You'll Meet Me In The Light

I really don't even know what to say. Where does one begin to capture the feelings when a beloved pet passes? It is hard enough when it is one, but in the last fifteen months in our house we have lost, not one, not two, but three of our senior dogs to Rainbow Bridge. That is a lot for a heart to handle. 

In March of 2020 Pepe; our eighteen year plus old rescue Tibetan Spaniel went to the bridge. Many who read this blog already knew that, if not (see Pepe blog here). He was rescued at the age of ten plus and lived with us for eight years. He was a special dog who had many issues, and taught us so many things. Most importantly, he taught us that love can conquer almost any amount of abuse and neglect. 

Then unexpectedly in May of this year our rescue Japanese Chin Yuki went to the bridge. We knew he had some health issues and we were treating them, however his airway disease got really bad, he also had CFH, he was struggling and went downhill very quickly. So again, we had to handle a terrible loss. In Yuki's case it was really sad for us, because he did not have a good life before he came to us. He was a little over ten when we rescued him, and we were his third family (that we know of). His last people smoked and that did not help his lung issues. He lived the good life here with us and it was like he had always been here. He fit in so well immediately, and he was such a light in our home. He always did "Chin Spins", he was so happy. I loved that little dog to the moon and back. I still remember going to get him from the Bronx. He was looking out the window, I have an image burned in my brain of him leaving that life and starting fresh in the country, in a home and a yard with grass. An end to apartment and city living, and off to a place where he could enjoy his golden years. I still remember him in the carriage at Petco getting his new name tag, and he was so happy. Which is why we named him Yuki, because it means "happiness" in Japanese. Little did we know it would only last two and a half years. Anyone who has had a Japanese Chin knows they are very special little dogs, like love with legs. I will forever miss that amazing creature.

 

That brings me to the third and probably hardest loss to date, my Punkin Pie. Unlike our other dogs, Punkin Pie was not a rescue. We got her as a puppy and she lived with us her entire life. Which makes me happy that unlike so many other dogs in the world, she lived in the same house her entire life, had the same people, and never had to endure the trauma of being rehomed or in a shelter. 

 

Happy for that yes, but sad that I will not have that little face looking at me every day. She had such a personality from day one. She was the most photogenic dog I ever knew, and it was literally like she enjoyed being dressed up in silly costumes for Halloween and Christmas and any other time we felt like as she would say "exploiting her all over the inter web".

 

In fact she had so much personality that we literally had conversations with her, and as many who read the blog or follow me on Instagram or Facebook saw that personality in her Caturday videos. It all started when she was little because she was so animated that she would sit there looking at you like she understood what you were saying, and then would respond with her stomping her little paws on the ground to get what she wanted or her vocally demanding her way (which she of course always got). 

 

Most of her videos are loaded to my Facebook page or to my Instagram. I will admit I have not been good about loading to YouTube. She has a playlist on my YouTube channel, and I am slowly uploading as I have time. There are however, many older videos of her there from when she was younger, like the "Halloween Atrocity" parts, one, two and three... where she explains the horror of having her parents dress her and her fur siblings up in costumes. 

 

Looking back now, I am so glad we did this, as it is a way to get to see her face and remember the good times we had with her. (See Punkin's YouTube playlist here). I changed the title of the playlist to "Conversations With My Furkids", as her little fur sibling Lulu is going to try to carry on her legacy and continue with the videos with the wisdom imparted to her by Punkin Pie.

 

Anyone who has cared for an ailing senior pet with multiple serious medical conditions requiring literal round the clock care can tell you that when that pet is gone, there is a terrible hole. Going from every minute of every day making sure all of their needs are met, medical, physical, etc., to them "not being there" is really quite an adjustment. I am lucky as I still have two other dogs, and four cats, so the house is not totally empty. It is not the same though, and it never will be. Time will help, I suppose.

 

One thing I do know, is that there will never be a another dog like Punkin Pie. There are so many funny stories I could tell about that little character, but that would not be a blog, it would be a book. Truth be told, she really did not mind the cats at all. Except that one time when Jaxson our first cat had been here a few months... she walked into the office and one side of her face was totally puffed up. It looked like all of the sudden her face doubled in size on one side. We rushed her to the emergency vet, and lo and behold... they found a little poke hole under her fur. She had an allergic reaction to the cat poke. So apparently there is truth to what she always said, "cats have poison fingertips".

