She’s BACK…..(+how YOU can rescue dogs with paintings and wine!)

Now that Gala is back in working order, she’s making up for lost time.

Her jaw has recovered so fully, that she’s been able to destroy a dog toy we’ve had for over two years (a friend sent it to us after our very first foster chewed through our house), several beanie babies (how these missed the goodwill pile is beyond me – I’ll be vacuuming up those tiny beans for weeks), tennis balls, pencils, and anything that Gracie touches (she most especially wants Gracie’s stuffed fox and we’ve all had to rescue it from the clutches of Jaws several times now).

Despite the relentless heat, we’re back to running, walking fast, hiking in the woods, and visiting the fox holes in the field above our pasture. Thanks to the loan of an Easy Walk Harness, we’re even more under-control.

Unless the Blue Heron is in the creek and then nothing stops her. Gala is a serious bird dog. This is one of the reasons I think she might make a good frisbee dog – she’s always looking up. Sometimes we scare up a flock of finches that hang out at my neighbor’s barn and she will leap vertically in the air, certain she could catch one if I’d just let go of that pesky leash. Gala is great company. There is certainly never a dull moment.

Gala sits on the bed behind my desk as I work, always ready to distract:

Gala does eventually settle, but she finds reading on the couch just a bit too boring:

And if anyone comes within easy reach, she’s happy to cover them with kisses:

We are awaiting the arrival of puppies on Friday evening, but what they are and how many of them there will be seems to be a moving answer, so I’ll refrain from making any announcements until I see their sweet little faces. (You can follow on Another Good Dog facebook group if you’d like to know before the next blog post.)

Meanwhile, I wanted to highlight two really special opportunities. The first one involves a special person and the second is a special event. Both help rescue dogs.

Shortly after I had to say a painful goodbye to my precious kitty, Crash, I was surprised to receive a package in the mail from Joanne Lustre, another OPH volunteer and foster mom. It contained this:

Joanne painted this beautiful watercolor portrait from a picture I’d posted of Crash on the blog.  It now hangs above my desk and reminds me of my special boy every day, but it also reminds me of my special OPH family and how we take care of each other.

Here’s another picture Joanne painted of Frank, my favorite foster.

This one was done when Joanne was figuring out whether she could illustrate the children’s book project I’m working on with OPH. She decided she prefers portraits, so another talented OPH volunteer stepped up to illustrate the story (OPH is chock-full of talented people I’m learning).

So Joanne’s amazing, right?

And you haven’t even heard the most amazing part – she gives her commissions to OPH!

Joanne paints pictures of dogs or cats or whatever animal you like (or people or landscapes) and all the proceeds (about $100 per picture) go to OPH. Isn’t that cool?

So, just in case you’d like a beautiful portrait of your own favorite friend, here’s her website: LustreArt.com.

As Joanne says, “You can have a painting to enjoy and save a life at the same time.”

Okay, next special thing.

This one includes not only rescuing dogs, but WINE, my other favorite thing. In fact, my friend Amy gave me this t-shirt that says it all:

Bark, Wag, and Wine is coming up September 23! This is OPH’s biggest fundraiser of the year. And what’s not to like? Dogs, cool people, AMAZING silent auction, beautiful setting, and wine!

Nick and I always plan a weekend around this event. Last year I got to catch up with several of my foster dogs, which was a huge treat, plus we won a few silent auction items before spending the rest of the weekend hiking.

This year the hosting winery is Hiddencroft, which is much closer to home.

I can speak from experience that they have excellent wines. And while Hiddencroft is in Virginia, it’s close to Maryland and less than 90 minutes from my house. I’m hoping this will mean a few more of my previous foster dogs will make it to for the event. Consider coming out to eat, drink, party, shop, and RESCUE DOGS! And bring your pooch, too. You can get more information and buy your tickets here.

And if you plan to come, give me a shout out so I can look for you!

Thanks for reading!

If you’d like more information about adopting Gala click here. If you’d like to know more about volunteering, fostering, donating or adopting from OPH, click here.

If you’d like to know more about my writing, please visit CaraWrites.com.

Blessings,

Cara