.... Click HERE for more archive pics & stories.

Sun, 14 Dec 2003 17:25:37 EST - from Lynn

Mag, can you please post this picture of Bonita, now "Button" as in "as cute as a ...." She now has two new slaves in the form of her Judy & Dennis H. out of South Carolina. Judy has gotten a backpack pouch to tote Button around in. She's not spoiled or anything..... LOL!

L.

Hi Lynn,

Finally found the software for my digital camera and am testing out the emailing of a picture. Hope this works, I'll try to get better pictures once the sun appears! Any success on the NozToNoz crate? I bought a fleece lined pouch carrier for her, like a back pack on the front.

Hugs to all, Judy

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 08:50:18 -0500 - from Lynn

A picture of Judy H. and her four Pins.... including Bonita (now known as Button) and Delilah (now Della). :)

So cute!

Lynn Bryant
Regional Coordinator
IMPS-GA/AL

Hi,
It's a wet, windy, grey day but not cold! Here's a picture of Hardin's Herd. Judy

Wed, 14 Jan 2004 17:47:32 EST - from Lynn

Mag, can you post Trey's new pics and the "story" from his mom to the website.... Trey was our three - legged foster that was so popular. This is from his lucky new parents!
Thanks,
L.

Hello again! Here are some of our favorite pics of Trey. He really started to show his character while we were in Arkansas, less and less subdued than when we first brought him home. He had a special connection with my mom and grandma before we left. They both had a weak spot for him and he knew he could get away with just about anything. They trained him that persistence and begging pays off, he was of course already pretty good at that. According to them, he could do no wrong. My mom asked me to leave him with her for a week or so while I was at my grandmother's and my grandmother joked about how she was trying to convince me to return to Georgia without Trey. He got plenty of attention. He got a few toys for Christmas, although I had to take one of them away. My nephew gave him a small stuffed animal that he grew so attached to that about a week after I had come back to Georgia I got rid of it. All Trey did for a couple of days straight was stay right next to his new stuffed animal and guard it. Whenever I picked him whle he was next to it he would growl at me. We decided to put it away and haven't seen any more behavior like that from him since. He had plenty of other toys to play with. Here are some of our favorite pictures--
Dana and Sean

He's in the chair he claimed at my grandmother's house

He warmed up to my mom pretty quickly

^^^^^in one of his playful moods^^^^^^^above

Above^^^^^^^^^^^buried under the pillows protecting his new toy

Thu, 5 Feb 2004 23:32:17 EST - from Tomiko, via Lynn

Hi Lynn! I know its been a while, but we finally took pictures of Kicho (Bailey) and Raz.

Kicho is doing great! He is well behaved and potty trained. He and Raz go crazy chasing each other around the house. I am so happy with him!

Tomiko :0)

Fri, 12 Mar 2004 21:45:35 EST - from Lynn

For the website.... Mag, this is a couple in Augusta, GA who had their hearts set on Milo, an "adult" dog out of AZ, I think. At any rate, Milo was the only dog they were interested in and only Milo would do! This is from his new Mom & Dad... enjoy!

L.

Sandy,

Sorry that I couldn't talk longer this afternoon. I was in eight lanes of bumper to bumper traffic at 80 mph! Such is Atlanta.

Thank you for sending us such a beautiful new friend. We have had more fun this afternoon laughing at him, but also laughing at ourselves. It took about 15 minutes to coax him out of his crate. He just sat at the very back and looked out at us. He did gather his courage after a while and venture out.

The car ride went fine. As you warned us, he whined for about 10 minutes then went to sleep for the duration. He marked everything in the backyard, however was a little shy indoors. Since most of our friends and neighbors knew he was coming home today, they all dropped by with gifts.

It took him about 30 minutes to find that he could sit on the upstairs bed and see the front road. This was also a favorite spot for Sigmund. It was your description of "watching the world go by" that caught our attention.

This last picture (for now) is to show that he is gaining his confidence that this is now home.

Sandy, we'll send a few more (smaller) pictures later. Just wanted you to see what fun you sent us. Our thanks to all of you who helped get us to this point.

Wade & Page

Wed, 24 Mar 2004 18:32:35 EST - from Kathy

To my dear Chatter:

From July 9, 1988, the day you came into my life, until December 31, 2003, the day I had to make the very hard decision to end your suffering, you were always such a bright spot in my life. You lived 15 years, 7 months, and 8 days. Even though you could no longer see and were almost completely deaf, you knew that I was with you at the end. Dr. Coble and Kathy helped us that day too. You were such a special little dog to them.

You were my very first min pin.....I had no idea what a joy you would be. I miss you so so much.....although I still have my moments, I am beginning to remember you with smiles now more than tears. Ever faithful, ever loving.....you were that, Chatter, and more.

