Background

Hey! So a few things have caused me to start this blog... First, I saw some show that Martha Stewart was hosting about a month ago and the whole show was about people who write blogs that have to do with Martha Stewart. While I thought this was a bit egotistical of Martha (to have people on her show to talk more about her, yuck!), I realized that writing a Blog might be a quick way for me to document and communicate several ideas to entirely random people, who may or not be interested in what I have to say.

So here I am, starting my blog. I should start out by saying that I'm a pre-vet student - I'll be applying to vet schools in the fall. You'll soon see that this statement will lay the foundation for the rest of my blog.

The mission of my blog is to communicate information about animal issues and raise awareness of things that we can do to help. Sometimes I'll pick an organization and talk about what they do and how one can get involved, other times, maybe I'll pick an article from the NYT or Chicago Tribune and talk about that. Who knows... that's the beauty of blogs, right? They're spontaneous.

So, the first thing I thought I should write about is what I know best, me. My roommate and I have 3 dogs and 3 cats. We have accumulated them together over the years (she had the first three before, and we've gotten 3 more since) and, like most pet owners, I am in love. My animals are everything to me, and they each come with their own story and background.

Maddy was the first of the bunch. She's a 7 year old tabby cat from NYC. She was originally obtained from a local shelter in Brooklyn to scare off the mice. Over the years, she's proven to be a great hunter.

Next was Little One. Little One, despite her horrible name, is anything but little. She's a black cat about 4 years old. Little One was rescued from a road-side shed in Plant City, FL. She was covered in fleas, but too cute to pass up.

Then came Ace, a dapple daschund from Panama (the country, not the city in FL). Ace spent the first 6 months of his life in a crate in a pet grooming store. He was for sale, but no one bough him. Eventually my roommate's mom bought him, on sale. Ace is quite the character and loves anyone - honestly if I gave him to YOU now, he'd be happy - as long as you'd let him under the covers.

Then came Tully. Tully owns my heart. He's my boy. Tully is a German Shepherd mix and is originally from Tennessee. His mom was found shortly after she had given birth to several puppies and all were rescued and placed in a foster home by Good Dog Rescue (www.gooddogrescue.com). Tully spent the first 8 months of his life roaming a farm and was the last in his family to get adopted. We met Tully in Glastonbury, CT where he arrived with several other dogs on a large transport from TN. He was so scared and skittish and was very shy around new people and loud noises. Tully is almost 3 now (his birthday, that I've given him, is next week!) and is the most loving dog I've ever met. He greats me with a hug (literally - on his hind legs) every time I walk in the door and LOVES to give kisses (or besos, as he knows them). Right now he is sitting beside me with his head on my lap.

Next came Bree - she was an accident. Once we got Tully from Good Dog Rescue, we decided that we would be a foster home for other dogs that needed to be temporarily housed during re-homing situations up north. One day, we got a call from Mike, the director of Good Dog, and he told us about Bree, a 7 year old Wheaton Terrier Mix. Bree, too, was originally from the south. However, she grew up in a loving home with two elderly people. Eventually, they decided that they couldn't care for her, so they turned her over to a shelter, a kill shelter. Good Dog rescued Bree from the shelter and soon found her a foster home in Westfield, MA. However, after 6 months, that home wasn't working out and we were called to her rescue. When Bree arrived on our doorstep, she had the worst haircut ever and we were warned that she might bite. Well, she didn't bite us, but she nipped at everyone else that came to look at her in hopes of adopting her. Thus, realizing that Bree was essentially un-adoptable and would most likely end up euthanized if we surrendered her, she's lying under my feet as we speak, two years later. While Bree still has a hard time adjusting to new people, she has improved her manners and is one of the most loving dogs I've ever encountered. She looks and acts like a big teddy bear.

Finally, Omar. I'm not sure why I felt the need for a 6th animal, but I had never had a kitten. My roommate had come with Maddy and Little One fully grown, and I guess I just felt the need to chase something the size of a remote control around the house for a few months (until he got bigger than the other two!). Omar is from Holyoke, MA and is the result of a craigslist posting - he was free - fully fed with a turkey dinner two days after Christmas. Omar's best friend is Tully and he follows him around the house and acts like a 4th dog. He sleeps with the dogs during the day and eats out of Tully's bowl in the morning. He cries the entire time the dogs are out in the back yard playing.

So, I guess that is an introduction to me and the zoo in which I live. As you can most likely tell by now, I love animals. Through my experiences with my own animals and Good Dog Rescue in general, I have come to realize the importance of volunteers, animal activists, and cuddle sessions with animals. Regardless of my mood, petting one of my dogs or cats, or spending a few minutes in the yard with them always brightens my day.

I hope my blog is somewhere readers can turn to learn about new ways to help animals, events going on around the country, good books about animals, and the little part that I'm trying to do to help.

Feel free to post your own stories or let me know about organizations you think I should familiarize myself with. Oh, and the reason for the title of my blog: Tully's Buddies. It is my long term goal to eventually start my own animal rescue - rightfully named, Tully's Buddies.

The photo above is of me with a cat I found at Mac's Pizza in Bequai in the Grenadine Islands last week. She was very sweet.