Jeri Smith-Ready

Contest winner and update on Tommy

The winner of a signed copy of Victoria Dahl's A Rake's Guide to Pleasure is...MEME! Yay! MEME, send your mailing address to me at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com, and I'll pass it on to Victoria.

In other news...our foster dog Tommy got adopted! He left us a week ago to go live with a very nice couple and their very active nine-month-old puppy, who will provide him with a lot more exercise (and possibly a heart attack) than Meadow ever could. The new mom reports that he's doing fantastic.

In writing Spencer's short story, I've revamped (ha! Get it?? I kill me.) his playlist, adding a few more familiar tunes and rearranging the rest so they flow better. (Y'know, so it's like an actual DJ put it together and not someone who quickly added 20 era-appropriate songs to get the site ready in time for the book launch.) It's a great playlist for a Friday in the summertime, so enjoy!

I've got company coming this weekend, so I've gotta go clean the house and buy food and figure out how to make the dishwasher child-safe (the bottom piece fell off--the part that the fixit guy opens to work on the wiring--and now there's a gaping hole, which is perfectly safe as long as you don't stick your hand in there--in other words, if you don't act like a little kid).

Wish me luck.

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Now playing: Ritchie Valens - Come On, Let's Go
via FoxyTunes

Labels: Contests, foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:33 AM
• 6 comments

Still life with Tommy

Don't forget, you have until Thursday at 5 eastern to enter to win a copy of Nancy Hunter's debut historical novel Taste of Liberty!

And now, an update on Tommy, or should we call him, the Stair Master! As of yesterday, he has now conquered all staircases, inside and out (yes, even those slick wooden ones on the deck).

The only thing he's unsure about are slick floors like the kitchen. It's pretty hilarious, feeding the cat in the middle of the kitchen floor, and Tommy wants so badly to taste that yummy cat food, but he can't...quite...reach if he insists on leaving one toe on the carpet. The cat just eats, smugly.

This morning I finally got him to hold still enough to take two pictures that actually show what he looks like:



That's grass stuck to the corner of his mouth. He'd just been rolling around on his back like a nutball.



Here he's waiting to come inside--from the deck!!

Tommy has three applications to adopt him so far, but the process is a little slowed by the fact that the volunteers who do the home visits are on vacation, so he might be with us another week. He's a really good dog, so we don't mind.

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Now playing: Flogging Molly - Seven Deadly Sins
via FoxyTunes

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:20 AM
• 2 comments

Wicked Game featured on The Eclectic Review

Podcasters Stuart and Glory Jaffe of The Eclectic Review discuss the evolution of the portrayal of vampires, from Dracula to Anne Rice to the Anita Blake books to Buffy to...Wicked Game in their latest episode, "Vampires are Deadly and Fun Part 2".

Very interesting discussion. Check it out! Apparently there'll be more about Wicked Game in a future podcast, so stay tuned.

And here's a new shot of Tommy:


It's very hard to get them to stay still for a photo, as I mentioned before.

That's all for today--I plan to finish a rough draft of my sample chapters by tonight (note to self: rough draft means it doesn't have to be perfect. Let yourself put in too much backstory this time around.), so I'll be offline most of the day.

Have a good one!

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Now playing: Home Of The Blues - Johnny Cash
via FoxyTunes

Labels: foster dogs, reviews, vampire series

• posted by Jeri @ 8:56 AM
• 3 comments

Brief Tommy update and a new interview/giveaway

Tommy made it to the basement this morning by going in the lower back door to the storeroom. I guess a few concrete stairs are not such a big deal. So now he has the run of half the house, with access to the backyard. Baby steps!

I did an interview with the lovely Sidhe Vicious, who posted it this week on her blog. And of course, you can win a signed copy of Wicked Game by commenting on the interview (there, not here).

I'm making a big trip to the post office tomorrow, so anyone waiting for me to send them stuff, it'll be on its way this week. Hopefully by the end of July I'll be all caught up on e-mail and maybe *gasp!* filing. Today and tomorrow I hope to bang out a few sample chapters of my proposed YA novel to send to my agent, then I'll get to work on Spencer's story, which I hope to have up by mid-August at the latest.

