"The Worcester County Horticultural Society, the third oldest active horticultural society in the United States, is a nonprofit "educational organization for the purpose of advancing the science, and encouraging and improving the practice of, horticulture."" -- Tower Hill Botanic Garden, the headquarters of WCHS.We've been really busy this spring/summer preparing our yard in support of the Tower Hill Botanic Garden's annual fund-raiser: "City Spaces, Country Places" garden tour. It's been a tremendous amount of work but our gardens haven't looked this good in, well, ever.
Unfortunately, that means we were unable to attend some of the pet-friendly events in the area this year. (Altogether now: "Boo hiss, bad pet parents!") We usually attend a variety of these events for several reasons not the least of which is to continue developing Bella's social skills. Since most of the rescue organizations I volunteer with are represented, it's a good time to catch up and take pictures of the pups. And I usually pick one event/organization for which to raise funds each year. It's also just a whole load of fun.
This year the event planners themselves kind of hurt their cause by scheduling several of the events for the same day so we wouldn't have been able to attend all of them anyway. We are still planning to get to Buddy Dog's "Woofstock" in October which was the best of them all last year anyway, at least from a "dog in need of space"'s perspective. (Wow, that's a grammatical nightmare...)
While we didn't get to go to these events this year, we did go last year and since we didn't have a blog last year, that leaves me with pictures and no place to put them. And, since my arms are pretty much ready to fall off from hauling mulch continuously for the last 72 hours (okay, perhaps I exaggerate...), I thought it might be
Paws in the Park - May 2011
Sponsored by Save A Dog, Inc, this was only our second big event with Bella and we really didn't know what to expect of either the event or the dog. And of course, I forgot my camera. But here are a few pictures of Bella courtesy Buddy Dog Humane Society who was taking pictures of all their "alums".
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| All decked out in her "I'm adopted" bandana, harness, collar and head halter. (Geez, mom, a little overkill or what?) |
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| Bella finds a friend. |
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| The photographer loved her. |
Whisker Walk - June 2011
Better prepared for this event, I did remember my camera. This is an incredible, free event sponsored by Sterling Animal Shelter, Inc. but not one I would recommend for "dogs in need of space" since there isn't any. Well, there's lots of space but it is all filled with dogs and kids. This is more of a "country fair" kind of atmosphere with rides and games for the kids with the dog event feeling almost like an after-thought to me. It was a great day but pretty stressful for us and our scared-y dog.
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| Tough to find a quiet spot in the shade away from other dogs but Bella did. |
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| This lovely Great Dane was raising funds for a local Great Dane rescue group. |
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| We didn't think it was possible but we met a dog who was actually more scared-y than Bella. They played together for quite some time. |
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| Seriously, does no one see the world of "uh-oh" about to happen here? |
Awwwe! I love the pictures of Bella at Paws in The Park. What a great outing for her. She looks really happy and to think she met a scaredy cat friend! :)
ReplyDeleteTerrific pictures, Bella looks like she's having a ball. We love going to dog gatherings too. Lots of time left for this year! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Bella,
ReplyDeleteIt was really cute to see you having fun with the other Doggie :)
My Mum and Dad always bring me to as many places as possible too, originally it was to socialize me to become a Therapy Dog and now I've qualified I think it's continuing development / just for fun!! :)
Wags to all
Your pal Snoopy :)
Awww it's lovely to see her out and about having fun. She's such a sweetie! Deccy x
ReplyDeleteHey Bella. You look very pretty in that close up. I love that you have an adorable bandanna. Is that from the fair? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed spending time with other dogs. It's a big deal that you're getting that much exposure.
ReplyDeleteI hope someday you'll no longer be scared-y but rather sport-y and happ-y when meeting new friends.
Huggies and Cheese,
Haopee
Oh wow! Even though you will be missing out on some fun pet-related activities, it sounds like you have quite the challenge on your hands! I hope we'll get to see photos of your beautiful gardens once they are complete! From what I've seen in the past on your blog, you have a gorgeous space to work with.
ReplyDeleteWow - sounds like you have a lot on your plate! There's always so much fun stuff to do, and not enough time to do it in. Bet its so worth it when you look at the gardens though. So cute that Bella chose a frady cat friend and they got to spend lots of time together. Looks like the perfect size for her too! :-)
ReplyDeleteShe does get stressed but when she meets a potential friend, she turns into such a puppy again. It's really cute.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why they stack them early in the summer - maybe because July/August in New England are pretty unpredictable weather-wise. But there are still a few more we'll get to enjoy and we've already promised Bella we're taking her to every one. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're a lucky and well-behaved pup, Snoopy. We try very hard to keep up Bella's socialization but it can be tough when it's so stressful for her. She's making incredible progress though. (Though she'll never quite make it to therapy dog status. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deccy. She does have fun in the right situations. We just have to set more of those up.
ReplyDeleteHi Haopee. Yeah, at the events, they give all the rescue dogs bandanas to help point them out. Some events even have parades for adoptables, too.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've got some history to get through in her story that's going to get really bad but then I get to tell the really, really good stuff that's happening now. (Bella is becoming a "regular" dog. Hang in there with us - it gets better. :)
Luckily we're able (after fixing that neighbor's dog problem I've mentioned in an early post) to have Bella outside with us while we work in the yard. She's getting better being out there (although she still runs for cover when the bugs find her. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've got to learn how to take better landscape pictures but as soon as I do, I'll share some here on the blog. I wish I could invite you all over for tapas and libations. ;)
They were sooooo cute together. I don't know how she does it but Bella always seems to find a friend at one of these events and it's either a puppy or another very shy dog. She really wants to be social but she's so fearful finding the right companion is tough. But you're right, they were the right size, the right temperament, and the right energy level. It's so sweet to see her act like a "normal" dog sometimes. :]
ReplyDeleteWe went to Paws in the Park instead of the Whisker Walk this year since we needed to pick up the cedar oil bug repellant from Save a Dog. Maggie is much more social and now wants to sniff everyone, while Duke is still a scared-y dog. I had to go home and get his harness mid-walk last night as he was pulling too much on his collar trying to get away from all the neighbors saying hello from their yards. He and Bella would probably get along, hope to see you at Buddy Dog's Woofstock!
ReplyDelete