 

When she was little, she liked to eat baby carrots. We used to give them as treats until we discovered that she like to swallow everything whole... one time she was out in the yard as a little girl and she was struggling to do her business. My husband was with her and watching her, and she was looking at him like she needed help. There she is, she's trying to do her business, and a little carrot end keeps popping out, and then going back in, then out, then in, and to hear him tell it, I die laughing. Anyway, after watching her do this for some many minutes and clearly she couldn't get it out, the next time it popped out he reached down and yanked it. She ran away from it, and then looked up at him and barked as it if it were a "thank you daddy". From that moment on, she always ran away from her poops. It was really funny. For all of those years she never forgot it.

 

Then there was the time she choked on a tiny piece of an apple, and ended up in the emergency vet for two days. So many memories, and so much of our lives spent with her. It is hard to imagine we will not have her around anymore, or singing her theme song to her all the time. Each of the furkids have their own theme song, and much to Punkin's destain, yes even the cats. 

What I do know is that she is now in Heaven with Jesus, and with all of her fur siblings who went before her. She is reunited with her original pack, Pookie, Bobo, and Itty Bitty. She is also reunited with all the foster failure dogs we took in that also went before her, that she never minded sharing her momma and daddy with; Pepe, Yuki, and Gracie. She can run and play, and breathe easy, free from the terrible awful disease of Collapsing Trachea, and Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome and all of the debilitating medical hardships that come with it. She can breathe easy and rest until that one day when we will meet her in the light. 

 

Hug your furkids and cherish them while you have them, because one day God will want them back. When it is time, remember to please "Don't Shop Adopt", there are so many animals who need a second chance. Dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, nearly every breed there is. Simply visit petfinder.com and you can find practically any one of God's little creatures your heart desires. 

 

Blessings ~

Ava xo

www.avaaston.com 

 

 

Second Chance

With so much going on in my life between working on new music, acting and being a dog mom and cat mom to multiple beings, there has not been much time to tend to this blog. Like so many people life has been moving so fast, and we all have become accustomed to cramming way too many things into a day. That is until a few weeks ago. When all of us came to a sudden and screeching halt.

Suddenly instead of having no time, we all have too much time on our hands. What to do, what to do? Well, with so much uncertainty in the world today I think we could all use a little hope right about now.

So I thought it would be nice to share a story about second chances. (WARNING: LONG BLOG POST) Hey, but it's a true story and aren't all true stories long? Anyone that has followed this blog over the years knows lots of things about me, one of the most important is that I love animals. I can't say what I think should happen to stupid humans who hurt them because if I do someone will surely show up at my door to lock me up.

My social media has been flooded with pics and videos of my furkids both K9 and feline over the years, especially of my beloved Pepe. I have blogged about his story before when we first saved him from the NYCACC.

The short version is, he was on the euthanasia list because he was slapped with the label "New Hope Only". This is a title given to dogs who do not pass their shelter behavior evaluation for whatever reason. They must be pulled by a "New Hope" approved rescue in order to make it out of the shelter alive. In Pepe's case a rescue we have adopted from asked us to foster him. Not knowing his actual situation we agreed. We drove to the NYCACC and busted him out of the clink on October 3rd, 2012.  

 Had I known what would follow, I cannot honestly say that I would have agreed originally. He had so many problems. He had been abused and was a fear biter, he hid, he attacked our other dogs, didn't allow grooming, the list was long. However I made a decision early in that this dog, this little creature had clearly been failed by humans for his entire life (he was at least ten when we rescued him) that I was not going to be that person who let him down again. So after convincing the Mr. we made it official and adopted him.  

It was an eventful first few years to say the least, but finally he realized he was safe, that we were his people, and that he was finally safe. We showered him with everything he should have had all of his life. We took him on trips, hiking, carried him around in a bag, and as much as he didn't like it, even dressed him up for holidays like Halloween and Christmas. He went on car rides which he loved, he took selfies, had girlfriends at the vets office, he even learned to be friends with his new cat siblings. He was popular for sure, everywhere we went people would almost squeal with happiness asking "What is that, what kind of dog is that, OMG that face!", heck chewy.com even had his mug painted, not once but three times.


