Blog The Change

 ANNOUNCEMENTS
The humans at Pets Teach Us So Much featured us in their blog for Pet Blogger Support Saturday! Check it out! They also mentioned us in their radio show this past Thursday. Thanks you guys!
Don't forget Sammy-Joe's First Giveaway (for cats... but if you're a dog who wants a cat toy, feel free to enter!)  

Hi everyone! This is our first time ever participating in Blog The Change For Animals. We've decided to use this day to support our favorite pet rescue organization, Almost Home Foundation.

Some of you may have heard Trixie's story before, but we'll let her tell it again for the occasion. 

Trixie: "I don't remember much about when I was a puppy. All I know was, by the time I was nine months old, I was surviving on my own in the woods somewhere in southern Illinois... with a litter of puppies! Someone found me and took me to a local pound. All of my puppies found homes quickly, because they were so little and cute. But not me! Even though I was still a puppy myself, nobody took me home!

Sitting in a cage in the pound, I was a wreck. I was skinny and dirty. I had a skin infection that was really itchy, and  I had a severe ear infection that hurt so much! Nobody was helping me! There was a reason why. I had only a few days left before I would be put to sleep, to make room in the pound for other unwanted dogs. Nine months old, and my life was already about to end!

That's where Almost Home Foundation come in. Some volunteers came to the pound, looking for dogs who could use a second chance. They took me! They brought me all the way to a Petsmart in Bloomingdale, Illinois. When we got there, there were so many people and dogs walking around, I didn't know what was going on!

People kept passing my leash from one person to the other. Finally two humans said they were taking me home! They talked so nicely to me and petted me and told me everything was going to be alright. 

And you know what? It was alright! The humans, who turned out to be the people I know now as Mama and Gramma, brought me to their nice, warm, clean house. The first thing they did was give me a bath in the tub. Within days, they also took me to the vet and got medicine for my skin condition and my ear infection!

Okay, the bath, the trip to the vet, and the yucky ear medicine Gramma and Mama poured into my ears was not so good. But in the end it worked out because it felt good to be clean, my skin stopped itching, and my ears started to feel better! (Although, to this day, I have very sensitive ears and I hate loud noises.) 

Best of all, I had love! Mama, Gramma and Grampa petted me, played with me, talked to me, and fed me. I was the happiest dog in the world!"

Even though our Mama doesn't usually talk on this blog, we thought we'd give her a chance to tell her side of the story.  Mama?

Mama: "We had a dog named Chopper who was such a special, wonderful dog. We had adopted her from the shelter when I was 15 years old, and she was the love of my life! When she died, of cancer, in October of 2007, my heart was broken. I couldn't live without Chopper! There was a huge, gaping hole in our house.

I felt like getting another dog would help fill up the sadness in the house. My mom said we were not getting another dog. But her boss, Judy, worked with Almost Home Foundation, and she convinced my mom to try fostering a dog. Judy had a dog in mind... a gentle, shaggy, scruffy nine-month-old dog called "Julia."

We went to Petsmart to meet the dogs. There were tons of dogs there, and people kept handing us one dog or another, and then taking the dogs back because they were meant to go with other people. Finally someone handed us the leash of this gentle, shaggy, scruffy puppy! 

"Julia" was such a good dog, from the beginning. She just seemed happy to be with us, from the time we put her in the car, to the time we brought her in the house! She was happy to play, and would bounce around and chase her tail all the time. She just seemed to enjoy being in the house and getting attention so much... and she patiently put up with us pouring medicine into her poor, infected ears several times a day. You could tell it hurt her when we did it, but she'd just lay there, gazing at us. 

Foster parents are supposed to bring their foster pets to the adoption shows every Saturday, so that they can work on getting homes. Well, by the end of the week, I was begging my mom to let Julia stay! She had made herself at home here. She felt like our dog. I couldn't imagine maybe never seeing her again! To my relief, my dad was on my side... and finally, my mom agreed! 

We changed her name to Trixie. It seemed to suit her. And she is still one of the best dogs I've ever known. She's so gentle, and so sweet. I love her with all my heart."

Our Mama now volunteers with Almost Home Foundation every Saturday, as a dog handler. She helps dogs like Bermuda, who we interviewed last weekend, to find homes. Mama says there are lots of great things about Almost Home Foundation. Want to hear them?

• Most of the animals (cats, too!) are in foster homes, not a kennel. There are some pets that are being cared for in a private kennel (not a shelter) while they wait for homes, but most are living in foster homes. This way, the foster families can really learn about the pets' personalities and needs, and work with them on training. When you adopt a pet from Almost Home Foundation, there is someone who has lived with that pet for a while and knows a ton about them, like whether they're okay with little kids, whether they're already house trained, whether they're okay with other animals, their energy level, etc.
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• All of the Almost Home pets get spayed or neutered, and microchipped. That is covered in the adoption fee. They want to make sure that these pets don't get lost and end up as strays, and that they don't produce even more homeless pets! 
• Almost Home Foundation carefully screens the people who want to adopt a pet. At a pet store, anyone can just wander in and buy a pet. With Almost Home, they have to fill out an application. They have to undergo a home visit to make sure that they don't have fifty other animals in their backyard or anything like that. 
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• If you adopt a pet from Almost Home Foundation, they ask you to bring the pet back if you ever decide to "get rid of" the pet. They don't want any of these pets ending up back in the pound, waiting to be put to sleep, or sold to someone who doesn't know anything about pets, or something. A pet from Almost Home Foundation will always have somewhere to go back to, if worst comes to worst. 
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• Almost Home Foundation tries really hard to match people with the right pets. For instance, a lot of people think they want chihuahuas, because they've seen chihuahuas in movies and in the Taco Bell commercials and stuff. Someone may be able to just walk into a pet store and buy a chihuahua. But at Almost Home Foundation, they make sure the people know the individual dog's special needs, and what exactly they're getting into. If someone has small children who are going to be really hands-on with a dog, maybe a chihuahua isn't the best choice, or maybe there's a particular chihuahua that is great with kids. 

• Almost Home Foundation is all volunteer run!

If you live in the Chicago suburbs, and you are looking to adopt a dog or cat, or you're interested in being a foster parent to a dog or cat, or you'd like a volunteer job, please contact Almost Home Foundation!

No matter where you live, please always think "adoption" when you're ready to add a pet to your home. There are so many dogs, cats and other pets waiting for homes! Check Petfinder.com to find the exact pet you're looking for.

Finally, here is a video our Mama made a long time ago in honor of Trixie and Almost Home Foundation.




Thanks for visiting us for Blog The Change! We hope we've made a difference today! 

Love,
Trixie, Lily and Sammy-Joe