Sepia Painting?

It's Sepia Saturday! Where has the week gone? Today's submission was done entirely on my phone. The picture was so-so. I cropped it, changed it to sepia and framed it. I still thought it was mediocre. Then I found the oil painting filter. Much better!

 

 

I've had painting on my mind lately. There's a place here in town called Yes You Canvas! where they take untalented people like me and guide them through a painting. You go home with a finished product that actually looks like something recognizable. A former boss of mine went and she loved it. The entire class paints the same thing, so you pick the date based on the subject. I haven't found anybody who wanted to go with me on the days that there was a subject I found appealing. I was about to give up, but then a group of friends found a similar place -- also here in town -- where you paint your own pet! It's called Painting With a Twist and I really want to go! They only offer the Paint Your Own Pet once a month or so, and the next one isn't good for my schedule. GRRR. However, if when I get to go, I promise to share.

 

 

And speaking of sharing . . . IT'S SEPIA SATURDAY! Hop around and see what goodies others have in store for you today. TTFN, -- K

 

P.S. Is anybody else familiar with these types of places? Do you have a painting you'd like to share? I'll show you mine if you show me yours . . .

 

Friday Finds

I read. A lot. And I find a lot of goodies in blog posts, on Facebook, from online journals and posted on various boards. Sometimes I'll be inspired and write a blog post around it. Most times, however, I say "Oh, I'll save this for later. Surely I can get something good from it." What usually happens is that I misplace the link and by the time I find it the subject is old and irrelevant. GRRR. So I've decided to try something new. As I find things I will paste them into a blog post and share them with you on a regular basis. It'll be an eclectic group of articles, blogs and pictures that made me think, laugh or feel inspired. Hopefully you will feel the same. Roxy even helped me make a cute graphic for it. Thanks Rox! Here is my first one.

• Do Overs. A very moving blog post. The author laments over the fact that she doesn't have any pictures of her and her late dog together. I cried when I read this. I only have one picture of me and Logan. In 7 years I only got ONE picture of me and my heart dog. This one:

Jacksonville Pet Expo, 2005 or 2006

          Starting today, I am handing the camera off to others to get pictures of me and Jedi
          together.

• There is a video circulating on Facebook that has me amazed. Have you seen this one? I'm seriously wondering if I can get my handyman friend to make one of these for Jedi.

• Great news from here: Jacksonville has implemented the A New Leash On Life program where dogs are paired with inmates for extra training and socialization, making them better adoption candidates. Inmates learn a skill and focus on something outside themselves. Fido and Felon are both better in the end.

• I love to follow the adventures of Donna the Mongrel in Singapore through We Live In a Flat. This week there was a great post (with a bunch of links) on Better Pet Photography -- Tips & Photo Apps. Check it out! 

• Pamela over at Something Wagging This Way Comes asked Why Do People Resist Hiring Dog Trainers? It had me scratching my head all day!

• And finally, a shameless plug: My friend entered a picture of her amazing German shepherd, Julie the Wonder Dog, in a contest for the Weather Channel. Please click here and vote for Julie (below).



Dawn Guardian

Well, that's it for my inaugural Kelley's Friday Finds. Let me know what you think! And don't hesitate to send me anything you think I missed or might find interesting. Thanks, -- K

Lost Pet Prevention

I’m going to put on my Animal Control hat for a moment. Tomorrow is the 4th of July. Not coincidentally, July 5th is the busiest day of the year for me. Many animals run away because of the fireworks; others wander off unnoticed during summer get-togethers. Sadly only 22% of the dogs and cats picked up by my agency are returned to their homes. Too many animals are transferred to the county shelter simply because an owner can’t be found. The County's return-to-owner numbers aren’t much better. Here are a few things you can do to prevent your pet from becoming a statistic:

• Crate and/or lock your pets in a back room during busy parties and 4th of July celebrations. If you have an overly-anxious dog, talk to your vet about sedatives and/or thunder shirts.
• Keep collars and ID tags on your dogs and cats at all times. Overwhelmingly, people tell me that their pet wasn’t wearing a collar because it “never leaves the yard” or “just had a bath.” My response: 1) Animals couldn’t care less about property lines and 2) if they’re dry enough to go outside, they’re dry enough to wear a collar.
• Microchip your pet. This is a good backup should the collar come off. Most vets and ACOs have microchip scanners and are able to trace chips back to the registered owners. Please note: microchips are an implanted form of ID, not GPS; an animal’s location cannot be tracked through their microchips. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know this.
• Keep your contact information current. Is the tag on your pet readable? Are the phone numbers correct? Has your contact information changed since your pet was chipped? The best time to replace tags and update microchips is now, before an emergency.
• Contact Animal Control as soon as you notice that your pet is missing. Animals are only held for a short period of time. Don’t wait a week “hoping he’ll come home on his own.” Otherwise, when you call it may be too late.
• Check craigslist.com for your missing pet. If you don’t see him, post a lost pet ad under the “Lost & Found” (NOT “Pets”) section. My office returns pets through craigslist all the time.
• Have recent pictures of your pet. You may need them to create signs and lost pet ads. Puppy pictures of your 10-year old dog aren’t very helpful, especially when dealing with mixed breeds.
• Visit the Missing Pet Partnership for more recovery tips based on your animal's personality.

