Hi Ya’ll,

I know it’s been a while. My life has been in quite a turmoil. I’m trying to figure out who I am at 55 years old, realizing that I have allowed myself to be led into a life not of my choosing. For instance, I loved drawing as a kid. My Mom had me take a correspondence course, which I did without much joy. Then she encouraged strongly that I major in Commercial Art in college, because that’s where you can make money. I hated it and ended up dropping that major, shifting to art education and finally to early childhood education. I never wanted to teach. Isn’t that pretty awful? I just did all this to make my Mom think I was doing something worthwhile.

I’m sorry to say that when I married, I made similar mistakes. Yes, I did some things I liked, but still did things differently than I may have chosen just to be accepted and hopefully loved. I know this is an unusual post for me. I just needed to tell somebody. So, you readers are it. LOL

I’m now finally beginning to see that I am where I am because I never said ’STOP! I want to do this....’ Yes I rode horses ( the love of my life). Yes, I drew some. But, always there was someone I was trying to please. I felt I needed to be really good at something to be acceptable. No more!

I’m learning how to not feel guilty when I choose to stand firm for what I believe. I’m beginning to take more charge of my life. I am making choices based on what I feel is the right thing to do and not what I’m given permission to do, or persuaded to do by manipulating me to feel guilty. I realize it isn’t the other person’s fault as much as my own. I let myself be manipulated. I could have chosen to be strong in myself to do what I felt was right.

On a good note: My oldest daughter had a baby girl. I’m a proud grandmother again. I hope to go see her soon and help out with her 2 boys and shopping, cooking, etc. They live about 6 1/2 hours away from us.

So, now you have it. The past few weeks I’ve been trying to figure what is important in my life, what makes me ME. In other words, who am I really? I may have only a few years or another 35 years to fulfill whatever it is I’m suppose to. If any of you believe in prayer, please pray. I have no means of making money that I can see. I don’t know if I should even be concerned about making money. My husband works, but we’ve had to declare bankruptcy due to many unfortunate events in our lives, one being my husband almost died in the hospital with something they never figured out. Another bank buster was a church we had joined that turned out to be a cult. (See Join Us, the documentary) That was also the experience that helped me to understand how I had given control over my life, even in lesser degrees, to others even before this church. Now I’m hyper sensitive to control issues. I also have a greater compassion and empathy for others now. Though it was an awful experience that progressed with time to almost total mind control, I have come away a much stronger individual. It has taken 3 years for me to come to the point I am at now. I still cringe when I think about the cult for long, and I have what is called triggers. Triggers are things that cause you to feel as you did in the cult.

Well that’s enough for now. Sorry, if I got a little long winded.

Karen

Concerning the senior poodle in our local animal shelter, I talked to a veterinarian today, who is willing to do the teeth, clip her nails and health exam for around $200 plus a little. If any teeth need extracting, he won't charge for that. The price includes blood work and any antibiotics needed.

As for the cherry eye, if he can use a new procedure of pushing the tear duct back into the pocket where it belongs, and tack it down. He'll do that for $50-$75. Normally it is more. I would have to make that decision whether to spend the extra money. Otherwise, he would clip it and she loses that tear duct. The veterinarian said that most of the time cutting it off isn't a problem. However, if the eye becomes dry, she will need maintenance for that.

The heartworm check would be close to $40. Hopefully she doesn't have any other health issues. The reduced adoption fee is $50, which I am going to try to get that down some.The total amount needed to get this old girl back to a relatively healthy state is going to come to a minimum of $290 with the clipping the cherry eye and $340-$365 with the newer procedure.

There is still groomimg that needs to be considered, too.

I just came home from visiting our local county animal shelter in Anderson County, South Carolina. I was trying to find ways I could help get more dogs adopted and about the ins and outs of dog rescue. After discussing some of the forms needed and what I would need to do, I visited the dogs, of course.

In one of the smaller cages reserved for puppies was this older gray poodle. They thought she was about 10-12 years old. She had a bad hair cut, bad teeth, filthy ears and the absolutely longest nails I've ever seen on a dog. It's a wonder she could walk. Apparently, the previous owner's reason for turning her over to the Anderson County Animal Shelter was-'not enough time to care for her'. It looked like she had spent a long, long time not being cared for already. Those nails didn't grow in just a couple of weeks.

This sweet girl needs to be adopted. I am willing to adopt her or try to find her a home, but I do not have the funds for the veterinary fees to clean her teeth, take the growth from her eye (I forget to mention that), get her ears treated and whatever other health issues that probably need taken care of at her age.

Unfortunately, there isn't a picture on the shelter's website yet. They will try to get one on their site soon, if she hasn't found a home yet.

Please adopt this poodle by going to Anderson County Animal Shelter or Donate through the Senior Poodle Widget. Any funds donated through this post will go towards helping this senior poodle.

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your generous donations. It is such a great start toward helping this mare. I'm only just now beginning to realize some of what it's going to take to get this Quarter horse well on the way to recovery. I have spent every penny I had saved up and $50 of my 11 year old son's money. He was glad to help. But, I would like to give his money back to him. He didn't have much saved up.

