Kim Clune
Announcing the Birth of DogHouseAdoptions.org and PUPPIES!
Involved with every Blog the Change for Animals event since the start, I have always shared beautiful causes that are important to me while encouraging others to take up a cause of their own. That call to action doesn’t come lightly or without personal expectation, too. That said, I have an exciting announcement to make…
Having banded together with Dawn Niebuhr, Lori Harris, Audra Bentley, and my husband Tim Clune, it is with great pleasure that we introduce our new rescue child into this world… along with the first litter of gorgeous stray puppies who need us!
MEET DOG HOUSE ADOPTIONS OF RENSSELAER COUNTY, NY!
Dog House Adoptions provides a safe, loving place for unclaimed strays to go when their holding time is up. The way we see it, dogs are not throw away items. Their lives have value and, when the community comes together to support their needs, the dogs do something miraculous. No matter how weary, weathered or worn, they give back with their whole hearts.
Our plans are lofty (more on that later), but our priorities are simple:
- Care for the dogs who need us now
- Educate children to protect the dogs of the future
- Provide dogs a means to serve the community who serves them
- Accomplish each stage with a sense of humor
WORDS: REALITY’S BUILDING BLOCKS
While our Executive Director (Dawn) provides hands-on care and boarding of strays at Creekside Kennel, and the board (Tim, Lori and Audra) crafts policies that help both animals and people, my job is to build a presence with words and beautiful images, to tell a moving story that engages people to great ends, and to do so in a way that feels good – because the shadow of sadness hanging over rescue deters people from becoming a committed solution. And our approach is working!
COMMUNITY: OUR LIFEBLOOD
We want to offer our dogs ways to engage with the community, to create a symbiotic relationship of giving and getting back between people and animals, yet we are currently receiving so much more than we offer. Generous and knowledgeable people keep calling to help – without solicitation. Just a few examples:
- The Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce offered a ribbon cutting ceremony for us at their 112th Annual Dinner in front of more than 450 local businesses.
- Marlene Wagner, a certified dog trainer for whom I hold the highest regard, offered to speak about the differences between family dogs vs. rescue dog interactions at next week’s maiden volunteer orientation.
- My neighbor, Debbie Riganti, called to say that she read every word and checked every link on our website for accuracy and functionality.
As exciting as this all is, none of these moments were…
THE MOMENT IT BECAME REAL
Leave it to a dog to open my eyes. Bristol, a sweet and speedy young girl who we affectionately call a Nascar Lab blend, came to us with scars and scabs from a traumatic mating and with her own puppy pit crew on board. Lisa Drury, a reputable lab breeder, took Bristol in, delivered her pups, and is caring for them until they are properly weaned. When I asked to photograph the puppies without imposing on Lisa more than we already had, her response is what brought it all home:
Not an inconvenience at all! They are YOUR puppies!!
I HAVE PUPPIES
The weight of those words settled in around my shoulders like warm wrap. This was not a burdensome weight, but a commitment of love and determination to do my best for these innocent lives. I sat still with that thought, wholly embraced it as my version of motherhood, and then grabbed my photo gear with the excitement of a child off to a birthday party.
Meet the Puppy Pit Crew: Danica, Dale Jr., Tony and Kasey!
Did I mention that folks think they might be Nascar/Bull Mastiff blends? I guess that means I have PUPPIES (<- in big letters). These kiddos are already larger than a healthy lab pup at just 3 weeks. This video is from week 1, and there will be much, much more to come!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Many of you have heard our lofty ideas (to be announced soon) and encouraged this project. I am so grateful for the enthusiasm. To Mike Arms, the entire staff at the Helen Woodward Animal Center, and Kyla Duffy , we couldn’t have come this far so fast without your trail-blazing knowledge, experience, guidance and inspiration.
For those of you who wish to support us through our first growth spurt, please share our adoptable dogs, volunteer, and get our e-newletter through DogHouseAdoptions.org. You can also follow us on Facebook , Twitter, and Google+.
Join us on this amazing journey.
The dogs would love to have you.
Black Bear Signals End of Bird Feeding Season
When we came home from vacation on Sunday, to our delight, spring had fully sprung. Missing crocus season entirely, we stepped off the plane straight into full blooming daffodils. Willows leafed out in tender green waves. Red maples reached out their tiny leaves in search of the sun’s warmth. And our resident bear came out of hibernation before we emptied the last inch of winter bird seed from the storage can.
We had a heads up from the house sitter, mind you, and we would have emptied the last of the seed upon coming home had I not been plagued with a medical distraction. Having gained 12 pounds worth of edema in my legs, I was busy limping through 7 doctors’ consults, from ruling out blood clots to detecting what is likely a strange side effect of taking Celebrex. (Thank goodness it wasn’t the salt in the Margaritas! That, I couldn’t live with.)
Exhausted from it all, Tim and I hit the pillow early and hard by Wednesday. We craved a solid night’s sleep, but it was not to come.
Portrait of a Passing Porcupine
Our story left off with Jeannette, the wildlife rehabilitator, whisking our suddenly struggling porcupine down the hill for emergency veterinary care. Once in the compassionate care of Joyce, a vet technician in Guilderland, the ticks (a sign of a compromised immune system) were carefully removed from our girl’s face. She also received fluids, antibiotics and pain medication. With no concrete determinations that night, Jeanette wrote, “Joyce and I will do absolutely anything for her if the vet feels she has any chance of recovery.”
