Wordless Wednesday

Pilots N Paws - Round 2

Plane safely on the ground in Omaha

Taxiing in to park, right by the gate

11 puppies on board ---

1 schnauzer/maltese pup & 10 boxer/lab pups

Happy pilot --- this was his biggest transport to date

Happy co-pilot --- this was only his second rescue transport

The little white schnauzer puppy was released by a breeder, and we were thrilled to get him out of a life of continuous breeding. The ten boxer/lab puppies were confiscated by police during a domestic disturbance call, where the mama dog was already dead when they arrived on the scene.

Eleven little lives saved, thanks in part to the pilots that helped us out!

Pilots N Paws

What a great organization! This is a national group of small plane owners/pilots that offer to fly dogs to their destinations to help out rescue organizations. I had heard of them before, but our rescue had never used them. Recently that all changed, when we received our first puppy on a flight from southern Kansas.

Plane safely on the ground in Nebraska, with 3 dogs on board

Taxiing in from the runway

Parking at the gate

Sam, the pilot, with our little shepherd mix rescue puppy

(there were also two rescue boxers on the flight)

Xena, a 5 month old female shepherd mix (already adopted!)

P.S. We have another flight arriving today, with 11 rescue puppies on board!

Hawk Series

I love to take my camera to the lake by our house. No matter what time of day I go, I always find something unique to photograph. This time I watched a hawk circling overhead, and then he landed on the tip of an evergreen tree. Cautiously I approached and started taking photos. He quickly flew off, but I am thrilled with this series of photos!

Playing with Images

Recently another artist posted photos of a work in progress, and I was enamored with the technique that he was using. He starts with a piece of lightweight landscape cloth, uses a palette knife to coat it with molding paste, paints it, and then runs it through his printer and seals it. I loved the combination of an abstract painted background with a photo superimposed on the surface.

Since this is not the season for the local shops to sell landscape fabric, he generously sent me a yard of it to play with. The photos above are two that I took in our gardens, and I think they will be perfect for this technique. Stay tuned as I try it out!

Melting Snow

The weather here has been beautiful the last couple of days, and the snow and ice are melting. I stopped at the lake to take a few black & white photos. I love the stark contrast of winter trees against the white snow!

Rascal

Rascal is one of those dogs that immediately stole my heart when I saw him. His owners kept him in a crate all the time, and consequently, he was very scared of everyone and everything. He also was not housebroken.

Even though we already have a foster dog (Alize), I couldn't resist fostering Rascal, too. I knew that we have a home environment that he would thrive in. Once we got him home, he quickly got over his shyness and started approaching people with his tail wagging and giving puppy kisses. He is such a great dog! I am amazed that his owners surrendered him, rather than spending a little bit of time working with him. He has even done great on housetraining!

A Weekend of Dogs

I had a busy weekend --- photographing new rescue dogs, doing home visits for some of them, and I even managed to get a solo art exhibition hung!

This is Kashi. She is a 3 month old female Australian shepherd mix puppy. Very friendly, yet shy. She has been too sick to travel for the last month, but she is finally here.

This is Benjamin. He's a 2 year old maltese/poodle mix. His owners decided they didn't have time for him since they are expecting a new baby. They also didn't have time to housebreak him. He's super sweet and cuddly! Lucky for Benjamin we have found him a new home with 3 kids to play with him, and he will be getting adopted tonight.

This is Bella. She's a 3 year old shar-pei with beautiful coloring. She had entropion in both eyes, which has now been corrected. She's a sweet, friendly girl who deserves a better life!

This little angel is Ethel. She is an 8 year old pug, and she only has 3 teeth left. Ethel is a charmer, and everyone has fallen in love with her!

This is Raider. He's a great pyrenees mix and not even a year old yet! He loves to jump fences, and his owner didn't bother to correct the situation.

And lastly, this is Frosty. He is small yorkie mix, approximately a year and a half old. Someone dumped Frosty overnight on a night when it was below zero. Luckily he survived, and he is a favorite of everyone in the rescue!

Morning Collage #6

Here is the final collage in the series. I used a bit of the black & gray stripe from the previous collage. I also incorporated some of the green print paper from the very first collage, to tie the whole group of collages together. This is a fun challenge that I like to do every so often!

*** Please cross your fingers for Alize! I am doing a home visit this morning for a potential forever home for her, once she is healthy. They have a little 5 year old female yorkie that is about the same size as Alize, and no kids. So it sounds like it might be the perfect match for her.

Morning Collage #5

Here is the fifth collage in the series. It incorporates a slice of the black & white tree branch image from the day before, yet the feel of this collage is very different from the previous one.

And this is Frosty --- a young, male Yorkie mix. His owners dumped him in an outside fenced area of a local shelter, on a night when the temperature was below zero, and there was several inches of snow on the ground. Luckily, he survived the night, and he is now in rescue, with a warm bed and plenty of food. He is a friendly, outgoing little guy, and I love his personality!

