biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Dec 16

Victory: Exuding Confidence

Victory is beginning to really come into her own! Over the weekend, Victory got a bath and we took her to get her nails and paws trimmed! Victory did try to jump multiple times out of our soaker tub! It takes both of us to bathe her! However, it was worth is as she looks great and she is ready for Christmas! Victory’s fur feels so soft and silky! Her sheltie furs are also beginning to come in! Victory, pictured below, is striking a pose for the camera! She looks confident and beautiful wearing her new Christmas collar! Every time Victory moved, she jingled!

Also, over the weekend, Doug and I made eggnog sugar cookies pictured below. Doug really enjoys cooking and baking! In honor of Victory, we made dog and dog bone shaped eggnog sugar cookies! We need to get a sheltie cookie cutter. We had bought a sheltie cookie cutter previously, but I think that it got misplaced/lost during one of our recent moves!

The winner of the ASPCA Giveaway is Nancie McClendon! I along with the ASPCA will be in touch with you shortly! Thank you to all of you who participated!

Happy Monday!

Dec 13

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Victory: Getting Ready for Christmas!

If you have not already noticed from reading the blog, Victory is our little fur baby and she will always be treated as a family member! As such, we wanted to get Victory ready for the Holidays — her first Christmas!

We purchased some items for Victory, which are shown below!

1. Ornament: We had a custom ornament of Victory made by Helen Greenstein, Eleni Creative, who previously made our Little Felt Family! I love working with Helen!

(The above photographs of the little felt Victory are courtesy of Helen Greenstein, Eleni Creative.)

Below is an image of our expanded Little Felt Family!

Also, shown in the image immediately below, on the right, our beloved Biscuit was featured in the American Craft 2013 Holiday Look Book!

2. Stocking: We had a custom embroidered stocking made for little Victory from Pottery Barn, pictured above! (We had the same custom embroidered stockings made for all of us for Biscuit’s first Christmas in 2011.)

3. Christmas Collars: We purchased several Christmas collars shown above. Victory is wearing her sparkle collar below!

4. Tartan Antlers: Victory is using Biscuit’s Tartan Antlers shown below. Victory looks so cute wearing her tartan antlers and her sparkle collar!

Victory is ready for Santa to visit her! Thankfully, Doug and I have finished (just about) everything for Christmas!

Happy Friday!

Dec 12

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Victory: Two Months In

“A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can’t get it by breeding for it, and you can’t buy it with money. It just happens along.” – E. B. White

Today we have had our little Victory for two months! The time has really zoomed by quickly! Victory is doing really well. She had a great Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas together! Victory loves to go for rides in the car, so we know that she will travel well over the Holidays! We are excited for her to meet more family!

Below are some things that we learned about Victory this month:

She loves to cuddle — she is a cuddle bug!
She loves to come jump on the sofa as soon as a human sits on the sofa!
She knows when it is bed time. Victory on her own proceeds up the stairs and jumps into bed squarely in the middle of our bed abutting the headboard behind all of our pillows!
She loves to sleep with us (this is not new to us, but continues on!)
She loves chicken breast, cheese, Cesar Softies, Cheddar Biscuits, and vanilla Chick-Fil-A ice cream (like her brother Biscuit)! We are sure that there are more food items that she likes, but for now, she is venturing out!
She loves to lay in our bed when we get ready in the morning. She loves our bed so much that she does not like to leave the bed when I make it each morning! I am constantly putting her on the floor and then she runs around the bed and jumps on the bed again and again!
She likes car rides! We hope to go on many adventures when the weather warms up! We are also planning a fun trip with Victory this summer!
She likes to wake us up during the night to get a drink of water in bed, as she will not leave the bed to get a drink of water — we know, she is a spoiled princess! However, she is hydrating more, which is good! (We hope to soon get her to drink water in our master bedroom bathroom!)
She loves to sniff — everything. She sniffs us all the time, especially before bed! She sniffs so much that she leaves marks on my glasses trying to sniff my eye lashes!
She likes the snow! She had fun earlier this week walking in the snow!

We know in time that Victory will make even more progress getting acclimated to her new home. We plan on doing dog training with Victory after the new year!

Enjoy the images of Victory taken just before dusk and before the snow hit here — she looks absolutely beautiful!

Below is a side-by-side comparison of Victory — look how much Victory has changed in a relatively short period of time — from the first photo we received of her from her foster Mom in September (left) compared to the photograph taken of Victory this past weekend (right)! She looks beautiful and her precious sheltie furs are coming in!

