tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50145217848635169962025-08-16T23:50:37.079-07:00Tips, Tales & Trends for the Rescue-Friendly Pet Owner, by Writer Jen BloodJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-63039507716463866722010-11-25T05:40:00.001-08:002011-08-04T17:39:48.111-07:00

It's been a month of madness on the home front, between juggling day jobs and night jobs and writing jobs and teaching jobs... So many jobs, so little time. But I'm pleased to announce that as of last night, I finished the last of the editing for our Youthlinks issue of Downeast Dog News, which will come out at the beginning of December. Over the course of the eight weeks that I was working with

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-72334823360051834592010-10-22T08:20:00.000-07:002010-10-22T09:13:32.283-07:00

Being a kid in the 1970s, Sesame Street was a childhood fixture. One of the themes they were forever emphasizing on the Street was one that continues to play a crucial role in the success of our endeavors as adults: cooperation. In the world of pet pantries, where I have been immersed over the past several days, this concept is particularly crucial. When Alyce Pincoske of the Pet Food Pantry of

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-66271545016699171592010-10-19T18:22:00.000-07:002010-10-19T19:21:57.109-07:00

Today, we had our first outing with Downeast Dog 2.0, the high school team putting together the December issue of Downeast Dog News. Up to this point, it's been a lot of me standing in front of the classroom babbling about how great being a journalist is, and then forcing my intrepid reporters to look things up online. Last week, we had a small presentation by DDN publisher Wendi Smith, designer

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-8725281641091098812010-10-18T05:25:00.000-07:002010-10-20T06:31:33.568-07:00

On a cold day last February, I rented a car and make the trek to Fairfield, Maine, to do a story on their local Pet Food Pantry for Downeast Dog News. While there, I was alternately amused, impressed, and charmed by the interaction between the dozen or so volunteers who keep this little pantry going in an area that has been particularly hard-hit by the struggling Maine economy. Now, nine months

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-68158044277410511092010-10-17T09:19:00.000-07:002010-10-18T09:39:07.160-07:00

For our final post to close out a week with the Humane Society of Knox County, I thought I'd take a look at some of the programs this great organization offers. Since 1989, the Humane Society of Knox County has sponsored innovative fundraising and educational programs to keep going in an economically challenged area. Here are three great programs the organization offers to the midcoast Maine area

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-7368147901204343682010-10-16T14:28:00.000-07:002010-10-16T16:51:25.142-07:00

To close out my week featuring the Humane Society of Knox County in Rescue ME, I spent the afternoon chilling with some of my very favorite people and pets. HSKC is home to nearly two hundred cats at the moment, between those housed at the shelter and those kept in foster homes, as well as between fifteen and twenty dogs at any given time. They also house rabbits, parakeets, guinea pigs, and just

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-19121989420076655622010-10-16T07:07:00.001-07:002010-10-16T07:38:56.771-07:00

Over the last couple of years, my mom has taken to providing a sort of retirement home for some lucky old lady cat or other - first with Seraphina, a lanky, funny black and white cat who was with my mom for eighteen years before she passed over the Rainbow Bridge about a year and a half ago. Then came Gabby, a cantankerous old calico who had belonged to my sister-in-law; when they had kids and

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-61550331482420053532010-10-14T09:26:00.000-07:002010-10-14T10:03:34.649-07:00

My mom is one of those people who is wasted in corporate America - she was born to be a toymaker. Since my nieces were born a few years ago, she's devoted her spare time to elaborate and innovative projects for the girls every Christmas, including a miniature dance studio, a "Mouse House" for a character named Millie Mouse - complete with a homemade board book my mom wrote and illustrated with

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-10491613957101439592010-10-13T06:32:00.000-07:002010-10-14T07:01:39.611-07:00

Less than a month ago, I wrote this post about Maddie, an adorable pup who had been at the Humane Society of Knox County for over two years, waiting for her forever home. The problem with Maddie, it turns out, was that this sweet girl had gotten very, very comfortable with her life at HSKC. She went for outings, got lots of visitors, participated in the Youthlinks Run-a-Hound program, and even

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-74200129668215565712010-10-11T08:01:00.001-07:002010-10-11T08:42:32.582-07:00

On Saturday, I had an opportunity to mosey on over to the Humane Society of Knox County, one of the local shelters here in midcoast Maine. As is usually the case, things were hopping. As soon as I walked through the door, I heard a series of feeble, high-pitched "eep-eeps." Theresa Gargan, the shelter director, quickly summoned me over to a cat carrier, where four newborn kittens were nestled

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-76370798768865032552010-10-09T08:03:00.000-07:002010-10-09T08:36:34.818-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, I had another opportunity to hang at the Maine Greyhound Placement Service - this time to get some photos and video footage of their beautiful charges. When I was there last, the Canine Carnival had everyone hopping; this time, I had an opportunity to speak at length with Jess, a vet tech who interned with MGPS before recently coming on board as an official member of the

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-5438917577940500862010-10-07T06:58:00.001-07:002010-10-07T07:55:03.151-07:00

