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,
When I was a teenager I was driving my little VW Bug at night and saw someone hit a large dog and keep going. I had a friend in the car and stopped to see if the dog was okay. The poor large poodle was injured. I had my friend help me lift her in the car and drove around for about 20 or 30 minutes looking for a vet who was open. We finally found one and got them to take the dog. I left my phone number in case no one came for the dog.
That week I learned that the mommy of the dog worked with my then boyfriend, now husband. She told him the story of how some amazing person saved her dog after someone hit her and took off. When I went to see my boyfriend at work I met her and she hugged me with tears rolling down her cheeks. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.
I am so in love with this story!
I, too, feel like my dog Carter Cash is my spiritual lesson. We adopted him 3.5 years ago. We were looking to adopt but many of the dogs we came across weren’t up to my husband’s vision of the animal we needed (where as I wanted to bring home every unloved fur-baby that I laid eyes on). Carter was the last dog for us to encounter during the last hour of a massive animal adoption at Venice Beach. He crawled right into my husband’s lap and that was it – we’d found our dog. Or more so, he found us.
The first few months were very difficult. He was fine and then would go nuts (turns out, with energy, not malice). We weren’t sure what we were doing or if we could be good puppy owners. But we got him enrolled in puppy classes and fed him out of our hands. Within 2 months he knew we were his family, and started to respond to his name, commands and treats. AND HE IS SO SMART! We’ve practically run out of things to teach him.
But he’s taught me the most important lesson (or more so, our puppy trainer taught us). “Own your dog” which is a short way of saying – be responsible for what you put out and intentional about what you want to get back. If I am cranky with the pup, he ignores me. But if I’m kind and happy in my voice, he is all up for whatever I ask him to do. It’s amazing seeing my own energy and effort reflected back to me. And I can’t even quantify the love he’s brought me, my husband and our friends and family. Thanks for letting me share!
We’ve adopted 3 dogs now. Our first, Lola, was 7 1/2 years old when we adopted her. She was a purebred German Short-haired Pointer who’d lived with a family for all of her life. When their child became very ill, poor Lola wasn’t getting as much attention as she was used to, and spent a lot of time in the yard (and escaping it). Lola’s guardian angel, Pam, almost ran over her on the proverbial dark and stormy night, took her in and called her owners who said, you can keep her if you want. Since Pam does lots of animal rescue work, she fostered her and when she had to put her in the local shelter because of dog conflicts, she worked hard to make sure Lola ended up in a loving home. We found out about her online and ended up bringing her home. We got to spend about 7 years with her before a tumor on her liver became too much for her.
Our second adopted dog, Loki, joined our family a couple of years after Lola. We brought him home from a nearby SPCA shelter which he’d been in for 6 weeks! He was “lucky” that he’d come down with kennel cough and been in the sick ward for awhile, on top of being a shelter favorite – it saved his life. He was about 3 1/2 when he came home with us to be Lola’s buddy, and still acts like a puppy most of the time at 10 1/2.
Finally, Pinky joined us about a year and a half ago. She was the youngest, at about 9 months, when we found her at our co-op’s “Petapalooza” street fair. She’s yet to meet anyone she doesn’t love, and the decision to adopt her was all but made when I found my husband laying in the (closed) street being enthusiastically licked by little Pinky. Loki and Lola met her at the animal control shelter, and she came home with us right after her spay surgery. Loki had to warm up to the idea of another sibling in his territory, but now she’s the annoying kid sister (like he was to Lola!) and keeps him young and playful. Pinky is turning into quite the distance runner, keeping me company on some of my marathon training runs, while Loki joins me for the shorter, cool weather runs. They’re the best running buddies a girl could ask for – always ready and willing! Naptime on the couch afterward is pretty awesome too. 😉
It’s so sad…I worked for years on a facebook page that posted pictures of dogs from under-visited rural kill shelters. One thing I learned was that if a “hunting” dog doesn’t want to hunt, the hunters will often toss them out in the woods to fend for themselves or dump them at a kill shelter to get rid of them. I have had MANY MANY physically depleted ex-hunting dogs hang out at my place until they found a home. When people ask about abandoned hounds, I always ask them – what’s more perfect than a dog that you KNOW doesn’t want to attack other animals? Hounds are often calm and obedient and loving and make great house dogs.
