Just The Way You Are

Beautiful and profound words if you think about it. No wonder they are included in the timeless, classic song by Billy Joel. I have debated whether or not to share this event as it is deeply personal and a pretty big deal for me. However, at the end of the day, my goal is to be a light and inspire people though my music and message. A large part of what I write about as an artist is my life, and life experience. After all, it is what this blog is all about, my music, my life, and my dreams… and how all of those things can touch people in some small way for the better. So, after living this experience, if I can stop one person from making the same mistake that I did a long time ago, I decided it was worth it to share my experience. So here it goes. 

I am having Breast Implant Removal Surgery tomorrow, better known as Breast Explant Surgery. What in the heck in the world you might be thinking… I know Breast Implants might not be a term that comes to mind when thinking about me, but yes, I did a dumb thing when I was younger. A very dumb thing by getting Saline Breast Implants, and I am about to undo that mistake. 

It all started when I got married way too young to the wrong person, and well instead of understanding that I was fine just the way that I was… I allowed myself to be pressured, bullied and brainwashed into thinking that I needed to change myself to be good enough. When the truth of the matter is that even after I did the breast implants, they did not change that person. Because it was never really about me or how “I” looked, it was a deeper issue with that person. If you’re guessing that we did not last, you guessed correct. Nothing in life is perfect, we all have to live and learn in order to grow and become the person we were meant to be, and in love it is the same. If we do not kiss some frogs, we will never find our Prince Charming. 

If I am honest about it, I never really wanted the implants in the first place. I have always been athletic, and loved to run, circuit train, lift weights, etc. They have always gotten in the way of that, as well as making me feel very self conscious. For years I have worn compression and sports bras at all times, to try to hide them or make them less noticeable. My decision to have them removed was a culmination of many things including not only the mental & physical issues with them, but also in learning how detrimental to my heath they are. Additionally, I have a Capsular Contracture, which is the term used for when the capsule of scar tissue made by the body around the implant starts to squeeze the implant causing pain.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis a few years back which has taken me on a journey of learning so much about health and wellness. It really started a few years earlier during the covid years when I discovered how upside down our healthcare system in this country is. I also learned how toxic our everyday world is, from the things we put on our skin, our food, makeup, hair care, etc. I have become an ingredient detective. I read every label, and have removed most all toxic things from my environment. I changed my skincare, makeup, only eat organic food, stay away from carbs, eat healthy fats like coconut oil, olive oil and butter, do not eat sugar and exercise religiously via heavy weights, yoga, trampoline, you name it. I get eight hours of sleep a night, take a boatload of supplements, and even with all of this, I have improved my condition, but I was not getting one hundred percent better. 

Bottom line for me, having plastic which is an endocrine disruptor actually inside of my body is, I am one hundred percent certain not helping my health in any way, shape matter or form. I started researching Explant Surgery and discovered the growing movement to expose the dangers of Breast Implants and how much better women who opt. for removal become. After much contemplation, and going over it with my now husband (whom I have been happily married to for many years who loves me just the way that I am) we decided that it was time for them to come out. 

The message is simple. There is so much pressure for perfection. It has always existed, but every day that goes by with technology permeating nearly every aspect of our lives, as the need for instant gratification grows, the opportunity for comparison is worse than ever. Remember, comparison is the thief of joy. I want young girls, grown women, heck any woman to understand this one thing… you are perfect just the way you are. 

There is no prefect body, there is no perfect anything. Nothing is perfect. Life is one big beautiful mess, and it is up to us to make of it what we will. We were all created by God, he saw us in the womb before we were ever born, and if anyone takes one thing from my coming out about having this done, is that you do not need to change yourself. I don’t mean not striving to better your health or physical body through exercise and nutrition. I mean, do not do drastic things like injections to keep your face frozen for all time, and do not mutilate your body to please other people. I was naive in thinking that by changing my body to someone else’s idea of “perfection” that they would be content with me, but that didn’t happen because it was never about me. 

I want people to remember, you were beautifully and wonderfully made. You are perfect, just the way that you are. I am excited and scared, but I know that in the end I will be me again and that is something I cannot wait to see. I hope that by sharing my experience it can help in some way help people to remember who they are… The rest anything you want to change for yourself, education, to lose weight, gain weight, hair color, any of that it is fine to change, if it is for you. Don’t go thinking you need to mutilate your body in search of perfection because it does not exist. 