Lastly, but most important, thanks a million to the *gulp* 200+ people who sent me birthday wishes by e-mail, MySpace, Facebook, and LiveJournal. I was flabbergasted, to say the least, and I promise to reply to each of you before my next birthday.

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Now playing: The Smiths - Girl Afraid
via FoxyTunes

Labels: blog tour, Contests, foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:24 AM
• 3 comments

The (Not-So) Talented Mr. Tommy, Part One

At last...we have a new foster dog! His name is Tommy (insert Chris saying "Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy" in a Philip-Seymour-Hoffman-from-The Talented Mr. Ripley-voice, constantly, probably until the day the dog gets adopted). My camera batteries have died, but here's a picture from his page on the Tails of Hope website:


He slept all the way from Frederick, curled up on the floor behind the driver's seat, only looking up when I had to slow down from 60 to 0 to avoid hitting a groundhog sitting in the middle of the highway (they're the world's most suicidal animal). He seems like a real sweetheart.

So he got home, played in the backyard with Meadow, who is thrilled to have him, as is Misha (well, Misha's cautiously indifferent). Then it was time to go inside, since there was a thunderstorm coming.

No dice. Mr. Ripley doesn't like stairs. At all. Unfortunately, we live in a split foyer home, which means that the only way in and out of the house is by stairs. After a lot of coaxing, he came up to the top floor, drank some water, and explored all the rooms. Then it was time to try the downstairs family room. He ran down the first level, then...got stuck on the front landing. Wouldn't go back up or go all the way down.

He was so anxious about it, I decided to just let him stay there for now. Forcing a dog to do something they're afraid of just makes the fear worse. So he's sleeping on a nice bed with a few chew toys. The landing is about 15 square feet, probably bigger than his cage at the shelter. As soon as he wakes up, I'll feed him, give him some more water, then take him out for potties.

Wish me luck getting him back in the house, and eventually back up the stairs! Always an adventure....

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 6:16 PM
• 1 comments

New review site, Ciara's fear-ah, and a trip to the vet

Time for a few sundry items.

Bitten by Books reviewed Wicked Game yesterday. I post a link not only so you can read the review (Five Headstones!), because I don't blog about every review (seems a bit brag-alicious, and besides, if you're reading my blog regularly you've probably already decided whether or not to buy Wicked Game), but also to introduce you to this fabulous new site. Rachel Smith has put together a great design and a very active community, so if you like paranormal fiction, it's the new place to be!

Ciara has blogged again, this time about her fear of being interviewed by Dante from A Rush of Wings. It'll happen soon, whether she likes it or not. I mean, I give her free room and board--the least she can do is field a few interviews for me.

Misha was walking wobbly this morning, with his back legs giving out on him, so I rushed him to the vet, fearing a thrombosis (blood clot). Of course, once we got there, he steadily improved and now seems a lot better. (Probably regretting getting into the Jim Beam.) The vet said to keep an eye on him all weekend to make sure he doesn't get worse. He's a very athletic cat, so it's sad to see him sort of feeble.

Speaking of beasts, Baron went into a foster-to-adopt home, so we're not sure which foster dog we're getting and when. I'll be sure to update you and post pictures when I find out.

Still working on Monroe's story and planning to have it up on this site Monday. Will post when live! Have great weekends.

Labels: foster dogs, pets, reviews, vampire series

• posted by Jeri @ 1:43 PM
• 3 comments

Not-So-Lazy Sunday

Yesterday's event at Constellation Books went amazingly well. I'm always astonished when people I don't know show up at these things. Some of them had read the article in the Westminster Eagle and discovered the book takes place in a fictional version of our little town.

The store sold out of copies of Wicked Game and Eyes of Crow, so I had to send my Knight in Polo Shirt home to fetch some more books, which the store bought from me on commission and then resold to the folks who wanted one.

Bizarre coincidence: the owner of Constellation Books, Lauretta, used to work with my husband at the Space Telescope Science Institute. As my friend Jason says, "Maryland: Two Degrees of Separation."

Anyway, it's a fantastic store, and I'm definitely going back next year for Bad to the Bone. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them from our friends (I remembered my camera but forgot the batteries were dead).

Note to Maryland vampire fans: Constellation Books is having a Breaking Dawn party to celebrate the release of Stephenie Meyer's next novel. So pre-order your copy today!