Additionally, we were at the vet last night for a heartworm check, which was negative, and Victory is now a healthy 22 pounds, which is so much better than the mere 14 pounds she once was when she was found in the hording situation this past summer. At the vet’s office last night, in the waiting room, she hopped right up on the chair like a human! We really do think Victory thinks she is human as outlined above!

Happy Thursday!

Dec 11

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Good Read: The In-Between by Jeff Goins

I recently finished reading The In-Between — Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing by Jeff Goins. This was a good read! This book is a timely reminder to slow down and enjoy the perfect moments in life that otherwise go unnoticed. A few of my favorite quotes from this book are below.

“Maybe our disappointments aren’t missed appointments at all. Maybe they’re calls to patience, or simply signs of a change to come. When we lose a dream, it may be more than a loss. It may be a gain of something we never expected or understood. So perhaps the fact that life doesn’t always turn out the way we’d hoped is a blessing, not a curse — if we have eyes to see it.”

“We are all waiting for something. And in that wait, there is a necessary tension, even a frustration, that doesn’t fully resolve. This doesn’t mean some things aren’t worth waiting for. It just means we don’t always get what we want, and rarely does it come all at once. Believe it or not, this is a good thing. Just like the delayed gratification between Christmas and Epiphany, we need to understand that the wait sometimes is essential to appreciate the gifts that follow, no matter how much we may resent the process. So through the angst and anticipation, in our longing to have and be more, we need to learn to enjoy this place.”

We go through life, dashing from moment to moment, all the while missing little glories in the middle. Goins refers to those parts of life as “The In-Between,” the title of his this book.

Goins writes, “Waiting is the great grace. It’s a subtle sign for those with eyes to see, reminding us there is work yet to be done–not just around us, but in us.” Waiting requires slowing down and stopping, taking the time to examine our inner selves, and allowing for the development of that third eye, the one that reads between the lines and sees the value in the small things.

Thus, some simple themes that I took away from reading this book are to:

Slow Down
Let Go
Be Grateful

In this season of waiting, consider adding this excellent read to your reading shelf or for someone on your holiday list. And blessings to you in your wait!

Happy Wednesday!

Dec 10

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Victory: First Snow!

This past weekend was our first snow with our little Victory! Victory had a good time in the snow! She wore her new pink fleece from her Grandma and Grandpa to keep her warm and to protect her little sheltie furs! (We might have to find some matching little pink boots and see if Victory will tolerate wearing them!) While we were outside in the snow, Victory put her little snout in the snow many times to sniff around and she also licked the snow!

Enjoy some photographs below documenting Victory’s first time in the snow! It is really snowing here today and we are sure that she will like walking in the snow again today! We are so happy that Victory is part of our little family!

Speaking of snow, you can view Biscuit’s first snow and one of my favorite images of Biscuit in the snow from earlier this year!

Happy Tuesday!

The snow was a little too much that Victory had to close her eyes!

Dec 9

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Giveaway: Gift Pack from the ASPCA!

The ASPCA recently contacted me to share some important and fun information with fellow ‘dog friends!’ Every year, the ASPCA encourages shoppers not to buy anything at stores that sell puppies. Additionally, please check out the video, What Not to Buy, the ASPCA’s holiday video aimed at educating consumers about the connection between pet store puppies and puppy mills.

The holidays present a time when shoppers are buying gifts for pet lovers and pets alike, and studies show that over a third of Americans purchase holiday gifts for their pet(s). Doug and I are in this category — we treat our beautiful Victory as a family member and we are excited about our first Christmas with our little Victory! We have already begun our Christmas shopping for Victory! Below, the ASPCA has shared some DIY gift ideas; pet gifts from its online store; and gifts for pet lovers! This is a great way to help support the mission of the ASPCA!

Further, the ASPCA is giving away a Gift Pack shown below to one lucky winner — please read below as to how you can win this Gift Pack, a $100.00 value! Please share with your family and friends!

DIY Ideas: Below are some fun gift ideas for DIY enthusiasts or just those trying to cut back on costs. As such, ASPCA behavior experts have put together the following suggestions, some of which are pictured below:

DIY dog gift: To make a tasty chew toy, soak a rope toy in chicken broth and then freeze. Once frozen, give the toy to your dog for hours of savory chewing.
DIY cat gift: Rip off a piece of aluminum foil, put cat food or cat nip in it, and crumble it up into a ball. This serves a fun batting toy for hours of kitty entertainment.

Gifts: Also as shown below, if you are shopping and are in need of gifts for your furry family member(s), below are some links to other cute gift ideas for pets, available at the ASPCA Online Store:

Gifts for Pet Lovers: Additionally, as shown below are some gifts for pet lovers!

