Missing Her Monday

From Fallen Star to Movie Star!

The journey of a special rescue dog and the search for his Legacy.

“..if he is to be saved I really think he needs to go to rescue.  BIN8325 - He is a fear biter when he is cornered in his kennel. Scared to freaking death.”

BIN8325’s journey begins as a 1 year old in a city shelter, scared, sick and alone.  Typically, when the shelter has a dog that is so scared and labeled a “fear biter”, it is deemed “unadoptable” and would be euthanized.  But BIN8325 had a guardian angel at the shelter that saw his potential and contacted rescue for help. 

Legacy Boxer Rescue sent a volunteer to meet him. His evaluation indicated that he just needed a chance to overcome the shelter stress and be the happy dog that she knew was inside. He was released to rescue in July of 2008. On his “freedom ride”, his new foster mom gave him a reassuring pat and let him know that only good things were to come.  BIN8325 was taken to his foster home, where he was given a new name to go with his new leash on life – Woodstock. 

Woodstock began his new life as an LBR dog in foster care where he was allowed to just be a dog.  No rules.  Just eat, sleep, play and heal.  It took several weeks to gain weight and build his confidence along with completing all of his medical needs.  The day finally came when he could attend the “pet fair” event where potential adopters could meet and interact with their potential new dog.

At his first pet fair, a couple came in to meet the available dogs and noticed Woody in his crate.  Unimpressed with his appearance, the wife said to her husband “That poor dog is never going to get a home. He’s so ugly and he’s way too small!”  Luckily, Woody’s foster mom didn’t hear this remark!

Fast forward a couple of weeks.  Remembering the promise that she made, Woody’s foster mom decided that it was time to look through the approved applicants to try to find the best home for him. A home where he would be treated kindly, be well cared for and be given all the love and attention that he needed to continue to grow.   She came across an application that looked promising and contacted the family to set up a meet and greet. The new family had to be perfect for this special boy. After the meet and greet was scheduled, the applicants husband said “Don’t you remember that dog?  He’s the one that we saw at pet fair that you thought was so ugly.”  Since the meet and greet was already scheduled, the family decided to meet him anyway so as not to hurt his foster mom’s feelings.

Needless to say, once the family actually met Woodstock in person, they knew that he was “The One”. The tiny, mangy, fearful boy, whose only chance at life was to be rescued had won the hearts of his new parents, Kari and Bill and their boxer girl, Romi.

Woodstock was finally home! 

Romi has since passed on.  Woody’s new fur sister Rhaini, also an LBR dog, keeps him company these days.  His days are filled with lounging on the couch or by the pool, playing with toys, taking long walks and receiving love and adoration from his parents. He is properly spoiled as all dogs should be.

Woodstock is no longer a tiny, scared, mangy boy. Over the 7+ years that he has been with his family, he has grown into a big, handsome, much more confident boy.  He and his mom have competed in agility trials and most recently, he was selected to appear in a movie!  What a proud achievement for a Legacy dog.  With no formal training, he was able to complete all of his scenes perfectly under the guidance of his mom, Kari.  The love and trust between them is amazing.  Exactly who rescued who is still up for debate.

From the shelter to a movie set:  Woodstock plays “Stevey” the furry friend of character “Jonah” (played by Jay Huguley) in the soon to be released movie “Sunny in The Dark”.  

Rescue dogs can do AMAZING things.  During the shooting of the film, Woodstock continually impressed his co-stars.  The Director, Courtney Ware, commented that Woody was “epic” and “amazing” on film. 

We couldn’t agree more.  A favorite quote about this film comes from Jay Huguley - “For me the story is about isolation and loneliness.  No matter how far we retreat from the world, we are not alone.”

How fitting for a scared, lonely shelter dog that knew nothing other than to retreat as far into his run as possible and growl at the people trying to help him to be given a team of rescuers willing to save him for no other reason than because it’s the right thing to do. 

You can follow Woodstock as “Stevey” and watch him make his movie debut by “Liking” the Sunny In The Dark Facebook page.

Woodstock was recently diagnosed with lymphoma.  He is undergoing treatment with the dignity and strength that is true to his breed.  He is a fighter.  His parents, Kari and Bill are struggling with how they will survive without him while Woodstock lives in the moment, returning the kindness and love with loyalty and a never ending grin on his face.  He is loved beyond measure and it is the hope of all that know and love him that he will beat this disease and be with us for a long time to come.

“For every life, there is a legacy… A legacy that replaces despair with hope, sorrow with happiness, fear with security, and pain with love.” – Legacy Boxer Rescue

For Woodstock, his journey continues and his legacy will live on in film and in the hearts of all that know him.

Thank you!

Momma and I want to thank everyone for all the love and support you've shown us since my sissy Cinderella's passing this weekend. So many people have been so nice to us. Look at the lovely card and flowers Momma's coworkers gave her, and they made a donation to Legacy Boxer Rescue in Cinderella's honor too! And her furiend's little four-year-old girl made Momma a bracelet and a card. Isn't that sweet??

