More 3/8" ribbon

The corresponding number is UNDERNEATH the picture.

927

980

870

860

730

600

520

Have a heart for Valentine!

Designer collars for your pooch or kitty with 100% of the proceeds benefitting a less fortunate dog...what more could you ask for??

A few details:
- All webbing and plastic hardware will be black.
- Collars include a welded stainless steel d-ring and a small snap bolt to hold tags.
- Cat collars offered in 3/8" width come with a breakaway clasp and a bell.
- Please contact me for prices on martingale collars, harnesses or leashes.
- Collars are washable. I recommend using your machine's gentle cycle or the top rack of your dishwasher.

Sizes offered:
X-small (3/8" or 1/2" wide) 8" - 12"
Small (3/4" wide) 9" - 13"
Medium (3/4" or 1" wide) 12" - 17"
Large (1" or 1 1/2"wide) 15" - 24"
X-large (1" or 1 1/2" wide) 24"+ - please specify size



Ribbons offered:

Ribbons 1 - 7 (solid grosgrain ribbon with overlay of 5/16" ribbon):

Ribbons 8 - 15 (woven decorative ribbon):

Ribbons 16 - 19 (woven decorative ribbon for smaller width webbing):

Prices (prices include first class shipping via USPS):

X-small - $12 (please specify cat or dog)

Small - $15

Medium - $15

Large - $17 (add $3 for ribbon choices 8-15, add $3 for 1 1/2" wide webbing)

X-large - $20 (add $3 for ribbon choices 8-15, add $3 for 1 1/2" wide webbing)

Please email the following information to me at crazydoglady6@yahoo.com to order:

Collar size (include width and specify if it's for a cat)

Ribbon selection

Name

Mailing address

I accept paypal and my account is under the email given above.

Thanks!

Valentine update

My vet can mend her body, but only time will heal her broken spirit.

Weeks like this are the reason...

I should NEVER own a gun. Just when I actually start trying to be a better person, I get hit with this. Nutshell story: I get an email about a Boxer and her pups that someone needs to surrender. Great! I've got TONS of Boxer rescue contacts! I've been told several different stories of the dog's past and why she needs to be surrendered, but at this point it doesn't matter. What does matter, is that the dog could not be less of a Boxer if she tried. Seriously.

Yeah, I'm no rocket scientist, but I know a pit bull when I see one. I scrambled to find her a temporary foster home, arranged vet care and started contacting rescue groups to see if anyone could help. I was supposed to have her surrendered to me this weekend. And then my phone rings yesterday.

I find out that "the dog is really sick and I need to take her to the vet." What about the puppies? "Oh, we gave them all away." So matter-of-fact. So no-big-deal. Did I mention that the puppies were only FOUR WEEKS OLD?? They were still nursing you fvcking idiot!! THEY'RE ONLY FOUR WEEKS OLD!!

I gave the blasted girl directions to my vet's office, told her that I would call ahead and cover the expense, and that she would NOT be getting this dog back. Long dramatic story short, she surrendered the dog to the vet and left. And if I EVER meet this girl or her loser boyfriend face to face...well, I hope they let me blog from jail.

We're calling her Valentine. The good news is she's heartworm negative, saving her a harsh treatment and me about $500. That's where the good news ends.

She's depressed from losing her puppies, has a painful case of mastitis because she's no longer nursing, has whipworms, has unexplained elevated kidney functions and per her x-rays has, at one time or another, been shot full of bb's. I. Am. So. Angry.

I guess there is one more good thing...dogs are resiliant. And in spite of her sad past, and all the poking and prodding from the vet, Valentine still lets anyone who stops at her kennel pat her on the head. She hasn't barked, growled, or even whined - not when they drew blood, not when they manually palpated her uterus, not when they trimmed her nails and not when they take turns holding warm compresses to her belly. She never even flinches.

She's much more forgiving than I will EVER be.

Snow?!

Three to six inches? Here?? Tonight?!

My right eye is doing this funny little twitching thing...as best I recall, that started sometime around March 1993...when central Alabama was covered in 12"+ of snow. And our power was out for the better part of a week. I think it's a mild form of post traumatic stress syndrome...

God, please let this be the sort of snow that only sticks on the grass and is all melted by early morning. I have things to do tomorrow!!

