Creative Abundance

It's been a wonderful year!

Norfolk Botanical Garden, Denise Copeland, (soft pastel on paper)

Prior to the tragedy at Virginia Tech I had been admiring three poodles on the Petfinder page. All three were in rescues because their companion had either died or needed to live in an environment with assisted care.   We had just adopted Joy on March 5, and I was under the spell of poodle magic.  The Virginia Tech tragedy reminded me to focus on the "important" aspects of life.  I acted upon that reminder and we adopted one of the three poodles I had been admiring, Cassie.  She is an absolute delight.  Her manners are impeccable, and her primary desire is to be as close to me as possible at every moment.  When I first met her she actually hugged me.  It is hard to describe, and I have never encountered that before. I honestly have never met another dog who is as affectionate as she is.  It has truly been a wonderful year with her. 

They all get me up early in the morning.  I do not need an alarm clock.  Joy is the ring leader in this event.  I believe Cassie and Poupon would be content to snooze.  Joy gets Maisy and Raphaella up and then there is no turning back.  For awhile Joy was getting me up at 4:30 AM.  The motivation is breakfast.  Those early mornings were tough, especially if I had gotten to bed late. Then after breakfast, this is what immediately happens. Four of the five are napping beside me. And yes, that is amazing Maizy napping on her back.  If the fifth, Raphaella, could fit, she would be there too. 

Amazing Changes

Here we are one week after Ariadne's arrival.  The weather continues to be glorious. 

Ariadne is doing incredibly well.  Joy is being herself.  I had planned on taking a series of photos and knew that I would need something to help them focus. Cheese usually fits that bill.  I had no pockets so I "cached" the treats in the top of my camisole.  I couldn't get Joy to focus anywhere else.

We suspected that Ariadne was ill. She was drinking what appeared to be excessive amounts of water and urinating very frequently.  I was concerned about kidney disease or Cushings Disease.  We did blood work and the results were amazing.  Her blood panel results were those of a young dog.  I think the symptoms we were seeing were a urinary tract infection.  I would not be surprised, given the pictures of her cage at the shelter.  She started antibiotics on Monday, and since then, the frequent  drinking and urination have stopped.  She has not had an accident.  I believe that she is a solidly housetrained companion whose life must have been hell when she was forced to relieve herself in her cage.   She also had an infection in her ears.  Since beginning ear medication, all the excessive vocalizations, i.e. screeching, have disappeared.  She was also engaging in some serious wimpering.  I even thought we should change her name to Tribbles.  Since the ears have been addressed, she is calm and quiet.  She is a lovely little companion who is doing well with everyone.  Eric is very smitten with her and she with him.

Things are looking up for her.  She has a dental scheduled in two weeks. Her mouth is in terrible shape, but the dental will improve her health tremendously. 

Fostering her involved some very steep risks.  Ensuring that everyone was well cared for during this past week has required a huge amount of energy.  However, the satisfaction has been over the top.

 

A Little Synchronicity

Silently one by one,

in the infinite meadows of heaven,

Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(Apologies for the poor quality scan....Watercolor and pastel on paper, Denise Copeland)

Adopting Joy last March opened my heart to many possibilities.

Can you find her in the picture and recognize her many captivating traits?  

I discovered the magic of poodles.   I began to read the poodle page on www.Petfinder.com daily.  I was well versed in everyone's story.  And I had three favorites.  All three had found themselves homeless due to no fault of their own.  One little poodle, who was "placed" in a shelter after her owner's death, tried to dig her way out of her kennel to find her owner until her paws became bloody.  The second, Millie, was a sweet senior in Pennsylvania whose owner had passed away.  And the third, Cassidy, was a senior whose owner found herself in the very sad situation of needing to move to an assisted living situation.  She did the best that she could, she placed Cassidy in a rescue.  She made them promise to find Cassidy a wonderful home. 

