Hi Darling,
The Carr-Fassett family has a lot to be grateful about. If you’ve been following our adventures on Facebook and Instagram (where I post most of my personal pix and lots of animal adoption updates) you know that we found a big ole blessing in the woods (with the help of some awesome New Yorkers!): A sweet, emaciated (35 pounds underweight), sick and struggling-to-stay-alive, hound dog who we named…Buddy!
After weeks of searching for his owner, making countless trips to the vet, nursing him back to health around the clock (how do you moms out there do it?!), and showering him with love, respect and compassion, it’s official—he’s doing great and we’re keeping him! He’s our soon-to-be-healthy boy now and we couldn’t be happier. Welcome sweet Buddy!
Today Buddy is quite the celebrity. Thousands of people from around the world have been praying for him and cheering him on (#gobuddygo). Folks have been logging into their social media accounts just for Buddy, especially on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
If you’re one of those people, I just want to take a moment to thank you. I know your love matters. It’s been part of his medicine and ours.
What’s more, I’ve read at least a dozen comments from people who went out and adopted a first or second fur-child. And countless others who have said, “now you’ve really got me thinking, I really want to adopt.” Booyah! Nothing makes me happier. I swear I’ve cried hundreds of heart-opening tears as I read all the love and possibilities. You all are so wonderful, yet another reason I have to be grateful.
When I first saw this skinny guy, I knew the road would be long.
And I heard the voices in my head: “Um, you don’t have time for this. He’s too sick. You’re already spread too thin. Lola doesn’t like to share. You travel too much. He’s bigger than your house. He’s a hunting dog, you eat plants!” Sound familiar? I bet you have practical voices that tell you not to do stuff you really want to do too.
Soon I came to understand that Buddy was my spiritual lesson.
I constantly talk about the importance of loving kindness—extended to all beings. How could I pick and choose when it’s convenient? How could I not take this guy into my life and heart. Brian felt the same way (thank the Gods!).
That was our rubber meets the road moment.
Who better than us to care for this guy? We have 16 acres of woods to explore, 6 of which are fully fenced in—crucial for Buddy’s built-in wanderlust. We work from home. We love animals. We want more joy in our lives. It quickly became a no-brainer.
As for Lola, she’s dealing and healing too. I think Buddy is the only brother she’d ever tolerate. Because he was so malnourished and wounded, she gave him space and reverence. Though she really doesn’t appreciate when he takes over her bed (that’s way too small for him), I think she likes to have a pal to trot around and explore with (which he is slowly starting to do). We’re doing our best to make her feel super special during this time. Translation: She’s getting chubby. “Hello piglet, enjoy it now cause it ain’t gonna last!”
After only a few days, Buddy is putting on weight—close to a pound a day. His coat gets shinier, his eyes get brighter and his tail wags more and more. He’s even starting to look our way when we call his name!
I wanted to express how lucky we feel to have the chance to make a difference in Buddy’s life.
If you decide to bring an animal into your home this holiday season, please consider adoption. So many beings suffer senselessly in shelters. Sadly, many of them die there, never knowing any kindness or cuddles. If you’ve got a rescued fur-baby, you know what I mean. You also understand that they know you saved them—it’s a bond like no other. And boy do they appreciate it.
Unconditional love heals.
Thanks for listening! He continues to heal. As do we.
There’s nothing better than happy trails and waggy endings!
Public Service Announcement: For all the hound dog lovers out there—consider a GPS collar. Hunting dogs and hounds are lead by their nose. They get lost easily and really need our help. Tragically, many hunting dogs go missing during hunting season, and others get left behind if they aren’t top performers.
Your turn: Share your adoption story in the comments below (and congrats to Lisa Henbest, my Crazy Sexy Kitchen contest winner!)
