The Midley Biscuits!

What does a pitbull have to do to get some service around here?!

Probably my favourite pictures of these two ever. Priceless.

Midley master the 'down stay'!!

Izzy is an old hand at obedience, and Jason, Dudley, Mabel and I have been taking a class for the last few months, so I decided it was time to work on the triple down stay. They are all so well-behaved now!

Mr. Dude, the Cubs fan!

Mr. Dude, the former Alabama dog, has become a firm Cubs fan since his big move to Chi-town! He is also a whopping 51 lbs now and almost 1 whole year old.

"Hey, how do my ears look from this angle?"

"Yep, Cubs fan, that's me! What do you mean they're crap?!"

"Alright lady that's enough, no more photos today."

He's so lanky now!

Izzy, the fetch maniac.

Life with Izzy is...well, it's predictable! She is completely, utterly, unwaveringly, all-consumingly obsessed with fetch. Damn lab/pit mix makes for some serious drive and stamina. This series of photos perfectly depicts how she spends most of her time. We are hoping she will, at least somewhat, grow out of it...eventually...

"Well, hey, fancy meeting you here! Any interest in a game of fetch?"

"Listen, play with me or I may be forced to hurt you human."

"What about over here. Anyone over here interested in a quick game?"


"Or you over there, you'd do. Wanna play?"

"Oh come on people!! I'll bring the ball. You just open the back door. You know you want to."

Poor Izzy ;) Life is hard!

Mabel's love affair with Jason continues...

So, I think I probably mentioned before that one of the deciding factors in Mabel becoming a permanent member of our family was her adoration of Jason. Things have not changed in the months since she's been here!

She weighs 50-ish lbs now but it still doesn't stop her from being a lap dog. She and Jason enjoyed a lovely, lazy Sunday morning cuddle this morning. Doesn't he look comfortable!!

"Oof, life is hard. I'm so sleepy."

"Hmm, let me just get comfy here."

"Love you, love you, love you, love you, love you!"

(Notice Mabey's cool 'I heart Obama' collar!)

Transport 11/30: More puppy cuteness!

I finally get a dog mobile so I can do multiple big dog transports, and I end up with another bunch of puppies. Not that I am complaining of course. 5 ten week old dobie/gsd mixes on their way from NC to rescue in IL. I love getting my puppy fix!

Have a great life babies :))

They were curious at first...

Then they played a little... (this little girl was a spitfire!)

Then they started to relax and get sleepy...

It took them a while to get proper comfy...

And finally they nodded off. So precious.

So, I finally got my black dog...

No, only joking, that would be insane!
My friend Alex brought her shepherd/husky mix puppy, Saoirse, over for a playdate this weekend, and all the dogs got along swimmingly. Izzy and Saoirse especially loved one another and continued playing long after Dude and Mabey passed out. They had a blast!

Getting acquaitned in the back garden.

"Treats lady! We ain't sittin' pretty for nothin'."

I love the smiles on Izzy and Saoirse in this picture. Saoirse has one blue eye and one brown eye!

OH transport PUPPIES!! 9/27

Alex and I took part in the cutest.transport.ever today. We squeezed 8, yes 8, 3 month old Boxer/Pittie mix puppies into the back of my car for the Crown Point, IN-Chicago, IL leg of their tranport to a wonderful boxer rescue in WI. We got lots of puppy kisses and love. They were so, so cute.

Puppy scramble.

Trying to figure out where to put themselves.
"Seriously lady there's not a lot of room back here."
They settled down really quickly and slept like little angels!

Mabel's found her forever home.

So, after some gentle encouragement from a friend (Hi Peggy! Hope you are having a good Monday!) I have finally found some time to update my blog. It has been 2 months since I picked up Mabel off her transport from SC, and, as the pictures suggest, she is still here :))

Jason and I just completely fell in love with her and decided that we couldn't stand to see her leave, so in September we officially adopted her and entered the crazy world of a 3 dog household. Living with 3 1 year old dogs is, well...interesting at times, but we wouldn't have it any other way! Mabel and Izzy and Dudley, or Midley as J like to collectively call them, have settled into life as a threesome and love to play and wrestle together.

Mabel is thriving! She goes to daycare 3 days a week and gets to cuddle on the couch every night. Needless to say she charms everyone that she meets, and her story has been an inspiration to many. She is a wonderful example of the incredible resilience of dogs, and reminds me every day to enjoy life, and, most importantly, not to sweat the little stuff. She certainly doesn't!

Here are some recent pictures:

Mabel with (from L-R) her brother Dudley and her sister Izzy sitting pretty for a treat.

"Ooh, is Dad home?"





And here are some pictures of Mabel's favourtie passtime. She is always on this couch, which probably contributes to the fact that it is not the cleanest couch in the world. Oh well, she doesn't seem to mind.