In other news, I discovered we aren't actually supposed to pick up Baron until next Saturday. It was right there in the e-mail from the shelter, but I missed it, just assuming that the first day I could take the dog (today) would be the day he would come, so I only looked at the time and place, not the date. Oops.

So today I'm going to:

a) work on Monroe's story (the first line of which I wrote yesterday)
b) dive into my e-mail inbox and try not to drown
c) start a new online class that will help me rewrite Bad to the Bone and write the proposal for my new Young Adult series

I'm still working on the slowing-down-for-the-summer thing.


***Don't forget, you have until 5PM Monday to enter to win a signed copy of Sarah Beth Durst's Into the Wild or Out of the Wild.***

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Now playing: Muddy Waters - I Want to be Loved
via FoxyTunes

Labels: appearances, bookstores, foster dogs, I'm a dork, vampire series

• posted by Jeri @ 11:22 AM
• 0 comments

Another foster dog update

Well, it turns out Beanie isn't too fond of other dogs, so instead we'll be getting Baron on Sunday. Poor dude is being treated for heartworms, so he'll need to be kept quiet for a couple more weeks. But look at him! Gorgeous!



I must admit to loving big male dogs like Baron (assuming they're nice like this one supposedly is). They make this li'l girl feel safe.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 10:11 PM
• 3 comments

Foster dog update

Still untangling the end of Bad to the Bone (important lesson: sometimes when a scene doesn't want to be written, it means it wasn't meant to exist), so I've only got time for a quick Furface post.

Turns out, Annie got adopted (yay!), so we'll just be fostering her sister Beanie, beginning next week (Wednesday, I think).



Must. Hug. Now.

Labels: craft, foster dogs, vampire series

• posted by Jeri @ 5:37 PM
• 3 comments

In other news...

A few updates:

After nearly a year of crushing deadlines (me), a pinched nerve (Meadow), and madcap traveling (me), we're getting another foster dog next week! Her name is Annie (web page TBA), and if things go well, she'll be joined shortly by her "sister" Beanie. Yes, we are making up for lost time.

I have a deadline next Monday morning for Bad to the Bone, the sequel to Wicked Game. I'm putting in all-dayers between now and then, so this might be my last blog post for a week, though I do have half of one I might be able to post tomorrow if I get a few minutes tonight. Also, don't get mad if I don't return e-mails right away. Do you want another vampire book or not? (Don't answer that.)

Also, the winner of a signed copy of Nancy Haddock's La Vida Vampire is...Diana Cosby! Yay! Diana, just send your mailing address to me at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com, and I'll pass it on to Nancy. Thanks to everyone who commented and made Nancy feel at home, and also thanks for all those great ideas for vampire hobbies (taking notes).

And now my last bit of news, which was originally going to be Friday's update....

Wicked Game was #4 on Mysterious Galaxy's paperback bestseller list for the month of May!

Thanks a million to all of you who pre-ordered the book to have me sign, or came to the Birthday Bash on May 10, or who have ordered it since. I appreciate the support for the book, but even more I appreciate your support for this phenomenal independent bookseller. These people work very hard (and have a lot of fun) promoting the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. They know their stuff and deserve all the success they get.

They should still have some signed First Editions of Wicked Game at the store, so if you'd like one (or more), go order today!

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Now playing: Fast As You Can - FIONA APPLE
via FoxyTunes

Labels: appearances, bookstores, Contests, foster dogs, guests, vampire series, writing life

• posted by Jeri @ 7:11 AM
• 4 comments

Happy New Year!

(Quick reminder, since a lot of you were away doing whatever it is normal people do over the holiday: there's another Wicked Game ARC drawing this week. Scroll down to last Friday's post. There aren't many entries yet (slackers!), so your chances are excellent.)

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I read yesterday that the way you spend your time at midnight on New Year's Eve is the way you'll spend the rest of the year. I guarantee that I will not spend 2008 drinking too much champagne (how can 1.75 glasses be so intoxicating?) and staring at the blandly handsome face of Ryan Seacrest (how can 1 man get paid so much for doing so little?).

I took the whole day off yesterday, something I never do. Saw Sweeney Todd, which was amazing, the ideal marriage of men and material. When I heard last year that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were bringing the Sondheim musical to the big screen, I thought, "It will be perfect." And it was.

