Why there's no more Perfect Match Monday...

For the past two years, I have written a weekly story for ABC's Facebook page called "Perfect Match Monday". Some of you may have read it. Some of you may have been a part of one of my weekly stories. Some of you may have seen my booth at last year's Basset Blast in Rochester. Some of you may not have any idea what I am talking about and that is ok, but you can read a few stories on ABC blog site if it interests you at all (http://bit.ly/1PlS1Xz). Every Monday night I would sit down at this laptop and research a basset hound whom ABC had rescued and I had gotten further information on from their new home. I would post an updated photo of the hound and my story to the Facebook page each Monday evening. The premise of each story would be that each dog ended up being a "Perfect Match" for the family that they ended up with. They we all beautiful happy ending stories. Sometimes these stories took me hours to write...sometimes they took me minutes, but I wrote them all from my heart and I fell in love with each dog I wrote about. At the end of 2014 I stopped writing "Perfect Match Monday". Why? Well, something that I never expected to happen...happened. In December 2014, a pair of hounds named Cletus and Flash came into the rescue. A story that I had written about these dogs finding the perfect home...the perfect family wasn't true.

Cletus and Flash were 9 years old at the time they first found their way into rescue. Their former owner had given them up after having them for most of their lives. Their family was being torn apart by a divorce and they couldn't keep the pair. They came into a foster home and like any other bonded pair, their foster home evaluated how bonded they were and it was determined they would need to be adopted out together. For a pair of 9 year old hounds it was a true task to make that happen, but only a month after coming into rescue, they found a new home. We made a follow-up call on this adoption shortly after it happened and all was good. In October, I did a follow-up of my own with the adopter to see how the boys were doing and the email I received back was happy and hopeful. It told me that they were quirky but loved by their new family. So I sat down at my laptop one Monday night and wrote a story on them. I told ABC's whole Facebook family about how they had a great home and although they enjoyed eating their human child's books that were left on the floor had found thier forever home. I didn't think about it much after I posted it until I found out that a mear 2 months later the pair was being returned to ABC. I was curious as to why they were being returned and when I found out; I wished I hadn't asked. They were being returned because the families home was too small for the 2 dogs and their toddler. They had continously ate paper products that were left on the floor by the toddler. They had escaped their yard on many occasions and were returned by neighbors. I knew these things from my follow-up and at that time the family thought these things weren't a big deal, but for some reason 2 months later they couldn't handle these quirks anymore. This family knew that they had a small house and that 2 hounds and a child (and them) would all be living there. The books could be picked up off the floor and/or the dogs trained to not eat the books and papers. A fence could be installed in the backyard to keep the hounds where they were supposed to be and if that wasn't doable then there were other easier options to keep them in their own yard. I went through all of the things that this family could easily do to keep the pair, but they were more then willing to just give up on them. These two hounds didn't deserve this treatment. Cletus and Flash had been through so much already. These hounds deserved so much more!! I felt like I was the person who let them down. I couldn't bring myself to continue to write my Perfect Match stories after that. I felt like I was potentially lying to people. That these adoptions may not have been a "perfect match" as I was telling people they were. Once again, I had lost faith in humanity (as you do over and over doing rescue work). I was hurt. When I was asked why I stopped writing...I got teary-eyed and just told people I was too busy or that "a situation" made me stop writing and I changed the subject. 

