Paws with a Cause and Nerissa!

Paws with a Cause is over, but you can still help! Nerissa offered this great post and I think you'll like it. You might even want to donate to Paws when you're doing reading it!

Here's the link to the post. I loved it and so will you! http://www.nerissaslife.com/2012/02/i-was-only-trying-to-help.html

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs. PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy.

Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some. Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen. PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

 Paws With A Cause
4646 South Division
Wayland, MI 49348

 How to donate:
 1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause
2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate.

Paws With a Cause for Kimberly Koz

I'm reposting this with permission from Kimberley Koz. Read on and have some tissues ready!
I remember Valentine's Day 1993 because the love of my life joined my family.

I'm not speaking of my husband, although he is indeed the LOVE of my life. I'm speaking of my tabby, Buddy.

We lived in a small patio home in Jacksonville, Florida with my Turkish Angora, Genny, and my Tortoiseshell, Mandy. I also had numerous stray cats thanks to a feral mother who was impossible to trap, and littered my neighborhood for several years until I lured her into a cage with grilled salmon sauteed in butter.

On that particular Valentine's Day, Ray was in the front yard hacking away at an Oleander bush. The thing was poisonous and he had a horrible skin rash on his arms every time he pruned it. I have a memory of standing in the garage, looking toward the driveway where Ray was sitting, sharpening a tool...and I saw he had a cat watching him. "Who's your little buddy?" I asked. "Don't know," he responded. "Haven't seen this one before."

At first I thought I hadn't either, but something about the tabby struck a familiar chord with me. A couple years before Angel, the feral littering my yard, gave birth at Christmas. Ray and I came home from Eve services to find six kittens crowding our front doorstep. "Is this a joke?" Ray shouted. The kittens scattered. Angel had been in the habit of bringing me her kits to take care of, so she could go back to being footloose and fancy free. The slut. The following week she brought her kittens back to me, this time into my yard, where she left them during the day. Naturally I fed them and provided a dog house for their shelter.

One of them had the roundest big eyes I'd ever seen on a cat. At the time I thought, this one will disappear. Someone in the neighborhood will adopt it. I couldn't. I had two cats inside a cupboard of a house. No more room! Sure enough, days later, I didn't see the buggy-eyed kitten with the others.

Two years later, the tabby watching Ray hack apart the Oleander had the same big round eyes. He also had a weird, reedy voice and I could hear him breathing across the room! I asked around as to who owned him, but while several neighbors knew him, no one claimed him. I got him neutered, vaccinated, and the vet determined he had a polyp growing in his nasal cavity.

Christmas Card 1999 (1st shot, only shot!)

For Ray it was also love at first sight, so adding Buddy to our cat family wasn't up for discussion. However, Genny and Mandy felt like their Girls Only clubhouse had been invaded by a boy, with all his weird breathing, yowling, and smells. He loved to chase them, and pounce. But his noisy breathing alerted them to his whereabouts and they were able to outmaneuver him.

Then, while I was in New York at a writers conference, Ray took Buddy to Gainesville for surgery at their veterinary training hospital. When he asked how Buddy was doing and the techs said, "He's eating like a little hog!" Now that he could breathe, everything smelled wonderful to him. On the way home, over an hour drive, Buddy sat in Ray's lap, joyfully rubbing his face against Ray's neck and chin. Ahem. Ray is allergic to cats. By the time he arrived home his skin looked like he had done battle with another Oleander bush. He said he didn't care.

Buddy's return home was not celebrated by my girls. In fact, they were horrified because now they could no longer hear him breathe, and were continually caught off guard when he pounced or chased.

Buddy's life with us has had more ups than downs. He loved to run, and often would dash out the front door after one of the strays, to lead us on a merry chase throughout the neighborhood. It got to the point where we kept a stadium seat cushion by the front door to block him when we entered. We called it The Buddy Buster.

