Home Sweet Home

Hi, Everybody! I have some very exciting news to share with you. I know I have been away from my blog for a while and I do apologize. My parents were out of town for 2 weeks and then my mommy was sick for 3 weeks after that so since she has to help me type I was not able to blog.

I went to stay with Roast Beef while my parents were away and I had so much fun. Thank you, Roast Beef (Debra Smith - mommy's words) for taking great, loving care of me. I love you. She has a houseful of lovely ladies whom I like very much. One of the girls is her foster dog Penny Lane. She is a beautiful tan and white girl with an amazing gift. She can jump really high! She would make a great dog for someone who plays Frisbee or who wants to go jogging maybe. She is a very pretty girl and a sweet girl she came over to my side of the yard to visit me which was very thoughtful. Please consider adopting her (www.spcawake.org) she really deserves a home of her own with her own people to love.

So, after that adventure I came back home and have been helping mommy to feel better by giving her kisses and having her take me out back for some fresh air. One day, I told her I loved her with my eyes. I looked up at her lovingly and opened my eyes wide so she could see my soul inside and she looked back at me lovingly too like she always does and she saw my soul and saw that I was telling her I loved her. She said she loved me to which she always does but this time I really understood what she meant because I meant it too. It was very brave of me to be so vulnerable like that at least that’s what she told me later.

Also, ever since I have come back from Roast Beef’s I have really liked my daddy! I have played with him, we go outside together, I let him pet me and I even give him kisses. Sometimes I lean on him too. He love’s me too, he told me so.

On Tuesday, July 12^th, we had a family meeting and it was about me. Daddy said we needed to make a decision about my future. I wasn’t sure what they meant but then he mentioned the word adoption! I am just a dog and don’t know a lot of big words but the word “adoption” is a big buzz word around here. Usually they say that before they put me in my blue flame bowtie and take me to sit at some store where I have to do tricks for strangers. I’m a shy guy and my mom is a shy gal so it is always challenging for both of us but she says she does it for me to try and find me a happy forever home. But this time there was no bowtie. They turned to me and asked if I would like to be a permanent part of the family. I don’t know what that word means but it must be important because it made them hug, pat me on head, give me kisses and made mommy cry.

Mommy called my Fugee’s mama and said she and my daddy would like to adopt me!! They love me so much they just can’t bear to let anyone take me away from them.  

They were so happy and I could tell they were happy about me which made me all warm and fuzzy inside, something was very different and I liked it! Mommy made an adoption announcement for me, she is so proud of me, silly, giddy, proud of me she is and I quite like that a lot. Daddy was emailing and calling family and friends, he too is quite proud of me as well and I quite like that too.

So there you have it, friends, I have been officially adopted! My name is no longer Lazarus J Foster, it is Lazarus J Thomsen, the bouncing baby boy of mommy and daddy and we are all quite silly, giddy about it.

I would be remiss (mommy’s word) if I did not pay much gratitude (mommy’s word too) to those who worked so hard for so long to literally save my life. There’s a reason I am named Lazarus after all. Thank you to my village who tried for years to get me away from my former owner, thank you for loving me, giving me food, treats, affection and most of all HOPE! I owe my life to you and I will live my life to the fullest for you and in your honor!

Thank you to Maryann Kalman, my Mamatu, (mama two – she’s my second mama, yo) Mamatu you worked so hard to spring me from the nasty, scary Wake County shelter where I spent several terrifying months in solitary confinement with very little love and most would say even less hope but, Mamatu, you gave me hope, you kept me alive. You worked hard to find me a rescue who agreed to pull me if a foster could be found. And found they were!

Thank you to my Fugee’s mama, Kim Flowers and my Fugee’s Grandmama who run Fugee’s Rescue. Your promise to the nasty, scary shelter to pull me when a foster could be found kept me alive! They wanted to kill me so many times but you kept me alive by being the rescue who promised to pull me when a foster home was found. And found they were!

You may not know this but my mommy was asked three times to foster this dog name Daddie at Wake County. Mommy and daddy had just lost their dog Patch of 13 years. They were heartbroken, Patch’s spirit still filled their home so much they could not even think of bringing another dog into their home, they were in no shape to competently care for another dog – they were grieving. People kept asking, months went by and finally she said she would meet him, this dog named Daddie ID# 43569.

