Thankful fur Blogville Day

The Doodz, Mayorz-Elect Murphy & Stanley, announced that today will be celebrated as "Thanks Blogville!" Day, where we can all share the things that make us thankful about Blogville.

OMD, where do I start? Blogville has brought me so many wonderful things! I've made such grreat furiends over the years here at Blogville. Who can furget when Pip and Puddles visit for their world tour??

 Cinderella and I have gotten to do so many pawesome activities too. Like going to a beach pawty...

Or taking a hike for Hike Day...

 Taking Hazel out for Date Day...

Or sitting 'round the bonfire!

And, of course, Oktoberfest!

Momma finally learned how to pawperly document my adventures, so I got to try out fun things like a snazzy sports car! (Momma adds, "Thanks, Photoshop!")

 I met my beeYOUtiful Maggie Mae because of Blogville and wooed her until she agreed to be MY GIRL.

Of course, one of the parts I like best is every Christmas, when Momma forlornly digs around in the mailbox for ONE card while Cinderella and I are getting so many we run out of room for them! BOL!!!

But even more importantly, I've learned the value of the Power of the Paw, and all the amazing support that the members of Blogville can muster whenever one of our own is hurting. I KNOW it works, and that's the kind of incredible community that we've developed!

I've also been able to continue supporting the pawesome Legacy Boxer Rescue. This is LBR's blog, after all, not my personal one! Cinderella and I love being able to spread the word about LBR's events and fundraising efforts, plus sharing our success stories and our tragedies. LBR has fans across the country and around the world now, and all that support helps us keep saving more dogs!!

Yup, I'm pretty proud of the things I've done as a blogger, and I'm looking forward to more and more. But I KNOW that I wouldn't still be blogging right now if it wasn't for the amazing support and furiendship of Blogville. It keeps me going, knowing that someone out there would notice if I stopped blogging and wants to keep reading my posts.

 So THANK YOU, BLOGVILLE, for all the amazing love and support and community that you've brought all over the blogosphere. There's not another community like you! I can't wait to read all your pawesome posts on the subject while I'm stuffed with turkey and having to roll Momma through the door. Let's all be thankful for our furever homes, our pawrents, our siblings (furry and human), and all our many furiends out there.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Peanut Butter Edition

LBR fosters Momma Shyanne, Shawnee, and Cherokee

Legacy means for LIFE! (With sad update)

Some people ask why we're called Legacy Boxer Rescue. Our mission statement says, "We, the founder and volunteers of Legacy Boxer Rescue, have made it our mission to seek out these Boxers and create a legacy they deserve, a loving family and home of their own." We believe that all dogs are entitled to a legacy of love and a furever home that will give them that.

Sometimes things happen that shake all of our faith in what we do. We all see the horrible neglected and abused dogs out there that have had such terrible things happen to them. It makes us sick and sad and worried about people as a whole. But for me, the worst is when it's LBR adopters who fail in providing the legacy they promised. We chose them, we screened them, we did everything to check and make sure they would be a good home for one of our dogs. And sometimes... that's not enough.

Deacon was adopted in 2011 at the age of 8. You'd think that anyone adopting a senior dog would be a kind, compassionate person who knows what they're in for and is willing to provide a happy retirement home for a dog's golden years. Well, yesterday we got a call from one of the shelters we work with. Deacon's owners (NOT family!) had left him at the shelter to be euthanized because he was "having a hard time walking."

Yes, at the age of 12, these horrible people DUMPED Deacon at the shelter and ASKED for him to die cold and alone and surrounded by strangers! Well, not with LBR around!!

"SEE YA, shelter!"

Thank heavens LBR has worked so hard and built up such a good relationship with shelters over the years. The shelter workers called us right away, we recognized him as one of ours, and we got him OUT of there!! He came straight home with one of our volunteers, and spent the night being treated the way a handsome old guy SHOULD be treated.

"More cheeseburger please?"

"Can you read me the one that ends happily ever after again?"

Today Deacon will go to one of our vets to see what his medical condition is like. There's a very good chance that he'll be fine and just need some treatment or pain management to deal with his condition. If he is in such bad shape that he has to be sent to the Bridge, he'll go with loving hands petting him and telling him what a good dog he is. That's what EVERY dog deserves. That's what FAMILY does for a dog. 


Update -- This email is from Deacon's angel, Uncle David, the LBR volunteer who took him in yesterday:

"I wish the news this morning was different but unfortunately the news from Dr Fuller wasn't good. He felt the best option was to help relieve him of his pain. He was suffering from advanced DM, probably spondilosis and possible had an issue with either his bladder or kidneys.

