Fostering has been an education for me. Each dog is a bit different but every one of the dogs I have had the privilege of fostering has taught me something new. My current foster Buffy has a wealth of information to teach and just as much to learn. Probably the most important thing she has taught me is that my job is to make her feel safe and secure. My guess is that outside of the last foster home she was in, she has not experienced much security in her short life. She was found wandering the streets in New York City, but she is quickly learning what it means to live in a home where she is wanted, safe and loved.

Here are some of the things I have learned about Buffy in the first two weeks:

She adores my dog Mickey and other dogs she has met. She also enjoys the companionship of any human who is willing to give her even the smallest amount of attention. 

Buffy does not yet fully understand boundaries. Since Mickey is older, he is far less playful and Buffy does not seem to get that sometimes he just wants to be left alone. Her heart, though, is always in the right place as evidenced by Mickey having a bad dream and Buffy, immediately going to him, licking his face and staying with him until things returned to normal. In observing the interaction, Mickey seemed to appreciate and be soothed by the attention of another dog. As much as I adore him and want him to always feel safe, I think Buffy was able to make him feel better in a way that I could not.

Buffy has not learned to share her toys and does not particularly care to be in her crate for any length of time. She will instinctively revert to her "street dog" ways if not consistently corrected. these are all things we continue to work on.

Buffy is fearless. We already had a meet and greet with a very nice family with three small children and a big one year old dog. Buffy is wonderful with kids and had a great time playing with the dog. Even though he was probably double her size and weight she was unfazed. This caring family felt that they would like to wait for better weather and a chance to fence their yard to keep the dogs safe, and hope she is still available at that point – a good decision, I think. I applaud the family for putting the safety and well-being of both Buffy and their own dog first. If it was meant to be, it will be. For now she is safe and she is thriving.

Buffy bonds very quickly with her humans. She has not left my side. She sleeps with me at night and stays close to me when I am home. She will lie against me at night and when we are on the couch watching TV. I guess she needs the security of another body next to hers. If she can not be with me, she always has Mickey to fill the void.

She is very smart, learns quickly and is eager to please. We have started using a puzzle toy to help with her crate training and she loves it. We are also working daily on different commands in fun ways. I am having a good time working with her and continuing her training. We both look forward to nicer weather when we can spend more time outside.

Buffy is a survivor. She was found running on a busy city street. She was emaciated. Still she is the happiest little dog you will ever meet. She has already put on some weight and is looking better every day. 

She is a work in progress but whoever is lucky enough to adopt her will have a wonderful companion and best friend for years to come!

Buffy is one great dog who proves once again that there are many amazing dogs in shelters and rescues that are in need of homes. Both Buffy and Mickey are shelter survivors who demonstrate every day the true meaning of unconditional love. Despite what many rescue dogs have endured at the hands of humans, they do not hold it against us. All they want is to love and be loved in return. Please consider opening your home and heart to one of them – don’t shop, adopt!

Buffy is currently being fostered here in Connecticut and is available through Red Hook Dog Rescue of Brooklyn, NY. 

Recently I came across an article in the Hartford Courant (my local newspaper) that a Connecticut lawmaker wants to introduce legislation that would ban insurance companies from discriminating against homeowners with pit bulls. How great is that?

Last week I attended a public hearing on this bill – House Bill 5361. As I listened to arguments, pro and con, I was pleased to see the amount of bi-partisan support this proposal was receiving among legislators and members of the public alike. Of course the insurance companies are opposed, but at least on this day, they were in the minority!

Best of all, I was given the opportunity to speak before members of the State Insurance Committee. While I only had three minutes, I was able to share my experience of discrimination by the insurance industry because I was honest about the breed of dog I own. Despite owning property in Connecticut since 1981 and having owned dogs for this entire time, I have never had a claim involving any of my dogs. Although my dog is neutered, never allowed to roam off leash and never left outside in my fully fenced yard unsupervised, when it came time to look for homeowners insurance, I was rejected out of hand by more than thirty companies. Others offered insurance with conditions or at a higher rate. In the end, I only found one company that did not discriminate.

