Years ago I adopted Kaya from San Francisco Animal Care & Control which is SF's city shelter. I recently got a newsletter from them saying they would be posting stories from adopters on their Facebook page in a "Love Stories" album for Valentine's Day. Of course I had to send Kaya's story! Lately I've been hearing stories of my internet friends running into those who helped and cared for their dogs before they were adopted. Maybe this is my chance to reach one of those people who knew Kaya! If not...I'm just happy to share and maybe make someone smile. Here's what I wrote...
I adopted Kaya (then Daisy) as a little puppy almost 4 years ago! She
has grown up to be such a loving, loyal, affectionate and hilarious dog.
Her favorite activities include sunbathing, fetch, hangin' with her
"brother" Norman, giving kisses, digging in the sand and being a big lap
dog.
Kaya was the first in my animal family that is now a very
happy & adorable trio including my other former pound puppy, Norman
and their kitty, Gina. When I adopted Kaya I didn't have much, having
just moved back to the area. An apartment, an airbed, a pile of clothes
and a dog...what more could you need!? And it was perfect. I quickly
started fostering cats because I wanted to socialize her from a young
age. I nicknamed her "the cat whisperer" because she was able to turn
even the most scaredy of scaredy cats in a dog lover.
After a
few months, I realized she needed a dog buddy too. When I adopted Norman
I could have never imagined 2 dogs could be so perfect for each other.
They sleep on top of each other, share all their treats & toys,
wrestle for hours in the back yard and follow all the same smells when
out on the trail. They adore each other endlessly. Norman thinks Kaya is
just about the coolest thing on the planet. While Kaya loves having her
dutiful companion at her beck and call.
Kaya is also a master at
fetch. She leaps with joy at the sight of her beloved chuck-it &
ball. She'll bring it back over and over...and over. And I always marvel
at her quest for the missing ball should she have missed where I threw
it. I've seen her sweep an acre's worth of land and come up victorious
time and time again. Swimming fetch is another great passion of hers.
She never gets tired when she's out but she certainly crashes hard once
we're home!
When not playing fetch, Kaya is a great adventurer.
On most days, we go on long hikes in the Oakland hills. She explores
many nooks and crannies on her own but any mention of "go up there" "go
down there" "go over there" with a point in the right direction and
she's off to investigate! She also loves the snow at Lake Tahoe and
running her little heart out on the beach. And we've been lucky enough
to move from my tiny studio to a beautiful house with a yard.
Kaya
is my right hand girl. She leaps at the opportunity to join me no
matter what we're doing...taking out the trash, moving from the couch to
bed late at night, climbing a huge mountain, going for a swim or even
if I want her to move from the foot of the bed to cozied up tight by my
face. Since her very first night with me, she has spent every one
burrowed deep under the covers, cuddled up against me. In fact, her warm
head is resting on my lap as I type this.
Something very
important to me is promoting Pit Bull type dogs in a positive light.
Kaya's made that easy on me. She loves everyone she meets from little
kids to old people, along with dogs of all shapes and sizes. She was a
rambunctious and ambitious pup so I put countless hours into her
training. I wanted us to be a team, not just a dog obeying her owner.
And it worked! She knows what I'm saying from the most subtle motions
and has a barrel of tricks that she loves running through. I can't
express how much I love taking her places and seeing her run free. She
always keeps me in check and makes sure we're along for the ride
together.
If you are interested in seeing more of our
adventures, I love documenting our daily activities on Instagram @
mytwopitties. We're also on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube & Blogger
under the same name. Thank you so much to those at SFACC who helped rescue
and care for my girl!
I had a really really hard time narrowing down the pictures too. Everyone else just posted one sweet picture so I felt like kind of an a-hole submitting a whole collection. But...I just couldn't decide. Oh well! You can click on the above image to view it larger.
Have you ever connected with some who knew your dog in the past or helped rescue them?
Related Posts:
Three Years with Kaya
Two Years with Kaya
A Year with Kaya
Showing posts with label Snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snow. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
CRAZY FOR KAYA
Location:
Oakland, CA, USA
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Labels:
Holidays,
Kaya,
Norman,
Photography,
Snow,
Wordless Wednesday
Location:
Lake Tahoe, United States
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
NORMAN'S 3RD BIRTHDAY!!
Wow, it's been a kick ass year in the life of Norman!
Here are some things he enjoyed most...
Loving our new house and most of all, the addition of a huge deck...perfect for sunbathing!
Related Posts:
Norman's 2nd Birthday!!
Norman's 1st Birthday!!
A Year with Norman
Here are some things he enjoyed most...
Going on a trip to L.A.
And reuniting with his "cousin" Motlie!