                   

Yes we loved that little dog to the moon and back. So much so that as his little body began to fail him at the ripe old age of what must have been at least eighteen I was not able to bear the thought of losing him. So I did everything humanly possible to keep him around a little longer.

I cooked him meals, gave him every supplement known to man, and took him for weekly shots of adaquan for his arthritis. There were steroid shots, Vitamin B12 shots, and even rimadyl. In the end it was dementia that finally caused me to make the decision to set him free to fly with the angels. I've lost dogs to rainbow bridge before but this one really gutted me. I was in a depression funk especially with all of the corona homebound lockdown going on.

                  

Here is where a little magic happened. An ending that turned into a second, second chance. Courtesy I believe of my little Pepe monkey and the man upstairs.

The following is a post I made to Facebook in a Tibetan Spaniel group I belong to. It's a space where we "Tibbie" lovers share pics, videos, love and support for the ancient breed of dog we all love so much. (See Post below)
____________________

Tibbie friends. 💜Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement about setting my beloved Pepe monkey 🌈free to fly with the Angels this week. Your words really helped. I read every comment and they all touched my heart.

I apologize for this long post. I hope you all don’t judge me for this as I’m still judging myself. However Thursday when I woke up something happened and I couldn’t help but feel it was a gift 🎁 from my boy.

Most of you know Pepe had a very hard life before we rescued him from the euth. list at NYCACC. He was unadoptable, a terrible biter and had lots of issues. After years of love he finally realized he was safe and turned into a mush. With the occasional Hannibal 😉if you tried to do something he didn’t want you to like clean his ears or trim his Tibbie feet 🦶🙈🤣

Anyway I always said I wonder how he could have been had he not been abused and we could have had him from a baby. Well the universe, God, and my boy I feel heard me.

I woke up Thursday checked the notifications of facebook of my post from Wednesday about him. Still half asleep I saw a new post with a black Tibbie. Didn’t think anything of it just another person sharing their furbaby.

When I focused my eyes I saw he was being rehomed. I thought, huh... black Tibbie being rehomed. Odd. Then one of you tagged me, I looked at the post again and saw it was mentioned he was in NY. I thought hmmm that’s odd, two year old black Tibbie being rehomed in NY... so I texted the number. Called. Turns out he was like forty five minutes from me. Not in NYC, rather the Hudson Valley where we live.

I mentioned to my husband who was like “sure let’s go see him”. I almost fell over because he never wants to rescue dogs or cats, it’s always me. Lol

The woman was in hurry to rehome him. So we went Thursday night. Still in shock really as the loss of Pepe very numbing. ESP since he was pretty much hospice (blind/mobility) for more than a year.
I wanted to wait and think about it as we do have three other dogs, are watching my moms shitzu and three cats. As well as I’m grieving my Pepe. However if I didn’t decide right there she was going to give him to the next person who paid her the next day. Really.

Sparing you the details of what we discovered as it wasn’t quite as tidy a situation as her post laid out. My husband decided for me this time, he scooped him up and said "pay her let’s go".

He is decompressing in our finished basement as he is not neutered yet and with corona I can’t get it done til April 13th. 🙏🏻 Praying our governor reopens things soon!

He’s been a complete angel. Other than being starved for attention - having bunch of matts that I’m still cutting out - we all walked together and I think my Japanese Chin Yuki and him will be play buddies.

Here is where I need your help. He has no idea what his name is. They said it was Nimble. He does not answer to it.

So please don’t judge me for getting another Tibbie so soon. I never in a million years would I have guessed I’d have another this fast. He will never replace my Pepe. But his birthday is 2/3/18. My wedding anniversary is February third.

I can’t help but feel my boy knew of this boys plight and sent me to give him the life Pepe didn’t have (for the first part anyhow). Too many coincidences for it to just be chance.So I’ve taken the gift from my Pepe and will pass the love forward. My motto has always been - “rescue one until there is none.”
I need your help... he needs a name: he reminds me of a bear. Pepe had a monkey face. 🐵
This guy he reminds me of a bear. 🐻

           
Names.... now GO:
____________________

I'll wrap this happy ending in a message. Please #dontshopadopt! There are millions of Pepe's out there waiting for a second chance. Contact the local shelter, now more than ever animals need help to make it out alive.

