Chloe - cute adoptable black Newfoundland dog in Indiana

Chloe is a beautiful 7 year old Newfoundland girl who is spayed and up to date on all her vaccinations. She is currently being fostered north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Although she has a very mild heart murmur, it should never affect her. She has been seen by a cardiologist for the heart murmur. She has a high energy level and she is anything but a couch potato! She does not like cats or horses and that's about the only time she barks according to her description on Petfinder. The rescue also mentions that perhaps it is better she goes to a home without small children because of her high energy level.

One thing to keep in mind although she does not jump over a 6 ft fence, she can try to find a way to go underneath the fence. Secure fencing is a must. The rescue says that she doesnt go anywhere and comes when called, so we think she just see's a fence as a challenge to occupy herself. Check this listing to find out more about Chloe - cute adoptable Newfoundland dog.

*As a side note, Newfoundlands are usually wonderful with kids any size. However, it is best to follow the rescue's recommendations. Not all Newfoundland dogs are the same. If you have kids and still are interested in this lovely Newfoundland dog, do contact the rescue still to find out more exactly what they consider to be small kids. Sometimes shelters and rescues consider "small kids" to be anything below age 10, and sometimes even 14. It can also depend on if your children has experience with giant dog breeds before, so it is best to ask to make sure.


Gunilla Wachtel - Kanweienea Kreations Zazzle shop - t-shirts, shoes and more

Want to check out original artwork and original prints? Original prints are prints produced and sold directly by the artist as opposed to reproduction prints. For original artwork and prints from Gunilla Wachtel, surf on over and check out Kanweienea Kreations Artfire studio.

Gunilla Wachtel is a self-taught, professional artist currently residing in PA. She loves all kinds of animals, especially horses and Newfoundland dogs. Gunilla supports animal rescues, including Hog Heaven Rescue Farm and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Be sure to check out all the guild artisans who are participating in our current promotion to raise funds for Close to Home Animal Rescue. Check it out HERE or the box below.

CLOSE TO HOME ANIMAL RESCUE..................by Kathryn A. Gainard of A Dying Art Co.

    Res.cue: verb   \’res-(,)kyu\

    Transitive verb: 

    To free from confinement, danger, or evil: save and deliver

    A simple enough concept… to save and deliver from danger. Or at least, it should be. Upon getting to know some of the founders of the Close to Home Animal Rescue, I realize that it’s not as simple as it should be.

    Founded in 2010 by Amy Quinlan, Katie Sojka, Rose Ann Hack & Krista Milford, the rescue was thrust into the almost debilitating surge of homeless animals in Northeast Ohio. The basis for the rescue is simple: an all foster, all volunteer network of people dedicated to saving the abused, neglected and abandoned animals of the area. And the name, Close to Home Animal Rescue, encompasses those ideals. Not only meaning that it works hard to help the local animal need, but also that their adoptable pets are “close to finding their forever home.”

    They tirelessly work with the local pounds, trying to find foster houses for those pets on the short list to euthanasia. A sad and harrowing plight, as the need is far out-weighed by the amount of fosters and rescues.

    They also offer a unique Senior to Senior program that allows senior citizens the chance to adopt older pets at a discounted rate. Many older pets wait so long to find a home and this really helps with that dilemma as seniors are more inclined to want a pet that’s more docile and easy to manage.

    They fight an uphill battle, along with the other rescues across the world. It’s a silent struggle for the most part as animal abuse and neglect is still put on the backburner in most people’s minds. Luckily, they took some time out and answered some questions for me in the hopes we can educate even more people and share the perspective of a rescue worker.

What made you decide to start or be involved in a non-profit rescue shelter?

    AQ: I wanted to see a rescue that represented all different types/breeds/sizes of dogs. It was clear that there were many breed-specific rescues. Also my hope was to have a rescue that had a place for senior dogs.

    RH: After working as chief deputy dog warden in my county, I felt the need to keep my sanity by involving myself in the “happy ending” part of animal welfare.

    KS: There can never be too many rescues. Right? It has been a lot of work and is still very rewarding at the same time.

What do you think is the major issue facing shelters and rescues?

    AQ: The lack of laws. Even if we had enough space or funds, without mandatory spay/neuter and without stricter abuse penalties there are too many waiting to come in.      

