I received a recognition award!

Tonight was the awards and recognition dinner at the Nussentials Family Reunion. We had a nice dinner. I was having fun watching good friends receiving awards and recogniton, taking photos and laughing a lot. This was the dinner everyone came to dressed as they want to be in 5 years. I wore the rescue driver shirt I described a few blogs back.

Phil and Lucie were dressed in fishing gear - they were hilarious. Phil had announced Most Supportive Spouse, and Biggest Customer Gatherer, then announced a new award this year... Greatest Servant. Phil read the inscription on the award, "Most Serving Attitude, 2008 - One who serves others, in the end, serves themselves." Then he said "Miss Edie Elting"

I was stunned. I'm not a big business builder, I'm more comfortable in the background, creating tools to support others in the company, preferring to help as much as I can and enjoying the success of my friends.

The photo above shows me receiving the award from my good friends and Nussentials owners and President, Phil and Lucie Mims.

It's been a few hours, and I'm still surprised and so proud of my association with these people.

Another thing we did today is present a check to Children Incorporated (http://www.children-inc.org/) to help feed hungry children right here in the United States. We donate 5% of all sales off the top (not just of profit, but of all sales). Today's check was for $22,000. Our company is only one year old and every month we send a check.

I'd say we're doing pretty darn good.

Howdy from "Big D"

Next time I make a reswervation for a flight that leaves at 7:40 AM I hope somebody smacks me!! I got up at 4:30AM, left for the airport at 5:45 and am already here in my room at the Omni... 12:30 Eastern (my time) 11:30 Dallas time.

The flight was nice and relaxing. I sat with the armrest down, and had about 8 inches extra on my seat belt. What a victory!

And then I walked into the lobby of the Omni, saw my good friend (the president of Nussentials) Phil M ims, and he didn't recognize me at first! He and his wife Lucie are my good friends. I walked up to him and said "Don't you recognize me?" He said "Can you blame me?!" and gave me a big hug. It's great to be with my good friends again.

Well, I bought a pair of size 20 jeans last week and have washed them in hot water twice and they're ok when I first put them on but they bag out after about 20 minutes. Good grief! I can't get used to thinking about shopping for and wearing a size in the teens again!

Speaking of sizes, are they making clothes bigger these days? It seems that in 1988 I weighed 205 and wore a size 20. Then I lost 40 pounds and wore a size 16. What's up with that?

Well, I'm going to see if I can find something to eat. More later!

Traveling with The Bostonians and Champagne

For a change we got to sleep in a little this morning, only ran one leg of the transport - from Charlotte to Salisbury. There were lots of little passengers this time. Our passengers included "The Bostonians", three dignified little Boston Terriers named Muppet, Kissie and Kermit. They must have come from a backyard breeder, because they were intact, filthy, and all had eye and skin infections. Their coats were tan and black when they should be a crisp white and black. They were good little riders, settled down quickly, were quiet, and snoozed most of the trip. We also had 2 shi tzus named Oodle and Zeus, a little mixed dog named Marlee, a puppy named Sunny and a poodle named Champagne. As usual, Mari held Champagne on her lap and she slept all the way. Champagne, that is, not Mari!

We were home by 2:30PM and I've already cloroxed out the crates and they're drying in the sun. Next week I'll be in Dallas for a Nussentials "family reunion" and will be missing working with the furbabies.

Marvelous Marvin moves on

I'll try to write this quickly, without a lot of tears. This was another of those days when rescuers see their work fulfilled and their hearts broken at the same time. My foster puppy Marvin has moved to his new forever home.

He cried when we left his new house without him, and it brought me tears too. His new family is nice, a young couple with a chihuahua that Marvin will terrorize for a few days and hopefully will eventually be a playmate.

It's quiet here, Marvin's crate has been moved to the garage. Tomorrow I'll clorox it out and prepare it for the next little puppy that needs our help for a few weeks. Tonight I will probably lay awake and sob off and on all night, knowing that he will wake up in the middle of the night and cry because he doesn't know where he is, or where Jim and I are.

Our Casey will miss him most of all. They played together so often. Tonight Casey has moped around, stood where Marvin's crate was in the dining room and looked puzzled. She used to lay near his crate so he always had company. Here are a few photos of them playing with a tennis ball yesterday afternoon, and a poem dedicated to foster moms and dads.

Don't know what else to say, except I miss him and hope I've placed him in a home where he will have a wonderful life.