In the end something good will almost always come from something bad. Whether it's a shelter dog who seems to be turning life upside down, or a pandemic that has stopped what seems like the entire world.

Even though we might not see it at the time. Light will always overtake dark, and in the end love will alway win. So even though it might look dark right now, hold onto hope because all of us will soon experience a second chance. The sun will indeed shine again in all of our lives.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Christmas Dogs

Not sure how it happened but it's that time again. Seems like 2017 just flew by. I know people always say that at the end of a year, but this year went by really fast (for me it did anyway). This year was not a great year in the Aston house as we lost two of our furkids to rainbow bridge. Don't know what "Rainbow Bridge" is, click here.

First it was my little Bobo-Liscious a Pekingese rescue we adopted back in 2005. Then just a few weeks ago my little fifteen year old Pekingese Pook-alina that we had since she was a baby went to the bridge too. She went literally days after we had taken this years Christmas photo. Makes this year especially hard.

In our house one of the most fun parts of the Holiday Season is dressing our dogs up in costumes. I know we're not alone in our love of seeing our furkids dressed up in silly costumes, all anyone has to do is pop on instagram for a few minutes and you'll see boatloads of pets dressed up for the Holidays.

In the last five years our little pack has changed a bit, but I thought it would be fun to share some photos of our little Christmas Dogs through the years. In the spirit of remembering the good times, without further ado here are our Christmas Dogs through the years:

2017 Christmas Dogs

2016 Christmas Dogs

2015 Christmas Dogs

2014 Christmas Dogs

2013 Christmas Dogs

2012 Christmas Dogs 

2011 Christmas Dogs

2010 Christmas Dogs

2009 Christmas Dogs with their People ;o)

2008 Christmas Dogs

So that's a little look down memory lane of my furkids in Christmas Costumes. Hope the cute added a little happy to your day. Like our pets, our people are not always going to be here. So during this special time of year remember to cherish every minute with the ones you love because they won't always be here with us. 

Wishing you and yours a beautiful blessed Holiday. 

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

HGTV Anonymous

Silence is Golden… I was shocked at first, I couldn’t believe that for the first time the entire award show season that there was going to be an award show without any nasty jokes made about Trump. That was until about three and a-half minutes into it when they started, and sadly it never ended.

To be honest, I did not watch the entire show. I did however flip back and fourth several times to see what was going on. Hey, I'm an actor and being that the Oscars used to be the equivalent of what the Superbowl is to football… it is only natural to want to see what films and performances take the top honors. (BTW Hacksaw Ridge was robbed!)

I say, “used to be” because over the past several years Hollywood or shall I say Hollyweird seems to have forgotten that they are supposed to be in the business of entertainment and not politics. 

It's just not as fun as it used to be to keep up with it all. Honestly the only things we watch in our house are HGTV, Animal Planet, and sometimes Fox News. Most of the time I have Classical or CCM Music on the Music Choice channel going on the TV in the background. Why? Because Classical Music makes you smart, and in my opinion it is just more fun to watch than a bunch of junk set to program my noggin with boatloads of gobbledygook.

This my friends is how it all started… My decision to tune out the junk, and tune into other things. I’m seriously starting to wonder if I need to check myself into “HGTV Anonymous”. You see I wanted a new bedroom suit. I had fallen in love with a set at Restoration Hardware called the St. James collection in antique white. The catch, I didn’t particularly care for the almost six thousand dollar price tag it came with. Ov vey!

So I did what any thrifty person in this situation would do. You guessed it, I hit Craigslist. After a few weeks I found a set just a few miles away from our house. It was perfect! Solid wood, unlike most of the furniture on the market today, which is, manufactured wood and pressed board. I made an appointment to see it, got the Mr. and boom we were off. It was just as perfect in person as in the ad. So we made arrangements to pick it up the following day.

Then, it was off to the Home Depot for Chalk Paint. What is chalk paint you might wonder? It is a fantastic way to make furniture look antique. It can be used to do so many crafts and it looks amazing! There are lots of colors to choose from as well. The best part you don’t have to strip the previous finish. Just paint right over it, then do the topcoat.

It took about three weeks to get two coats on everything, and then let it dry and do the top coat matte clear. I found amazing knobs on lowes.com and viola’ our new bedroom set was complete.