A few people have asked for pictures of some of the animals I mentioned in an interview I did recently on NPR, about my time living at Clean Slate Animal Rescue, an animal rescue that I founded with a man who was later arrested for animal hoarding. The video clip I have included here is of the Kentucky elementary school where Dave and I set up Clean Slate after moving from Oregon. In this clip,

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-64297066462642359142010-10-06T09:36:00.001-07:002010-10-06T12:35:52.566-07:00

As the holiday season approaches all too quickly, it's time to start the age-old process of agonizing over who gets what. This year, however, instead of giving gifts that will be cast aside and easily forgotten, consider shopping early for something that will leave a lasting impression - not only for you, but for those who might benefit from the goods your hard-earned dollars have purchased. Here

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-54804491331706875032010-10-05T05:42:00.000-07:002010-10-06T09:25:24.426-07:00

The first week on my own on an Oregon farm in the summer of 2006, I was caring for a batch of kittens my partner had "rescued" from a high-kill shelter in northern California. My partner, Dave, had gone back to California - I was alone with twenty dogs and about twenty cats, along with cows, llamas, chickens, a goat named Seymour and a sheep named Cornelius. My days were filled with chores -

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-72422995026120495782010-10-04T11:55:00.001-07:002010-10-04T12:50:17.811-07:00

Each week at the Dogged Writer website, I'll be featuring a different animal rescue or animal welfare organization around the state of Maine. This week, I visited the Canine Carnival, held by the Maine Greyhound Placement Service on their 13-acre farm. Though saddled with a spine-tingling history and allegedly haunted even now, the home of Maine Greyhound Placement Services is an unmistakably

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-53994134563818009872010-10-02T05:32:00.000-07:002010-10-02T05:33:29.023-07:00

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-11672647713362700642010-09-29T07:48:00.000-07:002010-09-29T08:51:26.122-07:00

On Monday, I drove to Portland to do an interview with Dick Gordon of NPR's The Story, relating my year and a half living in Oregon and Kentucky with anywhere from 75 to 110 animals with my former partner, who was later convicted of 295 counts of animal cruelty when 362 animals were found in the same Kentucky elementary school where we once ran Clean Slate Animal Rescue together. To say the

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-56181843636707311322010-09-26T07:08:00.000-07:002010-09-29T07:47:22.159-07:00

On Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure of being able to wander from my humble home and meander up the road to the old Thomaston Academy lawn, where the Humane Society of Knox County had assembled for their annual fundraiser, Fur n' Foliage. HSKC is our local shelter, consisting of a small but very committed force of staff and volunteers who care for the wayward pets who rely on them for their

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-25351095257230959682010-09-25T05:56:00.001-07:002010-09-25T05:59:49.037-07:00

I know it's everywhere now and it's been shared by every dog-lovin' superfreak from here to Timbuktu, but I still loooooove this video. And, of course, always a fan of OKGo!

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-33815580730823136242010-09-22T04:42:00.000-07:002010-09-22T06:23:33.304-07:00

Maddie will have been at the Humane Society of Knox County for a year this October. That's a long time for anyone, but when you consider that for pups, one human year is equivalent to seven dog years, it becomes clear: Maddie needs a home. The reason this sweet girl has been at HSKC for so long is simple, really - she's a high-energy, intelligent dog who would likely do best in a single-dog

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-70820620300629350832010-09-21T05:29:00.000-07:002010-09-21T06:31:58.026-07:00

I only learned of the Blogpaws' Be the Change for Pets challenge yesterday, and was especially excited to find out about this week's big focus: Adopt A Less-Adoptable Pet Week. I've worked and volunteered in shelters for most of my adult life, and so have had the extraordinary privilege of meeting a whole lot of so-called "Less Adoptable" pets: the dogs who've gone a bit grey at the muzzle,

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-25832771741768262992010-09-20T14:48:00.000-07:002010-09-20T19:14:42.267-07:00

Over the weekend, a friend e-mailed me this link posted by Kimi Peck, who has been under investigation numerous times for animal hoarding in southern California. Her questionable activities have been documented on a couple of different sites, most notably the website Save the Chihuahuas. Though the content of Ms. Peck's letter in general is a little, shall we say off-center, it was one comment in

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-20431956418922484342010-09-18T06:04:00.000-07:002010-09-19T06:44:45.872-07:00

This has been around for a while, but I just discovered it personally and thought it was a perfect feature for this Cinema Saturday.

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-20487873907121262462010-09-14T08:19:00.001-07:002010-09-14T19:17:16.516-07:00

The following is an excerpt from my memoir-in-progress, Cats in the Cradle and Bullies in the Belfry, detailing the year-and-a-half that I spent with a man later convicted of animal hoarding, when he was found with 362 animals - some alive, some dead - in an elementary school he purchased in Kentucky when we were still together. It is my hope that by telling some of these stories, other

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014521784863516996.post-49136913218154387182010-09-13T16:16:00.000-07:002010-09-13T16:54:50.083-07:00

For the first couple of years living with my mutts, I avoided all manner of plant life. It just seemed like too much hassle - as border collie mixes, my guys tend to get into anything and everything that seems even remotely interesting. A real live tree growing in our living room? It seemed like a recipe for disaster. This summer, however, I decided that I'd had enough of my fern-free existence.

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01045451695527304319noreply@blogger.com0