Bark in the Park Celebration 2015

I have been thinking of the posts I was going to write... but got delayed with the news of our RVing friend's passing, Hazel Bluhm.  We miss her cheery blog posts about her travels and the antics of her pets.  Sigh.

That same day as I wrote about Hazel, I actually was going to write about a fun Saturday we had.   So I will write about it now.

The Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue group has various events and fundraisers throughout the year, ranging from rummage sales, book sales, auctions and a big reunion (coming up in a few weeks!)

The tireless work of the founder, Lisa Martin and her efforts are amazing!  http://www.wisheltierescue.com/   

She sets all these events up and gathers the essential items to pull them off with laughter and love of the dogs! All year long she makes contacts and raises awareness, gets donations for prizes and in between all of that, she is picking up dogs, checking out homes, assessing applications, delivering dogs and making all the right matches!  (plus she has a full time business boarding and grooming dogs too)

As you know, our little Finnegan and Binney are both rescue dogs that came from a horrific hoarding situation.  38 shelties crammed in a mobile home with no running water, no food in sight, and a stinking mess the sheriff was abhorred to walk into.  When the dogs were pulled out of that mess, they were physically and emotionally damaged and needed special care and concern to put them into the right homes.  These are not just pets that can be adopted, but more like damaged little souls with PTSD and getting over difficult health issues.

Little Finney was born after the raid to a tiny mommy who was only 7 months old herself, having her first litter!   He had "puppy strangles" which are big infections on each side of his face, not allowing him to swallow or thrive.  The loving foster mom taking care of the mommy and litter got him and his brother special care at the vet and nursed him for a long time until he was "adoptable".  We didn't get him until he was five months old and declared healthy.

Little Binney was about a year old when she came out of that mess, skin and bones, patchy fur, heartworm positive and a total basket case emotionally.   Again, it took the loving care of another foster mom to take her in, get her healthy and it was close to a year before she was considered "adoptable" too.

Soooo that is what the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue does.  Helps take these poor confused and most often ill treated dogs into the organization, gets them properly vetted and fed, groomed and assessed... and then placed in homes where the people can understand and care for these sweet doggers.

Now, that being said... one of the yearly events the rescue group does is call on us to attend the Bark in the Park at the Fox River Stadium with the Timberattlers minor league baseball team playing the games.  Once a year they have this event and people are invited to bring their dogs!

The Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue group all meets in one spot to tailgate before hand.... 

Everyone brings a dish to pass for the munchie table

I can honestly say out of the hundreds of dogs in the parking lot, 

our shelties were the best behaved, especially around the food! 

Binney and Finney know to hang out under the chairs and wait for food to drop! 

What made this day even MORE special for me, is that almost all of our kids and grandkids came... along with our GRANDPUPPIES!!!!    It is my Mother's Day Celebration with the family at the same time.  (Allegra and daughterinlaw Heather had a ballet performance to attend for her niece so we missed them)

Here is our grandpuppy Little Biscuit           and granddog Big Tiger 

 And the two incorrigible corgis

Granddoggers Leia and Radar! 

Here is a little video clip I put on Utube as I went around the group

with each one introducing themselves and their dogs.

Once the tailgating it over, then we all go inside the stadium and stake out places with our blankets on the grassy hillside....  this is an area especially set aside for the dog people. They had handout samples of gourmet dog food, some neato dog walking flashlights with clips and a compartment for a roll of doggie doo doo bags, and of course big swimming pools of water for the dogs to drink.... now it was time to PLAY BALL!

Here is a Utube clip I took of our group

Everyone sure had a good time, even as the clouds were rolling in...

The winds were kicking up

and the cell phone weather apps were showing an approaching storm!

Our grandkids still got in lots of doggie cuddles

which Binney and Finney patiently put up with LOL

And someone bought the grandtots some ice cream!!!

By the seventh inning stretch, the sky was not looking so good

we began to fold up blankets and gather leashes and head for the gate.....

OOOPS! 

too late---

the skies opened up and we were totally drenched as we dashed for the cars!!!

I hid my camera under my clothes so I couldn't get any pics,

but this one of little Biscuit after they got her in their car tells the story:

Yup, that is the same fluffy white dog that started out the day looking like THIS:

We headed back home, soaking wet, and our totally exhausted saturated muttenheimers were fast asleep in the back seat before we even got out of the traffic jammed stadium parking lot! 

What a fun day..... 

Thank you, Lisa 

and everyone with the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue for setting this up! 

First Time Camping and Bark In the Park

I would like to start by saying "Happy Mother's Day" to all of you moms out there... I miss my mom who is up visiting in Georgia right now. but we will connect later in the week online I hope.

My Mother's Day really lasted all weekend around here!  Our oldest son and his wife Heather took the time to mail me a sweet card with new family photos of the grandkids!  It was a very special and busy weekend for them!  They were taking their brand new travel trailer out for it's maiden voyage and go camping---  what fun memories to make, and we are so happy for them.

They even took along their dog, Tiger who learned how to behave in a campground and was being good.  Looks like the grandtots had a BLAST!  The dealership where they bought their trailer included a free weekend of camping in their RV park up in Door County, WI.  Great deal!