However, after getting it into the bedroom and set up was when I started to notice every little knick and scratch on every bit of paint it seems in the entire house. Could it have something to do with watching too much, Flip or Flop, Love it or List it, or House Hunters? Probably…

I then told the Mr. we needed to finally finish painting the ceiling that we never finished a few years ago. Then it was the hallway, it was too dark and too tan, that we needed to brighten it up. Then it was the entryway by the front door. Now it has moved onto the woodwork. Yes all the white woodwork in the entire main level of the house “needs” to be painted.

So after several trips to Home Depot, Lowes (and to Dunkins for fuel to do the job) we have the house upside down and covered under plastic. Blue tape everywhere and I’m thinking that I might think twice before I tune into HGTV again… because after all this is how it all starts (no wonder I’m behind on getting my new music out).

Add to the chaos the fact that not only are my own four dogs and one cat in the house while this is going on, we are currently pet sitting my moms two dogs as well. This makes for a whole barrel of monkeys or shall I say fur babies who want to see what their fur and paws look like with paint on them.

Here are some signs you might be watching too much HGTV:

- The employees at Home Depot know you by name.

- The employees at Lowes know you by name.

- The employees at both stores know what projects you are working on.

- The employees at both stores ask to see photos of the finished projects. 

If this sounds familiar, it may be a good idea to reduce ones HGTV viewing. Oh who am I kidding? I’ll never stop watching and why should I? There’s nothing wrong with Spring-cleaning any time of the year. Hey it’s a surefire way to keep oneself from ending up like another TV show that no one in the world ever wants to find themselves on… hoarders. ;o) Happy HGTV-ing!

Blessings, Love & Music!
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Spirit Through the New Year

Holiday Furkids!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Here's to a Happy and Healthy New Year! The Aston furkids and I wanted to take time out to say we hope you and yours had an extra Happy Holidays, and we're wishing everyone a Blessed New Year!

I'm super excited about 2015! I just finished recording two brand new CCM Songs that will be released in the New Year with Music Videos to follow. In addition I'll also be working on the rest of my Contemporary Christian Music Album, along with an Inspirational 30-Day Devotional.

It's been a long time in the making. Sometimes en route to goals things just happen easy breezy. Other times on the road to success things can happen like on a greeting card my little sister sent me long ago to keep me inspired. I still have it to this day in a frame in my office. I read it often and it reminds me that no matter how long the road to keep moving. So onward I march...

Success is a Journey...

Recently my talented buddy Alfonzo Rachel! from PJTV & the band 20lb Sledge asked me to do a little spur of the moment rendition of Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts Gang classic “Christmas Time Is Here” with him. So here’s a happy song to add some merry to your holiday-ing.

Whether you have resolutions for the coming year or not... May you have a peaceful New Year and enjoy the spirit of Christmas not just now but each and every day. Like the song says: "Oh that we could always see such spirit through the year"...

Blessings, Love & Music ~

Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Sebastian

My Little Itty Bitty Baby

Last week I did not write a blog because on Sunday September 22, 2013 God brought my fur-baby Sebastian to Heaven.  He was better known as "Itty Bitty" and was 10 and a half years old.  He was a teeny tiny little thing only weighing about five pounds. He always reminded us of Tiny Tim from Scrooge.  He was the sweetest most gentle little dog.  He would melt the heart of anyone he met and was always the favorite no matter where we went.  To watch him bark at a stranger was almost comical knowing his stature was so small yet he had no idea how small he was and I don't think he cared really.  He was so brave he would even walk up to the newest member of  the Aston dog pack "Pepe" (who is more than three times his size) and take a bone right out of his mouth.... and "Pepe" would just sit there.

Itsy Bits after his grooming and showing off one of his favorite outfits.

Itty Bitty was born in upstate New York in April of 2003 and came into our family the end of that May.  I will never forget how he was already potty trained when we got him.  Shortly after taking him into our heart and home he became like a little Magellan of a world traveler.  Back then we were living in the Hudson Valley (where we live now) however moved to Los Angeles just a few weeks later.

