Chance

This week I’m going to tell you the story of my only girl dog, Chance. She’s a yellow Labrador retriever and she’s a big girl -- she weighs about 140 lbs. My vet even commented the last time she was there, ‘Now that’s a big dog’. And he sees lots of dogs. Every inch of her is kindness, and if she has one fault it would be in getting over excited at the prospect of food. She came to us with a flaw though. Her heart was broken, I‘m sure. And I’m not sure if it has healed to this day, sadly. She was five years old and her owner had moved and wouldn’t/couldn’t take her. She can shake hands, is perfectly house trained, can catch a treat if you throw it to her and she lives up to her retriever name -- she greets us each time we come in the door with a ’prize’ of some kind, normally one of Jake’s toys. She was bewildered of sorts when she came to us. As I said, she was five and had always had the same, original owner. All her shot records from birth were sent with her, but no belongings of any kind except for the collar she was wearing. She had obviously been loved and taken care of. Her true story is still a mystery to us. At that time, she had been at a foster home with a rescue organization for a few weeks. They were looking for someone, anyone who would let a dog this size stay indoors. We sized up the dog door and she was ours. She’s been with us now for nearly five years. She’s lived her entire life doing exactly what her owners asked her to do, no complaints whatsoever. She loves her bed, she knows it’s hers and is always glad to end the day there. She drinks massive amounts of water when she gets up in the morning. She’s our ‘big girl', Chance.

Alice

Makingstuffwithlove

This is one of my all time favorite cat videos. I'm sure you have seen this before...but it always makes me laugh until I cry. Great for those down-in-the-dumps days! 

A Cat's Prayer
Now I lay me down to sleep, 
The king-size bed is soft and deep... 
I sleep right in the center groove 
My human can hardly move!
I've trapped her legs, she's tucked in tight
 And here is where I pass the night 
No one disturbs me or dares intrude 
Till morning comes and "I want food!"
I sneak up slowly to begin 
My nibbles on my human's chin. 
She wakes up quickly, I have sharp teeth - 
And my claws I will unsheath
For the morning's here and it's time to play 
I always seem to get my way. 
So thank you Lord for giving me 
This human person that I see.
The one who hugs me and holds me tight
 And sacrifices her bed at night.
Author Unknown
What kind of world would we have without our pets??!
By
Patty from Catcalls

SHOW AND TELL TUESDAY

SHOW AND TELL TUESDAY - I've been asking some PetsJubilee team members what their favorite item is that they have sold or made for someone, and why it is a favorite. Or is there a special connection or meaning to the item or the sale. This is Part 2 (in the order received): Sue (FrumsGlassManagerie) writes the following; "It is so hard to choose just one favorite of my handcrafted items, but if pressured to choose one, I'd pick the nightlight I made for an Etsy team challenge. The theme was "irregular dogs." I can over look my beginner stain glass techniques and call it a favorite because of the subject. It is the irregularities that make each of us special. My own dog was rescued along with 9 other dogs from a very neglectful situation; She is the poster dog for "irregular." We named her Gemma, which means precious gem or stone in italian. We call her our diamond in the rough. She is a survivor, whos most obvious imperfection is her tongue. It shows scars from fighting for food, It is hard to believe such a gentle, trusting soul, would be able to defend herself." Photo of nightlight lit: Photo of nightlight: Photo of Gemma: Thanks so much Sue. I can see that she is a diamond in the rough, and quite special. I LOVE the nightlight. Check out Sue's shop for the prettiest glass jewelry as well. I recently purchased this wonderful gem (and I wear it all the time): ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stephanie (ChocolateKennels) was asked the same question. Here is her response: "My favorite item out of all the items I have done is the Ocean Sea Pet TuTu The reason it is my favorite is because Its very unique and I love aqua since it is my birthday stone color. It is also the only tutu that I can seem to create over and over again with out any problems and its my best seller." I have to admit this is so pretty, and I love the color as well. Stephanie makes great hair bows and storage boxes too. I just had to throw this picture in here. What a cutie in the precious pink tutu: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patty (Catcalls) had the following to say:

"That is really an impossible question! So I just picked one fairly recent one. Full Tummy " Why did she choose Full Tummy? "Full Tummy has lots of PURRsonality. I can see the satisfaction on the kitty's face, and the position she is lying in is one that betrays her inner thoughts of, "Now, THIS is the life!"

