www.houseofpuddles.org

Winnie wins the lottery – safe passage to HOP!

April 29th, 2009 - 4:04 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Circle of Life Lovers! Over the past few days we have been morning the loss of 2 precious HoPpers, Gus and Liz. They had a good life towards the end. Marilyn made sure of it.

Now it is time to welcome a new HopPer and just in the nick of time. Marilyn has named her Winnie after the wonderful gal who went and sprung her from death row today, Janet Winn.

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This morning I got an e-mail from our Chris Dowd in NM with a link to this old gal and my Paul in KY. I already new about Paul. Mr. Big foot!

When I saw this gal, it was hard not to cry. She looked so much like my Lily. Lily had the same sagging belly.

I called the shelter this morning and they told me her time was up. They had already held her longer than they had planned but she was just too dang sweet to put down.

I put a hold on her and told the worker that there were several folks working on springing her ASAP. We all know how this goes. Messages do not get relayed, other workers show up and sometimes the worst can happen. In a matter of hours Chris Dowd had someone picking up Winnie. None too soon. She was on the “list”.

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But never fear – HOP to the rescue and of course Janet Winn! Turns out Janet got to talk to someone who confirmed the worst about ole Winnie. She was left without food and water in the back yard of an abandoned home. She had been used as a “Back Yard Breeder”, who was used every heat cycle. Humans were horrible to her. She never stepped a paw inside a home. Yelled out and kicked for barking Winnie never gave up on humans. The shelter workers said she never stopped wagging her tail and was always eager to greet anyone who walked past her kennel.

The woman I talked to this morning said that she woke up thinking about her. She thought it was so odd that I called as soon as she walked in the door. She also said that she never answers the phone at that time because they are not, “officially” in yet.

So you see dear readers – Winnie wins the life lottery. Safe passage to House of Puddles and into Marilyn’s arms.

Sometimes the good gals win!

More winning tickets later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

That was fun!

April 26th, 2009 - 6:06 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Howl Show Lovers! I could easily become addicted to Howl Radio! I just love it. 15 minutes went by like 2 seconds! It was so much fun. Thank you Candy and Bailey for howling in first. You guys sounded great. My phone, however, sounded a bit lame. I use a headset so I can maneuver the mouse. I need a new phone if I am going to compete with the big talk show guns!

Sandy, it was so much fun talking with you. I cannot wait to see that Steiff Teddy Bear. It will be a great addition to the fundraiser for House of Puddles.

This will be so much fun to await and see! The Teddy is 40 years old which would be quite a collector’s item. This Teddy has a rich history that you can read all about if you click the word Steiff

I will research how much this delicious bear is worth before we list it. I will have a minimum bid on this fine bear! Richard Steiff would want it that way!

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By the way, here is the radio show if you want to listen. It is 15 minutes long!

Basset hound town howl radio show – second show!

It is a good 15 minutes! Enjoy!

More shows later……Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Emma goes green for House of Puddles!

April 24th, 2009 - 3:03 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and going green lovers: This weekend you may read a fair amount of blogs regarding items for sale in the HOP boutique. Due to the recent passing of 2 HoPpers kind folks are donating items for the HOP boutique that will help defray the costs that Marilyn recently incurred. According to the Firstgiving page that is up, Gus’s surgery bill is 6200 dollars. He was worth every penny!

This is another Kathy Peacock donation from
STITCHABLES EMBROIDERY!

Click the link to go to the item and check it out! It is the next sentence.

GO GREEN SR. RECYCLE SHOPPING BAG!

This product is endorsed by our very own Emma Wanda Rudert

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More Going Green Later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Green Emma

The Mayor is almost bright eyed and very bushy tailed!

April 24th, 2009 - 2:02 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Bright Eyed lovers. Oh what a difference a day makes. The Mayor woke up this morning able to open his eyes! I would say he looks about 82%. There is still some cloudiness but not nearly as much.