I had to stop being admin for the page because I came down with Meningitis and Enncephalitis, which damaged my eyesight and memory. It didn’t damage my love for the dogs though! If you are interested, check out the website above – it’s a facebook page for Highlands County animal control, in FL. I still share for them as much as I can do with my eyesight issue, and all 3 of my dogs came from their shelter.
Wonderful story, Kate. Your warm heart shines through with every word of your story.
–Robin
I know this has nothing to do with adopting an animal (which there haev been many over the years), but I thought I would share my personal adoption story. I was adopted at 6 months to a wonderful family and when I had my own kids, I decided to search for my biological family. I found my birth mom (we look identical) and my birth father’s family. He died of a heart attack at age 48 (which is why I follow you and try to be healthy). Anywhoo, we recently sold our house and wanted something in the woods, with land, an art studio etc. (there is a point to this, I promise) and we found a wonderful home in an area I swore I would never move to outside of the city. We bought the house and moved in. I then emailed my birth father’s family and told them we moved to Smyrna. They asked me what street our new house was on and I told them. They said, “Oh, you know your father is buried in that neighborhood.” Well, what a shock it was to find out that not only my father was buried there, but the whole family. I had returned home to where I was supposed to be. It was meant to be that I was adopted by my family and that I went full circle back to my roots. I am grateful for being adopted and grateful for starting to become whole. I am learning a side of myself that I may have never known. Congratulations on the newest member of your family.
We were turned down by the Humane Society in San Antonio, because we were “in the system” (our cat ran away just after we moved here) and we would not promise “never to leave the cats outside”. My cats live 18 to 19 years! We adopted 2 kittens from Pet Smart. The runt (Blackie) has been a sickly cat, but so loveable! Instant purrs! There have been several Spiritual stories related to him. I had just attended the Healing Touch World-wide Conference in SA, and felt so connected to all things created. First, we spent $800 to have 2 bladder stones removed (while my husband is unemployed). I felt tested, $800 is a lot of money, but I felt God would give many $800 lessons if I valued money more than life. The following year (he has a job now) during the annual vet check-up, it is recommended he have further tests done due to IBD. The total bill for both cats and tests was over $2,000. I did not hesitate. You see, the week before I was searching for a $750 “stash”. I never found it, but found $4,000 instead! The vet bill was paid and I had enough left to pay for Healing Touch for Animals classes. I am now the coordinator for HTA in San Antonio, Texas.
The vet and I are still working with Blackie. I am so thankful the vet is open to Alternative medicine.
I attribute the found money to God, who provided for His critters because I passed the test of Love rather than money.
We were turned down by the Humane Society in San Antonio, because we were “in the system” (our cat ran away just after we moved here) and we would not promise “never to leave the cats outside”. My cats live 18 to 19 years! We adopted 2 kittens from Pet Smart. The runt (Blackie) has been a sickly cat, but so loveable! Instant purrs! There have been several Spiritual stories related to him. I had just attended the Healing Touch World-wide Conference in SA, and felt so connected to all things created. First, we spent $800 to have 2 bladder stones removed (while my husband is unemployed). I felt tested, $800 is a lot of money, but I felt God would give many $800 lessons if I valued money more than life. The following year (he has a job now) during the annual vet check-up, it is recommended he have further tests done due to IBD. The total bill for both cats and tests was over $2,000. I did not hesitate. You see, the week before I was searching for a $750 “stash”. I never found it, but found $4,000 instead! The vet bill was paid and I had enough left to pay for Healing Touch for Animals classes. I am now the coordinator for HTA in San Antonio, Texas.
The vet and I are still working with Blackie. I am so thankful the vet is open to Alternative medicine.
I attribute the found money to God, who provided for His critters because I passed the test of Love rather than money.