Buddy's yearn to run was compensated when we bought a treadmill, and after we showed him how it worked, he would eagerly jump on and trot, usually when one of us held a milk ring in front of him. When we sold our house, the buyer wanted to buy Buddy after watching him on the treadmill. Years later, perhaps 3 years ago, we purchased another treadmill having sold our original one. Ray was in the process of assembling it when Buddy ambled over and crawled onto it. He remembered! We turned it on at a snails crawl and bless his heart, he walked down memory lane.

By the way, those plastic circles that held the top on new milk jugs were a huge hit with my cats, but especially Buddy. He carried one everywhere. And my cats loved to stash them around the house. I still recall how horrified I was when my friend's kids came over and discovered...thousands I'm thinking...under my sofa!

Buddy loved to fetch. Milk rings didn't fly so far, but a tiny toy gorilla did, and he would run after it, and bring it back to us in his mouth.

He also enjoyed what we called "Surfing Buddy" when he would ride the carpet runner while we pulled it around the room. Hanging Twelve was a fun past time in our house.

Buddy's personality never wavered. Fun, friendly, eager to pleased. He slept with us the first night he joined our family, draped over my leg in order to prop himself up to breathe. After a few nights I moved him to lie draped over my left arm, and that's where he slept for 18 years.

We moved from Jacksonville in 1999 to Richmond, Kentucky where we lived in a too big house on 5 acres surrounded by woods...at the top of the steepest hill imaginable. We moved not only our 3 inside cats, but also the 6 outside cats that I could not bear to leave behind.

In 2003 I noticed Buddy was drinking more and more water, and looked much thinner. He had diabetes. Insulin shots were ordered once a day, and for a time it had a sad effect on him. He didn't come upstairs to bed, and would sleep on the couch. He seemed depressed. It eventually occurred to me that he didn't have the strength to climb the stairs, so every night I'd carry him up, and put him in bed, and his normal cheeriness soon returned.

Every day after work I'd take Buddy outside to walk with his leash. I still remembered his mad dashes through our Florida neighborhood, and wasn't taking any chances when I had acres of woods surrounding us. At first we walked a short distance on our driveway, but eventually he seemed stronger, and I would take him to where Ray had a huge stack of wood from the numerous trees he felled. Sawing down trees had become Ray's favorite past time, but that's another story.

Buddy would eagerly jump onto the lowest log, then scramble over the length of the log pile, that stretched at least twenty feet. The walking helped his pancreas kick in, and one day, I found him crying with fear. I'd given him his insulin, unaware his pancreas was working. I rushed him to emergency, naturally this happened at night, after hours, where they treated him.This happened two more times over the course of the next ten years. It always caught me off guard.

The love of Buddy's life arrived in 1994. Holly, a seal point Siamese with Liz Taylor blue eyes, was found by Ray at work. She'd apparently crawled into a car motor...and lost her tail. It was bad. The vet didn't have hope she would live. She was only 3 lbs but clearly an adult cat.

1st photo of Holly

But no one told Holly how sick she was. She lived, and Buddy fell in love. They spent the next 18 years together, side by side, like a little old married couple where she gave him hell as only a Siamese can do, and in return he deliberately stepped all over her while trying to get off the bed. Holly passed away in April 2011 at approximately 20 years old. Buddy was noticeably depressed afterward, and so we brought him into our bedroom to spend his golden years away from the younger turks who now shared our homes. 

These days, Buddy is arthritic and his mad dash days are pretty much done. When he stumbled on the pet stairs trying to get off the bed, Ray bought a dog ramp and taught him how to use it. He sleeps a lot, eats a lot, pees a lot. His special diabetes food does horrible things to his BMs, but he's a joy and we celebrate every day he's still with us.

Because he receives insulin twice a day, Buddy now travels everywhere with me, staying at hotels when we vacation, or in a chalet when we went to Gatlinburg. He has traveled to Michigan more than twenty times, and is so familiar with the routine, knowing there is a fourteen hour trip ahead of him, he makes sure he has a BM shortly after the wheels are moving...which causes us to shriek, stop, and deal with the poop bomb. His travel buddy now is Herman, and while they don't indulge in cuddle piles, Buddy seems to enjoy having a companion on those long trips in the van.

