Back in the saddle

How bad have I been at this blogging thing? This is why I never start a blog. Or a journal. Or a postcard.

But great news to report: just like my husband predicted, Cam's new fosters fell  in love with him and have adopted him. Hooray for our buddy! I am over the moon for them all.

In the meantime, we've put our house on the market, so any fostering attempts are stalled for now.

But I had a win this week. While sharing an adorable video of a beagle puppy finding his "aroo", shared by Beagle Freedom Project with some of my co-workers, I got the opportunity to talk to them about the reality of dogs being used in animal testing, how they can make a difference by not supporting companies that still practice animal testing, and shared with them lists to ethical companies and companies to avoid, as well as links to Beagle Freedom Project and PETA. It was eye-opening for them. I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to share through invitation rather than petitioning on my soapbox.

Spread the word. Change the world. Even just one dog at a time.

Cruelty Free Friday - companies who test

A list of companies whom you may have thought didn't perform animal testing is below. I've highlighted some of the ones you are likely to have at home and have been buying for years. I think you'll be as stunned as I was the first time I read this list.

• Alcon Labs

• Allergan, Inc.

• American Beauty

• Answer

• Aramis

• Arm & Hammer

• ArmorAll

• Arrid

• Aveda

• Avon

• Axe

• Aziza

• Bain de Soleil

• Ban Roll-on

• Banana Boat

• Bausch & Lomb

• Benckiser

• BenGay

• Biotherm

• Block Drug Co. Inc.

• Bobbi Brown

• Bounty

• Boyle-Midway

• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

• Bumble and Bumble

• Cacherel

• Cargill

• Carpet Fresh

• Carter-Wallace

• Chesebrough-Ponds

• Church & Dwight

• Clarion

• Clairol

• Clear Choice

• Clinique

• Clorox

• Commerce Drug Co.

• Consumer Value Stores

• Coppertone

• Coty

• Cover Girl

• Crest

• Daisy Fuentes

• Dana Perfumes

• Darphin

• Dawn

• Del Laboratories

• Desitin

• Dial Corporation

• Diversey

• Donna Karan

• Dove

• Dow Brands

• Drackett Products Co.

• Drano

• EcoLab

• Eli Lilly & Co.

• El Sanofi Inc.

• Elizabeth Arden

• Erno Laszlo

• Estee Lauder

• Faberge

• Fantastik

• Fendi

• Final Net

• Finesse

• First Response

• Flame Glow

• Flirt!

• Garnier

• Giorgio Armani

• Givaudan-Roure

• Glade

• Glass Plus

• Good Skin

• Grassroots

• Helena Rubinstein

• Helene Curtis Industries

• Herbal Essences

• Huggies

• ISO

• Ivory

• Jhirmack

• Jo Malone

• Johnson & Johnson

• Johnson Products Co.

• Jovan

• Kaboom

• Keri

• Kimberly-Clark Corp

• Kiton

• Kiwi Brands

• Kleenex

• La Mer

• Lab Series

• Lady's Choice

• Lancaster

• Lancome

• Lava

• Lever Brothers

• Lipton

• Listerine

• L'Oreal USA

• Lubriderm

• Lux

• Lysol

• MAC Cosmetics

• Mars (candy company)

• Mary Kay

• Matrix Essentials

• Max Factor

• Maybelline

• Mead

• Michael Kors

• Missoni

• Mop & Glo

• Nair

• Naturelle

• Neutrogena

• Neutron Industries, Inc.

• Ojon

• Olean

• Orange Glo

• Origins

• Oscar de la Renta

• OxiClean

• Pantene

• Parfums International

• Pearl Drops

• Pennex

• Pfizer, Inc.

• Pine-Sol

• Plax

• Playtex Corporation

• Pledge

• Polident

• Ponds

• Post-It

• Prescriptives

• Prestige Brands

• Prince Matchabelli

• Proctor & Gamble Co.

• Quintessence

• Raid

• Ralph Lauren Fragrances

• Reckitt Benckiser

PS, here's another crappy thing. Tom's of Maine and Burt's Bees--two companies I was using as alternatives to companies who use animal testing--I have just learned are owned by Colgate and Clorox, companies who do perform animal testing. They are listed as cruelty-free on sites like thevegetariansite.com, peta.org and leapingbunny.org because they are cruelty-free. But they fund companies who are not! Please don't support them. And please write PETA, Leaping Bunny and The Vegetarian Site--and others like them--thanking them for their work but urging them to be more thorough with their list. We cannot make change if we are stuck in ignorance.

