August Already?

As you might have noticed, I have a new design up for the blog! Tell me what you think about it. I like it because it’s pretty clean and easy to navigate. I’m still working on getting a logo for the site and I just threw that little one together for now.

Charity (the little Chi) is doing well. Sherri is bringing her to my house tomorrow and then the next day I take her to get measured for a doggy wheelchair. I also ordered her little boots for her back feet because she drags them around and they’ve gotten a little raw.

I was reading advice/tips for bloggers and it was stressing that you shouldn’t stop writing posts because you feel your blog design isn’t complete yet. I’ve been doing exactly that…spending months stressing over how to have the perfect website, while forgetting to write about all my experiences with dogs.

Things that I’ve experienced in the last month that I haven’t yet written about: helping bail out a dog with a basketball-sized tumor, adopting out a Chi-mix that a friend found, visiting a pug that I adopted out 2 years ago, killing a horse-fly that was preying on a camel, and probably a lot more.

Does anyone still read this blog? Let me know!

Charity’s Video Update #1

Charity’s Supporters

Thank you so much to everyone who has e-mailed me and/or sent donations for Charity.
It’s amazing that over 1,400 individuals have now viewed her video on YouTube.

I’ve often questioned if one person can really make a difference and these recent events have really proved to me how powerful and necessary it is to always take a risk. We were convinced after we met with the veterinarian that for Charity’s sake, it was best to end her life.

I took that small step of filming her that day and creating the video, and now the response has been overwhelming. It also gave us a chance to let Charity cruise around Sherri’s house and strengthen her front leg muscles. She gets around faster than some rescue dogs with 4 working legs! She gives NO signs of being in pain–and now we are waiting for her wheelchair to arrive from Massachusetts.

We’ve had offers from one sanctuary and one independent rescuer to adopt Charity and give her a great home for life. Now we’re figuring out what is in her best interest and how we could ever say goodbye to such a little angel.

Thanks again and I’m going to post more updates and pictures soon.

Donations for Charity

Please find below a measure of our donation collections for Charity–We don’t have a “goal” amount yet, because right now her cost are still unknown. We know we already need at least $500 to purchase a wheelchair and pay for her medical bills. However, we will also have costs associated with further checkups and transportation to potential adopters/vet specialists etc.

(Hmmm…The Donation meter isn’t working anymore…We’ll have to fix that!)

If you need to make a payment by check or via PayPal, then please contact me directly via the contact form.Tax-deductible donations can only be made via check and will go through the non-profit group PoochHeaven.
Please contact me using the form on the sidebar to make a tax-deductible donation.Thanks!
Jon

Charity the Chihuahua

Please watch the following video…

My “Dear” Readers

For all my readers, I have some disturbing interesting statistics about what kind of visitors this blog attracts.

There is a tool in the administration panel for this blog that allows me to see which websites direct visitors to my blog.  If the visitors come from a search engine like Google, I can see the actual search terms they used to find my blog.  My blog has such a vast array of content that despite being about dog rescue,I get many visitors that are looking to get rid of their dogs.

Here are recent search ‘strings’ that lead to my blog:
"giving away a dog"
"giving away a family dog"
"euthanize a dog by shooting"
"giving away your dog"
"how to save dogs"
"rescue dogs"
"jessica biel puppy"
"old dog vertigo"

There is one nice thing in store for those who find my blog while trying to give away their dog…they often land on this page of my blog, which happens to be one of my all-time favorite (and most commented-on) posts.

peace & love,
jon

The Great Outdoors

I’m working on the look and feel for my new site and trying to figure out which blog software to use.

I like the Typepad service, but it is a bit of an unnecessary expense since I have a web host that I pay for already.  I might as well use a free Blog script like WordPress or even MovableType (an opensource version of Typepad).  Either way, my blog will be moving to it’s own domain.

I now have a surprise for everyone…my first YouTube video featuring ME!
I hope you enjoy it!

Coming soon…

A brand new blog.
All new domain…

A lot more is on the horizon.

Stay tuned for more info.
Leave me a comment too–it’s getting lonely around here.

How’s Life?

I can’t believe how the time flies.
I’ve been very bored busy with work and it’s been hard to keep up in the dog rescue world.

My friend gave birth to a baby girl in North Carolina and I was in the delivery room…the birth was on March 1st.  It was amazing to see newborn life, for the first time, taking in the world and looking us all in the eyes.

Some of you know that I’m in the Web Design business and I’ve been plotting ways to venture into the Pet business again.  Even if I have to be a Vet’s assistant for awhile, I think I’d enjoy being around animals again enough to justify a lower salary.  In the long run I still need to find a way to make money and be around animals.

Thanks again to everyone who continues to read my blog–I’d love to hear your stories and post them–which will help me during times where I don’t have free time to write my own!  Keep your love for the animals!

Below is a great video from YouTube (it’s a bit long…) It shows a baby and dog that grow up together.

The Pitbull Problem

A video that has changed my outlook:  Click Here