Ah...Ruhe (Peace)

I haven't had much time to write lately - the demands of three jobs plus running the Haven have kept me from all but the briefest comments on FaceBook lately. But this weekend, I found some time to just Be Still, instead of constantly wrestling with my thoughts. And what I discovered was... birds singing. the first fireflies of the season. a campfire crackling and mesmerizing me with its dancing flames. the rush of wind in the trees. a hawk circling overhead...and being chased away by the blackbirds. flowers (and weeds!) blooming in my garden, and all over the property. a yellow butterfly (certainly Olive!), playing with Bella - and Bella playing with her. the caress of a soft breeze on my cheeks. the tinkling of the wind chime made of the tags of dogs gone on the the Bridge. (see photo above) marshmallow stuck to the bottom of my flip-flop. the soft sighing snore of an elderly pup on my lap. the hypnotic comfort of sitting on a yard swing with pups on either side of me. Truvy the pekingese dragging the soiled towels out into the yard - helping with the housework that is going undone whilst I sit on the swing. As I encounter the many firsts without my little heartdog Olive, I am reminded again and again of the blessings that are mine if I just listen. And just Be Still.

Kuranda Cots

Our dogs love the Kuranda dog beds that have been donated to us! They sleep on them all year around - indoors during the winter months, and snoozing on the patio during the summer. We'd love to have a few more, so that we could leave them outside during the spring, summer, and fall and not have to move the indoor cots in and out. If you'd like to send the dogs something they will really use for a long, long time, see the link at the bottom of the page to order from Kuranda. They will give a discount price and ship the beds directly to us! Thank you in advance for your consideration!

Thanks Girl Scouts!!

Baci, Lola, Bella, and I stopped in to visit with the Girl Scout Troop that meets in Kiel at their gracious invitation. These delightful young women and their leaders made us feel so welcome! We chatted about dog rescue, taking care of dogs, and loved on the pups that came along to visit.
The reason for the invitation was that these compassionate and generous leaders of tomorrow elected to use some of their hard-earned cookie money to donate to our vet fund! Can you believe it? I feel so confident that we are in good hands with these future leaders, who believe in kindness and service to others.
The ladies also learned how to make snuggle sacks and made twelve new snuggle sacks for the Hundenruhe Haven dogs to cuddle up in! Great work!
We made some new friends and hopefully the ladies had as great of a time as the dogs and I did. Hopefully, we will get a picture of us all together to post in the next blog entry.
Thanks for having us!

Racetracks and Runways

Today is Saturday. Generally, it is one of the best days of the week for me - even though it involves lots of housework and cleaning! This morning was no exception. I was wonderfully self-indulgent today - staying in bed with Baci and Bella until 8:30, listening to the wind sweep off the fields and batter the house. Even though I knew it would put me behind schedule for the day, the time spent with them cuddled together in bed is time that cannot be retrieved at a later date. It is becoming more and more essential to live in the now and take advantage of every precious moment.
As we lay in bed, I could hear Dan already out and about, shoveling the couple inches of snow that fell last night.
Starting down the steps with a pupster under each arm, I realized that Dan was outside longer than usual, so I peeked out the window and had to grin. As he does every winter, Dan had not only shoveled the usual deck, patio, and sidewalks, but also an elaborate racetrack around both of the big trees in the backyard, so that Twig and Mimi could do their several-times-a-day chases. It is hard with tiny old dogs to get them enough exercise in the winter, when we can't get to the outer fields and the snow is too deep for their stubby little legs. They also don't want to freeze their nether regions when they go out to eliminate, so Dan makes sure they have plenty of shoveled area in which to comfortably do their ablutions.
As the pups ran or ambled outside, depending upon their infirmities, the sun shone down on their customized playground. Simple things that we can do to make our dogs' lives better...they may require a little extra effort, but the dividends are immeasurable! Enjoy your day and stay safe - I'm going to put in another load of dog bedding, and pour myself another cup of tea!

Endings and Beginnings...