Do you, and if the Debbie downers of the world don’t like it, stuff cotton balls in your ears and carry on your merry way. If that doesn’t help, you could always play my song “I Don’t Even Care” on and turn it up. You just had to know I would have to get one little shameless plug in about my music, didn’t you? 

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

Sadie's Story

 

It has been a year today since Sadie, Sadiekins, Sadie Pants, Sadie Girl and about a half a dozen other names she was known by left us for Rainbow Bridge. There is still a giant hole in my heart, that I do not think will ever be filled until I get to pick her up and hug her again on that fateful day when I get to see her at the Rainbow Bridge. 

It has taken some time to sit and write about it due to an out of state move with nine other animals all while renovating the house we were moving to. Along the way there have been many signs and synchronicities that let me know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our little Sadie Girl was indeed safe at Rainbow Bridge and peaceful. 

Many people have followed not only my music on social media but also my animals. I mean after all, how could you miss it? I am always plastering pics and videos of them all around. For anyone who is new or may have missed Sadie’s part in my life, I wanted to share her rescue story and how her life changed because of being rescued… this is her story.

It all started because I love animals. Even though I have plenty, and do not ever need any more, I just cannot seem to help myself when I hear of a furkid in dire straights. This is always the case, and in this instance, we need to go back to April of 2014 where Sadie’s rescue adventure all started. 

In April of 2014 the Mr. (who should be sainted many times over for not putting me in a garbage can for always bringing more animals into our lives) and I had four dogs. Pookie, Punkin, Bobo & Pepe. Life was pretty simple compared to now with the seven cats and three dogs in our current pack incarnation. A rescue that I followed on social media was sponsoring an adoption event nearby in New Jersey. It was an event mixed with arts, crafts, vendors and it being a Saturday afternoon with not much going on, we decided to go. 

We were walking around taking it all in, there were several rescues there that day. Each one had dogs that were up for adoption with them. Being the animal nut that I am, I was busy stopping to pet and talk to all of the dogs that we saw.  It was innocent enough, I stopped did our thing and we moved on. We checked out the crafts and bought a few things. We made some donations to different rescues, and were making our way to the exit when I saw her. 

She was with one of the last rescues we saw that day, there was a wire crate with a sad, depressed looking gray and white dog laying in the crate. She was facing the opposite direction. I bent down to talk to her, and she did not turn around. She was flat out, her little head on the crate floor almost like she had given up. I persisted. I tried to get her attention by talking in my best high pitched cutesy animal tone… she would not budge. Finally she turned around and looked at me, then turned back to the opposite direction. I again started talking to her, telling her she was a pretty girl, Hello, etc. Then all of the sudden she whipped her little body around with a happy face almost as if she was saying “Are you talking to ME”? I asked if she could come out of the crate so I could pet her… before I knew it she was out and her butt was wiggling so fast and her smile was so big it broke my heart. 

I knew that if I asked the Mr. if we could consider taking her, he would most definitely had me committed to an insane asylum. See, we had previously foster failed with Pepe, whom many followed for a long time and he was, well lets just say one of his nicknames was Pepe-laden (as in Bin Laden). He mellowed with his old age but when we rescued him with the intent to just foster but ended up adopting due his many quirks needing a very understanding home when he was ten from the NYC ACC having been horribly abuse it took much time, effort and adjusting to get him to feel safe, and fit into our little pack. So, I know that just two years after that, if I had asked my Mr. To get this little girl he would most understandably had said NO. 

I played with her for a bit and took her for a mini walk. I took her back to her crate, got the rescue’s information and set my mind on finding this little girl a home. I told her I would help her find a momma and daddy, and then said goodbye. 

On the way home I told my mom about her. If anyone wonders where I got my love of animals from, it comes from her. This is a woman who is outside in two feet of snow in a snow storm blowing off her back deck for her feral cats, which all have heated shelters, heated water bowls and she heats up their wet food in the winter. 

At the time she had two dogs and one cat inside. She said she would mention it to her work friend. Weeks went by and her friend was on the fence about Sadie. Then out of the blue one day, my mom asked me about her again. Had she been adopted yet, yada yada… I checked the rescue and she was still sitting in a crate in NJ waiting. So my mom blurted out, “I want her”. She then hatched a plot to get her, in which her my step dad would not have a chance to say no, and my husband was sworn to secrecy, and so we were onto the mission. 

Mom lived two and half hours away and was planning to visit for Memorial Day weekend. That Saturday, mom and I went off to do some “errands”. Errands meaning, mom and I drove the twenty some odd miles down to New Jersey where Sadie was, and mom adopted her. We then took her shopping for some necessities, and we came home to give her a much over due bath. 

