Playing with Pups

On Sunday, I volunteered to work at the adopt-a-thon at the Conyers Petsmart with Bliss Animal Haven, a non-profit pet rescue organization. I found their website a couple weeks ago, and I knew I wanted to get involved. If you don't know much about these kind of organizations, let me just tell you how wonderful they are! This organization in particular is run by a couple who graciously made their home into a shelter. They have several acres of land that they turned into "puppy heaven" with lots of room to run around and play with the other dogs. They go into the county animal control or humane societies (where dogs and cats are euthanized if it becomes too full, which happens all the time) and take as many animals as they can save. They foster these puppies and kitties until they find a wonderful home for them. They especially focus on cruelty cases and older animals, who all too often are the ones to be euthanized the fastest in the shelters. They also work to put a stop to puppy mills. If you don't know anything about puppy mills, go here. It is shocking to hear what goes on. Usually, the puppies and kitties you find in pet stores, like in the mall, come from puppy mills. PLEASE DON'T BUY THEM! It just fuels the flame. Those poor puppies will often times have major health issues, and sadly, lots of them die soon after being adopted.



You would be surprised to see how many amazing cats and dogs are in foster care/shelters. I was. Most of the dogs I met on Sunday would make perfect family pets, they are just as sweet as they can be! I strongly believe in these organizations, and I so admire the people who sacrifice so much in order to help these helpless animals.



Speaking of cruelty cases, meet Lily:



Lily is a 12 month old Pit/Lab mix. She is the victim of cruelty and neglect. Someone put a collar on her when she was young and never bothered to adjust it. The collar was so tight that the skin was forced to grow around it. Lily was so bad off when Dekalb County found her that the embedded collar had to be surgically removed, but now she is fully recovered. She is a healthy, happy pup in need of a loving home! Lily can play well with other dogs, and does enjoy other dogs, especially dogs her size. No cats. Spayed, all shots, heartworm negative. Lily is such a trooper and has been through so much- she deserves the best home out there! She is crate-trained as well. Adoption fee $100.



This is Lily the day after her surgery





Now she is all healed!








What a cutie!





If you want more information about Lily or feel like she may be the perfect dog for you, just follow the link above to Bliss Animal Haven! Or message me, and I can help you!



Now to the adopt-a-thon. It was SO MUCH FUN! Being surrounded by tons of pups, seeing them go to loving homes...there's just nothing like it. Bliss had 4 pups adopted!



Let me introduce you to some of the sweet dogs I met:

This is my favorite picture from the day. These two are best friends. Inseparable. They just cuddled all day. We are hoping that someone will adopt both of them together.

Of course, I couldn't keep my hands off the little ones!

This is Ladybird, she is one of our pups at Bliss. She is a 1-2 year old English Pointer, and she is a DOLL! Not to mention, she is madly in love with Jessie, who is holding her in the picture. Jessie is one of the co-founders of Bliss.

This is Sasha, a GORGEOUS black German Shepherd. A man came at the end of the adopt-a-thon who has had Shepherds for years and has been looking for a new one since his passed away last year (ironically, she was also named Sasha!). So we are hoping he will call this week and take this lovely lady!

This is Dudley. I. Love. Him. If I was looking for a small dog, I would take him. He has the cutest personality and does some pretty adorable tricks. Here he is sitting on his hind legs, waiting for a delicious treat!

Ladybird.

This is Lady. She was one lucky girl who got adopted on Sunday!! YAY!!! She now has 4 kids who love to hug and kiss her!

This is Hampton. He is also a major cutie with an awesome personality. Although, he is a bit sleepy here!

I don't know how Roger-Dodger is not adopted yet. Hands down, he was the sweetest dog there. He just wanted to be close to you and for you to love on him. Gosh I adore him. At the end of the day, I heard that 2 families were very interested, so I hope that works out because he would be the perfect pet.

This Boxer pup also stole my heart. SO CUTE!

I wanted to take him

This is another cruelty case. Violet was found with 7 puppies, covered in fleas and mange, and she and her pups were also heartworm positive. They have been treated and are on the road to recovery! Several of the puppies have been adopted, they are soooo cute!

This Great Dane had the cutest personality!

This was the dog that stole my heart. Instantly. Oh if we weren't living in an apartment now, he would be mine. His name is Dakota. He is a Husky/Great Pyrenees mix, who happens to strongly resemble my Deucie. They have the same eyes. Ahh it just melts my heart.

I even called Doug and made him come over to see him. Just in case he is still available when we move :)

If you are looking for a chihuahua, oh my goodness, this little guy is the sweetest. He just licked me the entire time I held him.

Love this face!

This one breaks my heart.

Not all of these pups are at Bliss, but if you are interested in any of them, please let me know and I can put you in touch with the shelter who has them!

I know this post has been entirely too long, so I'm surprised if you made it all the way to this point! But I'll take advantage of it and tell you one more thing! I made a great new friend who was also volunteering, and we have decided to organize a bowl-a-thon fundraiser for Bliss. They are in desperate need of a vehicle to transport the dogs each week to Petsmart. Right now, they are using their own minivan, which isn't big enough and they have to clean it every time they use it. So we are hoping to raise enough money for a utility van or an RV-type, where they can keep the cages in and transport even more dogs to the adoption days. Lindsey and I are going to the bowling alley in Loganville today to talk with the manager about this possibility, so I will keep you updated!

If you are in the area and want to volunteer time/money or even being a foster home, let me know!

If you have made it all the way here, thanks so much for reading! This is something very close to my heart and I'm hoping to spread the word on this wonderful cause!