Between campfires, marshmallows, a trip to town for ice cream and then of course waking up to breakfast in their OWN camper, what more can they ask for?   The kids are used to camping with Heather's family, and also with us... but this is totally different because it's their OWN camper.

I got this lovely greeting this morning on Facebook from them.. what can be more fun than a morning snuggle with their mommy on Mother's Day? I was so glad to see them having a great time.

And later, daughterinlaw Heather posted this pic, of Mason back at home after such a busy weekend.  She said she is sure he brought home all the dirt from the campground stuck to his little boy face.  Isn't that just the best pic?  All tuckered out from a weekend of fun in their camper.

I also told our two girls to stay home with their families on Mother's Day.  After all, they are mothers too!  So instead of meeting on Sunday, we planned a get together on Saturday.  We all met up at the Timber Rattlers baseball game at Fox River Stadium....  it was a Bark in the Park event... where you can bring your dog to the baseball game.  We met up with over 40 folks from the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue group to tailgate a couple hours before the game in the parking lot.  Then we get to go inside the stadium with our dogs and watch the game from the grassy area just past the bleachers.


Now, wouldn't you know that with over 4,000 people there and over 100 dogs... it would be MY family who gets filmed and put on the local news?????  check out this video clip:

(yes, that is our Duke, the star,  in the opening segment,

and our grandaughter Chelsea running up the hill with mommy Erin watching,

with daughter Heather and grandson Jameson by her on the blanket.

and then our Finney and grandpup Radar 

and soninlaw Jesse's legs!  LOL)  

I was behind the cameraman up the hill a bit when he was filming---  I told him we were part of the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue Group being up behind us... so he went and filmed there too for the rest of the segment, ending with the rescue group leader, Lisa Martin's beautiful blue merle sheltie Robin. So out of over 100 various dogs at the event, it was mostly our shelties that got the air time.  Cool! 

Here are a few shots of the day.... Folks lined up their vehicles, unloaded their dogs and set out chairs and tables ---- a lot of tail wagging, patting and petting went on, and alot of these dogs who were adopted from Lisa Martin's efforts with the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue group....   Rescue dogs are a "special needs" kind of dog, often having behavior issues, untrained for housebreaking or grooming or even walking on a leash.  It takes a special heart to adopt a rescue dog.  Many of the shelties Lisa has placed are from horrible situations, and she carefully screens and investigate applicants to be sure the new owners will be up to a challenge.  And these folks are hearty souls to take in these damaged dogs. And the dogs are sooo appreciative and lucky to have forever homes with someone who understands their needs.

Shetland Sheepdogs come in three basic colors... the common sable/white like Lassie colors.  Then there are tri colors which are mostly black with a white collar and little bit of brown on the face.  Then there are the striking blue merle with blotches of grey and white and tan--- giving an almost blueish effect to the fur.  Contrary to common misconception.. shetland sheepdogs are not "minature collies" or "toy collies"  that is a misnomer.  They are a distinct breed of their own and not downsized from a collie.

It was a fun gathering of people, many whom I had only met on facebook so far.

We set up a pot luck table of treats to munch on while waiting for the game to begin.

Our grandtots Clayton and Chelsea were delighted to find out someone brought M&M cookies!  They even snuck a second one... tee heeee.

Our family gathered as a Mother's Day celebration to honor me with a pile of homemade cards, gifts, games and lovely refrigerator art to post on the fridge at home.  What joy and love from all my kids and grandkids the entire weekend!

We settled into the hillside of the grassy area past the bleachers.  The weather was perfect, our first day in Wisconsin when the temps have been over 70... warmest day since last November.  Not a cloud in the sky, and it was so wonderfully summer-like after our long miserable winter and our heel-dragging springtime in Wisconsin.

The park has given us all treat bags of gourmet dog food, pooper scooper bags with little holders to clip on the leashes and set out big blue swimming pools of water for dogs to cool off in.

Little puppy Theo, a pup recently born from a rescue dog Ruby, was debating with my grandtot Clayton if they should jump in?  or lap the water? or just look at it?   hmmmmm   Mommy stopped Clayton before he dove in head first!

Once the game was nearing it's end, the grandtots were getting a little bored.  So off to the hill behind us ---- the silliness was starting.. hahahaha watch this:

With a warm heart full of lovely wishes from all my children and grandtots, my weekend was perfect.  Hugs and kisses goodbye as they all left the ballpark, along with reservation on my calendar for upcoming babysitting gigs.  Something wonderful to look forward to.

I spent Sunday morning sleeping in, while Steveio had to run off early to work for a couple hours at the park.  Then he came back and made me a nice breakfast....   afterwards we did a bunch of odds and ends around the house that I wanted to accomplish.  He was my "Slave Boy" who did whatever I wanted!

We hung up my new bird bath on a hook by my loom room window

We cleaned and sorted my fiber storage room

We erected a set of steel shelves for all of my new yarn

We hauled three more bags of mulch for my flowerbeds

We painted the little white bench I picked from the garbage

and he helped me with a bunch of little tasks I wanted to get done.

PLUS.....

He finished most of the gas log fireplace installation

(I will do a blog post on that later)

This evening we cooked a lovely meal together and shared a bottle of wine, while dining in front of my beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Later it turned very dark, and stormy.  The rained poured down, the lightening and thunder were frantic, and we sipped our wine and watched from the dryness and safety of the front porch.