$304 !!!

thanks, y’all!

to match your donations so far, we’re donating

5 tags to Friends of Mansfield Animal Shelter in Connecticut

5 tags to Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue in Nebraska

and

20 tags to Pet Harmony of the Animal Compassion Network in North Carolina.

Keep those donation$ for Natalie coming, & we’ll keep making tags. . .

blogathon posts:

post 1

post 2

blogathon

donation matching

Once upon a time, there was a dog named Ella.  She spent her days bouncy bounding after balls & basking in the love of her family.  With her sudden illness & loss, her people found that Ella had  stretched their hearts so wide that she’d made room for not just one new pup that needed a home, but two. . .

After Ella passed, we came home to a dogless house. It was suggested that we borrow a neighbor’s Shiba Inu, and the visit sealed the deal that we needed another dog in the house to fill that physical void.  Not to replace Ella, but to snuggle me at nap time, and to fill this house with a dog again.

Ophie is our adopted pit bull puppy.  She is 4 months old & she is missing a toe on her left front paw.

We found our Ophelia through a rescue in a Chicago that gave her the nickname “Ophi-Wan Kenophi”.  And it stuck.  And the name stuck, as “Ophelia” means “Help”, & she sure has proven that she is a huge help with allowing our hearts to grieve Ella in a less painful way.

Luke loves peanut butter, belly rubs, and the human touch.  But he doesn’t have the jedi mind tricks down for those quite yet.  He will just plop himself at you and on you.  He is very generous with an abundance of soft bully kisses, and he is a total people slut.

He’s learning how to catch flying objects with his mouth (flying objects=bugs, but don’t tell him. . .)

And did I mention that he simply LOVES kids?  Yes.  Kids are undoubtedly his most favorite type of human.

Ophelia’s tagline:  Ophi-wan Kenophi

Luke’s tagline:  Ophi-wan’s Padawan

Meet Lily.

I chose her tagline not because of her pyro-maniacal tendencies, but because she likes to instigate things a bit with her feisty little sister – or in other words, “start sh*t.”  But I didn’t think that would work so well on her tag – so went with the more metaphorical option.

Ok.  Just a minute here.

This

is not a metaphor. This is a roaring, blazing fire.

PLEASE, please be careful when you choose a tagline, people.

Dogs take this “sh*t” very seriously.

Remember, ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT – oh wait, that was a bear.

Tagline:  Fire Starter

Calling all rescues and other animal welfare non-profits. . .

Fetching Tags & Paco Collars have joined forces to create a brand new donation program called Stray Gold.

It’s a simple premise.  Your organization joins Stray Gold and is assigned a code.  Share the code with your friends, fans and loyal supporters who will use the code when purchasing Fetching Tags and/or Paco Collars.

Each time your code is used, your organization receives 20% of the purchase amount.  And you can feel good about standing behind our products – they’re all lovingly handcrafted in the USA and designed to wear beautifully for the lifetime of your pet.

Ready to join Stray Gold?  Here’s the application.

Everything is blooming.  Everything.  As the last jonquils fade,

the camellias rage on,

and confederates twinkle in the grass.

Even that bush that remains nameless is aflame.

If you were here I’d show you the nests I’ve seen around the yard and the unbelievable battle between the crows

nesting in the southwest corner, and the hawks,

nesting just 30 yards north.  They’ve put on a show – as I took these photos, a hawk swept down at the crows’ nest to make a grab for a baby to carry back to her nest – brief skirmish, no casualties (this time).  And did you know that crows often stick around for a year or so to help their parents raise the next season’s young?  I had to google that after I saw at least 3 adults bringing food in the other night.  The crow babies make a buzzing sound and the hawk parents beep.

Your favorite, the carolina wren,

finds Simone‘s house a fine home this year.  He was too busy singing his head off to be caught in a photo.

There are so many things to tell you.  Vegetables are planted in the garden, seeds started, and the house is freshly painted a cheery yellow with green trim.  We didn’t dye eggs this year, but with serendipitous scheduling, 4 did hatch on Easter day.  A white hen laid a little brown egg into my hand just this morning.   I’d love to hear your joking variations of ‘the early bird catches the worm. . .’ on that feat of good timing!

I could go on and on, you would so love this stunning day. . .

Happy Birthday, Mama.  I miss you like crazy.

Brutus has a problem.

He hides his pain behind a giant smile, but here’s the issue:

This gal keeps getting really close to him.

Really Really close – like she has no idea that she’s totally in his space.

And all up on his sofa.

It is soooo hard for Brutus to get his beauty rest with her so near.

He’s tried counting sheep, planning the next week’s menu, sudoku, breathing exercises – everything!  But he just can’t get any shuteye with her all mashed up against him like that.

And you’ll never believe what she says:

This dog has no concept of personal space whatsoever. He sleeps with his muzzle either shoved underneath your neck, or resting atop it. Of course, he cannot easily breathe in that position, so he snores in your ear as well. Annoying, but so adorable you feel bad for moving him away. He loves to snuggle with us and our other dog, Ruca.

Unbelievable.  And she accuses him of snoring – Snoring!  Guess she’s never had to do breathing exercises just to get a little rest. . .

Tagline:  Personal Space Invader

Herding Dogs.  Stock Dogs.  Livestock Guardian Dogs.  Sheepdogs.  These are the ages old,  go-to canines of herd, livestock and flock-keepers round the world, known for their ability to move and protect valuable animals as well as provide assistance and companionship to their human counterparts.

Then, we have the “Black Shepherds” of  working dogs.  We’ll simply pan out on the above photo, so that you may catch a glimpse of this rare breed in action. . .

Note the fierce vigilance,  and the

hyper-attentive nature and the natural camouflage.  (If you are having a hard time spotting the canine, just look for the red arrows.)

Nothing comes between this dog and her natural born drive to work stock.

(She does prefer the title Imperial Master Emperor of the Flock.)