Pug Love xo

This sweet little girl is the runt of the litter and she stole my heart with all her cuteness!

Chubby little guy likes to gives kisses

Oh she is such a good mama xoxo

Pugs behind bars.....

love love love

I seriously could play with them all day !!  Look at those faces !

Big smoochies good bye.....

   Okay, so everyone out there knows all about my little obsession with Pugs.   I have loved them forever!   I don't know if it's their smoochy little faces, the googly eyes or their cute little pig tails... but I am definitely smitten by them.   When I discovered friends of ours had a mama pug who had given birth to 6 little ones I made a date to come and visit and get some lovin!  Of course I had to ask how much for they were asking for them and unfortunately it wasn't something I could come up with.  Dang it!  It didn't take long for them to be sold though , all except one little chubby black one.   Hmmmm..... one left eh???   I think it's a sign dont' you??   

One Year Later....

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.    

- Ben Williams

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader.  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

 -Unknown

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.         - Andrew A. Rooney

My little old dog: A heart-beat at my feet.
- Edith Wharton

  This time last year my buddy Storm was fighting for his life.  He became extremely ill with a liver disease, which baffled our vet, and we almost lost him.   We don't know how it happened or what caused it , but his liver was green and not functioning properly .   For several days I watched him waste away and  lie around on the floor at the vet office getting only a small wag of his tail every now and then as a sign that he was somewhat aware of my presence. I'd spend hours there in the cage with him -petting him, talking to him, walking him and giving him as much love as I could.  It was so hard to leave him there and  at one point it was recommended that I put him down because he was so close to slipping away which only crushed me further and I cried for days! 
   I felt so helpless but determined to fight whatever this was and go to whatever lengths needed to get him back to his playful self.  I told my vet to do whatever he could and if it didn't work I would let him go.  I needed to know in my heart that I did everything I could and then I would be at peace if I needed to say goodbye.
  It took intense treatment, which consisted of several meds and feeding him with a syringe, and lots of round the clock care.   It was difficult and exhausting not to mention stressful as I knew the bill was getting larger by the minute.   After a few days at the vet we were able to bring him home to continue his treatments.  Yay!       With all our love, my cooking ground beef and rice for him , and all the prayers our friends and family were sending out,  he slowly recovered , gained back his weight and even some muscle mass which our vet thought may never come back .
  Soon he was back to normal... better than normal.   He was like a new pup!   Playful,  rambunctious and healthy!   I was sooooo happy!   I had my best friend back, my sidekick and shadow .
  It's been a year and so far so good.  Storm remains healthy and happy which makes me very grateful.  I love my doggie and anyone who has a pet knows what that bond is like.  He is not just a dog, not just a pet, he is my best friend and loyal companion.  He is always happy to see me, doesn't care how I look, or act, doesn't judge me , always ready to go for a walk with me and always makes me smile. 
  So looking back at Storms battle I am reminded what he adds to my life and how happy I am to have him .  I only hope he feels the same about me xoxo

 

Good Intentions..

