So up until this point in April – I hadn’t really been hands on in the rescue. I had just funded some rescue saves. When Lisa from Pug Rescue San Diego asked my husband and me to transport Petey – a pug imposter – from Fallbrook to the SD airport. Petey was taken from a shelter in LA. Lisa drove up to grab him and when they brought him out, he clearly wasn’t a pug. She knew she was his last hope so she grabbed him. Tammy from Celebrating Pugs in Maryland found him a home. So early one Saturday morning, my husband and I picked him up and drove him to the airport and shipped him to Maryland. He was super sweet and I’m glad we found him a home.

So I’ve finally started my very own dog rescue, Pugs N Roses! I’m filing the 501 3 c paperwork now. We have three dogs in foster. We don’t discriminate and rescue all types of dogs. I can’t wait to save more. Check out our website at www.pugsnroses.com.

 

I hope all my readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Yesterday morning, I took my first ever Bar class at 4S Ranch Pure Barre. I’ve been dying to try it out. Pre baby – I used to be a professional ballroom dancer and I’ve done ballet, pilates, and other types of fitness classes. Pure Barre is one of the many Bar type classes that have sprung up all over San Diego. My plan is to try them all – Pure Barre, Bar Method, Dailey Method, and Xtend Barre, and see which one I like the best. I will review each method individually and then once I’ve attended all four types, I’ll post a compare/contrast blog. I looked everywhere for one and couldn’t find one so I’d like to help others who are confused by the different types of bar classes.

Review

The instructor was very nice. I immediately felt welcome. She set me up with a tube, light hand weights, and an exercise ball. The warmup consisted of an old school aerobic routine and light weighs. We did pilates rollups, toning on the bar, stretching, pushups and abs work.

Pros:

The music is very upbeat. The instructor was very hands on and helpful. I loved the stretching.

Cons:

A big portion of the bar work was done on your knees. This is a huge problem for me since as a former dancer, I have knee problems. I also don’t feel that there was enough upper body work.

Overall:

The ladies were very nice, there was a cute clothing boutique, and I loved the music. I feel if I continued to attend, I would be very toned, especially in the abs, thighs, and rear. I don’t feel I got a good enough cardio workout or I would achieve significant muscle tone in my arms. This would be the type of workout that would be great addition to cardio and traditional weights. I’ll go back.

 

So you might ask how I got into rescue. I always wanted to help but besides adopting my own dogs and finding a home for Brody, I didn’t know where to begin.

It all started with the picture of Wally.

I’d been tracking him on Animal Friends of the Valley adoptable friends page. He was creeping to the top of the list and I knew that he could be killed any day. But I didn’t know how to help – so when I saw a desperate plea on San Diego Pug Rescue’s page for anyone to grab him, I knew I had to help. I contacted the rescue and got in touch with Lisa who pulled Wally. She also pulled a Pekinese named Sally.

    Lisa took Sally to boarding, which I paid for. It cost me a fortune since the shelter said she had kennel cough. Then Amy, a dog rescuer in Las Vegas, drove up and transported both Wally and Sally to Las Vegas. They were both adopted out. Sally now lives in Portland and Wally lives in Vegas. I was so glad to meet Amy who has now helped me rescue a bunch of dogs.

Yesterday we spent Dia de los Muertos in Old Town. For those of you unfamiliar with the holiday – it has nothing to do with devils or witchcraft. It is a day to celebrate your loved ones who have passed. Old town had a bunch of amazing altars.

I also bought this amazing painting by artist John de Jesus.

More importantly, I came up with a great new angle for my book!

I’m thrilled that my book, The Picture of Dulce Garcia, has been named a finalist in the 2011 Launching a Star Contest! I’m also happy that my friend and former VP of the Chick Lit chapter, Kim Hernandez, is a finalist in the Inspirational Category.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m a finalist in the 2011 RWA Stiletto Contest for my manuscript – The Picture of Dulce Garcia. I’m also excited that one of my fellow finalists is my critique partner – M-E Girard.

Izzy At OC Shelter

I first saw pictures of Izzy on Facebook. I couldn’t get that sweet puggle mug out of my mind. I networked her and would check the shelter site daily to see if the sweet angel had been adopted. But every time I clicked, her profile would still be up on the website – hoping to find a home.

At some point, there was a facebook mixup – some rescuers had incorrectly confused Izzy with a fat Chihuahua/pug aka Chug named Jenni. Precious days were lost networking both since they were thought to be the same dog.

Jenni At OC Shelter

I’ve been a member of San Diego Pug Rescue as long as I can remember. I have four dogs myself; three of them are shelter dogs. But San Diego Pug Rescue’s foster’s were full and they don’t take pug mixes. We were running out of options – and time.

I had recently been authorized to pull pugs from Orange County Animal Shelter but we didn’t have a place for the mixes. Since I was heading out of town on vacation and both dogs had been in the shelter over a month, I decided to take action. My husband and I drove up from San Diego, with our 8-month-old son in toe, on a pug mix rescue mission.

Freedom! Izzy with my husband – minutes after fleeing shelter.

We instantly fell in love with Izzy – she was sweet, effervescent, and very smart. Above is a picture of Izzy charming my husband.

Jenni however was another story – she snapped at Izzy and was extremely hyper.

Jenni in the back of our Tahoe – minutes after gaining her freedom.

We drove them to All Creatures Animal Hospital in Murrieta.

Izzy had a cherry eye – which probably scared away adopters. A shelter favorite, the staff was baffled why this affable dog couldn’t find a home. I scheduled surgery for her and started taking applications for her. Within a week, she found a wonderful home with Kevin. He absolutely adores her (new name is Kita) and spoils her rotten. She is a lucky girl.

Kita(Izzy) and her dad Kevin

Kita being spoiled

Jenni wasn’t so easy – we found out she was in heat so we spayed her. Then she calmed down and became quite lovable. I have a friend who runs a pug rescue in Maryland – and she had an adopter who wanted Jenni. So I shipped Jenni to Maryland – and her foster mom loves her.

Jenni and her mom in Maryland

I would like to thank the wonderful staff of OC Animal Shelter, especially Katie Ingram and Tammy Osborn. I’m so delighted that I was able to help these wonderful dogs find loving homes.

Here’s the cross stitch birth announcement I did for Connor. It took me almost a year but I love how it turned out.

Just found out that my manuscript “The Picture of Dulce Garcia” is a finalist in the Young Adult category of the Colorado Romance Writers Heart of the Rockies contest. I’m so excited. My entry is now in the hands of Megan Records from Kensington. I’ve always wanted to visit Colorado – I’m going to try to attend their tea in October.