Avon's walk for a cure NYC

When it rains, it pours! What can I say-after a drought of many days   the posts are  prolific today! 

Maggie's entourage members  Jean & Joanne  have  participated in Avon's N.Y.C. Walk For Breast Cancer for many years now. They, along with the other dedicated members of team Agappi will be walking next weekend to raise funds for this cause. If you would like to donate you can go here: Jean / Joanne  to make a contribution. 

Vote to help other dogs!

A quick note to you animal lovers out there:Tom's Of Maine is offering grants to community organizations and they want you to vote for the causes you feel deserve to be awarded their grants. 

If you go HERE you will find a listing of the applicants, several of which involve animals-one in particular:  "The Corridor Of Cruelty & Neglect" in Houston, Texas-sounds especially worthy . 

Voting ends on October 30th & you can vote each & every day. You get 5 votes each day to use as you like.

(You might also want to consider The Creative Center's program for people living with Cancer -"Still Life : Documenting Cancer Survivorship" - Gina works in their hospital Artist-In-Residence program & has taught workshops at The Creative Center itself. Go HERE for more info. on their wonderful, creative and art filled programs. ) 

Time sure does fly...

...when you are having fun! 
Much has happened in Maggie's life since last we posted here : 

 She has been diagnosed with mange & cured of it. More importantly, she has been..."fixed". On September 3rd she went under the knife. That morning, Maggie and her ENTOURAGE of 4 met many lovely dogs & their owners as they too waited to be admitted for their spaying and neutering. 

After leaving Maggie in good hands the entourage proceeded to IHOP for breakfast (YUM) and then on Trader Joe's for provisions & then it was onto Sunken Meadow Beach. What fun, such sun! Then we made our way back to the vet to claim Maggie. Still knocked out by the ordeal, she slept the whole way home in the car.  Because Maggie showed signs of being a little too interested in her stitches she was given a radar dish to wear-the ultimate puppy fashion statement -ask any pup in the know. The entourage made sure Maggie's every need was well taken care of and lots of TLC was dispensed. 

Best of all, Maggie got to see Jean & Robert's new home! She loved the green carpet & got to meet her first robotic carpet vacuum. Thank you to Jean for hosting the entourage and thank you to all the members of the entourage for their moral support on this 2 day team effort. 

Make friends and influence people...

Here is Maggie demonstrating the art of making friends-with cousin Helen and uncle Bob. They are now official members of the "We Love Maggie Fan Club" 

Maggie has some tips for making friends that she wants to share with everyone:

1. Always be really nice to people

2. Never bark at folks that you want to make friends with. Barking is reserved for "bad people". 

3. Wag your tail in excitement. This way folks will know you are happy. Everyone wants to add happy friends to their lives. 

4. SHARE. Maggie finds sharing is a great way to make friends. Some things Maggie likes to share with her friends are:

1. her bean bag bed

2. her toys, especially her favorite toys like "kitty"

3. her cage

 Secret tip #5: Have a really cool EYE. Maggie's blue eye seems to lure people in. It is her special, secret trick for getting almost anything and is especially useful for making new friends. Maggie has special eyes naturally and understands this might be hard for some folks to pull off if their eyes are no big deal. Maggie thinks colored contacts MIGHT be the answer if your eyes are regular or boring.  

A day with Maggie!

What happened to our LITTLE puppy? 

Maggie has gotten so big. 

And smart. 

And OBEDIENT. 

She has learned  to do wonderful tricks and behave & all of this has only made her more perfect. Could THAT be possible? While we will always miss the little fur ball she was just a few months ago we can't wait to see what else Maggie will learn & do. (Some of us think she would make a fantastic therapy dog for hospital & nursing home visits...)

When not playing fetch with her tennis ball, Maggie showed us all how to stay cool by sitting on the a.c. vent on the floor, how to sleep like a happy doggy does & how to make friends with anyone. 

Did I mention her trainer thinks Maggie is super smart? "Advanced" was the word used. Can "genius" be far behind? Maybe she should be enrolled in a life saving class...if you met her you too would think she could one day save lives and make the world a better place! I guess we will all have to stay tuned to find out what is in store for our little Maggie-maybe she will find lost children in deep snow drifts & bring them home safely. Or bring food to stranded mountain climbers. Or become a spokes dog for an organic dog food company(and donate her endorsement fees to a local shelter).  Or run for office. Maggie for president? I think, at the very least, Maggie will be a good will ambassador for shelter animals everywhere. & maybe she will write a book (or 2) on the subject and single handedly solve the problem of puppy mills . Wouldn't that be cool!?!

P.S. I had a moment to speak with Maggie about the petition regarding Michael Vick & she would very much like all of you to sign it on behalf of dogs everywhere.WOOF!Click here or see post below for more details.)

