Happy New Year

**Happy New Year**

But with all the joy of the holidays, there is also sadness for all the families that have lost a loved one or a loved furry one in 2008. We hope 2009 will be a good year for all of you. May it be filled with love, health and blessings.


Don't forget Carrol Crocker's dogs. She still has 17 left to move before the city of Rainsville, Alabama swoops in on February 9th and kills them.

Pertinent information is on the Green Acres page. These are good dogs. Please consider helping if you are able to.

And in case you're wondering why we post about them but don't volunteer to foster one or more, we live in the city and the limit here is 3 dogs. So Jan would have to send us to the shelter, where we really don't want to go. Especially since we wouldn't come out alive.

So we keep posting about Carrol's dogs and hoping they all find a home in time!


And on a less serious note, here's a fun video. We're glad Maggie doesn't live here or Jan would expect us to be this smart too.

Rookie

We wanted to let everyone know we might be disappearing for a day or two while Jan's brother takes our computer home to do some more work on it -- install a CD/DVD drive, etc. We don't know when he will come by to pick it up, so if we are quiet for a while, we aren't sitting in a tree.

Speaking of sitting in a tree, have you read this post on Skeezix's Catster page? One comment we read with an article said the Humane Society had emailed that a cherry picker was on its way to rescue the cat and end this madness! We sure hope so.

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We can't believe it, but this post has been sitting around ready to go for a few months. It's past time to post it.

We switched counters a couple of months ago on JFF and now we can see what strange search terms folks use to find us. We were laughing over: funny farm mops, quitits (huh?), funny jan things, fridge face, Belgian Sheepdog pitbull mix .... and then we saw it -- canine freestyle Rookie died cancer. Oh, no!

We quickly did our own google search and discovered this to be true. Carolyn Scott's famous freestyle dance partner, Rookie the Golden Retriever, died from cancer July 14th at age 15.

Carolyn, we are sorry. We have enjoyed your choreographed routines, with some special Rookie innovations, and we know he left a large Rookie-size hole in your heart.

We found this montage of highlights from their career.



Carolyn's short, poignant "To Rookie .... because you loved me" can be found here.

We were recently sent a link to a video of a different style of canine dancing, and when we googled the human's name, we found they have a brand new website. Tiny Humphrey and Chandi. Chandi is a world class HTM and Freestyle dog.

To watch the video, click on "Heelwork to Music/Dressage - watch video " in the sidebar. We know you will enjoy it!

Cat Christmas 2008

The day before Christmas, a nice lady gave us kitties a present. Cameron and Percy checked out the box. Cameron said, tentatively, It looks okay. Let's see what's inside.



Jan opened the box, thinking she would just unfold it and..... Cotton's (not shown) eyes widened, Oh, no! It's got parts. Lots of parts to put together. And Jan can't follow directions. We'll never get to play with our new toy.


Percy: Jan finally sat down on the floor tonight and dumped everything on the floor. It's color coded. How hard can it be? Well, that depends on how many times one needs to take it apart and put it back together again. Here I am inspecting the first draft. Actually, I'm getting out before it falls on me.


Okay, it's finally finished. Now, it's Cyndi's turn to inspect it, But I have enough sense to do my quality check from the outside. Notice Jan managed to put it together wrong. There are no holes on the hammock side.


Now that the holes are correctly aligned, Rusty sticks his head inside. It's still standing, guys. Maybe it's safe to enter.


Okay, Percy calls to Rusty, I'll sit on the bookshelf in case I need to dial 911 for medical assistance!


Cameron does a close visual inspection. I don't know about this, Rusty. You might want to come out of there before Jan's handiwork collapses.


He,he, he, Cameron chuckles. Scared him right out of here.


Percy:: I thought he'd never leave. It's my turn again.

Hey, Percy, Crystal whispers, Jan's eating turkey in the kitchen.


Percy: Ha! Did he really think I'd fall for that? Jan didn't cook a turkey this year. ** big sigh** At last. Peace and quiet in my new home.

Christmas Stories

A friend sent us a link to this furry Christmas video and Sam laughed so hard, he accidentally sent the typing chair sailing and knocked me (Percy, the typist) off my seat. We think you'll enjoy it too.





If you have a problem viewing this, click here -- Dogschool Christmas Video

And for a special Christmas story we'd like to introduce you to Little Orphan Annie. We read about her this morning on Kokak's blog. We're so glad this sad story has a chance at a happy ending.

Merry Christmas 2008

This card if from all of us to all of you.




And many thanks to those who have emailed us a Christmas message or a card.

From Sassy














From KC & the girls


From Beau. Beau still needs our purrs and prayers.


From Chef the Boxer Dog & his mom


From Whimpurr's Whim

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PS ---We have found the perfect Christmas gift for all of us. We hope Jan will buy us each one. Except Buddy wants 3. He thinks if he has 3 seats, he'll get 3 meals. We know you'll want one of these too! Pet High Chair

And Drop by Daisy's to see how well she is doing since her first leg surgery. What a wonderful thing for so many to help this sweet dog that was hit by a car when she was 4 months old and not only not treated -- or perhaps not treated properly -- for her leg injuries, but she was about to be euthanized because she has allergies.

Cyndi is 5 again

This is not quite the "special day" post we expected to be making today. Do you remember this card? It was made by our friend, Gentle Annie. We posted it on October 1st when we celebrated Cyndi's 5th birthday.



This photo is solid proof that Jan has, as she has been claiming lately, "lost it." (We 're not sure whether she means her memory or her mind.) We looked at her calendar this morning and noticed today is Cyndi's 5th birthday. We got to thinking, didn't we just celebrate that recently? Yep, sure did. On October 1st. Had a celebration and Sassy sent presents. It was a quiet but nice celebration.

Jan told us that was Cyndi's birthday then, so how is Cyndi 5 again today? We checked our records in Jan's file cabinet, and there in black and white is Cyndi's Gotcha Date, February 16, 2004, and estimated birth date, December 21, 2004. At the bottom, written in Jan's own handwriting, is the notation, "Assigned birthday, October 1, 2003."

Yep, folks, whatever "it" is, Jan's lost it. Whoever heard of being born twice, in two different years?

But congratulations, Cyndi. With Jan's help, you have achieved the impossible. You were gotcha'd in February 2004 but not born till December 2004. Yeah, right.

How about born in December 2003!

We took a vote (Cyndi included) and decided not to trade Jan in for a human with a working memory/mind. But if she does this again ..... we'll have to take another vote.

Happy 5th Birthday, Cyndi -- again.

Holy Night Video

Jan received a link to a video she really likes. She says it is beautifully done and a good reminder of why we celebrate Christmas. We liked it too (it even has animals in it) so we decided to share it with you and your humans. We hope you will enjoy this.





Tomorrow is a special day here. We know you won't be able to guess what it is but we hope Jan will give us enough computer time to post about it.

Oh, Sassy and her Moth and Doth (mom of the house and dad of the house) have found a way to communicate. Please keep them -- and all our friends (and strangers) that were hit by this storm -- in your purrs and tail wags (prayers, for you humans).

From Sassy: I have teleported along with doth to a Higher Coffee Grounds, they have heat there, coffee & hot chocolate, and internet connection. We lost power on Friday morning and have been told that we will not get power until Sunday afternoon. Our house is 57 degrees right now.

But they will have a warm place to sleep and Moth and Doth will be able to take a hot shower there.

PS -- Be sure to visit The Cheezits and their mom's blog Cool Moms Rule. Colby has been a regular escape artist but he got busted (his favorite hiding places found) when his mom used a PetCam to take photos of where he went. She now has 5 PetCams to give away. Visit Cheezits for the link to the details of how to enter the contest. It's easy. And fun (for your humans) if you win. Of course, if you're already an escape artist, you might not want to win one of these PetCams, but your humans will!

