Scruffy...

I remember when I was young. I used to watch Saturday morning cartoons like a freak (didn’t all kids). My favorite cartoon was (and still is) Scooby Doo. Now I’m not saying that Scooby drove me into the animal welfare field, but you never know. I always wanted a little dog that could talk and be my best friend. Of course that was when I was young, now I have three wonderful dogs that make my days that much easier. They all have their own personalities and they all know how to push my buttons. There was also a cartoon that played once in the afternoon called “Scruffy”. I had the book (and wish I still did for Mikayla), but I mainly remember the cartoon. Although the book is out of print, I did find a review on Amazon.com. This is a review from a young kid. It will let you understand why the book should be back in print:

This story is about a mother dog, at first. She lives in an abandoned house. When she has pups, she goes out of her way to feed them. All the same, something tragic happens, and she only has one pup left. That pup turns out to be the focus of the book, and become Scruffy. Scruffy is stumbling along when she meets a male dog. He is Butch. Butch escorts her back to his pack, who lives in a car in the junkyard. All the dogs are somehow caught, and they only have a few days left. Finally, an article about Scruffy runs in the paper, and, and, and I won't tell you what happens. It has a happy ending.

This is a great book for anyone who is a real doggie lover. They don't talk, so you kind of have to mind read. This is easy. The book is a good read on a rainy day, and reminds you that everyone is special. It is almost impossible to find it. Check a used bookstore. That's where I found mine.

I still remember this book even though it was more than thirty years ago when I saw the cartoon. I was just so impressed with the story that I had to buy the book. I still have it today. The story of what happens to stray dogs and how people can save them set my life in motion to do what I am doing now. Then life took it turn on me and I lost the path that I was on. Then September 11th happened and I remember PETA, ASPCA, HAUS, and other organizations helping the rescue dogs looking for survivors in the World Trade Centers. The campaign they had to help these over worked animals, I think, helped to galvanize people to the benefit of certain animals. Watching rescue dogs bring someone out of the rubble can only melt your heart.

It's Started...

Yes it has finally started. We are in the stage of I want to read and re-read the same book - ALL THE TIME. This took hold maybe a week ago, but over the weekend we have seen a major increase. It's interesting that she has a favorite book for each one of us. For me, her favorite is "10 Little Ladybugs" by Melanie Gerth. This is the exciting story of 10 ladybugs being taken to some other part of the forest (I think). The story is too in depth for me to understand. The nice thing about this book is that Mikayla can feel the ladybugs - and number 4 is her favorite.

For Mark, she has picked an easier book, "Baby Faces". I think she did this because Mark has so much happening in his life, she knows that he needs some downtime, and this is it. She loves all the facial expressions that the babies have, but I think she really likes it when daddy makes the faces as well. Now we don't just read these books, there are others.

We have a few titles in the same line. They are the "Happy Baby" series. The great thing about these books is they use some of the same (or similar) pictures. This weekend Mikayla started to take note of that. She would be sitting on my lap and when we came to a picture that she has seen in another book, she would crawl off my lap and find that book. I would then open the book to the page with the picture and hold them up together. She was fascinated. This amazed me. I have a great fear that she is going to be a lot smarter than either Mark or myself.

God help us.