The story doesn't quite end there though. Cletus and Flash came back without much of a vet history and needed all of their shots updated. They also needed several surgeries to make sure they were completely healthy hounds. ABC spent thousands of dollars on their vet care without hesitation. Their foster family took the best care of them possible and I made sure I checked up on them from time to time. After 2 months, an adopter submitted an application to adopt the pair. They were the only dogs that she wanted. I was very skeptical at first, but after John had several conversations with her and a home check was done to make sure her home was suitable for Cletus and Flash I felt more comfortable with this adopter. I like to think I have a say in what adopter gets approved but I don't know how much pull I have even if John is the adoption coordinator. lol 

It has almost been a week since they found their new home and although I will not be saying this is a "perfect match" at this point, I can tell you that their new mom loves and appreciates them very much already. The picture here is of them sleeping in their new doggie beds just a couple days ago. You can bet your bottom dollar that I will continue to make sure that Cletus and Flash are doing well. I've warned their new mom of that and she seems to be ok with it so far. I will have to hold back from emailing her every week. lol

I may even start to write my weekly stories again...I haven't really decided yet. I may change it up and not call it "Perfect Match Monday" anymore. Maybe I will create something new to post for ABC about the "happy endings"? Maybe I will focus more on this blog? Maybe I will try not to put so much of my heart into the stories...into the dogs, but I guess I wouldn't be me anymore if I did that. I love these silly hounds (even if I've never met them). I have cried for THEM. I am a cheerleader for THEM. I am a supporter for THEM. I am a volunteer for THEM. I can't help but be that and without ABC...without people just like me this pair of hounds would never have gotten a 2nd or 3rd chance for "the good life". They could possibly just have been thrown away and totally forgotten. So, Thank You ABC for giving out more chances for these basset hounds to find an amazing home!!! And Thank you to the people who choose to adopt and not buy a dog. And Thank you to everyone who supports me in this crazy endeavor we call basset rescue.

Today I shed a tear for you...a dog that I've never even met. I cried that we were able to help you after working so hard to save you. Someone gave you up because they couldn't deal with the hard fact that you were ill. Someone gave you up because you were old and your body was failing after you spent so many years being a faithful companion to them. Someone gave you up because they didn't want to deal with your behavior issues; that they hadn't showed you were wrong when you were a baby. Someone gave you up because they were having a human child and couldn't deal with you any longer. Someone gave you up because you couldn't produce puppies they could sell anymore. Someone gave you up because they didn't have the means to keep you. Someone gave you up not wanting to find out why you peed in the house, chewed up their furniture, protected the food bowl, ran away from the house, ate books, chased the cat, cried all night long, didn't like their dad, tried to bite other dogs. Someone didn't care enough to keep you now that you weren't the cute puppy with the big floppy ears or the cute little body.
Today I shed a tear for you....a dog that I've never even met. I cried that we were able to find you a home who would love you even though you were sick, even though you were old. Someone who would give you a new life...a better home. Someone who wanted to raise a baby with their dog and teach each love from one another. Someone who wouldn't think of giving you up because you couldn't bear another puppy. Someone who loves that you sleep most of the day on the couch. Someone who would take the time to find out why you peed in the house, barked at the neighbor, tried to eat the cat and why you hated other dogs. Someone who let you run around the back yard and sleep in bed with them. Someone willing to give you a good life and love you as much as they could.
Today I shed a tear for you...a dog that I've never met. I cried because we couldn't save you. We weren't able to help you through the troubled life that you lead. The terrible conditions that you came from weren't able to be overcome. I cried that you never knew the comforts of a house and the feeling of grass under your feet or the love of a family who wanted you. I cried that the only peace you could have was the warmth of that person there with you when you passed to "the bridge"...that rescuer who would never have thought of letting you go all alone. That rescuer who would've paid a million dollars to save you; if they could've, but realized that some times you have to let them go...sometimes it has to be done...sometimes you can't save them.
Today I shed a tear for you...a dog that I didn't get to meet or give you a belly rub, but I know your story. I read it every day. I live it every day trying to help dogs just like you. I continue to try to help...never thinking that I would feel so many emotions about a dog that I've never even met. Yet I do...

Yes, I write Perfect Match Monday too!!

So, if you're reading my blog you very well may be reading my Perfect Match Monday stories on the ABC Basset rescue Facebook page. If you're not, you should like the page and check out the stories every week. This is how it all started.

