Scrapbook Memories and Pinterest Inspiration: Life Before Me

It's been a year since we lost her, and not a day has past when I haven't thought about her.  Thinking about Millie on her angel day.

"Life Before Me"

Layout: Inspired by this page: http://simpleaussiegirls.blogspot.com/2011/11/recipe-for-layout.html, found on Pinterest

Text (Consolas font): In front of a Wal-Mart in Missouri she sat in a cardboard box with her brother and sister. Unlike the Girl Scout cookies being sold for $4 a box, she had no price tag. / The two brown spots on her yellow fur made her stand out from her brother and sister, who resembled their mother, a yellow lab. She never met her father, a hound-pointer mix who had lived down the road. She was six weeks old and about to start her life as “Mocha”, a Christmas present for two young boys. / For two years she lived in the yard of the boys’ grandparent's house. Mistreated and neglected, she rarely received food and fresh water. Abandoned and alone, bitten and infested with fleas, she barked for attention. / One dark and stormy night, a distant relative, disgusted by the horrible situation, unhooked her collar (making it look like she had escaped) and brought her to the vet for treatment. Tender and loving despite her past, she was transported to Illinois and put up for adoption. On Petfinder.com she was listed as “Millie”.

TFL!
Visit me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/curlymelb4230/

Merry Christmas! Posted In memory of Millie

Happy Halloween

My furry family Friday: Priceless

My furry family: Before and After Photos, Part 3

Millie's Quilt: First time sewing, quilting, and applique

Please pardon this interruption in my genealogy posts to bring you a post to document my first experience using a sewing machine, quilting, and appliquing, and as my post for SewCalGirl's  "Pets on Quilts" Show 2010.

Last summer, I made my laborador-hound mix, Millie, a quilt. I wanted to make her a blanket that I could keep in the car for her to sit on during our many car trips.  Here's the end result:

How the quilt was constructed:

I found the perfect fabric at Joann Fabrics.  The fabric is dog themed with dog words, paw prints, and bones.  Then, I picked out a pink fabric to match the dog themed prints.

As I mentioned above, this was the first time I had ever used a sewing machine. I learned how to sew and quilt from the many experienced quilters and sewers who post tutorials and images on their blogs.  Although the quilt is my own design, I used many techniques learned through one of my quiliting inspirations, Cluck Cluck Sew, especially in learning how to make quilt stars.

The center of the quilt features my first attempt at applique...also my own design...I used the freezer paper technique for the applique.....first time quilting and appliquing all in one quilt!!  Images are a dog, a bone, heart, and a paw print.  In the very center is Millie's (and mine) initial , "M".

I finished the quilt top, and added a fluffy bottom and quilted along each square's border (not pictured). When I finished the quilt, I was so proud of it that I only let her sit on it once, because I didn't want the quilt full of hair and doogy drool...

The quilt is now proudly displayed on my couch in the family room, to cuddle up with when it gets cold.

And of course, this quilt was "made with doggy supervision"

Now, I think I owe Millie a quilt she can actually use...

My Furry Family Friday: Millie's Story, Part 2

Millie's story, as told to me by her rescuer,

"Millie [originally Mocha] started out as a free box puppy at Walmart. My stepdad's neice and nephew wanted to get their kids (8 and 14 now, 6 and 12 at the time Millie arrived on the scene) a puppy for Christmas and so she came into the family. Unfortunately, the kids were VERY cruel to her. The oldest use to hold her up by her back legs and swing her around while Millie cried to be put down. I witnessed this many times, and saved her from this abuse as often as I could, but Millie went home with these people and I did not. When Millie would puppy bite the kids (they would rough her up and cause it) they would slap her in the face as hard as they could and laugh at her reaction. The kid's grandmother would tell me not to worry, "they're just being kids and puppies are tough." It broke my heart to see such a sweet dog in such a terrible home."

"As time went on, Millie became just a "thing" and quickly forgotten. She began to bark constantly in the backyard and the neighbor called the police and complained enough. Millie was uprooted from one bad home to another- the grandparent's house. She was running loose for awhile but she had a bad habit of jumping on people to eek out even a little affection from anybody, and she was then tied up on a 6 ft chain to live out her days. Everytime I went to the house I would spend hours with her, and I silently made a promise to her that when I was able, she would leave that chain behind.

This went on for 2 years. Then, I seen Millie was losing alot of her hair, she had such a foul odor to her like pure infection, and her skin was bubbly and sticky. I asked what was wrong with her and was told mange, she was being treated. This went on and on and on for 9 months I'd say. It only got worse and worse. Many times she'd not have any water in the winter.. it was frozen solid in her pan. The linens in her dog house were pure grime- never ever changed. They stunk as bad as she did.

Then, at Christmas, I could no longer take it and I took action on my promise to her. I got together with a friend who offered graciously to foster her and take care of her medical expenses. A friend of mine offered to go with me on "the heist" to steal Millie away from her neglectful situation. We snuck up to the house and the other dogs barked continuously.. we thought we woke up the whole neighborhood. Milie never let out a peep. She knew what we were there for.  I ran behind her dog house and unbuckled her oily, dirty and too tight collar, slipped a lead around her neck and buckled her collar back up, staging it as she slipped her collar during the storm and ran away. We ran like bats outta hell to my car, parked down the road in a church lot and drove away quickly. My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest with excitement. Millie stayed overnight at my friend's house and kept him up all night, not wanting him to leave her alone.

Her primary caregivers have been men that took care of the bare neccessities for her. She likes women too, but seems to attatch more to men, since she relates them as the food bringers. She may have been played with (probably close to abusive) by the kids of her first family, but she was completely ignored when at their grandparent's house, (and possibly she developed some seperation anxiety when she finally received the attention she craved from my friend). The kids wouldn't even ackowledge her. She would sit at the end of her chain watching for ANYONE to look at her, say her name or walk just a foot closer, any indications that she might be able to get a pet on the heard or a back scratch. Her whole body would wiggle and shimmy when she seen me coming, because she knew I was always going to give her loads of affection, more than she received in the time between my visits."

The story breaks my heart everytime I read it.....I'm so glad I was able to give Millie a happy home on May 30, 2007.

(Pictures from Millie's rescuer, taken in 2007)

My Furry Family Friday: Part 1

The title of my blog may make this obvious, but let it be known, I love dogs!

I never grew up with a dog, let alone a pet.  My only "pet" was a goldfish, Hoover, which lasted a couple of months while I was in college.  My mom never had a pet growing up and blocked every attempt of trying to get a dog into our house.  My two sisters and I even wrote and signed a contract saying that we'd take care of the dog.

Mom just wasn't a fan of dogs, their hair, or their drool.  My dad on the other hand, loves dogs.  He grew up with many pets: a cat named Rusty, a turtle, and the infamous poodle named Candy.  While we may have had better luck convincing my mom of getting a dog, if we had wanted a small dog....dad wanted a big, hairy, drooling, Saint Bernard, and my sisters and I wanted a golden retriever who we'd name Cookie.

Each Christmas we'd ask Santa for a dog.  One year Santa brought us a stuffed Old English Sheepdog who we affectionately named Claus or "Claws".  We learned our lesson that Christmas and started putting "dog, real, alive, breathing" on our Christmas lists.

It wasn't until I graduated college and moved into my own apartment that I finally got my dog.

At the time I was completing my Master's degree and working full-time and had just met Brenden.  Never owning a dog before I didn't want a puppy, and volunteering at the dog shelters I knew I wanted a rescue.  I searched pet finder long and hard for a yellow lab or a golden retriever.  Then one day, I saw Millie and read her story......

....to be continued