Thursdays with Reily...(and Sheeba and Buzzy)

I spend a half hour with each of my shelter seniors every Thursday, and see that they've become more relaxed with me (and I with them). Buzzy appears lion like, with a mass of fur surrounding his head and face, and very little on the rest of his body. Sheeba is too, too sweet and silently nudges me to take her out first, but Reilly, my bony boy, just wants to put his head on my thigh and have me stroke him as soon as I walk into the pen. He's 14 years old and pathetically thin, with a whitened muzzle and a sweetly tender gaze.  He's had diarrhea every time I took him out for the past three weeks, so when I questioned the vet last week (the shelter has one on staff I'm happy to say), I was told that his food was changed and they would be keeping an eye on him. Well today I learned that he has a tumor on his stomach and although he's not in any pain, they will have to decide what steps to take in the next week or so.  I haven't done this long enough to get truly attached to these dogs, but I feel compelled to return daily to check on Reilly, just sit with him and let him have my lap for as long as he wants.  If he gets better, we'll go for walks again, if not I don't want him to die alone and hope the shelter will allow me to stay beside him if they have to put him down.  Sweet old boy.  Then I return home and hug my sassy Lacy as she kvetches at my inattentiveness.

NYC Pet Show May 21, 2011

So the question of the  day at the NYC Pet Show was, "how is your dog a super hero".  Easy one for me to answer....
Lacy and I are "senior" companions. For fifteen years she has enjoyed being head of our household, spoiled child of empty nesters, and all around diva wearing custom made sweaters and dining on freshly cooked chicken and rice. And I, at sixty, enjoyed  a 27 year run in the woman's apparel industry, currently forced into retirement , affording me ample time to cook that chicken and rice for her.

While we were lying in bed one night, I questioned my future. Do I REALLY want to try to find another job in an industry I no longer LOVE ? I knew the answer before Lacy's head plopped down on my lap and she looked up at me with wizened eyes.

So, together we em"barked" on a major career and lifestyle change. I started to create fashion for those I DO love, dogs...... by making my artsy free-form crochet sweaters normally reserved for Lacy alone, or my grand-dogs Scooter and Daisy Louise, into prototypes for the start up collection of Lollypups Designer Pet Wear, and to have them reproduced in China. For the first time in her life, I began to ask more of Lacy then just cuteness and kisses. She became my blank canvas, fit model, sweater tester, sales rep, mascot, muse and super model. And she obliged. She let me know how itchy the sweaters were from China, so I switched to fine baby alpaca and had them made in Peru. She let me pin and re-pin muslins on her fluffy anatomy in order to perfect the couture fabric harness patterns (and she went from size medium to size large because of all the treats I had to bribe her with). She proudly wore each sample garment on test runs to the park, and at pet industry and holiday vendor events, and never complained (but napped often). And together we basked in the compliments and the sales. But the best part is, we do it together. She wears the new designs proudly and seems to say, "dress me in couture and I'll still strut my stuff".

She's made me look at "senior" in a whole new light and not through my own disappointments and frustrations. She made me laugh at some of the silly things I tried to create and she tried to shimmy off, and she made "work" fun for me again. But mostly, she made me see that senior doesn't mean old and useless.

I volunteer at the local shelter and take the "senior" dogs walking a couple times a week. We all move a bit slowly but it's the sunshine and exercise that keeps us going, and the knowledge that somebody really cares.  I for them and they for me.

Lacy, this little white Bichon Frise with few teeth, bad hearing and wobbly knees, is the best super hero there can be in my book. Not the kind that helps catch Osama bin Laden or bank robbers, or purse snatchers. They are heroes in their own way. But Lacy is a canine senior who has made a difference to other seniors, namely me, and the new found additional loves of my life at the shelter, Reily, Sheeba and Buzzy.


You CAN teach an old dog new tricks....Love, respect and productiveness..... and Lacy and I are enjoying our "golden" years surrounded by it! Age happens to us all, only not everyone will have Lacy to ease them through it.

Happy mother's day-after

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful and inspiring day spent with my first born, soon to be a mother herself. Sweet sentiments abounded on the bouquet of flowers delivered on Saturday and on Face book postings, solidifying the feeling that with all my self doubts, THIS is what it's all about. We took pictures by Halsey Pond and the still intact, beautiful gothic tea house with it's arched windows and massive stonework. 

