Bonnie Blue Rescue

The Scoop:

Meet the luckiest pups (and cat) in the world. These pups, all 39 of them - have been rescued, vetted, and rehomed (or are currently in our foster care system). Several of these pups were rescued through Catahoula United Rescue Society, or CURS. For more information on Catahoulas, or to make a donation to support their rescue please check out their website at http://www.catahoulaunited.com/ .

The really big news:

As most of you know, I am in the process of starting my own 501(c)(3) (non-profit for those not in the know) - Bonnie Blue Rescue. After mounds of paperwork, Bonnie Blue rescue is finally in the "wait and see" stage - pending approval by the IRS. I don't anticipate any issues, but it's a little overwhelming all the same. THEN, once the official status is received I have to officially "move" the rescue to Virginia - a process than will take up to another month to complete. Ugh. It's exhausting, but totally worth it. Whenever I get frustrated I open my photo albums on my computer and look at all the lives we've managed to save in the past year alone.

REALLY BIG THANKS!!!

*This is probably the perfect time to give a shout out to Bonnie Blue Rescues greatest supporters thus far - Mary & Vaughn Groves. My parents have helped us tirelessly to get Bonnie Blue off the ground. They have fostered, vetted, cleaned up potty accidents, rehomed, shuffled around their lives for & helped save so many animals in this past year. For instance, without their generous funding sweet Lola would not have been able to have her life-saving surgery in the fall of '07. Thanks again, mom and dad - I know I'm the luckiest girl *

Wanna Help?

Bonnie Blue Rescue is ALWAYS looking for volunteers to foster, interact with our pups, take them to the dog park/adoption fairs/etc, help socialize our fosters. Many folks want to help, but don't have the free time to take on a foster pup - never fear ... there are many other ways you can help - checking adoption applications, updating our website, and the biggie - helping us find donors to keep this organization running!

That being said - donate, friends, donate! ;) People tend to think that little contributions don't make a difference - but they're wrong. Even a donation as little as $10 a month can help pay for flea/tick/heartworm for one of our foster dogs! It is easy to help - and easy to make a difference. Unlike many organizations who do not let you know where your donation goes - you can see your money "in action" through Bonnie Blue Rescue. Many donors choose to sponsor a dog - and volunteer to pay for that dog's vetting, spay/neuter, training, etc. Bonnie Blue Rescue will never make a profit, nor will it ever be able to pay it's volunteers - we exist solely on donation from outside sources. Help save a life today. Donations can either be mailed or made through PayPal - e-mail address: courtneysgroves@hotmail.com .

For More Information:

For more information on Bonnie Blue Rescue, you can check us out online @ http://www.bonniebluerescue.com/ or add us as a friend on MySpace www.myspace.com/bonniebluerescue .

Feel free to e-mail with any questions or comments you may have @ bonniebluerescue@gmail.com

Lawn Mower Drama.

When I first started renting a house in Knoxville at the end of 2007, I thought that being a renter of a home was "no big deal". I mean, sure, I had more actual surface area to clean, scrub, and wash ... and yeah, I had a HUGE backyard to mow, and weed-eat, and water ... but it was "no big deal". About the time I had to mow that 1/2 acre back yard with a push mower, I realized that homeowning/renting a house was NO JOKE. Here's a blog that I posted almost a year ago today .... it's amazing how it parallel's my experience today.

"After only renting a home for three weeks, I have come to appreciate my parents hard work, especially on our homes growing up, immensely. Two days ago I purchased my first "adult toy" - a lawn mower. The sweet little dude at Home Depot promised me that it was "easy to put together". And he was right. It was easy to put together. It was just HARD to get it out of the trunk of my SUV on my own, HARD to figure out where the oil went, HARD to attach the spark plug, and damn near impossible to start. After 4 hours of lawn-mower building, and more than one teary-eyed phone call to my Daddy, I was ready to rumble!

My enthusiasm lasted for all of 2 minutes.

After priming the engine (?) several times, and pulling on the cord until my arm was about to fall off - I gave up. I knew my landlord was coming over later that afternoon, and I resigned myself to ask for his help. So much for not needing a man.

On to stage 2 of lawn care - weed whacking. Initially, I thought this was going to be a lot of fun. I was wrong. I received a hand-me-down whacker from my parents, an electric one, my first mistake. I'm sure that electric weed whackers probably work really well for some people.

I am not some people.

I am living at a house with an 3/4 acre yard - it takes a VERY VERY long extension cord to reach the edges of my yard. When I realized that I needed another cord, I headed back to my favorite place in Knoxville - Home Depot. Several trips later (another extension cord, more line for the whacker, etc) I was ready to go! I fired up the "whacker" and killed it in less than 30 seconds. In that short amount of time I managed to get my entire line all tangled up! Buh.