Peace & wags,
Yay for Buddy! Great work Kris. You never cease to inspire! Our Tuli Hafiz is our fourth cat adoption. He is a flame point Siamese mix with a great personality we could see past his barely breathing nose and big blue eyes at the shelter. It took no time at all for him to spring back from the crud that caused so many would-be owners to pass him by. We are so lucky. He makes us laugh every day. <3
I’ve had 30 years of cats and always wanted a dog, but never had a rental that allowed one. In the winter of 2011 I flew to New Orleans with my cat to visit an old college buddy. It was an open invitation, so we stayed about 6 weeks. I arrived on a Saturday afternoon. During breakfast on Sunday my friend asked if I would like to see her new church. I knew they had to relocate and rebuild after Katrina, so I was happy to join her for a Louisiana UU service. I can not tolerate perfume and cologne, so we sat near a window in case it needed to open. During the service I noticed a dog on the grounds sniffing around. I figured a member brought their dog in one of those pick up trucks I saw in the parking lot. We were in an odd location off an interstate in a rural bayou area abutting an industrial park. It was Sunday and all the businesses were closed. I needed to use the bathroom before the service had concluded. I whispered to my friend that I would meet her in the vestry. I never made it to a bathroom. The dog was at the coffee & refreshment cart trying to steal food. The two older volunteers were trying to shoo her away. I went out to investigate and told them to stop. She was clearly a nursing mother. Then they felt bad and immediately went into compassion mode. One woman said she would look in the kitchen for some food. She returned with a bowl of water. They only had chocolate muffins in the freezer. So I gave the dog some butter cookies from the cart. After inhaling the bowl of water she wolfed down 6 or 7 cookies. I immediately alerted my friend who happens to be no stranger to animal rescue. She looked at her and said, “We can’t take her until we find the puppies.” Then the children poured out of Sunday School. I think the dog got an additional 10 or 12 cookies from the kids. Once the dog was satiated, she played with the children. Several families expressed interest in adopting a pup. We didn’t know if the dog belonged to someone in the area or if she was lost. My friend thought she was probably dumped because she was pregnant. Chris, the church secretary, lived in the parsonage. She said she would keep an eye out for the dog. In the morning she promised to walk over to the other businesses and ask around.
At 6:00pm we received a call from Chris. The dog was still at the church. We headed over with dog food from my friend’s pantry. By the time we drove the 20 minutes the sun was down and the dog was gone. Chris now had proper food if she returned. On Monday morning we got a call announcing the location of the pups. The mother showed up pregnant at a truck yard and gave birth under the office trailer. The secretary was feeding her, but the dog was on her own Friday night thru Monday morning. No one knew how many pups were under there.
The quick and short is that when 3 pups came out absolutely no one came forward to adopt. The owner of the property threw them all in a truck and took them to the county pound. When I finally found them I learned quickly that the dogs were staying. They were a ward of the county. Unless they were claimed they were going to be euthanized in 5 business days. I immediately put my name on the mother assuming the puppies would find homes. Not true. Unless someone came forward to claim a pup it would also be put down. I was flying back to NY in 3 days, so I had to act. My friends back home called the county shelter and put their names on the puppies, so they went into the system. It took 2 weeks for volunteer vets to spay/neuter, vaccinate, heartworm test, micro chip and temperament test. They put the runt of the litter down. She probably had coccidia like the other two. Easily treated.
Not one animal rescue in Louisiana or Mississippi returned my call. In the end I drove back to Slidell, LA to retrieve mother and her two puppies. There were many angels along the way who made it possible. Another college buddy living in TN scoped out lodging with parking lot entrances so I could sneak the dogs in. In the morning I learned she had picked up the tab for the room. That was after a $200 contribution toward gas.
I knew on that February day I was going to rescue her. I never imagined that she would be mine. I named her Lola (after the Kinks song). Her two pups, Hudson and Little Bear, were adopted right away. How has she transformed my life? I have smiled more in the past two years then I have in my whole life. You can’t put a price on that.
Oh, and I am no longer a Mardi Gras virgin!
