Happy Rescue Day!

One picture.

That's all it took.  Just one.

One look at this face and I knew.

That face and those four paws needed to be in my life.

How did I know?

I have no idea...it's just a feeling.

A feeling that your life would never be full without them.

A feeling that you had to go get them, wherever they were.

A guess that's how love at first sight feels.

I've never felt that with a guy with two legs,

but I definitely know the feeling with a guy with four paws.

 

We had never met.

He was in Yakima, Washington...I was in West Linn, Oregon.

He needed a home...He needed someone to help him get well.

I had a home needing a dog...

I had a hole in my heart that only a furry best friend could fill.

I guess you could call it a successful online relationship!

I didn't ask any questions about him.

Really, I didn't care.

All I knew was that I needed to have him in my life.

I knew that he was sick.

There was a month waiting period before he could be adopted.

I never asked what he had...

I didn't care what it was, because I would care for him.

I needed to care for someone, and he needed care = perfect combo.

I drove hours...

He had waited months...

Nervously I arrived at the house-run shelter

...not knowing what I would find.

I saw him...he saw me.

He cried at my feet, and my heart jumped.

It was done.

We were each others, to care for.

He was scared, so I gathered all 35 pounds of him in my arms

and carried him to my car.

I briefly asked about his personal and medical history.

This is everything that I heard...

-He and his sister were rescued from a home filled with feces. (Hoarder)

-They were the only pups to survive.

-They both had parvo, worms, and any other parasite that a dog could have.

-They had to fight for food.

-They had been very sick.

-They had both been "fixed".

That's it.

But, really...I didn't care.  Whatever he needed, he would get.

 

Miracles do happen.
Two lives changed forever.
One picture was all it took.

Murphy- Rescued, March 13, 2010
Lori- Rescued, March 13, 2010

Furry Friend Poetry

Inspiration is all around us. 

My head seems to be filled with

puppies, wagging tails,and dogs running free.

So it was no surprise to me when one of my favorite poems

that I wrote with the kids was about "Un-Chaining Aurora".

How could I not be inspired by that experience?!

Now, let me back up a bit...
Last week I started teaching a unit on poetry.
I was a little nervous myself...
...but we started off slow.
I emphasized that poetry didn't have to be all about trees, flowers, and nature.
It didn't have to rhyme.
It didn't have to be intimidating and scary.
You don't even have to worry about punctuation! Bonus!
Heck, it could also be about animals too.

Hmmm...
Why in the world would my students write so much poetry about animals?
Dogs...cats...horses?
Shocking!?!
Nah.
No surprise at all.
My students really took hold of that idea about animals,
particularly dogs and rolled with it.
I guess they knew the way straight into their teachers' heart. :0)
Just for fun, and to make your week a little brighter...

ANIMAL POETRY

Simile Poetry: Aren't these as cute as a kitten?

Another type of poetry that inspired the students to write about animals was

CONCRETE POETRY.

Farty? Really?  Okay, at least it's honest.

Guess which students were sitting next to each other during the activity? Yeah...tough one, right?



And, here was my favorite...

If that doesn't make you smile, then...well, you need serious help.

Just kidding...sort of.

SO CUTE!

Now, doesn't this make you want to go write some animal poetry?

Oh, it doesn't?

Well, I hope it at least showed you that poetry

doesn't have to be about trees, flowers, and nature.

...instead it should always be about dogs, cats, and horses!

Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies, oh my!

I'm not sure why I keep doing it?!
The world seems obsessed with the supernatural,
and I seem to go right along with them.
Here I am watching another vampire movie.
No, not Twilight...though I've seen those...
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.

No, seriously...I am watching it right now.
Seriously.
I'm not sure why.
Sadly, or not so sadly, I like it.
Why you ask?
I have no idea at all.





I feel like I should be over these sort of movies and TV shows,
but I keep getting drawn back into them!
Vampire Dairies? Yep.
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer? Love Buffy.
True Blood?  Yeah.
The Walking Dead? Un-huh.
Being Human? Of course!  That has ghosts too!
Lost Girl? Oh, you don't know that one? I've seen it and it's fab too.
Supernatural? Duh, that has everything imaginable!
Plus, look at the main actors? Seriously cute.















If you're wondering how in the world I can watch these shows, I really don't know.
Except I can only watch them during the day,
and I spread out the watching over years.
Plus, I have Murphy.
I figure, one of the main things that the people
in these shows don't have is a Murphy dog.
He notices everything and there is NO WAY
that he would let a stranger near me,
let alone a weird creature!
Yeah, I feel safe.

I like that Abe goes around the USA not only freeing slaves and writing new laws,
but he's also saving the country from bloodsucking monsters.
Dude, I knew you rocked, but seriously.
This brings you to a whole new level of cool.

Now I'm just waiting for the next one...about zombies.

I know...I know.

But remember, I have my zombie plan worked out...

 Zombies?! I can't leave, the cookies are baking!