Helping create "happily ever afters."

Update

2009-03-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Currently our family is taking a break from fostering due to being at MAX capacity! With 4 kids (14,13, 9 & 1) .life is busy. We share our home with 4 dogs, Windsor (see old archieves Feb 08), Carin, Bailey and Duke and 6 cats. All of our companion animals are rescued and we are grateful for them in our lives. As you can see Windsor (Wubby) loves his kitty buddy Danny.
To stay up to date with me please follow our other blogs! Dogs & Storks and Family Paws
As for Windsor....life is good and he is learning the rules to be safer once baby arrives in July. Preparing ahead is what we do. We are proud of Windsor and the example he sets. Although he still struggles to accept new people in his life, we have made great strides! Windsor is the poster dog for the National Canine Research Council to illustrate the difference between a resident dog and family dog. For the most accurate info on dog news and stats please bookmark NCRC

We also encourage you to check out author Ken Foster as if you love rescue you MUST read his terrific books!

Great story about Great dogs!

2009-01-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6625698
We must learn to accept each dog based on their individual behavior not a label and misinformation. Generalizing breeds, people or anything never gets us in a good place.

Dog and baby ...preparing and planning.

2009-01-26T17:41:00.000-08:00

Purchase yours today!

Jagar

2008-10-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

Here is an updated photo of Jagar our foster girl. She is available for adoption through Marley's cat tales

Hope

2008-09-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Stephanie is also near and dear to Windsor and Danny.

Marley's Cat tales 2009 Calendar preview!

2008-09-23T07:28:00.001-07:00

Check out our foster girl Jagar with Mr February!

Check out Windsor with Mr January!
Photos by:
Aimee Bickers at
Pure Expressions Photography
1500 Town Side Drive, Suite 104
Apex, NC 27502

update

2008-08-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

It has been too long and I am sorry. Between vacation, fungus and life....welll... what can one say.

We went away for a week on vacation and still have one foster kitten. Miss Jag. What a total love. :) This past weekend Jag had a high fever and was not walking well. She suddenly was very lethargic and we were VERY concerned. I am pleased to say that after 2 vet trips and lots of tlc with round the clock dropper feeding fluids....the girl is back to her usual active self. Jag is one of the most amazing kittens I have ever known. If she does not soon capture the heart of someone she will surely be tempting our family. I have had to bathe this girl many times due to the ringworm. I have also had to hold her to dropper feed her fluids, take her temp and many other things. In the end, this girl still manages to look up into my eyes and reach her paw up to touch my face. She, like her Mother Mazey has a very special way of communicating with you deep to your soul. She gazes deep and touches your face gently and it is a beatiful and most loving exchange. This group of kittens truly has been an aMAZing group. Jag is a true gift and will bring a family so much joy with her special ability to offer a sense of peace and so so much love..

Fungus it's amoung us...that's why we love....

2008-07-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

Yepper...when it comes to fostering kittens ya gotta know that fungus is a potential. RINGWORM is the dreaded R word in the fostering world and GEEEsh we have not had a litter of kittens in ages and sure enough on spay day our DR R saw a spot on mama mazey and said she thought it could be the Big R but it had fuzzed over quickly. Well then Jaggar came down with it and now lennon. So.....as we speak.....my german shepherd Duke and my son have a spot of it. What a pain. So, What do you do? SCREAM, CRY HAVE TANTRUMS AND CLEAN YOUR BUNS OFF!
I also find myself creating "moldies but gooodies" little ditties we sing around the house. Here are some of our favorites you may find yourself singing them too:
Fungus....it's amoungus....that's why we love sulfur dip. (to the tune of Neastly cruntch)
Ahhhh and then a love song.......
2 spores....2 spores that meet as one....our fungus has just begun.....My fungal love......( to the tune of My Endless love)
Oh and who can resist
I think I wanna know ya oooooooo fungal love.....ohdi ohdi oh...(Jungle love)
So for anyone else out there experiencing this wonderful fungal experience of Fungal love.....please know that you are not alone and we share the pain and itch together! The joys of the dip....love the smell, the smells of bleach and the constent cleaning. Ahhh what a joy. But...this too shall pass! RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updates! Long overdue!

2008-07-29T06:06:00.001-07:00

Ok, so we have updates for ya!

Here is the first. I have to apologize as life gets in the way sometimes and blogging falls short at times. Windsor's former owners had his day in court and we are pleased with the outcome. YEAH BOY! Thank you again to everyone who helped save the life of this amazing boy. He is forever grateful and we adore him. There are many more Windsor's out there and we need others to be brave and step up and do the right thing so don't be afraid to make the call if something feels wrong. Thank you!

