The End of an Era

Tuesday afternoon, Winnie peacefully crossed the Rainbow Bridge. She was at home, on her dog bed, lying in the sun, surrounded by love and her mom and dad. It was as gentle, and beautiful as it could be, and she passed quickly, and pain free. There was a gentle breeze, and dappling sunlight as she left us, and she is forever at peace.

Our hearts are broken, and the grief is almost unbearable, but we are reflecting on the long and wonderful life that Winnie had. She was 14 and a half years old.

Winnie loved her brother Tiggs, and he was with her before and after she passed.

I adopted Winnie when she was 12 weeks old from the Humane Society of Ft. Collins. She was the last dog in the back row, and she stole my heart. She used to carry my purse around Ft. Collins, and loved to chase the prairie dogs at Pineridge. She loved in her younger years, jumping for the branch in our backyard. One day after a snow storm, she actually caught it. She was very proud. She loved car rides, and sticking her head out the window to bite the air. She really loved playing the "hose game" where she would chase the spray from the hose all over the yard. Winnie loved going on climbing trips, even though she didn't always behave. She and Tiggs accompanied us on our year long road trip all over N. America. She was a well traveled girl.

During the last year, Winn had grown more and more anxious, her body started to grow weary, and there were starting to be more difficult days than good ones. We want to remember the Winnie that loved all of her favorite things and the Winnie who had a strong body and strong mind.

She had many good friends over the years, stretching from NY, to Colorado, to all across the country. Everyone loved Winnie, and she loved their belly rubs.

We prefer not to have phone calls right now, but if you have any memories to share, please email us, we'd love to hear your favorite Winnie stories.

I've created an album of some of my favorite pictures of Winnie, and I also went through my albums to find prints (Winnie was old enough that there were no digital camera's for the first half of her life!). I intend to scan those in to post her pictures from when she was a young girl.

http://picasaweb.google.com/woofslc/Winnie?authkey=Gv1sRgCNyAxoDPjor_Gw#

With heavy hearts and much love,

Adam and Melissa

Thank you to all of our good friends who have sent memories and emails, your kind thoughts mean the world to us.

Spring Zanyness

OK, ok, for my good friend Mike D, whom I miss very much by the way!

I wish I could say that I've been off jetsetting to Cabo, or Font, or surfing in Costa Rica, but alas, I haven't been doing any of those things. I have, however been working a lot of weekends and evenings doing special events, event planning, and working hard. I love my job. Working in animal welfare is an avocation, as well as a vocation. Sometimes it's hard to turn it off. There is always one desperate phone call or email to return, and when it's an innocent pup that's at stake, you just do it, doesn't matter the time or place.

The next month doesn't show signs of slowing. I'll be at Strut Your Mutt with some adoptables on May 22, then I'm planning my first ever large event, Pet Bull Palooza, which will vaccinate and microchip 100 dogs free of charge, as well as provide 60 free spay/neuter vouchers, free dog food, leashes, collars, and dog toys too. I hope it's a huge success, but I haven't slept in weeks. The weekend after that, I head to NYC to help with the first ever Tri State Super Adoption, then off to the Animal Farm Foundation for an internship working with what else? More shelter pit bulls! WooHoo. June will be a crazy month, but I'm excited.

I am also trying to train for climbing alot, mostly in the gym, it's all I can really fit in, plus, WTF, the weather is awful! So, Mike D, if you are reading this, come climb with me, even if it's only on plastic!

Lastly, I'm helping take care of my mom, who became gravely ill with bacterial meningitis while driving from NY to SLC this past week, so I've been at the ICU alot with her. She is doing really well, and her prognosis is very good at this point, so thanks for all of our friends and family who have sent emails and phone calls checking in.

So, that's the Spring Zanyness Report. What are all of your Spring Zany Plans?

Winnie Van Gogh

My Laundry Room is Famous

Which I find slightly ironic since Adam and I despise laundry and it is currently piled higher than the North Face of the Eiger (great movie by the way, highly recommend it, but dress warmly as it will make you slightly chilly).

It's always an honor when one of my house photos ends up on the design blogs I love so much. I was just thinking how bad my laundry room needed a spruce up...I was thinking of marmoleum or epoxy flooring, a sparkly white coat of paint and some brighter lighting.

Maybe one of the fans of my laundry room would like to come an help me do my laundry, that'd be swell.

Thanks Desire to Inspire!

Skiing and Coffee and Animals, Oh My!

