My #Furbabies ~ #cats #dogs #rescue #pets

Cats Are Family is trending on Twitter, so I thought I'd repost my blog about my two sweet kitties...and my dog, because he's family too! 

I come from a long line of animal lovers, and growing up, we never had less than three pets at a time.  Generally, in my adult home, that’s how many we still have, although we’ve occasionally had four.  I’m passionate about rescuing shelter animals, so I try to balance my desire to “save them all” versus the reality of the size of our house, but right now we have two cats and one dog, and everyone gets along well.

A pet triangle on the couch.  Don't worry, guys,
I'll find another place to sit...

Otis came to us via PetFinder, a wonderful website that connects people looking to adopt a pet with animals available either in their area or even farther away, if transportation is available.  When we found Otis, I was looking for a younger dog, since we already had an older dog at home.  With two teenage boys and a husband who loves to jog long distances, we thought we would be a good fit for a more active dog that needed plenty of exercise.  Otis at the time was a 6-week-old puppy, likely a Border collie mix, who was found by the side of a highway in Alabama, along with his brother and mother.  A kind person brought them to a vet before they could get hit by a car, and from there, they made their way to foster care and were put up for adoption.  Once our application was approved, Otis (and his brother, Milo) were transported to New England via an amazing tag team of volunteers who take turns driving animals from states with overpopulated shelters to states with room to spare or new families already waiting. 

This was a tough case to crack

As a puppy, Otis would nap under the stool I sit on at the kitchen island that serves as my writing desk.  Knowing my tendency to lose myself in my fictional world, I would make sure a leash connected him to the stool’s leg so I would know he wasn’t sneaking off and getting into trouble.  Apparently he’s smarter than I am, because he quietly chewed though three leashes to sneak off without me knowing.  For the most part, socks, gloves, and papers were the only losses, but those were the puppy days of mischief and teething.  Now, Otis is a well-mannered and beloved part of our household.

Otis and Jinx

Our cats came to us via a local shelter.  About a year after Otis joined us, our beloved 17-year-old cat passed away, 4 years after his brother.  I was devastated.  But I knew it was an opportunity to provide a forever home to some cats in need.  I like to adopt cats who are already in bonded pairs, as they can sometimes be more difficult to place.  And I particularly love black cats, which might be related to my affinity for all things considered spooky and mysterious.  After all, I do write stories set in haunted houses.

Jinx and Max are another set of brothers, littermates who shelter volunteers hoped could be adopted together.  They keep each other entertained with their sneak attacks and their wrestling matches, and one thing they can agree on is that they’re always hungry.  They know how to bring that to my attention, too—they take over my writing space if they feel I’m not getting the message.

We interrupt this scene for a hungry alert 

Because I love pets so much, I tend to create characters that also have animals.  The heroine of Haunted Souls is actually a vet tech, and she and her son have a rescued tabby cat named Terrance.  And when a ghost follows them home from a haunted tour of an old jail, Terrance is immediately aware that an otherworldly presence is in the house…

A damaged soldier, a secret baby, and a
haunting mystery collide in HAUNTED SOULS
Steamy Romance spiked with Spooky Suspense

Thanks for stopping by, and share your furbaby stories below, I love comments :)

Meet My New #Kittens! #ShelterPets #Adopt #Rescue #Cats

Spazzy & Shadow when they
were kittens

Last month, I wrote about losing a cat I'd had for 17 years. That was so very hard for me - we adopted Spazzy and his brother, Shadow, when my oldest son was only six months old.  Now that kid is driving!  I miss both cats every day--Shadow died at 13--but I'm glad we were able to enjoy their company and share their lives for so long.

I'm a big proponent of pet adoption, so I decided since we have room in our home and our hearts, the best way to honor Spaz and Shadow would be to rescue two brothers from a shelter.  While I often try to go for the older animals that have a harder time finding new homes, our situation right now made younger animals the best fit.  A few years ago, we rescued a border collie puppy who was found on the side of the road in Alabama.  He rode a doggie train north to come to us, and adjusted very quickly.  But at three years old he is still a very energetic pup.  I decided a pair of older cats might not be as willing to adjust to his rambunctious behavior.  At best, they might be annoyed--at worst, they might not want to come out from under the bed.

