Save Dogs

New Website

This blog address will no longer be updated...

Instead, please visit our new home!

www.savedogsonline.com

It's a work in progress, but big things are coming!!!!!!!!

My "Dear" Readers

For all my readers, I have some disturbing interesting statistics about what kind of visitors this blog attracts.

There is a tool in the administration panel for this blog that allows me to see which websites direct visitors to my blog.  If the visitors come from a search engine like Google, I can see the actual search terms they used to find my blog.  My blog has such a vast array of content that despite being about dog rescue,I get many visitors that are looking to get rid of their dogs.

Here are recent search 'strings' that lead to my blog:
"giving away a dog"
"giving away a family dog"
"euthanize a dog by shooting"
"giving away your dog"
"how to save dogs"
"rescue dogs"
"jessica biel puppy"
"old dog vertigo"

There is one nice thing in store for those who find my blog while trying to give away their dog...they often land on this page of my blog, which happens to be one of my all-time favorite (and most commented-on) posts.

peace & love,
jon

Coming soon...

A brand new blog.
All new domain...

A lot more is on the horizon.

Stay tuned for more info.
Leave me a comment too--it's getting lonely around here.

How's Life?

I can't believe how the time flies.
I've been very bored busy with work and it's been hard to keep up in the dog rescue world.

My friend gave birth to a baby girl in North Carolina and I was in the delivery room...the birth was on March 1st.  It was amazing to see newborn life, for the first time, taking in the world and looking us all in the eyes.

Some of you know that I'm in the Web Design business and I've been plotting ways to venture into the Pet business again.  Even if I have to be a Vet's assistant for awhile, I think I'd enjoy being around animals again enough to justify a lower salary.  In the long run I still need to find a way to make money and be around animals.

Thanks again to everyone who continues to read my blog--I'd love to hear your stories and post them--which will help me during times where I don't have free time to write my own!  Keep your love for the animals!

Below is a great video from YouTube (it's a bit long...) It shows a baby and dog that grow up together.

2007

I was at adoptions this weekend and met Samantha, who volunteers at the MuchLove Organization (dog rescue) and she told me that she reads this blog!  It's the first person I've met in person who knew me from my blog.  That makes me like 1/1000 of a celebrity <----said very sarcastically.  She's super cool and she is fostering a Dalmatian named Pretty.

I took Sassafras, my little Chihuahua, to see if anybody showed interest in her at adoptions.  One couple, who live down the block from me, spent a lot of time with Sassy and I think they'll probably call me.  Sassy also got an application from a really nice young woman who lives about 15 minutes away from me.  The downside is that she rents and that she's technically not allowed to have pets (although she is friends with her landlord).  Sassy's such a perfect pet that I want to make sure I find her a home that's 100% right for her. 

I've grown somewhat impatient with the numb-nuts that attend adoptions.  People who stop by--look at the dogs--and ask the most asinine questions like "why are you giving away your dog?".  Do they honestly think that a bunch of people are conspiring against their own pets and adopting them out on Sundays?  It doesn't help that I do adoptions on a really trendy street in Los Angeles.  Obnoxious wanna-be actors will come buy in their Gucci Sunglasses, stare the dogs up and down and then leave the scene with their Vanilla Ice-blended coffees in one hand and the keys to their leased BMWs in the other hand.

Anyway...hopefully this enertained you.  Tell me stories about spending the holidays with your dogs.  Send me pictures!!!!!!

Ticket to Denver

Ladybug has her bags packed...
she's  going to Denver on October 7th with her new mom Jewlee.

I got the ticket using my American Airlines miles from AA credit card.
Jewlee contacted me a few months back and she was in love with Ladybug from petfinder.com

I thought it was a longshot to get Ladybug to Denver, especially given how busy I became with work in recent months.  Jewlee wrote a comment a few weeks ago--months after we intially got in touch.  You can read it here.  That was enough to motivate me to get the plane ticket and make this a done deal.  Some things are just meant to be and I think this situation is another lucky bit of fate for little Ladybug. 

I'll make sure to post pictures of the farewell next weekend.

