Nov 19
The SPCA International included, my recently released book, ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, in their gift guide!
And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today, which will help support dogs in need around the globe! Many thanks for your support!
Nov 12
October 12, marked eleven years since we adopted our sweet dear little Victory! The time is going by much too quickly! We decided to make October 12 Victory’s birthday — the day we went to Michigan and adopted our sweet fur girl. (This post is a month late due to the release my new book, ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs.)
As such, we recently celebrated Victory’s birthday marking her eleventh year with us since her adoption! This also marks seven years celebrating as a ‘big sister’ to Alex! This year, for Victory’s birthday, we did a personalized pink and coral themed birthday! (As shown below, last year, we did a personalized pastel theme; two years ago, we did a personalized fall theme and pastel theme; three years ago personalized theme and a pastel theme; four years ago pink theme with gold accent; five years we did a pastel rainbow theme with a silver accent; six years ago we did pastel theme with a gold and silver accent; seven years ago we did a gold and champagne theme; eight years ago we did a light pink and gold themed birthday; nine years ago we did a pink themed birthday; and ten years ago, we did rainbow themed birthday for Victory!) For this double-digit birthday, we had another cake made with Victory’s likeness — Victory reading my newly released book, Abandoned: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs! It turned out beautifully! We also purchased some fun decorations and balloons, along with a coral sweater for Victory, a tradition, in honor of her birthday! Victory also enjoyed a steak prepared by Doug, along with her very own cupcake (with no icing, of course!) Victory looked absolutely adorable and beautiful on her birthday, as always, shown below! This is the seventh birthday that Victory celebrated with her sidekick, Alex! It is wonderful to witness their relationship beautiful relationship; Alex adores her fur sister, and I think the feeling is mutual! Alex loves giving Victory treats and hugs! Victory had a fun birthday and she truly enjoyed being over fed and the center of attention! I sincerely believe Victory knows her birthdays are all about her!
We are truly the lucky ones to share our lives with this wonderful, loyal, and loving being. Victory has been such a source of comfort to us all. Victory has also fully embraced her ‘big sister’ role! Victory is very attuned to her little sister and loves to greet Alex in the mornings and evenings! It melts our hearts! Victory continues to join us evening for play time and story time, in addition to all meals! We also do our best to keep Victory fully integrated in our trips and outings as well, and we had a fun fall together with many outings together! We are so very grateful and thankful for our Victory. She means the world to us and we love her very much.
For Victory’s birthday, we gave her: a blanket; an assortment of toys that Alex picked out; assorted treats; and a new coral sweater! And, my parents gifted their grand puppy, Victory, an Orvis gift card! Additionally, Alex also made some art for Victory, along with a special card!
(All birthday decorations are via Sweet Lulu and Meri Meri.)
Here is a video of Victory enjoying her steak!
A look back at Victory’s birthday celebrations over the years…
Here is a look back at Victory on her birthdays!
If you are considering getting a dog, I hope that you consider adopting a rescue or shelter dog. There are so many dogs in need of a good, loving home, especially now, with the dog overpopulation crisis. As shown below, Victory, a rescue, has changed so much physically and emotionally over the years since we adopted her, pictured on the left (image from Victory’s foster mom via the Michigan Sheltie Rescue). You really can save a dog’s life, while simultaneously enriching your own life/lives, which is a win-win for everyone. We cannot imagine not having a rescue dog in our lives!
My book, ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, was recently released!
I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.
And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today! Many thanks for your support!
Wendell Berry knew what to do,
and here he tells you,
in this exquisite poem:
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
I wish you a graceful day; it is a big week in our country. Sending you all the best.
(You can read more of Wendell Berry here.)
Happy Halloween! Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year! We love the fall season! This is Alex’s seventh Halloween! Victory is a llama this year for Halloween along with her little sister, Alex, shown below! Victory (along with Alex) was a dinosaur last year; she was a rainbow two years ago; peacock three years ago; Crayola red crayon four years ago; Super Woman five years ago; a unicorn six years ago; Wonder Woman seven years ago; a fifties girl eight years ago; a lioness nine years ago; a butterfly ten years ago; and a ladybug for her first Halloween, eleven years ago. And Alex had a wonderful Halloween celebration and parade at school today! We hope you have a safe Halloween tonight!
