Waiting Patiently

Hey...I'm a size large and made for a big dog. Astrid, the dog that owns this place (our ArtFire studio), is a big dog, but she says she has some patriotic stuff of her own already and would rather someone bought me so she could send the money to her former shelter. She says they don't have all that much down in Santa Cruz Humane Society in Nogales, AZ where she orginally came from.

Astrid agreed to slip me on for a few minutes to show you what I look like. It felt so good to be around a warm and fuzzy canine neck! Guess I'm relegated, though, to sitting on the shelf until some dog notices me and barks 'oh yeah....I want those words FREEDOM, LIBERTY and JUSTICE around my neck as the patriotic holiday season approaches. 

Yes...I'm red, white and blue and will be waiting on the shelf if you want me. Not to be pushy or anything but there is only one of me left.  Oh, and if your dog isn't quite as big as I am? My little sibling...same collar, was  made for a smaller dog with a 12 to 14 inch neck... would be great.

Know what else would be great? If you 'liked' our page on Facebook. While Astrid's mom sells bandanas and collars raising money for Astrid's shelter shelter, that's not all we bark over there. We love training, and helping rescues get the world out about the kinds of things they are doing to help animals, as we share what is new in our Etsy shop and ArtFire Studio...and lots more.

We Are Getting Cleaner and Healthier With Each Sale

Thanks to friends, supporters and their fashion forward canines, Astrid was able to pour another cement slab in one kennel at her former shelter, the Santa Cruz Co Humane Society in Nogales, AZ. She met her goal of raising another $175 - the price of the cement slab - and had it on it's way a few days before Valentine's Day. Because of several recent adoptions, some new canine guests of the shelter will be enjoying the healthier surfaces this will provide while waiting for their forever homes. As space frees up at the no kill shelter, dogs thought to be most adoptable are brought in from the Animal Care and Control in Nogales. Animal Care and Control is the agency charged with the rescuing of strays off the streets of this US/Mexico border community and are taken to their holding center where they stay (for 3 days) awaiting pickup by their owners or.....well, you know. More adoptions at the shelter mean lots more room and opportunities for more great dogs.

As exciting as the fashion and glamour of Astrid's Etsy store, Astrid Nicole Etcetera, is she still found time for a few additonal accomplishments. Having met the testing requirements of Therapy Dogs, Inc. back in November, she's begun a regular curcuit of visitations which include living and rehabilitation facilities along with Alzheimer Centers. Just yesterday, Sunday March 1, we spent a couple of hours visiting and talking with the residents of The Havens and The Laurels in Charlotte. Pictured above is Astrid, wearing her Canine Good Citizen bandana, waiting to leave for the ride there. The stories of the pets they have to share are such fun to listen too and we always see how pleased they are when we part ways, reminding them 'see you again very soon'.

Therapy visitations, learning at classes and Day Camp keep this big, black and brown dog along with her family very busy!

My Goal

Astrid's words: Me and my bud Santa would like to tell you about a project of ours.

Before coming to live in my 'forever home', I lived at the Santa Cruz Humane Society in Nogales, AZ. I lived there even on Christmas, 2006, but on December 28, this person who had come and looked at me and all my friends over and over and over and...well, you get the idea...came back. She went inside and then this man came and got me and took me inside too. This person had this man with her and they were all smiley and stuff. They put this new collar on me and hooked on this matching leash. Then, we went outside and these new people asked me to get in their car. The rest is history and you can read all about it here in my other blogs, but let's get right down to business.

When I lived at the Santa Cruz Humane Society, they took as good care of me as they could. You see, the shelter is what is called a 'no kill' shelter. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'll tell you this...as other new dogs arrived, they stayed except for the ones that got to get in cars with people with smiley faces and new collars and leashes, like I did. Another thing you need to know is that they have always had a hard time with money. My shelter is right on the Mexico/US border. Yeah...real and true. You can take a 5 minute walk and walk right into Mexico. We were poor. Dirt poor. Literally. The floor of our kennels was dirt.

There have been lots of changes at the Santa Cruz Humane Society. My mom and dad visited when they were back in Arizona last Christmas, 2007. When they came home, they told me how there were new indoor kennels and some new outdoor kennels and the whole place was just looking soooo much better! But there was one thing...the floor of the kennels were still dirt. Now, I don't want you to feel sorry for me or anything but there's another thing I need to tell you. Sleeping on dirt hurts sometimes and it's not all that healthy, so the shelther is trying to change all that and they've all ready started! They have some money all ready and are pouring concrete into half of each kennel and having the other half be gravel. This give the guests of the shelter choices and will make it easier for the volunteers at the kennel to keep them cleaner.

BUT...they don't have all the money they need. Each cement pad costs $175, so what I'm trying to do is help them pour more cement pads. I donate ALL the money I make with my Etsy shop to them. I hope I can help more of my friends that are guests of the Santa Cruz Humane Society in Nogales, AZ be healthy and more comfortable with these new cement floors.

The end.

Astrid