we're volunteering as a family to help homeless pets

The littles and I worked our first volunteer shift this week for Lost Our Home Pet Foundation. We've taken on a weekly shift caring for the cats available for adoption in our local PetSmart. We scoop litter boxes, provide fresh food and water, do whatever cleaning is needed, and, of course, play with the cats and give them lots of love. Mostly I do all the "dirty work" while the littles cuddle and play with the cats. 

Here are some of the friends we hung out with this week:

The littles playing with Seven while I scoop litter boxes.

The littles playing with Seven while I scoop litter boxes.

Daisy came right out for cuddles.

Daisy came right out for cuddles.

Porter gives Mango the safe greeting he learned in volunteer orientation. 

Porter gives Mango the safe greeting he learned in volunteer orientation. 

Ringo was ready for his close-up.

Ringo was ready for his close-up.

Hanging with Daisy in her enclosure. Wonder what the adoption fee would be for these two characters.

Hanging with Daisy in her enclosure. Wonder what the adoption fee would be for these two characters.

We had a great time, and we all felt like we'd done a good deed, indeed. We'll miss these guys if they get adopted this week, but we sure hope they do! 

If you're interested in adopting one of these cats or browsing Lost Our Home Pet Foundation's complete list of adoptable animals, you can visit all adoptable dogs and cats HERE.

More information about Lost Our Home Pet Foundation:

grand opening! lost our home pet foundation's new facility

blog the change for animals: lost our home pet foundation

adopt a new friend and get a free ticket: childsplay teams up with the arizona animal welfare league

I love a win-win situation, don't you? 

This past year, I became a Childsplay Mom2Mom Blogger, which means I have the opportunity to take my children to professional live theater productions, then write reviews both from my perspective and my littles' viewpoint. They ask me to review their animal-related productions, and we most recently saw The Velveteen Rabbit, which was a wonderful experience for the whole family. We're gearing up to see Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle next weekend. The show's main character is a stray dog...right up our alley! The Childsplay web site describes the show:

When a stray dog appears on the doorstep, it's love at first sight for 6-year-old Cory, and the last straw for Grandma Autumn. Life hasn't been easy lately for either of these two, facing absent parents and lost homes. But in a delightfully surprising story filled with humor and heart, Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle remindes us love makes almost anything possible, even in hard times.

Childsplay has teamed up with the Arizona Animal Welfare Leage for a unique offer. During the month of March, if you adopt a dog from the Arizona Animal Welfare League, your family will receive one free ticket to see Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle. How amazing is that? You get to bring home a new friend, and you get to see an awesome show!

If you live in the Phoenix area and are planning to adopt a new dog soon, please take advantage of this special offer and join our family next weekend for what is sure to be a fantastic production!


living with canine addison's disease: kermit's story, part one (the adoption)

I have not yet mentioned our dog, Kermit, who passed away in September of 2011. I think I've avoided it for several reasons, but the bottom line is, it's just hard. Kermit was a spirited sweet pea of a dog. He looked funky and acted like a fool sometimes, but he was loved so very much.

Kermit came to us in December of 2002 at about six months of age. My friend, Maureen, called: "Kristen, I know you guys are looking to adopt a dog, and I found one! He was wandering the neighborhood, and I've put up signs and gone door-to-door. I've asked all the vets. The kids want to keep him really bad. They already named him 'Piggy,' but we can't have another dog. Todd will kill me. I want to keep him, too, but Todd really will kill me. I swear. But if you take him, then you can bring him over for visits and we can still see him..."

"Oh, wow," I stalled. "Okay, we'll come check him out."

"Come today," she urged. 

"Uh, okay. I'm pretty sure we can be there in a few hours. Will that work?"

"EEEEeeeeek! I can't wait for you to see him! I already took him to the vet, and he's healthy and fixed and everything. Just a little skinny. But he's all good." Then there was a pause. "I have to warn you, though. He's kind of...odd looking." 

That was all I needed to hear. As far as looks go in a dog, the funkier the better!

Brenenn drove us over to Maureen's house, and I was already committed in my mind to bringing home our first "baby" since we'd been married. My head was spinning and my mouth followed suit. I speculated about what he looked like and what he would be like, how B would love having a dog, and where to go to purchase the definitive collar. Brennen rolled his eyes.

We were both a little nervous when we arrived at Maureen's. I figured we could hardly say no, even if we wanted to.

We walked in, and Maureen grabbed my arm. "C'mon! He's in the back yard with Lizzie." Maureen had a gorgeous home on the cliffs of Southern California, so her view from the back yard was nothing but ocean. Gorgeous. This became the backdrop for our first encounter with Kermit. There he was, a brownish long-bodied ratish-looking bow-legged giant-eared possible canine. He didn't run to greet us because he was busy getting busy with Lizzie, a giant black pit bull. "He likes big black women," Maureen said, pointing out the obvious in her usual uncensored way.

Brennen cracked up. "Oh my God," was all I could utter. 

"Piiiiiiiiigyyyyyyyy!" Maureen squealed affectionately. Thankfully, he was easily called-off of Lizzie, who was ever-tolerant. Kermit came bounding over, his long body bobbing like a see-saw. He panted with a curly tongue and his giant ears flopped around. Their permanent state was one up, one down. "Isn't he funny?" Maureen asked.

"Yes, he is," I agreed, giggling. "He's hilarious!" Kermit (Piggy) kissed us and wiggled around, and then went back to Lizzie. 

"Poor Lizzie," Maureen sympathized with her dog. I did, too. Kermit was relentless. 

"We'll take him, right, honey?" I turned to Brennen.

"Do we have a choice?" A rhetorical question, really.

"You can change his name," Maureen said. "The kids just called him Piggy. Whatever!" 

We rode home with our new dog on my lap. We decided "Kermit" would be the perfect offbeat name for the guy, but kept "Piggy" as his middle name. Kermit Piggy entered our family. 

...and immediately lifted his leg on the couch...

So for the first few months of his life, he thought his name was "OUTSIDE!" 

Kermit Piggy at approximately one year of age, a few months after he came into our lives. 

Kermit Piggy at approximately one year of age, a few months after he came into our lives.