Animal Friends - Wine for Canines Fundraising Event

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Kristi of Animal Friends of the Valley, Riverside counties animal shelter. I came into contact with the Shelter in August 2009 when Norman (my 9yr old Lab BFF) had to be put down after fighting cancer for two years.  He was too sick to travel and weighing 80 lbs it wasn't an option for me to lift him into my car. I just remember being so grateful to the lady on the phone that sent someone out right away. The person who arrived at my door was very sympathetic and made Norm very comfortable. She made me feel like I was doing the right thing, which was so hard to do.

Having been raised with dogs all my life, and having had Norman around everyday for 9yrs, since he was 8 weeks old!  I found our home very empty without a four-legged friend.  A return trip to AFOV brought us Charlie... the Chihuahua!  I have never been a small dog person, and I don't even like Chihuahua's, at least the traditional yappy Chihuahua. After consulting with one of the AFOV associates she pleaded with me to just sit with this little brown Chihuahua that she referred to as "Hank". She'd told me that he'd been at AFOV for two months and they'd found him as a stray, but he was her personal favorite and she wanted him to have a loving home.

I was more than skeptical! I had met two other dogs that afternoon and had seriously been considering a Yorkie prior to driving to AFOV because of health issues. Of course there weren't any Yorkie's there! LOL  So dog number three enters the visitors pen with me... yes, the little brown guy!  There were other guests in the pens on each side of me and the dogs in with them were running the length of the pen barking like maniacs.... but Charlie didn't make a peep! In fact, he didn't bark for the following three months after bringing him home! One weekend with my parents Pom's & he was cured of his missing bark!  It's been 8 months of constant love from this new little guy, he's not Norm.... he's Charlie, a very different dog than I've ever had. You can't cuddle a Chihuahua cuz their too small... but he's so full of love and he's definitely a huge part of our family. He loves everyone and every animal, I still have a hard time he's a Chihuahua because he doesn't act like one.

So enough ranting! Wow... I got side tracked. What I'm trying to say is AFOV is such an incredible organization and I was so thrilled to be a part of this event. I hope you enjoy the photos.  There were severaladoptions yesterday as well as tons of raffles and silent auction items donated by so many people in the I.E. It makes my heart warm to know that there are so many good people out there.  My challenge to all of my friends this year is to donate a couple of hours of your busy life to help a great cause. Choose something dear to your heart because the reward is incredible!