Hopefully your pet will never get out. Should it happen, however, a little preparation now can save a lot of heartache later. -- K

Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer. Lucky for you, it's Thoughtless Thursday. Hop around and see what others are sharing today. Hopefully they're more cheerful.

Have a Happy 4th!

NOT my dog. Jedi would never pose for this. *sigh*

Wordless Wednesday

A tired dog is a happy dog.

If that's true, then Jedi and Roxy are ecstatic!

 

It's Wordless Wednesday! Hop around and see what others are sharing today. -- K

 

Sepia Pepper

It's Sepia Saturday! Last Tuesday I shared some pictures of Pepper for the #FuelTheCure Contest and Fundraiser Blog Hop. Pepper was our first dog. She was a great dog and her life was cut short by cancer. For the hop we were suppose to portray our dog loving life. It was tough to pick the photos because Pepper loved life to the fullest and we were always taking pictures. So here are three more. Enjoy!

Pepper had an entire wardrobe of bandannas.

 

We'd get bored and dress Pepper in Hubby's shirts. She
always seemed to find it as funny as we did.

 

Here Pepper is laying on my legs. She always wanted to be where
we were, even if we were just sitting around watching TV.

We were heartbroken when the vet said "cancer." How could that be? She was nine, and we decided not to do chemo. Instead, we used steroids and pain killers to keep the symptoms at bay. The vet said to keep her happy, feed her junk food (the cholesterol wasn't going to kill her) and enjoy whatever time we had left. We took a hundred car rides and ate more McDonald's cheeseburgers than I can count. The steroid therapy worked for a while, but 6 1/2 months later we made that awful decision. Her quality of life was more important than our need to have her in our lives.

Cancer sucks. It chooses victims at random and leaves loved ones feeling helpless and angry. And that's why I titled my contest post "F.U. Cancer!" I screamed that phrase (and other obscenities) so many times when Pepper was sick. Why did cancer have to take my Pepper? The Dog & Cat Cancer Fund is working to find a cure. Wouldn't it be wonderful if nobody else had to lose a pet to cancer?

Want to learn more about the #FuelTheCure Contest and Fundraiser Blog Hop? Want to see more pictures of Pepper? (You know you do!) Check out F.U. Cancer! And while there, click "like" so that Jedi and Roxy can get some yummy treats in Pepper's memory. Then come back and click away. There's always lots of interesting posts on Sepia Saturday! -- K

Thoughtless Gucci

It's Thoughtless Thursday. Have you given any thought to the word "thoughtless"? Dictionary.com defines it this way:

1. Lacking in consideration for others; inconsiderate; tactless: a thoughtless remark. 
2. Characterized by or showing lack of thought: a shallow, thoughtless book. 
3. Not thinking enough; careless or heedless: thoughtless of his health. 
4. Devoid of or lacking capacity for thought.

 

Kelley's Dog Blog defines it this way:

  

 

This is Gucci. We got her when we were stationed in Japan. My best guess is that she's somewhere around 17 years old. 

 

Gucci has gotten very demanding in her old age. She'll take food off our plates when we're not looking, she climbs onto my computer when I'm blogging, and she barges into the bathroom when I'm . . . well, when I'd rather be alone. Her latest thing: she wants to sleep with us. Correction, she wants to sleep on us, and protests -- loudly! -- when we move. She may only be 8 pounds, but my hip (or back, or leg) starts to hurt after a while. The minute I try to reposition myself she shrieks out "MEEEOOOW!" This happens a dozen times a night.

 

We've resorted to locking her out of the room at night. But she's sneaky. She'll hide in the bedroom until we go to sleep, and then climb into bed with me and Hubby. She's continually waking us up with the most annoying meow on the planet. She also screams if Jedi looks in her direction, usually just as I'm starting to drift off. Eventually one of us wakes up enough to throw her out. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in days. I'm exhausted, but Gucci doesn't care. How thoughtless is that? -- K

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

I'm not a gambler. Slots, poker, the lottery -- they're all a waste of money for me. Raffles, however, are something else. I love raffles.

I went to an adoption event on Saturday. They were raffling off pretty baskets full of doggie items -- I'm a sucker for Baskets O' Crap -- and the money supported Friends of Jacksonville Animals (FOJA). FOJA is a non-profit group that works with the county shelter "to benefit the lives of shelter animals by focusing on fund raising to assist with medical care, enrich the shelter environment, promote adoptions, and reduce euthanasia." How could I walk away? I bought $10 worth of tickets. And I won!



 

 

Look at that basket -- treats, squeaky toys, a ball, wine for Mommy -- how great is that! Jedi couldn't wait to check out the giant stuffed bone.

 

 

 

 

You can't tell from this post, but . . . it's Wordless Wednesday! Hop around and see what others are doing today. -- K