Becoming certified as a Therapy Dog and attending his first 5 visits!
Visiting many of California's beautiful beaches in San Francisco, Marin,
Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and Venice Beach!
Going on lots of awesome hikes, especially at our new favorite trail
that is just a couple minutes from the house!
that is just a couple minutes from the house!
Loving our new house and most of all, the addition of a huge deck...perfect for sunbathing!
Since moving out of our studio apartment and into the new house, we've been able to have many overnight guests and visitors. Kaya & Norman love this!
Going to a K9 pool party & swimming in a pool for the first time!
Meeting the adorable Violet, a new puppy in our neighborhood, and getting together for regular play dates! Norman is a huge fan of puppies...
Meeting the adorable Violet, a new puppy in our neighborhood, and getting together for regular play dates! Norman is a huge fan of puppies...
Going on many trips to Lake Tahoe where we get to spend time with my parents & Zoey!
And of course, let's not forget, many many cuddles...
Happy Birthday to my favorite guy in the whole world!!
Related Posts:
Norman's 2nd Birthday!!
Norman's 1st Birthday!!
A Year with Norman
Location:
Oakland, CA, USA
Monday, September 15, 2014
MY WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR
| First I need these 2 to keep me company... |
Question #1: What are you working on?
Let's see...I've got 128 unpublished drafts. Plus a text doc with lists of ideas, probably a couple hundred ranging from training things, funny stories, past events, back story info on the animals, introducing the family & others to pit bulls, things that frustrate me, random dog interests like books and movies, stories about other dogs I've known, products we love and much more. I probably have another hundred ideas rattling around in my head, mostly about wanting to share photo collections of vacations, family visits and adventures. I am totally backed up with ideas and unfinished posts but I try to at least publish a Wordless Wednesday every week...those are easy and fun!
![]() |
| Let's get crackin'! |
Question #2: Why do you write what you do?
I started the blog mostly for myself to have an outlet other than friends and family to go on and on about my dogs. And I hope that some day it will be a great way to look back on old memories. But I didn't anticipate that it would be so much fun exchanging stories, questions and info with other bloggers from all over! I am also passionate about pit bull type dogs, animal rescue and dog behavior/training so I mix those things in, but I mostly just share cute photos of the gang:)
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| Thanks for "helping" guys... |
99% of the time I take my dogs out alone. Most days we go on a 1 to 2 hour hike so even though I listen to music and podcasts on my ipod, my mind wanders and of course while I'm paying attention to the dogs, blog topics often come to mind. I probably forget most but you never know...
Question #2: How does your writing process work?
Often my posts revolve around outings we've been on or experiences we've had so I come up with a title, write a couple paragraphs about what we did and how it went...sometimes brief and funny, other times insightful and long-winded. Next I go through all my photos relating to the subject, select the best ones and put them in a folder. Then I open all those photos in Photoshop, edit, crop, resize and save them for web. Then I upload the photos to blogger, arrange them, usually change stuff around a bunch, edit the text and preview the draft. For the last step I add labels, location, related post links at the bottom and schedule it to be posted usually on a Monday through Thursday morning since most people are busy on the weekend.
Unfortunately selecting, sorting and editing photos takes me a lot of time and is the reason it takes me so long to write posts and also why so many of my posts never get past the draft version. Since most posts are written about our adventures, the photos are essential. Plus I love sharing them! I've got a blog folder on my computer with many folders inside containing photos I plan to use or currently editing. Some of those folders are...beach, Gina, holiday, Tahoe, food, LA trip, Motlie, moving, Norman, hiking, snow, festivals, Kaya, gondola ride, swimming, family visit, UK dogs, Zoey, funny, training, Wordless Wednesday and Throwback Thursday. Plus a "used" folder in case I need to reuse a photo or need to remember if I have used one yet or not.
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| Everyone gets distracted sometimes... |
I guess that's it! I wish I had time to post every day. We recently joined Instagram and I am totally addicted! It is the perfect platform for us to instantly share our photos of adventures and cuddles. I've also set up the photos to post on our Facebook and Twitter so you can see them even if you're not on Instagram.
Here are the blogs I nominate to do the writer's tour also:
acd6pack - 6 blind & deaf rescued Australian Cattle Dogs. Each with their own special personality and good looks. They often go to the beach or out on hikes and come home with great stories & photos to share!
2 Punk Dogs - 2 dogs, 4 cats & a lizard named Doug...need I say more? These dogs kick butt at relaxing on the couch and exploring the beautiful woods where they live.
Life in 2-Player Mode - A couple adorable dogs with a zest for life. They took a break from blogging for a while but recently came back...woohoo!
| Why are you still on that bright hot screen thingy? We have cuddling to do... |
Related Posts:
I Would Like to Thank...