Katie and Carrol

First, we would like to give you an update on Carrol Crocker's dogs. Since we were computerless for several weeks, Jan checked on her when she could but she didn't get enough computer time to post any updates for us. But Heather at Hope4Dogs posted recently (December 14, "Carrol is a Fighter") that the city of Rainesville has finally given her a definite date. She has until February 6 and then any remaining dogs will be seized and killed.

So, if you are able to adopt, foster or transport any dog(s), contact information is on Carrol's Green Acres page. There are currently 17 dogs remaining.


For those of you who don't know Katie of Katiez Furry Mewz, we would like to introduce you. She needs our help. And before you assume you can't help her, remember that praying for one in need is worth far more than money.

Jan has been through some hard times in her life, so she knows how embarrassing it is to have to ask for or accept offered help. But Katie, her cats and her disabled mother are in a serious situation. It's winter in the midwest and they are cold and hungry. She's looking for another job but meanwhile they still have to survive.

We are aware of some help that will be forthcoming but if you would also like to help, you can read about their needs on Kattiez Furry Mewz. They have other needs but they're not posted, so we're not going to mention them. It's not a good idea to put your home address on the web, so she has posted a post office box address.

Also -- and we're not telling tales because she has posted on a few occasions on this subject -- her husband is in the "pound" for humans and when the breadwinner is incarcerated (Wow, we didn't know we knew that word.) the entire family suffers. So, if any of you know of any resources on the net for prisoner's famillies, would you leave her a comment or leave us one for her.

Christmas is nearly upon us. There are so many in need. All we can do is try to help those we are aware of.

We might not be able to participate in the fundraisers, but we are proud of the way we see bloggers and non-bloggers respond to those needing help of some kind. We posted a link to Moki's blog 2 days ago because Moki and Crystal want to see a Christmas miracle for Ella, the special needs kitty spending the holidays with them. We were astounded to visit last night and find they had already raised $333 and only had $67 to go. If you haven't met Ella yet, visit her at Save Moki. And if you have met her, there are a couple more videos posted that you will enjoy. She is a happy, energetic kitty.

Update: We have just checked Moki's blog and Ella's Christmas miracle is coming to pass. Her cart will be ordered tonight. That is wonderful.

We have a number of posts way past due and we will get to them. One day, hopefully before Sam (the youngest) turns white around the muzzle. Oh, wait, he's already white. One day. Hopefully.

A Christmas Miracle

Moki -- you know Moki, the kitty with a neurological illness -- wants to create a Christmas miracle for another kitty, one named Bella. And if you haven't met Bella yet, you just have to pop over and meet her. She is unbelievably fast for a kitty with no use of her back legs. Perhaps you can donate a dollar or two to help purchase a special cart for Bella. If not, you can purr for her. (We dogs are wagging our tails like crazy on her behalf.) Bella is a special needs cat spending the holidays with Moki and Crystal, so you can meet Bella here. We sure hope there will be a Christmas miracle coming for her.

Jan will never catch up on here to-do list, and that means neither will we because we're getting little computer time. But we're trying to get around to say hello as we can. We are embarrassed to have received a couple more awards since we are already behind 2, 3, or 4 months in posting those we promised to post ASAP. And we will post them! Hopefully, while it is still 2008.

Sassy's CCSI IV is as exciting as the others. We can't wait to find out "who dunnit" in tomorrow's final episode.

We understand Beau is not in renal failure but he is very sick. You can catch updates on Beau on the Cat Blogosphere. One is forthcoming when mom Cathy gets some much-needed rest before Beau needs to rush his extremely stressed mom to the human ER.

There is an update on both Pepper and Tucker. Photos and a video will be posted later today.

And there is a short update on Miles and Billy Sweet Feets.

That's all we can remember at this moment, but as usual we're sure we'll remember lots of things we should have added after we click "publish."