Itty Bitty

I will never forget how we turned an armoire into a traveling doghouse that sat smack-dab in the middle of the two front seats of the Giant Penske Truck for him and his older sister Pookie (our now almost eleven year old Pekingese) to ride safely with a front row seat across the country.  He stopped off in Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon and even Las Vegas before we arrived in LA.  He and his big sister "Pookie" were expert travelers by the time we hit the West Coast, always having to play it safe and quiet as we snuck them both in and out of countless hotels and motels along the way.  Over the next few years he got to travel to Mississippi and Florida several times.  We even brought him to Florida all alone last year so he could be the Number One Dog for two weeks.  Two places he even lived that I forgot to mention were Nashville and Brooklyn.  However it wasn't until we moved back to the Hudson Valley again that he got to settle down to his final home.  Itty Bits loved it here.  He had a giant back yard, and he was trained to wait for us at the bottom of the steps when we were taking all five of the fur kids out so he could be carried up and down the stairs (as they were too steep for his tiny little body to manage).

Itty Bit's, the Halloween Punkin Dog.

Sadly, in the past few years he began having some medical issues and developed a heart murmur, a hernia and arthritis.  You would never know it by looking at him because he  always seemed to have a fire inside that kept him the center of attention.  Although the smallest of the bunch he had the biggest personality.  Every day he would dance for food and run to his little house so he could eat in it away from the rest of the pack.  He had his own wardrobe of shirts for all different occasions and seasons.  Some of his favorites were when we dressed him up for Halloween and Christmas.  He always had the most fun of all the dogs doing this.

First there were 4...

Then there was 5!

Itty was a one-of-a-kind dog and will forever be missed.  It was a shock to us when he began having severe symptoms that we learned to be Congestive Heart Failure.  He started with a little cough and I planned to take him to the vet.  Then Saturday night it got very bad.  His little heart turned real quick and he passed in our arms while in the ER room at the vet Sunday morning.  I would like to believe he hid his pain and and suffering from us to keep us from worrying for him.  He fought it all the way to the end before we held him as he went to the rainbow bridge.

"Itty Bitty" Sebastian, the Yum Yum Dittly Dee, little doggie is now at the Rainbow Bridge in Heaven.  He will always be remembered and always loved until we see him again.

The Rainbow Bridge

Sebastian

Itty Bitty

Itty Bits

Bittely Bits

Sa-bitty Bits

Dittely Dee

Itty Bitty

Bitty Bitty Baby, my little baby boy.  Your momma will always love you!

Blessings, Love & Music,
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Heat Wave

Looks like me after my workout ;o) lol

Is anyone surprised that I complained all winter about how I couldn't wait for summer to hurry up and get here so I could get back to nice long dates with my sneakers via my much loved runs outside, and now that it's finally here I'm complaining about how hot it is?  Well if you are you shouldn't be, HELLO I'm Greek people!  We invented drama along with the windex, politics, and believe it or not yes even - complaining.  What else would we do when we sit around a table for hours upon hours at all the diners we own if not complain? ;o)

Seriously though it's a scorcher and set to only get worse before it gets any better.  Time to batten down the hatches, draw the curtains, and hunker down with the air conditioning.  This goes for everyone including the fur-kids.  Speaking of fur-kids anyone in their right mind knows that you do not tie your dog out to a tree or a dog house, or bring your dog out to do errands or go shopping with you in extreme weather.   Further to never leave a dog in a hot car in the summertime, right?...  Wrong.  Yup I just ran into a brainchild who apparently didn't get that memo and this guy actually had the audacity to stand there and argue with me about it when I went into Schooling mode Greek Girl style.

Most everyone who knows anything about me (besides my music) knows this one thing, I Love Animals, dogs in particular!  I have five dogs (yes I said five 5 - I know, I know I'm a special kind of crazy) and I will not stand for animal abuse.  Part of how I ended up with five, two of them are rescues.  I have chased dogs down  all over the country from Los Angeles, to NYC and lots of places in between.  If an animal is in need, lost, hurt, whatever I'm on it.  I can't help it, I love them and can't stand to see them suffer, especially for things that are so preventable.  It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant people can be when it comes to the care of animals and how some can turn a blind eye when one needs human help.

Living in the Hudson Valley of New York State has some neat attractions and one of those is an outlet mall called Woodbury Commons not too far from where I reside.  So I'm sure it's no shock that I frequent it often, again the Greek genes take over.  Remember Greek is also another word for Thrifty ;D In other words if I can get it for less,  that's how I'm getting it.  So I was at Woodbury Commons over the weekend scoring lots of sale loot.  As was walking back to my car I saw in the car parked right next to mine a big old beagle in the back of a giant old station wagon.  The windows were rolled down, and he did have water, but that is irrelevant.  It was 99 Degrees outside.  About noon smack dab in the hottest part of the day, and this clown was walking around and about the outlet alone, then making trips back to the car to check on his dog.  Meanwhile the dog is sitting in the car panting, and basically cooking.