Foster dog in a cat's home

2008-06-25T16:02:00.001-07:00

This foster teleconference we covered foster dogs in a cat's home. How to introduce, include, cat scan and play it safe in general. Listen in and send your topic ideas for upcoming calls!

MP3 File

SURPRISE!

2008-06-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ok so .....identifying the sex of kittens is NOT easy. I leave that up to others and well, we were surprised on Spay day to learn that our 5 (thought to be boys ...elton, lennon,McCartney,Ringo and Jag) are girls and Paige is a the only boy! Wow...what a shock1 We are going through a bit of idenity crisis and figuring out how to resolve the names. LOL! The good news is that Elton.....my favorite caught the eye and captured the heart of the vet and is ADOPTED! Not surprising as she is stunning! Now to just rename or rethink the nicknames of the others. They are so much fun.

Positive Press! YEAH MORE MORE!

2008-06-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91769901&sc=emaf

Kayleigh with windsor and duke

2008-06-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

Breed or deed? (Sorry but, it's my blog and I must rant!)

2008-06-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

I bet most of you did not hear about the 1 month old baby who had his genitals removed by his dog over the weekend? An awful preventable accident and a life changing one for this family that noone should ever go through. Oddly enough.....only 6 articles (as of this am) total on google about this story. Why??????? Because the dog was not a PIT BULL. The
http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=8497320act act was horrific the damage was tragic and the end result was life changing. Maybe some male reporters were too sqeemish at the thought of a dogs teeth and their male parts to cover this one???? Or maybe (more likely) the fact that it was (reported to be) a six-month-old Poodle/Cairn Terrier and not a pit bull just made it non news worthy. I am so sad for this little boy who has been changed for life. I am sure the actions of the dog not the breed of the dog will be what impacts his life. This story could have impacted many by providing educational opportunities about supervision and reinforcing safety. This is an example of the intentions of the media......to fuel a frenzy and hysteria instead of providing the public with helpful information. The ONLY way to stop this type of situation from happening is education NOT creating hysteria over one type of dog over another. Education about safety around dogs is the only way to decrease dog bites.

Facts or Frenzy? What matters more?

2008-06-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

Within an hour of this incident the reports started flooding the media outlets. Watch how quickly things spin out of control! I have posted the true facts from the NCRC (the national canine research council)
http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/media1.asp
For accurate and up to date in formation on dog bites and fatal dog attack information based on real investigated data not media hype.

Join us for foster dog & family cat discussion!

2008-06-13T10:52:00.001-07:00

Foster dogs and family cats. Being fair and playing it safe.
Join us for a chat about one of the many complicated issues that foster families encounter when bringing a foster dog into their home owned by a feline. Our dogs learned from the feline master “Jack.” Sadly Jack has passed but to honor our boy…join us for this insightful discussion about all the lesson I learned about leadership, calmness and how to make peace and introduce dogs and cats in a safe, calm and positive way for all involved. If you would like to participate in this upcoming podcast discussion email jen@familypaws.com to register

2008-06-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, my house is chaotic. The boys playing WII and Kayleigh bouncing about. Windsor follows me where ever I go as does Duke. Bailey (the sibe) usually hangs out outside or on the couch. Carin....loves her crate....as you can see and often retreats there. Duke is very vocal and any activity with the other dogs like in this video between Windsor and Bailey will lead to Duke vocalizing and stress for Duke. Notice the yawning and whining. He is a good boy but he is a talker for sure!

Foster Tales Podcast

2008-06-11T14:25:00.001-07:00

Join us for hot topics of foster homes!

MP3 File

Mazey Mom LOVES dogs!

2008-06-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Duke and Mazey

Kitties

2008-06-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week here. Sorry for a lack of updates
Ringo
Lennon
I always seem to catch Elton with his mouth open!

Elton looking thoughtful
Elton looking very serious.

!

Updates!

2008-06-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Wild wonders!

2008-05-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well, Miss Paige is definitely the explorer of the group. Leave it to the girl to be the WILD ONE! Her twin (Ringo) is the cuddle bug. He is the one that often naps on Mama. Mazey girl loves our dogs! She loves to rub against our shepherds and meows to spend time with them. She allows our female (Carin) to spend time with her babies. Carin has been around kittens many many times and enjoys them. She is not a fan of pups but has always been nothing but gentle towards kittens.

Everyone is doing fantastic and learning how to play, jump and explore their environment. What fun!

2008-05-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

We have names!

2008-05-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Meet team TABBY!

Jagar and David
Paige posing
Ringo & Paige

I let the boys pick names. They chose to go with musicians. So, Ringo, McCartney, Paige, Elton, Jagar & Lennon. There are many nick name options. :) They are all doing great! Everyone is eating well and we are having fun!

2008-05-19T14:13:00.000-07:00