New older gentleman comes here to live out his last years

This is Samson. Samson is 13 years old. He was a racer for seven years, we think. He then was with one owner for 5 years and another for one year. I found him on Craiglist- free to good home. Greyhounds live to be fifteen if they are in very good health, so I knew when I took him that we would not have him for a very long time. We have never had a full size greyhound before, but have a dear friend whose Greyhound stays with us while the family is on vacation. Samson is in mediocre shape. He has arthritis in his left hip and has very few teeth left in the front. (Greyhounds kept at the track try to gnaw their way out of the cage and it grinds their teeth down the the pulp, which is what happened with Samson.) He is a bit underweight and sleeps alot. He loves it here- he moved in the first day with NO adjustment issues at all, except he hates being at the house alone. The first time we got ready to leave to go somewhere, he popped up and started panting and acting very worried. I assured him that I wouldn't leave him for more than a couple of hours. So, now he has his own crate in our bedroom (don't know what we're going to do with the chair that was there before), and a family that adores him. Jon and I had gone to the track about six years ago and Jon was always IN LOVE with the brindled colored ones. I always went for the solid black ones. So here we are, with a brindle black Greyhound, who is an old man. He will accompany me to the local schools when I do my humane education programs. I had been praying about who to take with me, as none of our dogs are really suitable to take to schools- they either LICK people to death (Sassy), or they pee on things (Ra), or they are too scared to even look a child in the eye. (Tigger). So, when Samson came here, God said, " Here he is- the perfect dog for the classrooms." I was astounded. He is quiet, loves kids, and happy to lie on a floor and be adored by anyone. And he has PERFECT housemanners. Shouldn't amaze me that God provided a ram in the thicket, but He did- AGAIN. And this one already came with a Biblical name.

I love this old dog, even if he was someone else's for 13 years!!!

This is Danny, the 13 year old that was surrendered at the Clay County Shelter for peeing in his house. This is the sweetest dog. He is quiet, loving, and so very obedient. He just needed to wear a belly band in the house and he hasn't tried to pee on the furniture once. What a gift he has been to our family- and in exchange, he will be able to grow old in peace and surrounded by people who love him. People "get rid" of these old dogs and never know what a gift they have given our family, so I am grateful even to these people who throw away these old dogs. One man's trash is another man's treasure. And what a treasure this old dog is to me. (Follow up on Danny- his owners contacted us after two weeks, just distraught and realizing they had made a rash decision and wanted him back. Knowing that we have a God that forgives bad decisions and allows second chances, we invited her to come and get her dog. She was overjoyed and he is doing well.)

Proof that this IS the Peaceable Kingdom

So, I have often told people that none of our animals would hurt other animals. Most of the time they are amazed. I feel that God has blessed our animals with the knowledge that everyone needs to be safe here. We take GREAT CARE with our birds- so don't be alarmed at this picture. I have to tell you that the cat on the right is our mighty bird, lizard, frog, and everything hunter, Jackie. She brings fresh gifts to our garage daily. On the left, it's hard to see, but if you look carefully, you'll see a little green thing next to Em's notebook. It's her Senegal parrot, Kito. Em is working on her homework, and the cat is snoozing, and parrot is watching all the world. You can't tell, but Emily is watching the cat carefully. Jackie had NO DESIRE to hurt that bird. I sat and watched them and I was even amazed. I KNOW God has placed every animal here carefully, and even with that, sometimes I say, "WOW." I know my brother is just flipping out, you have to see it to believe it. :) Our cats love our dogs, our dogs love our cats, and now, it appears, our cats love our birds (or at least, they don't harm them). Amazing, but then God always is.

New life in Christ

Emily and Julianna were baptized on Sept 6, as were their cousins, Matthew and Elizabeth. It was an amazing day- everyone who was there commented on what a special baptism it was. First the girls gave their testimonies of why they wanted to be Christians and then they were baptized in the ocean. It was the most incredible feeling I have ever felt, next to the feeling I had when they were born. I thank God for my husband, his family, and the influence they have had on my kids. I think the mama had something to do with it too, but I am constantly amazed at God's grace when it comes to these precious little angels.

Our flock increaseth

This summer we have added two more members to our flock. Julianna who is turning nine in a month has been wanting a bird of her own ever since Emmy got Kito. So she now has a birthday bird, a beautiful lutino cockatiel named Isabella. They love each other very much and all of us love Isabella. She loves to sit on your shoulder while you do much of anything- she lives on me while I go about my kitchen duties, laundry detail and even "helps" pick up the girls from the bus stop. (In the car of course). The other new resident is a Sun Conure named Soleil, which is French for Sun. She is a clown and very smart and although she is not a chronic screamer as conures are known to be, she does need to tell everyone when she wakes up or when someone new walks in a room. She can belt it out, let me tell you. Jon ADORES Soleil and she him- she loves me very much and her favorite spot to rest is under my shirt, with her little head resting on my chest and once in a while she'll pop her head out and see who's in the room.

We have two more foster dogs, a 13 year old IG, Danny and a 8 month old named Shadow- IGs surrendered into a kill shelter for "potty issues". We will have them until they are adopted and Shadow will go very quickly- he's young and flashy. As for Danny, I don't know how long he'll be here, but he's old and easy, so that's no problem.

I am somewhat mortified about people coming to stay with us now as the dogs and Soleil have a strict 6am waking time, regardless of our waking time. Mornings here are NUTS. Soleil could wake the dead with her good morning screech. SO, if you are planning to come see us any time soon, bring your ear plugs and roll your eyes when WE CAN'T SEE YOU DO IT. (Actually, I think we might put folks up in my mom's empty house while she and Daddy are out of town.) It's a zoo, but it's our zoo, and all the inhabitants are very grateful for this second chance at life, and we are happy (most of the time) to give them our love, our time, and our morning coffee. (Which we now need more of, by the way.) The head zookeeper has added feeding the dogs in the morning to his routine so that I could concentrate on Emily and Julianna on school mornings, and I am very grateful for that. I've been doing it for 12 years, so it's nice to have someone take that for a while. :) Our flock has increaseth, but we have ALOT of senior citizens here, so it's only temporary. The birds, however, may outlive Jon and me. HEAVENS!!!!