Then I spent the evening finishing A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix, which comes out next Tuesday. I'll blog in detail about it over the weekend, but it was awesome--serial killers, vampires rock gods, FBI conspiracies, and fallen angels, all in one gorgeously written novel.

On to my 2008 Goals:

1. Rewrite The Reawakened (non-negotiable, since it's under contract)
2. Write and rewrite Bad to the Bone (ditto)
3. Write six tie-in stories for Wicked Game
4. Submit proposal for more vampire books
5. Submit young adult fantasy proposal (completed Book 1 and series synopsis)
6. Write and submit proposal for new adult novel/series
7. Fix screenplay ending and begin submitting it to contests again
8. Design and build WVMPradio.com website and blog for Wicked Game's release
9. Build MySpace pages for WVMP and characters
10. Attend 5 conferences/conventions/book festivals
11. Sign stock at 100 bookstores
12. Do 10 non-conference appearances (signings, talks)
13. Do 25 online interviews/guest blogs
14. Read 50 books
15. Watch 50 movies
16. Foster 5 dogs (not all at the same time)
17. Do my part to make sure my candidate becomes President
18. Never be satisfied with "good enough."

You'll notice that a lot of these are repeats/carry overs from my 2007 goals. I'm a work in progress.

What are your hopes and dreams for 2008? Do they involve booze and fake celebrities? If so, consider revising. Or hell, go for it.

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Now playing: Sleater-Kinney - Start Together
via FoxyTunes

Labels: foster dogs, holidays, The Reawakened, vampire series, writing life, YA series

• posted by Jeri @ 9:08 AM
• 6 comments

Now THAT's a good book

Last week our 8-month-old foster puppy Chubby was left alone for a few minutes (I'm not blaming anyone in particular, such as The Husband, though I was in the shower at the time, so by process of elimination...).

I discovered him (Chubby, that is) happily eating a book I had been reading and had stupidly left on a low table next to the couch. At first I was kind of pissed, but then I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the title:



That's Resley C's--sorry, Kresley Cole's--A Hunger Like No Other, which just won the Rita for Best Paranormal Romance of 2006, among several other distinctions. The dude on the cover (what's left of him, anyway) is a Lykae (werewolf). So I guess Chubbers was just getting in touch with his supernatural cousins in the doggiest way he knew.

Thankfully, I was about 30 pages from the end and was able to finish it without having to reconstruct paragraphs from scraps of paper on the floor. The back cover didn't fare so well. Poor Resley Kresley's awesome author photo was lovingly mangled and ended up in the recycle bin, which is where the rest of the book is going. But since I plan to buy the rest of the series, I'll just pick up an extra copy of HLNO (the second, drool-free edition).

It was an excellent book, by the way. Chubby gives it two dewclaws up!




Another weirdly appropriate A-Z Update: "Skinwalker's Moon" by Robert Mirabal

Labels: foster dogs, reading

• posted by Jeri @ 8:53 AM
• 5 comments

Chubby, Part One

At last, a new foster dog!




Meet Chubby, who's not.

He's eight months old and so sweet. In fact, he's a whole lineful of 'o's of sweet*, like this:

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sweet.

A little shy now about going through doorways to strange places, and totally exhausted from his trip. I can't truly assess his personality until he starts to wake up a little more, but I think he's going to be a great puppy.



He's part chocolate Lab--which explains the yellow eyes and the reddish nose--and part Golden Retriever.

Until recently he was also part Tick, but most of them have either been yanked off or poisoned by Frontline Plus. Last night I dreamed about ticks who could fly and were immune to rubbing alcohol.

More later. I was away for the weekend and therefore am behind in writing The Reawakened.


*depending on your monitor's resolution. Results may vary.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:53 AM
• 6 comments

Moses, Part Two

Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said
--Warren Zevon, "Excitable Boy"

Moses (aka, "Beta Boy," due to his happy, willing submission to his Alpha Girl sister Meadow) is going home Friday! He'll have a new, much smaller but equally bossy sister to submit to.

I wanted to post some pics here before he left. But Moses is a two-year-old Lab mix, which means he hardly ever stays put. Most of the photos either feature him on the way in...