FAQ

Q. You drive STRAIGHT thru from Alabama to New Hampshire?

A. Well, there aren't many hotels that will allow ONE dog, much less 25+! Besides, the longer it takes to get there, the more you have to clean up once you're there.

Q. How do you stay awake that long?

A. You don't. That's why we travel in pairs. One drives while the other (ideally) sleeps. I'm lucky that I can generally sleep anywhere, any time in any position. My problem is staying awake! Caffeine, sugar, energy drinks...all good too.

Q. How do you stand all the barking?!

A. You generally have a few that bark when you stop (for gas, food, etc) and a few that bark when you start back up. And if you have younger pups sharing a carrier, you get the occasional "altercation." For the most part though, it's perfectly quiet. Of course it never hurts to have a few tranquilizers on hand...

Q. How do manage to walk that many dogs?

A. We don't. Yes, in a perfect world we would walk them all several times during the 20+ hour trip, but that would turn it into a 50+ hour trip. We take out the ones we can get to and clean up the crates that need to be cleaned up. Aside from that, our job is to get them to New Hampshire as safe and as fast as possible.

Q. How do you stand the smell?!

A. You clean up what you can, spray a bit of Febreeze and get used to what's left.

Humane Society of Greater Nashua

Nashua is one of the smaller shelters that our Humane Society partners with. It's also one of the greatest! They have an entire team of volunteers who assemble to meet each transport - all we have to do is unlock the van doors and get out of the way. They each had a printout of all our passengers and their kennel assignments so as soon as they were handed a dog, they knew exactly what to do.

This is the little pet cemetary in front of the shelter - most of the headstones are buried in the snow.

The back of the van was stacked with two rows of three crates. A litter of four red/blue ticks were in the large carrier on the bottom left. Most of the other crates had two dogs in each. We had a total of 32 in the van.

The view from the side door. We don't usually have these two carriers here, but since Whitney and I have made the trip several times, we were comfortable with the van being totally packed. Behind these two crates are two rows (up and down) of five crates.

First stop for the pups was the outdoor kennels that were just finished in the fall. This gave everyone a chance to...well...you know...see the post below with the subject, "The proverbial yellow snow"! They also got to play a bit, though they were moved in quickly since their feet aren't accustomed to the snow and ice yet.

This is the smallest of the red/blue tick litter. He's also the smartest - standing on the planks to keep his feet out of the snow!

This is Marlene - sweet little girl. She rode in the very back with a view out the window.

Tanner wasn't too sure about the cold...I think he just wanted a belly scratch.

And here he is inside on his new blanket - all toasty warm! He shares a run with snaggletooth Buddy below.

The proverbial yellow snow...

Under the influence...

of Dunkin' Donuts Munchkins and those little 4-hour energy drinks! Yowza!

We're somewhere in the depths of Connecticut (on our way to Nashua, NH), it's my turn to sleep and I'm too cracked out.

We're travelling with 33 dogs - there is not one single space open in the back. They're stacked two high and two deep. If we're driving the distance, we might as well take all the passengers we can.

Oh, and we just dropped off a cat that we picked up last night in Virginia - she's been riding shotgun.

Oooo, there's Waterbury, CT - that gives us about two hours to the shelter. Must. Sleep.

The REAL Ruby

"Hey Miss Kristi! Hey! Why do you always call me Crazy Ruby? Huh? Why? Huh? Huh? Why?" - Ruby

I don't know who all reads this blog...

but if you know me from the good old days of Minor High School, I've just learned that Casey Black was diagnosed with stomach cancer a few weeks ago. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Casey's CaringBridge site:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/caseyblack

One year ago today...

my heart broke. We miss you Pepper. Still.

A cat named Meatball

What else do you name a cat weighing in at 16lbs?! We've been feeding Meatball for quite some time, not really sure if he belongs to a neighbor or is just the "neighborhood cat." Either way, when I found him outside last week on the night that it was 12 degrees...well, he became MY cat.

He's currently shacked up in our front bathroom and it's driving our dogs absolutely crazy!

Know anyone looking for a great house cat??

Wally!!

Wally was our foster back in early 2006 - nutshell version: a friend of Brandon's called to let us know that one of their neighbors had moved away and left their 8-9 month old dog behind. Um, yeah...he was actually closer to 10 WEEKS old...he was just a HUGE 22lbs!

Long story short, he was adopted a couple of months later and now lives in Manhattan! Quite a step up from the Walker County trailer park, wouldn't you say?!