To My Foster Mom (and Dad)

There I sat, alone and afraid,
You got a call and came right to my aid.
You bundled me up with blankets and love.
And, when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.
I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold.
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend
.You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.
And just when I thought you'd done all you do,
There came along not one new lesson, but two.
First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go.
I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss.
Along came a new family, they even have kids!
They took me to their home, forever to stay.
At first I thought you sent me away.
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear.
No matter how far, you will always be near.
And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on.
I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
But I'll never forget what I learned that first day.
You never really give your fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by.
We may never meet again, and now I know why.
You'll remember I lived with you for a time.
I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.
- Author Unknown

Senior dogs with allergies and joint pain

Cody is a rat terrier – corgi mix. He is 12 years old. He had allergies very bad to some type of weed or grass that comes out from July till Oct. He was put on Prednisone for his itching. This drug destroyed his liver. We went to another vet who helped him , but they put him on another drug that he would have to be on the rest of his life. I know MORE can help with liver disease, so I have given Cody 1 scoop once a day since June and he has no trouble with his liver or allergies, and he is not taking any drugs.

I have noticed a cloudiness in Cody's eyes, probably the start of cataracts. I started giving him 1 tsp of PET RESTORE once a day. His eyes have cleared by 60% and he has only been on it a month.

I have an Australian Shepherd, Teddy Bear, who's love in life is herding livestock. He was run over by a car when he was 1 year old. Now that he is 11 he was unable to lift his hind end without A LOT of pain. His herding days were over. He had little spirit left as this was what he lived for. We started him on RUN. After a week Teddy Bear was out playing with our other kids and was again doing what he lived for and LOVED! Herding the cattle.

Sheri S,

Missouri

I can't believe she made that U-turn!!

Meet Cesare... Cesare the dog, that is, not the dog whisperer! Cesare hitched a ride with me today on the transport and since I didn't have a crate big enough for him, I tethered him and he rode in the front seat. What a traveling companion! This is my kind of dog! 80 pounds, friendly and funny as can be. And boy once he knew I had a stash of Milk Bones under my seat he wouldn't leave me alone. Kept looking at me with those pitiful eyes... "I'm SOOOOO hungry!!" What a dog!

I took this shot of him while we were waiting to make a U-turn to our transfer spot in Salisbury, NC. Looks like he was wincing at my driving! "I can't look!!!!"

Other passengers with me today were a strange looking dog named Daffodil - from the neck down she looked like a boxer, but her head was all Shar-pei! Next to her were 5 lab mix puppies who rode like little champs. No pooping or peeing in this group! Right behind me was a German Shepherd that weighed 40 pounds but should weigh 65. She was gorgeous, a great rider - got in her crate and laid right down and chewed on her milk bone. She was great on a leash too. Someone trained her... then turned her out and broke her heart.

I'm a fan of big dogs. Especially big black dogs, the ones that are hardest to adopt. More black dogs are euthanized in shelters thank any other color. Not sure why, I think black dogs are beautiful.

Today everything went really well. Mari, Alex (our friend from Animal Adption League) and I each drove down to Spartanburg, SC. Alex dropped off in Charlotte to take her foster dogs to an adoption event, and Mari and I continued on to Salisbury. In case anyone wonders, that's 255 miles for me. Thanks to Jim for letting me use his car - a Toyota Highlander. I couldn't get many crates in my Mercury Grand Marquis, though the dogs would probably love the leather seats and upgraded sound system. In the Highlander they usually suffer through me singing along to XM Radio 60's and 70's stations. Today I took along some CDs - Don't laugh - I took the soundtracks to The Littlest Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. I know roughly every other word and alone in the car I sing super loud.. and super off key! POOR BABIES!! I wonder if they missed the cacophony of the shelter!!

And speaking of black dogs, Mari has to have a little rider sitting on her lap or she's not happy. This week she had little Socks, a black ShiTzu with a dust mop for a head, photo at right. I think the dog has eyes in there somewhere. He was a sweetie. In all we moved about 30 dogs to rescue and adoptive homes today. A lab mom and her 4 pups, and the lab dad; a Pomeranian named "Puff Puff", a cinnamon colored dog that was just striking. Redbone-coonhound mix named Ziggy, but he was an unbelieveably beautiful color. A paralyzed dog that had its own wheels. More puppies. More Shar-Pei mixes, Boxers and Pit mixes and a cute little border collie that reminded me of my Tippi. Any questions why we do this? It was a good day. Rewarding. All were experienced transporters and everyone knew what they were doing.Tomorrow morning Mari and are are doing another transport of a red bloodhound. Single passengers always seem so simple after the Saturday runs. And on the way tomorrow we're going to drop Marvin at his new forever home. If I can stop sobbing long enough I'll write about that tomorrow!!

The top ten reasons to spay and neuter your pets were euthanized in shelters last week.

Our Scottie, Smudge, is young again

Our 11 year old Scottish Terrier, Smudge, was having some slowness and a few lumps on her side when we discovered Nussentials' PET RESTORE.

