Pet Rescues and Christmas Pets

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” – Anatole France

Pippin & Spritzen with their Olaf jackets.
Photo By Tracey R. Simmons 2015

Who gave a puppy, kitten, dog or cat to someone else as a “Christmas present?” Who received some sort of fuzzy pet as a “gift” this Christmas? I hope that anyone who received a pet as a gift this Christmas season realizes these fuzzy babies should be treated as cherished members of the family, to be loved throughout his or her life.

Dogs and cats can give unconditional love to us humans, which is a quality we humans have yet to learn. Sure we can love, but we don’t have the unconditional part figured out. There is nothing like a dog who is overjoyed to see you when you come home - tail wagging, toothy grin, and paws springing up and down with that joy. As for cats, there is something relaxing and soothing when a kitten or cat sits on your lap purring with contentment and love, all the while “kneading dough” or “making muffins” on your leg or belly.

Occasionally, when one has a fuzzy family member, life will throw a hurdle, such as serious illness/injuries, lose of job/income, or some other major difficult, into your path which makes keeping your fur-buddy impossible. If you have to deal with such trouble, being a responsible loving human means finding a new home or a pet rescue to take in your furry friend. (Some people aren’t as caring towards their pets. Instead they dump the pet out onto the streets, or drive to the country where they dump him or her out. Either way, it leaves that fur baby struggling to understand and survive.)

Pippin Elf-Dog and Spritzen Claus.
Photo By Tracey R. Simmons

 As mentioned in a post - Let The Playtime Begin...Chihuahua Playtime, Santa came early bringing a new best buddy to Miss Pippin O’Chi and me. This new fuzzy family member has been officially named: Spritzen Nala O’Chi, or Spritzen for short. I want to thank the couple that had to make the difficult decision to give her up and for getting her into a rescue.

 Back in June, I lost my beloved Koda (see June post – Life Isn’t Always Fair!). I want the couple to know that Spritzen Nala O’Chi squirmed, wiggled, and snuggled her way into my heart overnight; and that she is very much loved by this human and by Pippin. It’s amazing how the heart can feel so very broken in one moment in life that it feels it will never heal, but a few months later and in another moment in life, two little Chihuahuas can bring healing, lots of laughter, and pure love & joy.

Naptime!
Photo By Tracey R. Simmons 2015

The following is list of some rescues that I am 

familiar with and their links:

Fur Keeps Animal Rescue                                

Pet Elves Rescue

Bright Hope Rescue

St. Francis Animal Sanctuary

Deaf Dogs Rock Rescue

Best Friends Animal Society

Deaf Dogs of Texas

Misty Eyes Rescue

When I lost Koda, I was angry at and felt betrayed by God, and let Him know it. (He isn’t going to strike anyone down with a bolt of lightning for being honest.) I’ve come to believe this - I don’t think it’s always about our knowing why God allows bad things to happen. I think it’s about our not getting stuck – meaning we go on living life, because no matter what, life will go on, and we might as well be a part of it - living each day to the fullest!

Max Lucado's The Christmas Candle movie

The Christmas Candle, the book was written by Max Lucado, and now it is a heartwarming movie fit for the whole family to see. The story is set in England, in the village of Gladbury, where an angel visits a candlemaker's shop every 25 years and touches one candle. If the person who receives the candle lights it and prays, they will receive a miracle.

A new priest in the village, played by Hans Matheson, is struggling with his own spiritual doubts. I have dealt with my own spiritual battles and doubts, and can identify with how this priest feels, but with different reasons.

There are Christmas miracles in this wonderful movie, and a message of hope when there is unbelief. It has captured my heart and imagination. The music is beautiful, and even includes Susan Boyles as one of the characters singing a touching song.

I give this movie a 5 Paws Up. Viewing The Christmas Candle will become a family tradition for years to come. (I use "Paws Up" instead of stars or thumbs up for my rating scale. Five Paws Up is the best rating.)

The Christmas Candle trailer

The Ultimate Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie

I found this recipe years ago and have tweaked it to remove some of the sugar and butter. I love these coookies better than regular chocolate chip cookies, but I love pumpkin. They are the best when they just come out of the oven, still warm and the chips all "melty." After they cool, I store them in the fridge. I like them better cold verses room temp, plus they are cake like, so I think its better to keep them in the fridge for freshness.