Watching him wind down every day, knowing the end is near wrenches our hearts. And yet we can't complain.  We are blessed to have had Buddy for so many years, despite his diabetes. I have a baby monitor in my upstairs office to listen to him in my bedroom for when he cries for food. Or cries to have his litter box cleaned (oh yeah, its so bad even Buddy wants the sh*t gone!) Or cries because Opie jumped the baby gate and is eating Buddy's uber-expensive food.

At night he no longer sleeps draped over my left arm. His arthritis is in his legs and spine, making it painful for him to turn, much less walk. He sleeps at my feet on a warming mat, with several night lights burning so he can find his way down the dog ramp when nature calls. He has cataracts, is hard of hearing, but his nose still works and he loves rib-eye steak, something he had for the first time on vacation in Gatlinburg.

my favorite photo

Tonight we celebrate not only Valentine's Day, but twenty wonderpurr years with the best tabby we've ever known. In honor of his special day, we're getting a take out of rib-eye. I can already picture him licking his lips, purring up a storm.

Paws with a Cause and Linda O. Johnston

Pet Tales

What’s even more enjoyable for a pet-loving author that a fun booksigning? A signing where nearly everyone--readers, booksellers, and me--all talked lovingly about our pets!

At my signing on the first Sunday of this month at Mystery Ink, a mystery bookstore in Huntington Beach, California, dogs, cats and even a rabbit had their habits and unique characteristics discussed with love. We all talked about how we communicate with our pets, and how they communicate with us, not necessarily in the same language--although body language is always involved. Some of our stories involved how our animals interact with one another, too, when a household contains more than one pet.

I loved hearing everyone else’s stories and telling mine, too--such as how my older Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Lexie enjoys getting on my lap when I’m editing. She growls in a friendly tone to get my attention until I pick her up, then becomes miffed when I have to move her because my arms or legs are going to sleep thanks to immobility beneath her sleepy, cuddly body.

And then there’s how my two babies collaborate to give me orders. Lexie will go downstairs and bark to let me know she wants to go out, and in case I didn’t hear my other Cavalier Mystie comes in where I’m writing and paws at my arm and talks to me.

I love writing about animals--dogs and cats in my Pet Rescue Mysteries and even werewolves in my Alpha Force miniseries of paranormal romances for Harlequin Nocturne, about a covert military unit of shapeshifters.
And sharing pet stories with others who also love books? Heaven!

Dan Irvin Photography

Linda O. Johnston’s first published fiction appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and won the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Mystery Short Story of the year.   Since then, Linda has published more short stories, plus 33 romance and mystery novels, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne. 

Linda’s Pet Rescue Mysteries, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime, feature Lauren Vancouver, a determined pet rescuer who runs a no-kill shelter.  In this cozy series, “no-kill” refers to pets, not people!  

Visit Linda at www.LindaOJohnston.com.  Linda blogs weekly at KillerHobbies.blogspot.com and monthly at KillerCharacters.com.  Linda is also on Facebook.

Hello Everyone! We have a total of 59 blogs that have gotten together to help raise money for a great cause. There are going to be some awesome prizes up for grabs for people that donate money to the cause. Here is a little about the company that we are raising the money for:

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs.

PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy. Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some. Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen. PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

Paws With A Cause
4646 South Division
Wayland, MI 49348

How to donate:

1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause
2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.
4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make a anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.
5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information.
6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.
7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.
8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.
9. Your all done. Thank you for donating!

Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle recieves more than one email with the same persons name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.

We will have 3 winners for the main giveaway.
We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online book store.
Also we have a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies for US residents only.
Good luck to all and thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success.

Paws with a Cause with Maeve Greyson

Animals know best…

My grandmother always told me to watch the animals. “They always know when something is
about to happen,” she said. “And if you’re smart enough to listen, then you’ll know too.”

