I mean, really. Could a dog and a cat hang out more with each other? Sure, it's colder in Virginia than they're used to in Florida, but it's not *that* cold.

For more of this week's Saturday Snapshots, please visit Alyce with At Home With Books.

You know that bumper sticker that promotes rescuing animals and it reads, "Who rescued who?" That's how I feel about my two former strays: Roma the Dog and Puppy the Cat. My husband found Roma on a busy road and had she stepped a few feet to one side, she would have been smack dab in the middle of 45-mile per hour traffic. We took Puppy the Cat in after he was kicked out by a neighbor in Florida because his ex-girlfriend dumped him and he just wanted to get rid of the cat. In the four years we've been blessed to have them in our lives, these two have done more for me and my husband than we ever would have imagined. We are so very lucky.

Clearly you can see that I prefer a lot of blankets on my side of the bed, which apparently is their preference as well...

I encourage you to remember the animals who are alone this holiday season. Don't bypass a dog on the street; instead, call the local SPCA to help pick them up. And one way you can always help is to donate dog food, cat food, toys or beds for the animals in your local SPCA. Or better yet, bring a pet home with you.

For more of this week's Saturday Snapshot, please visit Alyce with At Home With Books.

A long post, but something different today for you. Tomorrow comes my review on the very first completed audio book. I admit, I am not looking forward to writing it. Instead, I thought I'd share with you a few pictures of Roma the Dog, as well as introduce you to my sister's new photoblog - and both are MUCH more interesting than the review I am trying to put together.

So. I, for one, do not like to drive anywhere if I have to be in a car more than six hours. It becomes confining, food eaten an hour ago is stuffed in the fast food bag and crumpled somewhere in the car. But this holiday, Roma the Dog was coming along to visit family, so driving was our only option. I'm so happy that we did drive because my sister got some of my favorite shots of Roma!

Introducing Two New Bloggers

Yes, my sister is one of the new bloggers - she is a professional photographer and after almost twenty years in the Navy, retiring a couple of years ago as a Commander, she is starting her business. She specializes in children's portraiture, and also focuses on stock photography and does the occasional wedding as well. Her artistic photos are some of my favorites! So, here are the sites:

• Digital Graces - Children's Portraiture
• Grace Protzman Photoblog - the blog with pics and reviewing tips she employs to get the best shot
• Digital Graces Facebook site - GIVEAWAY!  Become a fan of her Facebook site by clicking "like" at the top of the FB page and you could win a $15 iTunes card.  Specific details are on her site/blog.

If you are a newbie to photography, or just want some extra tips on picture-taking, and other items, stop on by to any of these sites!

Also, please visit Erika at The Black Dog Gang blog - she chronicles her adventures in fostering dogs in Missouri - it's an absolutely wonderful site as she does her part locally to help socialize and raise dogs into an adoptable environment for their forever home!

Courtesy of Grace Protzman Photography

About Roma the Dog

My niece put the headband on in this picture, and I... I admit that I did put Roma into the Santa outfit in the second one...

Roma is a mix Vizsla (pronounced Vee-shla), which is a Hungarian hunting dog. She, quite possibly, could be the sweetest dog I've ever been lucky enough to have in my life. Over the years, my husband and I have done our fair share of picking up stray dogs running in traffic, tracking down the owner, or finding a new home for them. We love dogs and were planning to get one soon, but we wanted to make sure we were ready to have a dog.

One rainy day in Florida about three years ago, my husband asked me to come out to the backyard.  I work from home and was in between conference calls, so I traipsed out from my office, and lo and behold, he had this very thin dog standing there with him.  She wagged her tail at me, and I immediately fell in love with her sweet eyes and face.

It turns out that my husband found her on an incredibly busy street, randomly walking around from one trash pile to another. Had she stepped four feet to the left, she would have found herself in the middle of two-way traffic traveling at 45 miles an hour at least.  My husband picked her up and put her into the car. She either must have been neglected or she was a stray for quite some time - the flea collar with no tags on it had grown into her skin and she had absolutely no hair on her chest. She was underweight by about twenty pounds.  I had to cut her collar off of her in order to get it off.

We chose to think that she had been a stray for quite some time, instead of thinking that she was neglected to give the previous owners the benefit of the doubt. We did everything we could to find them:

1. We took her to the vet to see if there was a chip in her
2. We posted flyers.
3. We posted online.

No response. She also got along with the cat from the very first day (who normally hates all dogs), to the point where Puppy the Cat (yes, his name is Puppy), would cuddle and sleep with her. We had a decision to make. We both knew what we wanted, we just had to say it out loud.

So we did. We decided to keep her and were lucky to have her as part of our lives. We named her Roma since my husband and I both love Italy, and it turns out that the name sweetly suits her wonderful personality.

During this cold winter, please remember that you can help the strays that you see. If you see a dog, take the time to call the local authorities that help in getting the animal so it's not hurt. And when you're ready for a dog, visit your local shelter first - they have an abundant availability of amazing dogs and cats so you don't have to pay the hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to buy a dog. And most importantly, analyze whether or not you have the time and resources to have a pet depend on you - can you spend the time to take them to the vet, get food for them, and just pay attention to them? Remember, a dog isn't supposed to be outside all day long - they are part of your family.

