Why blog about this, you may ask??

So it occured to me that even though I have taken tons of photos of all my past foster puppies, I have not put one of said photos into a scrapbook as I had intended. Apparently in this day of age, it's much more practical to put all your photos on the web for people to see. Actually, it's become more practical to put everything about my life on the web considering I'm in Japan and the majority of all of you reading this are probably in the states somewhere...

I have decided to take that scrapbook idea and expanded just a tad...

I went from the idea of making just a scrapbook of my puppies, to compiling those stories of others as well. Stories ranging from the animals we all adopt, to the stories about the lost, the found, the adopted, the purchased, the laughs, the tears, and everything in between.

Working at a vet clinic in Mississippi and adopting my two puppies in that state allowed me to connect with some amazing animals and people, to hear their stories, to share in their joy of healing, and unfortunately be there in their times of loss and grief.

I heard stories of how people and animals bonded, how their pets saved their lives, how their animal's lives were saved by their owners, wacky incidents, trials and failures, and everything in between. I heard horror stories of how people braved rising water and Katrina with their pets by their sides, putting their own lives in danger to save the life of their companion. It was heart-wrenching and amazing to hear.

I have come home every day elated with what I had learned at the clinic, saddened by what I had seen, torn over losing a life, and in awe of being at the birth and beginings of others. I loved what I did every single minute of every single day, and I feel really fortunate to be able to say that about a job. Because to me, it was way more than just bringing home a check... it was what I loved doing, and hope to continue doing here in Okinawa.

Assuming that I will be working at the Vet Clinic here soon, (I have an interview tomorrow morning and it looks pretty darn promising,) I want to continue telling everyone the stories of the people I meet and their wonderful little family members I get the honor of taking care of. I won't lie, some animals I have come into contact with have just been horrible little brats, including some of my fosters, but for the most part, and we animal lovers/owners can relate, they are as individual and amazing as every person on this plant is.

I hope also to continue foster work with OAARS, or the Okinawa American Animal Rescue Society, and will also have continuous puppies to keep everyone updated on. The cold hard truth is that yes, animals are euthanized by our facilities on base due to being unadoptable, sick, and behaviorally challenged, but hopefully I will do some good here as I did in Mississippi fostering for the Humane Society of South Mississippi, where I got Charlie and Chloe.

I really want to encourage everyone if they have pics of their animals, whether they be adopted, found, bought, handed over, or by any other means acquired and you want to send a pic and story, please do... I'll post your story and info on here so you can share too!

I also want to compile as many references sites and cool tid-bits of info, like home-made treat recipes, natural remedies, product sites, product reviews, etc. If you have any particular site in mind you want to share, or would like to tell people to avoid, please do!!!

That's all for now... I hope you all enjoy the future pics and stories to come and I really look forward to hearing from everyone!!!