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In the early days of bringing Polly home to foster she was so riddled with anxiety that leaving her home alone during the work day was not an option. Luckily, my boss is a huge dog lover and invited Polly to join me at the office for a few days. Well, a “few days” has turned into a regular occurrence over the past few months because my boss has enjoyed having her around so much.
Polly has become the perfect office mascot. She seems to know when she needs to be quiet and chilled out and when she should do something goofy to lift our spirits – like a mid-afternoon zoomies to snap us out of a post-lunch lull, followed by a big pittie smile.
Polly has developed a very special relationship with my boss. Every day I bring Polly to the office, she waits patiently by the front door for him to show up so they can carry out their routine.
When he arrives, she greets him joyously and checks his hands to see what he has brought her that day – a Kong ball to chew on or an order of Burger King tater tots or some other delicious treat. She then follows him into his office and waits patiently by his side while he eats his breakfast, graciously accepting any dropped bits of breakfast sandwich. Once their breakfast routine is over, Polly heads back to the front door to man her post as “client greeter.” Although she has been known to fall asleep on the job.
With as much joy as Polly has brought to our office, it was not the least bit surprising when I heard the International Journal of Workplace Health Management published a preliminary study in March that found bringing dogs to work “may buffer the impact of stress during the workday for their owners and make the job more satisfying for those with whom they come into contact.“
So far Polly has charmed every person she has come into contact with, including clients, with every one dropping down to her level to lavish her with head scratches and belly rubs. I want to clarify that I do leash Polly when a client comes into the office in order to respect their space (not everyone wants to be covered in Polly kisses). It also is a great opportunity for me to work on getting Polly to focus on me and sit quietly when she is faced with great excitement (like making a new friend), but most clients make a point to come to her, leash or no, to say hello. By the time they leave, Polly is their friend for life.
It has been a great experience to bring Polly with me to work, and I know that it has been great for her too. Maybe it could even lead to her finding her furever family? One can hope…
* Did you know that we post daily on our Facebook page? “Like” us for more photos/updates of Polly Pocket, Turk, Rufus, and their humans.
** Polly Pocket is available for adoption through Heart of America Humane Society. If you want her to carpool to work with you, email me at {ourwaldobungie@gmail.com}.
What a week! I swear this summer is flying by so fast – I am sending out my resume like crazy and hope something will turn up soon. So while I wait, let’s dedicate a little time to the random…
1. I bought this little kitchen cart on Tuesday. I bought some Sun Yellow High Gloss Rust-o-leum spray paint on Wednesday. They shall meet this weekend in what I hope will be an epic revamp. Fingers crossed.
2. Polly Pocket is scheduled to attend doggy daycare at A Dog’s Fun Playce for a few days next week. While Polly is pretty good with other dogs, she can be a bit picky about her playmates. I am anxious to see how she will do. I am hoping it goes really well because this goofball could use some doggy playtime stat.
3. Speaking of Polly, she proved to be a fantastic TV-watching buddy when I was home sick yesterday. She became enamored with the drama on Dawson’s Creek (season 2, ya’ll) and, like me, is Team Pacey all the way.
4. I realize that I am posting quite a few iPhone photos lately. I promise I will get back to regular camera pictures soon…like as soon as I can find my camera. But I will say this, the iPhone comes in handy when you need to capture a milestone moment before it passes you by… like when Turk allowed Rufus to sit on his bed for the first time!
We have a busy weekend planned – more packing, DIY’ing, and a KC Pittie Pack walk at the Nelson-Atkins Sculpture Park! What are you up to this weekend?
PS – Have you voted in the Bloggers Make Good contest yet? I am competing to win a $1,000.00 grant for Unleashed Pet Rescue and a $500 prize to continue my own pit bull advocacy efforts.
PPS – Polly Pocket is still available for adoption – check out her profile on Petfinder!
When I started this blog in 2009, I had no idea if anyone would read it. I started out writing about our first house (the “bungie” in our name is short for bungalow, which is the style of house we live in) and I occasionally received comments from my mom or one of my friends, but I didn’t really think anyone really cared about what I had to say. Then one day I wrote about the book The Lost Dogs and how owning Turk, a pit bull mix, had changed my life. I received just a couple of comments, one of which was from Aleksandra, who wrote, “this is beautiful.” I am pretty sure that up until that point, no one had said anything that I wrote was “beautiful.” I was floored.
I wrote a few more posts about my dogs and began to receive more positive feedback from readers. When I began volunteering with an animal rescue organization (a lifelong goal of mine) and took in my first foster dog, Ginger Rogers, my passion was realized.
