Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

Hi, my name is Lennon. You and I have not met before, but my mom told me all about you. She said you are a jolly old elf and if I write a letter to you, you could make my dreams come true. So here I am…writing a letter. Actually, I can’t write so my cat sister is writing it for me (cats are very smart, you know!).

Let me start by telling you about me. I have been a really good boy this year. In fact, I have been a good boy my entire life, it’s just that nobody was around to notice. I lived chained in a backyard for a long time. Food was scarce; love, even more so. It was a good day if I found some sticks or rocks to fill my empty tummy. For a long time, I fought hard to survive, but I have to confess, I eventually lost hope. Destiny dealt me a terrible hand and I began to believe that I deserved my deplorable situation. I was going to enter and exit this life unloved and unhappy.

Then, one rainy day in August, a Christmas miracle happened. A nice man came and carried me away from that hell. It was the first human contact I’d had in months and it felt soooo nice. I closed my eyes and tried to absorb the snuggles, praying he’d never let me go. Well, he did let me go, but it was to an even better place…my foster Mom and Dad’s house! Let me tell you Santa, life here is great. I get to sleep inside on a big comfy couch and they make sure that my food bowl is never empty. They give me lots of toys and even more love and cuddles. I even have dog and cat siblings, and they are pretty great too!

The sad thing about my story is that it’s not unique. Many animals suffer worse torture than I incurred; and many of them never make it to their happy ending. I am one of the lucky ones. Because a group of strangers opened their hearts to me, I get to spend my first Christmas in a loving home. I get to awake in a warm bed on Christmas day, feast on beef tenderloin, and play with all my new squeaky toys.

So, below is my Christmas wish list. I truly hope you can help…because dogs need Santa too!

Lots of love,

Lennon

My Wish List

1.         Loving families for all homeless animals  (I realize that you cannot do this all at once, but perhaps you could use your Christmas spirit to inspire just one person to open their hearts and home to a rescue dog)

2.        Toys for all shelter dogs

3.        Extra cookies for all of the rescue humans

4.        A very special rescue dog to keep you and the reindeer company (Blitzen told me to ask for that)

5.        A forever home for me  (It’s no rush, but I’d love to find my happy ending!)

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

 

Ringo the Newfoundland

10 Reasons We Are Thankful

Mom has been spending a lot of time this month telling us why she is thankful for us. I don't know why she feels the need to to do this every year at this time, but to be honest, I don't know why she does a lot of things (i.e. bathes regularly, eats lettuce, goes to work, pets the kitty...I could go on forever).

I think her random expressions of gratitude must be related to this human holiday called "Thanksgiving." That is a day when all of your human family comes over, cooks food, and yells at each other. Then, after a long day of napping and watching football, everybody says "thanks" and gives us lots of yummies. Last year, I got a whole heaping plate of sausage stuffing, corn casserole, pumpkin pie, and turkey (I would have preferred roast kitty, but beggars can't be choosers). It was sooooooo delicious!

The problem is, last year, I got so caught up in finishing my treats (and begging for more) that I forgot to say thanks to Mom. So this year, my brothers and sisters and I decided that we would say thanks ahead of time...just in case we get wrapped up in the excitement of the feast again. Plus, we want to make sure that we are in Mom's good graces when she doles out the turkey!

-Harrison

 

So here are 10 reasons that we are thankful this year:

 

1. "I am thankful that we don't have all of those puppies this year...more attention for me!"       

 -Harrison

 

2. "I am thankful that there are lots of squirrels in our yard." -Layla

2b. "...and I am thankful that Layla chases them away." -Harrison

 

3. "I am thankful that Harry is so gullible." -Miss Kitty

 

4. "I am thankful for cheese." -Lennon

"No Lennon, you have to list things that really matter and make your life better...duh!" -Harrison

"Fine. I am REALLY thankful for cheese." -Lennon

 

5. "I am thankful that I am allowed on the furniture." -Layla

 

6. "I am thankful that the weather is getting colder." -Ringo

 

7. "I'm thankful that we only have one kitty." -Harrison

 

8. "I am thankful that Mom and Dad rescued me." -Lennon

 

9. "I am thankful for my clean litterbox." -Miss Kitty

 

10. "We are thankful for our Mom and Dad and the warm loving home they give us!"

-Harrison, Layla, Ringo, and Lennon

My post feast nap on Mommy's lap
(she says my snore is really cute)

A Poem For All Rescue Moms

My mom says I'm a hero, but I'm not sure that's true.