PS - (Didn't we tell you we'd think of something after we published?)

Daisy can use your help too.

Purrs and Prayers

These are the kitties we know of at this moment that are on the sick list, needing lots of purrs and prayers. We aren't aware of any sick doggies at the moment or we would include them too. Too many have left for the bridge lately. We are hopeful each of these will be okay.


Beau's UnitedCats page
Beau is evidently seriously ill. The worst case scenario, he is in renal failure. Best case, he has a severe UTI and should respond to fluids. He will go back to the vets tomorrow.

Tucker & Pepper of Whimpurr's Whim.

Tucker has come home from the vet's but Pepper has taken his place. He might have cardiomyopathy. His chest was full of fluid.



Moki's blog
Moki's temp is still below normal, though the UTI is gone and the URI is better.

Miles (& Billy Sweet Feets is ill too)
Miles will spend the day at the vet's on Thursday for some tests.

PS -- We're sorry we forgot to include this yesteday, but if you haven't stopped by Forty Paws the last couple of days, you might want to drop by. They lost Grey yesterday.

Don't Miss CCSI IV

None of us are in the latest CCSI production, but Percy was in CCSI II and Cameron in CCSI III. The work was hard but they had a ball and they made a lot of friends among the cast and crew. So we would like to give this new one a short plug to help promote the new show.

Most of you visiting us are already looking forward to the next 3 days, but for any of you who haven't yet heard or have forgotten --

CCSI IV, The Momomo Caper, will run December 15, 16 & 17. We hope you already have it marked on your calendars. The place to view the show tomorrow through Wednesday is Sassy's.

We're looking forward to it and we hope to see you all there!

Our Hero

As many of you know, we have been offline much of the last 3 weeks. But we are almost back.

And we want to thank the human mainly responsible for that. Our friend, Mr Doug (Jan's brother). He ordered a new hard drive and (whatever) , then he took her computer home with him last Thursday evening. He brought it back late this afternoon and -- Oh, dear, we're getting just like Jan. We've got leaky eyes over this too.

If you remember, the second hard drive died, taking all her photos of us (and everyone else) with it, along with all her stories. Well, they're back. Mr Doug painstakingly retrieved them and they are on the new hard drive.

He had to do a lot of work, reloading some of her programs and loading some new ones to do the job. We know he didn't have everything he needed to work with, but he's good at improvising, and we want to let him know we really appreciate all his effort. Because we know he put a lot of hours into this.

He's not done yet. We still don't have a CD/DVD drive, for example. And it will take Jan a while to reorganize --- but we think we're almost back. (Jan is still in shock that her photos were recovered!)

Buddy: I don't know why you're all so surprised. Mr Doug has always been my hero. He saved my life when I was a little puppy!

Thank you, Mr Doug!
From all of us at JFF -
Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam -- and Jan, of course

On the sad side, though, we learned this morning that in addition to losing our friends Skeeter and Cloud Chaser yesterday, Kelly and River's sister Sasha have also left for the bridge. There are a lot of tears among bloggers today.

Purry Logic Winners

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you on the book drawing, but .... Well, you really don't want to know. Let's just say Jan claims she never wants to ride a roller coaster again! We can't figure out when she had time to ride one lately -- or where -- but Jan says strange things every once in a while. So, if she thinks she has been having fun on carnival rides in the rain in December, who are we to contradict her? (She shops for our food, remember.)

It's such a dreary day we all napped while she wrote down the names of those who left comments on the Purry Logic book post and then cut them out for us. It's so nice having a servant to do the hard part.

And then Crystal insisted he get to choose the first one since he's the oldest. So we let him.

And then before we could decide who would draw the next name, Sam grabbed a strip of paper and threatened to eat it if we didn't let him choose the second name, since he is the youngest.

So -- no, Percy, we don't need a drumroll. Stop beating on the -- Never mind!