Sometimes it just feels like it is one thing right after the other. Rory, my rambunctious (sp?) pup, managed to pull the dining room curtains (and rod) down yesterday after getting her paw caught in the curtain, the neighbor kid from next door comes over to "hang out" like 3 times a day, the mormons keep stopping by .... and I really need a nap! Oh well, onward and upward. I just keep reminding myself that this time next week I'll be hanging out in sunny Puerto Rico! :)"

Aside from the fact that I am not going to P.R. in a week, the mormons have given up on me, and Rory now lives in Orlando ... the rest pretty much holds true. Rereading this today made me laugh out loud. Why is it that I have so damn much trouble with lawn mowing?

It took me a bit over 2 hours today to "rebuild" my stupid lawn mower that the movers so easily broke down on moving day. After getting the oil and gas into their respective spots - I was ready to mow. Except it wouldn't start. So I took a break for some lemonade (it was 96' today, after all). A full air-conditioned hour later I decided to give it a whirl, again. The damn thing still wouldn't start. So, like all good little girls do - I called my Daddy. And he couldn't fix it from 5 hours away. Imagine. So over lunch today, I chatted with Sarah's BF Josh - thinking he was a good country boy - surely he would know how to start a lawn mower. No go.

It was on to plan B.

I kicked it & swore at it.

And lo and behold - the damn thing started!

BUT ..... the pastor next door will undoubtedly be dragging me to church come Sunday.

(I'm saving the weed whacking and potting plants for tomorrow). Ugh.

The Big Day! ;)

and it's closing time.

thus far, the biggest day of my life.

and the scariest for sure.

being a homeowner at 23 makes me feel both accomplished and ... like a total nut job. :)

(did I mention this was super exciting, too?)

"Wobblers"

Today's the day - we finally got the results back from Virginia Tech on Michael, my gorgeous 1200 lb hunk of gorgeousness.

Despite the finger crossing going on in my house over the past few weeks, we still got the worst news possible. Michael does not have EPM but rather "Wobblers syndrome".

To explain briefly - "Wobblers" is a narrowing of the spinal column that compresses the spinal column (and fluid) in such a way that the horse no longer knows where his feet are in space.

It doesn't take much common sense to see why this is a major issue. In addition to "Wobblers", Michael also has severe muscle atrophy over his left shoulder and right hip - perhaps caused by some sort of acute injury to those areas - or by further neurological damage. Either way, my handsome man is out of commission - ( it's 98% likely) for good.

This is heartbreaking in every sense of the word. I have had Michael for a little less than two years, but I fell in love with him instantly. I was working at a horse farm outside of Richmond, VA, exercising horses and teaching beginner lessons - the trainer/owner of the farm asked me to come out early one morning to help her bathe a few horses that we being sold. We worked, washed, and groomed 4 horses that morning - and then it was Michael's turn. I went to grab him from his stall, and the moment I set my eyes on his big brown ones - I knew I was in trouble. Under saddle, over fences, and in the wash stall - Michael was a total gentleman. Up until that point, I had never ridden a horse so smooth that I felt like I was floating. Jumping fences was a breeze with Michael, it felt more like riding a cloud. He could clear 3', 4'. 5' fences without hesitation. It may sound cheesy, but I knew he was the horse of my dreams. I begged Billy not to send him that day, and pulled MANY strings to make this boy my own. August 8, 2006 was the day that he was really mine.

At that point I had had my mare, Crystal, for a little over 8 years. She is a beautiful, sweet girl who has mellowed out with time - formerly a heinous bitch. And though I love her in the way that you have to love your family members that drive you crazy - I never felt connected to her. With Michael, it was different. From the moment we met we had some sort of crazy connection.

I spent less than a year with Michael in Richmond, before moving back to TN to finish school. Sadly, school took priority and he got bumped to the side - and ended up back at Fox Hollow in Bristol, TN. My intention had always been to move him to Knoxville once I got settled and found a great place for him to board - but it never happened. Now a year has passed, a year that I could have spent riding my handsome boy, and he is in rough shape. I've come to the harsh realization that I spent so much time and energy giving/doing for others that I forgot to take care of myself, and of what mattered most to me. It almost feels like a fair punishment for the girl who neglected her horse for a year (and by neglect I mean that he was still loved on, and ridden consistantly, and was in training .... just not spending time with me).

Now I am left with a gorgeous, unrideable gelding who still whinnies when he sees me - no matter how long it is between visits. A big, tough guy who loves me no matter what. Everyone should be so lucky.

A little more info on "Wobblers" can be found here:

http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=5120

so original

and ... this is a trial run.