After six weeks of placing two tablespoons a day in her food (with absolutely no reaction to eating it), her lumps (fatty deposits from being older) have gone down by half, and she doesn't appear to be stiff, in fact, we play frisbee every day after her dinnertime for nearly a half hour. It's like she's young again!

Lucie M.

Ouray, CO

A toothless poodle, a tripod chihuahua, and more!

Today's animal rescue transport moved 37 dogs to freedom. Our passengers were Rhett, a 60+ pounds golden retriever/great pyrnees mix, Darling, a hound mix and her 10 - 2 week old puppies, a senior poodle named Flicker (photo at right), and a senior chihuahua named Little Man.
Flicker and Little Man rode on our laps and were comfy and snoozing in no time. Flicker had just had the rest of his teeth removed last week, so his tongue stuck out in a persistent Bronx cheer. He looked just like a little old man with a toothless grin. So sweet and loving, also nothing but skin and bones. I'm glad we don't know their whole stories, it would probably make us crazy.

Little Man, the 9 year old, 3 pound, three-legged chi, rode in my lap. He supposedly was picked up by animal control in a rural South Carolina county hanging around with a few stray pit bulls. His owner must have been contacted, because we were told that he was a puppy mill puppy and his mother had bit his front leg off when he was a puppy. He also had a damaged eye, but apparently has a lot of spunk for this littlle 3 pound guy to keep up with a few pit bulls, with only 3 legs.

Mari and I amuse ourselves on these rides sometimes by having conversations as though it were the dogs talking.

Little Man: "Stand back, poodle, I'll kick your ass! Where's my pit crew?"
Flicker: "mumble, mumble, mumble, drool"
Rhett: "BARK! BARK! BARKBARK!!"
Darling: "Shut up! If you wake up my babies you're in BIG trouble, mister!"

What can I say? I guess we're just a couple of crazy old ladies. We decided in a few years when gas prices are prohibitive, we'll be driving mopeds up I-85 pulling wagons of Shih Tzus wearing helmets and goggles! Transports continue!

We also decided we have never done anything in our lives so meaningful and rewarding.

Mari and Flicker

Edie and Little Man


Rhett

With bundles of love on our laps

Edie and Jingle

Mari and Jewel

Of course you know today was Saturday and for Mari and I that means up early, an hour and a half trip to Spartanburg, SC, to pick up some dogs and get them started on their journey to rescue by giving them a ride to Salisbury, NC, 3 hours away.Today we had 26 dogs, and a missing driver. This was devastating, as we tried to figure out how to get all the dogs in vehicles to make the trip to Charlotte and beyond. Not taking them is not an option. Going back to the shelter would be the end for them.

So Mari and I took 2 extra passengers. Mari drove with Jewel, a 10 pound, skin and bones, Italian Greyhound mix on her lap, and I shared my seat with Jingle, a sweet Boston terrier mix with ears bigger than his head!

In the back rode Rascal, a spaniel mix, Spot, a border collie/hound mix, Spider a shepherd mix, and Six, a yellow lab mix.

Jewel was scared, uncertain, and submissive but after a few minutes of cuddling with Mari, she fell fast asleep in her lap. She probably has not had that kind of comfort, peace and quiet in the cool air for a long time, if ever. Jingle was more confident, but it seemed like he couldn't believe his luck, to get to ride shotgun and look out the window for a while before falling asleep too. He gave me lots of kisses!

Everyone in the back fell asleep too, except Spider, who first had to rip up the bedding in his crate. Once that bit of business was done, he fell asleep too. They all seem to realize they have left the chaos and cacophony of the shelter behind them, and the cool air, soft bedding, and gentle rocking of the car puts them at ease so they can sleep.

When we got to Salisbury, NC, the appointed place for the next drivers to take our passengers, Jewel didn't want to leave Mari. A bond of trust and love had quickly developed, and given the chance, Jewel would've held on to Mari for the rest of her days.

It's late Saturday evening, and by now Jewel is at her destination in Virginia. The other passengers continue on, to points north, in all, traveling 17 legs in two days.

Six little lives continued on today, and we played a small part in it. I can go to sleep tonight knowing that I helped and for those 6, it was the most important day of their lives. But what will keep me awake is that there are so many more who didn't get to ride.... and they are gone.

Ok, so my angry face was on the local TV news...

An angry public outcry at the fact that 13 pit bulls had been returned to their abusive owner caused local Charlotte news stations to follow up on the story and get further explanation from the sheriff's attorney who defended, OOPS, I mean "prosecuted" this case.

Below is the link to the full story and video. My angry face appears about half-way through. The picture above is a screenshot of it.. scarey, huh? Yeah I'm one angry animal activist these days!

News story and video: Attorney explains why 13 pit bulls returned to owner