Sassy and Island Cats, if you'll each email us your snail mail address, we'll send you a copy of the book Purry Logic. jansfunnyfarm AT gmail DOT com.

UPDATE: The Island Cats emailed that they have already won a copy of the book and we can draw another winner. We did and Khyra won. We emailed her and in her usual humorous way, she accepted. So congratulations, Khyra and Sassy! And thank you, Wally, Ernie & Zoey.

Also a big thank you to Susan for the two copies to share with other bloggers!

We are still computerless, but we were -- um, Jan was loaned an old laptop for a few days, so even though it is slower than Jan, we are really glad to be able to finally post the winning names.

Now, if you will excuse us, it's nap time again. We don't want to waste a perfectly good rain day.

Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam

PS - We are very sad to lose Skeeter and Cloud Chaser today. Each had to be helped to the bridge. We hope you will take a moment to leave a message for their families.

Purry Logic

We thought it would be fun to read Jane Seabrook's book Purry Logic and review it. What we didn't expect was that it would arrive just as Jan's computer bombed out and we were left computerless.

Jan has been able to use a neighbor's computer to send shelter photos and post them to UpsonPets.com. But we don't get to go with her so we haven't been able to visit any of you, although we have insisted Jan do a fast check on Momo, Moki and Beau when she could since they were all very sick and we have worried about them. We also try to get her to check the Cat Blogosphere when she is on. We wish she could read the stories and comment on them for us.

Today Percy is writing this book review -- pen in paw (keyboards are so much easier for him to use)-- for us kitties so Jan can post for us.

Purry Logic made us smile, despite being discouraged over not having a computer. It is a delightful collection of purry thoughts that all of us JFF kitties applaud. Cats have been captured to a T!

And the illustrations are adorable. Jane is a very talented artist.

This book could be given as a Christmas present to any cat lover or used as an educational tool for folks who believe cats are mysterious but empty-headed.

We have one copy of the book to give away and if we can find Jane's email address (left a web mail message for her today) to let her know we are reviewing her book, we'll have a second copy to give away. So if you would like a copy of this book, just leave a comment on this post. After a few days, Jan will retrieve your names for us and we will pick a winner. (2 winners if we can contact the author.)

We apologize for disappearing and continue to hope we will be back soon. We miss you all. Don't forget us.

Dr. Tweety, did the Fab 5 eat all the turkey or is there some left? And Sassy had some leftovers too but we can't get there either. Despite the computer - or lack of one - there was still much to be thankful for and we all had a nice Thanksgiving. We hope you did too.

JFF kitties -- Crystal, Cotton, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron & Rusty

PS -- And don't forget us. We helped Percy write this too.
JFF woofies -- Buddy, Merci & Sam

Happy Thanksgiving

This is Jan. The Funny Farm is at home and I'm using a neighbor's computer. But they wanted to say hello so you don't forget us while our computer is down. In case we don't have another opportunity, we want to wish all of you a

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you all be blessed with family, friends and lots to be thankful for. Ham for the Meezers and turkey and whatever you like the most for the rest of you.

I don't have access to my address book - and if the worst happens, I won't even have an address book - so any of you who will, please send an email to JFF in case we need to start collecting addresses from scratch. jansfunnyfarm AT gmail DOT com. You know how to squish everything together.

The kitties are purring for Moki, Beau and Momo and the woofies are whining for them to get well! Be safe and happy -- all of you.

Jan for JFF

Sorry, We'll be back ASAP

A quick message to let everyone know Jan's computer is down. One drive died, taking all her pictures and stories -- and the backup to the main drive. Either the other drive is about to die too or the motherboard or .... is going. Her brother will help her as soon as he can. How long we will be gone will depend on what it is and what he needs to do.

We did read the updates on Moki and Momo and we are purring and wagging tails like crazy for both of them. Please keep us in the loop too. We won't be able to visit blogs but we will try to read email when we can, even if we can't reply.