I remember her repeating that advice on several occasions when I stayed with her each summer.
Those weeks were my heaven on earth because in “Mammaw’s” eyes, I could do no wrong.

It was during one of those wonderful visits that Mother Nature decided to convince me that
Mammaw knew what she was talking about.

On that particular day of my lesson on how I should listen to my elders, I was deep in the woods
behind Mammaw’s house. My favorite pastime was pretending to be a treasure hunter exploring
undiscovered land.

Before I’d left the breakfast table that morning, Mammaw had said, “Don’t go far from the house
today. It’s gonna storm.”

While shoving the rest of my biscuit into my mouth, I glanced through the lace curtains of the
kitchen window. Clear blue sky and bright summer sun beckoned beyond the glass. “Why do
you think that?” I asked. “There aren’t any clouds.”

Mammaw pulled the curtains farther apart so I could see the henhouse and the chicken yard
higher up in the field. “Do you see any chickens this morning?” Mammaw nodded as she tied the
curtains back with a bit of faded ribbon. “They know a bad storm’s coming so they’re staying in
the coop where it’s safe.”

The small yard inside the rusted wire fence was completely deserted. Not a single plump white
hen was out scratching in the dirt or pecking at the vegetable scraps scattered inside the fence.

I was still skeptical. Pappaw had told me how stupid Mammaw’s chickens were but I wasn’t
about to get into the middle of that household feud.

So I agreed with her and promised to stay close as I let the back screen door slam shut behind
me. By the time I was knee deep in the creek a good ways from the house, both the chickens’ and
Mammaw’s storm warning were completely forgotten.

Well…the warnings were forgotten until growling thunder rumbled through the woods and the
metallic smell of rain filled the rising wind shushing through the trees.

By the time I’d wrapped all my creek rock treasures up in my shirttail, the grumbling thunder
had grown to ear-splitting clashes and the wind whipped at the trees until the dark green leaves
flashed silver in the downpour.

I slithered my way up the muddy creek bank and darted between the swaying trees. I hit the field
between the woods and the house at a dead run, dropping down into the waist high grasses every
time the lightning crackled across the clouds and the thunder drowned my screams.

By the time I splashed my way into the screened-in back porch and stood shivering in the center
of a growing puddle; Mammaw didn’t even look up from the pot she was stirring on the stove.
She just shook her head and said, “Someday you’ll learn to listen.”

So never forget. Animals always know.

Maeve Greyson:

No one has the power to shatter your dreams –unless you give it to them. That’s Maeve
Greyson’s mantra whenever her carefully laid out plans decide to take a detour. When she’s
home from the day job at the steel mill, Maeve writes fantasy and paranormal romances flavored
with a Celtic twist. Tucked away in a five acre wood just this side of Kentucky Lake, Maeve
listens to the wind singing in the trees and hears characters telling their stories. Her work is
proofed by her sharp-eyed dog, Jasper and her promotional manager is her long-suffering
husband of over thirty years who learned a long time ago not to throw away any sticky notes
filled with bits of conversation.

Find Maeve at these places on the web:

Website: http://www.maevegreyson.com/
Blog: http://maevegreyson.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maeve.greyson
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/maevegreyson
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Maeve-Greyson/e/B004PE9T9U/
ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1


Hello Everyone! We have a total of 59 blogs that have gotten together to help raise money for a great cause. There are going to be some awesome prizes up for grabs for people that donate money to the cause. Here is a little about the company that we are raising the money for:

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs.

PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy. Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some. Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen. PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

Paws With A Cause
4646 South Division
Wayland, MI 49348

How to donate:

1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause
2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.
4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make a anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.
5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information.
6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.
7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.
8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.
9. Your all done. Thank you for donating!

Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle recieves more than one email with the same persons name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.

We will have 3 winners for the main giveaway.
We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online book store.
Also we have a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies for US residents only.
Good luck to all and thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success.