Another transition for Cam

Sometimes when you want to do a good deed, you end up learning a humbling life lesson instead. As sweet and friendly as Cam is, we had to admit to ourselves that he was not a good fit at our house--or we were not a good fit for him. We have a little too much going on right now to be fosters to a high energy lab. After three days of zero sleep, we were both starting to show it at work and when work is getting threatened, that is a bad thing indeed.

This would be the first time I'd had to back out of a foster. It was supposed to get easier with each dog, as we learned better how to be fosters, as we all grew more used to the disruption to our routine. To be faced with the reality that I can be overwhelmed by having an extra one in my home--in my life--is hard to take.

I worked with the rescue to find Cam a new foster. I was relieved, but also felt like I'd failed him. I knew that getting him to a calm and appropriate foster situation would be better than being in one that is not. By admitting we were overwhelmed and getting him to a stable home I have to think we did the right thing. My head knows this. My heart disapproves.

I had to remind myself that for the several days he was with us, we showered him with love and affection, gave him toys to play with and healthy food to eat, took him to the vet and got him current on his shots as well as had him neutered. We took good care of him and never took our own frazzledness out on him. I suppose we acted as sort of a stop-over before Cam went to his actual foster, Lance.

As we drove to meet Lance, Cam blissfully poked his nose out the window of our car and let the breeze blow his floppy ears. He grinned contentedly. He really is a good car rider.

When we pulled up to the parking lot of Albertson's, the midway point where we would be making the exchange, I eagerly craned my neck to get my first look at the new foster. "That's him," my husband said when we saw the green Expedition. I waved at the man behind the window and he returned my wave with a smile. Oh, good. I liked him already.

He stepped out of his SUV and I saw that he hadn't even changed from work--he was still in slacks and a polo shirt. On his right forearm was a calligraphy tattoo. I didn't look long enough to make it out ("Stare,"my writing teacher had said. Mom said it wasn't polite to stare. Conundrum.) I liked the juxtaposition of this clean-cut guy and his big tattoo. Juxtapositions can mean balance. A sense of responsibility as well as a sense of fun. The thing I liked the most was the huge smiled that spread over Lance's face when my husband led Cam out of the backseat of our car. Love at first glance. And when Lance mentioned that his wife worked from and--best of all--that they had had labs before, I knew we had made the best decision for Cam by giving him to a new foster. All Most of my anxiety melted away.

That last look back at a foster dog is always the hardest. I'm so happy they are where they need to be, but sad to say goodbye to an animal I have loved and cared for--no matter how briefly. It helped that Lance watched us as we drove off, and waved from the front seat of his Expedition.

I didn't cry as I had anticipated. Not until the next day, when I broke down in frustration over the state of my flowerbed (I'm not a good gardener) and found hot tears flooding my eyes. They weren't for the overgrown wildflowers and choking poppies; they were for that big, yellow, handsome boy.

I am not a failure, I remind myself. A failure would have allowed her pride to steer the situation, and as a result made a foster situation that was tense, anxious, and fertile ground for issues at work, trouble in my marriage, unhappiness for our dogs and unbearable stress for a dog who just came out of an unstable, stressful situation. If I had done that, I would have failed us all. Sometimes, conceding defeat is the most graceful, most compassionate action you can take.

On the way home from the meeting with Lance, my husband said, "You know they're going to adopt Cam, right?" I glanced over at him. His eyes were on the road, the wind was blowing in from all the windows we'd had down for Cam. "I could tell by the way he smiled when he saw Cam. I bet within two weeks, they'll have adopted him."

I hope he's right. I'll keep you posted.

"Camelot"

Cam, day three

Today hasn't been easy. To our surprise, Cam was not neutered when we got him and the first two days he peed in several areas of our house, despite our attempts to keep a close eye on him. Two curtains, our bed, a pillow, my husband's work bag and our dog, Estes.

Poor Estes, this isn't the first time she's been peed on.

Today I took him in to be neutered and he handled it like a champ. The hard part will be keeping him calm for two weeks so he can heal--he's basically a puppy in a big, gangly 65 lb body.