The rest as they say is history, my history and now I have a big, bright future with my mommy and daddy, forever!

Love,

Lazarus J Thomsen

Freedom to Dream

Today is Independence Day, the day when we celebrate FREEDOM and all it means to us, not only as Americans but also in deeper, more personal ways.

I am thankful for the freedom to pursue my passion of Pit Bulls and the freedom to fight and change the laws that ban these dogs from loving homes they so desperately need.

But today I am focused on the freedoms newly provided to Lazarus our foster dog who is a Pit Bull. Last Independence Day he was outside in the heat with not enough food, unable to reach his water if it was provided and if it was fresh because the heavy chain he had to wear around his neck was likely twisted and wrapped too tightly to allow him access. His owner was abusive and neglectful. His life was horrible. Independence was an ideal he dare not dream, his dreams were of making it through a day without getting beat, without thunderstorms which frighten him, with maybe a brief but friendly sighting of the neighbors who so desperately worked to obtain his freedom from the hell he endured every day.

So today I celebrate Lazarus and his new found freedoms: The freedom from abuse, the freedom from neglect, the freedom from hunger and thirst. The freedom of hard earned courage, the freedom of hard earned trust, the freedom to run freely in the yard, the freedom to have treats and an endless supply of loves, the freedom to lay on the couch, the freedom to have his belly rubbed, the freedom of walks in the park.

These new freedoms were not easy for Lazarus to accept, as he has never known them before. Building trust was hard but the quality he possesses which moves him forward is curiosity. He has a spark of curiosity which shines through in every step he takes in his new world. It has been fascinating to watch him learn so many new things and curiously try new things.

Yet some freedoms are still harder for him to accept than others such as the freedom of looking into our eyes and knowing we are never going to raise a hand to him, raise a voice to him, the freedom to look into our eyes and feel unconditional love and acceptance and peace.  We know we will get there and we are blessed to have the freedoms which afford us the ability to give him all the love and support he needs to fully accept all of his freedoms.

So, here’s to independence and freedom and to unconditional love which overcomes all things. Here’s to Lazarus.

Chillin'

Oh, boy! I have to tell you becoming “just a regular dog” is pretty satisfying. Mommy says I am “normalizing” I call it just “chillin’”. I have come so far in the 3 months I have been in my brand new world, I can hardly believe all that I have overcome and all I have learned and experienced since being with foster mommy and daddy.

I spend my days lounging on their big bed and many times when they leave the house they leave me out of my crate. Can you believe it! I have been good as gold every single time. Daddy and I have been bonding lots! He can rub my face and I don’t run away, I even hop on the couch next to him occasionally and we sort of play. I am still learning how to play but I try really hard and it’s always fun. Sometimes when we go outside I get the zoomies!! I race around the yard with the silliest look on my face and my feet just a flyin’ out behind me full speed ahead – ZOOOOM!! It is soooo fun!!  

They took me to an “adoption event” this past weekend, I don’t know what that is all I know is they took me to a store with a gazillion different smells and many different doggies. I was confused and didn’t understand what I was supposed to do because we were just standing around. Oh, sure, every now and then a person would come by and I would do tricks, give my googly eyes and get treats but I do that at home.

Most people liked me but there was one mother and daughter who was scared of me. The mother pulled her daughter to the other side of the aisle and whispered things in her ear. The little girl wanted to come see me but the mom kept whispering things to the girl and they just stared at me. Mommy finally asked them if they wanted to pet me and they said no. This hurt my feelings. Mommy told them I was a good boy but they walked away. Daddy said this is how the bad reputation us pit bulls have keeps spreading. We tried to interact with them but they weren’t ready to meet us. But mommy told me that another lady came by who didn’t know a lot about pit bulls and she listened intently to everything Mr. Fugee had to say, he gave her a handout and she was very interested in us. This made mommy happy.

People did take my picture though, they thought I was cute. Store employees even gave me treats from the treat bar they had there, they were very nice to me and gave me cuddles. Then all of a sudden it just clicked! I was supposed to be cute and give googly eyes, that is why I was there! Mommy calls it flirting so I started flirting with folks and I got so much attention, good attention! I haven’t actively been seeking attention because in my former home it was usually better to get no attention than bad attention. I had an “Aha” moment! I also greeted a couple of doggies and I did good. Mommy made me a super awesome bow tie to wear. It was sparkly blue with blue flames on it! It was totally rad, dude. I make blue flames look good!

