SAVING ZIPPO!!! (blog post is not finished yet)

Today was the best day ever! I did my first doggie rescue! This little guy was in danger of being put to sleep at the East Valley Shelter, but was saved by an amazing group of people.

I worried about him all Friday night. When I got up on Saturday, I called the shelter at about 7:15am to see if he was still "there". Someone actually answered the phone at that hour even though they didn't open til 8am. I made sure to be there the minute they opened.

When the officer took me to his kennel. He and two other little chihuahuas came running to the gate as if they just knew someone was there for them. The officer actually got a kick out of it too. We had a little visit in one of the rooms and I was in love. While there, I got the impression that he was a shelter fav. As I was leaving with him, one of the workers saw us and with a big smile called out, "Zippo! I just love Zippo!"

Two Bunnies & a Turtle aka Harmony, Brownie & Templeton

See! I don't just shoot puppy dogs and kitty cats!






Harmony (bunny in wheelchair),
Brownie (the obvious brown bunny), and Templeton (the turtle) are a groovy little family.










Templeton thinks he's dog. He
followed me everywhere I went.
Never knew turtles could have such personality! Fun time!

LOVELY NIKISKA..

This 15-year-old beauty was a joy to photograph. She really worked the camera in spite of having severe hip dysplasia. At six weeks old, she originally caught the eye of her forever human at a sled camp in Canada. Nikiska means "The Meeting Place". Beautiful girl!

SASS...THAT'S MR. SASS TO YOU!

Sass is a lovely little guy who's suffering from renal failure. He also belongs to Sheila. A week after this session, he had to have his right eye removed. Glad to say, he has recovered well. Be strong Sass!

Nacho and Katrina

Nacho and Katrina belong to my friend, Sheila, who is also my training walk leader for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk.

SWEET RUSTY!

This adorable little guy belongs to my friend, and amazing actress, Noelle Evangelisti. I love his little bad boy "Our Gang" tooth! What a cutie!

I had a "first" today. Being an avid animal lover, I'd never experienced rescuing a dog. On my way back from picking up some Thai take out from my new fav place, The Pink Elephant, I saw a dog wandering in our neighborhood off leash. This usually means an escapee. At first glance, I thought it was a coyote, but as I got closer, it was a beautiful, tan and white young Husky.

As I slowed down to assess the situation, the pup started crossing dangerously into the street. Luckily, there isn't heavy traffic on this particular street, but it can still be treacherous. As soon as I slowed to a stop, the dog came right up to my car as if he wanted in. Not sure of his temperament, I did baby talk through the window crack. Eventually, I let her in.

Now this pup obviously had ridden in a car before, because she had great manners and laid right down on the back seat.

I drove to my vet to see if they could check for a chip. Hallelujah! She had one!
Turns out, her name was Lanny and her owner showed up, enormously grateful.
I'd say it was a satisfying day. Phew!

And, by the way, I usually take pictures of everything, but didn't even think of taking hers. I guess I was too consumed with getting her back to her home. Doh!

Heeeeere's Brandy!

Spent some time with this little cutie today. This is Brandy and she's the perfect model. That face belongs on the big screen. What a joy to shoot!

Snorky, part deux

Wow, shame on me! A lot has happened since I last blogged.














As you can see, my last post was about Snorky's amazing appearance on Ellen. What a great pup! He won over quite a few hearts while letting Ellen feed him treats. He proved to be a wonderful ambassador for the breed. Not long after that, on one of my regular volunteer days at Villalobos in January, I learned that Snorky was to be adopted by a gentleman in Palm Springs. Since he was to go to his new home in Palm Springs within the next week or so, I figured this day would probably be my last time walking him. So, I kept him out for an extended walk, took lots of pictures, gave lots of belly rubs, and received a few slobbery kisses in return. It was a happy time. These are the photos I took that day.


Now fast forward to some time in February. While browsing through the Villalobos page on Facebook, I found out some very shocking news. Snorky never made it to Palm Springs. Sadly, he succumbed to a brain tumor before going to his new home.

Although Snorky is gone, his appearance on Ellen garnered a lot of attention for Villalobos Rescue Center. There are some wonderful, loving doggies waiting for forever homes. Please visit their website.

If you can't adopt, come on up and volunteer (call first though). If you don't wanna do either of those things, donations are ALWAYS welcome! Do it in honor of beloved Snorky.
http://www.vrcpitbull.com/home.htm

Villalobos Rescue Featured on Ellen!