Mabel is a HAM. She loves to have her belly scratched.

A good stretch after a tough day at daycare.
Hard at work, watching TV.

Mabel's Miraculous Healing Leg Wound

Mabel's leg wound is almost completely healed now. How crazy is that?!? She doesn't even need a bandage anymore. It is down to a small scab. I don't know if she will ever have hair there though. I think it will remain a pink scar. A reminder of why she deserves the best life possible I guess you could say.

The photos below may not be for the squeamish.
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Saoirse and Becks - the IN rescue puppies.

Checking out the cats I'm sure. Alex and Chris have 6!

Oh the ears!! Too cute.
Saoirse means freedom in Irish. She has one blue eye and one brown eye.
Becks looks pretty happy in his new home.


On Thursday July 31st 2008 Alex and I took a road trip to the Marion-Grant Humane Society in Marion, IN. Alex was looking for a shepherd/husky mix puppy for herself and Chris. They lost their 16 year old dog Duke a month ago and were ready to welcome a new dog into their family.

Marion-Grant Humane Society is a sad, sad place. Way out in rural IN, on a road that did not show on my GPS, we pulled up to an small, old building; the home of over 100 dogs and many more cats. Workers doing their best, but struggling in the face of unsurmountable odds. I watched the back of the female worker's head as she lead us to the back of the facility to meet the puppy that Alex was interested in. I didn't dare take my eyes off her head for fear that I would look into the eyes of one of those dogs. I couldn't. I know I would lose it if I did.

When we got to the back of the facility we were greeted by not one, but two, beautiful, wriggly, hopeful, 4 month old , 15 pound shepherd/husky mix puppies. Alex and I had spoken about this possibilty on the drive down and, as soon as I saw them, I know that she would be bringing them both home.

20 minutes later we were back in the car headed for Chicago, with 2 puppies jumping around in the back seat. I am so thankful to her for taking them out of there. They are in their new home now settling into their wonderful new life, and I could not be happier for them.

Plans are in the works to see if we can get some more of the dogs out before the shelter closes on August 31st. I am hopeful.

2 weeks later...

Mabel loving on my husband. He is her favourite person!

Mabel thinks daycare is a-ok.
She is ALWAYS smiling.

So, 2 weeks have passed since Mabel's arrival in Chicago and things just keep getting better and better with her! We started out with some difficulties between her and my own dogs. They, especially my female, were not happy about the new (albeit temporary) addition. Things are slowly improving and I would say they are living in about 90% harmony at this point.

Mabel is gaining weight like crazy. Last Wednesday she weighed in at a solid 47 lbs and the vet says that she only needs to gain 3-5 more lbs to be at her ideal weight. So in 1 month she has gone from an emaciated 33 lbs to a healthy, if a smidge skinny, 47lbs. She is happy and full of energy.

Psychologically she is a very different dog from the scared, aggressive bag of bones that Michelle pulled 1 month ago. She is loving and oh so affectionate with my husband and I. She wags her tail for everyone that she meets, and nuzzles anyone that will let her! She goes to daycare 2-3 days a week and plays well with all kinds of different dogs. She accepts new situations willingly and adjusts very quickly. There are, however, a few things that she is afraid of. Namely hairdryers, drills and shovels. We are working on all these things!

Mabel and my first trip to Petco will forever be seared in my memory as one of the most heartwarming moments of my life. She hesitated at the door for about 7 seconds before finding the courage to dive in. As soon as she did she was in Heaven! We spent 1 hour in there walking up and down the aisles, and I'm pretty sure she sniffed everything in the store twice. She smiled non-stop and everyone that met her fell in love with her. It was so wonderful to see her so happy.

Even though I am watching all this with my own eyes, it is still hard to believe the leaps and bounds of improvements that she has made in the last month. At the beginning I was truly questioning her chance for survival and now she is living in my house, healthy and loving life. It is such a priveledge to get to watch such a transformation.

And, she is here :-)))))

Finally, on Sunday July 20th I got to meet Mabel. I drove out to Western Springs, IL to meet her transport and pick her up. It is so great to have her here.

Meeting Mabel for the 1st time.
She wagged her tail for me immediately and fell asleep on the way home, using a stuffed toy that I bought for her as a pillow. I was immediately in love!

Mabel's night in Indy

Mabel spent the night of Saturday July 19th at the home of a wonderful volunteer in Indianapolis, IN. Jenn not only overnighted Mabel, she also drove several legs of her transport. Big thanks to Jenn for helping this lucky girl.

Jenn reported of her time with Mabel: "I had the pleasure of keeping Mabel overnight. Such a joy! An absolute joy! I fell in love with her and I miss her terribly already!"

As you can see Mabel made herself at home in Indy!