Don't forget us. We will return. Soon, we hope!

Cotton's Meme

Hi, This is Cotton. I have never done a post on my own, but Pearl over at PB&J picked some of her Tough A*S Tortie (TATA) sisters for the 8 Random Things Meme. So, I'm going to take a deep breath and pretend all my siblings are sitting here helping me write this.

Merci: Psssst, Cotton, we are sitting here helping you write this. Or at least we're sitting here for moral support.

The rules are:

- Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
- People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
- At the end of your blogpost, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their name.
- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

Okay, I'll try.
1) Since Jenny died, I am the matriarch of this feline-canine family. In case that sounds fancy, it just means I'm the oldest and bossiest!

2) I like to be up high. So in winter, Jan puts my warm bed on top of the fridge. I don't mind if one of the other kitties naps in it while I'm elsewhere, but if he -- Yes, he! Cyndi isn't into high places. But if he doesn't move when I return, I whap him up beside the head a few times and he moves.

3) Sometimes I like to sleep in Jan's closet. It's dark and warm in there and it smells like Jan's shoes. Well, it does, Percy! She has her shoes hanging on the door.

4) When Jan is washing the dishes, I like to stand on the washing machine and rub against her arm. I almost fell in the sink a couple of times when she moved her arm suddenly, though.

5) And I like to cuddle with her when she's on the computer. Course you can't see her here. She's typing. I'm keeping her desk warm.


6) I don't like to sleep on the big bed. It gets too crowded and Buddy grumbles if I step on him.

7) I don't like to be brushed except very gently and for a short time.

8) I'm glad Auntie Deb invited me to join TATA, but then she got sick and the club has been on hold. I wish I could go visit Auntie Deb but she is too far away and she can't navigate the stairs to the computer room so I can't email her. I think I'll call her. Does anyone know her number? Yes, Cameron, I know she's #1 with all of us. But that's not her phone number. But don't worry, Auntie Deb, I'll find you.

I have to pass it on to 8. If any of you have already done this one, don't worry about it.

Halloween, Khyra, JB, Milo, Dave of the Ao4, Angus Mohr, Chef & River

Computer Problems

If we disappear for a while, it's because the computer is acting up. Yesterday and today it won't start.

Regular post is below.

Buddy's Day After

Hey, guys, this is Buddy with an update on my birthday yesterday. You remember it, the one where I didn't get a party. Or presents. Well, at least Jan didn't forget mine, like she did other birthdays this year. She just didn't buy any food so I could have any friends over.

So, we were right in the middle of helping Cotton prepare a different post for today when Jan got a phone call and took off in a hurry. We decided to finish the post later and see what mischief we could get into while she was gone. We looked around to see if she'd hidden any treats we could "borrow." Nope. Either she hasn't bought us any lately or she's eaten them herself.

And then the packages arrived. I should have guessed we could count on Sassy and her friends to put some life into my birthday.

Wow! Sassy and the CCSI executives took the time to make me a card, even though they're right in the middle of preparing CCSI IV.

I can sniff food through anything. I nearly passed out from the heavenly aroma wafting from this basket. Mmmmm. Yum.


Sassy's right. This is definitely something I can use around here! Jan is extremely hard to train. Short memory, for one thing, and short attention span, for another.


And my favorite of the evening? This "giant bottle of drinkie stuff left over from one of Karl's parties." That's okay, Sassy. Whatever it is -- whatever it was, it was good. I did share it with my siblings.


And as you can see, we ended the evening with a long nap.

Thank you Sassy!

Buddy Is 4

We just wanted to let you know Buddy turns 4 today. Or tomorrow. Or whenever. This is as close as Jan could estimate his birth date.

Her brother found Buddy inside his fenced yard one very cold mid-December morning. Buddy was only 3 or 4 weeks old at the time. When Jan saw him, she scooped him up and brought him home until he was old enough to return to her brother. But she grew attached to him and he's still here. (Don't worry. She did find an older puppy that someone had abandoned for her brother.)