    RH: Wow! So many issues… it’s not just rescues and shelters. There are major issues throughout the legal system (lack of laws, lenient laws, no basic guidelines pertaining to rescues/shelters,) ignorance from the public (regarding spay/neutering… and simply ignorance in general.) Rescues and shelters not working together by allowing personal issues to take precedent over animal welfare…

    KS: Overcrowding! More spaying and neutering must take place.

What is a major misconception about rescues and shelters that you feel hinders what you can or should be able to do and get accomplished?

    AQ: Definitely that the general public does not realize that vets do not “donate their time.” They charge rescue organizations anywhere from 10% to 30% off depending upon the service but that is still a great deal of money when you couple it with our gas, food, monthly flea and heartworm preventative. Breaking even is the best you can for with 80% of your dogs and that barely helps with our senior to senior program or the injured and sick.

    RH: One misconception is that the rescue will take any and all animals in need. If we only had the resources to do just that!

    KS: Some people think they should just get a dog for free. Adoption fees are “too high” for a fully vetted animal. I’m not sure if they think the vets take care of the animals at no charge.

Do you think awareness is becoming more prevalent or is ignorance still bliss when it comes to animal abuse and rights?

    AQ: I definitely feel awareness winning on this one. It seems our generation in the ages of 30-50 are much much more aware and the older crowd is more difficult and/or slow to come around. I see more and more families becoming involved teaching their children compassion!

    RH: It seems to me that awareness is more prevalent simply because I surround myself with a population that feels the same way I do concerning animal abuse and rights. However, when I (painstakingly) wander outside of my group of friends I find that people are more comfortable with the “ignorance is bliss” theory. They would much rather believe that someone else is fixing the problem then face the fact that these things are occurring, in many instances, right in their own backyard.

    KS: Both! Some want to know and learn, while others don’t want to know the truth of what is happening out there.

Lastly, if you could impress one thing upon the populace about animal rights, abuse and welfare, what would it be?

    AQ: Nothing is going to change until the laws do. You can be a part of the change. You should be a part of the change. If we can stop animal abuse we have a great chance of stopping abuse of spouses, children and all living things. Many studies show that animals are the first to be “tortured” and individuals escalate such behavior eventually to humans. If it is not enough to you that animals are being abused then take it a step further and think about your Mom, Dad, son, wife, or brother…

    RH: I would impress the fact that people should treat their pets as they would their children… unfortunately, for many children and pets that is exactly how they treat them. I have witnessed first-hand that we live in a very sad society.

    KS: Not to turn a blind eye. Don’t think that if you can’t foster you can’t help an animal in need. Educating the public is helping an animal. Doing what you can in a way that you can is better than nothing. The innocent need you in whatever capacity you can.

To learn more about Close to Home Animal Rescue or to find your next fur-baby visit www.cthar.org.


Article written by Kate of ADyingArtCo. on ArtFire where you can find many of Kate's creative projects for people and pets, as well as at her website: ADyingArtCompanyLtd.com. Kate is a very active volunteer with the Crafting for Animals Guild and uses her talents generously to help the guild in every way she possibly can.

Kate is one of many members participating in the coupon week now (from 10/23 through 10/29) to help raise funds for the Close to Home Animal Rescue, the spotlight charity for CFA Guild during October in honor of National Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. Read all about the promotion HERE or the box below, and get the coupon code so you can shop with Kate and the other guild artisans during this week.

My Pet Story--In Memory of Thomas...........by-----BJ

In Memory of THOMAS:
1992 - 4/11/2009

This is probably the hardest pet story for me to tell, because it’s about my best friend “Thomas-Tommy” who passed over in April of 2009.
Since the 2nd. Anniversary of his passing was April 11th., I felt it was time and that I owed it to him, before I could tell any stories of the three critters I have now.
____________________________________________________________________
I had managed to get this great job as asst. manager of a high end gift shop at our mall in 1991. I love collectibles, figurines, artist dolls, Bradford exchange items & other unique statues & gifts that this shop offered. I was in gift heaven.
I had just moved to the town that I live in because of this job and I loved being in the mall. During lunch breaks or after work, I often shopped the other stores. I was ready for a kitten/cat and I checked the pet store that was there, at the time. This pet store was associated with a couple of vet offices in the area & sold cats that had been taken to the shelters or abandoned kittens, after medical checks, spay or neutering.
I walked in, only to be greeted by a sweet affectionate black 9 month old female cat, who had just been spayed. I fell in love with her & that was it. I had to give her a few days for recovery before I could take her home and I called her “Kiki”. She was just a wonderful loving cat and I never regretted the day I chose her.
When I took Kiki home, I told them that I was looking for a male kitten/cat with long silvery grey fur, because I had a couple of them before. One week later, I received a call in my store that they had gotten one in that was 14 weeks old and I went immediately to see him, when I got a break.
When I walked into the pet store, they told me that the kitten was in the back, getting a beauty treatment. I walked back & saw this gorgeous grey kitten in a cage with his fur blowing as if in the wind. He had just had a bath & they were gently drying him on the low speed of a hair dryer that was hooked up outside his cage, in front of him. It was so cute. Naturally I took him and made arrangements to pick him up & take him home after work.

