They Passed the Toddler Test!!

December, is without a doubt, my busiest month of all!!!  Not just because of Christmas, but because it's the beginning of birthday season for my family!!  Add to that. . .I had my grandson, Noah, for a week!!  He's going to be 3 next month and VERY busy!!  He doesn't have a pet of his own, so he gets his fill when he comes to Grandma's!!  I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how it was all going to unfold. . .wondering how Avalon and Charlie were going to react to a toddler running around and how Noah was going to be around 2 new dogs for a week!  Without ANY exaggeration, my fluffy dog fosters were ANGELS!!  I can say, with NO apprehension, Avalon and Charlie will both be perfect pets for any family with or without children!  I just couldn't believe how good they were.  I could go on and on about how gentle and patient they were, but I'll spare you...but they were both so amazing.  No matter what Noah did. . .they rolled with it.  I'm so proud of them both!!  Did I mention that Noah's favorite thing to do was share his meals and snacks with them!  Yeah. . .I couldn't get him to stop and of course all 3 dogs immediately figured out that every time Noah ate. . .they would all eat as well!

So lets talk about the winter snow!!  Charlie is NOT a fan of the cold.  You can take the dog out of Alabama, but you can't take the Alabama out of  Charlie!!  He'll go out, do his thing, play if he must, but not for to long.  If he sees me through the door, he runs up and presses his face to glass with that "hey!! let me in!!" look.  Avalon, however, WooHoo. . . BRING ON THE SNOW!!!  She absolutely loves it!  I've got some great pictures of her burrowing her face in snow that just crack me up!

In closing, I will just say I love sharing our life with our fluffy dogs!  They have all brought me such joy.  And because of the lovely people who adopt them, from time to time I get to get a glimpse into their happy lives when they share their stories and pictures with me!

They are always together!

Who knew that dogs would enjoy cat toys!  Avalon playing with a toy mouse!!

She looks so regal :)

Awww. . .that face!

Charlie and Avalon playing in the snow

This one makes me laugh. . .she looks like a little monkey!

<3 Snow!!

Avalon?  Is that you????

Mom?  Are you opening the door so I can come in?

Pleeeeease can I come in if I keep looking cute???

What does she see down there??

Snow bunny

Picture perfect xo

Handsome boy!

Playing a friendly game of tug of war!

Noah and Charlie. . .I think Charlie wants to share Noah's snack!

How adorable is this. . .Buddies!! xo

First row seats to any food that may drop or be handed over!!

Meet Charleston (Charlie)

Seems I just can't say no to an adorable fluffy dog rescue!  Meet Charlie, a 2 to 3 year old Lhasa Apso mix weighing in at 13 pounds!!  I had read his description and thought hmmmm. . .will he be a handful?  Will he be a good fit with my other pets?  But who could say no to that face and all of that hair!

I brought him home tonight and we walked around back to meet Maddie (my daughter's puggle) and Avalon who were outside playing.  A lot of sniffing, twirling, running and jumping ensued.  Once we got inside, Maddie and Avalon were thrilled to have a new friend and immediately welcomed him with more wrestling and playing! CHAOS!!  I was thrilled!  I'll say it again, rescue dogs make the best pets!!  So happy to be had, so grateful to be loved and so anxious to please!

Already feeling attached to my new fluffy dog and can't wait to get to know him better!  I can already see he's got a big personality and a lot of charm!

Charlie (Charleston)

Cute little bum!!!  Charlie is watching my cat, Clay (see his glowing eyes in the background)

Clay moves in closer with every picture I took of Charlie!1 lol

He's a handsome one!

He likes jumping up onto the fireplace hearth!

Had to add a cute one of Avalon!!

Sheldon's Furever Home

Mission accomplished!!  Our sweet little Sheldon was adopted yesterday!  His new mama, Linda, came to meet him yesterday and, of course, she fell in love!  Always so bitter sweet, and yet so heart warming to see them go to their furever homes!  We'll miss you Sheldon!! xo

Sheldon with his new mama, Linda!  We'll miss you xo

My Avalon Photo Shoot

I have to say. . .there is never a dull moment with Avalon. . .even as I write this, she is making her presence known. . .lick lick lick xoxo!  I just love how much spunk and personality she has.  She loves being in the middle of the action. . .which you will notice when you look at her pictures.  She loves to run and play but then, like a switch, she jumps up by us and just wants to snuggle.  My daughter has been sick for the past several days and she has been on 'Kathryn watch' the whole time. . .either lying on her or near her.  It's so sweet!!