Then off to brunch at an outdoor cafe which served the absolutely best chocolate bread rolls--divine! Mother/daughter conversations led to giggles galore and I savored the joy of my child's anticipation of the role of motherhood she would soon be embarking on. I bought a musical puzzle for (us)... the baby, just because.........then more pregnant pictures at the Hudson River park, with pink fluffy cherry blossoms in bloom against the backdrop of the blue sky, and palisades. 

With all warm and fuzzy feelings still coursing through my psyche, I returned home and back to the drawing board to finish some designs and I guess the good vibes eminated from my fingertips and onto the Illustrator drawings I was struggling through the day before, because :::viola:::: success!  How pretty the rain harnesses are turning out to be......the prints are darling and the silhouette is finally perfected.  Off to the sample maker this week, then more celebrating.......Erika's baby shower to prep for and cupcakes to bake!  Busy....busy.....busy.  (smile) 
And Lacy stayed home and slept all day!

Pets Alive Fur Ball to take place in Westchester county June 11,2011

To all my friends, business contacts, fellow students and dog lovers,
My days are hectic and filled with tasks both personal, business and volunteer.  Wedding plans continue for daughter #2, baby shower and first grandson on the way for daughter #1, preparations for the Las Vagas, SuperZoo Pet product trade fair in September with some great new products in development.....and then there are the sweet old dogs and young, energetic pups I love to visit at Pets Alive rescue shelter, in Elmsford, NY.  Everyone there is an extreme animal lover who volunteers their time taking care of homeless dogs, cats and rabbits and, to me, I couldn't meet or work with a better bunch of  people or more wonderful dogs starving for attention (and more treats) and working with them to help them become more adoptable. 
On June 11 Pets Alive will be hosting their annual FUR BALL and I want to get the word out to everyone I know. 
If you're a business or simply a compassionate animal lover, check out their website to find out how you can help by donating an auction item,  becoming a sponsor or a patron or by attending this fun gala.
Pets Alive Westchester is part of the Pets Alive Organization, one of the oldest and largest no-kill animal organizations in the US and saves over 2,000 animals each year.  ALL the proceeds from the Fur Ball will go directly to helping the animals. 
Please check their website for more detailed information. www.petsalive.org
I will be there helping out with the cocktail reception, formal dinner, dancing (maybe cut the rug a bit myself) and fabulous auctions (Lollypups Petwear sweater and scarf included-- and  a super elegant custom made harness and leash!) There will be an online auction as well, so if you can't attend, you can still bid on the items.  Or if you prefer, ANY donation will be SUPER appreciated.
Check back on my blog, lollypupspetwear.blogspot.com for updates,  I'll keep you posted as news and information comes in. Off I go now, to take my "senior" charges out for some exercise.
xoxo
JoAnn & Lacy

Hi ho, hi ho...it's off to work I go.......

Sometimes a girl just has to do what a girl has to do.......so, mug of strong coffee beside me, I embarked on a midnight excursion through cyberspace in pursuit of something absolutely extraordinary in the way of summer print fabrics. (read chic and cheap) Off I go through Googleland, unearthing this and that and being bombarded with inspiration up the wazoo at the same time.......I love this!

3 more pieces are final for the spring/summer collection of harnesses by 2:30AM and I'm SO ready to nod off, in a good way. Tomorrow is going to be busy. Dentist first then Email appointments with resources are set and ideas are to the max so it’s time for executive decisions. A trek into Manhattan is required to find what else I need! Meetings with vinyl suppler, leash maker, trim and embellishments for the new fabrics. Then back to my other life. A bridal veil to order for Em and weather permitting, dinner in Andy and Ellen’s garden to top off a hopefully productive shopping trip.
I’m so loving the little ooh la la French number cotton I found on line, and a more graphic heart pattern, and will post the new styles once complete.  But doing girls is easy. It’s the boys I need to focus on, not that the summer is their season. Brushed wools and plaids are more suitable for them during the winter months. Handsome. Masculine. Different. I’ll focus on an unusual plaid or stripe and printed lining for them I think. and found one that's a madras plaid patchwork in denim blues and neutrals. So off I go to work......hi ho.