Meanwhile, here is one of my favorite pictures from the last year.
Jessica Biel took this photo of me and Tina (formerly Charlotte) this past winter.  Jessica adopted Tina and it seems like every other week I see more photos of the two across the Internet.  It's a match made in heaven.  Here is the one of the last pictures I have of me and Charlotte:

Thanks for keeping all the rescue dogs in your thoughts!
Much love,
Jon

September

I remember the days where I had so much time to write in my blog about animals.
I miss those days.

I receive e-mails everyday about animals in need and I feel guilty for sitting at my "office" job--too busy to help these poor dogs find homes.  Ladybug should have a home by now, but I'm so busy I can't always go to adoptions.  She's safe in my house, but she needs her forever home.

I'm so grateful to the small, but vocal bunch of friends who continue to read about my rescue efforts.  This blog did so much for my own sanity after college.  It gave me a place to write about all these crazy rescue people I've met and all the crazy dogs that I've saved.

I'm still searching for a way to reach more of the dogs in need around me...but I'm confident I'll find a way.

Mother's Day

Pirate aka Pie-Pie is going to be adopted by Vivianne--who is a neighbor and friend of mine.  She is also a long time supporter of this blog and has donated to my rescue dogs in the past.  Pirate is doing very well and I will update everyone with pictures soon.

Meanwhile, Tina the pitbull is still doing fantastic with Jessica Biel.  Here's another photo of them from the Internet:

Also, there are still idiots who read this blog and think that it's a platform to complain about their dogs.  Take this recent comment that was left on one of my posts:

"I just can't consider our dog a part of our family, like a child. Its an animal, preditor, just like the animals feasting on my garden every night. I hate our dog, my wife dislikes her, and my daughter loves her. So I am stuck with this beast whether I like it or not. She terrorizes the kids in area, hates all other dogs, has figured out how to get across our Invisable Fence. Barks all the time. Chases everything in sight, I cannot sleep at night because she HAS to be on our bed. She is cute as hell, but a demon at the same time. If any asked me if a Rat Terrier is a good dog, I would tell them to not walk away from one, but run. Do not be tempted to even try. We had a Jack Russell named Cuju before this beast, but it hated my daughter, and bit her. So, I bit her back, and brought her to the rescue that same day. I guess I am not a dog person.
On a side note...I have a really good dog to give away. Rat terrier named Lucy. Free to good home. Calm and friendly. Never barks. House trained. Good with kids. (is this what you are talking about?)"

Where Has The Time Gone?

I've been showing my blog to people lately for reasons unrelated to dog rescue.  I'm a project manager at a web design firm and I use my blog to explain the importance of blogging from the webmaster perspective.  Blogs are incredibly useful ways to share information and rank higher in Google because you are providing unique content that helps Google to calculate how to rank your site.  For inst ace, if you type Save Dogs into Google, my site shows up 1st out of over 30 million sites.  That's pretty incredible, considering that I would never pay to have mine show up first.  It's just that I write about my rescue dogs, saving dogs from the pound, and adopting dogs out to great families.  Now, when someone is searching on Google for information related to dog rescue or shelter animals, Google knows to point them toward my site.

It's a pretty great concept that you can gain traffic to your site, just my writing about what you love.  I've been rescuing abandoned dogs for over 2 years now and I consider it an honor to talk about these dogs on line.  I've been inspired by others in the rescue community to share this information--and I think it's a great way to encourage others to save dogs (and cats or any other type of animal).

Meanwhile, Charlotte's name is now Tina and she has doubled in weight (according to her new parents).  I miss her but I know that she is going to have a fantastic life.  She really is one lucky dog.  She has a backyard and a front yard (both gated in) and she plays all day long with her doggy brother. 

If you have any stories about dog rescue, dog shelters, or dogs in general...please e-mail me because I'd love to share them on line.

All the best,
Jon

E-mail from a "Save Dogs" reader

This is the reason I keep my blog going...because I know there are other people who love their dogs like I do.  Here is an e-mail from a super nice reader named Cathy.
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I call this photo "The Most Famous Reindeer of All".  You asked for holiday pics of pets so here is my best one of my favorite girl.  You don't know me but I faithfully read your blog and I think what you do is awesome.  This is my baby Scooby Doo, she came to my husband and I two years ago at age one from a home where she was mistreated and unloved. I don't know how it's possible because she is AMAZING, there is just no other word for her and the love and happiness she brings everyday.  Anyway, here she is and thanks for all that you do, God Bless.