a love letter to claire.

Dear Claire,

It's been five years since I first went to the Nashville Humane Society and found you. Well, since you found me, really. You're the first friend I made in this city, and my life here (and in general) would be so different if we never met. Where did the past five years go?! We've been through a lot together during that time, both good times and bad. And while it's so wonderful to enjoy those good times together, I think it's even more of a blessing that you've been able to help me so much through the darker days. A stranger once told me that you're my guardian angel, and I have to say: I believe it!

My favorite memory over the past five years is from last summer when we were back home. We got up really early and went down to the beach before the lifeguards showed up. You'd never been to the ocean before and, at first, you were a little afraid of the waves. Soon enough, you were running as fast as you could up the dunes and then back down past me to jump into the water. I remember that there was a landscaping crew hanging out in the parking lot, having breakfast before starting their day, and they came over just to watch you. When you were done running in circles (showing off again!), you came over, covered in seaweed and sand, and jumped all over them. One of the guys said he'd never seen a happier dog.

Not a day goes by where I'm not laughing at something you've done. You are silly and mischievous and curious and just so smart! You love to show off for people - whether there's something in it for you or not. You love having your tummy rubbed and you get annoyed if there are people nearby who aren't doing so. You are the best squirrel/rabbit/cat hunter around, and I dread the day that you bring one back to me (so please don't). You love walking the neighborhood kids to school in the morning and saying hello to everyone on our typical route. Running is one of your favorite things to do, and I love watching you zoom by with your little baby ears flapping in the wind! Chase is still your favorite dog to have play-dates with, and I've honestly never seen two dogs love each other more. You sleep the best on Grandma Sue's Pier One blanket (that she so kindly parted with on your behalf), and you never go to bed without bringing Lambie and Moosie with you. You love coming with me to run errands on Saturday mornings, mainly because the people at the stores we go to always have a special treat for you. Fetching anything except the peanut butter jar is still beneath you, no matter how many different kinds of balls or frisbees I try to entice you with. You enjoy watching the Food Network, but you're not such a fan of Animal Planet. You hate when I'm on the phone and will go to great lengths to get me to stop using it - like the time you wedged your face between my ear and the phone over and over again until I hung up from my conversation. Whenever someone comes to our house, you always think you're the reason they're there, and you bring your toys to them immediately - but just to show them, not to play with them. And there is nothing that makes you more excited than when I come home from work!

Naturally, ClaireBear, I could go on and on. But the bottom line is: I love you more than anything! You are, by far, the biggest blessing in my life. I can't imagine spending my days without you, and I certainly don't want to! You are a huge part of our family, and even though you don't get to see your relatives very often, you can rest assured that they miss you and love you dearly. I know I say it a lot, but it's only because it's true: you are the MOST loved dog in the world!!

Happy Gotcha Day, little one!

our bucket list.

So, by now, most of you have probably heard about this sweet story of a boy who created a bucket "lick it" list for his terminally ill service dog. When I read it, of course it got me thinking about all of the things I'd like to do with Claire in her lifetime. I have my own bucket list that consists of 90+ things that I'd like to do in my life [getting a puppy was one of them], but I decided to put together a separate list for me and Claire. Here are some of the items, in no particular order of importance.

1. Fence in the backyard so that Claire has more room to run when we're not at the dog park.
2. Go on a vacation to the beach, just the two of us - spend our nights staying at a dog-friendly hotel and spend our days playing by the ocean.
3. Share a cone of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.
4. Walk a 5k together [I'd say that we'd run, but that would be a nightmare because she would think we were playing a game of chase, and I would die of either exhaustion or of embarrassment].
5. Have my friend and fellow photographer Erin do a photo shoot of me and Claire.
6. Let Claire lead a walk.
7. Have a birthday party in my backyard with a cake from See Spot Eat, and invite all of her friends. Send out real invitations, hand out party favors, and have decorations fit for a queen!
8. Go for a ride in a convertible. [I'll have to hold on to her so she doesn't jump out].
9. Take a picture of Claire in a field of sunflowers. Print it on a canvas to hang up in the house.
10. Get a tattoo of Claire's paw print.
11. Get 100 followers on Google Friend Connect, and reach 200 followers on our Facebook page. [This is obviously a personal goal, but I still felt that I needed to add it!]
12. Create another masterpiece and sell copies to raise money for the Nashville Humane Society.

What should I add to this list? What's on the bucket list for you and your dog?

  

walk for a cause. walk for charity.

There are two huge charity walks coming up in Nashville over the next few months, so I thought now would be a good time to start spreading the word.

The first one is Nashville's annual Music City Mutt Strutt which takes place on September 22nd and raises money for the Nashville Humane Society - which is where I adopted Claire! Some friends and I have formed a team called the SubWoofers [get it?!] and would love your help as we try to raise money for this cause. Claire and her pals are walking, too! Feel free to join our team!

