Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Meet Diamond!

Say Hello to Diamond!
Picture from NYC ACC Shelter
 
Picture from NYC ACC Shelter
 
These are the pictures the momma saw on the faceybooks two weeks ago.  Under her picture was a plea to save her from the NYC ACC shelter.  The picture was shared by the Gremlin page. Gremlin happens to live near the Corbin house and her family started the Mr. Mo Project last year.  The Mr. Mo Project saves senior dogs from shelters across the country and they wanted to save Diamond.  They were looking for a foster home around the Albany area so Diamond could get the medical care she needed at their vet.  The momma just looked at her face and couldn’t say no.  So, the momma emailed the Mr. Mo Project peoples and said Diamond could come to the Corbin house.


When she arrived at the vet

Diamond was pulled from the shelter after her stray hold was up and headed upstate last Monday.  She spent a week at the vet office to treat her numerous medical conditions.  The momma and Gremlin’s parents went to visit her often and last night she was finally able to leave the vet office and come to the Corbin House.
 
One of the momma's visits
 
Diamond is a little weary of the Corbin, but she doesn’t mind Amelia.  We did a very slow introduction and kept things as low key as possible last night while she settled in.  Poor girl has had a lot of changes in the past 2 weeks, from living on the streets, to staying at the shelter, to staying at the vet office to coming to the Corbin house.  And who knows what life she lived prior to surviving on the streets.
 

Visiting on Friday
 
Diamond is currently being treated for kennel cough, mange, a skin infection, ear infection, eye infection and allergies.  She’s on lots of medications and gets a medicated bath twice a week.  She has at least 1 mammary gland tumor that she will have removed on Friday, and since they need to do that surgery, they will spay her as well.  Diamond is about 10-12 years old and was clearly breed many times.  We don’t know anything about her past, but glad her future can be bright.
 

Finally at the Corbin House.
 
Diamond is extremely friendly and loves every person she meets.  She loves naps and enjoys walks.  She’s just been at the Corbin house for one night so far, so we’re learning all there is to know about her.  We are all very excited to be a part of her journey and we can’t wait to continue sharing her progress with all of you! 
  
How cute is that face, though???

Monday, December 29, 2014

Merry Christmas!

Yea, we know, we're a bit late with our holiday wish, but we never got to post last week and wanted to make sure everyone knew we were thinking about all of you and we are so thankful that you read along with our lives!  We'll also have some big news to announce tomorrow, so make sure you stop back then!
 
Merriest of holiday wishes to you all!
 
Love,
Corbin & Amelia

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Santa Baby

 
Santa baby, slip a Sirius Republic collar under the tree, for me
I've been an awful good girl, santa baby
So hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, a deep dish Orvis dog bed, too, light blue
Well, I'll wait up for you, dear, santa baby
So hurry down the chimney tonight, yeah

Think of all the naughtiness I've missed
Think of all the trouble Corbin did that got the momma really pissed
Next year I could be just as good
If you check off my Christmas list

Santa, honey, there's one more thing I really do need, the deed
To my own Rescue place, santa honey
So hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree
With bones and bully sticks to give for the shelter’s plea
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing...
A home!
For all the homeless pets, santa baby
So hurry down the chimney tonight
 
 
Love,
Amelia Grace

Monday, December 22, 2014

Cause, I ain't been nuttin' but bad

I knocked Amelia in the head,
Somebody snitched on me.
Kicked her straight out of my dog bed,
Somebody snitched on me.
Ran through the house with the momma’s bag,

I just thought we were playing tag,

“You’re a naughty boy!” the momma would nag,
Somebody snitched on me.


Oh, I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas,

The Momma and Daddy are mad.

I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas,

'Cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad.


Barked and growled at the neighbor dog,
Somebody snitched on me.
Always known as a blanket hog,
Somebody snitched on me.
I scared the momma when I killed the woodchuck,

I really got that poor schmuck,

The big furry thing ran out of luck!
Somebody snitched on me.

 
So, I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas,

The Momma and Daddy are mad.
I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas,
'Cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad.

 
I won't be seeing Mr. Santa Paws,
Somebody snitched on me.
I should come with a warning clause...
Somebody snitched on me.
Next year I'll be so very good,
Next year I won't kill beasts that chuck wood!
I'd start right now only if I could!
Somebody snitched on me.