2011 is drawing to a close tonight. It was a year of comings and goings, beginnings and endings, cycles of life. It would be easy to dwell on the heartaches of 2011...the biggest, of course, being the sudden loss of Olive. I still cry every day when I think of her - which is all the time. She is everywhere and nowhere...and I miss her beyond expression.
2011 also sent nine other dogs on their journey to the Rainbow Bridge: Kibble, Cubby, and Moses only made a brief stop at the Haven before ending their earthly journey; Foxy, Shae, and Coco graced us with their lives for a longer stay; and long-time residents Uncle Mort, Frisbee, and Sophia also said good-bye. It is hard to let them go...but the silver lining is the immense comfort that Dan and I were able to share with these little souls as they discovered family, space, and love.
We also were able to open our arms to Sera, Bergen, Lola, Barry, RooRoo, Edna, and little Bella. We have discovered the joys of miniature pinschers and through them met wonderful new friends like the Kims, Mendee, Clara, and Sylvia. Daily I am astonished at the wonderful people I have connected with through rescue via Facebook and this blog.
Dan and I continue to be grateful for Dr. Schuette and his staff at Kiel Vet Clinic - they take great care of our dogs (and us!) and we consider them part of our extended family. We are also fortunate to have some wonderful friends and family members who continue to support our mission and give us encouragement. Kind words and broad shoulders to cry upon are the best gifts we have received over the years!
Money continues to be a struggle, with changes in my salary due to political unrest in our state. However, I am SO thankful for a new job working with teachers, administrators, and students in my same school district where I can exercise my problem-solving skills and call upon my experience with teaching, while still learning many new things every day. I miss my students from McKinley Academy, but I remain in touch with a few of them and get to see them from time to time. Ah, more comings and goings...
I have also been fortunate to find a second freelance job that I can do from home to try to offset the reductions in my pay, and help to pay the enormous vet bills that we incur every month. We continue to have to evaluate our financial situation when called upon to take in new dogs and I wish we could do more and take more. Perhaps 2012 will be the year that we must decide whether to apply for non-profit status or scale back what we do here...I don't think that we will be able to continue in the way that we are without some help. A special thank you to those wonderful, generous folks who have sent us money and supplies this year...you have kept us able to serve the dogs that we have and enabled us to say "yes" to the last couple of dogs that we would have had to turn away.
As I look ahead to 2012, I am hopeful that we will find the resources and energy to improve our environment for the dogs and ourselves. Major projects that I hope to accomplish include some fence repair, and expanding the dog run by fencing in the horse pasture so that we have a larger area in which to walk the dogs. They so enjoy our twice daily "amblings" where everyone goes their own pace - from RooRoo, Twiggy, Mimi and Bella's full-tilt mad dashes to Ozzy and Grammie Esther's slow toddling. Our land is beautiful, and my goal is use more of it regularly.
Of course, I'd like to lose weight and get fit again, spend more time with my photography and card making, explore the roads with Baci on my moped, and enjoy time on the deck and patio conversing with Dan. Most of all, my goal is to try to find the joy in the ordinary - I live in a spectacular setting, with some of the most interesting and entertaining souls. If I am cognizant of all that I have, I hope that the joy will reveal itself to me.
Wishing you peace, love, and prosperity in 2012...

Hundenruhe Lost an Ambassa-Dog - I Lost My Heart

Olive the Other Reindeer, the best dog I've ever met, died today in my arms on the way to the vet's office for more tests. They tried, to no avail to revive her. I will never recover from her loss. I have had other heart dogs, but none like her. Olive was my best friend, my shadow, my ambassa-dog, my business partner, my lovey-alarm, Baci's big sissy, and my heart. I am empty now. I miss every dog we share our home with...but Olive was more than family and I am devastated. No Christmas miracle this year...8 years ago, four days before Christmas I picked up Olive in Atlanta from Southern Hope Rescue. She became my Christmas miracle, both for her perfection and effect on my life, but also to help me heal from a loss that happened in my life on the very day I returned home with her. Christmas will never be the same again.

Pre-Holiday Frustration

Some years I am luckier than others...every year I TRY to get a cute photo of Olive and Baci for the digital holiday card. This year, I included little Bella in the "festivities". Well, it didn't work out so well...I may or may not try again, but in the meantime, here are some of the results. Hope your attempts are more successful than mine! LOL Don't forget to click to get the whole image!

"Wait Olive and Bella!! I hear Santa's reindeer on the roof!!"

Santa's Three Helpers

Beautiful Bella

Bella: "Okay, so this Christmas thing sounds great: extra yummies, new toys, the humans are home more...but I am worried about the naughty vs. nice thing. This elf guy next to me keeps staring at me, and I heard somethin' about Santa seeing you when you're sleeping and knowing when you're awake????"

Pretty Posing Olive

Olive the Other Reindeer

"Guess what, Baci? Santa comes down the chimney!"

"No way, Olive! He comes down the chimney?!!"