tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42641509830208452272024-02-20T20:39:53.160-05:00Almost Perfect PetsExploring the way society views companion animals with disabilities.
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By the editor of "Almost Perfect: Disabled Pets and the People Who Love Them," published by Enspirio House.Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-83400504397177426492011-12-30T14:59:00.003-05:002011-12-30T14:59:49.014-05:00
O hai! U haz finded the old Almost Perfect Pets.
We haz maded u a new blog. Pleeze to find us at the Almost Perfect book site. Pleeze to remember new bookmark -- weez wouldn't want to miss u through epic blog fail.
(Note to non-LOLcat speakers: Find translation here.)Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-69226672295279642312011-10-18T22:54:00.000-04:002011-10-18T22:55:01.209-04:00Beauty Is In The Eye of the Beholder
Inky, a Chihuahua Photo © Carli Davidson
Just had to share with y'all this brief post on a professional photographer who felt inspired to do a photo essay on disabled pets. She sees what we see: the unspeakable beauty of the almost perfect pet. Enjoy!
Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-82053255338060647552011-10-10T15:48:00.002-04:002011-10-10T15:50:44.157-04:00Frank and Louie: When Being Two-Faced Isn't A Slur
This kitty was born with two faces, one of an uncommon type of cat called "Janus cats," after the Roman mythological god whose one face looked to the past, while the other looked to the future. And what do you call a two-faced cat, but two names?
This one's Frank and Louie, and I think you'll enjoy the story of this record-holding, literally multi-faceted kitty who didn't let being born Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-58228426474077439032011-09-06T21:18:00.001-04:002011-09-06T21:19:22.370-04:00Sierra, The Three-Legged Dog
Found a great post about a brave girl named Sierra, who lost one of her back legs to cancer. Her parents were pretty freaked out at first, but soon Sierra taught them all the meaning of getting over it and getting on with life. So much like the critters we wrote about in Almost Perfect!
In fact, it appears they discovered our little book, since it got a blurb in the middle of this post. But Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-24228382290501910752011-07-17T12:34:00.004-04:002011-07-17T12:46:15.542-04:00New News About An Old FriendJust sharing a great article that appeared in today's edition of the Green Bay Packers' hometown newspaper about our friends Frankie and Barb over at Joyful Paws. Way to go, you two!!Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-62981695028463600252011-05-18T15:19:00.005-04:002011-05-18T15:34:06.173-04:00Sparky Finds A HomeAt one time, Sparky the black & white dachshund was trapped in Nowheresville -- a shelter dog with few prospects for any kind of a quality life. After all, who would choose a deaf dachshund from among all the other animals without special needs?But then he was chosen to be trained in a prisoner rehab program in a Missouri state correctional facility. And instead of being returned to the Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-91936260135847728272011-05-17T14:40:00.006-04:002011-05-17T15:39:30.377-04:00Who's Savin' Who?Starting this Sunday morning, I'll be pleased to share facilitator duties with my great friend and author colleague, Barbara Techel, leading the discussion about special needs pets and the wonderful and unexpected ways they change our lives, on the Facebook fan page of bestselling author and pet expert Darlene Arden!Darlene is a respected animal behavior expert, whose new book, The Complete Cat'sMary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-56043371019789143562011-05-05T12:14:00.002-04:002011-05-05T12:20:27.806-04:00Remembering LucyLucy wasn't a special needs dog, unless you count needing a little extra attention every time she entered a room. Lucy was just special.She worked as a therapy dog for special needs people, and I just wanted to share this little memorial from Lucy's people. Lucy crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday, just shy of her 16th birthday. We send gentle thoughts to her family, whom we know will miss her, Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-84756778685494457292011-04-06T15:56:00.005-04:002011-04-06T16:43:34.349-04:00It's National Prevent Cruelty to Animals Month!Photo by Jenna MackenzieApril is National Prevent Cruelty to Animals Month. Now, for some of us, that's actually every day, and I'm guessing that includes everyone reading this post. But I think it's a great idea to have a month devoted to reminding people that preventing cruelty is important and should be a priority every month.Here at Almost Perfect Pets, we're all too aware that cruelty, Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-2979086805137732502011-03-20T13:06:00.006-04:002011-03-20T13:13:53.634-04:00Blind As A Bat(ty)Been away for a while and thought this would be the perfect way to come back with a bang.Many of you know that a quarter from each sale of Almost Perfect, our book about disabled pets, is donated to Animal Welfare Karpathos, the only animal rescue on the Greek island. The author of the final essay in the book, Roberta Beach Jacobson, runs the rescue with her partner, Alf Meier.They made this Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-3537207222603378742011-01-17T11:54:00.007-05:002011-01-17T12:29:29.580-05:00PetpourriToday, I just want to share a little bit of this and a little bit of that, all of it about disabled pets.Daisy was always looking up to the positive side of life. Look at that smile!First off, it would hardly be fitting to start with anything other than a nod to Daisy, the sweet little Doxie who, for 16 years, was the mascot for our friends at Eddie's Wheels. Daisy crossed the Rainbow Bridge lastMary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-51189054740799501832011-01-04T16:59:00.006-05:002011-01-04T18:02:47.188-05:00Happy New Year!Well, 2010 was an active year in so many respects, but it was certainly a banner year for animals! Many, many puppy mills closed down, hoarders raided and the animals moved to sanctuaries where they'd be properly cared for, and FINALLY some legislation with teeth regulating puppy mills in Missouri, Iowa and Oklahoma.There were, inevitably, major setbacks as well: hundreds if not thousands of Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-70200483879525012932010-10-19T15:11:00.005-04:002010-10-19T15:41:22.385-04:00Progress! It's Official: People Are Changing Their Minds About Disabled PetsAnimal health specialists, rescue volunteers and medical