I was elated, because here I was, in a new apartment, with a new job I loved, and two great cats, which were part of a few of my favorite breed types. How fortunate I felt.

Well, Kiki ended up being just the perfect cat and she took to Tommy ( which was named after the cat in Tom & Jerry). She was more mellow and Thomas was a rascal.
His nose was into everything and he wanted to watch everything that was going on.
So, I ended up putting Tommy on my shoulder to watch while I was cooking or doing dishes etc. because he was snoopy & loved heights. He loved that I carried him around the house like that constantly. He had to be up on the bathroom sink, if I was getting ready to go to work or anywhere else. He especially loved the smell of “clean” things & wanted to be held and cuddle around my neck after every shower.

I let them go out on my patio balcony, which was 1 & ½ stories up. There was another floor above us. We lived with the front of our apartment next to a glassed in hallway, so there was, sort of, a center, doorway, roof peak, to one side of our patio, at the entrance.
Thomas scared the heck out of me at first when he learned to jump from the patio to that pointed roof and then jumped from there to the roof, which was flat and it was crazy of him to do it. He brought home 2 or 3 birds one year and we had a bit of a battle with me trying to get the (still alive) birds from his mouth to let them go & fly away. I think he thought I didn't appreciate his efforts.
One evening, just after dark, he came in with a dark figure of a bird ( I thought) and it got free from him in our kitchen, after I chased him in there with it hanging from his mouth. Very quickly, I realized that it wasn’t a bird, but a black bat & panic set in with me screeching of course and I was trying to figure out what to do, to capture this bat & get it out of my house. I was petrified. YEEK!!
Eventually I caught the bat & trapped him between the side of my broom and in the dust pan. I flew to the patio door & threw it up in the air to fly away, with Tommy right there beside me, all of the while, not understanding why I didn’t appreciate his great gift.
Over the period of five years, Tommy made friends with the neighbors & their cats by going to the roof & getting down on their patios. Everyone loved Thomas.
Another favorite time for us, is when I would rock Tommy & Kiki in my rocker like babies. Kiki was merely OK with it once in a while, but Thomas “Loved it” and would cuddle & fall to sleep often. He was my sweet baby boy then. I rocked him for years and sometimes danced with him on my shoulder around the room. He loved that too. My daughter said she had never seen a cat so spoiled, because she'll never forget me cleaning his fuzzy little long haired butt, one time, when he had a messy accident. No wonder he thought I was his mother, she said. LOL!

Then, the following summer, my youngest daughter, who lived with me at the time, said she stopped by the pet store & I HAD to look at this new kitten that they just got in. She said she fell in love & knew that I would too, if I saw him. At first I was saying no & we didn’t need another cat etc., but she convinced me, because they had let her bring him with her to show me at work. Oh great! I saw “Max” for the first time. Max was a darling little long fur tuxedo kitten and she was right, I fell in love instantly & took him home. Kiki was Ok with him, but he was a feisty kitten & went after Thomas constantly to play. They ended up becoming good buddies & brothers. All of us lived a charmed life for 5 years, then I decided to move. We moved to the top part of a pretty 2 story house, near downtown & the kittles had more room & a big sun porch to play on.
However, that only lasted a year, because in that year I became totally disabled & had to give up my job. There were several adjustments we had to make & one of them was losing part of our happy family. Where I was moving to, didn’t allow pets. I was sick & frantic & it was too late to change anything. Eventually, I tried to find them good homes, but I only found someone to take Tommy. Poor Kiki & Max ended up in a shelter. It was so hard to take, and after a week, the lady that took Tommy called me up & said she couldn’t keep him, so I went to get him. In one way, I was so glad and in another, I didn’t know what to do then. But, I found out I could keep Tommy by getting a letter from my doctor recommending animal companionship. I did just that, because I had been so depressed over losing them & was determined to keep Tommy somehow. It was an omen to me that we were meant to stay together. Thomas and I were ready to spend the rest of our lives together. He was approximately 6 years old then.

