A Place to Bark and Meow Blog by Bernie Berlin

Friday, January 26, 2007
On the Road: CHA

I'm leaving tomorrow for CHA
I will be gone till next week, when I get back I'll have a ton of work to catch up on and am bound and determined to get finished and tie up loose ends!!

Nothing like a huge trade show filled with arts and craft products to get your creative juices flowing!!!
I'm soooo excited to catch up with my friends that I only see a few times a year when we teach together Claudine Hellmuth ,Michael deMeng, Angela Cartwright, Suze Weinberg & Traci Bautista just to name a few..

This is my schedule for the show:
F&W Publications
Booth # 1509
Sunday: 12:00 p.m.
Monday: 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:30 a.m.
I will be demo-ing the techniques from my book, signing and giving away free copies as well:)
Limited amounts available, so come early!!

I will also be doing some brief demos for Rubbernecker, using their Luna Lights paints.
I LOVE these paints and have been using them for several years.
The booth number is; #2472

The other booths that you can probably catch me at are:
Ranger Products and the Stampington booth.

On Sunday I'll be demo-ing with my friend Michael deMeng, stop by and say HI!!!
Hope to see you there..
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Moments at the Berlin home..

As I was getting the food ready this evening it struck me as to how much the island in my kitchen is used, not only for ourselves but for our temporary rescued houseguests needs.
This is only a partital showing of the food served:)
Kibble anyone???

This is "Clyde" he is the guardian of the espresso machine:)
Clyde has been one of our pets for 7 years now. He was diagnosed with kidneys too small for him and always has been on the skinny side, but is alive, keeping the dogs in line and our coffee machine safe.


All the animals that come here have a minimum stay of 2-3 weeks quarantine period, before they go to the Humane Societies or other rescues. We vaccinate, worm and do any other vetting needed to make sure they have the best chances of being healthy and therefore providing a win/ win situation for the animals and the organizations receiving them.
We are running low on everything this month, as you can see we use a ton of vaccine.
If anyone knows of any programs with the animal vaccine companies please feel free to e-mail me, for any info would be greatly appreciated.


Here are some of the new fuzzies here and that will be leaving on Wednesday for the Humane Societies up North..
Our transport this trip will be 32 dogs..
Also one cat for my brother, he just recently lost his cat to cancer.

"Herman" A.K.A. "The Possum" He is a male Sheltie/mix. Sooo sweet, but very timid and shy..
Approximately 8 months to one year.

"Charlie" Male, Cocker Spaniel approximately 4 years old. Super friendly, loves to go for car rides & is great with other dogs.

"Turbo" 6-8 month old male lab/mix. Super friendly, loving, ACTIVE and gets along great with other dogs..

Some pics of a few of the new pups here:




I have a grant writer who has graciously offered to write for grants, so if anyone knows of grant opportunities please e-mail me at: aplace2bark@aol.com
I will have to work extra hard this year to try to set up some type of spay/neuter program since our local program will be cutting their numbers with working with rescue. Looks like we'll have to build our own..
Not to mention I have been contacted by a rescue in the next county over that is asking for some help, seems they have no humane society and their animal control consists of taking the dogs to the dump and doing inhumane things to them.
So we'll try to help best we can, but we can only do so much.. I keep telling myself baby steps..
Things will happen in time, it's just until that time we have to stay strong and do what we can.
Spay and Neuter is truly the answer..

I am behind in doing my books and if you are in need of a receipt for donations made this last year, please send me and e-mail and I'll e-mail one to you..
All my paperwork will be done by the middle of February. Just have to get thru the next two weeks of transports, taking care of the animals and doing my book signing at the CHA trade show in California next week..

Other news:
For those of you that enjoys a great book on living in moment, enjoying life, disengaging from energy vampires & being the happiest person you can be, this is a book for you: Naomi's Guide To Aging Gratefully
Living our lives by focusing on the positive, makes our journey so much easier to bear..
Naomi is truly a blessing and an inspiration to behold..


Blessings and Light to you..
Friday, January 19, 2007
Busy day at the vet..

The past few days have been very busy with dogs coming in..
I have been burning the candle at both ends so to speak, between trying to get ready for the CHA trade show, running to the vet, caring for everyone and trying to get ready for my next transport next week. The Humane Societies have been adopting out our animals with great success. Within 8-10 days of our transports, our dogs are adopted and on to new lives.
Just amazing!! Here are some of the new guys that will be up for adoption in Chicago the end of next week..

"Tawny" is a 1 year old female Golden Retriever mix. Super active, not for someone who wants a quiet laid back dog. She runs and plays all day long!! Good with other dogs, she will need some obiedence training to make her the best dog she can be.

"Tiki" is a 4-5 year old female Jack Russell Terrier. Loving, bouncy and good with other dogs, she will need someone who is tolerant of a busy, want to be with you all the time dog. She currently is being treated by the vet.

"Murphy" is a 1-2 year old male, Scottie. Poor guy was matted to the skin and will be getting a new haircut in the next few days. Very skittish of fast movement and head shy. Will need someone who will be understanding and patient.


When I get back, I will be limiting the numbers I take in to catch up on all my work.
I need to get year end bookwork done and my art auctions up.
So that is priority and will be done the first week in February.
If you are waiting for an e-mail from me, please accept my apology.. I be in touch soon!!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
News about "Noel"

Since my last post, Noel is doing great!!!
Thanks so much, for all the e-mails asking how she is..
She is such a joy to behold. Always happy, loving and now is playing with all of our dogs:)
She still has a little submissive peeing when you initially pet her, but so much less than when she first got here.
We will have to do some extensive surgery on her one ear, but all in all, she is going to be just fine!!!
We have started to receive some FABULOUS hats for her, the other dogs are soooo jealous!!!
Thanks so much to Vickie Howell, Claudine Hellmuth, Theresa MacNaughton, Julie Molina & Elizabeth Hartsell.
The hats are so beautiful, nice and soft and will keep her ear holes warm so that the cold doesn't damage her ears any further.
It was quite the challenge to get her to sit still to take pics!!
She is just a ball of energy these days and while these pics aren't the best, I really wanted to get them up, so that you know your kind gestures are so much appreciated.
Here are a few of the hats she has had a chance to model..




