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Likes: Stormy loved my truck. She would sit in my truck for hours on end while I worked outside in the yard. Stormy loved to chase the hose while I watered the plants or when Keith washed our vehicles. A fresh snow fall always gave Stormy the super zoomies.
Pet-Peeves: Surgery & not being able to play and get the zoomies. Thunderstorms, power tools. Any loud noise freaked her out.
Favorite Toy: Wolfie! Stormy had her wolfie toy for 7 years before Sophie came along and desroyed him in one hour.
Favorite Food: Stormy loved to eat! Everything was her favorite food. Stormy got the happy spins before each meal. It was adorable. Stormy loved her peanut butter filled KONGS. She has 2 pictures posted in the KONGcompany.com wall of fame.
Favorite Walk: Stormy loved to go for walks on the nature trails in a nearby park.
Best Tricks: Spinning in circles, kicking people with her back leg, giving paw.
Arrival Story: The best advice I have every gotten was from my Father when he said,"You are not replacing Bandit, you are saving anothers life." Bandit went to the Rainbow Bridge in July 2000 (sniff) My other dog, Sadie became very depressed, she had never know a life with out Bandit. I thought if I got a puppy that would help.
I went to an Animal Care Fair in August 2000 to adopt a Golden, (My dream dog) I had a beautiful male Golden in my arms and I was so happy & lucky to have found one. People were actually fighting over the litter of pups. Then I looked down and saw a little fur ball buried in the back of the a crate. People would look at her and then quickly walked away.When a dog walked by and peed on the puppy in the crate and she didn't even move I handed the lady next to me the Golden pup (She cried she was so happy) and took the puppy out of the crate. I was shocked to see the 8 week old puppy was dirty, the end of her tail was missing and she had a hole so big in her paw that my pinky finger could fit in it. This was just the beginning. Storm was spade a week earlier. Her stitches were popping opening to the point I had to stop at the store and get band aids to hold her belly closed till I got her to the emergency vet that afternoon. She had worms that bloated her stomach and she had an infection causing green discharge from her belly. With all that, all I could see was the biggest pleading look in her eye to save her. I found out that her Mother died while giving birth and only Storm and her Brother survived thanks to a caring neighbor who saw the owner come outside and kick the Mother when he realized she in trouble and left the puppies to die. (Yes, charges were pressed against the owner for neglect, but I don't know if they held up in court). How could I not adopt this fur ball? At the vets, they said "Save yourself the heartache and take her back" NO WAY! I was already in love. With the care of the vets, medication and a lot of sleepless nights, Storm recovered and has been a wonderful compainion in my life. As I hoped, having a puppy in the house cheered Sadie right up, except when she had to share her toys.
Bio: Me favorite websites to visit is...www.bunnyroobeagle.com & Jeter Harris Kitty Cat Blog, http://www.blogger.com/profile/329 34460
HONORS: DOGSTER DOG OF THE DAY, July 13 2008, one of the featured diaries on Diary Central page July 28, 2008, Winner in the Dog Park Usa, Pweety in Pink contest, August 30, 2008, one of the featured diaries on Diary Central page December 10, 2008, Dogster dairy of the day 3-24-2009
Forums Motto: Remember Me Always Dogster Local Spots I've Marked: Pawsome Pet Sitting The Groups I'm In: ♥Pray for Tifanny♥, • DOGGIE CONNECTION • , ♥All Fur Fun♥, Lost & Found - Dogsters & Catsters Unite To Help Find Missing Pets Here!, Champ's Champions, Dogwise, Pawsome Pages, Schnauzers Rule, Squeaky & Fuzzy, ^*^Over The Rainbow^*^, ~~~*♥Dog Park USA♥*~~~
Me don’t know about you but Me wuv peanut butter! Peanut butter smoothies, peanut butter ice cream & Me very favorite…PEANUT BUTTER STUFFED KONGS! *drools* Peanut Butter should be enjoyed and celebrated all year long. I wonder if there is a McDonald cheeseburger lovers month?