So, along with going to the park, getting my ears rubbed and lounging on the big bed I also like to flirt! I am the bestest doggy EVER!! Don’t you want me to live with you?? Please consider giving me a forever home. For more info on me ask my foster mommy or check out Fugee’s Rescue at www.fugeesrescue.org

Try, Try and Try...You'll Succeed at Last!

Hi, Friends, it’s me Laz and today I have happy news to share. I LIKE my foster daddy!! It has been a long, hard road for me to get to this point but it has finally happened. I have turned the corner from fear to trust!!

Mommy says my life is a play list of Jimmy Cliff songs so for this episode she has been singing: “Try, try and try…you’ll succeed at last” (I don’t know either, google it). My daddy has never been anything but loving, supportive and caring towards me even when I growled at him, skittered away from him, or barked at him. He never gave up on me – he did all kinds of crazy things mommy asked of him to get me to trust him. He hand fed me, took me out to potty, greeted me first thing in the morning, gave me tasty treats when he came at night, practiced my skills with me, was mommy’s shadow when she moved around, let mommy make a big deal over him when he came home at night all so I could see he was a good guy. You see, he loves me and wants me to succeed, wants me to be free from the demons of my past. (my previous owner was not nice to me and I was a little scared of men)

So many days he watched as I cuddled and smooched with mommy, looked at mommy with adoring eyes, wagged my tail wildly at her and jumped with glee when she came home. He often said how much he missed a dog loving him like this and this made mommy so sad, she knew how much love I have to give if only I could find the courage to trust my daddy. Mommy and daddy’s last doggy died in November, he was 13 and had an undetected internal mass that ruptured. His name was Patch and he was the last doggy that loved daddy this way and daddy has missed the love of a dog very much.

But he NEVER gave up on me!! (Try, try and try, you’ll succeed at last) He loved me thru all the issues I had to work out and I am working them out quite nicely! I surprise mom and dad every day with my amazing progress. They are so very proud of me, it’s nice to have someone be proud of me!

So, just last week I started going up to daddy and giving him kisses!! And then one day I started to play with him!! And then one day I walked right passed mommy and went to daddy for affection! That has never happened before – I chose dad over mom! WOW WEE! We go in the yard and play, we play in the house, I go to him for affection, give him kisses, eagerly greet him when he comes home, I follow him around the house, I seek him out.

If you want me to adore you like this I will! Go to www.fugeesrescue.org for more info on me, Laz! Or ask my foster mommy.

It truly is a brand new world!!

Rain, Rain Go Away

“Rain, Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day” Hi friends. My foster mommy has been singing this little song to me a lot lately. It has been kind of rainy here of late and I am a little fearful of rain.

Why, just yesterday I tried to climb into the dryer to hide from the pesky rain drops. Mommy opened the door and inside were t-shirts, underwear and socks – all very cozy to sleep on I think and they smelled so fresh and clean – what pup could resist. So, I put my big head inside, then my front feet and then I put my back foot on the rim to hoist myself inside my cozy little cave where I would curl up nice and tight, safe and sound, snug as bug in a rug, ya know? But, alas, my sweet little cave was not to be. Mommy squealed, “No, What are you doing??” which really echoed inside my sweet little cave so I backed out and gave her my “What?” face.  She gave me her confused face – Ahh, I love to keep mom guessing.

I love to keep her in shape too! Earlier she took me out to potty between the scary rain showers but when I was in the wooded part of the yard trying to take care of business the sky roared really loud and I got scared. I ran to the farthest corner of the yard and curled up in my tiny, little ball of fear as I am wont to do when the rain happens. She dashed to my little corner and tried to convince me to come inside where she said it was much safer. But, I wasn’t budging; the sky was really scary looking so I was going to ride out the storm right there and she was more than welcome to join me. Once again my plan was foiled, drat! She stuck her arms under my belly (into all the leaves and bugs I was laying on) and scooped me up. She held me tight against her and started weaving her way thru the woods.

Now, at this point I became even more worried because I realized as limbs and leaves were slapping me in the face and butt that mom was wearing her big, ugly, heavy, rubber snake boots and she could have easily fallen while toting me along, I am precious cargo, you know! So, we emerged into to the clearing of the yard and she finally put me down (thank goodness) so I could walk the rest of the way into the house. I don’t know what was more scary the rain or having my 60 pound ass hauled thru the woods by someone wearing big, clumsy boots. She was very tired after that though so I did my part to keep her in shape! She will thank me later…I think.