I know that you are at Rainbow Bridge, with the pets that welcomed you into our family......dogs Blue and Inge, cats Charlie, Bennie and Erika. I regret never having taken a picture of you with my Doberman, Inge. The two of you used to play together when you were a puppy and looked so much like mother and son.

Chatter, my love for you will never diminish and......because love is eternal, it lasts forever. We will see each other again when it is my time to cross over the Bridge.

With love, your earthly Mom,

Kathy

Fri, 26 Mar 2004 12:57:31 -0500 - from Lynn

Hi Mag, Can you please post the following & pictures on our website. Spike was fostered by Sonja in our program for probably about eight (8!) months because he is a diabetic dog and no one seemed interested in him.

Lise M. & her family saw Spike on the website and no other dog would do after that! Fortunately, they live very close to Sonja & the two "moms" actually see each other all the time around town, so Sonja gets updates on Spike often.

We are so happy for Spike!

Lynn Bryant
Regional Coordinator
IMPS-GA/AL

Hi Mary,

Spike is doing wonderfully and we all adore him. I run into his Foster Mom often and we chat about him and our other fur babies for hours.

As I am sure you know, he is diabetic and requires insulin shots everyday. My vets spent a fair amount of time testing him for just the right dosage of insulin and we changed him from once a day to twice a day. Since then, he has re-found the energy of a young pup! Unfortunately, his eyesight has gotten even worse so we are carefull not to change too many things around the house so he does not run into them.

He uses the dog door dozens of times per day and goes into a large wooded and fenced back yard to play. He gets along with everyone but he rules the roost. I have recently adopted 2 Chinese Crested and now Spike is happy to have dogs his own size to play with. My other dogs are a Great Dane, a Boxer and a Basset Hound.

I'm attaching some pictures that were taken just a couple of weeks ago. He is cherished and thank you to IMPS for allowing me to adopt him! You are welcome to come visit him anytime you like.

Thanks,

Lise

Sun, 28 Mar 2004 11:18:19 EST - from Lynn

Hi Mag,

Can you please post these (or some of these) pictures of Max on the website. He was adopted by Carey C. a couple years ago to be a playmate for her other dog.... so CUTE!

Thanks,
L.

So glad to hear that you are interested in how Max is doing. He is wonderful. Max and Paco (my Chihuahua) are still trying to decide who is going to be the Alpha dog. I think they are taking turns. Max is happy and healthy and has just had all his shots.

He also loves my two cats and they love him too. Thank you for checking on him, and anytime you want to drop by and see him,it would be my pleasure to have you visit. Max loves company, and never meets a stranger.

Sincerely, Carey

Tue, 13 Apr 2004 00:09:20 EDT - from Lynn

Ok, Mag... here are some pics of my paintings to be posted on the website for the IMPS Raffle. Of course, the winner will get to pick their own subject, but here is a sample of my work..... thank you so much,

L.

The first one is a landscape I have finished but now yet framed.

Maybe these will entire some folks to buy some raffle tickets, eh? ;)

Thu, 3 Jun 2004 20:01:26 -0400 - from Debra

Mag, this photograph is of Judy D. who adopted Angel, the red girl, and her MinPin, C-Jay. They adopted Angel in May, 2004 and everyone lives happily in Warner Robins, Georgia.

Mon, 14 Jun 2004 13:57:42 -0400 - from Sharon, via Lynn

Here's Spunky's story:

After my house dog, Sasha, a Cocker Spaniel, died I decided that my next house dog needed to be smaller and with no grooming. So I started researching various breeds. I finally decided on a Miniature Pinscher and I got my little black and tan girl named MoneyPenny. This was before I knew about rescuing and IMPS. I bought MoneyPenny form a nice backyard breeder. There was nothing bad about MoneyPenny's life before I got her and her breeder provided well for her dogs although she was a "backyard breeder". MoneyPenny became the most precious thing in the world to me and she is gorgeous. Meanwhile I started pressing my sisters to start having smaller house dogs instead of the big outside dogs. They were a hard sale but when my youngest sister lost one of her outdoor dogs, she went to the Humane Society and walked in just as an owner brought in a beautiful Min Pin to relinquish. She called me on her cell phone and I told her to get him and if she didn't like having one indoors I would take him. Of course, she fell in love with MiniMac. She was the one that got online and found IMPS rescue organization. She has always gotten her dogs from the Humane Society and once she found out that there were breed specific rescue groups she got real involved. She and I joined the NC-SCIMPS message board and we learned a whole lot about the breed and how to take care of such little dogs. Soon she became the NC-SC asst to the directors. She began rescuing Min Pins and she currently has 6 of them! We both pressured our middle sister and she became interested in Pomeranians. She purchased her first 2 like I did...in ignorance of the better way by rescuing. She got involved in a Pomeranian message board but found that IMPS was so much better organized that she has joined our NC-SC IMPS message board despite being a Pommie rescuer. She currently has 6 Pommies (4 rescues) and helped our Mom to adopt a Pommie rescue.