The Mayor felt so good that he even agreed to model this striking baseball cap!

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Do you likee? If so you can click on the link and see the listing in House of Puddles Boutique on my website. 100% of the sale will go right to HOP!

Read all about it here:

GOT BASSETS? BASEBALL CAP

This item has been generously donated by Kathy Peacock of

STITCHABLES EMBROIDERY.

More Kathy donations later so stay tuned! Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

In Honor of Liz and Gus for Mother’s day?

April 23rd, 2009 - 4:04 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Remembering Liz and Gus on Mother’s Day Lovers:

As many of you know, House of Puddles recently lost 2 Hoppers. The candles were lit as they crossed the bridge………

LIZ

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and GUS

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Well, the medical bills between the 2 have all but drained the coffers. Boy, I sure know all about that.

But check this out!

A wonderful gal by the name of Brenda Waldrop has donated a few of her fine jewelry pieces just in time for Mother’s Day. She has designed and hand crafted each of these lovely pieces. Brenda made a great suggestion that I put these on ebay to see what happens. She helped me load them into ebay today.

CLICK EACH PICTURE TO BE TAKEN TO THE AUCTION SITE. IF YOU ARE NOT BIDDING PLEASE TELL ANYONE AND EVERYONE ABOUT THESE VERY COOL AUCTIONS!

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Brenda – you are so talented and the Elders are honored to have such precious items on the auction block.

100% of the sale price will go to House of Puddles. The shipping costs will go to Brenda because she has all of the items in her inventory. I will make sure the accounting is 100% accurate.

The passing of such dear and sweet hounds is never easy. I know these items will help them shine as bright as all of the candles we have lit.

What a great way to honor their memories and some lucky Mom or friend of HOP………

More shining bright delights later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

P.S. FAIR WARNING!!!!!!!!

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The rainbow bridge welcomes a HopPer……

April 20th, 2009 - 12:12 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Liz of House of Puddles lovers: Today, Marilyn helped our beloved Liz across the bridge to rest in peace. Liz came to HOP in June of 2005 after her Daddy passed away. Marilyn welcomed Liz with open arms and also held her in those same arms as she sent her on her way to the bridge today.

Marilyn said,

Liz has been such an inspiration to me. She’s sassy and stubborn and would never give up despite all the problems she’s had with her legs and back and the blindness. But I can tell now she’s ready to let go. I love her dearly and thank you all for entrusting her to my care for these last 4 years. I can’t tell you how much I will miss her.”

Liz was going on 15.

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This will take you to Liz’s Page at the HOP website so you can see more pictures of our girl. LIZ’S PAGE

I also thought that you would enjoy seeing this image that I was working on for our firstgiving page. I am in the process of updating the theme with the HoPpers all heading towards the end of a track race. This is Liz in track shorts which are photoshopped on her. She was a real joy to the very end helping me fund raise for her and the other elders Marilyn so tenderly cares for.

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Dear Liz – I know you cannot run anymore but you sure made my heart race. God speed dear girl, God speed.

More remembering Liz later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Baby Ryder sports his bassethoundtown t-shirt!

April 19th, 2009 - 6:06 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound Lovers and baby Ryder Lovers! Baby Ryder is Devon and Todd’s little boy. He is wearing a T-shirt I had made for him from Earstoyou.net

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Oh, how cute is this guy? They were getting ready to go to a Pet Expo in CA! I cannot believe how big Ryder is getting!

Devon and I are working together on the Firstgiving Fundraiser for House of Puddles. We are really doing good! Take a look!

GOLD RUSH!

The 7,146.00 does not include the 1000.00 dollars that Chaps won via your votes! Recently, you all voted Chaps the cover hound of the Northern KY yellow pages. We have not received that check yet. It will be a few more weeks! Then we will be over 8000.00 dollars! What would we do without you?

Now that is something to suck on a pacifier about! LOL

More cute Ryder pictures later…….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Thank you C. Shreiner………..