One day last year, I saw on the Daphneyland Facebook page that they were posting the "dog of the day". I had been doing adoption follow-ups for ABC for awhile and it sort of just hit me. Why don't I write a story weekly on an adoption and how it's going? A nice "happy ending story". It was great for me to know what was going on with an ABC Alumni, but there are stories that were really worth sharing. No…I did NOT steal the idea from Daphneyland, but they inspired me to share what I was learning with everyone. For that, I thank them very much. (ha ha)

I asked John if he thought it was a good idea. He said it was, but was concerned that I wouldn't have enough stories to fill up 52 weeks. It was a concern. I understood his scepticism, but I wanted to at the very least...try. He then asked me what I was going to call it and I had no idea. Then John said, "what about calling it Perfect Match Monday?". I loved it. It was similar to what I usually called Mondays "Mismatch Mondays" since I wear mismatched socks every Monday. Ok...my socks don't match today, but I do it on purpose on Mondays.

Jeb PMM on 8/12/13

I asked Shelly and the ABC board if I could do it. They said that I could and that is how Perfect Match Monday was born.

During December, I was asked by Shelly to follow-up on "The Texas 5" basset hounds to write a blog for the end of the year. It was the one year anniversary of their arrival to NY and each one ended up having amazing adoptions stories. This was the perfect opportunity to test out the Perfect Match Monday on the Facebook page. I took one of the bassets from the blog, Austin, and turned the story into a Perfect Match post. I needed a "hook" at the end of the story and decided to go with "For that, we think this is a Perfect Match". I've ended every story since then with that phrase because there really isn't any other way to finish these stories better. Austin's story got almost 400 'likes', 38 people commented on it and it got 24 'shares'. I was amazed at the response and it encouraged me to continue to work hard to make the stories happen.

Now, let me tell you that coming up with stories isn't easy. There have been weeks that I didn't have a story until an hour before I posted it. There have been weeks where I put in my own basset's stories and/or another ABC volunteer's adoption story in to fill in the gaps of not having a story planned for that week. Sometimes people don't respond to my emails right away or I don't have enough information to write a good story. I may have occasionally thought about making a story up, but luckily I haven't really had to yet. I also try my best to get each adopters approval before I post a story and this has become a challenge at times as well.

                                                                                               

I want to admit that I DO pick and choose the stories that I post. Not every follow-up exchange is enough to write a story on. Some adopters have a lot to say about their bassets and gush and send 10 different pictures. Others tell me "He/She is great. Thanks for rescuing him/her". How can I write a story from that? I've also asked our volunteer group for their adoption stories with very limited success. I understand…people are busy, but if you don't give me any information you can't expect me to write a story. I am not a miracle worker.
                                                                                     

Remus Future PMM

I've also done extra work and found the dogs foster parents to question them for further information on a specific dog. I've gotten help from other rescues where bassets have travelled from and gotten more information. I also do research in our doggie database for each story that I write. What I'm saying is, I put a lot of time, energy and love into each post. I hope that it comes through with each story that I've written.

More or less I try to keep the stories in the same format from week to week, but there have been weeks where an adopter sends me a better story then I could write. I have posted that story word for word as my PMM. I've co-written a few stories as well. I forced John to write a couple stories when I was too sick to even think about Perfect Match. The "show" must go on.

While I was at the GABR waddle in IL this year I didn't have a story ahead of time and didn't post one until Tuesday. I thought people were going to revolt because it was late. I was so tired from the drive back home that it just wasn't going to happen. I was more willing to hold off writing it then posting a story that I wasn't 100% happy with. I did feel bad, but it had to be done.

It seems over the months I've gained a pretty big following. I never imagined that Perfect Match Monday would be so popular and gain so much of a following. I really love doing it, even if I struggle from time to time with a story. I have people comment every week that they love the stories and they look forward to them every week. I read every comment and keep track of the 'likes' and shares every week as well. It's nice to have adopters say "I read that every week and would love for my story to be included". I think at this point people respond to follow-ups faster hoping I will use their story.

