Summer Sunday

From my garden:

 

My latest foster, a tiny, cute Chihuahua boy who was starving to death in the Shelter due to stress:

Vintage compass on a vintage map.

My husband got me this lovely, palm-sized vintage compass at a ship salvage shop and antique dealer in Bangladesh.

 Vintage compass on a vintage map.

The walnut-toned wood box has a metal label reading "Negretti & Zambra, as does the compass itself, both on the cover, and under the glass on the rose's face. The outside of the compass lid reads "Edward VII Compass King & Emporer 1908". The date, 1908, and the word, "London" is inscribed on the compass rose under the glass. The compass has a fob, as well as a sliding knob to lock the floating needle in place when not in use.

The poem, Robert Frost's "The Road Less Taken" has been engraved on brass-toned metal and appears to have been attached to the inside cover. This poem dates to 1915 and was not really considered a classic until the mid-1920s. I'm assuming that the inscription was added later, particularly because the font-styles are more modern.

My husband isn't sure if the compass actually dates to 1908. Negretti & Zambra manufactured compasses, telescopes, monocules, barameters and other scientific items during this time period, but I was unable to find a similar compass style during a fairly comprehensive Internet search.

If you know anything about vintage compasses, please leave a comment. No matter whether this is a reproduction or an actual antique, it is still a wonderful addition to my collection of cartography and geographic ephemera.

Necklaces from Forever 21.  Owls and sweet Victorian designs are quite the rage at this trendy teen-fashion store.  A new, large store just opened in our local mall.  My 16-year-old is in swoony heaven.

Page scan from a vintage booklet about fuchsias.  It's far too hot to grow these beauties here in Houston.  During the 1980s, I worked in a landscape nursery, and fuchsias like these were very popular.  We would have quizzes from the boss to identify the blossoms by name.  I love the dreamy, soft hues of this old photograph.

Pepper Gets a Home

I've been involved in animal rescue for the past nine years, and currently, I foster dogs from our County Animal Shelter.  I normally take the smaller dogs, especially the Chihuahuas.  I'm not a Chihuahua owner, but my Mom has always had them so I know the breed.

 Isn't that overbite and little snaggle just the cutest?

One of my little guys, a cutie named Pepper, got a home yesterday while I was working an Off-Site adoption at our local PetsMart.

 Pepper met Ms. Sonya Fitzgerald at a fundraiser held at Barker Street Bakery, The Woodlands, TX.

Pepper was terrified when he first came to my house, but had blossomed into a sweet, bouncy, barky little dog.  He got the chance to meet Sonya Fitzgerald, the pet psychic who used to have a show on Animal Planet.  I'm not a believer, but it was a fun experience.  Pepper "told" Ms. Sonya that he's a good barker and a very good guard dog!  And what Chihuahua doesn't have those skills!

Pepper wrestles with Tucker, another foster, while Cross, my little Rat Terrier oversees things.

It's always a bittersweet thing to send a foster dog on its way to a new, loving home, but it's something I love doing.

Dog Days

Last year, I had 11 different foster dogs.  I get them from my local Shelter, where I volunteer.  I take care of them, then help them find new homes.  Currently, I have two fosters--the tiny Chihuahua my daughter (yes, she has dyed her hair green-blue for the Summer) is trying to snuggle.

This is my other foster, a little whippet-like mixed breed named "Tucker."

This is my own dog, our darling little rat terrier mix, Cross.  She is sweet and loves to give kisses, which is really why she is sticking her tongue out.

And this doesn't have a thing to do with dogs. It's a shot of my daughter's shoes and socks, which she wore with a sparkly party dress, to the Band Banquet.  She has her own unique style, and it never ceases to amaze and amuse me!

How's your summer going?  We're making crafts (I have Mod-Podge and hot glue stuck on my nails as I type this).  Leave me a note about the fun stuff going on at your rancho!

On the Loss of a Good Dog

 Taco, December 15, 2001 to April 29, 2010.

