Remembering Hurricane Katrina

Published just three short years after the devastating disaster, Two Bobbies : A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival. by Kirby Larson, Mary Nethery and Jean Cassels is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.  The true story chronicles the struggles of Bobbi, the dog, and BobCat, the blind cat, post hurricane Katrina.  Having lost everything in the deadly storm, the unlikely duo depends on each other to survive.   The book’s epilogue, complete with photos of the real life Bobbi and BobCat, details the real-life happily ever-after ending.

M.H.  Herlong's Buddy, does not sugar coat -- there is no fairy tale ending.   Lil'T, the story's lovable protagonist,  and his family might be poor before the hurricane and  totally wiped out after the disaster, but they are survivors -- they have each other, their faith, and their unwavering determination to persevere.  That resolve is what keeps Lil'T working to get Buddy, his beloved three-legged dog, back long after the levees break.  While there isn't the happy ending that readers may  be hoping for, it's the right ending. 

This is the perfect time to read, or re-read, Two Bobbies : A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival and Buddy.

A Holiday Treat -- Another Happy Adoption!

From Lelani's adopter

I re-named her Mika, and she is doing great! She and my pug Tank get along splendidly! They love to play and then crash...always makes me laugh. You would have to see the two goofballs in action to truly appreciate it. She is extraordinarily loving and sweet. She is just a big goofy couch cushion! She is a wonderful dog!

The Very Best of Friends

My cat Merl loves my dog Nigel. At least I think he does. When Nigel is hanging out, Merl is often close by. Sometimes Merl rubs up against Nigel's face. I don't think Nigel loves Merl, but he tolerates him just fine.

Cats and dogs are often friends. But what about elephants and dogs? Most definitely. I was given the book Tarra & Bella, a truly beautiful story about Tarra, an elephant who had been forced to perform in circuses and movies for more than 20 years. She now lives on 2700 acres at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee with many other elephants and her best friend, Bella. Bella is a medium-sized mixed breed dog who picked Tarra as her friend, and the two have been inseparable ever since. Text accompanies magnificent pictures illustrating the friends' day-to-day interactions and chronicling their painful separation when Bella gets hurt. The photos also show Bella's amazing recovery that was centered on the best medicine -- friendship. Read the book for more information about Tarra and Bella's friendship; and to learn about all of the elephants living at the sanctuary, check our www.elephants.com.

Pit Bulls -- Heroes and Friends

Despite a bad rap in the media, pit bulls are typically loyal, loving, intelligent family dogs who are often known to take heroic action to protect those they love. Jasmine, a pit bull living in Alexandria, Virginia, recently saved her family from disaster. When a fire erupted in the dryer vent of the family's home in the middle of the night, Jasmine barked nonstop waking her family so they, and Jasmine, could escape unharmed.

The Washington Animal Rescue League adopts many wonderful pit bull dogs into loving, caring forever homes. Two staff members adopted pit bulls in recent month. One lives with a baby and other animals; the other lives with another dog and comes to work with her guardian every day. Trixie is another successful League pit bull adoption. Her new family, including two boys and another dog, reports that Trixie has lots of energy but knows how and when to chill, too. That's her in the picture above, snoozing with her buddy Jack.

For a wonderful fiction story highlighting the hard luck life of a pit bull named Cash, check out Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee discussed in the March 5th Post

Remembering Rosie

March 4, 1995 - March 13, 2009

For years I facilitated a humane education program that centered on well-constructed lesson plans chock full of fun, enriching activities, but no live animals. In 1999 I decided to revamp the program to include dogs, IF I could find the right dogs. That's when I met Rosie and her person Stacey. Rosie was one of those dogs that made you smile. She didn't do tricks or dress up in clothing, but when she walked into a classroom there was magic. Rosie was a leaner. She pressed her whole body against you. Kids ended up with Rosie fur all over their pants! And, they loved it.

Several years ago Rosie was unable to visit her 5th grade class at Ross Elementary School. At the very time of the scheduled visit, Rosie was undergoing surgery; a tumor was removed from her front left leg. I talked to the students about the surgery; the worry that filled the classroom was thick. Our positive thoughts paid off -- not only did Rosie make a full and speedy recovery, but she had an unusual patch of fur on her leg to commemorate the event. The veterinarian had taken fur from another spot on Rosie's body and grafted it over the area where the growth had been. The result was a funny patch of hair that grew against the rest of Rosie's fur creating a strange pattern and an opportunity for Stacey to remind students why it is so important to regularly take your dog to the veterinarian. Rosie was always the teacher.