A petition for dog lovers everywhere

If you love animals (and especially dogs) there is an online  petition you might want to sign. It regards the football player Michael Vick and his recent signing to the Philadelphia Eagles. This is relevant  in light of Mr. Vick's treatment of dogs at his own home, behaviour for which he has been convicted in a court of law . 

Please be forewarned that the petition comes with a photo of one of the dogs Mr. Vick owned & it is sad so brace yourself. You'll find the petition HERE. 

FISH!

Do you like FISH? We do! Did you know you can feed the fish? Just click with you mouse & food appears & the fish gather 'round. Neat! 

Happy Birthday to you know who!

Dear Rachel!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

LOVE,

Ely & Gina,

Uncle Bob & Aunt Edith 

Happy 14th! 

XXXXX

OOOOO

5/25/2009

Happy Memorial day to all !

More updates soon...

Expect more updates on Maggie in the coming weeks. Meantime, we suggest you get outside & enjoy the great outdoors. One suggestion : Erie Basin Park in Brooklyn. Designed by IKEA, it is a lovely waterfront park with lots of interesting seating , great scenic views (bring your camera) & best of all - it seems to be very underused. There is a nice mix of remnants from it's historic shipyard past , flowers and urban park layout & you can even go fishing! 

Puppy picnic!

Maggie had lunch   "in plein air "(fancy artist term for "out of doors"). 

When she takes her show on the road (so to speak)

Maggie spent most of today going into and out of her cage. She did very, very well  . The red curtain is for her traveling shows. When she is ready to perform-curtain goes up! When she is done, curtain goes down! Very handy! And as you can tell, she is ready for Memorial Day with her red, white and blue color combo . Smart dog! 

Maggie makes new friends!

In Queens today Maggie meet Bob & Edi for the very first time!

Dog helps dog in NYC accident

Late today a dog was hit on a highway here in NYC. Another dog came to it's rescue and "protected" the injured dog from police. Police were finally able to place the injured dog onto a sheet and take it for medical care. The other dog gave chase and police  followed. It sounds as if there is a happy ending: the hurt dog has a broken leg and she was being protected by her "son". The owner saw the news and has come forward. Sad but amazing at the same time.  

Funny puppy moment #1

"Cat? What Cat?"

Funny puppy moment #2

"I swear-a BIG Doberman ran in here and tore the place apart!"

Funny puppy moment #3

"Help! Someone call 911! I am being mauled by a troll!

Trip back to NSAL / first vet visit

Update:

some new news about Maggie's first week with her adopted family-

Maggie likes ice cubes. She likes to sleep. A lot. She is smart. She has yet to figure out screens and glass and mirrors. She likes to be around people. 
Today Maggie & family returned for her check up visit . North Shore Animal League was very quiet compared to the crowds of last weekend! 

Maggie has a new and terribly cute collar and tag. 

She has gained some weight  .(She has a very good appetite as you can see)

Medically, Maggie checked out just fine but for some bacteria in her right ear. Vet's gave heart worm and flea treatment along with something for her ear. 

Maggie did a very nice job of proving she can piddle with 4 people intently watching, one of which was capturing each move with a camera . Guess she is not shy!

Maggie's next visit for her s-h-o-t-s is the week of the 18th. 

Happy Mother's Day!

P.S. Happy Mother's Day! 

All is well

An update: all is well with Maggie and she goes in for her follow up vet visit on Sunday. (Photo is from the night before Jenn's shower)

P. S. Someone in our building works for North Shore Animal League and he told Ely that over 700 animals were adopted during last weekend's adoption event. Pretty amazing! 

A name ?

A little birdie told me "Maggie" might be the newest member of our family's name. 

"Maggie": short for Margaret  (Greek) pearl, from the 19th century. 

Let's see: 

Here Maggie! Maggie, SIT! Good dog, Maggie. Maggie, fetch! Roll over Maggie. Shakes hands Maggie. Maggie! No eating the cat food! 

Hello & welcome

Hi all!

This blog has been set up to allow you to view my photos and come up with a name for me, the new dog in town. 

The blog will be dismantled-erased from the face of the earth -once the dog has been named. 

For those of you new to the world of blogs:

they run backwards. This means post #1 is at the end-often under"older posts"(you'll find this "older post" to click on the the lower bottom of the web page-right hand side) 

The newest post will always be at the top. 

So if you like chronological reading start from the bottom and work your way up. 

XXX

OOO

your blog master for this brief moment-Gina

P.S. This is a photo from Easter and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the dog. I just find posts without photos to be boring. 

P.P.S. Of course, if you all like this as a way of staying in touch, we could use this as a family blog. It simply involves an email and password. For those of you IN THE KNOW the password is a phrase often used by Joey & Peter when they really , really love each other. 