Paws for a Cause with Jan Scarbrough

I have this habit of rescuing dogs and cats. You can call me a foster failure because the only time I tried fostering, the dog stayed.

Being a romance writer, I often put bits of my real world into my books by adding my family pets.

In Kentucky Flame, I created a white English setter named Major after a dog I had rescued as a puppy from the Humane Society. The real dog, Flops, shared my life and my children’s lives for fifteen years. What better way to memorialize a faithful friend?

Kentucky Cowboy contains two of my former cats. Ginger, a tortoiseshell cat with a peculiar stripe down the bridge of her nose, was in real life Gloria, the cat my daughter brought home from college one Thanksgiving. My husband’s cat Jester also stars in the book as Joker, the hero’s black cat. Our late Border collie, Binky, was my inspiration for the heroine’s pet dog. For Kentucky Woman, I borrowed my daughter’s orange tabby, and I gave the heroine’s son a big, bronze-colored fuzzy dog inspired by my current rescue, Red, who by the way was my foster failure.

When I wrote Santa’s Kiss, I had fun giving the heroine a traveling companion named Little Bits who is the carbon copy of Lenny, my comical Pembroke Welsh Corgi. My upcoming release Kentucky Rain stars Folly, a fluffy calico cat. For the first time I used my real cat’s name for the name of the cat in the book.

Never kill a cat in a romance novel. I broke the rule when I wrote Tangled Memories! I’m pleased to report the gray cat Munster that met a sudden death in the book is really a domestic long-haired cat named Bugsy. This former blue ribbon winner lived to the grand old age of nineteen. But I’ll never kill another cat in a book again!

The animals I have rescued have enriched my life in many ways. I am happy to give them a little piece of immortality in the pages of my books.

Website: http://www.janscarbrough.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jan-Scarbrough-Reader-Page/204815941631

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/janscarbrough

Follow me on Twitter @romancerider

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs. 

PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy.  Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some.  Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen.  PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

Paws With A Cause

4646 South Division

Wayland, MI 49348

How to donate:

1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause

2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.  
4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make a anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.
5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information. 
6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.
7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.
8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.
9. Your all done. Thank you for donating! 

Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle recieves more than one email with the same persons name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.

We will have 3 winners for the main giveaway.
We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online book store.
Also we have a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies for US residents only.

Good luck to all and thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success.  

Paws for a Cause with Linda Rettstatt

The Term ‘Cat Owner’ is a Misnomer

In my childhood, we almost always had pets—dogs, a cat (the ‘a’ being the operative term as my mother was not a fan of felines), gold fish, those little tiny turtles…well, you get the picture. I’ve always loved animals mainly because you have to do so little to be loved in return. They don’t have expectations about how you look, how you dress, or what kind of car you drive. But in my early adult years after I moved out of my parents’ home and from apartment to apartment, I didn’t have any pets. Except for those three years I lived with friends in a mountain cabin commune of sorts and our cat got pregnant when someone tossed her outside in the middle of the night because of her yowling. She got what she wanted, and we got five kittens.

Later, I shared living space with others for whom having an animal in the house was not a popular option. But three years ago, I found myself living alone. And after exposure to a friend’s seven cats, I remembered how much I love cats. I needed a cat. I wanted a cat. I wanted a little furball who would come running when I walked in at the end of the day, who would look at me adoringly and curl up in my lap. So I visited local shelters and I ended up with Binky, a six-year-old tuxedo cat who had been surrendered for adoption. I was now a cat owner.



Oh, but wait. I forgot the one basic rule of cat ownership. It does not mean you own a cat. It really means a cat owns you. The day I brought Binky home and turned her loose in my apartment to let her explore her new space, she soon disappeared. I’m on the third floor and since I was sure she couldn’t open the door by herself, I knew she had to be in here somewhere. After searching every possible hiding place, I heard a noise in the kitchen. I found Binky—curled up on the top shelf inside one of the overhead cabinets right next to the wine glasses. I deduced that she either had a drinking issue or was masterful at opening doors. What I soon discovered was that whoever installed the cabinets had not finished off the one corner on the back of the one cabinet—and she found that little opening and her safe place.

