Movin' On

After almost 5 years living at the top of Arizona, we've decided to move down the hill a little for Tom's health and more room for the dogs, of course. We've had a rough couple of months with Tom ending up in the ICU over the holidays with a pneumonia that went into his heart.

We've found the most adorable rancher on 2.5 fenced acres, just outside of Prescott, AZ on county land. Let the barking commence! We are SO excited for this new adventure and are moving within the month. I will have lots of room for my sewing business and hope to expand in the 2nd half of 2010.

Jack is STILL with us...almost 2 years in foster care and most of them here with me. He did spend some time in Las Vegas, but was sadly returned. We NEED to find this boy a nice home. Monti keeps biting him :(

So medical bills, moving, caring for 7 dogs and two ancient cats and working on my Spoiled Bratzwear stuff doesn't allow me much time to blog. I'll try to be better at it because I really do enjoy it. I can't believe it's been 6 months since my last entry.............

Little Furry Miracles

Speedo

I'm going to try to get through this post without sobbing....oh dear, here come the tears already. I'm such a wimp.
Anyway, many of you know that I lost my sweet old senior IG, Speedo in the fall. After 4 years of teaching us all about starting over and helping other dogs, it was his turn to go the Rainbow Bridge. My heart still aches for this wonderful creature who taught me SO many things.

Just a few weeks ago my dear friend and rescue partner's dog Hank left us too, after just losing her sweet Lily in December who was also a rescue. Hank was with her just 4 short years, his story similar to Speedo's, being adopted at 10 years old from IG rescue.

Lily was also a very special Iggy, unable to see and she had a bad heart. Didn't stop her from loving life. She was a gracious girl with her fancy prance! I truly believe these dogs, our furry miracles, are still with us. They certainly proved that two days ago.

Lily and Hank
I have a forum with members from across the country who volunteer with my rescue group, Silver Hounds. We talk about dogs and dogs and well, dogs. It's a terrific bunch of people. Monday morning one of the members posted about a 12 year old dog who was being advertised on an online classified board in Ohio..."FREE to good home". Now, the first thing I think when I see these poor old dogs being given away for free is...FIGHT DOG BAIT. They train the puppies on helpless older dogs who don't have a chance. I digress and don't want to be gruesome, but it happens.
I contacted the man with the posting telling him all about Silver Hounds and asked him if he would give the dog to a rescue group. He checked out the website and decided it would be a great place for his old dog to "retire".
I live in Arizona.
The dog is in Ohio.
...and somehow Speedo, Hank & Lily with their infinite "old dog" wisdom coordinated it all from the shade of the Cookie Tree which surely grows tall at the Rainbow Bridge.

Hank & Lily's mom just happened to be in Ohio the past few days, visiting with friends. I alerted her via text that there was a senior who needed help and she called IMMEDIATELY to get the details. Turns out, he's only about 2 hours from where she was staying and like the superhero she is, she flipped on her cape and went and rescued that old dog from the people who had owned him since he was a pup. Don't get me started about how people can own a dog for 12 years and toss it out like old socks. That's another post, but suffice to say these people did this dog a HUGE favor.
Calls to the airlines, emails to potential foster homes and other rescue groups in Ohio, calls to vets to get a health certificate to fly JUST IN CASE and finding a travel bag in a little town didn't stop Hank & Lily's mom...who was flying BACK to Arizona the very next day (yesterday).

They didn't get home until midnight last night after a VERY long day. We watched their flight online, hoping that he was being good for her. She texted me when they landed...all was GOOD! Another almost 2 hour drive home to meet his new housemates, which also went off without a hitch. One big happy Iggy family :)
Donny

I imagine Donny will never leave Hank & Lily's house. I imagine they are really happy that mommy saved that old dog from an unknown fate had he gotten into the wrong hands. I imagine that Hank, Lily and Speedo are smiling down on all of us and just looking for the next little furry miracle who needs a soft place to land to spend their golden years. I feel blessed and honored to be a part of these amazing dogs' lives.