Blog Awards Wahoo!!
We Are Inspired too!
Labels:
Adventures,
Beach,
Funny,
Kaya,
Kitties,
Norman,
Photography,
Snow
Location:
Oakland, CA, USA
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
THE MORNING ROUTINE
Kaya, Norman, Gina and Zoey pretty much stick to the same trend every morning. I almost always wake up to Kaya sleeping on her back, half under the covers, propped up against me with her head on the pillow next to mine.
And she usually stays there for a while longer after I get up.
Norman likes to get up and mosey upstairs to lie in the sunlight that floods the living room. He seems to know the exact time to bother getting out of bed so that the sunlight will be in the perfect spot.
He always looks rather pleased with himself when I come over to say good morning to him. His tail starts thumbing, he stretches a lot, yawns and expresses his need for a belly rub.
But there are also mornings where he stays in bed with us no matter how sunny it is upstairs.
And sometimes he is just too lazy and cozy to even come to bed at night, so he spends the whole night on the couch and that's where I find him in the morning, in the exact same position I left him in.
Still, his tail starts thumping when I come over to say good morning, he stretches and licks me but he doesn't get up for another hour or so.
Zoey, on the other hand, has a disdain for heat so she prefers to go outside and soak in the coolness of the hard ground...away from any direct sunlight. I guess it feels as good to her as sunbathing does to Kaya and Norman.
Actually, this would be Zoey's ideal morning...
But that's not going to happen again any time soon. Sorry Zoey.
Like any good feline, Gina's routine starts around dawn. Cat experts would say that she is active during these hours because it's prime hunting time, but luckily she always comes home empty handed(mouthed?). Her morning continues from there...asking to go out, asking to come in, out again, in again about every hour. Once I do get up there is a lot of meowing, stretching, eating, exploring, purring and kneading while I'm trying to make my morning coffee and say hello to Norman.
Around this time, Kaya gets up to sunbathe as well.
The spot on the back cushions of the couch is obviously the prime location in our house. Kaya stays there 'til she is panting like crazy and then she flops to the floor, only to return to the spot again shortly after.
Not much changes here from winter to summer but on raining mornings in the winter(it does not rain here in the summer) everyone would be content to snooze away in the comfort of the bed. They usually wouldn't get up 'til I'd bribe them with breakfast. Even if I didn't feed them until the afternoon!
Those rainy mornings are now behind us until at least November so our morning routine is here to stay. Do your pets have morning habits that they stick to?
Related Posts:
Sleeping In
Norman's Silly Habit
Norman's Love Affair
Norman likes to get up and mosey upstairs to lie in the sunlight that floods the living room. He seems to know the exact time to bother getting out of bed so that the sunlight will be in the perfect spot.
He always looks rather pleased with himself when I come over to say good morning to him. His tail starts thumbing, he stretches a lot, yawns and expresses his need for a belly rub.
But there are also mornings where he stays in bed with us no matter how sunny it is upstairs.
And sometimes he is just too lazy and cozy to even come to bed at night, so he spends the whole night on the couch and that's where I find him in the morning, in the exact same position I left him in.
Still, his tail starts thumping when I come over to say good morning, he stretches and licks me but he doesn't get up for another hour or so.
Zoey, on the other hand, has a disdain for heat so she prefers to go outside and soak in the coolness of the hard ground...away from any direct sunlight. I guess it feels as good to her as sunbathing does to Kaya and Norman.
Actually, this would be Zoey's ideal morning...
But that's not going to happen again any time soon. Sorry Zoey.
Like any good feline, Gina's routine starts around dawn. Cat experts would say that she is active during these hours because it's prime hunting time, but luckily she always comes home empty handed(mouthed?). Her morning continues from there...asking to go out, asking to come in, out again, in again about every hour. Once I do get up there is a lot of meowing, stretching, eating, exploring, purring and kneading while I'm trying to make my morning coffee and say hello to Norman.
Around this time, Kaya gets up to sunbathe as well.
The spot on the back cushions of the couch is obviously the prime location in our house. Kaya stays there 'til she is panting like crazy and then she flops to the floor, only to return to the spot again shortly after.
Not much changes here from winter to summer but on raining mornings in the winter(it does not rain here in the summer) everyone would be content to snooze away in the comfort of the bed. They usually wouldn't get up 'til I'd bribe them with breakfast. Even if I didn't feed them until the afternoon!
| Do you see the Kaya-shaped lump in this picture? |
Those rainy mornings are now behind us until at least November so our morning routine is here to stay. Do your pets have morning habits that they stick to?
Related Posts:
Sleeping In
Norman's Silly Habit
Norman's Love Affair
Location:
Oakland, CA, USA
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