Well, it's no secret that I'm not the biggest fan of skiing, 4.5 years of staring at fungal toenails in a ski boot shop and the person attached telling you what a big deal they are will do that to you. However, I am an athlete, and as such, I can certainly appreciate the coolness of the sport at the Olympic level. I for one have watched just about every Olympic sport playing on my new flat screen 42" high def TV nightly from Vancouver. I'm hooked.

Of all things, I think I enjoyed the mogul skiing almost the best. I was blown away at the springy-ness of the competitors legs and the cool tricks they throw down in the middle of their ski run. Wow. And, I was super psyched for the genuine good energy that Shannon Bahrke had after her bronze medal win. I loved her free spirit, her pink hair, and her family cheering her on. Then I found out she is living here in Salt Lake City. How cool is that?! Then, on top of all of that, I learned that Shannon is a huge supporter of Best Friends! Not only that, but she has her own coffee company- AND, that she has several bags of Best Friends Blend. With each bag, Shannon donates $5 to the Sanctuary. A rippin' skier, a coffee connoisseur, and an animal lover and philanthropist? That's my kinda girl.

Shannon also supports other athletes by having different Athlete Blends that feature the them and they all designate their favorite charities. Shannon then donates $1 to their charity of choice, then a dollar goes towards helping the athletes fund their Olympic dreams. Rad sauce.

Thank you Shannon for supporting the animals and your community!

Coffee Covet

Want this, based solely on shape and color...love.

A Little Video Starring My Friend Andy and Me

Andy is still looking for his forever peeps! Is that you? Contact me if you are interested! He requires no medications or special treatments for his heart, he just briefly will stumble, then get right back up. He's a young boy, 1.5-2 years old, and he loves everyone and every dog he meets. He's a big, happy, loveable lug.

Worst...blogger...ever

But, finally got that new sofa! Yay to becoming a couch potato. We are currently on the hunt for the TV that will be mounted across from the chaise.

I was really psyched on the service we got at Copenhagen West. In addition to being really nice people, Diana, our sales person even came to the house to help me...'envision'....I need that, believe me! I'm such a visual person, and it was a huge purchase, I wanted to be happy, and I was fully prepared to send it back if it didn't work.

So, enjoy the pics, can't wait to host some movie nights, but be forewarned, if you spill anything on my couch, I will kill you! Break out the Granma plastic!

And, thank you to my fabulous friend Cerre, for coming over and helping me through this anxiety ridden decision process!

Updates

Wow, I have been really busy, which means blogging is suffering. My trip to Kanab was productive yet brief. I enjoyed three wonderful nights with my Tina Louise(y) Wheezy, and met a ton of my new coworkers. The one thing I can say about working for Best Friends is that everyone is so passionate, and loves what they do, including me. Everyone works so hard, and it's evident in the creativity and programs that we have. It's very inspiring.

I wasn't in Kanab but two days, when I was called to help with a heartbreaking rescue project out of state. I'm still really not at liberty to discuss the details of this rescue. I can say that Arkansas, and Missouri (well, and a lot of places), have notoriously weak animal cruelty laws. I will enlighten my faithful readers more when the details of this rescue come out for the public. I learned alot, I was glad to go, I would go again, though the outcomes were disappointing. It strengthens our resolve to do more and get tougher laws to protect animals from abuse and neglect. We had a very good team and a wonderful volunteer network in place and seeing that come together was very inspiring.

In other news, Honey started her hydrotherapy. It was so cool, and she loved her hydro tech Wilma. We will go weekly and I think this will help Honey's recovery tremendously.

For my out of state readers, have you heard that Salt Lake City is the most polluted in the nation right now? We have all been breathing a brown soupy cloud for weeks now. Nothing was more evident that flying through the brown cloud on my way home last week. Inversion sucks! There will be a critical mass transit this week in the City to protest our terrible air quality. Uck.

Hope you are all well.

A New Chapter

Well, this morning I leave for Kanab to start the training for my new job with Best Friends, I'm really excited and nervous all at once. Good thing I'll have the best cuddle bug ever (Tina Louise) to help me relax tonight:

I've been putting all of my energy into getting my workspace ready, and I love the finished product. We sold our futon to make way, now the (WO)man room will be relocated downstairs. This is cool because we'll get a REAL couch and a TV! I've sworn off TV for the last 10-15 years, but screw it. I want a flat screen with Bose surround, High Def, and cable! I'm getting old and I want some serious American excess. Haha!

Here's the couch options, what do you all think?