This painting really is hysterical as is all of Patty's art work. Patty has 2 shops. I recently purchased a few ACEOs from her dog themed shop (DogBarks).

You have to love her humor.

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Allison (JiggyPiggyBoutique) was also asked to pick her favorite. This is hers: "My favorite item in my shop is the play tunnel." WHY? "Visually they become my favorite because of the patterns I use. I spend hours harping over what will accent a guinea pigs personality. However, ultimately they are my favorite because when I see them I can picture the squeaks and popcorn attacks my guinea pigs have when they play with them. It is by far their favorite toy and it makes me wonder why they like it so much. Do they think passing through it will take them somewhere else?!? Who knows!" Between seeing Allison and Patty with their guinea pigs I wish I had one too. If I did I would definitely buy some of these play tunnels. They really look like fun to me. This little face cracks me up: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next up is Hilary (SewingLoves) Hilary says her favorite item is - "Chas the Needle Felted Mouse. When I was making Chas, I wasn't exactly happy with how he was coming out. Right after I finished him though, I realized I loved him and if he sold I would miss him more than any other item I had ever made. " I also think that mouse is just the cutest little thing. My favorite of hers WAS this heart shaped pin cushion so I bought it. LOL (pssst. she has another in her shop in lavender):More to come next week.

If anyone would like to be featured in an upcoming blog, just tell me your favorite item or sale, and a quick story as to why.

You can convo me at:

http://www.dianadesignsny.etsy.com/

http://www.stylindogsboutique.etsy.com/

Handmade Pet Products 3/28/11

Each weekday, the members of the Pets Jubilee Team on Etsy choose an item to promote from all of the active members. I'd like to start sharing those items here on the blog, so here are last week's specialites:

Chocolate Kennels

Ciao Hound

Happy Hounds

Cody's Closet

Dogonnit

Earth Grrrl Crafts

Sasha's Interview: The Answers.

Sasha here. I have been going through all the convos of the last week looking for all your answers. I am hoping my doxie eyes didn't miss anyones. If I did, so very sorry. Please, let me know, and I will peek through the convos again to see where I missed you. Then, do a bit of editting. Now, off to the answers of the interview questions.

1. If you could make the world a better place just by doing one thing, then what would it be?

poodlelounge- remove money and use only trades or remove all toxins so everyone would feel and be healthier

crittersandcrafts- find a cure for cancer

Makingstuffwithlove- And I think the second part of this question is: And why aren’t you doing it? I say that before my answer, which is typical of us all I think: I’d stop all cruelty towards animals. Not a very imaginative answer, but one I wish for daily. I’m doing all I can do towards it -- with the zoo I call my pets :)

DianaDesignsNY- So many things I wish I could do, so I will throw out the very first thing that came to mind. I wish I could sprinkle some dust around the world, so there would be no more hunger.But in the hopes of keeping this a lot more lighted hearted, and on a much smaller scale, I wish I could sprinkle some fairy sales dust on the PJ peeps that they might have a year of lots and lots of sales.

CamargoCreations- I would start my own dog rescue because I can't think of a better world than one where no animal has to suffer.

Sasha- You all had such great ideas. The only thing my little doxie mind could come up with is give more kisses than barks. But, then again I am just a little wiener dog.

2. If you could make any balloon animal, what animal would you make?

poodlelounge- poodle noodle balloon of course crittersandcrafts- horse makingstuffwithlove- Sasha will like this one: I’d make a doxie :) They are the perfect animal for balloons -- long and skinny lol

DianaDesignsNY- Now I bet everyone would think I would say a doggie, but nope. I would love to make either a lop-eared bunny, because I love bunnies, or a monkey. What a funny balloon animal that would be.

CamargoCreations- A Tortoise. I just love them. I think they are amazing creatures.

Sasha- Wow, I never sees balloon horsies or tortoises. Then, bunnies, poodles, and monkeys, oh, my!! I guess since mommy doesn't let me play with balloons cause I might choke on them I will have to go with a balloon Bobo if I could.

