Spill It!

…and in other news, holy crap you guys – we’ve been nominated for a Toast of Music City award!

If you live in Nashville, you know how cool that is. The Tennessean newspaper puts on the Toast of Music City awards, and local Nashvillians vote on the nominees each year. They cover everything from health care services, to restaurants and entertainment, to – you guessed it – blogs.  Nominations closed this weekend, and voting is open through July 14th. Winners will be announced a bit after that, and published in a special edition of the paper, and of course online.

So, who’s got four thumbs, eight paws, and were nominated for the Toast of Music City Best Blog Award?

THESE GUYS!

Can you believe it??  Because I can’t. Seriously, I seriously, seriously can’t. Like seriously. I am seriously so overwhelmed and honored that I can’t stop saying “seriously.”  OK, so before we make with the shameless groveling for votes, I gotta know: who nominated us?? Spill it! Because we owe you a big fat La Hacienda margarita. You wanna collect? Give yourself up, you wonderful, loyal, fantastical reader(s?), you!!

Now on to the shameless groveling part: please vote for us!  Can you imagine if we won, and our blog were featured in the local newspaper, and on their website? We could reach so many more people – local people. Don’t get me wrong, you know I love all my readers far and wide, but the more local Nashville folks who read and share this little blog, the better the chances that Cooper’s Furever Family find him. So please – won’t cha vote for us? Pretty please with a peanut butter Kong on top?

It’s super easy, here’s how: First click here. You’ll need to register, all they need is your e-mail address. Then you’ll be able to vote for all your favorite Nashville stuff.  But here’s the cool part – you don’t even have to be a Nashvillian to vote. If you’re not local, or you just don’t want to vote in all 90+ categories, just bookmark this page and come vote for us every stinkin’ day.  Easy peasy!

Cooper is temporarily off the market, but Agape Animal Rescue has lots of super-amazing loving fur-balls who need furever homes. Check ‘em out!

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Did Cooper Get Adopted?

A few of you savvy investigative readers have noticed that Cooper has disappeared from Agape’s “Adoptable Dogs” page on their website.  Of course the natural question that followed has been, “Did Cooper get adopted??”

First off let me say - shame on you, readers! Did you honestly think I would let Cooper get adopted after a year and a half at Foster House and not let you know immediately??  Well, I’m so sorry to disappoint, but no, Cooper has not been adopted, and no – we have not foster failed and adopted him ourselves. He is, however, temporarily off the market.

As we’ve mentioned before, Cooper is “working on himself.” We’ve been through Basic Obedience classes, Relaxed Rovers class, even Agility – in the hopes that we could help Cooper learn some skills that would ease his anxiety. It’s been a process, and it continues to be a process. Cooper hasn’t improved as much as we’d like in the “plays well with others” department.  When it comes right down to it, Cooper is darn unpredictable around strange dogs.  So we’re going to put Cooper through another round of training, then reevaluate to see what he needs.

So for now, Cooper is in limbo, hanging out where he has been for the past 18 months – with us at Foster House, where he is happy, healthy, and loved.  Trust me when I tell you that when Cooper DOES finally find his furever family, you will have to be living in a cave under the ocean not to know about it, because I will be shouting it from the rooftops and writing it in the sky!

Super Cooper may be of the market for now, but Agape Animal Rescue has lots of amazing wonderful adorable loving dogs who need loving furever homes. To add one of them to your family, please fill out an online application.

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28 Things You’re Gonna LOVE About Cooper: #17

#17 Fetch.

Give this guy a squeaky ball to run after and he’s a happy pooch!

If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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Re: radio silence

We’re still here, I swear!

To say we’ve had a busy spring would be the understatement of the century.  Foster Dad has been finishing up two grad school classes (teaching one and taking one) on top of a full work schedule, and me…well I’ve been working on this:

Nashville is opening up a brand new state-of-the-art, LEED certified, 1.2 million square foot gor-gee-ous Convention Center this weekend, where I am lucky enough to be gainfully employed. I’ve worked at the existing Nashville Convention Center for the last six years, and as we transition over to the new Music City Center things have been a little cray-cray.  This weekend is what we’ve all been working towards, the Grand Opening.

Grand Ballroom

The two-day Grand Opening festivities include an open house with tours of the building, an exhibit hall full of fun kids activities and free concerts. Needless to say, preparation has taken up just about every moment of my time. Not that I’m complaining – I mean, look at this place!

