Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf's Blog – March 2014 Archive (17)

Wonderfully Weird

Something happened today that I was not expecting. A person at my place of employment (who shall remain nameless) stated: "You're a little weird, Lauren T."

In retrospect, I have been called far worse. But, this surprising revelation really stung. Somehow I found the strength to say, "How?" This person appeared to be at a loss for words. I suppose he/she thought that I would just laugh it off or walk away with my tail between my legs (figuratively, of course). All I wanted was an…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 28, 2014 at 5:50pm — 7 Comments

Present Pets

As soon as our eyes locked, I knew he was the one. His body was tan with a white stripe running down to his snout. And his tail curled into a tiny “q.”

My husband thought I was crazy. But, despite his protesting, I filled out the adoption paperwork. After all, this dog wasn’t going to be…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:23pm — 1 Comment

Proper Pet Etiquette

Since I was a little girl, I can remember being around dogs. My Grandma went through a series of dogs that included a Poodle, Pomeranian and Shih Tzu. From owning Spots, a Border Collie, I was also used to handling large dogs.

After attending several dog centered events with my husband, we quickly discovered that many parents (both fur and human) and children do not exercise the proper…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:22pm — No Comments

BSL BS

My husband and I recently spent a fun weekend adoption hoping. We are not looking to add another addition to the family. We simply enjoy looking at all of the beautiful animals and donating where we can.

Stray Rescue St. Louis was hosting their annual "The One" event. All pet adoptions were just $14! And they do not let people traipse in and out of the areas where the dogs are kept. Instead, they have a large binder that contains photos and biographies of all of their…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:20pm — 1 Comment

An Act of Dog Project

I love to connect with people via social media and blogs. As I was perusing people on LinkedIn, I came across Mark Barone. This man has started a phenomenal project called "An Act of Dog."

Barone is creating a memorial for dogs that have been euthanized in shelters simply because their "time was up." He will be traveling across the United States and hand-painting 5,500 dog portraits. Why 5,500? This is the number of dogs that are euthanized daily.

I could…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:19pm — No Comments

Abominable Adoptions

I fell in love from the moment I saw him. His name was Cliff. He didn’t look like most cats. Cliff had a cleft palette!

Matt and I had made the mistake of going to Petsmart to purchase food for our cat, Miracle. Little did we know that this day was part of the National Adopt-a-thon weekend. Bad news for an animal lover like me.

While…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:18pm — No Comments

Frightening Foster

My husband warned me not to get into fostering. I couldn’t help it! I just have so much love to give our furry friends. And I am always looking for ways to help these poor creatures.

After searching some local groups’ websites, I made my decision to become a foster parent. The rules were fairly simple: You must bring the dog to at…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:17pm — 5 Comments

Turbulent Therapy

Adriel and I have been volunteering with Therapy Dogs International for four years. As a certified Therapy Dog, Adriel is allowed to visit hospitals, schools, and other locations. She provides touch therapy to patients of nursing homes and hospice centers and lends an ear to children in local kids clubs.

And we have enjoyed every minute of it! I love seeing people's faces light up as Adriel enters the room. I should point out that Adriel has a very distinctive feature. …

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:16pm — No Comments

Delightfully Different

From the moment that I laid eyes on Penny, I knew that she was different. Her severe overbite is quite hard to ignore. And her deformed front…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:15pm — No Comments

Fur vs. Flesh

It appears that a great division is forming within our nation. No, it has nothing to do with politics. The chaos is being caused by...fur parents!

This term has become quite popular within the last few years. And there certainly is no lack of propaganda. I own a t-shirt that reads "Dog Mom" and proudly display a magnet on my car that reads the same.

But, not everyone is happy with this term. Who, you may ask? Those that have human children. To them, fur…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:13pm — No Comments

Limiting Love

It was never my intention to own five dogs and a cat. But, whenever I see an animal in need, I can’t not help. Somehow, my husband and I always find room for one more.

I also never said it was easy. My husband and I are certainly not millionaires. And vet bills don’t ever seem to get cheaper. Still, we wouldn’t have it any…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 9:00pm — 3 Comments

Peculiar Peppe

This time, www.petfinder.com is not to blame for the final addition to my family. I received an e-mail from Diana’s Grove Rescue because this is the organization that I adopted a dog (Tito) for my mom. When I opened the e-mail, I saw a color flier for their upcoming adoption event.…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 8:51pm — No Comments

Priceless Penny

I am not going to lie. Penny’s adoption story is my favorite out of all of my fur babies. My husband and I were talking about the fact that we never expected to have so many male dogs. I had always envisioned having female dogs, like my grandma.

That is when Matt opened Pandora’s box. He said, “It would be nice if Adriel had…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 8:49pm — No Comments

Charismatic Cole

Around the time that I had set the date to adopt Domino, someone at work posted onto our electronic bulletin board that they had a dog free to a good home. I should not have opened the photo attachment. When I did, staring back at me was twin of my husband’s dog, Duchess, that had recently been put to sleep.

…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 8:47pm — No Comments

Darling Domino

Domino came into my life completely by accident. While taking my break at work, I did a Google search for Chihuahuas. That is when I discovered Chihuahua Rescue Midwest. This group is out of Missouri and specializes in rescuing…Chihuahuas!

Upon opening…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 8:46pm — No Comments

Adorable Adriel

The second fur baby to come into my life was Adriel (formerly Petra). My husband and I were living in an apartment at the time and noticed that Theo was just laying around on the furniture. He was not sick (he was still eating like a horse). I soon figured out the problem. He was lonely!…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 8:45pm — No Comments

Terrific Theo

Meet the first of my fur babies, Theo! He is a long-haired Chihuahua that often gets mistaken for a Pomeranian. I tend to think that he looks like a fox (especially when his ears are straight up).

Theo has perhaps the saddest story of my bunch. He…

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Added by Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf on March 26, 2014 at 8:44pm — No Comments