thepawandfeatherplan

Jill and Todd are the PAFP adopters of  Gracie, a 1 year old Bichon Frise.  They also own a purebred 4 year old Rottweiler, George.   They adopted George from Metro Animal Services after he had been at the shelter for a month, and before that, he had been at another more rural shelter for some time as well.   When George first went home with Jill and Todd, he had some undesirable tendencies that needed to be addressed.  When I went to process the adoption for little Gracie, at Jill and Todd's home, Jill shared with me a short, great-pack-leader story.   Here it is, in Jill's (paraphrased) words:     It was probably just a few days after we adopted George, when         one day I gave him a pig ear.  He was laying on his dog bed               enjoying the treat, when I had to enter that vicinity for something.     -George growled at me, as if to say, 'don't come near me and my         treat.''        T his dog could kill me if he wanted to, crossed through my    

  This document highlights some of Paw and Feather Plan's work, and how it positively impacts the lives pets and people in and around the community, and abroad (Brazil shelter once/yearly, etc.).  I do hope this list motivates individuals to donate $10< on 09/15/2022 for Give for Good Day. 😊   This is a big day not only for this rescue, but also for 500+ other nonprofits across Louisville.  There will be many random  BOOSTS to donations throughout the day via several Community Foundation Sponsors ... so please participate !  If you don't donate, there'll be nothing to boost. And if you do donate, your $10 could instantaneously become $1010!  #LiveGenerously #InstantKarma  List of 6 Ways We Help Out On the Regular: 1.) Free counseling services (typically via email or phone, these can be quite lengthy calls!) to pet owners in distress, wanting or needing to surrender pets.      -On average I assist 4 people/weekly with this gratuitous service.  I cannot help everyone

  Returns Are No Fun, No Matter What.      When someone returns a dog, it can make you feel defeated.        Most of the dogs we take in are chosen by me.  That in itself is a huge undertaking: imagine walking through rows and rows of kennels of homeless dogs, all in need of help, and being able to choose only 1 or 2 to rescue.  -It's hard!      Being objective helps tremendously, but more often than not, empathy is a grand part of the choosing-equation.  My background in shelter work makes it impossible to not look for key kennel card details like: arrival date and income-type (stray, return, surrender).     For instance, if I see that you've been sitting in a cage for 6 weeks, and the doggy next to you has been sitting in his cage for a few days, I'll instinctively want to help you - the long-timer.  Although, oftentimes this is impossible; the long-timers can have traits that make them harder to adopt out, things like their energy level, dog-compatibility, or even their

The Wednesday morning before Memorial Day Weekend I opened my eyes to everything spinning.  "No, no no!" I gasped as I covered my face with a pillow.  I knew it was vertigo, or as in Portuguese, l abarintite, or labarinto en Español   for any language-lovers out there.      Never had I experienced vertigo, but I knew what it was, as my mother and grandmothers have had it.      And I'll never forget the day I awoke with this condition since it coincided with a holiday, and several upcoming scheduled meet and greets for dogs in our care at that moment.  -As of that 'Vertigo Wednesday,' our 6 foster puppies were 8 weeks old and ready to find their forever homes!  -Mommy dog was still with us of course (although she had an adopter lined up thankfully).  -And I had 3 or 4 other adult dogs in foster care with awesome fosters, so I was in the process of: photographing and listing pets for adoption on Petfinder.com, talking with and screening potential adopters, scheduli

  Dear Sweet Pea,     I miss you.       I miss you in the morning~ the act of gently pulling your sheet off of your partially-covered cage and saying, "Hello Pretty Bird," in a soft voice was routine.       I miss quickly working to serve your morning chop, and refreshing your water.  Just like a human toddler, you weren't very patient!     I miss all of the sounds you'd make, even your blood-curdling scream you'd do every couple of days.      I do not miss the stressful moments that sometimes  caused (family arguing- not screaming, just arguing!) , or resulted from, the blood-curdling screams, but I miss the savage nature of the actual screams.      You would scream out when Fabricio or Sam would raise their voices with me.  Right when you felt the tension rising, you'd start.       To the contrary, when I raised my voice with either of them, you would never get stressed.  I'll miss that feeling of always 'having someone on my side' in the hom

 On March 19th, 2022 we drove Sweet Pea 5 hours and 22 minutes away, to a small, rural town called Potosi, MO., to be adopted.  Sweet Pea enjoying the ride     I had envisioned something very different for her.  When we took her in (Dec.), I was set on eventually finding her a home in sunny S. Florida.  -She's an exotic bird, and I would envision her in a grand outdoor aviary, under a large fruit tree, in a tropical paradise of a yard.  -This is what I had most-wanted for her.       And I did request help promoting her for adoption with some of my S. Florida friends, in hopes of making my vision for her a reality. Image of parrot in nice, outdoor area, image from https://flvetbehavior.com     H owever, no one reached out about her from that strategic networking.  -There was one woman in Port St. Lucie, Fl. that wanted her, however upon some basic examination of her life (via social media), I discovered she was a busy mother to a few kids, an owner of 6 Rottweilers, and apparently