April 17th, 2009 - 5:05 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hounds and C. Shreiner lovers! BHT received a package of some gold items about a week ago and we were so wrapped up in Emma we could not get to the jewelers.
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It was all 10K gold and the items I scrapped brought in 25.00 dollars! What a nice donation to House of Puddles. A few days ago I had sold a Lily book and donated 5.00 to House of Puddles so I already had an envelope made out and ready to go with my 5.00 in it. The Jeweler gave me 25.00 more bucks so I just popped it in the same envelope. I know you should not mail money, but I did!

These are some little 10K earrrings.

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The stones I kept and I will put into another project.

Here is another 10K ring. I kept this stone as well. I am getting a very nice collection of amethysts.

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This is another 10K ring with a tiny little diamond that I have tucked away for a cute project.

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Look at this huge amyethist…….

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That is probably worth something! (unlike the poop diamond)

I will check on line and find out.

So, 25.00 more dollars will go to House of Puddles and C. Shreiner gets a free gift! Anything 25.00 or over gets a little giftee poo! Read all about it on the Firstgiving link!

GOLD RUSH

More Gold Rushin’ later…………..

Can you believe this??? VERY LONG POST FOR A NEEDY BOY NAMED RICHARD IN TX!

April 16th, 2009 - 7:07 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and stray basset hound lovers. Sigh……….

OK – this is just to strange for words but you all know how many of those I have. OK, we all remember Gabe who finally found a perfect forever home.

OK – this is not about Gabe. He is doing great and loving life. His foster family made sure of that.

Now for the kicker………..This came in the same day that Gabe found a forever home from Chaps’s Auntie, Audra, in TX. Her and her family fostered Gabe and really needed to get him a home because of the Elders they had. It was just too much for them!

Middle of e-mail after telling me about Gabe……….

“NOW, you need to sit down, if your not already………take a deep breath………..because you won’t believe what I am about to tell you now. This evening some man came by my Mom’s house (she had met him last week when he was walking by and they talked about Gabe and the Bassets) and he told her he had seen another basset walking down the highway near their house. He picked it up and didn’t know what to do with it, but remembered she had Gabe and rescued bassets. So………..you know the rest. It’s at my Mom’s house right now. It was in TERRIBLE SHAPE. So thirsty, so hungry, ticks, and it appeared to have never had his nails trimmed. They were curving around his toes, in fact his feet were already growing that way from the long nails. He must of tripped all the time, because his nose was bleeding and his chin was all scraped up. He’s not neutered, and my mom thinks he was use for a stud service. One of his eyes are a little cloudy, but he is so lovable and just wags his tail all the time. He appears to be about 7 years old.

Can you believe this?????????? I told Basset Buddies about him, but they don’t have any room to foster him. They are bursting at the seams. My mom did want me to ask you about The House of Puddles. Do they take old bassets in like this? I’m not quite sure about their program? We can try to get him adopted out, but I’m afraid he might be too old. He also has a knot on his neck, so I will have to get that checked out too. Well, let me know your thoughts. We are going to take him to the vet hopefully Friday to get shots, neuter surgery, heartworm check, etc. I’ll keep you posted.

End of middle of e-mail………Oh for the love of God.

They have named him Richard…….

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4-16-09 UPDATE

E- mail from Audra who is a part of the foster family……

Hi Cat…..just wanted to check in to let you know how Richard is doing. He had his surgery yesterday and boy did he have surgery!!!!! Let’s see he was given all his shots, tested Heartworm negative (YEA!), neutered, had the rather large skin tag hanging from his chest removed, along with another one on his stomach, then had a large cyst removed from his neck and 3 others on his underside, and all the little skin warts hanging on him (they looked like ticks) burned off. He also had his ears checked, another nail trim, his anal glands drained and a dental cleaning. The vet said his teeth looked great, didn’t need any pulled and they cleaned, scraped, polished and sealed his teeth. He has some cataracts starting in both eyes, and they estimate his age anywhere between 6-8 years old.