We're not having a party, but we do want to recognize the most vocal character among us on his day. When Zoolatry made our banner, she really captured his personality. When all are marching right, Buddy is veering left.

We poke fun at him sometimes but we love him. He is the heart of JFF, the inspiration for this journal.

Cotton ** begins singing**
Happy birthday to you,
**rest of JFF joins in**
Happy birthday to...

Percy: Wait a minute. Hold the singing. Where's Buddy?

Merci: He was here a minute ago. Did anyone see where he went?

Cameron: Wait, I think I hear him.

Buddy: Zzzzzz, snort, zzzzzzzz, snuff, snuff, zzzzzzz...



Happy Birthday, Buddy!
from Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam

Shelter Gas Chamber

If you have not read Thoughts Fur Paws' update on the shelter gas chamber being built in Utah, please click on the link to read the post.

And then, please contact the shelter director and the mayor and ..... TFP can send you a copy of a letter which contains all the contact information, which you can just copy and paste into your own messages. We have a copy, so you contact us for one if you prefer. The important thing is to make your voice heard before it is too late.

Death by gas is not humane! Neither is an abdominal injection! Included in TFP's update is a statement by the mayor after viewing several euthanizations.

There are groups in discussions with local officials there. They need our support. It doesn't matter whether you live in the US. You can still voice an opinion. Well, you can't, since humans don't listen to animals. But your humans can express an opinion. The more who protest the better. But keep it polite. Angry responses are likely to be ignored and just cause tempers to flare and it is the animals who would pay the price for it.

JFF -- Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam

Please scroll down for our regular posts.

Carrol & Cards

Carrol Crocker has 20 dogs remaining. These dogs are in critical need of adoption, foster or rescue. Keep spreading the word. And keep checking the Green Acres site for updates. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see photos of those that remain, as well as those that have been rescued.

We have noticed that a number of you have posted information on your blogs for a Christmas card exchange. We like all of you and thought about signing up since we like all of you. But Jan sat us down and gave us "the talk." No, not that one, the one about finances.

She said we can either exchange cards with bloggers or we can send a few cards to those friends and strangers we can't contact by phone or email/internet. But we can't do both. We thought of folks like Judi who is basically bedridden and lives way out in the Kansas country. Humans like her definitely must get a card! And we want to participate in sending cards to our military overseas.

Speaking of the military, Zoolatry made this lovely graphic for bloggers to post. But before you send a card to the address listed, be sure to click on the link -- Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes site -- because there are very specific rules for sending cards and if they are not followed, your cards will not reach any military person.

Buddy's Missing Kidneys

Chance is about to lose his hoohas and when we stopped by to help him feel better about it, we got into a heated discussion. So, we'd like to share this with you and see who wins the arg -- um, discussion.

Buddy: Don't worry, Chance. I survived when my kidneys were farmed.

Merci: Buddy, how many times must I remind you the correct word is harvested. Your kidneys were harvested.

Cotton: Can't you woofies ever get it right? His kidneys weren't involved.

Buddy: Yes, they were. They're missing. See, I'll show you.

Cyndi: Buddy, don't you dare show any ladies where your, um....

Percy: Hoohas.

Cyndi: Hoohas? Go ahead, Buddy, show everyone where your kidneys used to be.

Buddy: No, I'm not going to show you anything now. My kidneys were stolen and I want them back!

Crystal: You're all scaring Chance. We're supposed to be making him feel better about losing his hoohas.

Buddy: No, not his hoohas. His kidneys! You can read Buddy is Farmed here. And then please tell my siblings they're wrong! Our kidneys are very important to us and we don't want them stolen. So, run, Chance, run!

26 Dogs to Go

This is just a quick post to point you to Carrolyn Crocker's Green Acres Sanctuary and to Heather's Hope4Dogs. You can help! You can email rescues. You can help search for Gloria. You can keep passing on the message.