The next one is Puppy Up, which is held on November 4th. The 2 Million Dogs Foundation puts on this walk to raise money for research that seeks to find common links and causes between canine and human cancers. I haven't yet registered for this walk, but I plan on doing so! Check out their website for more details about this awesome organization.

Of course, if you don't live in Nashville, you won't be able to participate in either of these events, but I'd encourage you to look for similar opportunities in your city!

  

say hello to captain.

Okay, guys. Remind me that I am not allowed to go to the Nashville Humane Society unless I am able to adopt all of the dogs another dog. I stopped by with some friends last weekend because they volunteer there, so we spent some time loving on the sweet dogs. It was my first time back since I adopted Claire three years ago, and I was reminded why I don't frequent the NHA more often: I cry. I cry when I see all of these incredibly amazing dogs who don't have loving homes. I cry because I can't take them all in myself. I cry because I want them to all be adopted right now!!

We spent a lot of time with a 9-month-old Boxer/Chow/Sharpei mix named Captain who was such a fantastic dog. He was trained by his previous owners, so he was really well-behaved, and he loved playing fetch and running around with us. I loved him - and I would adopt him myself, except that everyone agrees that Claire needs to belong to a one-dog family, at least until she's older. But Captain very clearly chose my friend, anyway, and when a dog chooses someone, it's a connection that can't be denied. Sadly, my friend can't adopt Captain because he and his girlfriend live in an apartment with two dogs already. Don't worry. I'll keep trying to persuade them! Do you know anyone who might be interested in adopting this love bug?

Captain.

the five people you need to know.

I'm back from the BarkWorld conference (and missing my new friends already!), and I have so much to tell you all! I'm going to break it up into multiple blog posts over the next couple months so that I don't have a 234901245562 word post coming at you all at once! Aren't I sweet? :)

In this post, I want to introduce you to five great people who you really just need to know. Seriously, your life will be better with them in it. I have BarkWorld to thank, and now you all will have me to thank! So here we go!

1.  Neely Raffellini is the mastermind behind The Giving Paw and The Pet Entrepreneur. The former is a pet wish list service where you can register your pet so that family and friends can help you with cash gifts for all of your pets needs and wants. The latter will allow you to contact Neely so that she can help you start up your own pet-related business - and she is currently helping me launch my own (details are soon to follow!) so I can personally vouch for her awesomeness. She will help you take your idea and run with it, educating you about the essential tools that you will need for your business to succeed, and she'll stick with you every step of the way! If she can deal with me and my thousands of questions, she will certainly be able to help you!

2.  Lauren Girard is hands down one of my new favorite people, and her dog, Paige, is one of my new favorite dogs [Watch out, Lauren, because I might steal her if I get the chance!] Lauren is so down-to-earth, hilariously funny (she can keep up with my humor, how about that!), and one of the most genuine people I have ever met. She is a huge proponent of clicker training, and her work with Paige is proof that positive reinforcement is the way to go! Lauren and Paige are in a number of commercials, have been featured on the David Letterman show, and have had an article written about them in Readers Digest. Visit them at Lauren&Paige; watch some videos, be amazed, and feel your heart melt when you see these two together!

3.  Katherine Moore and I hit it off right away - and why wouldn't we, as two gorgeous brunettes who love their dogs?! Katie has a blog entitled Life With Arie (I, for one, love the title!) where she shares tips on nutrition and pet care, in addition to sharing stories about her beautiful white German Shepherd, Arie. When I started reading Katie's blog, I was instantly pulled in because of her writing style - she writes like she talks, so her personality just shines right through! I do have to tell you all a little secret about Katie, however: she is also a master at making animal faces (particularly the llama). I think you all should visit her blog and leave a comment telling her to post a picture of this imitation... Just don't tell her that you heard it from me!

4.  Rabon Major is the fresh new face that you'll see at the Atlanta Humane Society. She has been working extremely hard to ensure that all goes smoothly for the upcoming opening of their new (and incredible) site in Alpharetta GA. In addition, she manages ALL of the AHS social media - follow her on Twitter (@atlantahumane) and "Like" the AHS page on Facebook to stay up-to-date about the dogs and cats of AHS, AHS rescue operations, and all of the fundraising events.

5.  Lorien Clemens of Pet Hub had me astounded when she told me all about this business. Pet Hub is your one-stop-shop for all pet owners. But what had me amazed is the part where you can create a profile to streamline all of the information about your pet (care instructions, medical conditions and treatments, veterinary providers, likes/dislikes, etc) and send the profile to those who are caring for them while you are away. In addition, the service provider watching your pet while you're on vacation can write updates about your pet which will then be emailed and texted to you so that you will know what's happening when it's happening. Thanks to a QR tag affixed to your pet's collar, if he or she gets lost, anyone who finds them can type in the URL to pull up the profile, allowing your pet to come home to you as soon as possible. Check. It. Out.