I keep pinching myself, I can’t believe I get to work here!

 

 

 

 

A quick update on the pooches: Oscar has an ear infection, brought on by seasonal allergies. He’s not a fan of the daily ear cleaning, but he’s taking it like  a champ.

 

 

And Cooper….well, Cooper is still adorable and adoptable.

 

 

That’s about it! Hopefully when things slow down we can catch up and finally finish our 28 Things You’re Going to Love about Cooper. In the meantime, check our Facebook page for quick updates and photos.  If you’re in Nashville this weekend, please stop by the Music City Center and say hi!  Oh, and Foster Dad’s class he just finished? He got an A.

 

If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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28 Things You’re Gonna LOVE About Cooper: #16

If you follow us on Facebook, you know that Cooper and Oscar got into a bit of a disagreement last week, and Cooper came away with an ouchie his adorable tushy.  We were having some issues with our inter-web at Foster House, so the internet guru man came over to fix us up. While he was there, we let the dogs play outside to keep them out of his hair.  I heard Oscar start barking, which isn’t abnormal – he does that a lot. But something about his bark made me want to go out and check on them.

When I got down the stairs to the yard, I saw Oscar barking at something under the stairs. My first thought was that he had a mouse or something cornered under there that I was going to have to deal with (ew). But nope, it was Cooper under the stairs, hunkered down and going to town on some unidentified object, an object that Oscar clearly wanted for himself.

Now, Foster Dad and I both know that Oscar is a bit of a brat when it comes to sharing, so we make extra special sure not to leave any toys around the two of them unattended, and they never get bones antlers or Kongs or anything to chew on while they’re in the same room together.

“I play with my toyz all by ‘self.”

So imagine my shock (and horror) when I got closer and saw that what Cooper was going nuts on was a rawhide bone. The first thought through my head was “Where the hell did that come from? We don’t give the boys rawhide.”  My second thought was, “Oh sh*t.”

No sooner had my second thought entered my brain than the dogs found themselves in full-on disagreement mode. Foster Dad heard the scuffle and ran out right away to help me separate them, and took that evil rawhide bone and chucked it out into the front yard to be dealt with later.

It was all over very quickly, but Oscar was clearly the one who came out on top of that situation. Thank you everyone who shared your concern for Coop, but rest assured, he’ll live.

…which brings us to our next installment in our series 28 Things You’re Gonna LOVE About Cooper!

#16 He has super-human puppy healing powers

Right after “the incident,” we examined both the boys to make sure everyone was OK. Oscar didn’t have a scratch on him, but Coop had what looked like two little puncture wounds on his tush. They weren’t very big, and they weren’t bleeding, but they were definitely deep. We made an appointment for the vet later that afternoon to get him patched up.

Ouchies.

But Cooper was obviously not interested in going to the vet, and most likely having his tushy shaved.  Several hours later, Cooper was snuggled with me on the couch (as usual) and I was checking out his wound. And wouldn’t you know, that crazy Cooper went and healed himself! All that was left of his “punctures” were two little pink patches. No punctures at all.  What the what?

“I haz magic on my bum!”

Foster Dad and I were totally baffled, but of course thrilled that he seemed to be just fine!

**Disclaimer: Cooper may or may not have actual magical healing powers. Always take your pet to a medical professional if you are uncertain of their magical healing abilities.

If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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28 Things You’re Gonna LOVE about Cooper: #15

This next item about Cooper that you are going to LOVE is a very usefull trait, if you don’t happen to have a book or a shoe handy…

#15 Spidah Killah

Have problems with an insect infestation? Don’t hire an exterminator, adopt Cooper!

If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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28 Things You’re Gonna LOVE About Cooper: #13 – 14

Cooper’s People are out there somewhere, we know it. And just in case they’re reading this blog,* we’ve been speaking directly to them  in our series “28 Things You’re Gonna LOVE About Cooper.”
*Shameless plug: won’t you please help spread the word about Cooper by sharing this blog with a dog-lover you know? It’s all about networking, people! Let’s find Cooper his home!!  OK, now back to business…

So, Cooper’s People, what else are you going to LOVE about Cooper once you add him to your family? Glad you asked…

#13 He’s secure in his manhood (…cuz he’s a real man)

Cooper has some tendencies that one might consider less-than-manly. Cooper pees like a girl (he’s a squatter, not a lifter).  He loves getting man-lovin’ from his brother, and his favorite ball is pink.