Your local animal shelters need your help to make sure that dogs like Roma are cared for and saved before they are hurt by a car, or just neglected. Dogs become what we teach them to be. In this case below, Santa's little helper.

Courtesy of Grace Protzman Photography

Happy Reading,

Coffee and a Book Chick

It's a cold morning in Iowa, the ice creeping through every crevice of the city street and buildings.  So cold that perhaps it seemed merciful to put a kitten through the book chute of a library, when really there was a drop into a cold metal box, with up to an additional twenty-four hours before the kitten could be found.  There was no warmth where he landed, only what was really an ice-cold refrigerator.

We've all heard about Dewey, the library cat from Spencer, Iowa, and his special ability to bond with anyone who walked through the library doors.  He knew what each person needed,  whether it was to play a game with him, or for him to simply curl up in a lap and fall asleep.  He just knew what you needed.  This is Dewey's "magic."

In Dewey's Nine Lives -- The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions, Vicki Myron partners with Bret Witter to tell us about his magic once again. Scheduled for release this Tuesday, October 12th, there are two new stories about Dewey and seven other stories of those who were inspired to tell Vicki about how their cat brought out the very best in them.  It is a book to inspire us all to remember how valuable our animals are.

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Just so you know...I cry a lot through books about how an animal can make you feel, their inspiration, and their complete and total unconditional love to us, but it's such a good cry. I just love to be reminded of how incredibly important animals can be in our lives and how they deserve our mutual love, respect, and protection.  An animal can't speak for themselves and tell you what's right and what's wrong, or what hurts. We have to do that for them, to help them, and care for them, to stand up for them when something is wrong or inhumane.  But sometimes it's forgotten what an animal's love can do for them, the inspiration that they can provide.

Dewey's Nine Lives reminds you that the magic of an animal's love and devotion can be found everywhere, not just in one library in Spencer, Iowa -- but one little cat named Dewey had such an amazing story that it brought out the personal stories of people with their own cats, in such an incredible outpouring of love, inspiration, and most especially, the amazing bond one can have with their precious pets.

Dewey's Nine Lives is such a feel good book that reminds us of the importance of animals in our lives, perfect for the holidays!

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So in honor of Dewey, and in preparation for the new release this Tuesday, I figured I'd do a short tribute about the cat that is in my life.

Three years ago, I would have told you that I was a dog person only.  But that was before a small dark gray and white kitten began to hang out in our backyard.  My husband and I never really knew what to do with him, especially since every time we opened our door, he took off.

A couple of weeks later on Valentine's Day, it was a cold night in North Florida -- about twenty degrees.  We were packing to go on a short vacation and I was excited -- it was my birthday present to my husband and he had no idea where we were going.  In the midst of our packing, we happened to look out our slider door and saw the little kitten sitting at the door and facing us.  And he was mewing.  Loudly.  I'm sure I actually heard him say, "let me in," but that could just be me...

We opened the door and instead of running off, he walked in with a bit of assurance that made us smile.  When we sat on the floor, he immediately got onto my lap and fell asleep.  Twenty minutes later, he was still asleep, and needless to say, I hadn't finished any more packing for our early 6 a.m. flight.

We managed to give him a little food and some water but we didn't know where to put him in the house, considering my husband was incredibly allergic to cats.  Putting him back outside seemed like a bad idea, but we weren't sure what else to do.  So we crafted a home for him out of one of our thick plastic storage boxes, layered it with blankets and towels and shielded it from the cold, facing it towards the house in a protected corner.  We were terrified that it wasn't enough, but when we looked outside later on in the night, we saw he had curled up deep down into the blankets and looked incredibly comfortable.  We put food and water out in the back and left for our short trip.  We were nervous, but typically characteristic for North Florida weather, we knew it was going to warm up the next day, and warm up it did.

We came back and found that the cat was still in the backyard, and he was still purring.  I was ready to take him to the local shelter, but I held back.  I was getting used to seeing him in the backyard, running to see me when I opened up the back door, and I was jokingly calling him Puppy the Cat.  And my husband was building up some sort of tolerance -- he didn't sneeze or get red and puffy eyes anymore.  After many doctor visits, it was clear that he was ours.  And we never considered changing his name -- it's fun to take him to the vet and announce that Puppy the Cat was ready.  But what truly made him our cat, so ferocious we are now to protect him, was when we learned that this kitten had actually been a pet of someone in our neighborhood.  And when this neighbor's girlfriend left him, he decided to get back at her by kicking the tiny kitten out of his house in the cold weather.  There was no doubt anymore, this cat was mine.

About three months later, we found a stray Vizsla/Pit Bull mix that we brought home.  There was no fur on her chest, and the collar had grown into her skin.  We immediately fell in love with how peaceful and sweet she was and named her Roma after the city we love so much, but we questioned if this dog and this cat could get along...

I've shared this picture with you before, but I think it answers the question we had.  What do you think?

Happy Reading,
Coffee and a Book Chick