Help a Service Dog Get a Little Boy!

As you know, we dogs come in a myriad of shapes, sizes, and duties.  As a "working dog" I know the importance of having a job, and while most huskies are employed by pulling sleds, I found a cushy gig laying on air vents, looking very fluffy, and digging for grubs.

Border Collies herd sheepie things (according to Bet of North Wapiti)

Airedales collect big sticks and pine cones (according to Bogart Handsome Devil)

Labradors destroy furniture (according to Ping of Dogs with Blogs)

And Sam's job is to help young boys with disabilities do fun things and lick their faces and generally make bad things go away for them.

This is Sam:

Clockwise: Sam, Zach, Mike (Dad), Alex, and Kathy (Mom)

Sam really wants to come live with the Wales family so he can be there for Alex.  Alex (according to my human woman) is a really cool kid and has this really horrible disease thing called ALD and he needs Sam's help.  But, as usual, he can't come live with Alex until human money gets paid, and blah blah stupid human things (As Tubey would say).  Until all of this money thing is taken care of, Sam can't do his job.

If you want to help Sam get his job, go steal money from your humans and send it to:

Mike Wales, 
c/o Friends of Alex, 
6424 Birchleigh Circle
Alexandria, VA 22315

Or you can click on the convenient paypal button on the upper right hand side of my blog. 

Its the Human Woman's paypal, but she will make sure that one big honking check from all of us 4-footers will get to Alex's dad so he can hire Sam to do his job.  Not only that, but the Human Woman will make sure that your WHOLE donation goes to Sam's employment as she will cover whatever fees Paypal rips out of your kind donation.  (a note from the weasels in the legal department: this is not a tax deductible donation, just one from your heart).

So help us create a job, and let Sam do his.  You'll make Sam and his human boy Alex very happy!

- Meeshka


P.S. This is not Spineless Bionic Hip/Knee pup Sam.  That Sam would actually require a boy to fetch his things and bring them to him on the Sleep Number Bed.

Heaven Needed Another Angel

Christmas seems to be a tough time in my household.  Traditionally its all about the birth of Jesus, the winter solstice, or simply a time to show your appreciation of your loved ones and friends with gifts, but in our household it has come to symbolize a time of loss or tribulation.

My humans lost their beloved Nakidka near Christmas in 2000.

The Bionic Hip puppy, Sam, became the Spineless Bionic Hip puppy Sam on Christmas day 2006.

This year, we've all lost a good friend and fellow HULA operative Opy.

I first "met" Opy through the Interwebs in 2006.  A stunning black lab named after the multimillionaire television talk show host, Opy was just as rich and generous as her namesake, not in money, but in love and commitment to her friends.

During my first blogathon, Opy and Charlie stayed up with me all night and helped me with material and moral support.  They even made me a cool button to use for Blogathon 2007, and once again stayed up with me to help me stay awake when the human woman conked out early.

Opy and Charlie (with the help of their humans) created Dogs With Blogs, which not only allowed dogs from all over the world to connect and network, but also helped raise money for poor dogs all over the place that couldn't afford computers... or just needed some kind of help. 

Through their site I was able to make even more friends and cultivate more HULA operatives and learn a thing or two.  One of the most important things about Dogs With Blogs is that although a dog's life may be short (compared to a human life-span) their blog lives on long after they are gone, they continue to live through their words and pictures, and therefore they live on in our hearts.

Opy and Charlie started a movement.  Bringing together the dog blogging community and leaving an everlasting footprint on the interwebs for others to sniff out later, and relive the lives of good dogs who were loved, who loved their humans, and bring a smile to someone's face, long after those footprints have been walked.

We'll miss you Opy.  Forever in our hearts, until we meet again... across the Rainbow Bridge.

Meeshka

Get Well Soon Charlie

While I've been complaining about my sore mouth and lack of usable claws, poor Charlie the Big Dog has been having complications with his new bionic heart and had to go back into the hospital.

This teaches all of us a lesson: no matter how bad we think we have it, some otherpup may have it worse.

Opy has been taking messages for Charlie and for his humans Brooke and Greg, so I (as your Queen) direct all of you to go and leave a message on Opy's blog to Charlie and his humans to let them know that you are thinking, hoping, and praying for Charlie to come home and be with his family again.... that's an order! What are you waiting for!!!!! GOOOO!!!!