We got home and my step dad and husband were cutting some trees down outside. We had Sadie down in the finished basement where we did grooming, and had set up a table in the garage to blow-dry her. My step dad walked by the garage window and could see us inside with Sadie. He says to my husband, “hey those two are in there with a new dog”…  My husband just smiled and acted surprised, and chalked it up to another episode of mom and I just completing another hair brained scheme. 

We took Sadie to the Vet the following day and the rest is history. She was mom’s dog at first. She always visited very often, mom at our house, us at mom’s house. She was referred to as “Cousin Sadie” for many years. When mom would go away for work, we would babysit her. She was one of the gang. However, when mom’s other two dogs passed something changed for little Sadie. The separation anxiety that she always had became extreme in nature. 

So when it was just her the only remaining dog at mom’s house, she was literally unable to be alone, ever. She would destroy crates or bags to get out. She would shake and tremble uncontrollably. She had every medical test known to man, and had tried most every anti anxiety medication and natural remedy. Nothing seemed to help. 

There was one exception, when she was at our house. For some reason when Sadie was around our dogs and in our care, she did not act this way. We attributed it to her maybe not wanting to without other dogs around. So after going back and forth a few times, staying for many months at a time, from 2020; she finally came to stay for good in January of 2022. 

 

She was approximately four to six years old when she was rescued. We have no idea when she was actually born, but by this time in January of 2022 at this time she would have been at the youngest twelve. Sadie had many medical issues that were always attended to. It was a lot of time, effort and care making sure that she felt safe and happy. I became her caretaker. Much more than just the regular taking care of an animal. There were multiple regular vet visits to manage her glaucoma, and eventually eye removal. She had liver disease and arthritis. I gave her tons of natural supplements to help her feel good. There was so much that went into making her feel safe and content, we literally arranged our entire days around her. We also had multiple Wholetones frequency music pet machines around the house. To help her and the other dogs feel safe. It was both challenging and rewarding to care for her. Many people do not understand the emotional awareness that animals have. There have been many studies done that show that they feel all of the same emotions that we do. They get happy, sad, they grieve, all just like we do. So when some people choose to abandon their pets, or not provide special care in their twilight years it really disturbs me. It is the exact time that they need their people the most. 

It is a balance. Caring for a senior pet, and knowing when it is time to let them cross to Rainbow Bridge, peacefully and with dignity. Many people think in innocence that they will just peacefully “go in their sleep”. Although as nice as that would be, it is most often times not the case. When pets are senior there are most often times medical issues, and when left to take their natural course, is not peaceful at all. If a pet passes this way, there is a good chance that the pet suffered. That is something that I could never live with. So in our family, we watch and monitor the pets quality of life. 

Can they still enjoy living. Do they eat food willingly, can they hold themselves up to do their business, do they stay with you, or are they starting to sleep alone? Away from humans or the pack? There are many signs that tell a human when it is time. Sadly, many ignore those signs or do not notice until it is way beyond comfort for the animal. It is hard, because I never want to say goodbye, ever. However, as a responsible pet owner, I have to put my own feelings and needs aside, and ask myself questions that are putting the animals needs above my own. When the answers indicate that the animal is just existing and living is more of a chore for them that an enjoyment, I know that it is time. 

Thankfully, we have an amazing caring Veterinarian who makes home visits. When crossed at home, the pet is comfortable knows the smells, can be in their own bed, and go peacefully surrounded by the familiar vs. a cold, sterile vet’s office. Naturally because I never want to say goodbye, I tend to make appointments for her to come and then cancel or postpone. Sadie’s time was no different. I made an appointment then cancelled. Due to cancelling, looming weather, and a big giant move to another state with our nine other pets, this caused us to have to bring Sadie to the Vet’s office, or it would not have been done before we moved. 

This was a very hard decision for me to make. As I was more than her caretaker, or her sister as my mom called me. She really became like a child to me. More-so than most all of my other pets. Mostly because she needed so much care. There is a bond that forms when caring for an elderly pet. Sadie was at this point losing the vision in her remaining eye, and was highly stressed in new locations. I am over simplifying for the sake of the story, but we did not want to put her through he stress of dismantling the home she knew and loved then going to a strange place. So off to the vet I went. Alone… 

The Mr. had been staying at the new house renovating since we closed a few months prior, and I was at home caring for the animals. I went back and forth in my mind and over and over should I do it, do I cancel again?… I consulted mom. She said no, do not cancel. 