On Thursday, April 29, 2010, at 6:15 p.m. I had to hold my 10-year-old Miniature Pinscher, Taco, as he was put down. My husband, Reggie, my 16-year-old daughter, Ruth, and my dear friend, Shirley, were with Taco at the end.  Dr. Ruth Ainsworth at Village Vet in Sterling Ridge administered the pink injection.  We will have him cremated.

We thought we had licked the liver infection and had him on the road to recovery, but yesterday he began to suffer neurological distress--weakness in the hindquarters, which progressed to staggering and falling, along with impaired vision and vertigo.  The Vet determined it was hepatic encephalopathy--the neurological decline that comes from cirrhosis of the liver.  Essentially, toxic chemicals were building in his brain, causing muscle control loss and eyesight stress.  Taco must have been light-sensitive because two days before, he was barking at the little light on the ADT alarm pad and the red-light in the anti-pest plug-in device.

In spite of his staggers, Taco had a good last day--he ate his breakfast with fairly good vigor, he got to snuggle with me under a blanket in the mid-morning and patrolled his yard (lurching), and he sat calmly at in Ruth's lap and let us all love on him before it was time.

We had Taco since December 2001, and got him at a PetsMart Adoption event in Louisiana.  He was a quirky little dog, but a very good dog.  He killed rats and moles, could jump five feet straight into the air, always had to work for treats, and once stood up to a husky (and lost).  He loved to jingle his collar tags for attention, and if that wasn't enough, he was a loud barker.  He was nippy and ugly with toys, especially his favorite "uggee bone."  He tore up all the blinds he could reach whenever he saw something he wanted to attack on the other side of the window.  He was bossy toward other dogs and only tolerated Cross, our little Rat Terrier Mix, although this last month, we could tell he was really quite bonded with her.  In short, Taco generally swaggered around like a buff stud-muffin in a 14-inch high,17-pound stag red Min-Pin body.  He was a brave little guy.

His six-week battle began on March 12, triggered perhaps by his nom-ing on a squirrel carcass, and cost over $5,000. However, he had improved and was eating on his own again after having to have force-fed slurry and sub-cu fluids.  We thought he was recovering.  I have never worked so hard to take care of a dog. Plus, I never dreamed I would do what I did for this particular dog (he was VERY quirky--a bite-first, ask questions later little terrier-killing machine).

Taco will be much on my mind over this weekend and in the near future as I do my part with dog adoption off-sites.

Animal Rescue Stamps to Debut Next Week

Maybe I need to send less email and write more letters so I can use these awesome animal rescue stamps that will debut at U.S. Post Offices on April 30, 2010. 

 The 10 different 44-cent stamps commemorate the USPS Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet program.  The stamps are designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, D.C., and photographed by Sally Anderson-Bruce of New Milford, Connecticut.  If you go the USPS web-site, you can roll your mouse over the images and find out more about each of these special animals.  Not only can you buy the stamps to use or to add to your philatelic collection, you can order a cool certificate for your dog or cat that includes a post-marked first-day cover stamp and the spaces for you to record your own furry friend’s adoption data.

 As an owner of two rescue dogs (Taco, the Very Lucky Miniature Pinscher, and Cross, the World’s Cutest Rat Terrier mix) and a regular foster-mom for my local Shelter (I had 11 different foster dogs last year!), I encourage you to consider a rescue animal for your next pet. 

 You can find wonderful animals at your local shelter, through PetsMart or PETCO adoption events, and online at PetFinders.com.  If you’re hankering after a specific breed, you can search for breed rescues. So, on April 30^th, go buy some of these stamps and put a paw out for rescue! 

As an animal rescue volunteer, I am already signed up with my local Shelter to help with a HUGE off-site event to be held at the Conroe, TX, Post Office on the day the stamps are made available.  We’ll be showing off adoptable pets of the Montgomery County Animal Shelter in this unique tie-in to the rescue stamp debut.  I’ll be the pudgy dog lady in the brown Stetson!