Honestly, we weren't prepared for this experience. We were under the impression that he'd be neutered when we got him. Besides that, our house is brand new, and we are considering selling it--so the peeing really is an issue. But hopefully he won't feel the urge to mark his "territory" now that he's had the surgery. Fingers crossed!

I wish I could say fostering is always easy. It isn't. Our girls are thrown off by the change in their routines. We're thrown off by it too and doing our best to provide a loving, stable home to all. The first few nights are always rough as everyone tries to figure out sleeping arrangements and the foster learns what is appropriate.

But he continues to be a loving boy, and despite each one of us in this house being utterly exhausted at the moment, we're forging on.

Cam(pbell)

A big, sweet yellow boy with beautiful eyes and a glorious smile arrived today from Nebraska. We met the transport at the Children's Hospital parking lot and brought him home. After a meeting with our Westies on neutral turf (the park by our house) we all went inside to get settled.

First order of business is always a bath. Some dogs are dirtier than others, depending upon where they've come from, but all get a bath right away.

The girls waiting anxiously at the door during Cam's bath.

After that, there was food, water, and the receiving of some fun toys.

Nothing beats a delicious bone.

And then there was a lot of chasing around our back yard...

...followed by some nice time spent simply relaxing.

In the cool grass chewing a super fun toy.

A busy day in a new place but he's handling it like a champ.

Cruelty Free Friday

Since learning that beagles are used in laboratory testing, I have made a commitment to reading labels thoroughly and only buying products that are cruelty free. 

Beagles are the most popular breed for lab use because of their friendly, docile, trusting, forgiving, people-pleasing personalities. The research industry says they adapt well to living in a cage, and are inexpensive to feed. Research beagles are usually obtained directly from commercial breeders who specifically breed dogs to sell to scientific institutions.

I hope you'll join me in taking action as a consumer. Let's show these companies that we don't agree with their methods, and we will not support them.

Coming soon...

He comes on Sunday. The wait always makes me feel both giddy and anxious.

I don't know much about him except that he's young--probably around 1 or 2 years. He was found abandoned in a house in Nebraska, along with one to two other males and a female with ten puppies.

I don't know what the rest of the story is--how they came to be abandoned. That's the thing: sometimes you get the whole back story, sometimes it's just bits and pieces.

I love dogs, so getting to be around more dogs makes me happy, but there is always that unknown of a new dog, too. Will he and my dogs get along ok? Will he be nervous or relaxed, chew my furniture and shoes or not be interested, be house broken...or not? Will he be comfortable going into a crate if need be?

I don't even know if he has a name.

But we'll know in a few days...

What it's like

Fostering dogs always makes me think about that story about the old man and the kid on the beach. The tide has washed up all of those starfish--remember? And the kid is walking along the beach, and he picks one up and throws it back into the ocean. And he picks another one up and throws it back into the ocean. And so on.

And the old man, he's watching this kid and he shakes his head, you know, because he knows a thing or two, he wanted to save the world when he was a kid and then he saw just how big the world was. He was probably once an idealist, too (you know what they say cynics are? Idealists with broken hearts.). But now he has arthritis and the tide is smelly and he doesn't mean to be, but he's a little cranky because the starfish are all over this beach and the kid is just picking 'em up and throwing them back at the Atlantic like this is Skee Ball, and he hollers at the kid, "Hey! You're wasting your time. There's too many--you can't save them all!"

And the kid is undaunted. He's not even listening. And the old guy is even more riled up by that and he shouts out, "There are thousands of starfish on this beach. And there are hundreds of beaches on the coast. You can't possibly make a difference!"

And the kid, he picks up a starfish and he looks at the old man and then he turns and he throws that sea creature back into the waves, and he hollers back, "It made a difference to this one!"

And that's what fostering dogs is like.

Hamlet, our first foster.

Fetching

My dictionary widget defines it this way: To go for and bring back (someone or something.)
I find that to be beautifully appropriate.

For almost 15 years my heart was so broken over a dog that I had shut down completely to them.

They were a nuisance. They were co-dependent. They were needy. They shed. They drooled. They jumped. My friends with dogs always had to leave early to walk their dogs. Or they always wanted to bring them along on hikes. People talked about how human-like they were and to that I said, "You've lost your mind."

All of my affection and sentiment for the species was gone, baby, gone and my hardened heart proved to work like gangbusters at keeping it that way.

But then one day it didn't.