...or the way out...


...or, well....


But finally--MWAHAHAH!--I caught him with his guard down...


Any moment National Geographic or Audubon magazine will be calling me to join their ranks of photographers skilled at tracking and capturing images of elusive wild beasts and fowl.

Today, Moses the Beta Boy; tomorrow, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker!!

A-Z Update: "Buffalo Soldier" by Bob Marley and the Wailers (yes, it's taking me forever to get through the B's--because I am B for Busy)

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 11:46 AM
• 2 comments

Foots Postscript

Good news! Foots is being adopted by the lovely family who took him off our hands when he wanted to eat our cats. This in spite of the fact that he was marking all over their house. He just got neutered, so hopefully that will end soon.

In other foster news, Moses has someone coming to meet him tomorrow, so he might soon be finding a forever home, too. We'll miss him, as he's been a delightful, easy dog to have around. I'll try to get a new picture of him today if the weather improves and post it here.

A-Z Update: "Breaking Apart" by Chris Isaak

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 7:24 AM
• 0 comments

Moses, Part One

My hands have been hurting me lately (no doubt a relic of marathon Voice of Crow revisions), so I'm trying to limit my typing to fiction for the next several days.

So I'll just have to communicate with all of you telepathically.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Tell me in the comments.

Also, our lovely new foster, Moses, got neutered yesterday. Leave your get well soon/sympathy wishes (depending on your gender) in the comment section.

How much of a heathen am I, that when I think of this dog's name, I don't think Ten Commandments or the father of three major world religions, but rather:

Moses supposes his toeses are roses,
But Moses supposes erroneously.

A-Z Update: "Billy and Bonnie" by Steve Earle

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:57 AM
• 10 comments

Foots, Part One of One

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life.
I know you'll be a sun in somebody else's sky.
--Pearl Jam, "Black"

I've probably said somewhere on this blog that I don't believe in love at first sight, and that it doesn't upset me in the least when fosters leave.

That was before I met Foots. As I was driving him to our house Saturday night, I thought to myself, "If he's good with the cats, maybe we'll keep him."

Ah, that little If. Foots, alas, turned out to be cat-hungry. Not to mention huge and strong. Moving him from room to room without encountering the felines became a nail-biting event. This wasn't a little puppy going, "Whee! Wanna play with kitties!" This was an 85-pound boy with the jaw strength of a machinist's vise going, "Put kitty in mouth. Now."

He was perfect in every other way. Affectionate but not clingy. Fun-loving but not hyper. Scary-looking enough to deter muggers and terrorists, but gentle as a bunny with us ("us" not including the cats). Meadow loved him, too, as demonstrated by this silent movie (note the sweet Tae Kwon Do spinning side kick he gives her).

Foots found another foster home, where he's trying to settle in despite having had a really confusing week. I feel terrible, like I've failed him, but he truly was a danger to the cats. While he was here, we were six inches of leash-slack from a tragedy. So I don't feel guilty, just bad. And I miss the big lunkhead something fierce.



A-Z Update: "Biblical Sense" by the Pietasters

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 7:18 PM
• 4 comments

Foots, Part Zero

Our new foster, Foots, is coming this afternoon. I'm really looking forward to this one. He's an 80-pound Lab/Mastiff (or maybe Great Dane), and like many dogs of his size, is very gentle.

He comes from the Richmond animal shelter, where he was left after his owner died. Apparently after his owner's death, Foots tried to escape his yard through a hole in the fence and got himself a nasty gash on his side. Then he had kennel cough, which is why he didn't come last week. Soon he'll be getting neutered. So the poor dude is having a lifetime's worth of veterinary encounters in just a few weeks.

The shelter people say he's very friendly once he warms up to you, but doesn't demand attention and doesn't seem to expect it. They think maybe he never got much attention during his life. So sad. He sounds like the anti-Lilly Belle, who was always angling for petting and playing. We look forward to cheering him up and making him feel like he belongs somewhere.

Oh! Also, a local documentarian (is that a word?) will film us picking up Foots and bringing him home for her documentary on pet rescue.

Which means I need to go clean the house, so that when they play the clip on the Academy Awards show, my reputation as a homemaker won't be sullied in front of a billion people.