At one point someone suggested that I put together a book of all of the stories to sell. I was flattered. I was excited, but who would buy it? There would probably only be 52 people (a little less than that because a couple adopters have had two stories of their dogs posted) who would want it. The 52 people with PMM stories included. Maybe in several years it will be a better idea to put something together, but we will have to see if people continue to come back to read these stories.

A month ago, I came up with the idea of a PMM calendar. I took a story from each month and created a calendar from scratch to have printed. It was a more manageable project than a book. John was able to get a printer to donate the printing and we can sell the calendars in the Slobber Shoppe with all the proceeds to go to ABC. I felt bad not every story could make it to the calendar, but I did my best to pick the most popular ones to include. I am waiting for a hard copy sample right now and hopefully I will have them in to be sold in the Slobber Shoppe next week.

Sneak preview of the PMM Calendar

Through this year of PMM, I have learned a lot. I have become attached to every basset that I have written about. I have made friends with every adopter that I have talked with. I don't think that I would be writing this blog right now without first having written PMM every month. It was really the beginning of me realizing how much I missed writing. I really believe the key to writing well is writing what you know about, what you care about and I do that writing Perfect Match Mondays.

Only 7 more stories to go to finish out the year….

Some of my fostering experience....

I have talked to so many people about fostering a homeless basset hound. Some people can’t do it because of their living arrangements. Some people can’t do it because of their family situation. What I hear most of all is “I could never foster a dog and then give them to someone else.” or “I would have to adopt them all”. That is exactly what I thought when John and I started talking about fostering. What I’ve learned over the past year and a half is that you really don’t want to keep them all. What you want is for all of them to find good, stable forever homes.

Our foster experience started with a phone call from Shelly Gordon asking us to “babysit” a dog for two weeks. There were a few dogs that ABC brought up to NY for the adoption event at last year’s Spring Basset Blast and they didn’t have any place to go for two weeks. We took home our first foster, Claude, whom we renamed Claudius to better represent his size. He was a beast of a basset weighing in around 85 lbs. John fell in love with Claudius after about two days, but I was weary of his aggression toward our two cats (Bleu and Chaz). In the end, we had to pick our cats, which have been part of our family much longer than Claudius.

When we arrived at the Spring Basset Blast with Claudius there was an adopter waiting on him. He met him. Talked to us a little about him and decided that he was the dog for him. John gave Claudius what we lovingly call “the talk” where John explains to our foster that they shouldn’t  “embarrass the family”. We gave him hugs and kisses and walked away…crying and a little lost.  We were sad to see him go, but we knew that he would have a better life in a house without cats. It is a little bit sad that we don’t have contact with Claudius’s new family, but we’ve heard that he is doing well and attending a lot of mudding truck events.

After this experience, John and I realized that although we were sad about Claudius not being able to stay with us …we were happy that he found a good home. It made us realize that we could help other hounds by just giving them a home to stay in for a while, a couch to sleep on, some food, some love and attention. Most of those things we already had and the other things we just share from what we have for our other dogs and they don’t seem to mind all that much.

Since Claudius we have had 8 additional foster dogs. Each one of them has their own story and are special in their own way.

Penn is our “Famous Foster” as his adoption story made it to the Buffalo News.

Remus is “my little Peanut” who was adopted before we even had him in our house.

Gump was John’s first intake, well before he was our Intake Coordinator, and our first puppy (which convinced John a puppy is NOT for us).

Billie, or Pumpkin, as we call her is our “foster failure”…sometimes a dog comes to you as a foster and doesn’t ever leave.

Flash was our challenging foster as him and our Cooper did NOT get along at all.

Then we fostered Polly. She is a senior basset who flew in with Pilots for Paws and took awhile to adjust to our home.

