Hi Everyone! Like most people, I like to do something a little extra charitable at holiday time, usually a donation to an animal charity, but this year I got an idea to send some care packages overseas to our K9 Military handlers and soldiers (the human AND doggie soldiers).
I asked some of The Pet Postcard Project award sponsors to donate some of their products to my little holiday endeavor (I asked only those who had things that I read on a list were OK to send to our soldiers), thinking I'd put a few treats and toys into the boxes. Well, the sponsors were feeling the holiday spirit too, because their response was overwhelming and heartwarming! Here's the video all about it:
A huge THANK YOU to The Pet Postcard Project sponsors who gave of their hearts to show our military personnel that we care. It's not about the "stuff." It's about showing our soldiers that we have not forgotten them and that we wish, pray, and hope for their safe return.
I'm sorry to report that two of our wonderful Pet Postcard Project doggies have gone over the rainbow bridge. Yes, they are waiting patiently for their humans on the other side, which is comforting, but it would be much better if they didn't have to go.
Spike was a precious 10 year old Schnauzer with a huge spirit and a loving heart. All you have to do is look at his photos to see what a joy it must have been to have him around. Spike's mom sends in the most wonderful cards featuring Spike and his fur sisters.
Our other loss was Mr. Rico. His mom is a friend of mine and I'm so sad for her and her family. Here's a note she sent with the announcement of his passing.
"Mr. Rico, our 14-years-young Black Labrador Retriever, has always been an angel and mommy's best boy, but now he's received his angel wings and halo. The gentlest soul we've ever met, we are better for having had you in our lives. Run and play across that Rainbow Bridge with Rexy, Duchess and all of your friends. We miss you so much Mr. Rico and will love you always!"
MR. RICO
July 4, 1995 - October 16, 2009
And now, I have sad news of my own. On Halloween night, very late, I had a SCARY stomach ache that didn't go away. It felt similar to my appendicitis attack in 2002, so I knew I'd better get to the hospital. After pumping me full of morphine (yuck!) and 10 hours in the emergency room, they scheduled me for emergency surgery. It turns out that scar tissue from my appendix operation caused my intestine to twist and block. Not a happy camper. Twenty minutes before surgery, with the operating room prepped, I felt something in my gut snap and 10 minutes later the pain started to abate. They kept me in the hospital for 3 days with no food, but at least I avoided surgery -- the issue resolved itself, which is a miracle. I'm back home now, recovering.
I was SO happy to get home and hugged and kissed the dogs, who were thrilled to have me back at greeted me noisily at the door. My friend who accompanied me home (and was at the hospital with me and back and forth taking care of my animals) wouldn't let me into the living room. The he told me the news he had been keeping from me -- my African grey parrot, Hope, had passed away just about the time that my intestine untwisted. I was devastated. Hope had been my friend for 10 years, since he was 3 months old. I still haven't processed the loss. It might be a while. Oddly, my nurse at the hospital was named Hope.
I have no idea how or why Hope died, but I know it had nothing to do with the care he was receiving (I had been out of town the week before). He was well cared for, happy, and young. It's a mystery that isn't going to be solved. I'm very, very sad today. Here's a short video I made to honor Hope's passing. I don't have much video of him, unfortunately. I should have taken more, but I expected him to be with me at least another 20+ years.
Sorry for all the bad news. Let's get back to business feeding homeless pets and the joy of helping shelter animals find homes. Hug your animals extra tight and give them all a big kiss from me. Thank you, everyone.
Hugs and woofs,
Nikki Moustaki
Hi Everyone!
In my last post I reported that I was in Las Vegas on business and I got a call from my dog sitter (who doesn't speak great English, but is very compassionate and wonderful) that Pepper couldn't walk. Because of the language barrier I couldn't figure out if this was a true emergency, or simply a case of a 12 year old dog with arthritis over-extending himself and possibly re-injuring his knee, which he tore when he was 7. I was very worried, so I cut my trip short and came home.
Indeed, Pepper could not get up. When I helped him up he could hobble around, but then would fall right back down. He was also very crabby. Who could blame him? I could tell that he was favoring his back knee, which was the one he previously injured. Apparently, the dog sitter was walking him a lot (which he loves), but here in my NYC apartment there are a lot of stairs, and Pepper simply can't handle it anymore. Within 2 days he was fine, back to his old wonderful self. Tragedy averted. I'm still going to be very careful about his legs and keep a close eye on him for the next few weeks.
In any case, Pepper turned 12 on September 23rd! That's his made up birthday because he's a shelter dog, but I think it's about right. Everyone that meets him thinks he's a puppy! Go Pepper! Here's a video of him tussling with his new shelter sister, Pearl. I love when they play together. In the background you can hear my African grey parrot, Hope, singing.
Pearl Puppy is doing very well with New York City. Everyone LOVES her! She is getting so much attention. Truly, she looks like a stuffed toy. She is behaving very well on the street. Not so much in the house. She is still in the tearing stuff up phase. Pepper had a really nice feather bed. Not anymore. See video below. Ah, Pearl. How can I be angry with that furry face?
I am still a bit behind with judging the new cards and scanning and posting, but I just bought a new printer/scanner and I'm going to carve out some time and get it all done in one big swoop. I can't wait to see all of your great cards getting posted, and I bet you want to see your doggies and kitties on the site too.
Thank you all! Hugs and woofs!
Nikki Moustaki
Hi Everyone!
I have been working a pet trade show in Las Vegas the last few days, checking out all kinds of new stuff, and of course I came across the booth for several of The Pet Postcard Project's generous sponsors. This is a great video from Petz Off Blankets, so I thought I'd share it.