We are missing my sissy so very much. She was very old, so we had been trying to prepare ourselves for a while, but nothing can really prepare you. We are trying to remember the positives. Like these pictures, the very last pictures of Cinderella that Momma ever took. They were taken last weekend at Auntie Amanda's, and I think they're so very us.

We love you furever, Cinderella!! I hope you are enjoying rolling in the grass at the Rainbow Bridge, and I know someone up there is giving you belly rubs.

The wonderful girls of Blogville have dedicated today's Girl's Night Out to my Cinderella. Please go have an amazing time in her honor!!

A special day

Hey grrls of Blogville, I have a very special post just fur you. See, here in Texas, spring means that we start to get beeYOUtiful Texas bluebonnets, spreading out just as far as the eye can see. I wanted to share such a pretty sight with all my lovely grrls of Blogville.

Ahhh. Have a lovely, peaceful day, ladies!!

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BOYS ONLY!!!! 

While the grrls are looking at FLOWERS, it's time to to start being MANLY MEN! And you know what MANLY MEN do?? They EAT!! And not just anything, they eat big MANLY portions of MEAT! So welcome everyone to my big Texas Pawbeque! I've been getting everything ready for days -- you have to really SLOW COOK this meat to get just the right flavor. And I think it's just about ready.

I know everyone's had a busy day at our Boyz Night Out, so I've got plenty of grreat food to replenish our energy! REAL Texas barbeque, including steaks, ribs, hamburgers, sausages, and everything you could think of! Our Mayorz brought Texas-sized appetites.

Jakey is ready to eat in Texas style!

And Ranger is putting his own spin on Texas style. BOL!

Angus is totally in the spirit of the pawbeque!

And Arty is totally chowing down on the tube steaks!

Hoo boy, just look at all that MANLY MEAT! Zaphod, Frankie, and Ernie can't even wait to let the meat off the grill before they start chowing down!

Sarge is serious about his meat!

Sully is enjoying some fried chicken and a brew, while Reilly and Denny eye a big plate of barbeque!

Dawg oh dawg, this barbeque is just good to the last bone! Easy, Bailey, and Marley got right down on the grass to enjoy the last few ribs and corncobs!

I think everyone's had a fangtastic time! Except maybe Bilbo. I think he's missing someone...

Thanks fur coming to my pawbeque, guys! I hope you had lots of fun. Now that we're all fueled up... how about we try that pharting contest? BOL!! Thanks fur coming!!

The clock struck midnight

The momma here:

The thing about being Cinderella's fairy godmomma is that you know eventually that clock is going to strike midnight and it's time for her to leave the ball. My sweet girl was already a senior and not in the best of shape when I first adopted her, so I knew she wasn't going to have as long as she deserved to dance at the ball. She made it 13 wonderful years (or so -- her age was very hard to estimate!), 4 as my baby girl. But unfortunately, her time came today, and Cinderella has gone to dance at the Rainbow Bridge.

Cinderella was my very first foster dog and convinced me that I could actually do this whole fostering business. I was thrilled to adopt her out to a wonderful family . . . and devastated when she was returned a year later. I promised her that I would find her the best family EVER because she deserved nothing less. It took her some time, but eventually Cinderella informed me in no uncertain terms that she had already found the best family and she wasn't going to be leaving us. I adopted my girl on October 4, 2010 and have loved her every day since. She gave the most delicate little kisses, worthy of a princess, and then made me laugh by rolling around in the grass with all four paws waving in the air. Everyone who met her adored her. The neighborhood kids would come running up to meet us when I walked the dogs together, and when age stopped her from walking as much, the kids all asked about "Mrs. Cinderella" and "Princess." She had a bellydancer outfit for Halloween, and she loved prancing around in that thing and wiggling so the coins would jingle more. Every night when I went to sleep, I'd stop first at her bed for "bedtime bellyrubs." She had the sweetest smile and the gentlest nature.

Good night, sweet girl. You will always be my Ella Bella. Thank you so much for choosing me to be your momma.

What a grreat birthday! And a Pupdate!

Wow, LBR had such a fangtastic 11th birthday yesterday! Our president said her phone battery was about to die because she was getting nonstop Paypal notifications for all the donations. Woohoo! I'll have a total as soon as Auntie Sharon gets it all counted.

LBR had two pretty pawesome birthday presents. FURST, I've told everyone before about LBR foster Tallahassee. Briefly, she was abandoned in a backyard by her former owner and was being fed over the fence by a neighbor. We don't know how long she was back there alone, but she'd gone mostly feral by the time we rescued her. She came to one of our foster homes and settled in with the other dogs there, but her behavioral issues were so extreme that she was named a "Keeper," a foster dog that will stay with LBR furever and not be adopted.

Well, Tally's foster momma Aunt Kaffy worked and worked with her, and Tally REALLY bonded with Aunt Kaffy's new husband, Uncle Victor. She's progressed in huge leaps and bounds, and yesterday they made it official -- Tally is HOME!! LBR alum Tallahassee will be staying with Aunt Kaffy and Uncle Victor furever. HOORAY!!!!