Except for the dark chocolate chips, I use all organic ingredients and real butter. Organic solid pumpkin comes in a 15oz. can.

2 cups flour                                                        

1& 1/2 cups oats (uncooked)                         

1 tsp. baking soda                                              

1tsp. cinnamon                                                    

1/2 cup butter, softened (1stick)                        

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar  

2/3 cup granulated sugar    

1 egg   

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (15 oz.) can of solid pumpkin  

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Additional options: raisins or nuts, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter; gradually adding sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and solid pumpkin; mixing well. Add oats; mixing well. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well in between adding more. Stir in chips.

Using a lightly greased cookie sheet, drop by large spoonfuls onto sheet. Bake 16 minutes. (This is what works for my convection oven, but ovens vary, and time might need to be increased.) Check that they are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet; cool on racks.

Get a glass of milk and enjoy them while they are warm.

Ultimate Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2015

Let The Playtime Begin...Chihuahua Playtime

Tree dedicated to the love of
cats and dogs who bring so
much love into ours lives.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons

Miss Pippin O'Chi has been trying to play with Haley, the mischievious black cat, who outweighs her by around seven pounds. Pippin just wants to play, but Haley unsheathes her claws on Pippin's face. Haley had loved Koda, holding him down to give him baths, but she hasn't warmed to Pippin as much.

With Christmas just around the corner, Santa came early to the Little Bit of Paradise Farm.  A shy little female chihuahua, who was in a rescue, has come home to be Pippin's playmate. She is tan and brown, with some black across her back and sides. She is about the same size - length wise as Pippin, but she is a little heavier.

The little girl was named Nala, but this brings up images of the Lion King, so another name is being sought. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. Some thoughts already are: Sprizt'la O'Chi and Skittles O'Chi.

Nala on the left and Pippin O'Chi on the right.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2015

Bad Feather Day - Molting

November has come to an end, and December is here with the temperatures growing colder. This is not the best time of the year for our chickens to start molting. Actually, some of them started back in October.

What is molting you ask? Every year mature chickens lose their feathers and grow new ones. It's like getting a new winter coat, rather than using the old worn out one. That new winter coat will help the chicken stay warmer throughout the winter.

Golden Lace Wyandotte molting.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2015

What does molting looks like? It's looks like a fox snuck into the coop, grabbed a chicken, started plucking her, and then she managed to get away still partially feathered. Feathers litter the ground but most are inside the hen house. (Our chicken yard is fully protected with fencing all around, including the roof, so I know there hasn't been a stealthy fox in the pen.)

The problem is when chickens molt, they stop laying eggs. Their bodies are working overtime trying to grow new feathers and need all the nutrients for this process.

Okay, Hens Nest Inn girls hurry up and get those new feathers. Let the egg laying resume.

What I Am Thankful For...

Photo by Tracey R. Simmons
This is how Hope looked before we
found out she had EPI.

This Thanksgiving season, I am thankful my deaf dog – Hope is doing so much better, health wise, after three months of non-stop diarrhea and severe weight lose. The vet figured out the problem – Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. It took another five months for Hope’s weight to return to her adoptive weight, and it was because of the enzymes now being put on her food.

Hope entertaining Miss Pippin O'Chi
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2015

     
I am thankful for Diane who runs www.enzymediane.com  a business started to help those who have an animal like Hope, whose pancreas don’t work properly. She provides the enzymes needed for these animals to digest their food at a lower price, much lower then pharmaceutical companies whose only intention is making a profit. (Both get the pancreases from the same slaughterhouses.) She does it to help people who would be otherwise forced to put their beloved pet down, because they can’t afford several hundred dollars a month to keep their animal alive. Plus, her product works much better than the pharmaceutical companies – I know this to be a fact, because Hope started out on the prescription enzymes and now uses EnzymeDiane’s product.