We too have just officially adopted a rescue dog 2 weeks ago. Also so underweight, likely the runt of the litter she is a chocolate kelpie (Australian cattle dog) who loves the car, the river and rounding my 2 year old up like she is a sheep.Lola was left by a highway and clearly treated very badly as she cowers when any male walks near her or we hold a stick or a hose. Not so much any more she digs our veggie garden but we still love her because she is being her sweet old self. We too searched for owners but know that Lola was meant to be ours when no-one showed up. She does not know it yet but she is off to the vet today for shots and fixing. Good luck with Buddy and bless everyone who takes in abandoned dogs.
I saw so many homeless starving dogs on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey, it broke my heart. On another note, my Turkish friend related to me that any homeless animal in the city is sacred and fed by the public. There were cats hanging out with us in bars and gathering in neighborhood where food was left out for them. Then I saw a few dogs with red ring looking staples in their ear which meant that they were collected by government and given immunization and released back to the streets. A different reality.
We got our dog Pearlie 2/17/12 exactly one month to the day after my dog/ soul mate Ulysses died in my arms. I missed everything about him but most of all, hearing his breath in my heart.
Pearlie is a Tennessee rescue and was a wild dog. All she would eat was bugs, moles and mice. She ran away at any given opportunity.
She now walks off lead in the park and comes trotting when I call her. It is a miraculous transformation and we love her forever.
Wonderful article by the beautiful Kris Carr!
As an animal advocate, I must ask, why focus solely on dogs, as opposed to dogs, hogs, crow, cows, camels, asses, etc. ?
i.e.,
Why the preoccupation with dogs?
Why not love all animals?
Isn’t that the real reason to go vegetarian or go vegan?
The number of animals killed for food in the United States is nearly 75 times larger than the number of animals killed in laboratories, 30 times larger than the number killed by hunters and trappers, and 500 times larger than the number of animals killed in animal pounds.
In her 1987 article, “Animal By-Products: A Game of Hide and Seek,” which originally appeared in the July 1987 issue of Vegetarian Times, Andis Roebznieks wrote:
“…In ways too numerous to count, animal by-products permeate our everyday lives… The list of manufactured goods made with animal by-products is virtually endless. Medicines, soaps, detergents, photographic film, phonograph records, rubber, ceramics, plastics, paints, perfumes, glue, explosives, cosmetics textiles and shaving creams all can contain material obtained from the slaughterhouse.
“Reviewing the list of slaughterhouse products used in making the family car might lead one to believe the horse and buggy was less exploitative of animals than today’s automobile…
“Besides its use in clothing (leather), cattle hide is also used in insulation, as a base for many ointments, and as a binder for plaster and asphalt. Cattle hair is used in toothbrush bristles, mattresses, air filters and upholstery covers. Hides, along with connective tissue, cartilage, blood and bones, are used to make the glue in plywood, paper matches, textiles, cardboard and window shades.
“Bones, horns and hoofs are used primarily for gelatin, with the photofilm and pharmaceutical industries being the biggest customers of this product. Bone charcoal is used as a refining material to purify steel and to filter sugar cane; according to the Beef Industry Council, bone charcoal ‘is vital in the production of high grade steel ball bearings.’
“Black-colored hoofs are used to manufacture potassium cyanide, which is used to extract gold from its ore. Livestock blood is often used in livestock feed and pet food. It’s also found in fertilizers and in the blood-thinning drugs Thrombin and Fibrinolysin. Raw materials for other drugs are extracted from the adrenal glands, liver, lungs, pancreas, stomach, pituitary gland, spinal cord and thyroid gland. In all, over 130 medicines are crated from the glands of beef carcasses.
“The most varied mixture of products, however, is yielded from tallow and lard. (By definition, tallow is the fat of cows, goats and sheep. Lard is the fat of hogs.) These products include tires, glue, agricultural chemicals, candles, cosmetics, detergents, drugs, metal castings, paints, inks, paper and shaving cream.
“Although this news may disturb many vegetarians, Jay Dinshah, president of the American Vegan Society, says not to despair.