Our BIGGEST present was a pretty amazing. See, it was LBR's ELEVENTH birthday, right? So what better way to celebrate than...

Rescuing a family of ELEVEN?! This poor momma and her TEN puppies ended up in a shelter. The pups were only four days old, and Momma has a broken leg. Thankfully they're in LBR's care now, and Momma will get the veterinary care she needs. I'll share her and the pups' new names as soon as their foster momma shares.

So how's that -- giving a whole family a new life for our birthday! What could be better? Here's to many more years of saving boxers, LBR!!


Pupdate: Momma accidentally posted this last night instead of this morning. She's not very good at the scheduling thing. Soooo we have TWO updates for you!

FURST! LBR met its goal of raising $11k in just one day! We raised $12,169.00 from barkday donations. Woohoo!!! Thanks to all of my pawesome readers who donated.

SECOND! The new pups have their names! Say hello to... The Brady Bunch!!

Saving the world, one boxer at a time!

Today LBR is asking our fans to donate just $11 in honor of our birthday. Last year we raised over $10,000 on our 10th birthday! Can we beat that this year??

Update on Marnie

Remember my poor LBR cousin Marnie, who was attacked by dogs who got into her backyard when she was out on an innocent potty break? Her ear was really badly hurt and they weren't sure if they could save it.

Well look how good she looks NOW!!

They were able to save her ear, and she looks pawesome.

Marnie says THANK YOU to all her furiends in Blogville who sent her POTP. She said it really helped!

Oh, and HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY from Cinderella and me!

Mischief Monday

 "What was that, Foster Momma? You wanted your chair back? I think you mean MY chair!"

LBR foster Gino

PeeS: Baby Cano, our latest Parvo pup, is doing much better! He's eating like a champ, which is a really good sign. Poor kiddo also has kennel cough, so he has a snotty nose, but we think he'll pull through. Phew!!

POTP for my former foster sissy!

Do any of you pups remember my foster sister Vivian? She's one of the few fosters we took in after Momma adopted Cinderella.

Shes' a beeYOUtiful girl, and she stole our hearts right away!! Momma desperately wanted to keep her, but you can't have two female boxers in the same home long-term. (They start to fight. It's a hormonal thing. Most boxer rescues have rules against it.) Momma even tried disguising her and saying she was adopting this new guy "Victor." BOL!

 Well, eventually we found Vivian the pawfect home with a daddy who loves her so very much. But Momma got an email from him last night:

"Just wanted to give you a heads up the vet found a malignant thyroid tumor in her exam yesterday.  We went back in today to do a chest x-ray to make sure nothing has spread to her lungs and they came back clean.  We are going in to see the oncologist tomorrow for a consultation about removing the tumor."

He's going to keep us updated. We've all got our paws crossed super-duper tight that everything turns out okay for Miss Vivian. She deserves a VERY long life with her daddy. Please spare her whatever POTP you can. Thank you!!


PeeS for Guys Only:

Today is the LAST DAY to get your pictures in for my Texas Pawbeque as part of the Blogville Boys' Night Out on March 23rd. Send your pictures (preferably of you eating but anything will do) to me at dreagoddess(at)gmail(dot)com by the end of today!

Hang in there, Cano!

LBR's latest Parvo pup, Baby Cano, is fighting hard at the vet. He's in pretty bad shape, so he could use all the prayers and Power of the Paw he can get!

Poor Cano had to have his IV moved to his neck, so his whole face and neck swelled up. :(

In better news, the Winter Wonderland pups have their eyes open! They're getting so big.

PeeS For Guys Only:

You have ONE MORE DAY to get your pictures in for my Texas Pawbeque for Blogville Boys' Night Out! Send in your picture (preferably of you eating, but any will do) to dreagoddess(at)gmail(dot)com by FRIDAY, March 13th. That's tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday: Apologies Edition

Wordy PeeS for GUYS ONLY!:

You only have two more days to get in your pictures for my Texas Pawbeque as part of the Blogville Guys' Night Out! I need pictures (preferably of you eating but anything will do) by Friday, March 13th! Send them to me at dreagoddess(at)gmail(dot)com.

Never leave us again!

 It was a ruff week last week, furiends. Momma went to some conference thingy for work which is apparently more impawtant than US!! So on Monday, she packed up our stuff and abandoned Cinderella and me at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the week. She didn't get back until Friday. It was torture. I missed her so much! I've told her that she's never allowed to leave me again.

My kitty siblings told me they had it worse, though. Momma left them at home with nobody but Uncle Adam stopping by to check on them! I told them I thought they liked having the house to themselves, but they said they just like it without DOGS around, not without MOMMA. They're never happy! Anyway, Scribbles is taking more active steps to make sure Momma doesn't leave us again.

PeeS for Boys ONLY: Don't furget!

I'm holding a real Texas Pawbeque for the Blogville Boys' Night Out. Get your pictures (preferably of you eating, but any pictures will do) to me at dreagoddess(at)gmail(dot)com by Friday March 13th!

Can't you just smell the puppy breath?!

Mya's puppies are one week old!