Help me find the perfect name

Forgot to tell you this : 

Rachel had to beat off several other well meaning families who had an eye on puppy Jane Doe.  Also-no animals names. Like "Cat". 

No names like "Woof". Or "Woof Woof". Or "Woof Woof Woof".  

Buttercup/nick name Butter-out

 Black Beauty-out 

Midnight-out

 River Phoenix - out  

And no naming the dog after family members . Alive or dead. (like Ely did) It is very bad Karma. 

Oh-Joanne-how about a yoga name? Shanti...Lakshme....or Arda Sala Basana............ 

One last question-don't you think this dog needs a blog? I think every living thing should have a blog and if puppy Doe has one we can sit back and watch it grow via the internet. 

 P.S. North Shore Animal League is fantastic and Joanne said they did 500 adoptions Saturday alone. Worth a mention.

Puppy "Jane Doe" needs your help...

(In case you are wondering-puppy Doe had it paw printed in yellow to raise money for some worthy cause. Thus the photos depicting yellow paws - so, no, the dog does NOT have dreaded yellow paw fever. Or swine flu)

I think it is safe to say no to all food names. Even if they are family favorite dishes. 

You might want to think Italian. Romantic. Bell and then Bella did not get immediately shot down. 

No recession names will be considered. Ex:"clawback" and so forth No "Lindsey" and no "Hanna" Nothing overtly religious. No saint names. We did not get to flowers so you might want to go there.(We did cross  Rose off the list) Perhaps "Poppy"? Or maybe that is too close to....

Stay away from names that rhyme with "NO". Unlike the Obamas we will not be making THAT mistake.  You might want to think Southern as the puppy might have come from Tennessee . (Joanne knows more about the puppy's dark past than the rest of us do. I prefer to be kept in the dark when it comes to the pain filled 8-9 weeks this poor dear spent searching for the perfect home.) 

Oh-one last thing-puppy wears contacts. (try not to stare when you meet her as this makes her self conscious) She has one (left) baby blue eye and one (right) brown eye.  If I think of an other info., I'll let you know.

And, again, she is really , really CUTE.  So come up with names and email Joanne-(Since this is an open blog I am not publishing the address here.) 

Operators are standing by just waiting for your calls.  

Help us help puppy Doe . Now. Thank you. God bless you . (pause) And God bless America.

Email text # 3

("She  Wolf"  is a typo-ignore that) 

(Jean-pass these on to Robert-he is not on the Ondik family email group so as to maintain his cover-thanks!) 

Other names that were shot down: 

Mush Mush 

names that have to do with #1 & #2

 names that are politically incorrect (sorry Nancy but we had to limit your access to this wealth & minefield of name possibilities) 

Hillary ,Sasia ,Sasha ,Cricket, Dopy, Bonkers, Bingo, Lady, Lassie, Princess, Claire ,Sarah Palin, Sarah ,Sandi ,Nicki ,Monica , Max (short for Maxine) ,Annette

Alice (as in Wonderland)

Annabelle

No land mass names / Continents / 7 wonders of the world and so forth 

email text #1 & 2:

Hi all, Just got in from picking the newest member of the Ondik family:a border collie and lab mix (correct me where I go wrong Rachel) and here are the first photos. Look closely and think hard: they need a name. 

 Stats: She is between 8 & 9 weeks old. She is mainly black with small bits of white around the neck and a white diamond on her forehead. She is mega cute.  She has yet to bark. She is, as the shelter puts it, intact. (Ask Uncle Peter to explain)

EMAIL TEXT #2: 
Also:she likes to sleep and she likes to eat her new bone and she sometimes licks Joanne in the face.......and she has sharp nails....did I mention she is cute?
Send your name ideas to :
Some ideas that were tossed around:
Molly
Bonnie
pee pee
she wolf
Annie
Lexi

Cha Cha 

Name contest

Help name me! 

Here are the rest of my photos from day one-originally sent via email. View them and then send your name submissions  to Joanne's email address. 

Name update:

No :  Lola

No : Lolita

No : Maggie

P.S. Do not get attached to this blog as it will be taken down in a few days. It was created to enable everyone to view the photos and share in the fun. 

My first ride home! My first yummy bone!

A quick update: on the way to my new home I learned I love smelly bones! I also got to nap some and spent some time with my new family, taking in the view from the car. This was the most excitement I have had so far. 

A new member of the family comes home

This blog is devoted to our family's newest member. So new she does not even have a name yet! She is sweet  and soft and between 8 & 9 weeks old. She found us at a animal shelter and something about her made us say- " You are the one!" She is a Lab, Border Collie mix and she is a mystery-we don;t even know what her bark sounds like! But we all agree, she is as lucky to have found us as we are to have her.  She can't wait to meet everyone and when next we write, we hope to be able to introduce her by name!