Snorky was a great little ambassador for the breed as Ellen fed him treats while talking to Tia Marie Torres of Villalobos Rescue. In case you can't tell from my previous posts, this is where I do volunteer dog walking. Tia has devoted her life to these guys and is doing some amazing work! Check out the video below!

I Love the Puppies!

Had a great day at Villalobos today. They had a pretty good volunteer turnout. Yay!!!
I walked some doggies I hadn't seen before. All were absolute ladies! First there was Ellie;



then Cinnamon


and then Millie (no photo available).

My last little love was a cutie from the Heigl Foundation. Didn't know her name until I just looked her up on the Heigl Foundation website. Her name is Glory. What a doll!



Please volunteer at a rescue. Check out the Villalobos website...
Note: The photos in this post were not taken by me.

This past Saturday at the rescue started off great. I got to walk my favorite pup, Shavar. I've said it before and I'll say it again; if I didn't have six kitties, this dog would be mine. She's been at Villalobos for 9 years. Someone is totally missing out on a great dog. I also walked Shannon and Harry Pitter. It was a good day.

Then an unexpected tragedy struck out of nowhere. One of the young wolves, upon returning from a walk, suddenly died. We were all stunned. It was so sudden. I felt bad for Tia because she seems to genuinely love all of the animals on the place.

...Li'l ole dog walker, me....

These are the cuties I walked today at Villalobos. Keep in mind, all of these dogs would love to be adopted!!!!

First, there was Boo (left), who's a total sweetheart. He greeted me by jumping up and putting his two big paws on my chest.

Then there was Lily (below), who survived Hurricane Katrina. Be sure to go to the Villalobos Rescue Center website to read the stories of these wonderful dogs. Lastly, they saved "manly" Stanley for me again. His photo can be found on my previous blog. His eye infection seems to be getting better. Yay!
I only walked 3 pups today 'cuz there were quite a few volunteers there. So, let's keep the volunteers comin'!!!

Go to the website: http://www.vrcpitbull.com/home.htm

My Visit to Villalobos Rescue Center in Agua Dulce

These are the wonderful doggies I spent the morning with at Villalobos Rescue Center as a volunteer dog-walker. They specialize in pit bulls. This was my first time getting this up close and personal with what is probably the most misunderstood and mishandled breed.

My first walk of the day was Betsy (above). She was a sweetie who was just happy to be out and about. She was the perfect icebreaker for me.

After Betsy, I was introduced to the majestic, Shavar (below), whose mere size and visible muscle was intimidating. Who knew that all she wanted to do was hang out in the shade getting tummy rubs? We did that for an hour! If I didn't have 6 kitties, I would seriously want to adopt her. Amazing temperament on this one. A regal couch potato at best.














And then there was Sherman (below), who when he was brought to me, was described as sweet, but still a "gangsta". Well, he obviously put his inner gangsta on hold during our hour-long walk. Trust me, if his tongue looks big in this picture, it was even bigger in person! He was a doll!











Finally, I met Stanley (left). He's only been there a couple of weeks, but he was a total gentleman, in spite of his eye infection. He just wanted to hang out as well.

This was an eye-opening experience for me. I plan to return to Villalobos again and again. Please check out their website:

http://www.vrcpitbull.com/home.htm

If volunteering is not your thing, then by all means throw money at the problem and make a donation. It would be most welcome!

Harriet was about a year old when I brought her home. She was our "first". I got her from the wonderful ladies in the Universal Studios costume department who would rescue, spay/neuter and find homes for a lot of the feral cats on the property. They say she was hard to catch, which is why I named her after Harriet Tubman. She's now 11 years old and still acts like a kitten. She likes the classics...her favorite is the old string on a stick. NOTE: To this day, her mother, too feral to place, still resides on Universal property being fed by the folks in the costume shop. Rescue, rescue, rescue!!

Daisy is one of the sweetest dogs on the planet. She belongs to my favorite photog, Kevin McIntyre and his lovely wife Henriette. This was an impromptu shot with my iPhone, but I just had to post it.

Bernie really knows how to work the camera. Hmmm...she could be the next top kitty model...

Minnie busted me as I was trying to catch her sleeping. She kinda came with our house when we bought it 6 years ago...what a cutie!

Jackson is a Labradoodle who thinks he's a lap dog. One of his favorite things is to sit on your foot while you pet him. ...he's huge..but really sweet!

Ozzie is one cool cat who doesn't want "out of the bag"....