3. What are two foods that you feel should never be combined?

poodlelounge- hot chili soup and ice cream , I like both but not together crittersandcrafts- hot sauce and ice cream (my son has tried it) LOL

makingstuffwithlove- This is awful, but the first thing that came to my mind is mustard and warm water -- Yuck! The reason? It is a home remedy for causing a person to throw up :( So don’t try it unless you are looking for this result…

DianaDesignsNY- This one had me stumped. Every time I came up with something it didn't sound so bad. Like pasta and peanut butter - then I thought of Chinese food - Noodles in sesame paste, and that is what it takes like - pasta and peanut butter. So how about ... chicken pot pie and chocolate. Ick.

CamargoCreations- Peanut Butter (my favorite) and mustard (which I am allergic to)

Sasha You know all that stuff didn't sound so bad to me except the chocolate chicken pot pie cause well you know us dogs can't have chocolate. I guess two foods that just should not be combined for me is grass and mushrooms. Bad mushroom trip as a pup! So now I can't even look at mushrooms and not want to run the other way.

Saturday Blog Hop 3/26/11

The Shelter Pet Project

The mission of the Shelter Pet Project is to eliminate the stereotype that there's something wrong with shelter pets and to make shelters the first choice and desired way for acquiring a companion animal, ultimately increasing the rate of animals adopted from shelters.

Adopting a pet is a life-changing and enriching experience. When adopting a pet, people are obtaining companions that give them unconditional love, affection, and attention. Adopting a pet from a shelter not only saves an animal's life, but is also good for our own well-being as research shows that owning a pet has many positive psychological and physical health benefits. The animals rescued from shelters know you’ve saved their lives, and they typically treat their rescuers with lifelong loyalty and affection.

Follow them on Facebook and help spread the word.

All About Betta Fish

Recently, on the team forums we had some discussion about Betta fish. Here are a few you tube videos for educational purposes. Warning: may contain breeding fish scenes.

Buster Brown

I told you last week about my Maltese, Montana. He’s my oldest furbaby and the leader of them all. This week I’ve got a few stories about my 6 1/2 year old Dachshund mix, Buster Brown a.k.a. Bullet (he runs very fast).

Buster Brown came to us on Halloween night in 2004. My son-in-law had picked him out for himself only a couple of weeks before, but his wife was having trouble house training him and so he was handed over to us. I was thrilled because I loved him already and was a little wary of the care he was receiving. It was freezing cold as I worked to teach him to go outside, and he was so small. I cut four holes in a tube sock to try to keep him warm when we went out (I didn‘t know any of you pet outfitters at the time or he would have been more well dressed).

He was that small… He was also too small to jump down off the furniture, so I put him up and down everywhere he wanted to go and possibly contributed to his future neurotic behavior. Because, Buster is one neurotic little fellow. If you look at him and speak to him, he stiffens and slowly creeps off. You have to pet him in an offhand kind of way that brings no attention to him. As I write he is curled up alone at the opposite end of the couch from where I sit with the Velcro Montana and the much newer and smaller Jake. His insecurity is evident in his second photo He is a champion eye cutter, like all dachshunds and I’ve spent much time contemplating what, if anything, I’ve done to make him turn out so differently from my other outgoing babies. He is completely overshadowed by the new addition Jake, and only after the weather turned cold enough did he join us back up in the bed this year. Ironically, he is the only of my boys to remain intact. I was afraid of weight gain and his back if he were fixed, and so far that seems to be the right decision, but even being the only male sporting hasn’t helped him feel superior.

So we just love him the way he is, and I continue to worry that it’s something I’ve done to make him this way. Any thoughts?

Alice

makingstuffwithlove

I know how much we all love our pets. This isn't easy to watch, but it is reality. We all need to be praying and asking God what our part should be in this devastation. There are many ways to help.   Millions of people giving $5 is better than a few giving $5000. We can all do SOMEthing. Whether to Red Cross or one of these organizations mentioned, together we can make a difference. It could be us next time.

by Patty from Catcalls

Show and Tell Tuesday

I thought it would be interesting to hear from a few team members, and hear a little about an item that they have made that holds some special interest to them, or that is one of their favorites.

I thought I would list them in the order in which they were received... with one exception. Let's start with our team leader Shari, from PetsJubilee and Ciaohound.

Here are some responses:

Shari responds that one of her favorite items are her carob cakes. She writes: "I like the name. I was thinking carrot cake, then decided to make carob cake. They're pretty and unique, and the dogs seem to go crazy over them."

I have to admit they look good enough for humans to eat, and I have to add that my dogs really love them. We also love her little birthday cakes, and could not resist the oportunity to add a picture here of my 2, Gianna and Giupetto having one of her birthday cakes. You can even see some of her vanilla doggie brownies on the sides of the plate.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carolyn from ForPawsAndHome writes:

"My favorite item I would have to say is my Funny Cat. I was working on my owl and thought, with a few adjustments this could be a cat.

Everytime I look at their comical faces they make me smile."








I would have to say I agree. I love her Funny Cat pillows. And I just had to show you the funny tail in the back as well.
I wonder if I can get her to make one for me in blue??

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Athena from SassySashaDoxie was asked the same question. She says her favorite so far is this original hand drawn 9 x 12 artwork she titled: Weiner Dog Walking the Ward.

She says it is her favorite because it was inspired by a fellow team member's husband after a stay in the hospital, and also because of all the details and the humor in it.

It is a favorite of mine as well. Every time I look at it I see another funny bit of detail that I didn't see before. I also love her bookmarks, and her ACEOs...
but I think these bookmarks are MY current favorite right now.
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Mary from PoodleLounge had a hard time choosing between 2 items, but choose this wonderful Dog Walking bag. Mary says - "I love these dog walking bags as they are so useful for anyone walking a dog anywear. I designed them myself to have every thing I could think of for walking a pooch from the bag dispensing grommet hole to the plastic sleeve for carrying the bag of poo or dog treats...with plenty of room for keys, phone, bottle of water, etc... and all this without being bulky or in the way."

Mary forgot to mention how great looking these bags are. This is just so eye catching. I love it. Her dog beds are really cool too. But these snoods for the poodles ears make me smile.

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Next up is Alice from MakingStuffWithLove. When Alice was asked what is the favorite item in her shop, she was afraid her answer was boring - a needle felted dog. But she went on to say the following: "I tried to pick one as my favorite job of all, but was not able to do that...I have to say though, the work I've done for team members and multiple dog families stands out as fantastic to me! :)

I don't think the reason I picked the needle felted dog is boring at all - making the little dog itself is only part of the equation :) Meeting exciting and wonderful people constantly while making them is nothing short of addicting :) And not much is more fun to me than meeting a new dog! I chose this dog below because it was an order of 3 dogs, and the lovely owner featured the minis for the month of August in her annual calendar - which is a beauty! Such a nice surprise" :)

I am going to have to disagree with Alice here. My favorite of her items are the 2 dogs she did for me!! (It is also how Alice and I met.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to everyone for sending their comments and pictures. There will be more next week.

Diana

http://www.dianadesignsny.etsy.com/

http://www.stylindogsboutique.etsy.com/

Don't We Look Pretty???

I'm not much of a girlie girl, but I do like this pretty bow from Tammy at EarlyBird454. Kinda makes me feel special :) And it goes great with my collar.


I absolutely love mine! I so pretty and love to dress up!

We bought these from this wonderful BNR on Etsy. You should really check it out. Full of such wonderful pet items!

Sasha wants to interview you.

Sasha would like to interview you all on the Petsjubilee Team Sunday blog post. These questions will be for next Sunday's blog post so we need the answers by this Friday night. We will include a link to your shop and your answers here on the blog. Convo your answers to us at SassySashadoxie. Thank you. PS: Sasha came up with these questions on her own.

1. If you could make the world a better place just by doing one thing, then what would it be?

2. If you could make any balloon animal, what animal would you make?

3. What are two foods that you feel should never be combined?

Saturday Blog Hop 3/19/11

I was going to play a guessing game to see who could figure out what this was a picture of, then I decided to try to sharpen it a bit on photoshop, and now I think its pretty obvious...its Frau with her new snakey mouse from Catcalls! She was so excited with her new present that I could not get her to sit still long enough to get a good picture. I bought it from this wonderful BNR on Etsy. You should really check it out. Full of such wonderful pet items!

Don't forget our friends in Japan. Visit the Red Cross to see how you can make a difference.

Two Of The Greatest Qualities Of Life

1. Patience

2. Wisdom

Pauline, from paulinesfashions, got in an e-mail.