Wordless Wednesday

Collage #4

This morning's collage uses a scrap of yesterday's red background as part of today's horizon. I think it is interesting to watch these collages develop and the different colors and themes that show up. I save a scrap from the daily collage, and the next day I start fresh with all new materials and that one scrap. I'm having fun with these!

*** Alize is doing great! She slept through the night last night, first time since her heartworm injections. She continues to have a good appetite, and she's drinking plenty of water. Plus --- we have had some interest from people wishing to adopt her when she is healthy and healed!

Collage #3

As you can see, I incorporated some of the black & white lettering from the previous collage in this morning's collage. It breaks up the background and is a nice contrast to the natural element.

*** For those of you following Alize's recovery, I had to get a refill on her pain medicine yesterday, but she had a much more restful night last night. She still doesn't understand why she can't go outside with Zeke and Mya anymore, but she is handling her confinement fairly well.

Alize & Collage 2

Here is the second warm-up collage in the series. As you can see, I used the black & white cross-hatched paper from the first collage in this second collage. This is going to be an interesting experiment, and it is one I like to repeat every now and then.

Alize is home from the vet clinic, and she is doing great so far! Here is her homecoming photo, as she models a fleece coat made for her by Katie and a fleece blanket made for her by Elaine. Both of these ladies donate their materials and skills to help rescue dogs stay comfy and warm!

New Series of Collages

Above is this morning's warm-up collage, and it is the first one in a new series of collages. Each day I plan to use something in the collage from the day before's collage. So, tomorrow morning's collage will include one of the elements from today's collage in it. I hope you enjoy watching as the series unfolds!

P.S. Krystina has left a comment on my post about her and Bentley, if you would like to read her heartwarming words.

Wordless Wednesday

Second Chances

This little puppy is Bentley. Last summer I rescued Bentley from a puppy mill auction when he was 3 months old. A rescue volunteer named Krystina fostered him for 2 months, and then he was adopted. The entire time that she fostered him Krystina begged and pleaded with her parents to let her adopt Bentley. She was totally devoted and in love with the little guy. Unfortunately, her parents said no, and Bentley was adopted by another family.

Fast forward and now Bentley is 10 months old, and I received an email from Bentley's adoptive family, saying that they were returning him to the rescue. According to them, he was not bonding with their family, and they felt like it would be best if they returned him. Little did they know that this would ultimately be the very best choice for Bentley.

As soon as Bentley's original foster mom found out that he was back in rescue, she requested an adoption application. She wasn't letting him slip through her fingers again. And this time her parents were on board with her adopting him. It was an amazing reunion when Bentley and Krystina got to see each other again after all these months!

Here's to second chances and the miracles they bring to those who grab onto them and make them count!

Winter is Here

Winter has finally arrived in the midwest. We got about a foot of snow yesterday, and everything is covered in a layer of white now. It's a beautiful scene, but I'm glad I didn't have to drive in it yesterday!

Alize

When I saw this photo of tiny Alize in a high kill shelter, I knew I had to try to save her. She was picked up as a stray, and no one came to claim her. Then they found out that she is heartworm positive, and that was a death sentence for her. But it made me more determined to get her out of there!

This is little Alize now, after two baths and trimming all the mats off her. She is so sweet, but very sick. At her vet appointment, tests showed that not only is she heartworm positive, but she has infections in both ears, a urinary tract infection, and 3 HUGE stones in her bladder. I can't even imagine the pain this little one must be in! Yet she is always friendly and sweet!

This is the x-ray of her stones. They are the marshmallow-like objects right above the lettering. They completely fill her bladder, so she has no urine control right now. She is on ear drops, plus an antibiotic for the urinary infection, and a prescription diet that will hopefully reduce the size of the stones. Until her heartworm treatment is done (one month), she is not a candidate for surgery. So please say a few prayers that her special diet starts to work on these stones and relieves her pain. Alize is only 2 years old and 4 pounds!

Collage and Craziness

Above is another morning collage. I seem to vacillate between neutrals and bursts of color in my collages. Sometime I should note my mood as I create these. I would guess that there is a direct correlation.

Our home is about to get crazy! Yesterday we took in a little 4# female yorkie as our new foster. This little dog is so sick, yet so incredibly sweet! She has a urinary infection, and she's heartworm positive. When she arrived, she was filthy, matted all the way to her skin, and her ears were disgusting inside. It took two baths to get the smell off her! Through all that, she stayed friendly, even though she was very scared. Today I will be taking her to the vet to get her on the road to good health.

And tomorrow, we are accepting a second foster --- a little silky terrier puppy. We really didn't plan to have two fosters at once, but no one else has volunteered yet, and this little guy is way too scared to go to a boarding facility. So, he will stay here until we find another foster or someone adopts him. Say a few prayers that I survive 4 little dogs underfoot around here!