This is certainly not the first dog that Tammy has rescued and won't be the last. Aside from Hank & Lily, AJ & Styx who she adopted, there is Princessa, Buster, Jocko, Cisco and Twig that she's driven THOUSANDS of miles for and spent nearly millions of dollars on.
Thanks, Tammy. You are my hero :)

A Season

It's been a whole season since my precious Speedo went to the Rainbow Bridge. The first few days after he left I could barely breathe. I don't think I'd ever really experienced a broken heart. He didn't leave softly and I relive those dark moments over and over again, wishing I could have somehow helped him. I guess I did in a way....I held him and sang to him in the wee hours in the dark, telling him it was OK to go if he needed to. It was so unexpected....
A few weeks passed, 1....2....3....and then began the months. Now it's been a whole season since he went away and my heart still aches and I miss him. His tag sits here on my keyboard, his collar with his "rescued" charm dangling from a corner of my monitor and of course his picture on my screensaver. I like to keep him close by since he's always been my muse, my inspiration and the reason I started Silver Hounds and can help so many seniors like him, who became a burden to his person who could not afford his extensive medical care.
He would have been with us only four short years this past February 1. I somehow forgot that day....as if he didn't want me to be sad, so it just slipped my mind. I thought I heard him bark the other day and I can't bear to throw away his special kidney medicine in the 'fridge that kept him healthy right up to the end.
The other dogs don't seem to know he's not here anymore, or maybe he still is and I just can't see him. I couldn't have gotten through that loss without them, nudging me to be happy that THEY are here and alive and SO loving.
My life really has gone to the dogs and I embrace it. I've recently reconnected with some old high school friends on Facebook and I'm sure they all think I'm a little daft that I never followed the rules and had a tribe of kids, and surround myself with dogs instead. Let them think it. I know what I do every day and I'm honored to keep such good company with my little pack of fur who teach me SO much.

Little did I know when I wrote this poem for Speedo two years ago that it would bring me such comfort after his passing. For all the senior dogs now and in the future who have lost their way, I hope a loving human finds you...and teaches you that you can love again.

Old Dog,
for Speedo
A senior dog is always there come sunny days or rain,
Their gentle ways through lazy days are sometimes filled with pain.
With cloudy eyes and toothless smiles they shower you with care,
Grateful, Quiet, Meek and Mild, Peaceful, Kind & Fair.
They teach us all how we should be, not afraid to live and love
For someday soon they'll leave us and we'll know from up above.
Their guidance will embrace us and they'll lead us on you see,
For another senior needs us...it's just how it should be.

Holly Mastromatto 2007

Groovy Baby

Artfire is turning out to be a wonderful place to sell my petwear and I've bought some great items there too. The people are SO nice and supportive of the whole handmade thing, which is hopefully the wave of the future. Why support Walmart when you can support your neighbor by buying handmade from sites like Artfire and Etsy?
Of course the #1 selling items are my Pee-liminator belly bands...can't get away from dog pee it seems!

I found some really FUN fleece online and it arrived last night, so I was up at the crack of dawn sewing jammies and bribing the dogs away from the warmth of the fireplace to PLEASE be good models for Mommy!
I really love this smiley hippie print and the flamingos just made me laugh.


My dear pal Chris with Sit Up 'n Beg has a bunch of my dog coats down at the Scottsdale dog show this weekend. Her collars and leads are really unique and several of the handlers at the recent Westminster dog show are using them so she is LOVING that! I'm forever indebted to her for peddling my doggie wear, as it's hard for me to travel with all the little charges I'm responsible for here at home.


I'm launching another Silver Hounds Auction this weekend to raise some much needed funds for the vet bills we've piled up this year so far. Poor Jocko, the senior that came to us via New Mexico in the fall, needed to have another 11 teeth pulled to the tune of about $1000.00 so we are in the hole deep! His previous bills were about $800 which the last auction covered. Thankfully his awesome foster mom is floating the bill until we can reimburse her.
Anyway, take a peek if you have the time and please share it. It's just in album format on my petsitting website and it's not live, but it's FREE...lol. I update it twice a day. We did well with our auction in the fall so hopefully this one will succeed too.


We're still hanging out on Etsy, but Artfire has really proven to be a better venue, and since I was able to get 10 people signed up, my membership is FREE...for life. Almost too good to be true. And they don't take a commission like Etsy does.
I have high hopes for my future as a petwear designer, I certainly am having fun with it! Gosh...wouldn't that be amazing if I've FINALLY found my calling?


If not, it's back to hairdressing! Ugh.