So I asked our good friend Dave if he could meet me at the vet so I would not be alone. He was a trooper. He had never had to do this before and I was so appreciative that he was willing to come with me, and then to drive her to the Creamatory afterwards. She went in her little eyelash donut bed and was held, loved on, and sang to the entire time. 

When I returned home, by that time it was early evening, February 11th 2024. I was naturally very sad and wondering and questioning if I had made the right decision. We always have spa music or whole tones playing all over the house, there is literally music in every room. In our bedroom the television was on Pandora “Snatam Kaur” channel, which is a relaxing beautiful spiritual music channel. I was folding laundry in our room and not facing the TV. I was pretty familiar with most of the songs that would play. Suddenly I heard a beautiful song that I had never heard before. I turned to look at the TV, and this is what I saw… “And Now He Has Wings, The Water Poem” by Ram Dass. It is a collection from Ram Dass of gorgeous songs about the passing of his infant son. The photo was a man reaching to the sky, his hand touching the clouds and a little bird flying in the cloud. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that, that was Sadie giving me a sign, to let me know that she was indeed at Rainbow Bridge safe in the care our our Creator. 

Since that night, it has happened many many times, in fact it never really fails. I will be thinking of her, and bam the song comes on. I am about to start feeing the dogs, boom it comes on. I get in the car about to go somewhere and there she is on my car computer screen on Pandora, it is almost like whenever my heart starts to miss her, she stops by to tell me that she is OK and not to worry. I know they are signs from my Sadie Girl. 

I miss her so much. She had a beautiful life, she was dressed up in Halloween & Christmas Costumes, was spoiled beyond imagination and lived many happy years with us. But I miss her little trot, the way she smiled at me, her cute little bunny butt, seeing her sleeping happy and content in a puffy bed, there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her, or all of the other furkids who are no longer with us and are now at Rainbow Bridge. My comfort rests in the knowing that I will see Sadie and all of my furkids again one day in heaven.  

The moral of the story is, don’t shop adopt. There are literally millions of little Sadie’s out there sitting in rescues or shelters just waiting to live out their second chance. Hug your furkids while you have them, their time here on earth is so brief. Remember our animals might be a part of our world, but to them, we are their entire world. 

Blessings, Love & Music ~ 

Ava xo

www.avaaston.com

Can You Hear Me

“Dear God, can you hear me? It’s just me again. I know it seems like, my prayer list never ends. I know you’re busy. You’ve got lots of things to do, but right now I really need to hear from you. 

Can you hear me, let me know. Can you hear me, won’t you tell me so…”

Have you ever been there? Been in a place where you felt like asking that question. 

After the last three years we have all lived through, I know I cannot be the only person who has ever felt this sentiment. We have seen the world change in ways that were in my humble Greek opinion, just unimaginable. I never thought I would experience so much loss in so little a period of time. 

My new song “Can You Hear Me” is a letter to God. It was not written about this tragic time in our history, or even during this time actually. As many songwriters and artists, I have a plethora of songs in my song books. I write about things I experience as they happen, or as they come to me. 

This song in particular was written during a difficult time some ten years or so ago when my Mr. & I were in two close dated car accidents, together. Yes, both times. I know, what are the odds? Besides physical injuries to all the usual suspects that happen in a car accident (back, neck, etc.) we also both sustained a brain injury. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but when someone is dealing with an “invisible” injury, it is difficult for others to understand. You “look” “normal” on the outside, so they can’t seem to understand why you make errors, or have difficulty processing things, etc. Anyhow, this song was written during that period in my life. Recovery and in the process of building back up from being broken. 

As our social society and norms began to change over the past few years I began to feel a nudge that it was indeed time to share this song with the world. We have seen a propaganda campaign the likes of which we have never seen in history. There has been bullying, medical discrimination, people losing friends and even family members over differences of opinion about medical freedom, to people losing their jobs, discrimination in schools, the work place, censorship on social media, basically every part of life has changed since before March of 2020. 

I truly believe this period will go down as a very dark time in our history. But… there has also been good to come from it. New friendships, new information, and a huge learning experience. We sure did learn a whole lot about people, didn’t we? As in everything though, in life after the dark comes the light. I want people to understand that when they are broken and are crying out to God that they are not alone. Further, that is it is OK to be broken. 