Here is Doug and Alex’s pumpkin, which they worked diligently on this year, shown below! Alex picked a fun design this year, but Doug did most all of the magical pumpkin work!
Additionally, here are links to other pumpkins carved by Doug: last year; two years ago; three years ago; four years ago; five years ago; six years ago; seven years ago; eight years ago; nine years ago; ten years ago; eleven years ago; and twelve years ago!
Here is a short video of the lit pumpkin that Doug carved for us this year, with some assistance from Alex! He did a great job, as always!
Further, here is a look back at Victory and Alex over the years on Halloween!
Happy Friday!
Today is an exciting day–ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, was released in the United Kingdom today! If you live in the United Kingdom, you can order your copy today!
I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.
And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today! Many thanks for your support!
In my new book, ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, I chronicled roughly 60 once-abandoned dogs, illuminating each one’s journey from a shelter or rescue organization to a loving, permanent home. ABANDONED is a decade-long project inspired by my own rescue Shetland Sheepdog, Biscuit, who had been abandoned. This set me on a quest to examine the lives of other abandoned dogs. I initially met and photographed each dog shortly after they entered a shelter or rescue organization, and then again approximately a year after being adopted. The juxtaposition of the “before and after” photographs illustrate the profound benefits of animal adoption for both dogs and humans alike. Especially now, with the dog overpopulation crisis and the recent natural disasters, it is critical for people to adopt these special dogs in need of permanent, loving homes.
Below are a few photographs of the dogs, who are still living, that are featured in ABANDONED with their physical books, provided by their adopters! These dogs include from the top left to the bottom right: Sabre/Arfy; Merlotte’s Tara/Tara; Dennison/Denny; Robo/Washburne; Dreifuss/Dreyfuss; Minnie; Clooney; Tyson/Cruz; and Humphrey/Ricky-Bobby! I am so incredibly grateful that some of the dogs featured in ABANDONED are still here with us on earth, as I photographed the dogs for this long-term project during 2013 through 2015.
I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.
And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today! Many thanks for your support!
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Andrea Weckerle, the host of the Ready Living Podcast, where she asked very thoughtful and insightful questions about my new book: ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs. You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcast or Spotify!
I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.
And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today! Many thanks for your support!
Oct 11
16 years of marriage. 20 years together, two decades together. 6 years of parenting a little human together. 11 years of loving and taking care of our fur girl, Victory, together. You are my favorite human being. You are always by my side, and supportive through everything. I can never thank you enough for all of your support with respect to putting my new book into the world. I could never have done it without you. You are the greatest gift of my life, and each day spent with you is truly a gift. I look forward to many, many more years together, knowing that we can get through anything together. Most of all, you are an incredible Daddy to our girls! We are all so incredibly blessed and grateful for you. Happy sixteenth wedding anniversary!
And, we are celebrating this milestone, along with celebrating Victory being part of our little family for 11 years! Tomorrow is the day we adopted Victory 11 years ago from the Michigan Sheltie Rescue! We are so incredibly grateful for our beloved fur girl! We are enjoying the cooler fall weather, along with doing some fun fall family outings together, with our girls, during this long weekend!
“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is not love for you like mine.” —Maya Angelou
ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, has been released into the world! Thank you to everyone who has purchased my book! It has been wonderful to hear from you and receive your feedback on this book I have worked on for over a decade! There are so many generous people who have helped me along this journey, for which I am very grateful and I owe such a great debt.
It is National Adopt-A-Dog Month, and I hope that if you are considering getting a dog, you only adopt and not shop. There are so many wonderful dogs living in shelters and rescue organizations who need permanent, loving homes. It is up to us humans to solve the dog overpopulation crisis in our country.
I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.
And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today! Many thanks for your support!
Today, Modern Dog Magazine featured ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs as one of its book club picks for this fall! The fall 2024 issue is on newsstands as of today! A few images are shown below!
My parents picked up a copy of the Modern Dog Magazine today, and a photo is shown below!
And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today! Many thanks for your support!
I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.
biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver 