Once in a Blue Moon Duo!

Contributed by their Proud Foster Mom 

Remember last August 31^st when Col. Potter welcomed five precious Cairns to freedom and safety as the “Once in a Blue Moon” group, including three very special 9 week old female puppies with CMO?   Well, after much love and nurturing from Foster Mom and Dad, all three little girls were adopted into wonderful homes, two of them, Grimaldi and Amoris, moving together to live with New Mom Darlene of TheraPets of Indiana.

And now, may we present Gabby and Ally at work, learning to become Therapy Dogs!

CP Grimaldi nka Gabby and CP Amoris nka Ally working their charms!

“Darlene sent me the cutest picture of these sisters at work, learning to be good therapy dogs at the hospital.  I giggled until I cried - it's such an uplifting picture, not to mention just the cutest pose from both girls!” says Foster Mom, Kathy.  

“What a great present for a Foster Mom - I'm going to frame it!  If these little faces can't cheer a patient up, then I can't imagine there's any hope for that person to recover.  I am so thrilled that not only do they have a great mom, but they have a great set of aunties/uncles that help with their care, and then they have the extended love from all the patients they visit in their daily routine.”

Freddy Flies to Forever!

Contributed by his Happy New Mom and a Post Adoption Volunteer

Freddy fka CP Fredericton makes himself right at home!!!

Remember little Stitch fka CP Halifax, whose Col. Potter story began with a wonderful group of Canadian CP volunteers holding a fundraising event?  Well, another precious member of “O Canada!” has made his mark on the Forever world!

Fredericton, aka “Freddy”, a very frightened little boy, got his first real taste of Freedom at his Foster Home in Kansas, and slowly opened up with the help of his Foster brother and sister, Wally and Mika, and the great patience and love of his Foster Mom and Dad.

Meanwhile, Forever Mom was grieving the loss of her little Cairn boy, Max, as was her 15 year old daughter and 5-year old Shih Tzu, Missy.  When she spotted Fredericton on the Col. Potter website, she knew he was meant for her family!  The fact that he loved to curl up with his Foster Brother, Wally, made her believe that he could help Missy get over the loss of her great friend, with whom she loved to sleep.

Freddy came right to New Mom to say Hello!

Sometimes these things are just written in the stars!

After lots of preparation, including exchanging scented items with Foster Mom, New Mom flew from Philadelphia to Kansas City to meet little Freddy and bring him home.   “Freddy came right to me!” New Mom said, thrilled that he had reacted to her so well.

Meeting at the airport and turning around to bring Freddy home on the next flight offered so many opportunities for things to go wrong for this fearful little boy, including having to carry him through Security, out of the Sherpa bag, but all of the preparation and a wink and a nod from Murphy saw it all come together beautifully!

 

“We made it!  Just went through security and Freddy is in the bag!  Not the happiest to go in the bag, but the girl behind me helped me zip him up.  We are good!”  said New Mom, waiting to board.  “He has done so well.  He is really a good dog!”

After flying to Chicago and changing planes to go to Philadelphia, New Mom still had rave reviews!  “Well we made it and little Freddy was a pure angel!  He sat nicely in the carrier and waited for 2 flights.  He did GREAT!”

I promise, Mom: No marking if you let me come – Pleeeeease???

So Fearful Freddy became Flying Freddy, and then New Mom got to bring him to his New Home!  “I brought Freddy home and he was not the least bit scared at all!  He just happily went around and marked every place he could!  He really was so happy when he saw Missy!  He was doing a whole wagging dance for her - and he went right to my daughter and sat on her lap and rolled over for belly rubs!  He was great!!!  He was wagging his tail so hard, he was so happy!  He did not act strange at all!”

So, New Mom has to learn about Belly Bands now, but everything else is great!

New Mom had to go to work next morning, and worried all day.  When she came home, she got an enthusiastic greeting from Missy, but “…Freddy was preoccupied with my daughter!  He eventually came over but was busy lying on his new sister Kate!” Mom said, laughing.

Freddy was perfect all day in the house!  “Missy helped him go behind the curtain today to look outside!  They had a great day!” reports New Mom.  “I worried all day for nothing!  My daughter stepped up to the plate.  It was great to see!  She was home not feeling well, so Freddy sat with her on the couch.  She said that when she went upstairs, he barked until she came back!” 

Freddy takes a turn at Therapy Dog work and Brightens the day!!!

Day two, New Mom went to help a woman who had suffered a stroke, and Freddy came to work with her, trying his paws at Therapy Dog work.  “He made her day!  She loves him!” New Mom enthused proudly, so happy that this once fearful little dog is finding the world a friendlier place.

“I am so happy that he is so happy!” glows New Mom.  “He will get used to our rules.  It has been smooth sailing, really...  except for a little pee!”

Gem Helps Inspire Memories!

Written by her sister, Abbie

Gem and I Love to Cuddle! 

Abbie here!  Gem and I think we are pretty lucky!  Mom and Dad adopted me, CP’s “American”, in November, 2010, and then they adopted Gem (also CP Gem) the following April.  Gem is about two years older than me, but I was here first, so we have a very interesting sibling dynamic here at home - totally ruled by Love, of course, as you can see in one of Mom’s favorite pictures of us!

Anyway, we were all sitting around Mom’s piano the other day, listening to her make music, when I spotted a picture of Gem, all by herself, that I didn’t remember.

“Oh, that’s not Gem,” Mom explained.  “That’s Corkie…” and we could see it wasn’t really Gem, once we pressed our noses onto the glass and examined the picture frame very carefully.

This was Mom’s 1^st Cairn, Corkie, only 4 months old! 

Gem and I had heard this name “Corkie” before, like every time we go to see the vet.  We never really knew who they were talking about, however, except that whoever it was, she was very special.  When Gem and I looked back up at Mom, we could see a little smile on her face and a tiny drop of moisture in her eyes, just like at the vet’s, so we put our noses on Mom’s arm and let her know that we were ready to listen if she felt like talking.

It’s like magic, don’t you think?  How our Moms and Dads can read our little nose bumps so clearly?

Corkie, at 1 year old, looks a little like Gem, don’t you think?

Anyway, Mom started remembering and told us the most wonderful stories!   Corkie, you see, was her first Cairn, before me, and Mom thought she was a wonderful little dog.  Makes me wonder, if Corkie wasn’t such a great little dog, who knows if Gem and I would be here today?   Well, I am very happy she was so good!    I think I have been a bit more challenging at times, so thank you Corkie for teaching Mom what a wonderful breed we Cairns really are!

I flew in from Chicago, and Gem flew up from Florida, but Mom told us that Corkie flew all the way from Ireland when she was just 4 months old!  Imagine that!  She came from a place called County Cork, and that is how she got her name.

Corkie was a very well mannered little Cairn, Mom said, and one time she even went to work with Mom and sat quietly under her desk for several hours, and nobody even knew she was there!  Mom was usually teaching people how to play the piano, but at one time she also worked part time as a proof reader, whatever that is.

Anyway, on one day in particular, Mom and Dad were having the roof replaced on the house and the workers made so much noise, it frightened Corkie, who had lost a lot of her vision by that time.  Mom had to work, but couldn’t leave Corkie like that, so she took a little dog bed and brought Corkie with her.

When her work was done, Mom left with Corkie in her arms, and everyone was so surprised!  Her boss stopped her and asked about having a dog at work and Mom, thinking quickly, explained that Corkie was a Seeing Eye Dog!  I am not exactly sure why everyone thought that was pretty funny, but it made Mom smile to tell us this story, and that makes it a good story to Gem and me!

Corkie at 12 years old – Kind of looks like me!

Then Mom showed us another picture, and at first I thought it was Me, but it wasn’t me either!  It was Corkie, when she was a lot older than I am now!  This was hard to believe, but I know my Mom doesn’t say things that are not so!  Can you believe it?  Corkie started out looking sort-of like Gem but ended up looking sort-of like Me!

Cairns really can be amazing – in so many ways!

Gem and I are so lucky and very grateful!  Thank you, Corkie, for being such a wonderful and inspirational Cairn, and thank you, Mom and Dad, for deciding to go to Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network when you really needed to smile again after Corkie.

O.K., Gem!  I really am feeling lucky!  Let’s go see if we can find some green balls to play with…

CP's Moffat nka “Monty” Celebrates a Month at Home in the Sunshine State!

Contributed by a Post Adoption Volunteer

Monty (CP’s Moffat) knows how to make New Dad smile!

Monty, fka “CP Moffat”, left snowy Wisconsin a month ago and landed in sunny Florida, delivering more sunshine to his New Mom and Dad in his Forever Home!

Monty is like a new "spark of life", dancing when Mom and Dad come home!  There is a resident cat and the cat and Monty just ignore each other, which is fine.  Monty loves to go on walks and is doing a good job keeping Mom and Dad well exercised. 

A stepper?  No, no, I want to take you for a Walk!