He is doing really well after surgery, just has a lot of staples in him everywhere. He is eating fine and getting along well with Bailey and Clancy, although my Mom keeps him in a separate part of her house and then puts him in a kennel at night.

He obviously has never been cared for his entire life. If you notice in one of the photos his little right foot curves to the side. We believe it grew this way because of the way he was walking due to his long toenails. He walks fine, however favors that foot a little.

My Mom is trying to socialize him as much as she can. Richard has become very attached to her and her only. He seems to favor women over men. He took well to me and Jourdan when we went over to visit and Colby…….and Abby, well Abby doesn’t like anyone, she’s got her own issues from her past. After she showed her teeth and growled at him, he finally left her alone.

We really need to find a home for Richard. Someone that would be willing to have a senior dog and understand that he doesn’t want to go for long walks or play a lot,,,,,,,he doesn’t even need a large yard………he would just be happy to have a soft bed (which he has never had…….you can tell because of all the callouses on his elbows, he must of always laid on a rough surface). He is quiet, learning how to receive love (something he didn’t know existed), eats well, potty trained, and he gives you a sincere look of gratitude for showing him there is more to life than he ever knew! He picked up a toy the other day and threw it in the air……..the first sign of him showing he was comfortable enough to enjoy a little fun time.

I have contacted Basset Buddies and they have him posted, but you know the older ones are harder to adopt out. They are going to try and move him into a foster family after he gets his staples out in about 10 days. I was hoping you could maybe do a blog on him, to see if his family is out there………waiting to give Richard a home — something he really never has had.

Here are some new pictures of Richard…..

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Can you believe this story? How the chain of events lead all of us to each other. This old guy was desperate with a banged up chin and his life changed with this group of folks.

Oh my sweet circle of friends. One more old guy can find a home with the power of love, the internet, and most importantly, A FOSTER FAMILY………

It is my honor and great joy to showcase……….RICHARD! A true joy and survivor. Is he your best friend? Let’s help him find the life he deserves just like all of the bassets at Basset Buddies Rescue of TX

More Richard news later………Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma


Chaps is a Super Star, just ask his Mom and Grandma!

March 15th, 2009 - 5:05 pm KY Time

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Super Star Lovers! We had so much fun today. It was just bassetabulous! As most of his fans know, today was the Mayor’s professional photo shoot to be on the cover of the KY Yellow Pages. The anticipation was palpable as Chaps was loaded into his chauffeur (me) driven basset hauling vehicle.

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We headed off towards his appointment and we were only about an hour early. Can you say excited? Here is Grandma heading for the door. We walked him prior to his shoot so he could be very comfortable in the potty department. (It worked)!

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The photographer was all set up and we did not waste any time. I got him right up on his pedestal with a kiss for luck and we were on our way! He’s only just begun………

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Then the magic started! Just take a look at this pro!

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I was not a bit nervous or acting like a stage Mom! Who me?

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Lord have mercy, get that lady a chill pill!

Chaps did so much better than I did! The photographer said how good he was and he was very impressed by his patience.

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I finally calmed down a bit as well. I cannot thank Grandma enough for capturing all of these great pictures. This was the final one of the photo shoot. I just adore it. The professional captured about 150 images. I saw most of them and they were stunningly pawsome!

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When we got home Chaps plowed through his SWAG!

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Our boy got all kinds of goodies from the photo shoot but I think he was too tired to enjoy them!

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THESE DOGS ARE TIRED!

Hope you enjoyed our adventure! We will wait by the mail box for our 1000 dollar check so we can send it to House of Puddles.

Good Job Chaps and all who supported him in the contest! We can all pat ourselves on the back! It was a town effort! Our Mayor loves each and everyone of you!

Emma was thrilled when we got home. She had been with her Grandpa all day. It was perfect, they both like to sleep a lot!

More perfect days later……….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

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