Baby Pippin just after adoption
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2015

I am thankful for little Pippin O’Chi, who has brought such joy after death snatched my young and beloved Koda from me. Pippin’s love has been a balm to this broken heart. I am so glad ‘third time was the charm’ for me to adopt Miss Pippin. (Hey Pippin, could you quit eating Hope’s doggie landmines? It’s a nasty habit, and it makes your breath very odoriferous.)

Just a few of my favorite
Christmas DVDs and CDs

Lastly, I am thankful for Christmas movies and music. Break out the DVDs and the CDs!

Have Your Basic Needs Been Met?

There are some people who feel like they’re jumping from one frying pan into another when it comes to hurdles along life’s path. Maybe you’re one of them. It may seem like no matter how hard you try to stay upbeat, keep a stiff upper lip, think positive, or whatever expression one wants to use, life keeps throwing you to the ground. You continue getting up and trudging along, putting on a brave front; but inside you wonder: where is God; what’s the reason you seem to get more hurdles thrown in front of you; and why, oh, why can’t life smooth out like it seems to be for others?!

In difficult times, maybe you’ve tried talking to a family member or friend, but they don’t understand while giving the “It could be worse” or “When one door or window closes, God will open another” responses. Yes, it could be worse, but it could be a whole lot better too! In addition, you’ve seen a window or door open a tiny bit, just enough to give you hope, but then slammed closed with such force your breath is sucked away, leaving you bewildered.

Recently, I heard someone say something that was so simple and made a great deal of sense – “Did you have what you needed to get through this day, enough to meet your basic living needs for the day?” The answer was yes. “Be thankful for that and just deal with one day at a time!”

God provides for this HoneyBee.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2015

                            During this Thanksgiving season, what are you thankful for?

A Home Furever

Photo By Michele Danz 2015

In this day and age, the media focuses their reporting on the negative events that happen throughout the world, and repeats it over and over for days. When it comes to positive and/or heartwarming stories, only a few make it to TV or in the newspapers. Those positive stories that do receive media coverage have little time on TV and little space in the newspapers.

Since I believe we need to hear more positive stories to bring us up, rather than make us feel fear, worry, and other sorts of negative feelings, I am going to share one that surprised me – pleasantly. I will add that all to often, we hear negatives stories about teens and young adults. This story is about my niece and nephew.

A two day mega pet adoption event occurred recently in a nearby large city. Over 26 animal rescues, humane societies, and animal controls brought more than 700 puppies, dogs, kittens and cats needing loving forever homes. I knew that my sister-in-law wanted another small young dog and preferred to get it from a rescue. The lucky dog would mainly be for her daughter, so I let them know about this event.

On a nice Saturday, we found ourselves waiting in a long line that snaked around large agriculture buildings on the state fairgrounds. Every ten minutes, the line moved a few feet forward. Eventually, we started seeing people leaving with new pets, and the waiting crowd "oohed" and "aahed."

After 50 minutes of waiting, we finally entered the building, seeing the cats and hearing the dogs barking. My sister-in-law and I zipped along the long aisles, looking left and right at the crates holding all sorts and sizes of dogs. If a small dog was spotted, we’d practically pounced to get a look, only to see a sign, “Adoption in Progress” or it was an older dog – seven years or more.

Only a few minutes had passed since we’d entered the building and we had already seen all the dogs. Michele was disappointed. I tried to reassure her that we could still check other rescues and Petfinders.com. Kellilynn spoke up, “You were going so fast, John and I couldn’t see anything. We were just trying to keep up!”

We allowed the two kids to take the lead as we looked again. They found a small male terrier mix that was said to be seven years old and named “Archie.” They wanted to know more about him, so an adoption counselor answered all the questions they had, including the fact that he was older.

Mom-Michele asked her children what they wanted to do since the dog was older. I was impressed with Kellilynn’s answer, “Older dogs need a home too!” And her 14-year-old younger brother agreed.

“Elvis Archibald Avenger” a.k.a. “Archie” was the 128^th dog adopted that day as we left to take him to his forever home.

Fall Creativeness

The season has changed, and Fall is here. A bit of Indian Summer visited for a few days with warmer temperatures, but some cold has blown in. With temps in the 30's last night, the woodstove was finally fired up. Aaahhhh, it's nice and warm in the house, and Pippin O'Chi can run around without a sweater, T-shirt or sweatshirt on. She is running around as a "naked Chihuahua."