Training is easy as he is a very food-driven dog, although his treats are being carefully monitored because Monty would eat all of the time!  In fact, Monty woke everyone up in the middle of the night one time:  He had gotten into the pantry and was helping himself to some dog chow!

Monty has had successful trips to the vet and the grooming salon, and every day he seems to look forward to learning more about enjoying his new life!

Thanks to all the CP Volunteers who made this Rescue and  Happy Ending possible!

Little Dog Found!

Written by a CP Tag Team Volunteer

This little CP tag can save your little dogs - and big dogs too!

I got a call from a Police Department today and I immediately asked if they had a little dog.  The answer was yes, so I got the tag number and looked up where he belonged.  I called the owner who was thrilled to get my call that her little boy was SAFE!

I told her that our cards group would be sending a thank you card and calendar to the police station, and especially to the officer who was driving towards the station, bringing in a prisoner.   He spotted a dog in the street and pulled towards him and opened his door.  Dog jumped right in! LOL

The adoptive Mom asked me to please remind everyone to keep their tags on their dog(s) and to keep their contact info up to date.  She's so grateful that she's making a donation to CP for the safe return of her precious little guy.

That was a really nice end result to a phone call.  I really like to get found dog calls a whole lot more than lost dog calls!

Help your pets
find their way home!

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Rook Celebrates her 3rd Gotcha Anniversary!

Contributed by her Mom and a CP Volunteer

Beautiful Miss Rook celebrates 3 years at home!

In January, 2010, a little 10 month old beauty named Rook came into Col. Potter as part of the “Card Game Kids” group, a dozen little ones rescued from a commercial breeder.  It didn’t take long for little Rook to find her loving Forever Home, and now she is celebrating 3 years there with her wonderful family!

Rook loves her toys!

"Rook is doing marvelous and has turned into a beautiful Cairn Tom boy!” says her Mom. “She has a lot of fun playing with her siblings.  Sometimes she and her sisters lay on their backs with their paws up in the air trying to mouth each other.  It is very funny to watch!  They all zoom around the yard and play with toys all the time!   Seems like there is usually a toy in her mouth - or the shreds of what was once a toy strewn around her!”

Rook 3 years ago, ready for Forever!

Rook at Intake January, 2010, only 10 months old

Happy 3^rd Gotcha Day, Miss Rook!

Read her Post Adoption story from July, 2011

Rook's Happy Ever After

  

 

Reflections as Nana Begins her 15th Year!

Contributed by her Loving Forever Mom

Nana (CP Smyrna), wishing you a Happy New Year! 

As Nana started her journey into her 15^th year on February 1st, her Mom, aka former Foster Mom, revealed 14 things you may not know about this precious girl, one to honor her for each year...

14 things about Nana on her 14th Birthday!

1. Nana's "real" (aka registered AKC name) is “Princess Nahla” but her CP name was Smyrna.  Since both of these were too hard for Foster/Forever Mom to say quickly, she became Nana.  She wears the name proudly in honor of all the Nana's out there (human and Wendy's Nana as well!)

2. She was named by her First Mom after a character in the Lion King since she had such a thick "mane".

3. One of her nicknames before she came into rescue was "Gremlin”.  I LIKE it... and I UNDERSTAND it, LOL!

4. Nana was released to her First Mom by her breeder at 4 weeks because she was climbing out of the cage and disturbing the other puppies.  Trouble right from the start - that's My Girl!

5. Nana had 3 litters of puppies as a much loved pet dog.  Her daughter, CP Foster Hazel (AKC registered “Meana” aka “Mimi”) is from Nana’s 2nd litter.

6. Nana and Hazel were surrendered to CP by their loving First Mom of 12 and 10 years.  Hazel has never been apart from her Mom, Nana.  Although Nana swears she wouldn't mind if they were apart, I secretly don't believe her when I see them cuddling together.

7. Nana was diagnosed with a solitary, unilobar hepatic mass on 5/31/2011.  Removal of one liver lobe was the recommendation. If the mass was benign, she would have been cured - as in forever and ever; Unfortunately, it was malignant. Luckily, the median survival time following successful surgery is greater than 1460 days (that's over 4 years!). If she didn't have the surgery, her survival rate was less than 270 days.  I am blessed that she is still alive (and kicking) 21 months later.  I never questioned that she would survive and beat the odds.

8. Nana has two "metallic BB projectiles" in her body. Yikes!  One is located along the thoracic spine and one along the right underside of her chest cavity.  Although they are considered non-life threatening, you just know there HAS to be a story there...