“‘There are no vegan tire factories,’ Dinshah said. ‘We avoid as many animal products as we can, but we live in a world that is not, by a long shot, under our countrol. We never said you could avoid all animal products.’
“According to Dinshah, eliminating animal products from the diet is the best way to help animals.
“‘Everything falls into insignificance after the food,’ he said. ‘Food is about 75 percent of it. Clothing is next, about 10 to 20 percent, and then things like soap and cosmetics.
“‘If you just keep going one step further with avoiding animal products, just when you think you can go no further, you’ll find doors opening up.
“‘But you can’t withdraw from society and live in a cave. There’s a point where you are spending time and energy trying not to hurt anyone that you can’t help anyone either.'”
Agreed.
Again: the number of animals killed for food in the United States is nearly 75 times larger than the number of animals killed in laboratories, 30 times larger than the number killed by hunters and trappers, and 500 times larger than the number of animals killed in animal pounds.
Veganism Is Direct Action!
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is now challenging those who think they can still be “meat-eating environmentalists” to go vegan, if they really care about the planet.
peta2 is now the largest youth movement of any social change organization in the world.
peta2 has 267,000 friends on MySpace and 91,000 Facebook fans.
A few years ago, PETA was the top-ranked charity when a poll asked teenagers what nonprofit group they would most want to work for. PETA won by more than a two to one margin over the second place finisher, The American Red Cross, with more votes than the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity combined.
These ideas are now mainstream! peta2 is now the largest youth movement of any social change organization in the world. peta2 has 267,000 friends on MySpace and 91,000 Facebook fans.
A few years ago, PETA was the top-ranked charity when a poll asked teenagers what nonprofit group they would most want to work for. PETA won by more than a two to one margin over the second place finisher, the American Red Cross, with more votes than the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity combined.
Veg celebrities include Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Bill Clinton, Lauren Bush (niece of George W. Bush), Natalie Portman, Pamela Anderson, Toby MacGuire, Kristen Bell, Chris Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, Olivia Wilde, Kellie Pickler, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Kiedis, Leona Lewis, Paul McCartney, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Silverstone, Shania Twain, Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Brad Pitt, Christina Applegate, etc.
Love that you rescued!! We believe that is the only way to add to a family 🙂 they often find us when we need them the most whether we know it or not!
dear all,
my minpin tukka took over the assignment when her golden lab brother, bohannon, passed on to doggie heaven. to celebrate her arrival the singing (hers, opera of course) and twerking began. just like her bro, she loves popcorn, carrots and rides in the car! couldn’t imagine a day without seeing the look on her face or the wag in her little stub.
just thinkin’ of her makes it all okay.
I’m so very glad that Buddy found his way to you and that you are now his forever family.
My rescue dogs are my family. I wouldn’t be here without them. They are such a blessing.
Thank you, Kris, for being such a wonderful advocate for adoption. There are so many other animals in need of help.
We had a cat, Buster, for 17 1/2 years and he passed away 5 years ago. We were DEVASTATED and just didn’t want another cat EVER. But as the months went by, our lives felt so empty. So, we wandered into a PetSmart where Kitty, Kitty Adoption agency had some kittens and older cats. Knowing that the older cats were harder to adopt, we took to a beautiful year old gray Egyptian Mau! She has found her forever home with us and we can’t imagine life without her. She is a spoiled rotten princess and we wouldn’t have it any other way! We love our Sweetie! We have since adopted a second kitty and it has been rather interesting seeing the two kitties get used to each other. But slowly, Sweetie and Blondie are bonding. It’s slow going but I know they will be fast friends one day very soon. I hope more and more people consider adoption of shelter animals so we can save some adorable fur faces. Thanks for all you do for the plight of all suffering animals!
