Warm Weather, Part II - Bucket List Accomplished

Our second stop: New York City

In all our years together, John and I have never been to NYC together.  We've gone separately for work or pleasure, but always with co-workers or friends.  It was nice to spend some time together in what is arguably one of the best cities in the world.

The first night, we went to see Breakfast at Tiffany's on Broadway, starring John's celebrity crush, Emilia Clarke (better known as the dragon lady, Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones).  We managed seats 3 rows from the stage so John could be up close and personal for the nude scene, but he got more than he bargained for...the male lead was also nude.  Oops.

We stayed at Club Quarters which is located across the street from Rockefeller Center.  It's not the Ritz, but the location is great!  When you walk out of the hotel, Radio City Music Hall is on the right.

While in NYC, I got to cross something off my bucket list: eat at Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn.  If you don't know about it, you should.  It's been featured on the Travel Channel and Food Network and serves one of the best steaks in the world.  It has a limited menu (hint: try the steak), but the bacon appetizer and hot fudge sundae make for a well-rounded meal.

We tried to see the 9-11 Memorial, but it was so crowded and blocked off from public view, that we decided the memorial would be available for years to come and to go shopping at Century 21 instead.  Surprisingly, John bought more clothes than I did.

Sunday included a nice walk through Central Park and lunch at Carnegie Deli (hot pastrami sandwich).

My only gripe is they stole the LOVE sign from Philadelphia!  Ok, not really.  But the LOVE sign is so synonymous with Philadelphia that I was a little hurt to see it placed so unceremoniously on a sidewalk in NYC.

Warm Weater = Sightseeing

Now that spring has finally sprung, we spent the last few weekends getting out and about.

First Stop: Washington, D.C.

Every year, we talk about going to DC to see the cherry blossoms.  We made it, but we were too early to hit the peak of cherry blossom season.  We stumbled across a garden that had bloomed, but the trees near the Jefferson Memorial were still bare.  It wasn't a wasted trip though, because we got to see some of the memorials.

The Washington Monument getting repaired after the earthquake.

Don't let this picture fool you.  This was found in the secret garden.

The trees around the Jefferson Memorial looked more like this.

...but the memorials in stone will always be there all year round. 

Josie

Josie hates cats.  More than that, she hates cats she can't find "in" the tv.

Lucky Foster #5: Josie

I don’t know if I’ve already warned about this, but fostering is addicting. We always try to take a break in between fosters, but I’m a big softie and can’t stay away too long. Today, we welcomed foster #5 to our home: Josie.

Josie has been a Jasmine’s House dog since this summer. I’m can’t believe no one has snatched her up. When we were fostering Kima, I always considered Josie to be a bit of a Jasmine’s House superstar, so when we were asked if we would foster her, I jumped at the chance. I mean, who can resist those ears?!

Josie walks well on a leash, listens to us and had no problem fitting in what is now at least, her 5th home! Her only “fault”? She does not love cats. But you know what? Neither do I so I’m ok with that.

One Day At A Time

We got Abbey on Jan 18th.  She didn't know sit, lay, stay or any basic commands,  She wasn't house broken and other than being a nice girl, she didn't have much going for her.  By Jan 23rd, she learned sit, stay and as of today, she hasn't had any accidents in the house in 5 days.  We are so proud of the progress she is making.

**Update: Abbey was adopted February 7th!  Her new dad owns a restaurant near Camden Yards and knew she was the girl for him.  Go Abbey!

Kima

Well we've had her for over 2 months now, but we have a "new" foster dog.  Remember Cinnamon?  Then there was Tilly. Now, we have Kima.  She's a pit mix we're fostering for Jasmine's House and our favorite so far.

We've also had her longer than Cinnamon and Tilly combined.  No one seemed to be interested in her.  Maybe she's not as model-pretty as some other dogs but damn if she isn't the cutest thing ever.  She's funny, easy-going and super affectionate.  We've taken her to more events than we've taken Jax to.  We went to Barcstoberfest, Dog Fest, 2 training sessions with Canine Lifestyle Academy and she even went to an event in Virginia. She's quite the social butterfly.

Finally, someone contacted Jasmine's House about her....and part of my heart broke.  How was I going to let this perfect girl go to another family?  What if they didn't spoil her the way I do?  What if she was kept outside like a lawn ornament or worse - if she got loose and ended up in a shelter or hit by a car?  Should we adopt her and become foster "fails"?

If we kept her, we wouldn't be able to foster more dogs because two dogs is definitely my limit.  Also, we would incur the expense of 2 dogs - shots, preventatives, etc. for LIFE.  So, I went through with the meet and greet and boy did that help put my fears aside.  They are going to be GREAT adopters.  She will get so much love in a house as an only dog with two children to play with her. 

In the meantime, we're going to enjoy our time with Kima.  I let the potential adopters know that they are always welcome to board her with us if they need to go out of town.  And, I have already started picking out names for our next foster...

Restoring My Faith in Humanity

Last week, my aunt's co-worker found these two beautiful pitties cuddling on the side of the road in the freezing cold.  The woman who picked them up already has a dog, kids and two jobs and couldn't keep both of them, but didn't want to take them to a shelter where they could be euthanized within 3 days.  My aunt, knowing my soft spot for dogs and that I volunteer for two rescues, called to see what I could do.

The males (left) and female (right) were still intact so they would need to be fixed and brought UTD on their shots.  On top of that, their care taker wanted them to go into foster care or be adopted together since they seem to be a bonded pair.  What a challenge!  I contacted our rescues, but they were at capacity.  Then, I did the only thing I could think of - I posted the picture on Facebook.  And I got a resounding response from a community of pit bull lovers.  70+ comments, 100+ likes and 500+ shares in 24 hours.  A vet offered to neuter the male at no cost.  Someone offered to send money.  A few foster offers stepped forward.  Many people offered advice on finding their owners (not an option since they didn't have tags, weren't microchipped and none of the vets/shelters in the area reported them missing when contacted).

So what happened to them?  BARCS offered to take them as an owner surrender since the caretaker isn't a Baltimore City resident.  2 people paid the surrender fee.  They are scheduled to be fixed this weekend and a foster has taken them into her home where they are having an amazing start to a second life!

As sad as it is that someone apparently dumped them on the side of the road, the outpouring of support from total strangers ensured they wouldn't be cast aside like millions of other dogs.