Porcupine Situation Gets Sticky
We now enter a less pleasant chapter in the revelry of my budding porcupine friendship, as chronicled in An Unlikely Encounter with a Porcupine, Return of the Porcupine, an Apple Fest and Porcupine, Fawns and Turkeys – A Winter Woodland Celebration.
MOVING IN
After my woodland birthday celebration on that snowy Thursday in October, our resident porcupine made herself scarce. Then, as Tim woke to let the dogs out on Saturday, he saw her nestled against the chain link fence with her quills pointed through into the dog yard. With the dogs crossing their legs in need of morning relief, an hour ticked slowly by before the porcupine finally wandered off again.
That night, the dogs nearly climbed the 6 foot fence, frothy white saliva flying this way and that, as they barked themselves into a frenzy. In the glow of the house floodlights, we saw our little porcupine curled up in a half-igloo just 3 feet from the fenced yard. As Tim and I dragged the dogs inside, the Newf nearly went through the sun room window in pursuit, leaving swipes of muddy footprints smeared across the glass. It took great effort, but we wrangled both dogs into the main house and slammed the door shut.
World Animal Awareness Society – News
World Animal Awareness – it’s not just about animals. It’s about people too. These are some of the stories highlighted on Facebook this week by World Animal Awareness Society – WA2S.Org, a dedicated non profit focused on filming human animal intersections worldwide.
ETHIOPIA
The human/animal connection is readily apparent on a most basic level in a video called Women Want Change. This video comes from The Brook, an international charity relieving the suffering of horses & donkeys working for some of the world’s poorest communities. (Visit The Brook on Facebook.)
Women can play a powerful role in bringing about change and, through its training, The Brooke is equipping women in many rural communities with the skills, confidence, and knowledge to make improvements for the future wellbeing of their animals and their families. – The Brooke President, HRH the Duchess of Cornwall
Watch the shift toward better animal husbandry as illiterate women are educated about proper working animal nutrition, wound care and problems with overloading. They speak of a time when they didn’t know more than to use traditional – yet lacking – healing methods as compared with now healthy animals who benefit the survival of their families.
Porcupine, Fawns and Turkeys – A Winter Woodland Celebration
In late October, I woke to a landscape glittering and bright in the golden sun of daybreak. It was the first snow of the season, and this particular day was my birthday. Through the window, from the warmth of my bed, I watched a rabbit making tracks as our Newf, Shamus, ate frosted crabapples straight from the tree. The view made me cheerful for the first time in a long while.
Return of the Porcupine, an Apple Fest
Last week, as I told of My Unlikely Encounter with a Porcupine, we left off with this darling, quilly little girl trotting through the deep woods as I skipped home filled with wonderment at our chance meeting. But that’s not the end of the story…
On an overcast Saturday afternoon, a dark, waddling shadow under the apple trees caught my husband Tim’s eye. “Hey. Your friend is back!”
I ran to the window. There she was, face-first in a shiny, red, fallen apple on the lawn, circling around it as she ate, not a care in the world. Unable to hold onto the fruit, she sank her long teeth into the ruby red flesh, re-angling for every bite. When only a bright white core was left, she abandoned it for the next apple. Continue reading
An Unlikely Encounter with a Porcupine
It was October 18th, 2011. The sun played peek-a-boo, ducking behind passing clouds and cheekily popping out again like a gleeful child. Bulbous shadows floated across the lawn in tandem with their fluffy white counterparts above. I absorbed the sights as if they were harmonious sounds, the clouds providing a strong bass line as melodious bursts of golden light trickled through the pines.
Then she arrived, hopping and bopping through this symphonic space like a tuba in the strings section. From a distance, she looked like a ground hog, or perhaps a beaver. But, no. She was a beautiful little porcupine.
Climbing the hill toward the house, she took a turn past the dog yard – which sent the dogs into an ear piercing cacophony. When she redirected, I grabbed my camera and followed with a wide birth letting the zoom bridge the gap.
Going Dark to Protest Overreaching Internet Regulation
On January 18th, 2012 the internet is going on strike to stop two web censorship bills in Congress: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Leading websites including Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, WordPress, and BoingBoing will go dark tomorrow in protest, and we join them. Whether you have a website or simply like to read them, you’ll want to take part, too.
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
Two laws, hastily proposed in the name of protecting copyright holders, will more likely enable censorship by US corporations and the U.S. government, undermining the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution.
Black Bear! What Do We Do?!
The house rattled and creaked as the wind pushed and pulled, searching for a way in beyond the logs. Crisp brown leaves whizzed past the windows, illuminated only by the lamplight inside. The feeder swayed back and forth from it’s hook, metal grinding on metal. The cedar trellis whipped from side to side. From under my my chocolate knit afghan, as I sat with the dogs basking in the warmth of the fire, I lazily thought, I need to tighten those trellis screws.
In the flurry of all that commotion, something caught Jed’s attention. The curious cat ascended the couch, planted his face in the window and stared into the darkness. Then he started to pace.
Squirrel? I thought. We hear them trotting across the roof some nights. They use the trellis to reach the closest feeder with solid footing. I welcomed the thought.
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