What you’re going to love about Cooper is that he is who he is, and he likes what he likes. And hey, we don’t judge. Who’s to say boys can’t like pink? We’re all about busting through stereotypes here at Foster House.

#14 Easily amused.

As much as Cooper loves his “girly ball,” you won’t need fancy expensive toys to keep him entertained. One of Cooper’s favorite things to play with is a kitchen floor full of wadded up newspaper.

I think it’s really just his way of staying up to date on current events.

If you want to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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Easter Chicks

Foster House had some fluffy guests over Easter weekend…

Aren’t they cute??  These three lovely ladies are new additions to our friends Mike, Ashley & Libby’s family. While Mike and Ashley were out-of-town, Libby brought her new three chick siblings to visit us at Foster House for the weekend.

Last year, Nashville passed an ordinance to allow keeping urban chickens.  As much as I love the idea of raising our own food, our backyard is just too tiny to hold a chicken coop. Not to mention with foster dogs coming and going, we might end up going through chickens faster than we went through eggs. (Eeesh)  But with a huge back yard and a very well behaved pooch, Mike and Ashley jumped at the chance for fresh eggs. 

For now, these three little nuggets (see-what-i-did-there?) live in this cardboard box, but Ashley is hoping that the weather in Nashville starts cooperating soon so they can move out into their coop,* and then hurry up and start producing yummy fresh eggs.  

*coop: not to be confused with this Coop:

Does anyone else have experience with rasing hens?  Do you have any advice for Mike and Ashley?  And, probably most importantly, what should they name their gals? Any ideas?

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Breakfast with Waffle

Check out my hot breakfast date I had this morning.

This is Waffle. Is she precious or what??  Last week, poor little Waffle was found abandoned in a parking lot at a Waffle House (hence, her adorable and somehow very fitting name).  Luckily for her, Agape Animal Rescue’s new office manager, Rebecca, just happened to be driving by and, well – welcome to the Agape family, Waffle!

Waffle desperately needed to hitch a ride to the vet to take care of some “surgical lady business” before she started “feeling romantic.” (OK, OK, she needed to get spayed before she went into heat.) Let’s just say, time was of the essence. Unfortunately Rebecca, who is temporarily fostering her until she’s ready to go to her foster family, was busy with other Agape business and unable to take her.

I’ve wanted to cross “transport” off of my rescue bucket list for a while now. Even though this was just a short trip to the vet’s office and only took a couple of hours out of my morning, it was a huge help to Agape. And, bonus for me, I got to start my day with this precious face!  I admit it, I was smitten. As much as I love all 100 pounds of dog currently living at Foster House, but sometimes I just want to scoop up a tiny little fur ball and love on her. And at 16 pounds, precious Waffle fit the bill.

 That’s right folks, just 16 pounds – she’s so tiny! And at three years old, she’s full-grown! A full-grown Beagle at just 16 pounds…some of the Agape folks have called her a “Pocket Beagle,” but I’ve dubbed her a “Beagle Bite.” Much better, right?

If you want to get involved in rescue, but are unable to donate or foster, please consider making yourself available to transport. A few hours out of your day can be an enormous help to rescue organizations. Plus, if you’re lucky, you might get to hang out with a pup as awesome as Waffle.

Waffle will soon be available for adoption. If you’d like to add this little Beagle Bite to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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28 Things You’re Gonna LOVE About Cooper: #9 – 12

Today we’re continuing on our journey exploring 28 things that YOU, as Cooper’s adopters, are going to love about him…

#9 Hopelessly Devoted to You

The way Cooper feels about his People goes beyond affection, catapulting past love and landing squarely at devotion. There is nothing in Cooper’s world that fulfills his purpose in life like being near his People.

You’ve heard of “shadow dogs”? I call Cooper “my tail” because he is always right behind me, glued to my side as I move around the house. Have you ever seen a cuter “tail”?

#10 He entertains himself at meal times.

We’ve used The Egg to feed Cooper every last one of his meals, pretty much since day one of his tenure at Foster House.  Mostly, the reason for this is because he will scarf down his whole bowl of food in about three seconds if we let him.

But another reason is that he absolutely loves his Egg (which is actually called the Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble). It combines play time with meal time, which are two of Cooper’s Favorite Things.

#11 He looks good nekkid.

As extensive as Cooper’s wardrobe is, he looks damn cute in the buff, no?

#12 He lets you lick his face…

….if you’re into that sort of thing.

If you think Cooper is the man for you, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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