While it was exciting to feel like my voice had been heard by many, there was one legislator who made it no secret that he opposed the bill, which is certainly his prerogative. However, the disturbing part was that when people spoke in favor of the bill he appeared to be engaged in a private conversation with the person next to him and not paying attention to the comments. At one point he actually got up and left while people were talking. I found this to be rude and disrespectful and I am happy to say he is not from my district.

I understand there will be those we will never reach and that is something I reluctantly accept but, in my opinion, manners and common courtesy should be universal, especially among those who have been elected to serve the public.

But, are we making progress? I believe the answer is yes. 

In my state of Connecticut a law has already been enacted a law prohibiting municipalities from adopting breed-specific ordinances. (2013, Public Act 13-103).

In 2014, breed bans were overturned in Maryland, South Dakota and Utah. Also, in the past six months over 100 municipalities across the country have done the same.

It was exciting for me to observe the workings of our government first hand and have the opportunity to share my own experience with the people who make our laws. It gave me reason to hope for better days ahead and optimism that things may finally be changing.

Next up for me – Humane Lobby Day at our State Capitol tomorrow. I encourage others to join the fight and engage in the process. Together we can be part of the solution.

A while back I wrote about my first experience as a foster mom for a very sweet dog from Brooklyn, NY who I called Macy. I fostered her through Red Hook Dog Rescue. Macy, as it turned out was not with me very long – just a month – before she found her forever home with a wonderful woman who adores her.

I have stayed in touch, followed Macy (now called Maizy) on Facebook and even visited her. It was wonderful to see her settled in her new home with her new mom and two Chihuahua brothers. She lives on a lake where she can look out the picture window and watch the boats in the summer, enjoy the beautiful foliage in the fall and go ice skating in the winter.

Since Macy left in October, I have had a couple of very short term foster puppies – one 5 month old for about four days while he was waiting for his new family to be able to take him and another who was about 4 or 5 months old who was found as a stray by a friend and just needed a place to crash for the night.

Now my friends at Red Hook have asked me to foster again. I was hoping to wait until the spring and the nice weather but, apparently that was not to be. My newest foster arrived Sunday night. Her name is Buffy and she is adorable, and very eager to train me and Mickey. Now it is my job to see that she does not – which is hard because she is so darn cute.

We will be working on leash walking (if it ever stops snowing) crate training and basic commands, as well as putting on some much needed weight. She seems quite stubborn but she is still young and very sweet. Once she catches on I think she will enjoy it here and we will enjoy having her.

She has already taken a liking to Mickey although I’m not sure he knows what to make of her…..it has been a while since we have had a young exuberant dog in the house for any length of time but he is the ever-patient older brother that kind of puts up with everything, even if he feels a bit annoyed.

As you can see, Buffy is a bit thin and it is cold out here in New England so I would like to thank my friend Lisa Luperella of Grateful Pawz for donating a beautiful hand-made winter coat for Buffy. 

Lisa will many times donate coats to shelter and rescue dogs so, if you are looking for a coat for your pet, please support Lisa and Grateful Pawz. You can check out her fabulous designs here.


As Buffy settles in and we get to know each other better, I’m sure there will be lots of fun ahead so stay tuned. And as always, please consider fostering a dog and helping to save a life. You’ll be glad you did.

Today we have a very special treat!

Recently, while searching for stories and articles to share on my Facebook page, I came across one article that stood out above the others and included some of the most adorable pictures I had ever seen. Immediately, I wanted to know more about the photographer, Sabrina Paige. So I did some investigating, tracked her down and emailed her to let her know how much I admired her work.

I hope that does not sound too stalker-ish – I just really loved the pictures. What I also really appreciated about Sabrina was that she was formerly a shelter photographer, using her talents to help shelter dogs look their best when seen by potential adopters.


All photos (c) Sabrina Paige

What happened next, knocked my socks off and I will get to that in a bit. First though, I want to introduce photographer Sabrina Paige who was kind enough to take time out of her schedule to answer a few questions.

Hope you enjoy the interview and be sure to read all the way to the end where I will reveal a big surprise!!!!!

1.  How did you discover your talent for photography?

I started by photographing adoptable dogs at Animal Care & Control in NYC because I saw there was a huge need for decent pictures. I found this was something I really enjoyed and could do very well, or so I've been told!