He was always so healthy and active. We got extremely close and learned each other’s habit and developed our own language between us. He knew what I was saying and I knew what he was saying. He had certain meows that meant different things and he learned what I wanted when I said certain things, like “Lets go to bed or Let’s go outside” etc. We learned to carry on our own personal conversations about almost anything. Some cats are highly intelligent.
He became my best friend & confidant. We would go for walks together, because I never let him outside without me. He met & was kind to other cats and became friends with a couple in the neighborhood. He had such a gentle, kind & loving spirit. Everyone knew & loved him here too. I sometimes called him Boo or Bubba.
Thomas went through his share of dealing with cats & kittens, who taunted him over the years, that spent time with us. He let kittens play & jump on him & bite his butt & all of the things kittens do, but he had amazing patience & tolerance.

Over the next 10 years we were content with each other and I had never left him alone for any period of time, until My dad got very ill 3 & ½ years ago. My parents lived in another state, so I ended up having to leave Tommy for a couple of weeks. The first time ever apart for more than a night.
I got a neighbor girl who just loved him to look after him while I was gone. In less than 2 months, I made 3 trips to my parents & on the last one, Dad passed away. I was deeply distraught and I missed & worried about Thomas too. After Dad was buried and I went home, Thomas was so excited to see me, he had missed me so much. The first time I came back after the first 2 week stay, he ran around like a crazy kitten for 2 or 3 days, he was so happy. He made things a little easier for me, but he knew I was terribly sad. He only had a lot of patience & love to offer me.

Almost two years after that, Tommy got ill for the first time in his life and although he was throwing up from time to time, I didn’t take it seriously for a couple of months. I know now, that I should have been more concerned. He was drinking tons of water and cried out when he went to the bathroom. I made an appt. then to get him to the vet, though I had this dread inside that it was coming to an end. He was 17 years old in April of 2009 and the vet built him up with IV’s & meds, but said it may just hold him a little longer. It was only for a few weeks.
About 5 or 6 weeks later, he started to have bloody urine and I rushed him to the vet again one morning. I had taken a lot of pictures of him the day before & night before he passed on. I had a feeling that it would be my last night with Thomas & I stayed up all night petting him & talking to him. He always slept right by me on the other side of my pillows and I rubbed his wonderful soft fur & told him how much I loved him, over & over. He just looked at me with those eyes filled with love, as he tried to rest. When I got him to the vet that day, he confirmed my worst fears and told me that it was time to let Tommy go, because he was dieing. It broke my heart, but I did it for Tommy, to end his suffering and stood there with him, holdimg his paw and talking to him softly as I watched that special light fade from his loving green eyes. I came home and broke down and couldn’t stop bawling for 2 weeks. I FELT LIKE SOMEONE HAD SLUGGED ME IN THE GUT. I lost my best friend and companion of 17 years and didn’t know how I’d be able to go on. Losing Dad and Thomas was losing the 2 strongest & constant males in my life. I could hardly bare it. I'm sure a lot of you know that feeling, unfortunately.
I put Tommy’s dishes & quilt away that day, because I couldn't take seeing them right there in front of me.
My wonderful daughter, Renee, had him cremated for me & I got him back in a nice cedar box two weeks later. I had put it in a cabinet out of sight for a while. It took me months before I could look in the box and I put his toy mouse in there with him & there it stays, NOW in the curio cabinet. It took a year for me to recover some & another year before I could talk about him for this story.
So this is for you, my sweet and precious boy, whom I still love dearly and will always miss.
I’m only half now, of who I was with you here. There’ll never be another like you, My Dearest & Best Friend.

SEE TOMMY'S PAGE AT
http://www.catster.com/cats/214398
This story was submitted by BJ of EXPRESSIONS on Artfire
BJ is a member of our Crafting for Animals Guild and Columnist for or Blog.