There are a number of other fantastic people who I met at the conference, and I will absolutely be telling you all about them in upcoming posts. I'll give you a chance to get acquainted with these five for now, but be sure to check back for more!

...That was still a 234901245562 word post...
  
  

nashville humane association.

As many of you know, I found Claire (actually, Claire found me - you can read the full story here) at the Nashville Humane Association. DogTipper wrote an article in their latest newsletter about their visit to NHA when they were in town, and I wanted to share it with you all. NHA has some amazing programs that everyone should know about. I wanted to spread the word because they have blessed me infinitely by saving Claire and her littermates! Here is the article:

As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, this week we attended a canine nutrition summit at the headquarters for Mars Petcare, located just outside Nashville, Tennessee. The day we arrived, though, we headed off for a visit to the Nashville Humane Association with our fellow bloggers for a look at this special facility.

The shelter places about 2,500 animals every year in their forever homes; during their stay at the shelter, the pets have an excellent home where animals can stay as long as it takes for them to be adopted. Seven air handling systems throughout the building prevent odors and the building itself is bright and cheerful, a happy place to look for your next family member.

Nashville Humane Association also told us about their many community programs. Because the cost of their food (a substantial cost for shelters) is underwritten by locally-based Pedigree, the shelter is able to reallocate that money, usually into spay and neuter programs to help reduce the homeless pet population in the region. Their Rover program helps educate the public to the importance of spay and neuter and offers low-cost surgeries.

They also have several other special programs including Teddy’s Wagon, a mobile adoption service; Bark, Stop, Drop and Roll, a program for law enforcement about dealing with dogs in the course of their work; and Safe Haven, which offers refuge for pets at the shelter in cases of domestic violence. (Many don’t leave their homes in cases of domestic violence because of fear for their pet’s safety so this is a very important service.)

We really enjoyed our visit to the Nashville Humane Association, a shelter facility that proves that looking for your next pet at a shelter can be every bit as joyous and pleasant an experience for the entire family as buying a pet at a store…and you’re saving a life in the process!

how it all began.

Let me start by saying: I did not grow up with pets. Maybe a fish or two here and there, but nothing that required more than two seconds of my attention each day. Interestingly enough, I used to be afraid of dogs. I was smaller than a lot of kids my age. Naturally, most dogs were bigger than I was, especially during the more impressionable years. To put it bluntly: I was chased. By many a dog. MANY. A. DOG. The first dog that I actually bonded with was my cousin's golden retriever, Emily. When people talked about a dog being man's best friend, Emily was always the one I thought of. Emily made me want a dog of my own.

Fast forward to June 2009. I moved to Nashville for my job and to get a second fresh start (my first fresh start happened in September 2007 when I moved to Denver. But that is another story for another time). I packed up everything I could in my little Honda Civic and drove to Nashville. And when I finished my first week of work, I decided that there was no better time than now. However... I am the type of person who likes to know everything there is to know about something before I make a big decision. Please keep that in mind as you read on.

I decided to go to the Humane Society and ask some questions about having a dog, about what kind of dog would fit my lifestyle, and about other helpful tips for first-time dog owners. After I spoke to some lovely volunteers, I took a walk around the shelter to read about some of the dogs there. I was doing really well, staying strong, just "gathering information." But then one of the volunteers pointed me in the direction of the puppy room.

Ohhhh the puppy room. The volunteer told me that they had gotten a litter of black-lab/border-collie mixes a couple weeks earlier. The family dropped off the eight puppies because they already had too many dogs. They were now eight weeks old and were so cute. They were black with little white paws and white chests; five boys and three girls. I first held a mellow little boy named BB. As I was holding him, I noticed his sister in the next kennel over. She was sitting there looking at me with her head tilted to the side. I put BB back in the kennel and picked her up. As soon as I picked her up and put her against my shoulder, she rested her head and gave me this big contented sigh. She made herself right at home, all snuggled up against me.

That did it for me and Claire. I put her back in the kennel to go fill out the adoption paperwork, and as I turned to walk away, she let out this one loud yelp. I turned around and looked at her, and she let out another yelp. I picked her up again and took her with me to fill out the application. She walked across the counter sniffing everything, chewing on pens, and giving the volunteers kisses while I gave them all of the information that they needed to know.

She is now sixteen months old. We have successfully navigated through a little more than a year together. She keeps me laughing, keeps me busy, and at the same time, keeps me sane during the ups and downs that life has to offer. My goal for this blog is to share the stories of the past year and to share the stories that are yet to come. Because, as you will soon see, I absolutely love my Claire and can't imagine life without her. I'm pretty sure you will feel the same as you continue reading. There is so much more to come!

8-week-old Claire :)