Now, to Spunky Monkey. I wanted another one and I wanted to rescue this one. I'm kind of particular... they have to catch my attention and I have to hear them calling me in my heart. I kept an eye on the NC, SC, TN and GA rescues and I began seeing "Scamp". His face grabbed my attention and I could hear him calling me. I couldn't get him out of my heart. Those eyes just did me in! He was down in the lower part of Georgia so it was a full 5 hour drive one way. I emailed the IMPS Georgia director and she told me about him. He was given to a lady who evidently didn't have the money or the desire to properly take care of him. He had not even had his puppy vaccinations. Somehow he had gotten outside and was rolled by a car. She didn't take him directly to the Vet and his brain stem started swelling. When she did take him to the Vet it was to have him put to sleep. The Vet saved him and called IMPS. When I saw him he was in foster care and was deaf and blind from the accident. They weren't sure if he would get back some of his sight or hearing.

I took MoneyPenny and my youngest sister and we drove down one day. It was a bad wintry day and both of us are disabled from Fibromyalgia so a long drive was painful. But we were determined. When we got to his foster mother's house she was there waiting for us and was very kind. "Scamp" got along with MoneyPenny just fine and I fell in love with him! He was so adorable! He is so skinny and has these big ears that stay at alert all the time. And those blind eyes just tear your heart out! I had thought I would just see him on this trip and then make a decision later but I couldn't go home without him!

He slept in my sister's arms all the way home. I decided right away to call him Spunky Monkey. The next day he tottered around the house in circles all day. I was worried that I had made a mistake by taking him away from his foster mother's house where he was comfortable. But the next day he was fine. He had merely been searching out the house. As a blind dog he had to find the furniture, rooms, etc. He worked hard at it all day. Since that first hard day he has been completely at home and can now run through the house. He can see enough not to run into big objects but is pretty much totally blind. His hearing has come back somewhat. He can hear me or my husband calling him, he knows MoneyPenny's bark and he begins looking around when someone calls his name. But he doesn't hear cars coming up (like MoneyPenny does) or notice sirens, etc. I've come to the conclusion that he doesn't have much of a sense of smell or taste either because he rolls his food around in his mouth until he's sure it's something he can eat. It takes him longer to eat something (unless it's in his dog dish, he associates his dog dish with food) because he gums it, drops it, gums it some more and finally decides it's OK to eat. He uses his paws to find the cold tile bathroom floor and then the vent grill and then begins dipping his head until he finds the food or water dishes right next to the vent. He also seems to have a balance problem as he is very awkward.

I bought a child's stroller so that when I take him out somewhere he can ride. You can't use a leash with a blind dog...he doesn't know where to go. He does good when I use a leash to take him out because he just does circles around me until he goes to potty but as far as trying to walk him on a leash...forget it! So the stroller works great and it really draws attention! I get to tell his story all day long when people ask me about why he's riding in a stroller.

He uses wee wee pads in the house. He and MoneyPenny never go outside unless it's on a leash, in my arms or in the stroller. These dogs are so small that they could easily be snatched by predators and birds. Also they are so quick that they can get out of a fence or gate faster than a human can react so I take special pains to keep them safe. Fortunately I don't have carpet because it's been hard to potty train a deaf and blind dog but he uses the wee wee pads over 50% of the time and that is pretty good considering his age and his handicaps. We love him so much that I don't mind cleaning up any tiny mistakes he makes. I have found a cheap wee wee pad vendor on Ebay so we can use wee wee pads for eternity.

He has grown some but is still a skinny Minny. I don't know if it's his young age or that his metabolism is too fast but he doesn't gain much weight. I feed them both 1/2 cup each of Diamond dog food with some flax seed oil and a Scooters. They usually get some snacks through the day but you have to be careful what you feed these little ones!

When I got him home we found he had to have a dental. He had retained 11 baby teeth that had to be pulled. He had terrible breath. His breath is better but still not great but I take his little kisses anyway! I make sure they get greenies and chewies regularly.

He and MoneyPenny get along really well. She had to learn how to play with a blind boy. At first she would jump at him and gently nip at him and then run off expecting him to chase her. He would stand there bewildered and look around. Now she has learned how to stick close to him and they play fight all the time. She has been good physical therapy for him. She loves on him like he is her puppy.

Both of them sleep with me. These dogs are cold intolerant so they love to snuggle under the covers. They both love to be skin to skin...i.e. they love to lay directly up against my skin so they snuggle inside your shirt, around your legs or snuggled in your underarm while you watch TV. Spunky starts whining to go to bed at 8:00pm and once I put him up on the bed he rumbles around until he finds the spot he wants and he snuggles up and doesn't move the rest of the night. MoneyPenny moves around during the night but not the Spunkster!