Updates and Upstarts........

Lacy has decided that she wants ALL of my attention this week.  At times she's been sassy, energetic, eccentric, and downright pesky.  I tried everything to appease her.....early dinners,  walks outside every 15 minutes, treats, praise.......but here she is at my feet once again, standing on her hind legs and "quarking"--making a guttural sound resembling something between a quack and a bark.  As I rise to pick her up and maybe cuddle her into submission, she turns and bolts from the studio, then stands in the hallway and whimpers.  How do I get any work done??   Well, here's a clue          

<---------------better.

I was able to contact a couple of vendors in NYC willing to sell me low minimums for my little biz.  Two in particular were very accommodating and willing to send me swatches of what I was interested in.

I also physically went to a warehouse nearby and checked out his high-end cotton sateen patterns and ended up buying rolls of less then 10 yards as well as contrast linings. (and left Lacy to pester Jeff). So now, I have two prints planned for summer harnesses.  Next week will be a busy one.  The Indigo show is upon us again and it's always great to see what kinds of prints and color trends are out there. With the patterns finished and ready for Igor, I'll be able to discuss samples now that I have the yardage for them and the matching leashes.   All this is in preparation for Superzoo in September.  This time I want to get a vendor booth and sell wholesale.  Got my free flight from Jet Blue and the rooms are cheap, cheap, cheap..........so, all I'll have to pay for is the booth. Still a big expense but worth it.  The attendance was up from last year! 

So, in the end, I did accomplish a lot and Lacy, tuckered out, went to sleep with Otto, finally leaving me in.... peace. 

Mood: pensive..............

Lacy is curled at my feet in the studio, as is her routine in late afternoon.  I look down at her as she smacks her lips while dreaming. Of what, I can only imagine, reminding me that soon she'll want dinner.  My eyes move over to my right foot still covered in a bandage to keep the golf-ball size swelling at bay, though it doesn't do much for the throbbing.  My ankle injury has lasted for two weeks now and gone from basketball, to bocce ball, to baseball sized swelling.   We travelled to Florida the beginning of March because New York's angry chill drove us from where the snow and ice remained defiantly covering the surface of the property, to seek out a less harsh climate.   Lacy and I would take our walks back home, with little baby steps, gingerly.....cautiously. Maybe, with a bit of a stumble on a hidden rock now and then but no major mishaps for either of our old bodies. 

But it's in Florida, on my brisk power walk to the gym,  where I take a clumsy step into an unseen hole at the edge of the sidewalk. It's here, at the immaculately kept complex of my brother in law and sister-in-law where we will be staying for a week,  where I crash down to the pavement and wrench my ankle, not on my treacherous, ice covered stepping stones at home.  Had I turned around and gone back and iced it instead of insisting that I was fine, and continuing on to the gym to do my 45 minute workout..... Well, I suppose the results of the fall would have been the same no matter what I did.   So my "vacation" was spent hobbling on crutches yet I was still hell bent on wearing my Vivian Westwood Heart pumps at our friend's son's wedding three days away. 

That, of course, was not to be and one shoe had to suffice, no matter how un-chic my other foot looked.... which resembled a bound baked potato.  We did make it to the beach one day and I'm almost through crocheting my soon to be grandson's sweater...... I finished  "The Art of Racing in the Rain", (when else would I ever sit long enough to actually read a book!!)

I guess some good comes out of all calamity.  I've no business complaining at all after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan so I won't.  Such disasters only put puny things in perspective, while we search through newspapers and internet postings of the tragedy, trying to wrap our minds around the colossal inhumanity of it all.

Or maybe, hoping to find a tidbit of humanity amid the rubble and mud..... a rescue after 9 days trapped under rubble, the joyous tears of a daughter reunited with her mother.........my heart breaks for the people and my heart breaks for the lost animals-- http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110316/ts_yblog_thelookout/dog-in-japan-stays-by-the-side-of-its-ailing-friend-in-the-rubble
Just so I am continually reminded why I love dogs so much.  And why a sprained ankle and Vivian Westwood Heart pumps are so meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  Peace.