Siphera was John's favorite foster and our most heart wrenching story. She ended up having 4 dental surgeries before the issue was completely gone. None of it seemed to phase her at all.

Lunchbox "The boxman" was our shortest foster...one week of him trying to eat Charlie. He also had the coolest name of the group.

One of the best things in the world was having Gump jump up on the table John was sitting at during The Basset Blast this April. He knew who we were and wanted to see both John and I. We cried almost as much as when he left our care at the adoption event where he found his forever home. Seeing Siphera (Sophie) at Droolfest was also an amazing feeling. I didn't even know she was there until she walked up to me. I petted her and she gave me the kisses that I had missed so much. I finally got to meet her mom, Kathy, who was/is great at sending us updates on her progress. She got to see John too and he cried when she ran right up to him then she peed on his cooler and he couldn't even be mad. You get a real sense of accomplishment when you see your foster again….”I was a part of that dog finding his/her forever home”. You get a sense of joy when you see a family so happy with the hound that they’ve adopted (I feel that way for dogs that haven’t even stayed with us but I've known of their story). You also get the opportunity to see how happy your former foster dog is with a stable forever home.

Every foster is different and comes from a different situation. Some dogs aren’t healthy. Some dogs aren’t house broken. Some dogs need to learn basic manners. Some dogs need training.  Some dogs need to lose weight. Some dogs need to gain some weight. Some dogs need extra vet care. Some dogs just need some…any attention that they can get. John and I have learned something from every hound we’ve taken into our home. We’ve learned a lot about teaching and training, health issues, vet procedures and dealing with dogs who don’t get along. Every foster home goes through similar things.

If you’ve adopted from ABC, then someone fostered that dog for you. The basset lying at your feet or on your lap benefited from the foster system that they have in place. Let’s face it, ABC couldn’t rescue all of the dogs that they do without foster homes because they don't make it a habit to keep dogs in kennels for any period of time. It's better for the dogs to be in a home and have some sort of routine with loving basset people. I know that every rescue organization needs foster homes all the time. Why there aren't more people willing to foster is beyond me? 

Oh Cooper, this is all your fault...

There are times in your life when you look back and reflect on how you got here. Today is one of those days for me.

In January of 2012, John and I made our way to an ABC adoption event. This event, I found out later, was a result of having too many adopters for the 5 dogs that ABC rescued from TX. I had seen the article in the news about the TX dogs and thought "we should try to adopt one of these bassets". I've always loved the basset hound and after showing John the cutest basset puppy pictures I could find...he was convinced. We made the arrangements to get our adoption application approved and took the time to head to the event.

We had picked out several of the dogs that we liked before we even left the house. It was a "first come, first serve" type of event and we wanted to be prepared in advance. We had picked several dogs to put on our list before Cooper even came into the mix. What we didn't realize when we got to the event is that Cooper would pick us.

We entered the Camp Bow Wow in Tonawanda and there were adopters and volunteers and dogs and a lot of organized chaos. Well, there were a couple kids walking Cooper around the big room when we walked to the center of the room. We were all waiting on the start time for all the volunteers to bring out the bassets for everyone to meet. I loved the looks of Cooper and I went right up to him as the kids were pulling him around on his leash. I bent down and petted his head. He instantly sat down on my foot. Then as John walked by Cooper started to follow him. I gave John "the look", the smile and the head shaking to confirm that he was the one. I think we were both sold.

Now, the kids that were walking Cooper around wanted to adopt him. Their mother wasn't all that fond of the idea. John talked with her and realized that she wanted one of the other bassets up for adoption that day. <whoosh> When the event started, John found the adoption coordinator and asked if Cooper was spoken for. He was not and before any of the volunteers even had paperwork ready, we were adopting Cooper. He was the first dog to leave the event with a forever home.

