Some of the Best Dogs....

Louie is a curious mix of short legs, multi-colored golden coat, tail which curls over his back, sometimes pointed ears, elongated body and large head.  A German Shepard/Basset Hound mix, about seven years-old,  Louie has a compelling backstory, as do many rescue dogs.

Animal shelter staff explained that Louie had been returned to them several times.  As Louie jumped up onto the couch where Chuck and Catherine were sitting, the staff continued with "we think that they mistook him for the queen's dog - a Corgie."  It was hard to see that under all the matted fur, he might look like a Corgie.

It was clear from the get-go that Louie didn't like being crated.  After his initial reaction, Chuck and Catherine have chosen not to crate him again.  A veterinarian explained to them that Louie's teeth have been worn down and broken, presumably from chewing on the metal of cages and crates, over the years.

Louie was standoffish at first. "It was as if he thought that we too would return him.  He didn't want to get attached again, if he was going back to the shelter."  After about a year, Louie began distributing kisses.  "He still stops and looks at black SUVs, when he sees one, like someone he knows might step out of it." (Of course dogs don't have memories or emotions like humans do - yeah right.)

It has been two years since Chuck and Catherine connected with  Louie on the couch of an animal shelter.  Louie chose well this time.   

Loans That Change Lives

 Several years ago my sister-in-law gave me a $25 gift card to use as a www.Kiva.org donation.  I didn't know anything about the organization then, but am somewhat familiar with it now as I have loaned out the $25 several times.  When the loan is repaid it sits in an account and can be loaned out again.

A friend, Gary Kashefska, has donated to Kiva with money he came by accidentally.  This is his inspiring story....


 In 2007 I was headed to Seattle. I got to the airport and found an earlier flight had been delayed so I headed to the Alaska Air counter to see if I could get on it. As I approached, there was a pile of cash sitting on the floor and not a soul around. I picked it up and asked everyone in line some distance away (all 4 of them), if they'd dropped anything. None of them had. I asked the counter person what to do with it. She said no one ever comes back for cash but if I wanted to file a report, I'd have to head over to Terminal 2 and miss my flight. She said just keep it.

I didn't know how much was even there, but since she got me on the earlier flight I stuffed it into my briefcase and headed through security. I didn't count it until I got to the hotel in Seattle. It was $105.
Just a few weeks earlier I heard Bill Clinton speak at the CTIA show in Orlando and he had mentioned Kiva, so I looked them up. When I returned home I found another $20 in some pants I was going to donate to Good Will so I combined that and invested $125. 

Over the years to follow I've loaned that money out $25 per loan. When the loans are repaid, I re-lend it. As of today..... 79 times.