But it didn’t take Binky long to get comfortable and learn the lay of the land. I used to keep a juice glass of water on the nightstand beside my bed at night. I awoke in the middle of the night to a lapping sound. Yep, Binky was helping herself to a drink—from my water glass (which is now her water glass.) I couldn’t find her one day when I came in from work. What I did find was a mound underneath the blankets on my bed. Yep, Binky had made herself at home on my 1200 thread count sheets (my one good luxury pair.) Remember me mentioning that my mother was not a cat lover? I have a rocking chair that had been my mother’s. Of all of the furniture in my living room, Binky decided that was to be her chair. I have to admit I found that amusing.

It really only took her about three months to train me. I’m adept now at launching myself out of bed at an ungodly hour when I don’t have to work (usually prompted by Binky licking my face) to give her breakfast on schedule. I’ve adapted to sleeping on one third of the bed so that she can comfortably curl up in ‘her space.’ I plan my vacation time around when I can find a cat sitter to either live in or come by twice a day to feed and care for Binky. I fear boarding her will only bring back nightmares of her incarceration in the shelter and then I’ll have to find her a therapist. One of my friends and her husband sometimes come in to care for her and even plan their evening to stay for an hour and watch TV so she has some company. They’re apparently owned by Binky, too.

That first day I brought her home, I called a friend and said, “Guess what—I’m a cat owner.” Oh, I was so naïve. In fact, Binky is the cat AND the owner. She owns me, lock, stock and heartstrings. And you know, I wouldn’t trade her for anything.

Linda Rettstatt
Writing for Women
www.lindarettstatt.com



Hello Everyone! We have a total of 59 blogs that have gotten together to help raise money for a great cause. There are going to be some awesome prizes up for grabs for people that donate money to the cause. Here is a little about the company that we are raising the money for:

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs.

PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy. Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some. Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen. PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

Paws With A Cause
4646 South Division
Wayland, MI 49348

How to donate:

1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause
2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.
4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make a anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.
5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information.
6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.
7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.
8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.
9. Your all done. Thank you for donating!

Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle recieves more than one email with the same persons name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.

We will have 3 winners for the main giveaway.
We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online book store.
Also we have a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies for US residents only.
Good luck to all and thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success.

Paws with a Cause with Megan Slayer

I write under two different names when I write. I won't go into the whys, but I write as Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer. Megan is my more free spirited counterpart. The cat that is really hers more than mine--and yes, he knows it--is who I'm going to talk about today.

When I was a kid, we had cats. We had cats at the farm, too and I considered myself the resident kitten expert. Why? Because I made sure all the kittens got attention. I don't think they always appreciated it, but they were loved. We had orange cats, calico, white... grey tigers... but no black ones. I'm not really sure why, but we didn't.

When I got older, I had a white cat whom I loved. Then when I moved out, I had a couple of grey tigers. I wanted another orange one and eventually got one of them, too. Then came the brat. The black cat is one of a kind, even though he looks like just about every other black cat out there. Why? I believe he's crazy. Not like psycho killer crazy, just a little off kilter. This is a picture of him playing with cat nip. I couldn't get him to hold still at all.

He didn't care. Honestly. He didn't. As long as he had the nip, he was happy. So why do I say he's crazy? He's got this routine in the morning. Should explain everything. At seven am, promptly, he heads to my bedroom and climbs onto the bed. He then strolls all over me, occasionally touching my face with his nose and paw and meowing. The faster I get up, the faster he stops. If I want to sleep in? Yeah, he keeps up what he's doing. When I finally get up, he winds around my feet all the way down the stairs and can't understand why he's been stepped on more than once. I feed him and his brother, then feed the tot. Once he's done eating--he wolfs it down, I swear--he uses the box. Fine. The moment he's done doing his morning constitutional, he runs full bore through my house. I don't mean a gentle jaunt.Nope. Full blast. And he's jumping on things, ears back, in a black streak. Once he makes his lap of the downstairs, he strolls into the kitchen like nothing ever happened.

