He did not disappoint! BREAKFAST was served quickly and efficiently. And heated.

Meow!

YAWN! Ready to face another day of.....naps.

Today this worked. Staff was not happy. But BELLY was.

First, meowed. Then, stood on female staff manager’s chest with front paws. Meowed. Then, got whole body on her chest, looked down on her and meowed. Meowed. Meowed. Meowed. I also dropped a little bit of drool on her face. When she turned her head to avoid getting slimed, I took full advantage of access to her ear and closed in. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. MEOW. MEOW. MEOW.

And….she was UP. BREAKFAST time, baby!

Am phantom in the morn.

Our First Bichon Bash--Bailey and I are on the left, in the first row.

BICHON BASH?

A Bichon Bash is when you get a bunch of little white fluffy dogs together and have a party. Just imagine a sea of white pooches! OK, if you’re into Labrador Retrievers you might not appreciate the cuteness factor. But if you like little dogs, it’s an overdose of cute!

Bailey, attending her first Bichon bash, is annoyed when she discovers that she is not the only cute white dog at the party.

Over the years, Bailey and I attended several Bichon Bashes here in Dayton. And that’s where we first learned about Small Paws Rescue.

This month, I’m working with my friend Romeo and we’re having an online Bichon Bash to raise money for Small Paws Rescue.

WHAT’S SMALL PAWS RESCUE?

Small Paws Rescue was started by Susan Sebring and Robin Pressnall (Executive Director) eleven years ago when they were turned down by an already existing Bichon rescue group because they were ìnot been suitable for rescue work.î Robin and Susan decided they would form their own Bichon rescue and Small Paws was born.

Higgins begins his Small Paws journey!

SOME NUMBERS

• Over 800 volunteers, over 6,000 members in 20 countries: Small Paws is the largest Bichon Frise rescue in the U.S.
• Available to take in Bichons in need 24/7/365
• Since September 1998, has rescued, vetted and re-homed over 7,500 Bichons
• 18 experienced Team Leaders oversee rescued Bichons and volunteers regionally
• Typically, 150 to 200 Small Paws Bichons fostered all over the U.S., are available on Petfinder every day
• Typically, 50 to 100 Small Paws Bichons are in various stages of quarantine, heartworm treatment, surgeries, or permanent hospice care every day
• Over 5,000 Small Paws Bichons have been flown to their forever homes without incident
• 25 adoption processors to thoroughly screen each applicant
• Typically between $25,000.00 and $50,000.00 per month is paid out in vet bills (posted publicly on the site)

HOW DOES SMALL PAWS RESCUE BICHONS?

Small Paws is entirely supported by donations and fund raisers. Donations are generated mostly from the membership though a newsletter. Small Paws also raises money through an eStore and on eBay–both great places to shop if you’re looking for Bichon-oriented clothes and accessories.

Small Paws is totally volunteer-driven. It is virtually an army of foster parents, pooch transporters, shelter-watchers, prayer circle participants, blanket-makers, eBay suppliers, auction attenders, financiers, and emotional supporters. Every member is connected to the group through the newsletter, emails, phone calls, and a shared urgency to help Bichons.

A SIMPLIFIED VIEW OF THE SMALL PAWS PROCESS

Robin Pressnall, Executive Director, holds some rescued Bichon babies who will soon have furever homes.

• A Bichon–or ìFluffî–enters Small Paws through owner surrender, from commercial kennel auctions, from shelters, or any other avenue that results in a homeless Fluff.
• Each dogís health is evaluated by a veterinarian, and a medical plan is made.
• For major medical expenses (for instance, surgery), a call goes out to the membership for donations.
• Once the Bichonís health issues are taken care of (also spay/neuter if needed), the Fluff is placed in a foster home with a Small Paws member
• Often, the foster home is a learning and socialization environment for the orphan Fluff
• Photos are taken, and posted on Petfinder
• A prospective pet parent fills out the application form on the Small Paws site
• Each applicant goes through an extensive and proven screening process that includes an interview with the applicantís veterinarian.