In addition to visiting students and stressing the importance of proper animal care, Rosie volunteered to listen to children read books at Prospect Learning Center. She enjoyed the stories, but liked the students' gentle pats the best. Sometimes it was hard for a student to read AND pet Rosie at the same time, so the reader would put the book aside and pat Rosie.

Later, Rosie visited Tubman Elementary School. Fourth graders were engaged in a photo project and Rosie happily posed with her ball, demonstrating a fun activity that kids could play with dogs. She even managed to get her left leg front and center in most of the photos.

The trouble with sharing your life with a companion animal is, that you know, in all likelihood, you will outlive your friend by many, many years. Over time, we can have had numerous animals in our lives and each one is special. Photos, memories and tributes keep our animals with us. Stacey shared one of her tributes to Rosie with me, and I am happy to share it with you.

Rosie (a.k.a. Rosie the Riveter, Rosie-pie, Ambassador of Love) was born in the Tompkins County Animal Shelter in Ithaca, New York. When she and her five siblings were four days old, they came home with their mother to receive foster care. Rosie stayed for good.

She was an avid hiker, tennis ball catcher and swimmer, and for several years she was a blood donor for dogs in need. Her truest passion, though, was meeting new people and spending quality time with her trusted human friends. Her daily walks were constantly punctuated by people greeting her and commenting on her friendliness and beauty.

Rosie’s gift for spreading happiness found a most useful outlet in the Washington Humane Society’s Humane Education Program. During her six years as a volunteer, Rosie visited with hundreds of students in D.C.’s public schools, helping them to understand how dogs think and feel, and the responsibility people have to help dogs live healthy, happy, fulfilling lives.

Rosie will be missed, by many, beyond words. Take a lesson from her approach to life: revel in its joys, forgive its shortcomings, and leave it with no regrets.

What's In a Title?

Okay, look at the cover of this book. My Big Dog, what's it about? If you said a dog, you would be only partially right. In fact, the dog is a very minor character in this book. We see the dog a lot, and the dog moves the story along -- well, sort of -- but the story could just as easily have been called, MERL, ONE ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC, FABULOUS, PERFECT CAT or I AM MERL THE GREAT, DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO LIVE WITH THAT?.

My Big Dog is about Merl, a tabby cat who rules the roost, that is until a sloppy, dopey, gangly golden retriever puppy invades Merl's space. When Merl cannot take one more nasty dog kiss, he decides to take drastic action -- Merl moves out. Life outside of the house where Merl has My dish. My sofa. My chair. My mouse. My bed is not so good; and in the end, it is the dog (whose tag reads Violet") who rescues Merl and brings him home.

My Big Dog is about friendship, tolerance and compromise. The illustrations in My Big Dog are so much fun to look at, you will want to look at each one for a long time before reading any of the text. This is truly one of my very favorite books. When my son Max was little he would beg me NOT to read My Big Dog again because it was the only book that I wanted to read.

Inauguration Week

It is inauguration week and Washington is the place to be! The historic inauguration concert yesterday brought together nearly 500,000 people. I was there. It was lots of fun. People were happy and enjoying the music and cheering crazily every time the jumbo-tron screens flashed to President-elect Barack Obama and his family. The soon-to-be first family was bopping away to the tunes. President-elect Obama encouraged the concert goers (and home viewers) to join forces and work together to make our nation a better place.

Security was tight. I was glad to see that people followed the directions of the concert organizers.; They left their dogs at home. One man, who wasn't going to the concert, was walking his dog on one of the streets that led to the Lincoln Memorial concert site. He was talking with the soldiers who were manning one of the many streets that were closed to vehicular traffic. Like everyone else, the soldiers were happy and enjoying the positive mood of the day. The man asked the soldiers to pose with his dog. They happily stood for a quick photo, including the one that I took. It could have been called a day of national friendship. I hope that the mood lasts.

The Obama family is looking for the right dog to join them in the white house. They move in tomorrow. In honor of their big move and big decision to choose the right dog, three polls were added to the blog. Read them, and let me know what you think. I think that the President and Mrs. Obama and their daughters could definitely find the perfect dog for them at the Washington Animal Rescue League. We are right down the street, in their new neighborhood.