So far, I've personally spent $250 which I had set back from a saddle sale. I'm going to need quite a bit more, as I'm sure you know. Veterinary care is not cheap nor blacksmiths, grain, alfalfa cubes, etc. She needs a winter blanket, which I may have a source for. My neighbor was given some blankets recently from someone she knew. She's willing to see if one will fit this mare and give it to us.

There are probably other expenses I haven't thought of yet.

I will definitely put updates on my blog with photos: 4theLuvofDogs.com. It may be a bit difficult to send updates to everybody singly. Maybe I could come up with a separate email newsletter just on this? I'll have to check on that. Then I'll need to get people to sign up to hear about her progress. I may even need to set up a separate blog.

So far as I know, she has no name. I'll do some checking. We may give her a new name anyway for her new life. What do you think?

When I found out about this starving horse by pure chance, I decided I'd ask for help from others. I'm not asking anything for me so I'm much braver about asking. It's for this rescue mare who was left to suffer. It makes it much easier to ask on her behalf.

I hope to set up a way to take in some dogs at some point, but we will need funds to build adequate kennels. I would want them to be comfortable. I would take some of the not so easy to adopt dogs. Some of the bigger dogs such as Pit Bulls, Dobermans, Rotties, etc that need someone to work with them and test them to see how they would fit in a home. But, that's another story. I have some lofty goals, don't I?

The donations are coming in. So far, we've collected several larger donations, since I got the PayPal thingy fixed, such as $50 - $100 donations. I thank all who have given whether $2 or $100. It will be put to good use toward this mare's recovery. I've been told it may take up to 6 months for her to get to normal weight, maybe longer.

I also want to say thank you to all those who are spreading the word on their own blogs and MySpace pages. It has built my faith in people tremendously to see all who care and are willing to help in every way they can.

Keep those donations coming. We are still a ways from having everything this mare needs.


The total donated so far is $340. Thank you all very much. I just know the donations will keep coming in. The word is really beginning to get out. Check back for more posts on our progress soon.

Click the link below any post on my blog 4theLuvofDogs.com to help!

HI Everybody,

I had a bit of a problem with my post Urgent!!. Half of it was missing when I looked at it the next day. I have no idea what happened. It was published and dated to appear yesterday, but ended up missing the most important information.

Please take a look and help this horse. Every little bit counts.

Karen
4theLuvofDogs.com

A horse was recently bought at a local auction in such bad shape, it was surprising she was still alive. She was taken to the local Equine Rescue, where the girl who purchased her asked them to take her on. They did take her in despite the fact that they don't have the money or resources allocated to take care of this horse. They can only use their resources on horses brought in through the local authorities and after going through proper channels.

At this time, the woman who runs the local rescue, Nicole, is feeding this mare with her own hay bought for her personal horses. The problem is that in this area, hay is a scarce commodity, thus rather expensive.

I am going to go visit Nicole tomorrow and see this mare. All day I've been working on some way to get the money or hay to feed this girl through the winter until grass starts growing again. I am hoping to give her a home. However, I have to have the hay to feed her. To read more about the story of this starving horse, see her condition and my proposal, go to Urgent!!! Starving Horse in Need!. With the help of some animal lovers, we should be able to save this wonderful animal and give her a forever home.

If everyone who reads this message gives only a little bit, it will make all the difference in this horse surviving this winter. I am grateful to all the animal lovers we have on My Space and especially my friends, who have been so supportive.

Karen Chrisman
4theLuvofDogs.com

Do you want to know a great way to eliminate boredom in your dogs, especially with the cold months ahead limiting outdoor exercise? I just got through putting a post on my blog concerning this very problem because of a fellow dog lover expressing that she was having this very problem with her dog.

Lack of the proper amount of physical and mental stimulation in dogs can create some very interesting and unwanted behaviors. To avoid having these behaviors crop up in your dog this winter, visit my post at Boredom in Dogs - How to Deal With It.

As fellow dog lovers, please leave a comment under the post on what you think of the post or maybe some suggestions to help other dog owners deal with boredom.

Have a great Holiday!

Karen

Along with the pet food scare, we are seeing certain diseases becoming more common in our beloved dogs. The most prevalent illnesses found today are related to each other more than pet owners realize. These diseases all originate from sources that could be controlled or even eliminated totally.

You may not totally agree with the findings. You may be horrified by what you see. Realize that your opinion, if not based on facts, can result in the death of your companion. Don't believe what you hear, or even what you've grown comfortable with. Look at your dog and promise him/her that you are going to find out the truth. Go to 4theLuvofDogs.com. You can read the post here: Leading Causes of Deaths in Dogs.

Be sure to watch the video, you will be directed to on the Resources Page. This may be the best investment you'll ever make in extending the length of your dog's life and in preventing many illnesses your dog will most probably get, proven statistically. There is also a very strong possibility that your dog will improve in health more than you could believe.

You will find out the most gruesome news available, and the solution to the problem. Because I love dogs very much and don't like to see them suffer unnecessarily here is that link again: Leading Causes of Deaths in Dogs.