He has learned to make his demands. He barks or whines to get our attention and we know what he wants by now. We know him so well we know what he wants or needs so he is quite the little prince around here. I cannot tell you the joy he has been to us.

-Sharon in Tryon, NC

Mon, 14 Jun 2004 13:58:21 -0400 - from Linda, via Lynn

My name is Linda and I adopted Louie now Jim Bob last Sunday. He has settled in so well. He gets along with the 5 grandchildren (ages 4-14) and the other dog, Jeni. He and I go for walks several times each day and when I'm not home (I work), Nick (8) nicknamed Noah for his love of pets will take him. He and I have reached an understanding on which side of the bed each of us will sleep. He so excited when I come home. In my absence, he follows my daughter, Lisa, around. He is so precious and I'm glad I have him.

Linda

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 21:25:24 EDT - from Lynn

Mag, can you please post these on the site. This is from Corina A., who adopted Theo. Theo was practically starved to death and we weren't sure if he would make it. Our AL team got him back on his feet, then Corina adopted him. Here is is with his brother!

L.

No need to worry about Theo these days. He eats, plays, and lives like a champ. Here are a couple of photos that I located on the computer. One from home at the top of the stairs, and one from a hotel room while on a trip. He is still only about 8 lbs. In these so I'll have to send a more recent one when I get some on the computer. I have some cute ones on the camera right now that I need to upload.

Thanks,
Corina

Sun, 3 Oct 2004 12:32:04 EDT - from Lynn

Hi Mag... here are a few pictures of the portrait that I did for Jan R. of her late dog, Star. Jan won the auction for the portrait at our AL/GA IMPS MinPin Mania party this past summer. Can you please post them on the website as a further example of my work? Thank you,

L.

NOTE: Lynn has offered a portrait of your pet as a prize in our Annual Quilt Raffle. Click HERE for raffle details.

Thu, 28 Oct 2004 18:57:35 -0400 - from Mary

Here's a photo of my two fur babies, Brady (on the left) and Peyton (on the right). My husband and I adopted Peyton (formerly known as Peppie La Pyou) from IMPS May 2003. I was so impressed with the organization that I started volunteering with ALGAIMPS and now I'm hooked!

Peyton and Brady are best buds and love to wrestle, chase squirrels in the backyard and snuggle with us on the couch. Peyton is our mischievous Min Pin who keeps us on our toes and laughing every day. Brady is our well behaved gentleman who likes to keep Peyton "in check." We love them both so much!

Mary W.

IMPS GA Volunteer

Tue, 4 Jan 2005 22:18:13 EST - from Lynn

For the website... adopted by Tim G. in AL a year ago. ;)

L.

Lynn,

Here are a few pictures of Zoe. She doesn't normally wear pajamas -- they belong to a "friend." She liked them, though... Anything to do with sleep is fine with her. As coincidence would have it, the other picture is of her trying to sleep. There's a definite pattern here.

Tim

Tue, 25 Jan 2005 07:28:47 EST - from Wade, via Lynn & Sandy

Sandy,

We had to do some work in one bedroom, so I got out the work light. Milo has never seen this before, but figured out right away that it was nice and warm. I made him move several times because I was afriad that he would get burned. Each time I looked away, he found his place back in this position.

I took his picture and then moved the light up on a table. When I came back into the room, I found him here...

We're going for an IQ test next week to see who is smarter. I'm not sure who will win this contest!!

Wade

Tue, 25 Jan 2005 15:14:34 -0500 - from Meg

My husband and I adopted Piper from the Georgia IMPS in Nov of 2004. We wanted to let everyone know she is doing great and thank everyone as well.

Here are some pictures of Piper and her new sister Yoda Belle. Piper is the smaller one with the big floppy ears in the pictures. She came to us very skinny but we have been able to put a pound on her I think. She loves her new home and her new friend, Yoda Belle. Even though she once was very shy with us, she know is greets us at the door every day and plays with all of us. Yoda was at first a little jealous but likes having Piper to play with now. Piper has learned to walk well on a leash and she is completely out of her crate (even though she has had several accidents). We are still working on her potty training since we have removed her crate; but it has only been two months.

WE will be looking for a house and back yard for both of the girls soon which will hopefully help the potty training for Piper!

Thank you to all the GA volunteers! We love our new Piper. She and Yoda are so cute together; I can’t image them apart.

Love

John and Meg S.

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 19:12:40 -0800 (PST) - from Melissa, via Lynn

Here are some pictures of my babies. I can't remember if i sent these yet. I love taking pictures of them.......
I'll send more as I take them...
Melissa and my babies