Tonight Avalon (and Maddie) were introduced to our new foster...Charleston a/k/a Charlie (I'll blog about him a little later.  I need him to sit long enough to get some pix).  Anyway, the three of them have not stopped playing!!!  She gets along with everyone!!!  She's such a good girl!!

I have a few new pictures of Avalon that I think you'll enjoy!  Yes, a lot of them are of her sleeping, but sometimes that's when she does the funniest things!  She's quite the little character!

Tired Puppy Zzzzz....

This is how Avalon likes to sleep with (on) Maddie. . .who if you didn't notice, is under Avalon!

No lie, this how she fell asleep while Jay was holding her!!

Avalon sleeping on Maddie!

Avalon looking adorable in her sweater

lol. . .you'll notice that once again, Avalon just feels the need to sleep on top of Maddie and Sheldon!!

Kisses for Abby xo

On Comet, on Cupid, on Avalon!!

Some people may think I'm crazy. . .and maybe I am, but I'm ok with that!!  I love having TWO Fluffy Rescue dogs at my house!  Last Sunday my girls and I went and picked up Sheldon!  He had just arrived from AL. He got a bath and a shave (#1 clipper. . .bye bye beautiful white fur!!!) and then off to his next destination. . .my house!

I don't even know what to say about little Sheldon. . .how many adjectives can I reuse when describing the sweetness and lovableness of these sweet creatures?  He's beyond meek and mild and sweet.  He's the perfect lap dog. . .low in energy and high on affection and snuggling!  One day and he's already my steady companion!  And like Avalon, he immediately befriended Maddie and the kitties. . .not one sign of aggression.  Just a look of 'ok, can you pick me up now'?!!

It's been pretty entertaining having these two little ones run around (+ Maddie).  Racing around while they play. . .each finding a pillow or blanket to snuggle up in for a nap, racing into the kitchen in hopes of me dropping or offering up some food.

Potty time is the most hectic.  Trying to get sweaters on everyone (they do come from warm AL after all) and leashes. . .I'm sure I could compete with an episode of I Love Lucy!!  I still walk outside with them so I can encourage "potty" and see what everyone is getting accomplished!  Sheldon is pretty much potty trained and Avalon coninues to improve!  She does her best to get her business done outside so she can get her yummy reward.

The other day when it snowed, I took the 3 dogs for a walk.  Not one of my better ideas!!  The two little ones were so excited to be outside, burrowing their faces into the snow covered grass, rolling around and Maddie was like 'I HATE WINTER and I want to go back inside'!!!

Avalon, Sheldon (& Maddie) in the first snow of the season!

Sheldon

Sheldon nuzzled between the couch and a pillow taking a nap

Buddies. . .(Maddie) and Avalon

Me with Sheldon and Avalon

Sheldon

Sheldon

My little buddies!

Only the beginning of day 3 and little Miss Avalon is fitting right in!!  As you can see, from one of the photo below, she and Maddie are buddies.  The cats. . .not so much.  They just like to ignore her or hiss at her. . .but Avalon is completely unaffected!

But the BIGGER news is that we are making progress in the potty training department!  Once she finally figured out that I wanted her to tinkle in the grass, I loved her up and kept telling her what a good girl she was, and then she got a treat. . .well that's all she needed!  She is totally motivated by treats!!  She's a foodie! :)

Zzzzzz. . . .

Avalon & Maddie watching the Packer game. . .NOT!

Abby & Avalon xo

So a week has passed since Harvey left. I heard from his new family today and he is doing great!! I LOVE a happy ending! But I didn't want my family and pets to get to used to not having a foster pup running around, so today my daughter, granddaughter and I went to the Doggy Day Care and picked up Avalon. She's a 1 year old Yorkie Chihuahua mix a/k/a Chorkie (chi/yorkie). OMG. . .so much cuter in person and SO MUCH personality! It's so hard to see on her pictures, but she has the prettiest colored fur. . .an incredible mixture of rich warm browns!!  So far I can say that she's the perfect mix of playful and snuggler.

 As always, when I come home with a new foster, I bring Maddie (my daughter's puggle) outside to meet our new visitor so she doesn't feel invaded upon in her house. They did the usual sniffing and checking each other out and that was that. When we came inside, they continued checking each other out and shortly there after were racing around the living room and then resting on the couch.

How cute is this. . .everyone has gone to bed, and Avalon just came in by me to snuggle on my lap. She keeps looking up at me and licking my chin. I think she's angling for me to take her up to bed with us. Not yet. . .I'll have to see how potty trained she is first. . .sorry baby!!

In closing I say, so far so good! I think she's going to make a great addition to someones family!!!

Avalon hanging out in the sunroom

Avalon relaxing with her new toy and blankie. . .so adorable!