***Giveaway: The ASPCA has graciously donated one (1) Gift Pack, a $100.00 value, containing all of the goodies listed and pictured below, to be given away to one lucky winner! A BIG thank you to the ASPCA!

This gift pack will make a very nice gift for a lucky furry family member! Please find the rules of the contest below to enter to win this above gift pack!

Giveaway Details and Rules:

*Just leave a comment saying hello!

*Please leave a valid e-mail address, as this is my only point of contact. (The winner will be contacted via e-mail in order to obtain the winner’s mailing address to enable the ASPCA to mail the gift pack, shown above, directly to the winner!)

*Deadline to submit a comment is this Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 11:00 p.m. EST… and the winner will be announced early next week!

(Stay tuned — there will be more blog giveaways!)

Happy Monday!

Please note that all of the photographs contained in this blog post are courtesy of the ASPCA.

Dec 6

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Honoring Biscuit: Remembering His Trusty Paw

“Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog; it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs your heart is very big.” ~Unknown

Tomorrow marks five months since our precious Biscuit passed away. Anyone who met Biscuit in person knew that he loved to give paw! When we first rescued Biscuit, he was very shy and timid. Initially Biscuit often did not leave his bed for days. Until one night as Biscuit sat on his bed in front of our fireplace, Biscuit gave us his paw — this was the first interaction he initiated with us. Maybe Biscuit was telling us that it would all be ok. Doug and I were so happy that Biscuit was coming out of his shell that we began to “treat” Biscuit each time he gave us paw! Biscuit quickly learned that his little paw could get him just about anything!

Each night during dinner, Biscuit would situate himself and paw at Doug and myself for food! On the weekends, before we learned about his kidney issues, I made him yogurt parfaits! Biscuit loved them! Each night after the gym, Doug and I would play with Biscuit and he would give us his paw in exchange for treats, which later became “prescription kibble treats.” Biscuit never hesitated to give friends and family his infamous paw as well! I think he knew it was his “magic touch!” Biscuit was always very persistent and when he made his mind up, he never gave up!

The photograph below captures a moment in time when Biscuit gave his Daddy the paw in exchange for some prescription kibble. I miss Biscuit and I miss him giving us his infamous paw — his trademark! No matter what, I know Biscuit will always be with us watching over us and our newest edition to our family, Victory — another gift and blessing. I am truly grateful for our time with little Biscuit. Biscuit was a gift and he changed our lives for the better. I hope that others will consider dog rescue; and I hope that others have experienced and will experience this precious relationship with our furry family members.

Dec 4

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All We Have Is Now

We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. “We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

I often get caught up in the idea of tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. While it is comforting to make plans for the future and it is always important to dream, I never want to lose sight of the fact that all we are guaranteed is right now and, most importantly, not to miss the right now. Our little Biscuit taught us about living in the present moment.

“When you fully embrace the gift that this moment has to offer, there is no more waiting, even if you envision in your mind has yet to manifest in physical form.” ~Unknown

In the spirit of the Holiday season, Biscuit is shown on the left and Victory is shown on the right, both wearing tartan antlers!

Dec 3

On Critics

Recently, a friend sent me this Brené Brown video. It is Brené’s talk from this year’s 99 Conference. It really resonated for me, and I wanted to share it with you. I am a huge fan of Brené Brown and her work. Brené is a phenomenal public speaker and an unwavering voice for courage and for generosity. I hope you will give it a watch, especially if you are a creative or if you have ever dealt with critics.

Additionally, I wrote a review of Daring Greatly by Brené Brown here.

Dec 2

Victory’s First Thanksgiving!

I hope that you had a nice Thanksgiving! Victory had a great Thanksgiving — her first Thanksgiving! She really loved cuddling with everyone. She seems to love being loved! She is gaining more confidence each day! She is beginning to come into her own! Victory also loved her chicken that Doug made especially for her! We learned that she likes cooked carrots as well! Little Nick , my parents’ furry family member, came for a visit and he loved having turkey and chicken as well! Nick situated himself around everyone in the hopes of getting as much human food as possible!

We think that Victory was more interested in Nick than Nick was into Victory! Nick only truly loves one person — his Daddy! Pictured below are Victory and Nick sporting their matching Christmas collars! Nick, of course, was keeping an eye on his Daddy! In honor of Victory, we put out some Christmas lights over the weekend — they look quite nice!

In the Holiday spirit, not all dogs are fortunate enough to have furever homes. Please keep all dogs in your prayers especially as the weather gets colder. A special dog prayer is shown below, which a friend recently shared with me.