Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas to all from Rescue Buddy Boarding & Beyond! And many adventures in 2012!!

 We have quite a crew here for the holiday week. And ALL are rescue dogs. Chloe is our newest guest. She was adopted from the humane society. Lucky girl! She is so playful.

 And then there is our beauty Fran, a Pet Haven alum. She calmly keeps everyone in line without them really knowing she is the boss.

 Here is a photo I call 'oreo'. The black dog on the right is Fran's brother Scout. He is quite the smiler. Fran even smiled at Walker the other morning.

No Dave I did not forget Jakey, another Pet Haven alum. The puppy Chloe really tires him out. Jake was returned three times before his original foster adopted him forever.

The dogs love Walker. We had a calm Christmas eve here at home. Off to see family this afternoon. Thank you to all our families for letting us take care of your little furballs.

Gideon and Bishop-see you tomorrow! Chloe is waiting.

One last note. I wanted to say Merry Forever Home to our last foster dog, Asher. Your Christmases will be bright from now on buddy. Looking forward to our next foster dog in a couple of weeks. If anyone is interested in getting involved in rescue in the new year please email me at dogs@pethavenmn.org.
Have a lovely Christmas Day!

It's Raining Boy Dogs

Look who is back. It is Jake the wonder dog. Check out his Pet Haven bio.

With all these boy dogs there is a lot of pee mail to check and deliver.

Hobey a Pet Haven alum and Jake. New BFFs.

Sitting pretty for mid-afternoon treats.

Hobey can hardly keep his eyes open.

Jakie is all snuggled in for nap time.

Jake's Return Visit

Jake is a former foster of ours and we are thrilled to see him again. He came into Pet Haven from a hoarder situation in southern Minnesota. He has his own family now and is back for a visit while his human sister gets married. His new mom thought he would have more fun at Rescue Buddy than being left alone during all the festivities.

Former foster Jake meet current foster Phoebe. Jake is still quite a playful dog and even had 5 year old Phoebe chasing him.

Two Pet Haven alums, Jake and Mister know each other from past stays here. They get along great and take turns leading the chase around the yard.

Buddy resting up for the next playtime. With the clouds and cooler temps I have to say I am ready for a nap myself. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

Jake gets a new home.

Our little shy boy, Jake, started his new life this afternoon. He has a mom and a dad, two canine siblings, and two grandkids that live nearby. The dad is retired so Jake will have lots of companionship. Andy has antique cars that he and Susan take to car shows in the summer. Andy is looking forward to Jake going along with them. Can you just see Jake in doggles and a scarf? Jake's new parents adopted Fletcher their golden from Pet Haven 12 years ago. He recently passed away and Susan has been missing having a dog around the house. Andy is an animal communicator so I am looking forward to hearing about the tales Jake can tell him. It is so quiet around here now. Paden really wanted to go with Jake. Buddy is going to have to step up his playtime with her to fill in for Jake. Your turn is coming Paden. For now we wish Jake a wonderful life.

Happy Howl-o-ween!

Mister was a good sport this morning and put on Walker's pumpkin costume. He got lots of treats.

Jake as Lady Godiva. Oh Jakie! You look gorgeous!

Buddy as a blue-haired lady sitting in the lovely Helene Curtis beauty chair. Those are his real eyelashes.

Fall frolic

Finally feels like fall today. The wind gusts are bringing the leaves raining down. I love that the trees are giving the yard a blanket that covers up the mud. Sixteen muddy paws leads to a very messy kitchen floor-even after being toweled off. I will spare you that photo.

Mister, Jake, Paden, and Buddy are having a fun fall frolic.

Paden's visit

Paden, pictured above on the left, came for a visit this afternoon. She is a foster dog available for adoption through Pet Haven. Paden is housetrained and is working on crate training. She and Jake, our Pet Haven foster dog and pictured above on the right, played and played. They are both young, energetic dogs that would require daily exercise. They get along with other dogs. Jake has even lived with cats. While I watched football these two played a game of their own. Both of them would love to come and play with you-forever.

Happiness is.......

.....a huge pile of pillows. Snuggle bunny Jake, from Pet Haven would love to call your pillows his own. He has been in our home for two months. He is one of the easiest foster dogs we have ever had. Jake has come a long way from the hoarder situation he lived in as a puppy. He would be great for an active family with a big fenced yard or a single person that lives in a condo. All he needs is a soft place to nap and lots of love. Simple. Give him a chance.

Snow-day 2.

Buddy is always ready to go outside and chase squirrels even in the snow. Charm and Jake-not so much. I love the way they look at each other like, " That lady has lost her mind if she thinks we are going out in that snow". I am with those two and would rather stay in all winter.

If I could take a year off.........?

Most of you know me as the crazy dog lady now running a dog boarding business, Rescue Buddy Boarding & Beyond out of my home. What you may not know is this business was born while taking a year off from my former business as an art fair artist-AKA Twisted Sister,the crazy bead lady. I did the art fair circuit for 12 years selling sculptures created out of tiny seed beads. Now that I think about my work, a lot of the pieces were dogs. And I did not even have a dog at the

time. Foreshadowing? Hmmm?

Most of this time was quite enjoyable. And I was able to support my son while making art.

My motto was: "I make art to feed my soul. I sell art to feed my son".

The art fair community was a nomadic tribe of creative loving folks that would go out of their way to help their fellow artisans. And I felt like I was living the retired life by having lazy mornings and creating art all day in my slippers. Sounds romantic right? Well try hauling a 60lb tent through the mud in the pouring rain. Or sitting out in that tent in 100 degree weather trying to sell jewelry that no one really needs. Would you pay your employer $500 to sit on a slab of concrete while doing your job for two days and maybe only make that $500 back? Romance gone yet? Well I promised myself that I would not be hauling that tent around when I was 60. And all along I would dream about "taking a year off" from the art fair craziness.

My chance to do just that came in 2008. The circumstances that allowed me to do this financially

will be discussed in a future post. Let me just say that if any of you or your family has a rare type of lung cancer, mesothelioma, please call a lawyer immediately. Thanks dad for providing for your family even after you have passed.

2008 was to be a year totally filled with art making. No thought to "will this sell" which for me

was always a creativity downer. But to my surprise as weeks went by the less I was making or even thinking about art. More and more time was being spent rescuing dogs by volunteering with Pet Haven. The rewards were instant and certainly not financial. But the lack of cash did not deter me. Being self-employed since I was 27, money was never a big part of my drive and it had always arrived when needed. So I continued on this new exciting path helping to rehome dogs. To see a shy starving pup blossom into a bouncing playful dog with just a little love and good nutrition was worth way more than any paycheck.

Throughout the year, I did question myself about making art. But as 2008 turned to 2009 my passion for helping dogs was showing me my future. Rescue Buddy Boarding & Beyond was born as a way to feed my soul and feed my son. RB3 is still in its infancy. Thanks to all of you that helped make my dream come true. My 60th birthday is a still a few years off and that 60lb tent is now only set up during garage sales.

RB3 is fostering our 27th dog Jake and we welcome adopted rescue dogs into our home every week while their owners are taking time off. As for making art , I have revamped my studio and the creative juices are flowing. There is a cat teapot patiently waiting to come alive. No I am not going to turn into the crazy cat lady.

This video inspired me to write this posting. Maybe it will inspire you too. What would you do if you had a year off?

Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off | Video on TED.com

Source: www.ted.com

TED Talks Every seven years, designer Stefan Sagmeister closes his New York studio for a yearlong sabbatical to rejuvenate and refresh their creative outlook. He explains the often overlooked value of time off and shows the innovative projects inspired by his time in Bali.

Pet Haven adoption event tomorrow!

Come out and meet our newest foster dog, Jake at the Eden Prairie Petco from 10-12. He is a pointer maybe boxer mix that is about 2 years old. He is one of the sweetest dogs you will ever meet. Jake is a bit shy at first but once he is warmed up he will not leave your side. Jake would be best in a family with another playful dog and older kids. You can read more about him on his Pet Haven bio.

Here is what the Pet Haven blog says about tomorrow's event. Hope to see you there.

"Pet Haven will be having a dog adoption event tomorrow (Saturday) from 10 am - Noon at the Eden Prairie Petco. The address is 8020 Glen Lane, Eden Prairie (952.829.8808).

We hope you'll stop by to say hi and meet many of our adoptadogs. Not only is Maggie (below) looking for her forever home ... she's also looking for someone to foster her. She's getting lots of love and attention at one of our partner doggie daycares (Pampered Pooch Playground), however, the sooner we can move her into a foster the better for her .. it also opens up a foster slot for us at Pampered Pooch -- and that means saving another dog!

There will be many other dogs there --- small dogs, medium size dogs, large dogs, active dogs, calm dogs, couch potato dogs ... and dogs of all colors and lengths of fur! Our screeners will be happy to match you up with the a dog that will fit your lifestyle."