A Sad Day

This past Saturday I arrived at my parents' house in the Bronx after work to find an abandoned sick dog laying in the driveway. Two neighbors were trying to help the dog who apparantly was having difficulty walking and had swollen eyes and a scraped nose. I tried calling the ASPCA whose number was disconnected. We then tried 311 an emergency response number in NYC but was told there was a call in already for this dog. There was only one Animal Control Unit for the entire 5 boroughs and he was out on a call. One neighbor then called an shelter in Mt Vernon but was told to take him to a vet in Mt. Vernon but he had to be there by 2:00. It was almost 2 and we tried but could not get him into the car.

We along with my dad stood outside in the cold with the dog trying to comfort him. We fed him and gave him water and my sister brought out two blankets because he was shaking. We waited and waited. This poor dog. He was a Neopolitan Mastiff as per our neighbor and didn't look like he had missed any meals. He was quite heavy. We also noticed that his nails on his back paws were quite long as if he were an indoor pet. Where were his owners? We later learned he had been wandering all day in the neighborhood. People had fed him and had called in for help but no one came. This poor dog was to be left to freeze to death in the streets. No one knew this dog and everyone knows everyone's dogs in the neighborhood. We had been waiting outside for over two hours now calling and calling anyone who would answer. Where was the help? We felt helpless. I was so afraid he would die right there on the street. This dog we nicknamed Bear because everyone that passed us had to look twice because of his size and coloring. He was a gorgeous brown with goldish flecks. I had never seen a dog like him and he was so friendly.

Finally, Paul came and the animal control van showed up soon after. Animal Control drove right by us and all 6 of us ran into the street flagging him down. He came and took one look at the dog and told us the heartbreaking news. The dog we had named Bear was most likely to be put to sleep due to his inability to walk and his age. The Animal Control man was kind and gentle with him and said that sometimes people let their pets loose when they get old or are too costly to take care of. At that moment I said my good-bye, my heart was broken and I was so upset I couldn't stay any longer. Paul and the neighbors made sure that the dog was into the truck and I went back into the house feeling like I let the dog down. I wish I could have done more. I wish someone could have helped us and Bear. I wish NYC had a better system to take care of animalsand that Bear didn't have to die but I am glad we were with him at the end and that he didn't die alone in the street.

Shame on mE

I have gotten several complaints that I have not posted a picture of our dog Tom Jones. He is so smart and very active. He is working very hard on agility and being a fabulous pet. Yes, Kim I said fabulous- take note! Here are some cute pics of Tom and his best friend Smartie Jones, my parents' Golden Retriever. There is also pictures of Tom and our old dog Ranger. We had to put Ranger to sleep in November due to cancer. We miss her so much and so does Tom.

Happy Halloween

Ranger as a witch and Tom as Batman!

Tom misses his buddy Ranger :(

Ranger was rescued from North Shore 13 years ago after being abused and giving birth to a litter of pups before she turned one. She was a very aggressive dog but after several sessions of socialization classes was able to get along with Smartie and Tom. She was very motherly to both of them and I am sure they both miss her. Known as the "Pig on Stilts," and "Yoda," she was quite the character and was as spiteful as they come at times. She was a great friend and Paul and I with my parents and sister miss her dearly.

Tom and Smartie

Trouble times two!

Diaper Cakes by mE

Check out the link for my handmade diaper cakes!

Happy Winter Birthdays!

On top of Christmas, we celebrated some very special birthdays to make the holidays even FULLER! There were many parties and so, so much food. Four down and two to go and then we go on hiatus for a few months.

Happy Birthday to :

Paul Jr- December 20th

Paul's Mom Chris- December 25th

Paul- January 11th

Michelle's sister Jeanine- January 20th

And in the next few weeks- Happy Birthday to Elissa and Happy Birthday to Michelle's dad Mike

Wedding Pictures!!!

OK it only took two days for me to figure out how to name the gigantic link for the wedding pictures on this page. Not too bad for a beginner. Thank you mucho to Jeanine who sat for hours (using dial-up!) to upload over 700 pictures that our photographer put on CDs-DVDs?? for us. Please find the link under Link List on the left. Also some people have inquired about various services that we used for our wedding and they can be found on our link list under the pictures. By the way I took care of the passport issue! Should be here in plenty of time before the trip- I hope!

From the top-

Eric, Evan, Ellen, Christopher, Keri, Paul Jr., Lauren, Bobby, Katie, Billy, Jeanine,

Paul & Michelle

Our Page is Finally Up and Running

With much procrastination we finally got it together to create our own page. With a lot of friends and family far, we wanted to keep in touch as best as we can and share all of our pictures from our wedding too! Wedding pics will be up soon- Thanks Jeanine! Here are a few to tide you over.....

Now for the honeymoon, Paul and I leave in 41 days for Phuket, Thailand. Maybe I should get cracking on renewing that passport! My poor mom, dad and Smartie- this means Tom is coming for an extended visit to your house! Better hide your toys Smart-O.