My mommy is my champion. There's nothing she can't do.

 

She took me from a scary place and brought me to her home.

She offered me some comfort, more love than I had known.

 

She lay there on the floor with me and gently rubbed my ears.

She kissed my nose and sang to me to chase away my fears.

 

She cared for me and kept me warm and nursed me back to health.

She gave me everything I wanted, without thinking about herself.

 

Now I'm feeling better and running around the yard.

Who knew I'd end up happy after life had been so hard?

 

I do my best to snuggle her and kiss her when she's down.

She's done so much to help me that I hate to see her frown.

 

She says my smile and wagging tail brighten up her mood.

I only wish I could do more to show my gratitude.

 

She found me sad and hungry, and missing spots of fur.

She saved my life and rescued me. I owe my life to her.

 

My mom says I'm a hero, but I'm not sure that's true.

My mommy is my champion. There's nothing she can't do.
 

 

 

Cat vs. Dog

Dear Diary,

Day number 836 of Operation Canine Torture: 

Harrison has proven to be more difficult to break than initially anticipated. Again this morning (at approximately 0300), under the cloak of darkness, I attempted an ambush on Harrison’s sleeping head. As he snored peacefully, I leapt from the bed, scampered across the room, and landed one well-placed swat on his nose before rapidly retreating to my safety zone beneath the bed.

Although successfully executed, with the intended goal of scaring the daylights out of Harrison achieved, my human minions were not at all pleased. Mom minion scolded me and then allowed Harrison to assume my position on the bed. Subsequently, I spent the remainder of the night sleeping on the couch.

It has become apparent that these nighttime ambushes are highly frowned upon. Perhaps I will have to rethink my approach.

I will keep you posted.

Sincerely,

Miss Kitty

(aka Guinness, aka Night Terror, aka Midnight Operative, aka Canine Torturess)

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

This is Napoleon, he is as sweet as can be.


 

Lennon Update

For several weeks, Lennon has been having hair loss over his feet and abdomen, and despite numerous tests, the cause of this issue has remained a mystery. Luckily, we are fortunate to have an excellent veterinary dermatologist (one of only 200 in the country) here in Kansas City so I took the afternoon off work yesterday to take Lennon to see him.

Lennon really enjoyed his afternoon outing. He was quite the hit at the vet's office. He made friends with two couples in the waiting room and charmed them into rubbing his belly while he waited for his appointment. Both couples commented on how handsome he was and I described how emaciated he had been and showed them pictures of what he looked like when he came to us. When the vet tech came to the waiting room to weigh Lennon, all six of us cheered when we discovered that Lennon had officially DOUBLED his starting weight (weighing in at a whopping 63 pounds). With that, Lennon said goodbye to his new friends and headed back to see Dr. Senter.

Lennon really turned on the charm for Dr. Senter. He rolled over on his back to try to encourage a belly rub, and when that didn't work, he jumped up and sat on Dr. Senter's feet to get his attention. Lennon sat quietly while they did two skin scrapings and plucked hair out of his tail to send for fungal culture. His good behavior was rewarded with several lamb jerky treats.

All in all, it was a successful visit. Dr. Senter felt that allergies and years of poor care may be the culprits behind his hair loss. He expects Lennon's skin issues to improve with just a little TLC. The skin scrapings were negative for mange (good news!) and we are awaiting the fungal culture results. In the meantime, Lennon was started on another course of antibiotics to clear up a superficial bacterial infection.

After returning home from the vet appointment, I took Lennon outside so I could get a few updated pictures of him. He is getting progressively more difficult to photograph because he never stops moving! He is always climbing into my lap, investigating the backyard smells, or chasing after falling acorns. So out of almost 200 photos, I got about 10 pictures of him sitting relatively still.

With the good news from Dr. Senter and the updated photographs, Lennon can now be officially listed as "available" for adoption. Now we begin the process of finding the perfect home for sweet Lennon!!

*****

 

Life of Drool would like to thank our awesome friends Joel and Laureen for sending a hugely generous donation to go toward Lennon's care. We are so grateful to have such wonderful friends. We love you guys!!!

 

We would also like to thank Dr. David Senter and all of the wonderful people at Veterinary Allergy and Dermatology Clinic (www.vetallerderm.com)

Lennon is available for adoption through Missouri Pit Bull Rescue.
His page can be viewed at: http://www.mprgroup.net/dogs/lennon.html