2.  How long have you been a photographer?

I'm a life-long 'artsy' person but didn't really get into photography until about three years ago.

3. Tell us a little about your pets......how long you have had them and where they are originally from.

All three of my pets originated from Animal Care & Control of NYC and I adopted them after failing as their foster parent for various rescues. I just lost my first dog Skyler to lymphoma in October, and now just have Blue (dog) and Willie Nelson (cat).

4. How do you get them to pose for pictures?

Well I got really lucky by adopting pets who get along so well and pose naturally in adorable snuggling positions! My cat deserves most of the credit for this, he is exceptionally dog friendly and is the initiator of the majority of snuggle sessions. (So it's pretty easy to get good pictures while they're all sleeping.) For other pictures of Blue where he needs to be awake and posing somehow I make sure to 'pay' him with a lot of high-value treats, and also make sure he's enjoying himself and happy, because that really comes through in the picture. 

5. How did you learn about the opportunity to photograph shelter pets? How long did you do it?

When I began volunteering as a dog walker I saw that there was really just one staff member who photographed dogs, and because of the large volume of dogs who enter the shelter many went without good pictures which significantly decreased their chances at finding a home. I photographed dogs at the shelter for about two and a half years.

6. Tell us about your Instagram account

People can follow me (@thebluebies) on Instagram which chronicles my personal pets' daily adventures in snuggling and other activities. 

7. What do you enjoy most about Instagram?

Instagram has a great sense of community and there are thousands of amazing accounts, pet-centric and otherwise. If you're into photography, you will probably love it! There are far less political arguments and general negativity than on Facebook too, it's very appealing as an artistic escape where you can 'meet' interesting people and be inspired photographically.

8. Do you have any specific ideas or goals for the future - both personally and professionally?

Yes, about a million! Photography-wise I'm interested in pursuing more professional opportunities and increasing my technical knowledge. I'm also looking forward to doing a lot of cool charity-related projects on my Instagram account and achieving new and exciting levels of cute snuggling.

9.  As a shelter photographer, how difficult was it to get these dogs, who were in a stressful and scary environment, to allow you to take their pictures and what tricks do you have to show them in the best possible light?

Many times I would have a volunteer with me who would help the dog feel more at ease, this was really a win-win because it was easier for me and beneficial for the dog to have a human with them in the picture. If you're on your own it can be a bit more difficult but I always brought roast beef which was a real crowd-pleaser and helped persuade a lot of dogs that looking directly at the big scary camera was worth it. Most dogs are really great at 'selling' themselves and will give you fabulous smiles and look very happy. For the ones that don't, you just have to work with what you've got! Also I would strongly recommend taking as many pictures as possible using a 'burst' mode if you are able to. I probably delete 95% of the pictures I take.

During the course of our communications, Sabrina very matter-of-factly mentioned: “Oh I totally know your dog too - he's from the Brooklyn shelter a long time ago? Came in with another dog?” Remember – I adopted Mickey in February, 2011, almost 4 years ago.

And then: “Yes! This is me with terrible highlights trying to get him to look happy for the camera! He was really scared!”

Sabrina and I had a connection and I did not even know it!

And if you are like I am, the first question was, how did she possibly remember my dog, out of all the dogs that came through the shelter system, after all this time? Here is the answer:

I feel as though everyone is gifted with one unique freakish/genius quality in life, like my good friend in high school always could guess what the total would be for a full cart of groceries within one dollar before anything was even scanned, another friend always instinctively knows what time it is without looking at a watch, another friend always knows which cardinal direction she is facing, and mine is that I have an extreme elephant memory for all the dogs I met at the shelter! (I wish it could be card counting or extreme couponing, but it is what it is!) There were multiple times I would see a dog I remembered from the shelter who had been adopted walking down the street in NYC and run after the owner like a crazy person telling them 'I know your dog!' I'm also totally terrible at remembering or recognizing human faces to the point I've offended many acquaintances by walking right by them without blinking an eye, which makes it even more strange.

Is Sabrina amazing or what?

Follow her on Instagram to see more of her wonderful work @theblubies.

Thank you Sabrina for bringing smiles to our faces through your photography, for volunteering your time to help shelter animals and for all you do to portray pit bulls in a positive light! You rock!!