  As a kid if I wasn't surrounding myself with pencils, paints and paper I was usually outside playing in the grass, water or trees and finding new little critters to take home.  I've had ice cream buckets with cool little water bugs, hurt little birds, and the usual stray dog or cat in my room.  Just ask my mom....
  Not much has changed for me in my adulthood, I am still surrounded by art supplies and still trying to save all the little lost creatures of the world.  All of my doggies and cats that have come into my life have all found me in one way or another and I truly believe it was meant to be, as if a higher force lead them to my heart.  So I wasn't really surprised when the other day I was walking toward my cabin studio to inspect any damage from the torrential  downpour we had the day before, and my eye caught sight of something squirming around.
   Beside the wall of my studio is a big flower pot tilted on it's side and inside of it was quite a bit of rain water.  I walked closer thinking a frog must be inside of the pot and can't get out, but as I got closer I realized that it wasn't a frog at all but a mouse... or baby rat.   This tiny little thing was scrambling for it's life and would get a little bit out of the water and slide back in .  It was a sad sight indeed.  I didn't really have much time to decide which it was, cute little mouse or scary rat,  because my super girl instincts kicked in and I scooped the exhausted little rodent up by it's tail and held it on my arm.  Poor little creature was so tiny and exhausted.
  So now I'm carrying this nearly drowned mouse/rat around by the tail thinking.... now what???   I decided that I would grab my camera and take a few snaps of it and so I came into the house with it and had a little photo shoot.  It wasn't a willing participant so the photos are not that great but it shows this happened and I'm not making it up.  After documenting the rodents existence on memory card I had to decide what to do with it.  I figured I already have a studio bunny ( who is flipp'n adorable by the way ) a dog ( who I love immensely ) and 2 cats ( who are super cool and cuddly ) so I'm sure a little mouse/ rat wouldn't be that hard to take care of  ??  And in my childish Walt Disney mind they would be best friends and hang out together....
   So yes, I got a plastic box with a lid put in an old towel and some of Penelope's rabbit food and added one very wet baby mouse/rat.  I watched him pick up a tiny seed with it's shaky little rodent paws and nibble on it and thought YES!  It's going to be okay, it's eating and now it is safe inside the cabin and has a dry warm bed... all is good.  I adjusted the lid so it was closed enough to keep the mouse/rat  in but open enough for air to get in and then I left to go back inside the house and think of some super cute names for my new pet.      A few hours passed and I came back out to check on the new guest.   I walked over to the box ( which was up on my desk ) and very gently opened the lid to the mouse hotel.   I peeked in , moved around the towel , took the towel out and shook it.... no mouse/rat.   HUH??  How did this happen?  Why did it escape such a lovely little mouse pad that I set up??  How ungrateful!   But then after the initial "how dare that mouse/rat do that to me "  reality set in and now I'm thinking ... omg.  now I have a rodent loose in my cabin!!  Now it wasn't a cute little pet it was an intruder and I was a little scared of it!  What if it jumps out at me while I am beading or runs across my desk while I'm painting ??  What if it bites Penelope?  omg my mind was going crazy and I was freaking out!  I started thinking horrible things like... do I need to buy mouse traps?  Do I need to put my cats in here??  Then I realized what I was contemplating and talked myself down from my hysteria.  " Lisa... you can't save a mouse/rat's life only to turn around and murder it "  I began to look around my studio for any clues of it's existence but found none.  Well I better figure something out and so I remembered that there are a couple little holes in the floor of the studio where I'm assuming some old plumbing once was and so I uncovered them and hoped for the best.

  Well the best didn't happen.  Actually the worst happened.  The next day I went back to my cabin and walked by the dreaded flower pot .  I stood there thinking how does this happen?  Why did this happen?  There inside the pot was more rain water and in that pool of water was a little mouse/rat floating whiskers down.  Was this my little mouse/rat?  I don't know.  I like to think it's not and it's running around my yard frolicking in the grass... but part of me is thinking that yes.  This is the little guy I tried so hard to rescue and although all my intentions were the very best and came straight from the heart, I failed to save him.  Life is so unfair sometimes isn't it ??  Maybe I should've minded my own business and just let things work out on it's own?   Go about my own life and not worry about others.   Nah.... that's just not me.

 

Good Excuse!

Okay so I am like a kabillion weeks behind in my art journal between all the orders for Christmas and having to light a fire in the studio each time..... there just isn't enough time in a day for me! I brought the paints in and my journal thinking I'd get more accomplished but.. well that isn't the case. I'm just gonna blame it on Roxy, she likes to lay on my journal and soak up all that creativity. Yep! She's the reason I'm so behind!

To Busy To Blog.....

I' ve been super busy for the past month with my very ill dog , Storm who almost died from a liver disease. I'm very happy to say that with intense therapy from my vet and his caring staff, and with tonnes of love and prayers from all my friends and family, my baby is recovering well and is alive. My vet Clayton can't believe that he survived because he was at death's door just 2 weeks ago and it looked extremely hopeless. He's a miracle and I love him so much and so grateful he is still here with me to make me smile every day. Anyone who has a pet knows how heartbreaking it is to see them suffer and how heartwarming it is to have them in our lives. All they want is to love you and receive love back. Why can't more people be like that?

Penelope The Studio Bunny

Penelope hangs out in my studio and keeps me company,mostly running around or doing her cute little happy flips in the air , BUT....today when I checked in on her she was sitting proud as can be on top of my desk! I thought she was pretty cute until I realized she had been snacking on my art journal ! I thought I had bunny proofed it pretty good but I guess I got myself a clever bunny with a taste for art! Good thing she's cute !

INTRODUCING "ROXY" !!

Just when I thought I've seen all the cuteness that I could possibly see.....along comes Roxy!! My daughter Michaela BEGGED her Dad for this little fur angel and I'm sure glad she did. Roxy is only 6 weeks old, and is so playful and sweet. I only took about 75 pictures of her already. Check out "My Flickr" for some more. Milo was'nt too sure of her at first but now she is his best little buddy. This is night #3 and she is sleeping through the night and is becoming very comfortable with her new family.