My partner and I have adopted three fur babies from shelters. Our first, Nola, was a sweet gal who was with us for 5 years. She was my animal soul mate and we are convinced she’ll make her way back to us someday, when she’s ready. When she died last year, her fur sister Ruby (a kitty) was devastated and so were we. Ruby is a cranky & shy cat who typically only comes out for a quick snuggle and a kiss once per day at bed time. All of that changed when we adopted Charlotte. A couple of months after Nola died, my partner mentioned that she had always wanted a Basset hound. After a quick search of local shelters, the first dog we saw was Charlotte. She was at a shelter 3 hours from our home in Chicago and had been rescued from a kill shelter after being found in the Kentucky woods, pregnant with 9 puppies! We drove down to meet her and her puppies as soon as we could. The second we sat down on the bathroom floor where she was camping out with her babies, she came over and put her head in my lap. At that moment, we all knew we belonged together. Eight weeks later, she came home with us once her puppies were ready for separation. She has been our spiritual lesson in patience, building trust and unconditional love! We have seen her grow into a happy-go-lucky, mischievous and sweet-as-pie city dog. She and her fur sister Ruby are the best of friends and we’ve really seen Ruby come out of her shell since Charlotte joined the fam. She loves long walks with her mamas and since I became pregnant with our first human baby, her favorite hobby is to sleep with her head on my belly. What could be sweeter than that? We just love her so much and are so grateful for the joy she brings into our family!
Blessings to the Carr-Fassett family for all the work you do. Buddy is one lucky dog the day you found him. The most important thing said in your blog is “How could I pick and choose when it’s convenient?” I’ve always had a big heart too and seemed to find animals that are in distress. Some people who don’t what to bother, tell me – “you can’t save the world.” And I tell them – “but I can do what’s in front of me.” If it’s an animal in need I try to help (keeping my safety first). One time I was driving on highway 5 in San Diego and saw a Cooper Hawk that was standing still with it’s wings stretched out. I pulled off the next exit and backtracked around. I remember hearing that the most dangerous part of raptors are there talons and not so much there beaks. I got my jacket and slowly approached it. Luckily the hawk did not move, my big fear was that it would go on out into the highway. It had some blood on the side of it’s beak and seemed stunned. I gently placed my jacket over it covering up it talons (feet) and held it while I drove to Project Wildlife http://www.projectwildlife.org They let me know that it did survive. I’ve taken so many birds and baby mammals there over years they have been around. Thank goodness for places like that. My two cats I recused cats are Lola (she was a baby with a broken tibia and fractured hip) and Frieda (was dumped in my neighborhood) and my beloved dog Sophie, who has passed on came from the pound. My current dog Charlie was given to me. Before them I had Mollie (jack russell) who was found as a puppy wondering the streets and she had the coronavirus and I nursed her back to health and ended up keeping her. Before her I had Shotzie, my mom and I got at the pound. They both lived to be 16! There is a saying – It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them and every new dog who comes into my life gives me a piece of their heart. If I live long enough all the components of my heart will be a dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are – anonymous At this point I’d say I’m more than half way there to becoming dog – except I’m a vegetarian ; ^) Thank you for all you do, lots of love,
Barbara
I had been looking online for rescue dogs three years ago, finally in a position to adopt, when I visited my mom at home for a weekend and nearly ran over a dog in the road. I pulled over, called to her, and she came right to me. She came home with me – coincidentally the reason I was visiting was to pack up my things, and she sat next to me in the moving truck as we made our way across the state. A year old, she had clearly been an outside dog despite being thin-coated, and some kind of electric collar had rubbed all of the hair on her neck off. She was skinny, covered with scars, not potty trained, and had severe separation anxiety and stomach problems, so she would destroy my house with both ends. A few years later and I am often complimented on how healthy and well-behaved she is.
She has been my rock as I dealt with severe depression, bulimia, and anxiety disorders, and helped me overcome them. There is never a day when I am not grateful that Someone took the time to put Piper into my path. Even when she throws up on my coat, as she just did.
We have adopted many over the years so sharing only one will be hard….so I’ll share the first one that started it all.
My grandmother told my mom about this cute little doxie who needed a home. We had just lost one of ours and my mom said now as not a good time. However, my grandmother convinced my mom to take herjust for the weekend and then think about it. Needless to say that weekend turned into 16 years.