Since I began my foray into the animal rescue and dog blogging world, I have been lucky enough to get involved in so many different ways. I’ve fostered four beautiful pit bull-type dogs: Ginger Rogers, Ginger Jr, Lucy Lou, and our current foster, Polly Pocket.
I co-founded a structured pack walking group, KC Pittie Pack & Friends, with fellow blogger Crystal of Wayward Dogs after seeing the benefits of pack walks from groups like Chicago Sociabulls and HikeaBull. Since January we’ve hosted almost 20 walks!
I have been able to help raise awareness (and money) for pit bulls in need, like Kimba, who touched so many hearts that our amazing community was able to raise nearly $1,500.00 for her care in 72 hours!
Most certainly my proudest moments have been when I’ve heard from a blog reader that they have started volunteering with an animal rescue. Most recently, my next door neighbors took the plunge into fostering with Lucy-Carolina, and I relish every moment I see that pup playing happily in their backyard. I feel lucky to have played a small part in Lucy-Carolina’s rescue – and love that my neighbors are now spreading the word to their friends about fostering too.
If anything I write can help to inspire one person to volunteer at a shelter, do a leg of a transport, or foster a dog, then I feel like I have done something of value. I have given back some of the good I’ve received from this world. I hope to continue writing about volunteering, fostering, responsible dog ownership, and pit bull advocacy for years to come. I feel like I have a lot more work I can do and a lot more to say – if you all will continue to indulge me by reading this blog.
In an effort to continue the work I’ve been doing on the blog, I recently entered the Bloggers for Good contest.
The grand prize is $1,000.00 for the blogger’s favorite charity and $500 for the blogger to continue his/her advocacy work. The charity I will contribute to if I win is Unleashed Pet Rescue – a Kansas City rescue group that focuses on rescuing dogs who have run out of time at local shelters (especially pit bulls) and reaching out to neglected dogs and their owners in the city by providing lightweight tie-outs instead of heavy chains, medication, food, and dog houses. This rescue is dear to my heart because I fostered Lucy Lou through them and because they pulled Kimba when she was running out of time at the local shelter. As for the $500 – I would use it to further my pit bull advocacy efforts. I want to leave my options open so I can put that money where it is needed the most – helping a pit bull get vetted before going to rescue, purchasing supplies for a shelter, etc. So, if you have a moment today and you believe in the work I’m doing, please vote for me in the Bloggers for Good contest and share the link with your friends. Oh, and while you’re at it, vote for That Touch of Pit too, who also entered the contest and is doing amazing work with The Bully Project in New York City.
Thank you for letting me share my life with you… I truly appreciate each and every one of you for letting me blog about my life’s passion day after day!
Another week has flown by, another random Friday for you all.
1. After a successful garage sale (we made almost $300!), two items that I’d been intending on refinishing and then gave up didn’t sell (a crappy old chair I found on the side of a road and the side table I picked up when visiting my friend Emily in OKC). I decided it was a sign that I was meant to get in gear and actually refinish them. All it took was season one of Dawson’s Creek and four episodes of Burn Notice to go from this:
To this:
Not too bad, right? Daniel used some pieces of extra wood he found in the garage to replace the rotted-out seat and the missing board on the seat back as well. I spent about $10 on some outdoor fabric and new padding for the seat at Joann Fabric – the paint was leftover from a recent re-painting of the porch (which you can kind of see in the “after” picture). Now our front porch won’t look so empty when potential buyers stop by. I am thinking of getting a little chalkboard that says “Welcome Potential Homebuyers!” and putting it on the table. Maybe that would be too much…
2. We recently attended Shakespeare in the Park to see “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream” with a few friends. Unfortunately, it was nearly 100 degrees and we arrived a bit late so we were seated way too far back to really see or hear anything well. So like the small children we become when it’s too hot and we can’t hear anything, we took pictures on Instagram and left at intermission. We want to go again – maybe for their other play, Antony & Cleopatra – before the summer is over. I always preferred Shakespearean tragedies to comedies anyways.
3. Finally, the euthanasia of Lennox in Northern Ireland has hit a lot of us in the dog community – especially the pit bull community – pretty hard. Breed Specific Legislation is unfair and have been shown to be ineffective. Topeka, KS and the state of Ohio recently repealed their BSL, but there are many cities in the United States and countries around the world that still ban certain dogs based on their looks. So while Lennox’s story is unique because so many people heard about it and rallied in support of him, there are many other dogs being put to sleep each day with no one to fight for them. Look at your city and state to see if BSL exists. If it does, please write your government leaders asking to repeal these outdated and ineffective laws. Because at one time Dobermans, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds were subject to BSL. It’s pit bulls now. What breed might it be in the future?
Our Waldo Bungie 