I was going to stay out of town for a few more days because I have some more work in Denver, but I got several concerned phone calls from the nice lady who watches my dogs while I'm away from NYC. Apparently, Pepper can't walk and was screaming and crying. There's a bit of a language barrier, so I determined that his arthritis is probably acting up terribly and/or he may have re-injured his knee, which he tore 6 years ago. Yikes. I cried for a bit, but then realized that crying wasn't going to help the situation, so I made a flight to go back to NYC tomorrow. It probably doesn't help that Puppy Pearl is pestering him. Wish us all luck, please!
Hugs and Woofs!
Nikki Moustaki
Nikki Moustaki's Dog Blog: Entry #6: Should I Keep the Parrot?
First, a big announcement! Look at my new baby Lemur!
Just kidding. There's a guy who walks around with this Lemur on South Beach, where I had dinner last night. I know that us animal people don't really like it when people walk around with these kinds of exotic animals, but this guy seems to LOVE his Lemur. It's wearing tiny diapers. Anyway, terrible photo of me, good one of the Lemur. Personally, I would never keep this type of animal, or anything like it, as cute as it is. I'll stick with the dogs and birds.
This morning, while walking the dog. I found a baby Quaker Parakeet in the bushes. His parents were trying to get him back into the nest, but the poor little guy is just a few days too young to fly. He was trying, but kept ending up on the ground, clearly exhausted. I think he got knocked out of his nest in today's thunderstorm. I brought him home and handfed him with baby bird formula and let him have a nap. Then I spent 2 hours trying to get his parents to encourage him to fly back to the nest, but he's not that good of a flyer. His parents definitely want him back -- they flew to him and talked to him, but nothing worked. We have tons of feral cats here in Miami Beach, so I know he'd be an easy snack if he stayed on the ground.
So, I have the baby parrot now and I'm handfeeding him until he's stronger, and I'll try every day to get him back to his parents. Eventually he'll be strong enough and old enough to fly. He's so docile and sweet and I'm getting attached to him already! These birds are not native to South Florida and they're not protected, so I could keep him, but I think that since he was born in the "wild" land of Miami Beach, he should probably go back. I'm going to try not to handle him a lot so that he doesn't get used to humans.
My beloved Meyer's Parrot, Jesse, died at 21 years of age just a few months ago. He was the same exact size as this bird. I can't help but to think that this bird is somehow a "gift," not to replace Jesse (because no bird could), but to fill the void he left. Am I reading too much into this? Probably. Still, I have never just found a parrot in the bushes before! A rabbit, yes. Parrot, no. Your thoughts?
The Pet Postcard Project is made possible by the kindness and generosity of its pet food sponsors, who donate literally tons of kibble to animal shelters and rescues in exchange for your creative postcards.
Nikki Moustaki, MA, MFA, is a nationally known dog trainer, TV and radio personality, and animal expert who splits her time between New York City and Miami Beach. She is the author of 9 books on dogs and 25 books on birds and has been featured on national television and radio shows including CNN, NBC, ABC, BBC, and Howard Stern. More . . .
The Pet Postcard Project is a grassroots arts-and-crafts project aimed at raising food for shelter pets and awareness about the plight of homeless animals. "Pet Postcards" for this project are homemade and handmade postcards featuring your own pets that you make and then snail mail into The Pet Postcard Project. Each card you send earns food for shelter dogs and cats. So far, this project has received many thousands of funny, weird, sad, cute, and profound cards, all filled with love for a beloved pet.
Please include a PHOTO of the animal on each card, or else we won't know who's "talking!" The words are not just captions, they are creative confessions, wishes, advice, excuses, and "you know you love your dog/cat when" ideas. Here's how to turn postcards into pet food for shelter animals!
This site does NOT make money on this project. It's all to raise food and awareness for shelter animals.
ADDRESS:
The Pet Postcard Project, 676A Ninth Ave., #321, New York, NY 10036
Pet food (and other stuff) raised for shelter animals though The Pet Postcard Project since February 14th, 2007 (approx):
Pounds: 342,845
Meals: 834,000
Kibbles: 283,180,000
Toys and Merch: $13,500
Monetary Donations: $19,200
Card Count: 36,000+
Feeding homeless pets, one postcard at a time!
All we are is one girl, one laptop, 2 dogs, great food/stuff sponsors, and a few invaluable "postcard posting" volunteers. The Pet Postcard Project started with nothing but a desire to help homeless animals, and YOUR postcards have made that happen.
To count toward any campaign, the words on the cards shouldn't be just captions - they are ADVICE, CONFESSIONS, OR WISHES from or to the pet.
PLEASE MAIL MULTIPLE CARDS IN AN ENVELOPE OR BOX TO SAVE PAPER AND STAMPS.
THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT LEGAL NOTICE: Please note: if you submit your materials to THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT, you are hereby granting THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT an exclusive license to post your materials on the THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT website(s) (and any other website or websites affiliated with THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT); to use your materials in any way THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT wishes to utilize them (including publishing, reproducing, and modifying them) in any format and/or media now known or hereinafter developed throughout the universe from now until the end of time. Anyone not wishing to grant such a license should not submit his or her materials. You may not use any materials on this website (or in any other subsidiary products, such as books, which are derived from or make use of materials found on this website) for any purpose whatsoever without THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT'S written agreement, although THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT does authorize you the one-time right to post an image on another website to link to the THE PET POSTCARD PROJECT site(s). End of legal mumbo jumbo. Thanks!
ADDRESS:
Pet Postcard Project
676A Ninth Ave.
#321
New York, NY 10036