We got him home and there was definately an adjustment period there. Neither John nor I had a dog in the house in a long time. I laugh now because I tried to explain to John that "you don't really train a basset, a basset trains you". He didn't understand it at the time, but now knows the true meaning of that statement. Both John and I were so impressed by ABC and how they ran the event that when we received our invitation for the Breakfast for Bassets we knew we had to go. We took Cooper and met a lot of ABC volunteers and adopters.

Then in March, I got a phone call from Shelly asking if we could "babysit" a basset for two weeks and bring him to the basset blast. We agreed to take Claude into our home and call him our first foster. John fell in love with him, but he tried on several occasions to eat both of our cats (Chaz & Bleu). I couldn't deal with the stress of that, so we took him with us to the blast and when we walked in with him someone was waiting to adopt him. He left with his forever family after about 20 minutes.

I was considering volunteering for ABC before we got to the blast, but I was holding off to see how the event went before I committed. I watched how all the volunteers act and how the event ran so smoothly. After the event, I decided that I would start to volunteer and sent in my application. Shelly questioned why I had bothered since she had already considered me a volunteer even without the official document. John and I then considered to continue to foster for the group. After 9 foster bassets in one year, we are currently on hiatus from fostering.

A few months later, at an event I was volunteering for Shelly and Sommer offered me the position of volunteer coordinator.... which I accepted. During my time as volunteer coordinator I learned a lot about the rescue and how it works. I also continued to meet new great volunteers who give their time to help the hounds. I also started helping out in the Slobber Shoppe and took my first trip to the GABR waddle in IL. I learned a lot about basset products and met so many other great basset people.

John then got more involved in the group by becoming the Intake Coordinator. Soon after I took on a new challenge of Follow-up coordinator and worked on the marketing aspect for the group. At that point we were both totally in. We were helping more and more and getting more and more involved. We also adopted Charlie and foster failed on our Pumpkin some where amidst all of this commotion.


Through my year and a half working with the rescue I have learned so many things about life, love and the pure stupidity of people. There are days when I hate the world and lose all faith in the human race. There are days when I'm so angry at people for all kinds of different reasons. There are days when all I can do is shake my head. There are days when I am so full of joy that I just can't explain it. There are days when I say "Thank you" out loud because we made impossible things happen. There are days when the only thing that could possibly make me smile are "my kids" jumping up on the couch next to me. There are days where my heart is so full. I've lost sleep. I've seen people work so closely together to make something happen that the word "miracle" could be used. I've seen people disagree and fight amongst the group. I've seen all kinds of things that I never expected to see and witnessed things I never thought I would witness....good and bad. And I wouldn't change a thing!!!

ABC Basset Rescue is my family....my "rescue family". I will continue to go through all of these things to help basset hounds with them. I believe in what they are doing. I'm a lifetime member and I will continue to blame Cooper for all of this every day!!

How could we forget?

Sometimes we get so involved in all of every day stresses, issues and drama that are all involved in the world of rescue. Sometimes we forget why we continue to put ourselves through all of it over and over again. Sometimes we forget why we lose sleep. 

I know that I have been there and when I am, I look back to realize what is at the center of all of this....The Hounds. Those amazing basset hounds that we kill ourselves to rescue and find good homes for. When it comes down to it...that is what matters most of all and what is really the most important thing.

I hope this will help to remind you all.....

http://youtu.be/7Px1lHuCq

There could be about 20 more of these videos, but these are 25 reasons I have for you today!!!

So you write a blog? So what?

I started this blog because I felt there was a need for people in the basset rescue world to hear what I have to say. I also started it because there are people out there writing their own blogs and saying whatever they please, so why couldn't I? So here I am only a few days into it and have over 400 views on my measly 3 blogs. I've had lots of feedback from all over the country. So, I guess I am saying some things that resonate with the basset rescue community?!?!