I waited about twenty minutes when I first spotted the dog for him to come back to the car and asked him about it.  He proceeded to tell me "well the windows are rolled down and he has water, mind your own business".  I then proceeded explain to him that in New York State there is a law against leaving animals in parked cars in extreme weather and then to hand him a "you could be cooking your dog card" that I carry in my glove box for just incase such an occasion ever occurs.  He was so angry he was getting grumpy and started to take it out on the dog.  So I did what any good Samaritan would do, yup I called security.

Well after fifteen more long hot minutes security finally arrived and I told them what I observed and they informed him of the law and took it from there.  After a bit more talking with the security officer he got in his car and left.  I was annoyed that they did not actually call the real police and site him with a ticket.  What upsets me even more is this dog is not the only one who will be sitting in a hot car while some yahoo for whatever reason is out galavanting.  Seriously... if you see a dog in a car in the hot weather, please do something.  It might take a few minutes out of your day, but you could be saving a life.  The life of an animal who can't speak for them self, who only wants one thing in life to be safe and loved.

Here's a link to some of the states with laws on the books about animals in parked cars: http://animallaw.info/articles/State%20Tables/tbusdogshotcars.htm   So heavens sake please keep your fur-kids inside, cool, safe and with plenty of water.  If not I'll have to send "Punkin" Aston out to find you and send you straight to jail without passing GO! ;)

Keep your fur-kids cool and safe or "Punkin" will come to lay down the law!

Blessings, Love & Music ~

Ava :D
www.avaaston.com 

True Story

This is what a Fur-kid in the midst of a nervous breakdown due to Thunderstorm looks like...

Did you know that some fur-kids turn into little gremlins during thunder storms? Neither did I.  And I thought I knew everything there was to know about fur-kids, being that I have five of them.  See when I was growing up my mom had a boarding kennel, as well as raising and showing Collies and Sheltland Sheepdogs (which looks like a Miniature Collie for anyone who doesn't know what one is).

Those who have been reading my blog a while may remember that back in the fall the Aston doggie clan grew by one when we rescued "Pepe" from the Harlem Kill shelter in NYC.  We were supposed to just be "fostering" him for the local Pekingese Rescue where one of my other fur-kids "BoBo" came from until he could find a forever home.  That was until we went there and jail-broke him from the shelter and I scooped him up in my arms. We saw how abused and scarred he was.  We could not let him go and decided to keep him.  No one in their right mind was going to put up with his biting, trust and other issues.  It wasn't his fault his previous owner was a moron and hurt him.  He needed someone patient to help him work through all his little quirks.  So WE meaning me decided the only way to keep him safe was to keep him.  Then I had to tell Mr. Aston "honey we're getting another dog".  Meanwhile who could blame him for thinking about how to put me in the trashcan along with all the five fur-kids.  Just kidding.

Since then it's been a long seven months, and at times we call even him "Pepe-Laden" if you get my drift... Most of the bad behaviors are gone, although he does slice and dice a finger or two when he's in the mood.  He has never bit me though, ever.  Just last week he even went after the neighbor because he does not like cigarettes and the neighbor was smoking while making sudden movements towards him.  Which is not the smartest thing to do especially since we told our neighbor about the situation multiple times.  "Pepe" had burns all over his little body on him when we got him, from the shape they were we suspect they was cigarette burns.

Anyhow little "Pepe" has made miraculous strides and most of the time he is a happy little mush who just wants to be loved and safe, play with his toys and sleep.  Well durning this rash of wacky weather, our area has been hit with some monster thunderstorms lately.  So picture this, I'm in my office one day doing some social media drinking a hot cup of happiness a la Dunkin's when "Pepe" decides he is going to hide from the rain and thunder noise on top of the shredder of all places.  I pull him off, once, twice, three, four... and on we went.  After about the tenth time he jumped off and decided it would be a good idea to chase me around the office biting at my feet.