See? He's crazy.

But I love him. I do. Wouldn't trade him for a moment. Thanks for reading. :-)

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs.  

PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy.  Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some.  Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen.  PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

Paws With A Cause

4646 South Division

Wayland, MI 49348

How to donate:

1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause

2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.  
4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make a anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.
5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information. 
6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.
7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.
8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.
9. Your all done. Thank you for donating! 

Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle recieves more than one email with the same persons name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.

We will have 3 winners for the main giveaway.
We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online book store.
Also we have a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies for US residents only.

Good luck to all and thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success.  

Paws with a Cause with Paulette Forshey

Today I welcome my friend, Paulette Forshey and her story about Brandy. Read on!!

Brandy

In our little town, we have rituals, some might believe they’re a bit odd, but that’s what makes them habits.

We have a strip mall with a Chinese Restaurant tucked nicely in the many rows of stores. People like to go there for the great food and meet up with friends. After the meal, people travel up two doors to the pet store; I know oriental food and pet store, there should be a joke in there somewhere. Next stop is the local Wal-mart and then home.

We continued this routine for about four months, and each time we went into the pet store there was a beautiful blonde baby Basset Hound sitting in a cramped cubicle. She was a twin in color and looks to a female Basset Hound we’d had years before. We’d go in find her and stand watching this bundle of wiggles and long floppy years bounce around in the tiny cage. Week after week we went in to see her and each time the staff would ask if we wanted to hold her. Repeatedly, my husband would smile and say, “No thank you, we’re just looking”. After all, at home, were our six year old Basset Hound, Daisy and our three year old Jack Russell, Belle. We had two dogs, we didn’t need another, right?

The little Basset Hound was getting bigger and bigger and her cubicle wasn’t. It was a typical Saturday, Chinese, Pet Store, would you like to see her, and “Yes, please”.

WHAT?

My husband said yes. The staff got her out and my husband went to the play area with her while I followed, dumbfound, behind him.

That now not so tiny bundle of Bassett bounced, ran around the play area, and kept jumping into my husband’s arms. Each time she did, her razor sharp baby teeth grazed hubby’s hands slicing them better than a Ginsue knife in a cheap late night T.V. commercial.

My husband laughed, petted her, and repeated over and over what a beautiful good girl she was. Then he turned to me and said, “Get out the checkbook”. He had to make the request twice because I wasn’t sure he’d said those words, but he had.

As we were walking out the door, her in his arms licking his face, wearing her new collar and leash, one of the staff leaned over and whispered to him. I was busy trying to listen to the other staff member explain all the paper work she stuffed in my hands, so I missed the comment.

Outside in the car hubby handed me the wiggling bundle and started the car. As I arraigned the little girl across my lap, I asked him what the person had said.

“After four months the older dogs are sent away. She was no longer a cute cuddly puppy, she was near to a dog now. People buy puppies, not dogs. Thanks for giving her a home.”

I hugged her close to me and told her she was going to our house, her ‘forever home’. Because she resembled our other Basset Hound from so many years before, she became Brandy Sniffer II, Brandy Jean for short. That was eight years ago and she’s still with us at her forever home.

 J. Paulette Forshey

Award winning author of Deliciously Sinful Romances

www.jpauletteforshey.com

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs. 

PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy.  Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some.  Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen.  PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

Paws With A Cause

4646 South Division

Wayland, MI 49348

How to donate:

1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause

2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.  
4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make a anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.
5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information. 
6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.
7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.
8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.
9. Your all done. Thank you for donating! 

Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle recieves more than one email with the same persons name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.

We will have 3 winners for the main giveaway.
We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online book store.
Also we have a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies for US residents only.

Good luck to all and thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success.