And don't forget little Moki who is still fighting for his life.

Home 4 the Holidays

We're a little late posting about the Iams 2008 Home 4 the Holidays shelter adoption program, (big surprise, right!) but you know how close to our hearts this subject hits. Rusty and Merci came from the same shelter where Jan takes photos of shelter animals for newspaper exposure.

Unfortunately, more of these animals are euthanized than adopted. There are just not enough homes for all of the animals that, one way or another, end up at the shelter.

Everyone has a different way of posting the same story. There are facts, videos and photos available, so we would like to make our post a bit more personal.

This is one of several photos taken July 19, 2003 by another member of the Humane Society, who suggested this would be a good dog for Jan to adopt. She was right. Merci was a very good choice!


This is Merci today.


Jan saw this photo of Rusty in the paper and when she read he was declawed, she knew he would be a perfect pet to keep her mother company after her dogs died. She passed away less than a year later and Rusty moved in with us.


This is Rusty today. He is a huge ball of fluff with feet nearly as big as a dog's.


This is one of the shelter cats Jan photographed Monday. He is a handsome dude and very sweet. He would probably make a good mouser and lap warmer.


Each week, Jan photographs three dogs and two cats for the newspaper ads. When she went in Monday, she learned there weren't three dogs in the shelter. They had all been euthanized because of Parvo -- except this Border Collie mix.


It's really sad when all the dogs or cats are killed because of something contagious. The longer an animal remains in a shelter, the more likely it is to be exposed to something that could kill it.

So we are pleased that Iams is again partnering with a large number of shelters in Home 4 the Holidays.


2008 shelter program Spokesperson Felicity Huffman, her shelter dog Tucker and an unidentified cat.

Starting with only 14 partner shelters in 1999, Iams Home 4 the Holidays has grown to nearly 3,000 partner shelters in 15 countries around the world, and has helped place more than 2 million pets into homes.

The goal this year is to place at least 1 million pets in loving and happy homes over this holiday season -- Oct. 1, 2008 through Jan. 5, 2009. Every cat, dog, puppy or kitten that is adopted during Iams Home 4 the Holidays will go home with an Iams Adoption Starter Kit that contains food samples, coupons and important tips and information about pet care, behavior, training and nutrition.

We hope they reach their goal!

JFF: Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam --- and Jan

PS -- Alasandra made a good point in the comment she left. It is important the animals be adopted from shelters. But we also need to consider those who need help to keep the ones they have. Times are tough for a lot of folks who would never have thought of giving up their pets to a shelter.

My Printer Doesn't Work

First, we would like to remind everyone to not forget Carrol Crocker's Green Acres Sanctuary dogs. There are 27 dogs still in desperate need of a home or rescue. They are in imminent danger of being seized and killed. Information and photos can be found here.

Our friend Evelyn sent us a link to a neat video. We think this must be one of those aha moments, when the human exclaimed, "So this is why my printer doesn't work!"




If the video above doesn't play for you, you can watch it here.

Oh, and stop by Thoughts Fur Paws and see if you can help email about the proposed gas chamber in a new animal shelter.

Veterans Day 2008

We decided we would give our vets a personal salute today but use photos instead of words. So we borrowed a few photos Jan took this morning at the local Veterans Day Ceremony at the courthouse square. There was a band and a large group of cadets in the street behind those in attendance, but, unfortunately, even though Jan was standing on a hill, the tops of their heads could barely be seen behind the crowd. (So we didn't include those photos.)









"Amazing Grace" played on the bagpipes.


The bugler plays "Taps."


The sign reads: For those who served. We honor our troops.


Happy Remembrance Day to all our friends in Canada, the UK and Australia!

A hearty thank you to all the veterans who now serve or have served their country, from JFF - Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam -- and Jan!

And on a sad note, late last night we learned our favorite hamster GirlGirl has died. We will miss her.

Graphic by Opus