I feel like I can say the things that I say here BECAUSE I volunteer for a basset rescue (ABC Basset rescue). I am the marketing/follow-up coordinator for the group. I am as involved with the rescue as I can be. Why? I think the work that ABC does is something that I can stand behind. It is important to me to help homeless hounds. I enjoy the other people who volunteer for the rescue. I like the community that I've found through the rescue. I love the dogs!! I get to see the hounds come into rescue, be taken care of and then be adopted to loving homes. I follow as many of their stories as I can. Not only is it part of my rescue "job", it is something I enjoy doing. How could I not when you see things like this?

Austin (the A-man) before....and after....

I've always thought that my time is more important than anything that I have. Let's face it...we are only here in this world for a certain amount of time. I've seen many people leave this world too soon. It  really doesn't matter what we have or the money we can buy things with. It really comes down to that time we have here to do something...whatever that something may be. My time is very precious to me.

That being said, I don't waste my time on stuff that doesn't matter to me. I don't waste it on writing a blog that is unimportant and is just a bunch of crap. I don't sit at my computer ALL day and bash rescue groups, talk shit about other people and/or complain about EVERYTHING that isn't what I agree with. I have more important things to do in my life. I'm not saying the world of rescue is perfect, but why dwell on all the things that are wrong? I would never waste my time on that kind of negativity.

Yes, yes...I do have other things in my life that take up my time too. There are things that I HAVE TO do like work, chores, taking care of my "kids" (those are my 3 hounds for those who don't know) and those other things we all hate doing, but gotta. There are also other things that I chose to do as well, like the band (that's "my band" Pucker, the one that John sings lead vocals for), hanging out with the important people in my life (my friends and my family) and all those other little things I enjoy.

I write this blog because I have the time to use on it and I enjoy it, but I ALSO have time to volunteer with my rescue group. I wouldn't use this "blog time" instead of helping out in the real world. I wouldn't pass up sending emails to adopters to find out what's new with the bassets they've adopted. I wouldn't pass up making brochures or flyers to help get new foster homes and volunteers. I wouldn't pass up helping with the Slobber Shoppe or going to do a home check. I wouldn't pass on calling shelters to spring a basset in need. This blog would be set aside to drive to, well anywhere, to pick up a basset who needed a lift.

I wouldn't chose this blog over ACTUALLY going out and doing things to help. It's about doing, not about talking about it. There are people out there who do though. People who write stuff instead of doing it. It is just crazy to me that someone can sit back and say negative things and don't get their hands dirty. How can you write about things when you're not involved in them? And if you ONCE were involved in a rescue and you had a bad experience, well then why haven't you found another rescue to volunteer for or why haven't you started your own rescue (see my second blog on this topic)?

What I want to say here is....get off your ass and help out!!! Go to your local basset rescue (if bassets are your love; if not there are other rescues out there that could use a hand just as much!!) and fill out an application to help out (www.nybasset.org). Bring a basset into your home to foster until a good home is found for them. Use some of your precious time to drive a basset or work a function or write some emails or help one of the coordinators that needs a hand. Organize a fundraiser or even go out and tell people about your rescue. DO SOMETHING!!

Now, I've been asked how I find the time to do the things that I do to help out ABC. I just do!! When you're as passionate as I am about this thing that I do....you find the time. I think everyone who is really involved in rescue knows what I'm saying here.  You chose to use your precious time to do "rescue work". Somehow it just happens...you make it happen when you love what you're doing so much.

I encourage everyone to have something that makes them feel the way that I feel about basset rescue. It doesn't matter what it is; if it is important to you and you feel that passion for it...for heaven's sake, go out and do it. Do it before you run out of time. Do those things that make you feel like you are helping. Those things that make you feel good. That you can be proud of. No matter what it may be for you. That one thing for me is this world of basset rescue. What is it for you?

So you write a blog? So what? Anyone can do that, but not everyone will get up off that couch, away from that computer and volunteer for that rescue in your area or go out and do the things that you're writing about. That is something that will make you feel more fulfilled than any blog can....ever.