AZ RESCUE

A beautiful day for a picnic

Sherry - Petite Over 40, , , , , , , 5 Comments

AZ RESCUE, an organization I wrote about a couple of times recently, hosted their annual Adopter’s Picnic and Reunion yesterday. Hubby and I went because we are Adopter’s of the feisty and sweet King Lukas.

Thanks to Jennifer Berry and all the volunteers for hosting such a great day! It was a grand time reuniting with Lukas’s foster parents, and watching The Big L strut his stuff in his kingly robes.

Below are photos from the day:

This is what a face looks like surrounded by love.
Happiness is reuniting with people who loved you back to life.
A parade of dogs marched the land in their best costumes. The tiny “skeleton” in the foreground recently survived a major surgery and is doing great, thanks to the love and care of her foster-mom-cum-forever-mom.
Proud, strutting puppies!
King Lukas surveys the land in all his costumed glory.
King Lukas carries his ruby tipped scepter, which can also be used as a squeaky toy when he gets bored.
The king was proudest at seeing his fellow brothers and sisters in rescue–all happy, all with shiny coats and fully bellies, all at home and surrounded by love with people who care what happens to them.
When the costume parade was complete, we all sat together in the shade on a gorgeous day.
King Lukas was surrounded by his loving families — the family that brought him back to life and the family that has committed to be there for him for the rest of it. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Family photo! Is it me, or does Lukas appear to be giggling?

Dog Hymn

by Janice Bressler

God made Adam, then Eve
for obvious reasons

and hoped they would love, honor, comfort each other

Seeing it would likely not last forever,
given Adam’s appetite for conquest,
and Eve’s hunger to converse,
God made Dog.

God gave Dog
the ability to love without speech
and delight in chasing things
without the need to catch or accumulate.

God gave Dog too
a fiercely loyal heart,
a quiet respect for human tears,
and an inclination to sleep curled up
at the foot of the bed.

We all know,
of course,
that Adam and Eve
betrayed God,
deceived each other,
and so were banished from the Garden.

But remember, and give thanks:
because God is compassionate,
he sent Dog with them.

Published in the September/October issue of The Bark Magazine.

Perfection found in the love of a rescue dog

Sherry - Petite Over 40, , 1 Comment

Perfection comes in all shapes and sizes. For me it comes in the form of a rescue dog.

The Great Experimenters

I am learning that mutual love is the most healing kind of love.

My spiritual director once caught me in the act of putting myself down for something, some inadequacy, some imperfection I had started digging at to get rid of. She asked me to imagine a baby bird sitting in a nest in my hands. She asked me to look at that baby bird and tell her what I saw.

“A baby bird,” was my response, but it wasn’t the answer to the question she was really asking.

“Is the bird imperfect?” she asked. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“No,” I replied. “Of course there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a baby bird.”

“Then how come a baby bird can be born so perfectly the way it should be, but you can’t?”

I have sat with this image and embraced its lesson whenever I discover that I am…

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New reason to get outside for Worldwide Recess Day

Sherry - Petite Over 40, , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

My husband and I have a new reason for getting outside on September 14th, which is Worldwide Recess Day. We just adopted a new dog!

Meet our newest traveling companion!

AZ R.E.S.C.U.E is an organization that rescues cats and dogs from the euthanasia list at the local pound. Our little guy came to them in very bad shape, in need of lots of medical attention, besides needing to be neutered. Three months later, he is shiny, happy, and hopefully ready for a life of love and adventure with his new bi-peds.

On the couch together, just a paw’s touch away.

Thank you to Vicky and Phil, his foster parents, for taking such good care of “The Big Guy”, giving him the love and attention he needed, to be ready to meet a new family. Your strength, compassion, and blessing on the world are beyond measure. Without the commitment of organizations like AZ R.E.S.C.U.E and foster parents, we would not know the pleasure of feeling his particular warm paw pads press against our elbow as he sleeps next to us, or the belly laugh that bubbles out when he races to the couch and bounds into our laps. May you all experience the rich blessing that you give to others.