I was hoping for the best for all of the homeless little ones.  I had convinced myself that I could not adopt another without degrading the quality of life of those in my pack.  Then came the profoundly tragic shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech on April 16.   Although I constantly work at being in the moment, I had lost touch with what was truly important.  I began to question the basic assumption that another little one would negatively affect everyone's quality of life.  I submitted an application to adopt Cassidy.  Initially I was told that another family  was planning to adopt her.  I was happy for Cassidy as well as her new family.  Before I could submit an application to another rescue, I received a call saying that the family had changed their mind.  That weekend I brought Cassidy home. 

Adopting Cassidy was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  The shelties accepted her immediately.  Joy did not even notice her.  (There are some advantages to living with a narcissistic toy poodle.)  Cassidy is brilliant with a delightful personality.  She has gorgeous, long legs as well as that poodle strut.  Her mission every moment of the day is to place herself as close to me as possible.  However, she always defers to Joy.  If Joy wants to sit on my lap, she graciously sits next to me.  She is ten years old and her energy is very well balanced. She thoroughly enjoys the packs' daily walk.  She creates little games with her toys, and she loves to engage in these games with her Dad.  She has very few needs, and I believe her most fundamental one is to devote herself completely to me.

Cassidy reminds me of Tammie's new foster, Nicki.  The long legs, the regal carriage, the poodle strut, and the intense desire to make a heartfelt connection.  Nicki is a young, enchanting little one.  A bright, dazzling star.   

Do It Anyway

 

(Tammie's Garden, by

Denise Copeland,

Pastel on Paper)

I've known Tammie for all most a year.  She does incredible things every day.  She is responsible for radically changing, for the better, the lives of small, homeless souls at the Pitt County Animal Shelter.  Make no mistake, this shelter is NOT a no-kill shelter. 

When Tammie takes one or two home from the shelter there are obstacles, but she does it anyway.  She has a crew of her own and she gracefully provides love and care to all.

When Tammie took little Josie home  there were problems and obstacles.  But she did it anyway.  Josie, a little senior, was in pathetic condition.  She was an owner turn in with the worst mouth that Tammie had ever seen, an eye injury, an old cataract, an infection in her uterus, and she was ferocious.  Ferocious because she was in pain...all five pounds of her. 

But Tammie got her through all the very difficult medical procedures.  And she became a different dog.  With a different name.  It's Joy now.

Like all of Tammie's fosters, she searches for the perfect home.  Until that home is found, they have a loving home at Tammie's.  No matter how long it takes, she does it anyway.

Then there is a whole parade of little ones - frightened, dumped, and neglected but she takes them anyway.

There's Hershey in his new home

Lola, who visited Tammie during the holidays, not as a foster but as a house guest

And there's Lil, making herself at home, like they all do.

And Daisy

                          And Pbird   

And lovely little Frankie

or this lovely soul and sweet, wonderful

Gabe

And Dexter who now winters in sunny Florida.

And little Jake who was looking through the Multiple Listings to find the perfect home.  He did.  He is at Tammie's. 

Tammie is a volunteer.  Make no mistake, there is not a substantial, wealthy non-profit organization supporting Tammie's work, but she does it anyway.  And with Grace.

The following prayer is attributed to Mother Theresa.  I think about its concepts frequently and when I do, I always think of Tammie because it really is all about her.

DO IT ANYWAY

(Attributed to Mother Theresa)

        People are often unreasonable, illogical,
        and self-centered;
        Forgive them anyway.

        If you are kind, People may accuse you
       of selfish, ulterior motives;
        Be kind anyway.

        If you are successful, you will win some
        false friends and some true enemies;
        Succeed anyway.

        If  you are honest and frank,
        people may cheat you;
        Be honest and frank anyway.

        What you spend years building, someone
        could destroy overnight;
        Build anyway.

        If you find serenity and happiness,
        they may be jealous;
        Be happy anyway.

       The good you do today,
        people will often forget tomorrow;
        Do good anyway.

        Give the world the best you have,
        and it may never be enough;
        Give the world the best you've got anyway.

        You see, in the final analysis,
        it is between you and God;

       It was never between you and them anyway.