With fall comes leaf raking. When you live in a heavily wooded area, leaves are like a crunchy, brown carpet that covers thickly over the grass. Some neighbors can't deal with a single leaf on their grass. One neighbor has been creative lately, giving me an oppportunity to tease him.

Last weekend, I heard him out using his lawn tractor, but the funny thing was when I saw how he was using it. He wasn't mowing the leaves to mulch them. He had his snowblade on the lawn tractor and was pushing the leaves. When I asked him about it, he said, "I can move more leaves quicker than I can raking or blowing them." 

Yesterday, I heard him using his leaf blower. Okay, maybe he needed to get into smaller areas, like corners between the house and porch, to get those pesky leaves out. No way - he was on the garage roof blowing the leaves off the roof. 

Hummm, do you think the leaf blower would get all the leaves out of the gutters if used?

Happy Fall to you all!

Pippin O'Chi

Baby Pippin O'Chi 2015
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons

Meet Pippin O'Chi. Pippin was named Cinca, a feminine version of cinco, which means five in Spanish, as the rescue told me. She was one of five Chihuahua puppies - four from one Chihuahua mother brought to the rescue by a family unable to keep two pregnant mothers. The other Chihuahua mother gave birth and rejected her two pups. One didn't make it. Cinca, although two weeks younger, was adopted by Annie, the Chihuahua mother given to the rescue.

I'd met, the then Cinca back at the beginning of June. I was smitten with this little outgoing puppy from the get go. She was smaller than her siblings, but was the most outgoing - reaching to humans for attention. She was mostly white, while her siblings were all dark.

At the time, I thought she'd make a great playmate for Koda. Chihuahuas like to be in little Chihuahua packs. Koda had a pack, but they were all much bigger. Despite my desire to adopt her, I didn't because I had enough mouths to feed, take care of, and love.

Heartbreak struck at the end of June with Koda's sudden passing.  The rescue Pippin came from still had three of the pups, and they brought them in for me to have puppy therapy two days after Koda died. Pippin was already spoken for, so I never said anything about the love I already had for her. I just sat there allowing the puppies to climb on me and eventually falling asleep in my lap, all the while fighting the tears of grief I had for Koda.

Later I found out the lady who was going to adopt Cinca pulled out of the adoption after her dog got suddenly sick. Cinca was then adopted along with one of her brothers and Annie. After finding out about this, I was upset with myself for not saying something when I'd had the puppy therapy. Fate stepped in, but it was more like God stepped in after hearing my cries. Even after listening to my anger at Him for taking Koda, He worked things out to bring the little one I'd fallen in love with several weeks before to me. Pippin was returned to the rescue along with her brother; and I happened to be on Petfinder.com and saw her again.

On July 25th, Cinca, now Pippin O'Chi became my fur baby, officially mine furever!!

KP2 - Hawaiian Monk Seal

I am an avid animal lover. I also love to read books or watch movies about the human/animal bond and relationship. Currently, I am reading a book by Terrie M. Williams called The Odyssey of KP2.


KP2 was born May 1, 2008 on North Larsen's Beach, Kauai. His mother, KP22, did not bond with her new pup. She did nothing to protect her new pup from an aggressive male who attacked KP2; and she even turned on her own pup, attacking him...

Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered with about 1,060 left in the wild. They are facing extinction if humans, who have created the problem, don't step in to do something to help. After much political red tape, wildlife biologist Dr. Terrie M. Williams is given the permit and approval to study this nearly blind orphaned monk seal.

This book is the incredible journey Dr. Williams and her team, including animal trainers - Beau Richter and Traci Kendall, take to study and learn from KP2. This is also the story of a charismatic monk seal who loves humans. Can KP2 help save his own species?

This is a great book to read. This is not a dry research kind of read; it is a story told with care and love for the Hawaiian monk seal and the need to help with their survival. With the purchase of The Odyssey of KP2, you are helping, because part of the proceeds from this book go directly to help the research of the Hawaiian monk seals.

Learn more about KP2
To see video of KP2