Years ago I had an angel walk into my life. I was on the way to dance class on a rainy Saturday morning. I was first in line at the red light on the on ramp to the freeway when I saw a huge rat bouncing through the ice plant on the side of the freeway. Then I thought, rats don’t bounce, that’s a PUPPY! When the light turned green I pulled over and ran into the ice plant to try and save this pup. When I caught up to her she growled and tried to bite me but I kept on going and scooped her into my arms. She was all black and about 6 pounds. While I was walking out of the ice plant holding this puppy to my chest a highway patrol man pulled up. I thought uh oh I’m probably in trouble for pulling over on an on ramp and running in the plants. He told me an officer had already tried to get the pup and had been bitten. He called animal control because the dog could be rabid and he had officer safety to consider. He sat with me in my car while we waited for animal control to show up. All the while I kept holding this puppy who was very still in my arms but would bite any hands that came near her.
Well, the animal control people never showed up and I had a puppy that was essentially feral. She was terrified and hid in a rolled up rug for months. I was bitten several times at the beginning but I continued to hand feed her and wasn’t able to really touch her for a month. It was determined that she was about 8 weeks old. Eventually she warmed up to me but the number of people she allowed to touch her in her life was limited to one hand. She always was my special, fierce, beautiful dog.
I named her Freeway but I called her Free because she set my heart free. Loving her and seeing my love heal her healed me and made me understand that my love was good. Because of her, I met my husband and got married for the first time at age 49 – loving had been a struggle for me for a long time. Free left my life just as suddenly as she entered it. She died of liver cancer at age 9. I still can’t think of her without crying – she was my personal miracle!
Your posting couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I am sitting here weeping! I have to let go of my foster dog Paloma this week. (aka Butternut Von Stinky Pants) She came from a hoarding situation, so she had no socialization, was very fearful of me, and quite aggressive as well. I learned so much about trust and patience over the past few weeks. Here is this little dog, scared to death of me and her new surroundings, yet after only a few weeks she perked up and is now snuggling with my two dogs and she won’t leave my side! What really got to me in your video was when Buddy wagged his tail. The day Paloma wagged her tail for the first time I was so thrilled, it just filled my heart with joy to see such a transformation. She will be going to her forever home tomorrow and I couldn’t be more happy for her. Fostering animals is very rewarding, but it can also just rip your heart out when they leave. Thank you for opening your heart and home to Buddy, what a beautiful ending for such a sweet dog. Adopt, protect, and love all animals!
I have rescued and adopted many animals in my life and probably my biggest teacher is my cat who recently passed away after having her for 13+ years. She was between 3-5 when I adopted her and was semi-feral and had behavioral difficulties. I’m usually great with animals but it took a very long time for us to bond and at times I reconsidered my decision to keep her.
However I felt it was wrong to abandon her yet again (she had been abandoned at least twice that I know of). After moving with her twice we really started to bond and I realized that she was finally feeling secure that I “wouldn’t forget the kitty” since she was left behind when previous owners moved to fend for her self.
She spent her last five years in retirement in Arizona and wrapped my partner around her little paw so he was willing to participate in the extensive caretaking for kidney disease the last few years of her life. I felt it was worth it since she had asked so little and gave so much for so many years.
We cared for her and our bond and love deepened more than I could have imagined. The last few days she gave many sighs of relief while I held her and interpreted this as her knowing that it was safe to be vulnerable and that we would never forget the kitty. She died in our arms and I have tears as I write this. Tears of missing her and also that it took me so long to understand that she needed a different kind of understanding than other cats I had in the past and that inside her tough and touchy demeanor was a tender heart that longed to love and be loved. I miss her.
I know the feeling all too well. We, meaning me, my husband and 3 kids, have adopted/rescued our last 3 dogs. My kids, who are now adults, have learned a valuable lesson growing up. Going to the shelters, most often they left in tears wanting to take them all home…it is heartbreaking to see the need.
And yes rescued animals, are the most grateful, loving of all. It’s as if they know you saved them and how lucky they are.
But the clincher is they bring so much joy, you don’t know how you lived without them..
