my mission statement, if you will

First, I thank each of you who donated to the Denham Springs, Louisiana Animal Shelter  (the shelter where we adopted Louise) after the recent horrible flooding that I wrote about in my last post HERE

You are amazing and generous!

I adore this photo of our morning ritual- girls waiting to be given the "okay" to eat after Dan/I thank them for being such good girls and tell them how much we love them!

Photo by Linda of Lime In The Coconut.  

Fun stories about LindaLime that resonate with this entire post at the bottom!

Initially I was going to do a quick, short post to let you know I have added a feature

  "adoptable dog of the week" 

to the top of my sidebar, in hopes that you will notice, read it and maybe share with your friends on Facebook each week as I highlight a different dog needing a good home.  But, as I started to write my short post I realized that often things mean more if you understand the back story. And for me,  the back story was much bigger than a quick post.  That this whole journey on my blog- the sharing of our home, of my design and interiors and my love of antiques, the sharing of my love of dogs, and my passion for rescuing dogs-  is a joy and my mission.  With that comes a story...

When we decided to sell our Dallas house and move to New England it was a HUGE life decision as you can imagine.  I have never "journaled" per se  (though I tend to see this blog as a form of a journal),  but do understand the importance of putting all the emotions of a situation down on paper.   The decision to move here was exciting, terrifying, scary, nerve-wracking, thrilling-  all with anticipation of a new life,  and I realized I needed to write those emotions down before I popped!  

(if you would like to read how we got her click HERE and HERE)

A paragraph from my random writings from that time read:

want to help.  dogs maybe;  people

 finding dogs.

want to bring joy- thru design/antiques 

I need to find my life's work. 

What brings me joy, and how to 

share that.

  I wrote this in 2007 before the word "blog" was even in mainstream vocabulary, and a good year and a half before I figured out what one was.  I didn't give a thought as to how I would accomplish any of those things I listed, but they were just on my heart, so I wrote them down.   

It wasn't until several people wrote to tell me that because of our adopting Amelia HERE and HERE, and then Louise and Magnolia HERE that they had decided to adopt/expand their family, and one person (Tery) even wrote to tell me she was going to adopt instead of "buy" her next dog (and I am thrilled to say she has since adopted "Sullivan";)  that I vaguely recalled this paragraph I wrote years ago and went to find it in my "house book."  I sobbed.  Because of a random decision in October of 2008 to start this blog to chronicle the renovation of the farmhouse (the blog started as private), and then the request by Brooke Giannetti at Velvet &Linen to share my blog on her blog HERE and Joni Webb of Cote de Texas who added me to her blog roll several months later, I received exposure and in some way or form that is how you found your way here (thank you to my friends Brooke and Joni! xxo)

Because of the above events I have been able to meet you and share my loves and passions on this blog, and for that I am forever thankful and grateful.  

My love of home, my love of dogs and my love of rescuing dogs are my greatest passions.  For me,  dogs (pets) make a house a home.  

I thank you for allowing me to share all my passions and loves with you.  

I have received some negative comments and emails about my posts on dog rescue- people saying that they signed up to see pictures of a house, not of dogs.  My response was/is....  

 I'm sorry you are disappointed.  I write a "lifestyle" blog, so therefore I write about all things I am deeply passionate about that make up my love of a house- decorating, design, gardening, cooking, entertaining and dogs; and that includes using "my voice" to promote dog adoption.  The beauty of writing a personal blog is that I get to choose what I want to write about, and I will continue to write about all of the above, just as you are free to choose to not read if the content isn't to your liking.  Isn't it great that we all have choices!

You might recall that one of my readers, Amy (check out her new blog Home Glow Designs) adopted Nanny after seeing her on my blog HERE  Then over the past weekend Alice,  the dog-angel volunteer for Lytle, Texas Animal Control wrote to tell me that one of my readers in Houston was going to foster one of the dogs, Missy, that came in with a horrible injury to her foot and this woman is going get Missy a prosthesis!  I do not know who this person is, but she is an angel.  It was after hearing that (and the memory of every one who had left a comment saying they were going to adopt because of our girls) I wanted to do more!  And I thought to add the "adoptable dog of the week" feature at the top of my sidebar!  I am but one person, but with your help we can be a "force" to find shelter dogs homes!

It breaks my heart the number of dogs (and cats) that are euthanized in our country everyday (approximately 3,288 dogs each and every day)  and also the number of stray dogs and cats (there are 9,000 stray dogs in south Dallas alone.  You read that correctly... 9,000 source)  I wholeheartedly believe, as with most things, that education is the key.  It saddens,  infuriates and frustrates me that the wonderful nation that we are, we can not get a grip on this problem.  The only change that I can personally make is trying to make it better for one dog at a time.  So, that is what I want to do, with your help- spread the message of the importance of having all pets spayed/neutered; to please opt to adopt and highlighting dogs that are in desperate need of a good home.

All- one dog at a time!

I promise, my blog has not "gone to the dogs," and I am writing a "summer favorites" post that was a request from a reader, and have several house project posts coming up, but I wanted write this to you to explain myself.  I just never know when a post about a dog needing a home will change that dog's life or yours- either way is priceless!

Thank you for reading, thank you for helping me spread the word about adopting and thank you for being you!!!  xxo

The fun stories I mentioned at the beginning of this post...

Linda of Lime In The Coconut and I have been friends for years.  While writing this post and linking to Brooke's post from Velvet & Linen HERE I discovered through the comment section that Linda found me through Brooke, on November 19, 2008 at 5:25 p.m.  to be exact!!! :)

Well..... just two weekends ago LindaLime (as Dan and I call her;) came to the farmhouse to visit!!!!  She was on her way to see her daughter who had just finished a three-month environmental conservation internship in northern New Hampshire at Squam Lake  (a.k.a the lake where On Golden Pond was filmed.)  Finally we meet!!!!  It was sooo wonderful to meet in person. Linda and I were up til 4 am talking!!!  We ALL loved her-  I swear the girls would have left with her if they could have- they adored her!!!  To see Linda's photos from around the farmhouse and her trip to New Hamphsire HERE  !!

Another fun LindaLime story is that last summer Linda wrote to check up on me as I hadn't posted in a while.  I explained that we had just come home from a road trip to Louisiana where we adopted Magnolia and Louise HERE.  Linda asked how I found them and I told her on Petfinder, which she was not familiar with.  Within an hour she and her daughter (mentioned in the story above) were on Petfinder and found a Great Dane that they wanted to go meet!!  Days later "Finn" was adopted...

and then months later the beautiful (blind and deaf) "Pearl" was adopted by LindaLime and her family!!!

Moral of the story.....you just never know how a random sharing will change a person's life for the better!!!  

Love ya Finn & Pearl & LindaLime!!!!!

I also want to share that Linda is a Lactation Consultant and she is getting ready to leave for Greece where she is volunteering to help the refugee women and children fleeing from war and terrorism.
To read about her upcoming journey HERE.

love dogs and be well!!!

and please share the featured dog of the week!  together we can find these dogs forever homes!

xxojoan