Another sister sent me a great email she thought would make a good post, and I agreed. This is a story about a dog who was condemned to die but was rescued.

He was born with 2 good legs (his back 2) and a bad front leg that was amputated. The original owners didn’t think the dog could survive,  so they were going to put him to sleep. But a woman, Jude Stringfellow, saved him and named him Faith. She gradually taught him to walk, like a person. She is also planning on taking him around the world as a kind of inspirational speaker and has a book to be published “With a Little Faith.”

It just goes to show with a lot of love and patience, amazing things can be accomplished.

My sister sent me an email and I decided to post about it. But, after some thought, I decided to make it a permanent page. That way we could help more animals.

Please go check it out (on the left)!

While we were on vacation, we took the kids to the local aquarium. It also happened to be “Shark Week”, for the 21st consecutive year, so the emphasis was on sharks there. There were shark statistics, one being 22 people were injured on the toilet; the same year there were 6 injuries caused by sharks.

There was a large tank that had 3 sharks in it; Pierce loved that part. If you look at a shark up close (preferably with a thick piece of plexiglass in between), you ‘ll see they’re a beautiful fish. They have a silvery-purplish color that changes, like an opal. It’s fascinating. I’d love to touch one (preferably a very small one in a tank). But I see how researchers get so mesmerized by them.

Shark size ranges from 9 inches (pygmy shark) to the ginormous whale shark that grows up to 39 feet! Interestingly enough, the whale shark eats plankton and other tiny fish. Some sharks completely replace each of their teeth every 2 weeks, ensuring they’ll be sharp enough if you happen to stick your arm in its mouth. The life span of most sharks is 20-30 years, while others (like the whale shark) have been known to live 100 years.  Sharks can also smell one drop of blood in as much water as an olympic-sized pool can hold.

There was also a petting tank in the aquarium, which is always Gab’s favorite part. There were a couple species of rays, a fish that I can’t remember the name of, and some horseshoe crabs. In a smaller pool, there were sea anemonies, starfish, and hermit crabs. Pierce preferred to look and not touch. Maybe next time.

And, speaking of shark, we went to a great restaurant that served the best shark steaks I’ve ever had. Paul got the same dish and said the same. Gab had never had shark (I guessed she missed the times I cooked it), so I gave her a bite of mine. She was very hesitant,  but thought it was delicious, too.

So the next time you’re out in the ocean, and you see a shark coming towards you, rows of teeth bared, open your mouth and take a bite! They’re fantastic creatures

We decided not to take Cooper (aka Squeaky Chicken) to the beach with us, for numerous reasons. The main reason being that we simply did not have room in the car. We had so much baby stuff. So we found a place kinda nearby that looked and sounded good and took him there for the week.

Then one day, Wednesday, I think, Paul got a call from the owner saying our Chicken had escaped twice, and on the second venture, had cut his leg so she took him to the vet. When we filled out the requested paper work, there was a page that said if something happened to the dog, we were still responsible to pay for the vet bill.  We didn’t really think he’d get hurt at the place; Paul said it was set up well.

So we were thinking, great, now what?? Are we going to have to leave early to pick him up? How much is the vet bill going to be, on top of the kennel charge? And WHY did they let him escape the second time??? My opinion was (is) that he was just trying to find his way home…he’s a very loyal dog and it’s in his breed to stay close to his owner.

The owner said the dog was going to stay over night at the vet and had to have stitches. At this point we knew it wasn’t a little scrape like she was making it out to be. But she told us she’d call the next day and let us know how he was doing.

The next day when she called back, she told us Cooper was doing well and apologized profusely. She also paid the vet bill and told us not to worry about it! Yay!!!     So while we may not need to use a kennel again, if we do need to, we’ll be taking him back there again.