 Last night I was full of rage at his previous adopters but honestly now I am thankful for them. Our hearts grew 10 fold last night because we had him at our house. While it was sad watching him in his condition it was refreshing to be able to shower him in unconditional love. It was a blessing to be able to give him a very special day and for that we are grateful we had him with us. Last night he was spoiled rotten with cheeseburgers, treats, and love from several other LBR volunteers. We read him all 2,400+ comments from Facebook last night as well as every email and text message we received. He slept on the couch last night and I laid on the floor next to him because we didn't want to risk him trying to jump out of one of the beds. He had potty breaks about every 45 minutes or so last night and even a mouth jousting episode with my arm at about 3:00 am.  This morning before we went to the vet went took him on a little walk through the neighborhood and then made a stop at McDonalds for some hash browns and a sausage biscuit. He didn't get to eat it until after Dr Fuller did his exam though because we were still holding out hope.

 He was surrounded by love this morning with the staff from AVCP.  Jeanette, Hailey [the little girl in the pictures above] and I were all right beside him as he crossed the bridge. Hailey insisted on being in the room with him and we are so proud of her for that.

 So on Thursday we will be thankful that his previous adopters decided to let us have a special day with Deacon. God speed sweet man, we fell in love with you!!"

Puppy update!

I bet you guys were waiting ALL weekend to hear about Momma Shyanne and her little pups. Well, wait no longer! The little family is doing very well. Shyanne had two more little pups in her, but they weren't coming out so we had to take her back to the vet to check on them. Sadly, they didn't make it. So we have Shyanne's two strapping sons, Shawnee and Cherokee. She's pretty happy with them!

The boys got their first look-see at the vet too and had their tails docked. Look at those cute little nubbins!! Baby boxer butts are about the cutest thing EVER.

Momma Shyanne is doing well too. She thinks the camera will steal her soul, so she won't pose for pictures, but she's happy as can be. She got a spiffy new collar to make her feel beeYOUtiful again after all that hard work!

I'll keep you all updated on the happy family. LBR has so much to be thankful for this year!

Surprise!!

Sometimes rescue work can be full of surprises! Look at my sweet cousin, LBR foster Shyanne. She's been at her foster home for a few days, and the vet told us that she'd probably recently had puppies. (Update: That was to explain why she looked pregnant. He said she wasn't pregnant, she'd just had puppies recently before she'd been rescued.) Well....

It's REALLY recent!! Last night Shyanne surprised everybody by introducing her son.

Itty Bitty LBR foster Shawnee

Then a little while later, out came her second boy!

Itty Bitty LBR foster Cherokee

Shyanne and her boys are doing just fine. They're all going to visit the vet today to make sure everything is okay.

 Welcome to the LBR family, little ones! We weren't expecting you, but it's so nice to meet you!

A little confusion

No, I'm not wondering if I'm really a dog today. But apparently my kitty sister is having a little identity crisis. See, her name is Pigeon.

But she thinks she's a parrot. BOL!

I bark, therefore I am?

Furiends, I had a bit of an existential crisis this morning. Momma was reading through her Facebook and saw an adorable picture of a Legacy volunteer's boxers in their handsome sweaters, since it's so cold out. One of that volunteer's "friends" posted that REAL dogs had fur and didn't need sweaters. Well, when Momma read that to me, I suddenly got worried.

...Am I real??

There I am, in my furs and my sweater, so this lady says I'm not a "real dog". That got me worrying, because if I'm not real, what am I? Am I just dreaming all this? What if I'm really something embarrassing like a tree rat?! Or what if Momma's the one dreaming me? That got me really worried, so I ran to the front door and started barking that those men in white coats had better stay away from my momma!

Momma told me that neither of us was making me up, that the lady wasn't saying I didn't exist, she was just saying I wasn't a dog. Hmmm. So that got me puzzling. What makes a real dog?

Is it fur? I have very thin furs and like to wear sweaters and coats when it gets cold. My Sibe furiends have huge thick fur. Other furiends have fur in between. But... cats have fur too. And bears. Cats and bears aren't dogs.

It can't be the tails. Cinderella and I have cute little nubbins, but other boxers have long whips of tails. Some of my furiends have thick rudders to swim with, or long lovely plumes, or cute little corkscrews. We have all different kinds of tails. But monkeys have tails, and so do tree rats! Tree rats aren't dogs!

What about a cute wet nose? Lots of dogs have that. But boxers have shorter muzzles, and pugs have cute smoosh faces, and labs have long pointy noses. Which kind is a "real dog's" nose? And Momma has a nose too, and I'm pretty sure she's not a dog!

I thought maybe it could be some cute furry ears. But that doesn't go very far either. Look at my handsome floppy ears, then compare them to Cinderella's little kitten point ears. Some of my furiends have big bat ears, and others have long droopy ears. But elephants and hippos and giraffes all have ears too! I'm getting NOWHERE!

Okay, so how about paws? We all have paws, so it must be the paws that make a dog. Mine and Cinderella's look kind of alike, though hers are white and mine are brown. My furiend's paws all mostly look like mine... but so do my kitty siblings' paws, and lion paws, and -- oh, this is no good at ALL! I just can't find anything that makes me a REAL DOG.

But then I thought of something. Something that absolutely makes me a REAL DOG without any doubt.

 My paws hold my Momma's heart. And THAT'S what makes a real dog.