Social media is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is connecting with people far in distance, and I for example use it to promote my music. The curse is, it is in many cases, just not real. Anyone who has read my blog since the beginning knows I have written about this topic on many an occasion, but social media can be very detrimental to ones mental health. It lends itself to comparison, which we should all know by now is the joy thief.

There is no such thing as “perfect” people. No matter how “perfect” ones life may appear on social media, it is not. No one has a perfect life. This is where the beautiful part comes in… God loves to use "imperfect" and broken things. He specializes in turning messes into messages. 

So, I felt the time was right to share the song on my heart to let others out there who may be feeling broken for whatever reason, physically, emotionally, financially, whatever it is; that they are not alone. It is OK to be there - in the broken place.

A Pearl is considered to be a valuable treasure. Pearls can not be formed without an irritant getting trapped inside of an oyster. In an effort to protect itself over time, the Pearl is formed. Yes, that is my second grade non scientific explanation. You get the drift though I’m sure. The “Pearl” a beautiful treasure would not come to be without the irritant. 

God uses broken things all the time, beautifully broken, perfectly imperfect, messes into messages. 

The song comes out Friday April 7th (Good Friday). I did this because it is always darkest before the dawn. I thought it to be fitting in this time we are living when so many people feel the same, that it could be a little glimmer of hope to bind us together in a common thread. That we are indeed heard, that we are not ever broken beyond repair, and that we are never, ever alone. 

I hope you will download it and share with friends and family. The official music video, as well as a lyric video will be released the same day on my YouTube page. I am trying to make the iTunes Charts with the song. Your downloads and shares can help make it happen. Below is a one page site with most download options. When the song is live the links will appear, in the meantime it serves as a short promo for the song. 

Thank you for listening and sharing. I hope it helps to heal some hearts. 

https://avaaston.hearnow.com

For a “sneak peek” of the song click here: "Can You Hear Me" 

Blessings, Love & Music ~ 

Ava xo 

www.avaaston.com

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)
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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:
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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

Best Dressed

Who can resist a furkid dressed in a costume? I can't. Which is why every year one of my favorite fall traditions is picking out cute costumes for my furbabies and taking loads of pics!

My almost twelve-year-old Pekingese Punkin Pie says they are not costumes, rather "torture devices",and that dressing them all up in these costumes is animal cruelty. Then I tell her she has no idea what animal cruelty is. Further, that if she wants to see what actual animal cruelty is to go on Facebook for about five seconds and she will see it with her own eyeballs on the pages of one of the countless rescue groups that work so hard to pick up the pieces for so many innocent creatures. Which is why I always give to as many as I can because without the rescues these animals would never get the second chance they so desperately need and deserve. Of course I talk to my dog... doesn't everyone? 

Anyhow back to a happy topic, pets in costumes. Now I would love to dress my two spoiled black cats up in costumes, but like Punkin says "they don't need a Halloween Costume because they come with a built-in one, they are black cats." Besides putting a costume on Jaxson and Bella would probably go about the same way putting their leash and harness on when they have to travel or go to the vet, which isn't a very pleasant experience.

So it's up to the dogs to fill the cute bucket year after year. So without further ado... I present the 2018 Aston Dogs Howl-O-Ween Costume Parade.

I give you Pepe. My little rescue monkey who is a sixteen plus year old Tibetan Spaniel new hope only euthanasia list survivor from the NYC ACC. He had a lot of issues when he first came to us, but after six years he is a very happy old man enjoying the life he should have had for his entire life.


Next is Punkin Pie. A beautiful Pekingese girl who is going to be twelve in November. We have had her almost her entire life and she is spoiled as it gets and we love her to pieces!




Next is little Lulukins. She is a Shitzu who is also a rescue from the NYC ACC the same shelter that Pepe came from. The vet says she is somewhere under five, we are not exactly sure. She was very young when we rescued her three years ago. Lulu is the without a doubt the happiest little dog I have ever met in my life, she literally bounces when she walks.



 









 And all together.... for the group humiliation shot (as Punkin would say) I present to you below... the Aston Furkids Halloween 2018 photo!

Shortly after we already assembled the group for the humiliation, we rescued a Japanese Chin who we have named Yuki. Since he is still settling in and learning what life is like around our house, new smells, new things, new people, new stuff... we did not want to stress him out by dressing him up in a torture device too ;o) So his humiliation pic will have to wait until next year when he can join the bunch for the Halloween Costume Parade. So for now, this normal un costume pic will have to do. I give you the newest member to the Aston pack... Yuki.

Happy Howl-O-Ween!

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