Nana, looking at shadows!

9. Nana loves to watch videos on my laptop!  Actually, it's more that she loves to follow the cursor around the screen, but if I put on a video, she watches intently (she also loves staring at shadows - go figure!).  Her favorites are the flying Hamster from Deck the Bowls and "That's How You Know" from Enchanted (Mom's favorite as well).

10. Nana knows how to tell time.  Mom comes home from work:  it's TIME for a pill and a cookie!  Mom sleeps late: it's TIME for marshmallows (and Mom gets hot chocolate)! Nana is a very special time-piece, AND she makes much more noise than a cuckoo clock!

11. Last Summer we made the trek to the vet ER because Nana was in distress.  Doing a rectal exam, the vet said her digestive tract was full of sand???  I remembered I did see her and Hazel eating dirt that day - never considered that it might build up and not be pooped out...  We went out to the waiting room to pay and, next thing I know, a dog belly's worth of sand & dirt was suddenly "decorating" the lobby of the ER!  And Nana felt SO much better!  Exit quickly, apologizing profusely to the staff who have to clean it up…  That was the end of all dirt-eating at our house!

12. Nana and Hazel LOVE to eat snow - in addition to dirt - but at least it's safer: snow melts!  Watching them "snacking", I wonder how they survived 10 years living in the South and never seeing snow?  It must have been torture, all those days of sunshine and 70 degree weather...

13. One of Nana’s funniest habits is licking my lips - yes, mine, NOT hers.  Especially if I have just come from the kitchen.  It's her way to make sure I'm not concealing any possible treats in my mouth.  I rarely am...  but she doesn't believe it!

14. Finally - Nana IS love.  She exudes it with her every move and look!  She is my constant shadow and companion.  She lost her First Mom, and her home, and all she loved, but she never looked back and has made my life all the richer for being a part of it.

Aren't we lucky that dogs have such love and forgiveness in their hearts, and don't we all wish we could be more like them?

I know I do.

I can't even imagine how much their First Mom must still miss these wonderful Girls…  My heart broke for her at the time, and still does.  I hope you enjoyed these reflections on Nana, and may I be able to write 15 things about her at this time NEXT year - fingers crossed!

Remembering "Daddy Frank"

A sad note from Heather G today shared that her father, "Daddy Frank" has passed.

Daddy Frank, a career military man, father of 3, was preceded in death by his wife.

Frank joined the Col. Potter family in April 2009 when he adopted CP Girl "Swan". Swan was renamed Munchkin and shared her post-adoption happy ending here: "Daddy Frank and Ms. Munchkin".

Recently, Munchkin, who is now called "Merida" moved to Jacksonville with Heather G and her family. But Daddy Frank kept in the know about his little friend and companion.

Heather has shared that her parents always had dogs in the family. In fact, the couple initially thought they could not have children so dogs became their "children".  Later, the couple was blessed with 2 sons and a daughter; the family moved frequently depending on Franks's military assignment. The children now have the love of animals instilled by their parents.

Our sincere condolences to Daddy Frank's family at this difficult time. We salute your Father for his great service to our country. We are proud to have him as part of the Col. Potter family!

Woody and Katie Mildred Love the Park!

Contributed by their Mom

Woody (fka Zinger) and Katie Mildred (fka Mildred) enjoying a photo break!

Katie Mildred (CP Mildred) and Woody (CP Zinger) are great together!  They are often walking side by side on our walks, and they follow each other in the back yard.  I took these pictures when we recently went to the park.  It is a favorite since it involves a short car ride then a walk - with loads of great sniffs!  I love the 2^nd picture where Woody seems to be whispering in Katie’s ear!

“Hey!  Pssssst!   You’re supposed to Sit for pictures!”

The squirrels are not as plentiful in our yard now.  The word is out that Katie the terrier- ist is out to get them!

These two eat together and politely wait their turn for treats.  One day I came home and Katie was up on the couch with Woody, and he was fine with it.  She has a hard time getting up because her legs are short.  I was amazed to see her take a running leap, to get on the couch!

They don't chase each other around the yard, but I did see them playing tug of war with Katie's squirrel.  Woody still does not understand when Katie bumps him and kisses his mouth that she is trying to get him to play.  

They both great children and adults with wagging tails!  Very sweet!  Katie goes up to big dogs to check them out, but Woody usually hides behind me - although, he has made friend with one big dog!  

These pups bring us lots of pleasure and laughs!  Thanks so much for taking such good care of them!