Promise 4 Paws Senior Dog Sanctuary

By now, you've all seen the viral video about the retirement home for dogs located in Maryland.  (And I'm sure you, like me, reached for the tissues when they talked about the "Stairway to Heaven"...)  Shortly after I watched this video for the first time, my husband and I took a day trip to Omaha to celebrate my birthday.  And we stumbled upon a place very similar to the video...and basically, guys, it's where I would like to live for the rest of my life.

Whenever I go on trips, I do a lot of Googling in the weeks prior.  Usually, I search for bookstores and animal shelters, and on the Omaha trip, I struck gold!  I found an organization called "Promise 4 Paws Senior Dog Sanctuary" located near Council Bluffs, Iowa.  There wasn't much information about it online, but we hoped for the best and headed there anyway.  I'm so glad we did!

3 of the 4 dogs on this couch are blind...and all so very sweet!

This place was my version of heaven.  25 dogs, all between ages 8 and 18, with a house all to themselves.  Most of the dogs had a few health issues (many were blind, incontinent, missing teeth, etc.), but man, were those dogs happy.  You could really tell that they felt safe and comfortable in this environment.

Promise 4 Paws just opened its doors in April, and it's all because of 3 AMAZING women who had a great love for dogs and a dream.  They visited the retirement home in Maryland (of viral video fame), and it inspired them to make their own sanctuary for old dogs.  They managed to raise enough money to purchase a little house for the dogs to live in.  Now, someone is there 24/7, though each of the women have full-time jobs.  They do not get paid, and there are (usually) no adoption fees being brought in, since most of these dogs are not adoptable.  Their money comes solely from donations and fundraisers.

This sweet girl has congestive heart failure and wasn't feeling so well that day :(

I mean...if only all of us could be so selfless, right?

This guy looked just like a black bear...he was my husband's favorite!

Promise 4 Paws only takes in senior dogs that get along well with other dogs, since they are around one another all the time.  There was a bit of growling amongst the Chihuahuas and Pomeranians, but with 25 dogs, that's to be expected.  The house, a cute cottage-like home, was full of oversized couches, chairs, and dog beds, many specially fitted with ramps.  There is always daytime access to a large, fenced-in yard, and at least half of the dogs were sunbathing on a big porch when we arrived.  A long countertop was custom-built to have multiple cubbies along the bottom with dog beds in each - the Chihuahuas love to snuggle inside the cubbies when they want some alone time.  They also, using the wonderful idea from the Maryland retirement home, have a "Stairway to Heaven", putting up photos of the beloved dogs that have already crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

The Pom in the doorway was the resident greeter :)

I have never seen an organization like this before - I wish there were more around!  Visiting Promise 4 Paws was an experience I will never forget, and I hope to go back again and again.  In fact, I wanted to somehow collaborate with a professional photographer and get a piece together about the place, so if you know any photographers in the area, let me know! :)  These photos do NOT do this place justice, and I am positive some amazing moments could be captured :)

One of the residents, probably thinking, "This is the life."  (Photo from Promise 4 Paws Facebook page)

Spring Has Sprung...And Mud Has Been Flung

It is starting to feel - dare I say it? - like spring outside in Iowa!  (But shh, don't acknowledge it or we might scare it away.)  The snow has finally melted, leaving only a few slushy patches in our backyard.  And poop...there's always more poop than I expect there to be buried under all that snow.  It's like the moisture causes it to multiply or something.

I'm thankful for the warmer temperatures, but I've gotta say, guys...I don't understand how spring could be anyone's favorite season.  I'm not sure what spring is like outside of the Midwest, but here, everything is dirty, moist, and brown.  (Rereading that last phrase made me gag a little bit, but I'm leaving it.)  Mud is everywhere.  And, like many mischievous dogs, Riley is loving it.

We do our best to keep him from going near muddy patches in the backyard, but here is Riley's regular routine when he goes outside:

1.  Sniff

2.  Pee on one very specific leaf

3.  Sniff the urine-soaked leaf

4.  Perk his ears at a passing car/person/bicycle/squirrel

5.  Snuffle and sniff some more

6.  Circle

7.  Circle...

8.  Circle again 

9.  Poop

10.  If he considers the passing cars/people/bicycles/squirrels to be worthy, he might try to intimidate them by scuffing dirt over his turds.  Lately he's been doing it with just pee as well.  He stares directly at whatever his target may be, then, with a smug look on his face (can a dog look smug?), digs his back legs into the ground and flings grass absolutely everywhere.  It's super awkward when his target is our next-door neighbors.  I don't think they're all that impressed with his poop-covering skills.

Riley may not succeed in intimidating anyone, but he sure does succeed in making a mess.  The ground has been disgusting and mucky, so he regularly comes inside half-covered in mud.  The pristine-looking little raincoat in the photo above has been through the wash 3 times just this past weekend!  At least it's not poop he's flinging...I don't think.  Spring makes it so hard for me to tell what's poop and what's mud!