A-Z Update: "Ball & Biscuit" by The White Stripes

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:30 AM
• 4 comments

Lilly Belle, Part Two

Meadow has her teddy bear back. When I cross the room, no one jumps up to watch my every move. A slobber-covered ball hasn't been dropped in my lap in over an hour.

This can only mean one thing.

Lilly Belle has left the building.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 2:15 PM
• 6 comments

Lilly Belle, Part One

Finally, after nearly seven months, we have a new foster dog.



She's pretty much a goofball, even though at 6-7 years old she's officially a "senior dog" (too bad PetsMart doesn't give discounts for senior pets).

I discovered that her idea of Fetch consists of bringing a ball back, dropping it, then picking it up again the moment you reach for it.

Psych!! she says. Ha ha! Bitch.

So I invented Perpetual Motion Fetch, which means that when she returns with Ball #1, I'm holding Ball #2, which I don't throw until she drops Ball #1 at my feet, then sits her butt on the grass (or the snow, in rare cases).

It's like juggling, but with a dog playing the role of gravity. Here's a silent movie to demonstrate.

Other than that tiny streak of brattiness independence, she's wonderful. Meadow's a little disappointed that she doesn't want to romp, but at Meadow's age (6) and with her medical history (herniated disc '04) she's better off hanging up her wrestling duds and being content with leaving non-greyhound Lilly Belle in the proverbial dust.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 7:52 PM
• 4 comments

Ain't no Sunshine when she's gone

As you can see from the sidebar, Sunshine has gone to her forever home. Like all of our fosters, she pranced out the door and into her new owners' vehicle without looking back. Not so much as a "Thanks for saving my life" or "I swear I'll send a postcard."

After all, these people had biscuits.

I think our fosters can sense that the people who take them away from our home are The Real Thing, that the dogs somehow understand that we're just a layover on the journey to true love.

Anyway, we'll miss Sunshine. She's a real Dog-dog, if you know what I mean. Uncomplicated, glad to see you no matter what, wants nothing more than in life than a good belly rub.

She thought everything we did was wonderful. I'd get up from the chair to get a glass of water, and she'd give me a standing ovation. As Meadow barely opens her eyes, and Brutus gets this, "Now what's happening? Should I worry?" look, Sunshine would wag her tail, curve her head around, and follow on my heels with an attitude that said:

You stood up! You're the greatest! Do that again, you magnificent human!

When I was despondent over my agent not returning my e-mails (which turned out to be a technical problem with their server), only Sunshine was there to listen to me moan. When I shed tears over the death of a friend's dog, only Sunshine gave me a furry shoulder to cry on. The other two were like, "Got my own problems. When's dinner?"

All in all, I prefer calmer, more independent dogs, ones that don't turn a trip across the room into a ticker tape parade. But there was something about Sunshine's blithe spirit that will always make me smile when I think of her.

Her new family is perfect for her. The kids want to get her involved in pet therapy, maybe Pets on Wheels or a "Read to Rover"-type program. She would love that. She has such a giving spirit that asks nothing in return but love and attention (and biscuits don't hurt).

So now this poor dog whose previous owners wouldn't pay her "Get-Out-of-Jail" fee, who could have been one of the millions of unwanted animals euthanized alone in a shelter, has a second chance at a wonderful life. That's a happy ending.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 10:59 AM
• 3 comments

Them's bitin' words

Today's New York Times ran an article on dog rescue (you can read it online for free for the next week), entitled "So You Think You Can Just Adopt a Dog?"

The article starts off with the tale of a woman and her two daughters who were turned down by the Humane Society in their efforts to adopt a dog. (Cue crying children.) They later adopted a dog from the county animal shelter, which apparently had less stringent adoption requirements.

Then the article proceeds to list the "hoops" prospective adopters must jump through to adopt a rescue dog: a multipage application (Gasp!), personal and veterinary references (oh my God!), interviews (No!), and a home visit (You want to what?!!). They compare it to the process of adopting a child.

I know people who have adopted children or are trying to, and the process doesn't take days--it takes months or years. The comparison, which I hear all the time, is an insult to those who have gone through this arduous process.