Montana

I’ve been reading all the stories in Athena’s Dog Bark Park team on Etsy and have had such a good time hearing all the stories of the pets and how they ended up with each owner. I decided to tell the stories of my five furbabies starting this week…

My oldest baby, and therefore the king, is Montana. He’s a Maltese and was ten last year on December 12. I’ve loved this breed from the time I was a child -- mainly because the ones I met didn’t love me back: They were too focused on THEIR person to give me the time of day. I waited for the day when I could have one of these gorgeous, soft balls of fur that would live for me only. I got my chance in 1990 when I moved to my first home (trailer) that was owned by me. I got my first Maltese, Einstein. I don’t believe anyone could have loved their dog more than I loved him. He went everywhere with me and was everything I’d ever hoped he’d be. He even was smart enough to love the man of my dreams when I (finally) found James. At times, James, to kid me, would tell Einstein to go get his stick and bag and they were off to big sky country. Einstein lived to be ten and he was loved by all who knew him, a true gift. All this is the pre-history for Montana, who sits snuggled to me as I write, which is where you will always find him.

We went to get him two days after Einstein’s heart gave out. I was frantic to find another Maltese and finally did find one puppy 350 miles away in Mobile. So my now husband, James, drove me there and back in one long grief filled trip. But we got home with our new baby and of course he was named Montana, after the big sky country that Einstein had now gone to. We walked in the door and set him down on the couch. He looked around, threw his had back and let out the longest howl I’ve ever heard. So that’s how this tiny little ‘devil’ started his life here. He has been king since the beginning. We had another, larger dog from the pound, so he had a court. Her name was China and she was the greatest dog that ever lived, but that’s another story…
Montana watches the food and water bowls to let me know when they need to be filled by swiping them with his paw, louder and louder until I get up and do his bidding. He’s had only one toy, a monkey, that somehow caught his fancy and got to keep his squeaker. When Montana goes to get Monkey, it’s bedtime. He’s taught his replacement, Jake, to steal our things when at all possible because we ’buy’ it back with a dog bone (since we can’t catch them to get it back ourselves). He also waits these days for a lift up or down from the bed since it is too high for him to jump anymore. He loves Watson and Watson loves him back, calling him ’sweet baby’ when I pet him and saying ’Mamas brush Montana’ on the rare occasion that I brush him myself as I‘m supposed to do. As we add to or sadly, lose, one of our pack he is always okay with it. He’s the little man around here and he deserves that name, watching out after everybody.

I hope you enjoyed meeting my baby Montana. Next week I’ll introduce you to Buster Brown, Montana’s polar opposite…

Alice

makingstuffwithlove

I think I complicated things when I asked for help! 
We liked many of the names suggested. Thank you all for your great ideas. 

Since she has almost purple eyes

and she is a beautiful soft white 

....she will be Violet Rose!






WHAT DID YOU  DO ON ADOPT THE INTERNET DAY?

by Patty 
from Catcalls & Dogbarks

Monday night as I was writing my blog post for Petfinder's Adopt the Internet Day, I decided to include pets from my own area. I naturally went to Rescue Village first since I have been involved with them in various activities. I found some sweet kitties, a handsome goat, cute pups and then.....there she was! Little Crystal! A three month old guinea pig looking for her FURever home. I was NOT looking for another piggie! But I took a quick vote from my boys...and the decision was made. Crystal was coming home with us. So off we went yesterday and did the paper work. While I was busy filling out forms and paying, my sons, Cody and Andrew, held Crystal in the pet room. We knew she liked Cody because she peed on him! (On a towel) 

So now I have four piggies again. She has met Tooey and CG. Thea still needs to be introduced. I am hoping I can get her to live with CG so she can snuggle with someone. But for now, I have four cages. She has already gone from hiding in her paper tubes to wandering about her cage and eating and drinking. I am sure it was just meant to be. So even if no other pets were adopted (which I'm sure was NOT the case), one little piggie is now in her FURever home surrounded by more love than she will know what to do with! 

We are considering a name change and would love to hear your ideas! 

Here is the happy babe!

She has dark, almost purple eyes. 

She is very inquisitive - not the least bit shy!

She has a little rosette on top of her head.

Meeting CG.

(CG is the largest guinea pig I have ever owned!)

If you have any name suggestions, please leave them in the comments for me.