I just registered for their annual Animals on Broadway fundraiser. Penny and I will be walking at Heather Farm Park in Concord, CA on May 18. For those of you who don’t know about Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), they do great work saving dogs and cats from local high-kill shelters, and also feature a lot of human programs, such as donating pet food to low-income families with pets, pet therapy dogs, Camp ARF for kids to teach them how to interact with animals, low cost vet care, and a sweet program in conjunction with the local library where kids develop reading skills by reading aloud to trained dogs. If you’d like to donate, you can find my page here.

I hope to meet lots of awesome dog owners there, but I’m also hoping to bring in some donations. I put $50 as my goal, but I’m secretly hoping to bring in $100 and get a donor T-shirt. What can I say, I’m competitive. I appreciate any amount, no matter how small, as well as kind thoughts and comments too (those are freely given and gladly received!).

UPDATE: On 5/9/14, Purple Heart (renamed Violet) was adopted! Hooray! Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about this sweet little dog.

A week and a half ago, I met the sweetest cocker spaniel at Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). Her name is Purple Heart (horrible name, I know, but they use theme naming for each intake group  and she apparently drew the short straw).

Don’t let the cone fool you … she’s good at finding a way into your lap!

Poor Purple Heart came in with a lot of medical issues (cherry eye, spay complications,  torn ear, chronic ear infection — basically, “cocker stuff”). Thankfully she’s at ARF, which is blessed to have its own onsite vet. The volunteer I spoke to even said that their vet would cover a second cherry eye surgery if it “popped out again.” Again, standard cocker stuff. It’s not that gross really.

She needs a good home. She’s been there almost a month and a half now, and each week she’s getting passed up. People are probably nervous about her  health issues (which, granted, is a valid concern for anyone adopting a pet). It’s just sad because she’s such a doll–wiggly and cuddly, happy to see the other dogs on leash in the training yard … if I could take another dog, I’d snatch her up in a heartbeat.