I spent two hours working on our application to adopt Meadow. One of the questions Greyhound Welfare asked was, "What would be the schedule for a typical day in the life of your dog?" Though time-consuming to answer, it forced me to think, "How will I fit this animal into my routine?" Especially for first-time dog owners, these are important questions to consider.

A dog is not a new piece of furniture. He or she is a living creature with physical and emotional needs. It's our job as temporary caretakers to ensure that the new home will be a permanent one. Rescue dogs have already had a difficult past; we want to know that their future will be better.

That being said, I believe rescue volunteers should remember that in any adoption, there are two parts to the equation: the animal and the adopter. Though the animal's welfare is our responsibility, we shouldn't forget the feelings of the people involved.

Most prospective adopters are well-meaning individuals who just want a nice pet, a companion to love and be loved by. They do not share our obsession with all aspects of animal care. They want their dog to be a member of the family, not a part-time job.

As Stuart Smalley would say, "And that's O-K."

With the families who adopt our fosters, I try to show compassion and understanding, and not make harsh judgments. I try to educate without lecturing. Perhaps my attitude is too laid-back, but I remember what it was like to be on the other end of the adoption process, wondering if every word I said was being dissected and analyzed.

That's all I have time for right now before going to work. Those of you who have adopted rescue dogs and/or cats, what are your feelings and experiences?

Labels: foster dogs, pets

• posted by Jeri @ 7:55 AM
• 4 comments

Three dog nights

And days.

If you check the sidebar, you'll note that we have two fosters now. How did this happen? I ask myself the same question, as I wade through a sea of fur-drenched beasts.

Sunshine is a nine-year-old Belgian Shepherd mix who ended up in a shelter after running away from home. Her owners came to pick her up but didn't want to pay the SPCA boarding fee for the nights she had stayed there, so they just signed her over to the shelter.

Pardon my Anglo-Saxon, but can you believe that shit? We live in such a disposable society that a dog who has given nine years of life and love can be tossed out like an old chair. Less than a decade ago she was a wee ball of black fluff, probably adored and cooed over. Now she's garbage, somebody else's problem.

Because she was a senior dog and the shelter knew that no one was looking for her, she went right to the top of the PTS list.

And folks, in animal rescue, PTS doesn't exactly stand for Party 'Til Sunup.

It's rare that our organization will tell us, hey, this dog will die if it doesn't get a foster. Actually, this is the only time I can remember that happening. Because I have a soft spot for seniors and black animals,* I offered to take her.

After all, Brutus has become one of the family in everything but name, and older dogs are usually calm and cause little problem. From what I've heard, senior fosters and adoptees are just so grateful to have a home where they're wanted, they behave beautifully.

I was right. Though it was tough the first couple of days to manage the dynamics of three dogs (which officially counts as a "pack"), especially with a burst pipe in the basement that cut our living area nearly in half, everyone seems happy now.

I figured Sunshine would be with us a very long time, if not forever. After all, she's old, large, and black--three major strikes against any rescue dog. But she already has a very nice lady interested in adopting her, and she may go to a new home as early as next week. Keep your fingers crossed for this lovely old girl. I'll keep you posted.


*and, let's be totally honest, because two days before I drove past a similar-looking dog lying by the side of the highway that had been hit by a car. Like everyone else, I didn't stop, even though I could have done so safely. It was probably already dead, but what if it weren't, or what if I could have kept it from dying alone? I felt like an asshole, and this is my way of making up for it. So I'm no angel, 'kay? Just karmically aware.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 9:06 AM
• 4 comments

Then and now

In June 2003 we fostered a puppy named Buster, who came from a shelter in Waverly County, Tennessee. Here's a picture of Buster when he was a baby at the shelter:



Here's a picture we took of him during the three weeks he lived with us (when he was 3-4 months old):



The other day I got a picture from Buster's adoptive mom:


who said that he has always been the best-behaved boy and has made her family very happy.

People ask if it's hard to foster dogs, if we get attached to them and miss them when they go. Usually the answer is no, we don't get attached, although I did get choked up when I went to wash Buster's blankets and got a whiff of his puppy smell. In every case we've felt that our foster dogs were going to the perfect home and were destined for a long, happy life.

But it's always nice to get confirmation. Think I'll go drop a note to Meadow's foster moms.