I have an affinity for black cats--maybe that has something to do with my preference for writing suspenseful ghost stories and watching spooky movies.  I did a very popular post on why some people think black cats are unlucky.  Obviously, I don't - but this old superstition does hinder black cat adoption.  So when I found a shelter on PetFinder (a fantastic site!) with a newly surrendered pregnant black cat, I filled out paperwork for two male kittens (males are often less popular as well, but throughout my life, all my animals have been male except for one female cat, so I figured it's worked out well so far!).

At their Foster Mom's - what
wonderful people fosters are!

My application was approved, and once the litter was weaned, two of the boy kittens who seemed very attached to each other went to a foster home to stay until they weighed the required three pounds.  It was hard to wait! The foster mom put pictures up on Facebook in the meantime, and I got to see them grow.

Meanwhile, I made kitty preparations--new toys, fresh scratching pads, vet appointments, etc.  And I needed to name them!  I did a google search, and wow, there really isn't anything you can't find on the internet!  Lists of hundreds of suggestions for black cat names came up.  I knew I might change my mind when I met them, based on their personalities, but initially I liked Jinx and Jet.

On the shelter FB page, the foster mom later asked me if I had picked out names yet.  She said in the same comment that she'd been calling them Jinx and Max.  What a coincidence!  Of ALL the possible cat names out there, we'd chosen one in common.  Jinx was clearly meant to be.

Inspiration for GULL HARBOR's Max :)

And the name Max has significance for me as well.  My second novel, GULL HARBOR, has a special place in my heart.  This second-chance romance + ghostly mystery is everyone's favorite, it's been a #1 Amazon Bestseller on several occasions, and it is set where I live, on beautiful Cape Cod.  The male main character's name?  Max.

So, both names seemed meant to be.  And my kitties arrived here two weeks ago, and they are settling in nicely. They are even getting along with Otis (tuna fish is the best olive branch there is).  And they are just precious.  There's something so soothing about lying down to read with a pair of kitties curled up on your lap. Hopefully one of these days I'll be able to tell them apart without looking for the telltale tiny patch of white on Jinx's chin!

Max and Jinx at home!  Jinx is on the right (I think)...he has
a little white patch under his chin.  But his face is a bit more
angular too.  Max has a rounder face and is a bit more
outgoing while Jinx is more cautious but more affectionate.
They are both purr machines!

Happy Holidays for Shelter #Pets - #ShelterPetLove

I love animals.  And I come from a long line of animal lovers, on both sides of my family.  Growing up, we had at least 2 cats and a dog in the house at all times; we also owned a horse that lived at my mom's best friend's barn (that's the setting I used as inspiration for the stable where Jamie keeps her horse in my Young Adult novel DIVINE FALL).  I have many fond memories of playing with the barn cats and "camping out" with the other kids on the patio, under the stars, while all the dogs that lived on the farm tried to squeeze into our sleeping bags.

My mom, waking up with 350,
plus two cats.  I love this pic.

We often took in rescues from shelters.  When my parents married, our first family dog was a St. Bernard named 350.  Why?  Because that was his cage number at the shelter, and that was how much his adoption fee was - $3.50.  Of course, this was 1969.

Sadly, my mom is gone...but I've continued the tradition of making animals a big part of our lives.  Right now at home we have a rescue cat (he's 16 now, and he's had several brothers over the years, both his actual brother and a few other rescues, but he's the only cat at the moment) and a rescue dog (see his story here) who is a 2-year-old Border Collie mix who could power the entire U.S. if we could figure out how to tap into his energy supply.  Luckily, my husband is a runner who takes him on 10 mile jaunts almost daily.

I wish I had a bigger house, a bigger yard, and a bigger income to be able to afford more.  If I could, I'd rescue them all.  Maybe someday we can have a farm too, that would have enough land to support a lot more.  In the meantime, I donate what I can to organizations that help homeless animals.

My younger son playing with one of the shelter cats

A few years ago, I decided our new Christmas tradition would be buying all the things on the local shelter's "wish list" and delivering it during visiting hours, with my kids, so we could also give the animals some extra holiday love.  The very first year we did this, the strangest thing happened on Christmas - a psychic medium at a party (who had never met me), gave me a message from my mother about this trip to see the animals.  More on that story here. While I write romance mixed with ghost stories, I'm a bit of a skeptic about "readings" and such.  But this was enough to make me believe some gifted people can talk to spirits, and I truly believe my mother wanted me to know how happy she was that we made that trip.