Katie’s previous owners kept her on the side of the house and just couldn’t give her the love she needed. Poor thing didn’t know what to do with our yard so she spend months going potty on the patio and then playing in the grass. It took us a while to convince her to use the yard not the patio but she got the hang of it. Turned out she liked to sunbath, on her back. She also liked to play bite my dad on command, LOL. She was such a character and one we needed to meet at that time. She warmed our hearts so much we went on to adopt many more, 6 more to date.
Buddy came into your life for a reason and I’m happy to hear he has found a loving home.
I do want to mention one thing, adopting is not easy. Not all dogs, cats, etc. will be easy. So for those who come across one not as loveable as they thought, give it time. Take the time to meet with trainers. Every one of them deserves a loving home. When they come from a bad place it sometimes takes time. Just don’t give up on them.
This seems unconnected because it is not fur-based, but in terms of unconditional love, I think it wags. Today, for no particular reason other than a God-whisper, I took off all my jewelry and decided to not wear any all day. (no small feat for me!). I decided that as I noted its absence to remember in prayer all those women who are lost and unseen to us in the global sex trade. I hope we have the courage to find them and nurture them back to health too! There’s love for all God’s precious creatures, great and small!
Almost five years ago I visited an animal shelter just to “look”. A beautiful 13 month old Walker hound/German Shepherd mix raced up to me wagging her tail and said, “take me home! Get me out of here and I will love you forever!” I knew right then I had to rescue her. I was a first time adopter.
Turned out a friend of mine had adopted her sister, but they returned her to the shelter because they didn’t have a fenced yard and hounds really do roam. My dog also tears up the yard hunting gophers, but we don’t mind at all. Every now and then we go around with a wheelbarrow full of dirt and fill in the trenches.
Hounds are very loyal and loving, but I they are country dogs and I recommend no less than one fenced acre. They need lots of room to explore and daily walks to satisfy their sniffers.
Kris, wishing you many happy years with Buddy from one hound dog Mommy to another!
You are such a kind soul Kris. There are so many animals left abandoned or at the shelters. I would love to just take them all home. We always go to the shelter or get our pets or from people who are getting rid of them. Where we used to live there were so many wild cats that kept having kittens. I took the time everyday to go out there and try to feed them and talk to them to gain their confidence. It took a few months to get them where they came close enough for me to pet them. Then I was able to catch them and get them fixed at the vet. I brought them back and they became our outside cat family. After loving on them,feeding and caring for them for over 10 years we were going to be moving. I know I couldn’t take them because they were still wild and didn’t like to be contained. After being told by animal control that I did a dis-service to the cats by feeding them, I didn’t know what to do. New neighbors moved in next door and I explained my situation. That this land is the cats home! The neighbors said they loved cats and would take care of them for me. So began the slow process of starting to feed them closer and closer to the neighbors house. (We lived in an area with lots of land between the houses) After 2 weeks they were eating on the neighbors property and the sweet neighbors had been coming out and letting the cats get to know them. They had one of the cats actually eating out of their hand after a few weeks.
I felt so much better about that choice then to have them uthenized as suggested by animal control.
Several years ago (about 8), my dad was riding his bike out in the country (he is a cyclist), when he saw a big black SUV stop by the side of the road and throw something out into a ditch, then drive off. When he was riding by ditch, he heard a sound. The sound was a little ball of golden fluff! She was a little golden puppy, half collie, half chow and she was the cutest thing you had ever seen! He took her home with him and we named that ball of fluff Emma Lou. She was malnourished, had a broken hip and was afraid of humans. But, a few months of loving care and she transformed into an overly excited ball of fluffy love.
I loved getting to see her when I would visit my parents, I probably would have dog-napped her from them if I had been allowed to have a dog where I lived. She was always happy to see everyone and would follow you everywhere, loved giving kisses and being pet!
We lost her on April 29 2012, Emma Lou had a stroke and we had to let her sleep. It was incredibly hard, but we can’t help but be grateful that we had the time we did with her. My dad could have ignored that noise that day, the SUV could have picked a different ditch, or a million different things could have happened and we could have missed having her for the time we did and she would have missed knowing what it was like to be loved. But, I think we were destined to have that little (and later big) ball of fluff and she was destined to know love and to give it to every human she encountered.