I was wearing shorts and flip fops so I was rightly concerned he might actually get me, so much so that I had to plop a chair down in between us to stop him.  I then ran out of my office yelling like a little girl and shut the door.  I'm standing there on the other side of the door thinking to myself "Greek Girl what in the heck in the world are you doing?!?! - you're a grown adult and you're letting a little 14lb dog boss you around".  Meanwhile before I had ran out, "Punkin" was sitting there looking at this whole thing like "this is total Muckery".  BTW all the other four fur-kids were left on the other side of that door with "Pepe-Laden".

So I marched back in there and told him I was not having any of it... then I drugged him.  Yes - I did.  I gave him a "Composure" chew.  No not real drugs silly... I would never do that.  Composure is a natural supplement that contains the active ingredient Thiamine (Vitamin B1) and some other ingredients which promote "balanced behavior" in dogs.  As well as help to calm anxiety.  He was so unhinged I gave him a whole one, the dosage for a big dog.  Sure enough he "calmed down" and went to sleep until the storms passed.

Moral of the story... give "Pepe" a composure "before" storms come next time.  And that my friends is why Greek Girl is not afraid to drug her dog if she needs to.  Remember to get yourself some "Composure" in case your fur-kids get skitzo during a storm.  Hope you have a beautiful day!

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox
www.avaaston.com

The Reason For The Season

He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."

Christmas is only sixteen days away... Yikes!  Normally I love to decorate and usually start before December rolls around.  However thanks to an unusually large dose of muckery in the last year, Greek Girl has decided to go Grinch this year and not decorate.

I know what you're probably thinking, "whatchutalkingaboutwillis - not decorate for Christmas - that's sacrilege" well maybe not that exact phrase, but maybe something like it.  Well before you go imagining a mean old Greek Girl - it all started when my sweetheart and I were rear ended just over a year ago by an SUV who was going about 50+mph while we were stopped at a stop light (in a vw jetta I might add).  Wasn't fun as you can imagine, has resulted in multiple surgeries for my honey, and multiple herniated disks for both of us.  To make matters more interesting, just as we had started heading towards the upswing from the first accident, we were rear ended again in late March.  I did warn you there has been a whole lotta muckery going round the Aston house this year.  Did someone put a curse on me or something?... hmmm starting to wonder)

As if we didn't have enough going on, the Pekingese Rescue where we got our beloved "Bobo" from called in early October asking if we could foster a Pekingese needing to be jail broke as we call it from the Harlem Kill Shelter in NYC.  Ever since, Pepe-(laden) as we like to call him has been wreaking havoc around here.  He and BoBo act like they are UFC Fighters.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes you do see five dogs. Notice little Pepe' Laden dressed in the back as a "jail-bird".

Speaking of decorating, just as we were about to decorate our fur kids for Halloween, Hurricane Sandy decided she would have a party with Paul Bunyan in our yard along with practically everyone else's yard in our area.  Seriously it looks like they had a drunken brawl out back, and during the storm a giamungo tree fell onto our house and deck.  It left a hole in the roof, and the deck partially destroyed.  It was fun, no heat, no water (as we have a well) and five fur kids, two of which want to kill each other... lol

Needless to say there has been a lot of cleaning up to do.  I also have a tendency to let my HGTV genes takeover at times, and since we've been doing so much clean up, I have also painted, and rearranged, a bunch of rooms.  Add into the mix trying to keep up with auditions for acting and continue to work on my music the entire time.  Sometimes things just have to be pushed back, and you know what - that is OK.  With all of this I just decided that with only a few weeks left before Christmas it is silly to decorate this year.

Christmas Past with the Aston Doggies (pre Pepe' Laden)

I mean of course I will decorate the dogs and yes even little "Pepe- Laden" since he is still with us until he finds an approved foster home through the rescue, or he and Bobo decide they can get along and he stays with us forever.  Either way, Christmas is not about the Tree, or the decorations.  At the end of the day it is about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus.  Having your heart filed with the true miracle of Christmas and with the love of Jesus is what it's all about.

So call me Grinch if you like but hey, everyone needs to take time to rest and relax.  It sure has been one heck of a year or so for us here, but I know that God is in control.  With Jesus on my mind and in my heart, I know that the next year will be better than the last.

Blessings, Love & Music,
Ava :D xox
www.avaaston.com