When Paul and his fiancé Melissa saw Cherry the Vicktory dog on the National Geographic show “DogTown,” they fell head over heels in love. Of course they weren’t the only ones. When Paul would hop on the Best Friends website to follow Cherry’s progress journal each step of the way, he’d also notice the other eight zillion fans Cherry has out there. And even though he figured it was a long shot at best, he decided to fill out an adoption application. He told himself he at least had to try.
A good thing, too. Cherry has gone home!
Backing up a bit, Paul actually sent in his adoption application a full year before Cherry came home. These Vicktory dogs all have a long list of court-mandated requirements that must be met before they can ever be considered for adoption. And even then, it’s always a foster home first (for six months) and then a reevaluation for the final adoption. Not a simple road.
All along, Paul says that Best Friends’ adoption coordinator Kristi Littrell was great. During the past year, says Paul, "I think I bugged her more than I’ve bugged anybody in my whole life!" Hey, this is Cherry we’re talking about. He’s worth a little bugging over, don’t you think? Paul and Melissa certainly thought so, and so did Kristi. Together they kept working toward the goal, as did Cherry’s caregivers.
After almost a full year of preparation, it was finally time for the big meet and greet. Paul and Melissa came with their pit mix Madison. Madison, a female they’ve had since a puppy, is a super confident and friendly dog. They all thought she would do great with Cherry, who has some issues with confidence (yet loves other dogs).
The plan was for Paul and Melissa to meet Cherry without Madison, and then go from that point. Only problem, Cherry decided to hide under the desk. Dogtown co-manager Michelle Besmehn tried to coax Cherry out, but it was no use. Finally, Michelle suggested that they might as well try to introduce Cherry and Madison, since he’s always done better with dogs than people anyway.
That’s when things really started to turn around. They went over to a neutral play area and the two dogs hit it off amazingly well. After letting the dogs play for a while, Michelle suggested they all go to a smaller space so there would be a better chance to get to know Cherry.
They went back to her office, this time with Madison in tow, and then flopped down on the floor for five hours! Paul and Melissa sat very quietly, and Madison lay down for a nap in between them. After observing the situation from every possible angle, Cherry also parked it right next to Madison. He allowed Paul and Melissa to pet him and the connection began.
They spent the next two days with him and took him on two sleepovers. With every day, Cherry’s confidence grew, as did his trust in Melissa and Paul. As for Melissa and Paul, they were more in love than ever. Because of their early flight schedule, however, they couldn’t bring Cherry on a sleepover for their last night in town.
That final evening, Paul and Melissa looked at each other and realized something was missing. Their family wasn’t complete any more. They knew Cherry belonged with them. It would be a long week and a half before Cherry could come live with them, and Paul describes that as the "longest stretch" in the entire year. But oh, was it worth the wait! Cherry is now living the life he’s always deserved. He has two people who adore him to pieces and a dog friend he can play with day in and day out. Madison has taken on sort of a mother role with him, teaching him confidence and teaching him to trust. Within short weeks, Cherry has made miles of progress.
"He learns a new confidence every day," says Paul.
And with that confidence, they’ve been able to see a whole new side to Cherry. A side most people don’t get to see. Cherry gets to romp through the woods with Madison. He gets to go hiking and conquer high peaks. And, best of all, he has developed his very own ”Cherry dance.”
Here’s how the Cherry dance goes. First, he stops all movement whatsoever. You might imagine he hears something in the distance, but no, he’s just gathering his artistic energy, honing it into a ball of creativity that explodes after thirty seconds of utter stillness. First he starts to stomp his feet up and down rapidly, then he performs several impressive sideways hops, and finally he tosses his head and ears around in reckless abandon. After a minute or so, he freezes again to let the focus build once more. …
The dance makes Paul and Melissa laugh every time. But, more than that, it shows he is feeling at home, which is worth every single hoop they had to jump through along the way.
Story by David Dickson
Mommy watched all the videos on my Dogster site today. She smiled as she remember the wonderful times we had together, Me joyous outlook on life, acting silly with Me Daddy. Mommy says it feels like just yesterday she was watching Me do Me happy spins, when in fact it is coming up on my 1 year anniversary at the Rainbow Bridge. Me Mommy's heart is still broken.
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