenty-First Annual Children’s Fair


Steeler & chance
Under the Billboard with
their picture. 
                                                   



Chance (left) Steeler (right)
Yes, yes I know, this is a dog blog! Read on.



Chance and Steeler spent another day charming the public and delighting the children at the 2011 Children’s fair acting not only as the wonderful therapy dogs that they are (brag, brag) but also doing their job as mascots for the Columbia/ Montour County Animal Response Team (CART). The PA State Animal Response Team provides rescue and shelter to animals during disaster situations in Pennsylvania. Each county in PA has a CART in existence. To find the coordinator of your County Animal Response Team in Pennsylvania please visit http://www.pasart.us/  and while you’re there, sign on as a member it’s so easy to do! For other SART states go to http://www.sartusa.org/

What does CART have to do with a Children’s fair?


Well, for those of you that do not know, Chance and I wrote a children’s story several years ago that tells the young child how to put a safety suitcase together for their pet in the event of a pending disaster. This suitcase is something that can be made well in advance and kept up with as pets change over the years. The intent of the book was to give control to the children who so often find themselves in the midst of uncontrollable situations. You can download this book here (free) and not only read the story but the kids can color it.  http://sart.cas.psu.edu/ColoringBook6-23-06.pdf  This book is given to every child attending a Pennsylvania SART event and is both valuable in information and free of charge.

A big thank you!


So, on behalf of the Columbia/Montour CART, Chance, Steeler, and I would like to thank Beth Cherwinski of the Columbia and Montour Child Development program for inviting us back again this year.


Although my boys have only been a part of this annual occasion for the last couple of years, this event is actually going on its twenty first year of providing the community a place of fun and learning with their children.

Hey, nothing says lovin’ like a warm place to get out of the chill on a windy February day! The only thing missin’ is mom’s chicken soup!


The children’s fair offers parents information, instruction, partnerships, and plain old fashioned fun memories.


While of course I am normally partial to pooches for entertainment, I can’t ignore the fact that there were spectacular child entertainers taking the stage as well.
Singers Woody Wolfe http://www.hearttohandministries.com/  and KJ Reimensnyder -Wagner http://www.kjsmile.com/   were just two of several special guests that delighted both child and adult alike. Having had the pleasure to see both of them in action previous to this event, I know what a delight they are for children of all ages. ( well except for those pesky teens who know it all! ) If you ever get a chance to see either of them, don’t miss out!


So if the next year's cold Saturday in February finds you in PA with your kids or if you plan on moving into the area, check out  events that are upcoming and how you can become involved with  ‘Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children’ http://paprom.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7061&news_iv_ctrl=-1


Check out our video of Chance & Steeler “Big dogs, little people 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj_3gRdLJls


Until next time, do something fun with both your kids and your pets!