-------

See a video (Windows Media Player, 4.4 MB) starring Buster and Meadow: The Saga of the Rope Toy.

P.S.: My digital camera doesn't do sound, so enjoy your trip back in time to silent Home Movies of Yore.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 7:43 AM
• 1 comments

Louise, Part 3

In case anyone was wondering whatever happened to Louise, the Katrina dog we fostered for a brief time and I mentioned here and here:

She got adopted! No surprise, the lady who fostered her before and after we did, who was eager to come pick her up at the slightest sign of trouble between her and our cats, decided to keep her forever.

So at least one hurricane story has a happy ending. Let's hope the New Year brings many more.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 11:29 PM
• 0 comments

Zack, Part Two

Zack's been adopted! But we'll have him for another week because he has to be neutered before we can let him go. I guess the rescue org wants to make sure he's not going to go out and create any more little Zacks. So today we're going to attempt to put up our Christmas tree with the "help" of a puppy.

To prepare for this ordeal, I've made up a list of Top Ten Cute Things About Zack, to which I can refer when my thoughts turn less than charitable.


10. He has black ticking (that's dog people-speak for little spots) all over his body, except his legs and face, which have brown ticking. It's like he's wearing a matching hat-and-glove set.

9. To impress the cats, he does this goofy, paw-flinging, head rotating "dance" that makes Elaine from "Seinfeld" look like Paula Abdul.

8. He loves to chew Nylabones. This has never happened before in history, since most dogs show more interest in C-Span than Nylabones.

7. He'll toss a ball for himself to chase if no one is close enough to do it for him.

6. When he gets really riled up, he makes noises like a Tauntaun.

5. When his ears go up, he looks like those old Mickey Mouse symbols, and suddenly his head appears too big for the rest of his body.

4. I mean, come on, look at him.

3. Christmas carols knock him out like a handful of Quaaludes.

2. Sorry, I'm all out. But nine is enough, right?

And the Number One Cute Thing About Zack is (drum roll, Paul):

1. When he skids to a stop, he uses his face to break his fall.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 7:48 AM
• 2 comments

Recap

My week:

Thursday we had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat. It was a traditional Italian Thanksgiving, meaning we consumed six courses over the course of six hours. The courses were spaced apart so that it never felt like I was stuffing myself. There was time to drink plenty of wine without falling down. It wasn't until the middle of dessert that my stomach finally yellow-flagged* my brain.

In Thanksgivings past, it always seemed an injustice that we would spend days getting ready for the big meal, which would be then over in 20 minutes.

Summary: Me like food. Me like Italian Thanksgivings.

Sunday we picked up our new foster puppy Zack, who hails from Garrett County, Maryland. He's a beagle mixed with something that has spots. Tails of Hope pegs it as an Australian Cattle Dog, but my guess is a pointer or springer spaniel, which would be much more common in hunter-riffic Western Maryland.

The shelters always seem to underestimate the dogs' ages, so that the adopters end up with dogs much larger than they expected. So instead of a 7-month-old beagle mix, he could be a 5-month-old foxhound or coonhound mix. When he gets neutered, our vet can make a better estimate of his age.

Anyway, he's freakin' adorable, and full of energy. Right now he's sleeping off a morning romp in the snow with Meadow (yep, it snowed last night, apparently only on our street).

Last night I had a screaming, skull-twisting migraine headache and therefore couldn't properly celebrate the first appearance of my name in a national magazine (see next post). It felt like my right eyeball was going to explode. It's gone now, or at least only lurking in the background, waiting for me to do something dumb like stare at a computer screen for hours on end.


*That's a NASCAR term, to show that I'm "of the people."

Labels: foster dogs, holidays

• posted by Jeri @ 9:20 AM
• 1 comments

Zack, Part One

If a picture's worth a thousand words, a video (QuickTime, 7.6MB) is good for at least a million.

Download QuickTime player or RealPlayer.

P.S.: My digital camera doesn't do sound, so enjoy your trip back in time to silent Home Movies of Yore.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 8:17 AM
• 0 comments

Buddy, Part Two

Buddy went to his "forever home" yesterday. It was the fastest we've ever had one of our fosters adopted. A good thing, too, because I was really falling for him.

Labels: foster dogs

• posted by Jeri @ 8:29 PM
• 2 comments