This is the stuff my sister got for
the dogs - she had a cart of
treats and supplies for cats too

This year, I posted some pictures on Facebook, in the hopes I might inspire others to visit their local shelters.  My sister saw the post and immediately said she'd do it too.  We live eight hours apart, which I hate, but I was thrilled that this gesture connected us in a small way for the holidays.  And I hope this tradition reminds my children of the importance of showing kindness to all the creatures of the world, especially those in need, and of the joy you can get from picking out presents for animals without a family.  My hope is that my boys, and my sister's girls, will continue the tradition with their children someday.  Happy holidays!

Traveling with a #Dog Who Gets Car Sick - Motion Sickness in Pets

Otis's picture on Petfinder -
How could I resist?

Whenever we're able to add a new pet to our family, we adopt--often, via the website Petfinder, which does a great job of allowing you to search for homeless animals that would be a good fit in terms of age, breed, and personality.  I often try to rescue the older dogs, since they have more trouble getting adopted, but a few years ago a search for a Border Collie mix turned up Otis, a puppy who'd been found on the side of the road in Alabama.  For more on his story, click here.


As his foster mom nursed him back to health, it became clear the car trips to the vet were a bit of a problem...he usually got nauseated and vomited.  We hoped it was a puppy thing that he would outgrow, especially since we are a family that loves to travel with our dogs.  Short trips to hiking trails, beaches, and lakes, as well as seriously long trips to visit family and friends.

Both his foster mom and I fretted about his long trip up north on the doggie rescue transport, but he did okay.  He was probably too keyed up to eat much, with so many other excited dogs headed to forever homes.  Once my husband picked him up (still two hours from home), he collapsed on his lap and slept that way the entire ride to our house.

But he didn't outgrow this affliction, which was a shame.  He wanted to drive to school with me to pick up the kids, but he'd throw up.  He loved the dog park, but I'd have a big mess to clean up from just a 15 minute ride.  At least twice a year, we drive eight hours to where I grew up, and dogs are always welcome on our visits.  But we had to leave him behind, which he didn't like--he's part of our "pack", and he prefers to be with us.  Not to mention, it's expensive.  We'd rather only go through all that when there's no other solution.

I talked to the vet.  I asked the women who come to my fitness classes who have dogs.  I got lots of thoughts on how to make it work, and last spring, we decided to bring him along on our semi-annual trip.

Otis got to play with our friends'
boxer, Zoe - fast friends!

Success!  My dog who usually can't tolerate 10 minutes in the car made an eight hour trip without getting sick!  He was fine on the way home as well.  And we just did the trip again, for Thanksgiving, with equal success.  So I'm going to share what worked for us, with the giant reminder that I AM NOT A VET. I'm a romance author.  And a fitness instructor.  But I'm also an animal lover, and maybe this info can help someone having the same problem.  Just remember to ask your vet, as I did, since giving medication to animals is serious business.

Dramamine never worked for us.  Our vet suggested Bonine, which I'd never heard of.  It's another medication for motion sickness, the active ingredient being Meclizine, as opposed to Dimenhydrinate.  Otis weighs about 30 pounds, I gave him one 25 mg. tab an hour before we left, and again halfway through the trip.

We gave him a dose of Benadryl at the same times.  While most people recognize this as an allergy medicine for people, it can be used for motion sickness in pets.  The usual dosage is 1 mg per pound. So Otis received a 25 mg. tablet.

Then, we built a large perch in the back of the SUV for him to sit on.  He does better when he can sit forward, looking out the window.  We stacked luggage, secured it with bungee cords, and covered it with a blanket to make it comfortable and to protect the bags.

More fun!  Otis with my father's
rescue dog, Fiona

I expected the Benadryl to make him tired, but he stayed awake the entire time.  But he's a pretty energetic dog.  When I had him neutered, the vet told me to "keep him quiet" for a few days.  An hour later, he was tearing around the yard, ignoring my demands to calm down.

However, he was relaxed for the entire trip, and each time we gave him a little walk during our stops, he hopped right back in the car willingly.  After all, he wants to be with his pack...and I'm grateful we found a way to make that happen.

Personally, I love car trips...I can read in the car without feeling sick, so for me, the longer the ride, the better!  Once you've got your luggage packed and your four-legged family members ready, make sure you have a good book for your travels!  Try steamy romance mixed with haunting mysteries in SILVER LAKE or GULL HARBOR, or check out my new Young Adult Paranormal Romance DIVINE FALL for forbidden love and supernatural secrets.  Have a safe & enjoyable ride :)