And our last hat seems to have disappeared and look where we found it, Jasper had it..
I knew they were jealous:)


Other Dog News:
Since I left for Boston, Josie was adopted by a super fun artist Rebecca Aranyi in North Carolina.
Take a peek at her site It's still under construction but fun to look at!!
And Morris was adopted by the daughter of an artist friend and is now living in Indiana.
We currently have adoptions pending, one in California and two in Boston with other artists, it really makes my heart smile that the animals not only have love, but also artful owners.

Sad but true, I'll have to limit my numbers this month, we've got lots of surgeries that are needed to be done, so the next phase of the art auction will be going up very soon, money has been very tight the past six months and this squeezes us even more.
Surgeries to be done are: 5 dentals, one cherry eye, one dermoid (which is: hair that grows out of an eyeball), surgery on one of our puppie's heart, a condition called Patent ductus arteriosus, two cyst removals, heart worm treatment and Noel's ear surgery which could be as costly as two thousand dollars if they have to remove her whole ear canal, we'll know more later this week when we meet with the surgeon. So it will be a busy month!!
I'll be trying to catch up to get the art auctions going this week, my e-mails answered, trying to get all my year end book work done, running back and forth to the vet & trying to prepare for CHA
I should know my show schedule by the end of the week, so if you're there please stop by and say Hi!!
Will post more later this week..

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Flynn

We just emptied out and we're already filling up again until our next transport to the Humane Societies..
Just seems like it never ends..
This story is about one of our new guys his name is "Flynn" he's a Malte-poo our best guess.
The picture above was taken at the pound..
Isn't it amazing how the expression changes.. the pic below is him in the car on our way home..


Weighing about 8 pounds he was matted to the skin he couldn't even go potty:(
Only a year, maybe two at the most, he's never been groomed.
Well.. he is now!!


Here are his pics, the fur on the table all came off in big pieces like felt, can you imagine what that must have felt like, pulling on your skin.


He'll be ready for adoption in two weeks, we just have to get him fixed and checked out at the vet tomorrow..
Back from Boston..

I got back from Boston last Thursday..
I think I left my heart on Cape Cod:)
It's beautiful there, peaceful and just a nice way of life..
My trip gave me some time to recharge, reflect and just live in the moment, feeling grateful for the life I have and the wonderful people, artists & friendships made along the way.
I was in heaven!!! Sunshine,beaches, antique books, cranberry bogs, history, artstores, fun people, dog stores and starbucks:)

It has been a very humbling feeling writing a book, I'm fortunate and again, grateful for the opportunities given to me.
The store owners who hosted me to come out are just amazing individuals, giving of themselves and have wonderful customers, that make the stores a great place to make art!!! It was so nice to meet so many of you:)
Thanks for gracing me with your presence..
Because of what I do for a living, it also benefits the animals.
I was also able to connect with a few rescues and hopefully, my fingers crossed, will have a new humane society contact to work with.

I have been so busy with new animals, life happenings and family emergencies that there just hasn't been time to post.
So here is what I've been up to now with the animals in the next few posts...
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Out of town..
Things have been super busy..
I'm currently out of town but just want to pop in and let you know what I'm up to.
Just sent 30+ dogs to Chicago, my friend Barb was kind enough to drive my transport, since I was on a plane headed to Boston. I'm currently staying in Cape Cod, did a book signing on Friday at Absolutely Everything and will be doing another signing on Tuesday, at the Stamp Act in Marshfield, MA.
http://thestampactstore.com/
If anyone is in the area, please feel to stop in, hang out, have some snacks and join the fun!!
Noel is doing great!! I'm going to try to take a video when I get home just so you can see how super sweet and wiggly she is..
She improves everyday and even is starting to trust other dogs. She gave my Doberman Zues a bitty kiss the other day. Her ear is going to need surgery since the scar tissue is so severe. But all in all she will be fine and loved as all dogs should be. Many have asked if I would keep her or allow her to be adopted. As much as I'm so attached to her, I will adopt her to a family if they are the right family and when the time is right. She will need someone who will understand her special needs and give her LOTS of Love!! I would love to keep all my dogs that come to me, but if I do this it is one less dog I can save.. So I struggle all the time with wanting to keep them and letting them go. I Love them all dearly and only want what is best for them. What is best for them is to have their own people and not just become one of the many, if I were to keep them here. I have my core 4 dogs and until the day I stop doing rescue, that is all I can keep as my own..

I heard that there is a box with the cutest kitty hat waiting at home for Noel..
Thank you Claudine!! People making nice things for Noel, will help turn this situation from negative to positive. She will have cute things to wear around her neck for those that don't know how to knit and cute hats for when her ears are healed. She has been so good with her e-collar and I've been tempted to decorate that and make it cute. I hope in time to make Noel an example of something good coming out of a bad situation and truly educating people in regard to the bad things that happen to good animals. Only we can help stop these cruelties..
The animals need and depend on people to help keep them safe.

I'm sorry no pics in this entry since I'm not at home..
But I promise there will be plenty when I get home!!!
Blessings and Light to you all..
Bernie

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