So you better be good whatever you do
'Cause if you're bad, I'm warning you,
You'll get nuttin' for Christmas.
Previous years of naughtiness:

Friday, December 19, 2014

1824 days of Corbin

A post by the momma:

It's hard to believe that 5 years and 1 day ago, our home was dogless. We weren't dog rescuers, we weren't dog fosters and we didn't know all that much about dog behaviors or dog training. We were just a young couple looking to own a dog of our own for the first time. A Border Collie mix, older, female... that's what we had in mind. Our journey to find that perfect dog was set to start on this day 5 years ago, hopefully beginning as foster parents to make sure our schedules would be accommodating for a new dog and that one fit into our lifestyle. Adam had never had a pet before, so this was all new for him. I grew up with animals of all species, multiple at a time. I knew it would be an adjustment, a learning experience. I was excited to start our journey of fostering and learning about the dog rescue world. I never knew the impact that day would have on my life, and 5 years ago, I would have never imagined the impact rescue has had on my life.
 
I swore I wouldn't come home with a dog that day... that I was just going to the adoption clinic to meet the volunteers and get some information. And, I firmly believed that when I walked out of my house. I walked into the locally owned pet shop and over to the adoption area. I was chatting with one of the volunteers when this crazy brown blur ran up to me, his foster mom in tow. She over heard our conversation about my interest in fostering. The brown blur was unfortunately going to be boarded for the holidays since his foster couldn't take him with her, then again after the holidays because her other foster dog at home needed hip surgery. I would love to say I looked deep into the dogs brown eyes to see his sadness about being alone for the holidays, but he never stopped moving. Instead it was my own sappy heart that couldn't bare to see that happen. We did, after all, have a home for him to come to. And, what harm would it do? He was just a foster dog.
 
I chatted with his foster mom a bit and realized she lived rather close to my house. She offered to do our home visit, so we left and headed to our house.
 
I made two phone calls on my way home. One to my mom, she's always my first call when I'm excited, sad, nervous, happy, anxious... I'm pretty sure I was experiencing all of those emotions. She told me I wouldn't be able to give this dog up and I attempted to convince her otherwise. Then I made the call to Adam. Not only did I lie about not coming home with a dog, I also went back on the type of dog, age of dog and breed of dog I anticipated adopting....
 
I was on my way home with a large, young, male, Pit Bull.
 
Hi, I'm Corbin.
 
Corbin stepped his paws into our home and ran around like a lunatic. He bounced off of walls, furniture, windows... heck, he was bouncing straight off the air in front of him. Adam gave me the "what are you thinking!" glance and headed out the door. His foster mom, Heather, did a check of our home and property and quickly left before I had the chance to change my mind. I stood at the doorway as she backed out of the driveway and thought "what the heck did I do..." That thought left my mind as quickly as it came, because I turned around to find Corbin contently curled up on my couch. I was thankful that he wasn't a maniac ALL the time. Heather came back a bit later with Corbin's crate and food. We were both relieved that he seemed to have settled in.
 
Our first night together.
 
I had never had any experience with a pit bull and I didn't quite know what to expect. Corbin seemed to just be a normal dog. A little high energy, but a normal dog. Adam and I took him to Adam's dad's house the next day. We watched Corbin introduce himself to everyone there, giving smooches when he felt necessary. I noticed how the comments about his breed became less and less as the day went on.
 
I'm a dog.
 
Corbin has taught me many important life lessons but the one that has changed my life most was that every dog is just that... a dog. Corbin isn't different from any other dog because of his appearance. He's different from all other dogs because he's a Corbin. Over these last 5 years, we have watched Corbin nurse and mold our foster dogs. He's coaxed them out of their shells, taught them how to behave and provided a great mentor and role model. He's guided them and played with them and loved on them, and when they were adopted, he grieved that they left our home, but always welcomed the next one as if they'd never leave.
 
Our journey with Corbin has been packed with excitement, anticipation, love, adoration, striff, training, and snuggles. Every day is a new day with Corbin. My childhood dogs came from breeders, so Corbin was my first rescue dog. Every day, I see his gratitude for the life he has. Those brown soulful eyes know the fear of not having a home. I'm thankful to his first owners who recognized they weren't able to properly care for him, I'm thankful for the shelter workers who recognized the shelter wasn't a good place for him to be, I'm thankful for Homeward Bound who took him in when the shelter reached out, and I'm thankful for Heather who agreed to take him into her home as a second foster dog. Had any one of those things not happened, we wouldn't have the amazing dog that is sitting on my lap as I write this. I know I would have loved any dog that walked through our door, but I thank my lucky stars that it was him. I can't imagine my life without his love and companionship.
 
So, cheers to the next 5 years, Corbee Doo!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

I'm a guest!

Amelia and I are guests over on The Daily Pip today!  Go there to see our important message for everyone!