So, I end with my usual “tail”: I am up for adoption! And, yes, all THIS could be yours!! Check out www.fugeesrescue.org for more info or just ask my foster momma, she can talk about me for days and days and days.

New Experiences for Me

Hello Friends! It’s been a little while. Going to work with mommy takes a lot of my blogging time but now she is free to be with me all the time again and I am so happy about that.

I had so much fun working with mommy, I met a lot of people and saw several doggys and helped hand out hundreds of t-shirts! People were so nice to me. I like it when people are nice to me.

Mommy has taken me to the park a few times. We walk laps and I pee on bushes. Today I met a nice lady who gave me pets and compliments, the other day we were there and we walked past a man who said I was beautiful. Mommy is so proud of me.

The other day we had real bad storms here. I went to my “safe place” that I go to when it rains. I was all snuggy there until mom came up and said I had to come downstairs because there was a tornado close by. I looked at her and said, no thanks, I am good here. She didn’t listen, she picked me up and carried me downstairs to the bathroom and placed me on a blanket. She turned on my Zen Dog music, turned on my Ocean Waves sound machine and turned on the mood lighting for me. I was all snuggly in there and mommy was happy because if the tornado came I was safe. Well, I am happy to say the tornado missed us but did do major damage all around us. We said prayers for the animals and people in harms way that they are ok.

I had a major breakthrough last week. I got on the couch and snuggled up to Daddy! WOW, I had never done that before. I was so close to him that when I licked my paw, I was licking his pants too. Mom and Dad were stunned and shocked! No body moved for a moment because they didn’t want to scare me away. I don’t know what the big deal was, I like Daddy it’s just hard to remember that some men are nice like my Daddy and not like my former owner.

I am two weeks away from being finished with my heartworms treatment. I can’t wait til I can run and play in the back yard with mommy and daddy. We have tennis balls and rope toys just waiting for me to be all better.

Mommy made me some super cool baseball cards to give to potential adopters. They have my picture on the front and my “stats” on the back. She is going to print them out and carry them with her when we are out and about in case somebody likes me and wants to take me home forever. Speaking of my forever home, do you know anyone who needs a great boy like me to love forever? I promise you won’t regret making me a part of your family. If you want more info about me please ask my mommy she can tell you all about me, Laz! You can also contact Fugee’s Rescue at http://www.fugeesrescue.org/.

Thanks for reading about me.

Laz

Working Class Dog

Hi friends, I am so excited! I am a working doggy now. I go to work with mommy at the SPCA and I give t-shirts to people.  She says I do a real good job. I am thankful to Miss Mondy for making it ok for me to work there. You see, I am not a SPCA doggy, I am a Fugee doggy but the SPCA works for the good of all doggies and that means me too! Miss Mondy loves me I think.

I have so many new, exciting experiences since I am a working dog now. I met many people, got many pettings and tons of treats! I met preschoolers and I liked them!! Most kids kind of scare me because they move really quick but these were calm and let me sniff them and I licked the little girls hand, she was nice. I also met some special needs friends and I liked them too! One man had a ball hat on and he scared me…until he took off his hat, it was all good after that. He is my homeboy now. I have seen a lot of dogs too. Penelope was a dog I met who said bad words to me and of course I had to say some back. But the other doggies didn’t really bother me at all. Mommy was so proud of me.

I was making eyes at all the ladies behind the desk too. They are nice and I like them lots! My Fugee Momma works behind the desk, I have her to thank for my life! She rescued me from solitary at the county shelter and gave me a new life. I love her forever, she’s a nice lady!

So today I am getting my LAST heartworm treatment! Mommy is excited for me and I am excited that she is excited for me. I have to be rest for one month and then, look out world I can run and play and romp and fly! I had a rough life before my foster mommy brought me home and every day now is happy! Every day now I get healthier! Every day now I get loves and plenty of food and a soft, comfy bed or couch or chair. Now, I just need a loving forever home! That is my goal in life to have a forever home. Everyone needs a goal. Please tell everyone about me. Somebody out there has to have a goal of having a handsome, sweet boy just like me, don’t ya think?