supply makers all say they've seen a growing willingness in the American public to adopt or care for pets with ailments that once would have met with certain euthanization.So says this article in the Winnipeg Free Press. We're just tickled that it refers to our friends Leslie over at Pawsible Marketing, Ed and Leslie at Eddie's Wheels Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-30930020837174066622010-09-28T20:38:00.007-04:002010-09-29T00:28:14.375-04:00An Update on TashiThose who've been following Almost Perfect Pets for a while will remember Tashi, the little gray tiger who serves as mascot for Tabby's Place Cat Sanctuary in Ringoes, NJ. I've blogged about him before, when he came to visit to represent Tabby's Place at our Prevent Cruelty to Animals Week presentation a couple years ago, and again when I did my MLK Jr. Day of Service last year at Tabby's.Photo Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-6260638767819341072010-08-25T19:35:00.005-04:002010-08-25T23:15:27.023-04:00Something We Can Do Something AboutToo often on this blog, we have to deal with sad situations that are out of our control; situations that result in injured or disabled pets. But today I want to remind you that there is one situation that too often results in these things, but this doesn't have to happen. I'm talking about natural disasters.With today being the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina striking the Gulf Coast, I Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-66663292936171451702010-08-20T14:08:00.004-04:002010-08-20T14:26:53.106-04:00Happy Birthday, Frankie!Just had to sign on for a quick well-wishing to our little pal Frankie, the Walk 'n Roll Dog. Frankie's ten years old today, and has now been bringing her parents, Barb and John, joy for a decade!Frankie's one of the first special needs critters who welcomed us on the scene back in 2008 when we first released Almost Perfect. Since then, we've gotten to be very good friends and even got to meet Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-56117230000338609612010-08-11T12:51:00.004-04:002010-08-11T13:05:28.212-04:00You've Heard of Fuzzy Dice......but have you heard of Operation Fuzzy Mice? No, seriously: It's a program in California, put together by a woman named Michelle Lyon, to provide vet care and other pet-related resources -- either by paying for it directly or by referral and networking -- to low-income families who own pets, and who would otherwise have to relinquish, abandon, or euthanize their pets for inability to provideMary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-80458088881169880452010-08-04T09:37:00.007-04:002010-08-04T09:49:07.890-04:00Pet News and Views Likes "Almost Perfect!"Michele Hollow's blog has a little something for all critter lovers!Our friend Michele Hollow over at Pet News and Views has posted a positive review of Almost Perfect, and we sure thank her for her kind words. She says, "This compilation of true stories about animals with disabilities and the people who care for them is uplifting, and at times quite funny."We couldn't agree more, and we're Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-12880217408619168972010-07-31T23:24:00.003-04:002010-07-31T23:29:05.117-04:00We Tink Dis Is Pawesome!Tink was born without front legs.Okay, if this isn't the embodiment of joy, I don't know what is. Say hi to Tink, and learn more about her over at FidoBlog!Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-8026131877275812342010-07-27T11:38:00.004-04:002010-07-27T11:52:14.000-04:00A Truly Oscar-Worthy Performance!Oscar, the world's first bionic cat -- or, as I like to think of him,a very modern pirate kitty. He's stolen our hearts. ARRRRRRR!Oscar, a native of Britain's Channel Islands, lost an argument with the business end of a combine harvesting machine. The results weren't pretty. Having seen the results of a similar accident with a kitten when I was very small, I can say this with Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-12008426927007470652010-07-27T01:00:00.007-04:002010-07-27T01:06:17.379-04:00Amazing GraceThanks to our friend Caryn for this latest cute kitteh, star of today's love story:It really needs no other commentary, so I'll just share it with you here. Always happy to have some GOOD news to spread around! And here's the song to go with it!Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-64793156489411806872010-07-15T21:41:00.003-04:002010-07-15T21:51:11.206-04:00Haiku for a small gray catI was going through some files today and ran across this little poem -- a long haiku -- I wrote about Idgie. I wrote it three years before Almost Perfect came out, and can see the beginnings of my frustration with people's attitudes toward special needs pets.Art is kewl. I need rain or at Least I could use a lesson From a small gray cat <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--> See me, Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-47076054398304023062010-07-10T00:50:00.010-04:002010-07-10T01:35:46.273-04:00She's BAAAA-AACK!Barb Techel and Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog visit with Bryan, the very nice producerand co-host of The Breakfast Club on WCUB-AM 980 radio in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Okay, I can't believe it's been almost two months since I posted here. Bad, BAD blogger. Well, I'm back, and happy to be here!Truth is, I needed a break -- from the blog, from the office, from my life -- so I took one! Spent most of Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-702658835752866912010-05-21T10:18:00.006-04:002010-05-21T11:42:23.750-04:00Teleseminar Rescheduled!This is a bittersweet post today. I'm very happy to report that our FREE teleseminar,Inspired and Inspiring – The Rewards and Challengesof Living with Disabled Petshas been re-scheduled with Conscious Cat host Ingrid King to 8 PM EDT on Thursday, June 24th. I'll be joining Ingrid and Barb Techel, mom to Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog, for what I'm sure will be a lively and interesting discussion Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4264150983020845227.post-55277138379462576052010-05-17T11:51:00.003-04:002010-05-17T12:15:16.725-04:00Merci me, Jan's Funny Farm likes Almost Perfect!Merci reviewed "Almost Perfect" at Jan's Funny Farm!If you haven't visited Jan's Funny Farm before, I recommend you mosey over and give it a sniff. Lots of great stuff there for animal lovers of all sorts, and we were especially gratified to see that Jan's pupper, Merci, decided to review Almost Perfect. Happy to report it was a hit!Mary A. Shaferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16713863367025839651noreply@blogger.com3