I love that angel orb over Buddy’s left shoulder! At our house we have Blue the Cat, and Wally and Nessa the pigs, who are all rescues of sorts. Blue came to us as a stray, Wally was left as a piglet in the night inside a humane society fence up north, and Nessa was being rehomed. Best family ever! You can see Wally and Nessa’s little video here. Blessings to everyone who saves someone. It matters. Also thanks to sanctuaries everywhere for all they do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFWvdLCOloI
My animals are my life. I know it sounds corny, but it’s true! Last summer I was fixated on rescuing a black cat after I read on the internet that black animals are the least likely to be adopted. I found a good candidate online, and went to go meet her. When I walked into her foster home, I was immediately disgusted. There was trash everywhere, it smelled horrible, and the foster family were clearly hoarders. Without even consulting my family (oops) I immediately took her home and gave her the name Raja. Yes, like Raja the tiger from Aladdin. Raja was SO happy to be in a loving home, and she showed her appreciation everyday with countless cuddles and a never ending purrrrrrrr that seemed to never stopped. All the happiness ended when she escaped out the back door one night and didn’t come home. I was heartbroken was an understatement. I was determined to find her no matter what it took. I walked around my neighborhood all day, every day, in search of Raja. I even hired some sketchy pet detective online, that’s how desperate I was. After Raja had been gone about 2 months I decided that I needed to move on, and find some closure. That’s when I decided to foster. We took in a beautiful pit who we named “Girl.” She healed my broken heart when Raja ran away. Ready for the best part of the story? When Girl got adopted I was so sad to say goodbye. The day that she left I got a phone call from a stranger many miles away who had seen an ad that I posted a while back about a “missing black cat.” I jumped into my car, and drove there as fast as I could! I set a safe trap, and 2 days later Raja was home safe and sound after being gone for 6 months. Now I truly believe in miracles!
Our family just adopted a rescue dog 2 days ago. Our beloved Isac, our rescue dog of 18 years passed away 1 month ago. We, including our 2 little boys have been really sad. Oby, our new baby has lived in several foster homes in the past month. He has anxiety, but already is feeling more calm. We love rescue animals and wish all the best for your sweet Buddy!
Kris, I just rescued a mix pit and he has improved my outlook in dealing with recurring ovarian cancer. Pits have a bad rap, but this guy is very sweet and loves to play and gives me unconditional love! He makes me laugh and smile and makes dealing with cancer a little easier!
I’ve actually got two adoption stories!
#1. Chandler the cat. I was entering my fourth year of university and really wanted a furry companion to snuggle and study with. I couldn’t get a dog with my work and school schedule, so my roommate and I checked out the local pound to see if there were any kitties we were interested in. Chandler (“Larry Lovebug” at the time) was this adorable little 1 year old grey tabby that first caught my eye. He proceeded to steal my heart by first swatting at me with his claws then licking me. He was a stray that had been picked up by the pound, adopted out but then returned. Just my luck…I’ve had him for 5 years now and he’s just the coolest, boldest cat ever. He’s moved across the country with me and back, goes on exciting 24 hour outdoor adventures on his own, and “tolerates” our dog very well. 🙂
#2. June the horse. June was an off-the-track thoroughbred racehorse that I adopted from a rehoming agency. The agency is quick to clarify that they are not a rescue – most of the horses they find new homes for come from racing owners that happily donate their horses to the program. Not June. June was at an auction where plenty of meat buyers. These horses are purchased for a set price per pound, then carted off after the auction to slaughter. The agency had sent a representative to the auction to see what she could do. This woman outbid the meat buyers to save June from a terrible fate, brought her back to her retirement farm and let June live outside and be a horse for two years before she was put up for adoption. I fell in love as soon as I met her (she’s dropdead gorgeous AND sweet), and though she had some retraining issues, she was my best friend for 2 years. I went back to school so she’s since moved on to a new home, but her new owner loves her just as much as I do, and absolutely spoils her. I’m so happy this lovely horse got a second chance at life, it’s absolutely the BEST feeling.
Your story has also opened my heart. I have never thought of adopting an animal, but Love them. Now you have me thinking about adoption. I have shied away from having an animal because I quite dislike the idea of leaving them alone at home when I go to work. I just know that when I get a pet it will be through adoption because no living creature should suffer.
Jen