Small Paws takes lifetime responsibility for the Bichons who enter the Rescue. If an adopted Fluff is ever orphaned, it is returned to Small Paws and a new home is found. The Small Paws Bichon is carefully matched to his or her new home–at a high rate of success. And there are followups done on every adoption.

Scarlett and Rhett, a bonded pair with a questionable heritage, just arrived from a shelter. They will be placed in the same furever home.

Sometimes a Bichon will enter Small Paws as half of a bonded pair–two dogs who have bonded emotionally (and often they’re not both Bichons). Bonded pairs are never separated, but are offered at the adoption fee of a single dog. Senior dogs’ adoption fees are always reduced. And puppies are reserved first for people who are grieving for a lost loved one. A home is found for all–no matter what the special needs.

The volunteers of Small Paws operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They are tireless and creative in their missionto help orphaned Bichons find furever homes. At first, they appear to be a loose gathering of do-gooders. But on further examination, they are a refined organization motivated and motivating people to work together to make this world a better place.

That’s why I love them!

Noni lounges with some friends.

His staff writes:

“Noni’s latest is great (for him.)

Checking to be sure I am fast asleep, he rubs his whiskers on my face very lightly. He waits a few seconds. Then he does it again. I wiggle my nose.

And he ever so lightly rubs his whiskers on my face, again. Within seconds of his second pass, I wake up, mumbling ‘what the fu*k?!’

This, he knows, is ‘human’ for ‘ok, ok, you win, I’ll feed you.’

Bugger.”

Hee hee! Noni sure knows how to get BREAKFAST and fast! I hope you’re paying that staff of yours well, Noni! xo.

Stood over female staff manager and Meow. Meow. Meow. No response. As usual. Then, male staff member stared to stir. Now, I don’t usually pester him for BREAKFAST but this morning he quickly became a person of interest.

So, hopped over female staff’s head and Meow. Meow. Meowed at male. And Booyah! BREAKFAST was served.

I must focus on the male staff member more often. He really has a lot of potential.

Always be on the lookout for opportunity.

Put face REALCLOSE to staff’s face and tickle, tickle, tickle. Soft meow (reear). Tickle, tickle, tickle. Soft meow (reear).

Staff cannot take tickly wickly in her face and she was up! BREAKFAST came chugging along very soon!

If you had 'em, you'd use 'em too!

Sweet Bailey

Bailey the Bichon was a courageous girl who recently went to the Rainbow Bridge. She and her staff were some of the first friends I made when I started FURPOWER fundraising and have always supported my work. You can learn more about Bailey and her staff at My Fire Hydrant.

Ms. Bailey lived a long and happy life and even outsmarted the Big C and lived for several years afterwards. She was very loved and spoiled by her staff member, Bev. And she certainly deserved every bit of pampering she got!

Anyway, it’s Bailey’s birthday month and to honor and remember her, I’m holding the first-ever online Bichon Bash and supporting Small Paws Rescue, a nationwide Bichon rescue that has rescued over 7,500 Bichons in 11 years from shelters, puppy mills and surrenders. They do wonderful work and I am so happy to help them this month. And give a high paw to my friend Bailey up at the Bridge.

She’d be so pleased! If you would like to donate, please click here.

AND I am working on a very special project as part of the online Bichon Bash. I’m putting together a video montage of Bichons! Can you imagine? ALL BICHONS? How cute is that?

So, if you are staff to a Bichon please send me a photo of your Bichon for my project. You can email to romeo (at) romeothecat (dot) com. Tell me your Bichon’s name and where you live. If you have friends with Bichons, tell them to send along to me too. It’s going to be awesome!

Thanks for all of your ongoing support and look for posts throughout the month about our Online Bichon Bash for Bailey efforts.

Mwah!

But then I spied something irresistible: a box. A box with PAPER in it. OMIGOD, BINGO!

Abandoned the bed and jumped into the box, rustling and playing with paper and generally making a huge nuisance of myself. This worked beautifully and BREAKFAST was served!

Did you really think I was NOT going to find - and leverage - this box?