My mom and I have adopt over 9 cat and dogs so far in our lives. Each one with a unique personality that brought so much to our lives. I can still remember adopting our first cat, Sandy. We went to the humane society and walked into the kitten room. I immediately picked up a cute, long-hair, 6-month tabby. The minute she was in my arms, she began to purr. My mom wanted me to play with other kittens, but she was already mine. She had me at the first purr. We brought her home and she was the most loving cat. She allowed me to pick her when ever, I wanted…which was a lot because I really loved her. Often times, my mom would come into my room when I was sleeping and find that I was using Sandy as a pillow. Every once of that cat was love (and she was kinda a fat cat, so there was a lot of love:)) and I am forever grateful for the love and memories she gave to us. Her passing was one of the hardest things to go through, but we continued to adopt and now have a 20 pound cat that rules the roost.
Hey Chris,
If he is a hunting dog and wasn’t feeding himself out in the woods, maybe he’s a vegetarian too!
Hi Kris, I adopted my Hank Kitty just over a year ago. He is a 22 pound, long haired Manx. He had been in the BCSPCA for over 8 months and they were desperate to find him a fur ever home. I think he was hard to adopt out because of his long white hair. I later found out that he had colitis but he is feeling much better on his new food. He is the most gentle kitty I have ever seen, it has even taken him over a year to finally learn how to play because of how sensitive he is. We have lots of nick names for him including Hanky Panky, Mister Panky Pants and Big Sexay just to name a few. He melts me and I can’t imagine not having him part of my world. Big hugs to all the loving families who open their homes and hearts <3
Two years ago as we were in the process of getting ready to move to another town a sweet tiny very dirty and skinny little blue eyed kitten showed up on my porch hungry and seemed to be looking for help. I had just had to put down my cat the month before and I think it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. We asked around if anyone knew where she came from but no one had ever seen her. I took her in and we were in love with her. I took her to the vet and also found she had a bite on her tail which they cleaned up and gave her medicine for. The vet told me she was around 4 months old. She would wake us up in the middle of the night licking our faces and wanting to snuggle which I figure was from being so thankful to having found her family and new home. Today she a beautiful 2 year old little lady with such soft fur that she makes sure is nice and clean, loves all her toys and food and her 9 year old kitty friend Simba and her family, especially my children. She’s just a very happy girl and we are so thankful and lucky to have found her. It makes me feel so good inside to know I saved her and gave her a second chance at life. We named her Hope.
Your amazing story brings me so much happiness! Two years ago we adopted our hound mix pup Bailey from our local SPCA. A couple months later, my now husband found out he was being deployed to Afghanistan for 9 months. It was the hardest news I’ve ever heard and I knew it was going to be a battle every day. Bailey was my rock and complete savior during that deployment. With all my family living down south, I knew it was going to be hard to get the support I needed but Bailey proved to be my savior during those 9 months. I can’t even put into words how much she has saved me and made an impression on my life. I know I wouldn’t have gotten through it without her. I am so blessed to have her in my life and I am convinced she is my angel !
Beautiful, Kris. How healing for all of you 🙂
I adopted my American Bulldog/Pit Bull mix when he was 5 months old. The story the rescuers told us was that he was bought from a breeder by an elderly woman when he was young. She ended up not being able to take care of him (whether it was financial or just that she couldn’t handle him, we don’t know), so she gave him to a friend of her nephew’s. Well, that friend lived in a house with 6 other people and 10 animals (dogs, cats, etc.), and two of the men in the house were abusive to the dogs, kicking and shouting at them constantly, our Kelso included. Someone living in the house, seemingly a good samaritan who couldn’t stand this any longer, called the rescue to come in and take our pup away, which she did immediately. She fostered him in her home, with two cats, twin infants, an American Bulldog and a Pit Bull, for a few weeks until we came along. We met him and instantly fell in love. It’s been 5 1/2 years, and by his demeanor and attitude, you would never know he was abused. We will forever be adopters!