There are more crazy pet holidays than even we can keep up with however we’re certainly wagging our tails for this week’s recognized day of celebration. January 24th, 2015 is ‘Change a Pet’s Life Day’ which started in 2009 to raise awareness for the growing number of homeless pets around the world. To honor that, we asked the founder of Dog Tag Art to share a personal story of a pet’s life he helped change this past year.
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This is the story of Gizmo, a sweet little dog with a big attitude who I fostered through Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, shortly after his life was saved from a kill shelter here in Western North Carolina. This quirky little fellow and I became best buds instantly, watching his crooked little tail wiggle and his adventures in collecting and cuddling my shoe collection. He was happy to finally have a true place to call home. I would stare at him sometimes just imagining the hard life he has been through and feel so grateful that I was able to rescue him before his little life was taken from this world. About a year later my friend’s mom took him in while I was away on a camping trip one weekend. She's a 65-year-old woman that just moved to Asheville named Phyllis and said they immediately fell in love so when I returned she quickly let me know she was ready to adopt. She even coined his unique breed a jack-a-hua-hua because he’s part jack Russell and part Chihuahua. |
“He’s old, I’m old. He snores, I snore. He’s got a few missing teeth and so do I, “ said Phyllis. We’re perfect for each other.”
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Her and the family certainly don’t mind taking care of a few ailments either in exchange for his endless curiosity in the world around—the sights the smells…the gargoyles and shadows! No, there’s never a dull moment with Gizmo on the scene. He discovers (and re-discovers) something new every day, like the gargoyle statue outside that he becomes friends with until he falls asleep and forgets about then awakens the next day to find a never-before-seen winged creature on the front porch. |
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He also enjoys seeing his own shadow, getting an attitude with the neighborhood animals and taking a breather on the couch with his human mom. And to imagine that this little guy would have just been killed to make space for another animal in a shelter. Phyllis says of course Gizmo has better days than others. He was born in 2002 so at 13 years old, he’s got a few health problems including arthritis and a cataract. “He’s one sweet old man though,” she says. In fact, if I had to sum this sweet boy up, the pet ID tag, ‘Little Dog Big Attitude’ would certainly say it all. |
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“He’s curious and that keeps me out seeing things I would not have noticed before. I love watching him explore the world. He smells everything. He sees everything.” So what better way to celebrate in changing a pet’s life and your own than by adopting a sweet animal into your family? Of course, you should read up on things like common problems with rescue dogs and easy solutions and learn about your new friend from the rescue you adopt from. And of course, once you have found your new friend, don’t forget to ID them with a pet ID tag that speaks their personality to the world. |
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~ My name is Jack Carrier and I started Dog Tag Art to solve a problem. The spark for my idea came when my old Chocolate Lab Maggie wondered off with outdated tags. The search for her resulted in a complicated web of phone calls and worry before she was finally returned to me. I thought "there has to be a better way for a finder to get in contact with me, WITHOUT it depending on a phone number." I was traveling a lot which meant Maggie would be unprotected for long stretches of time, which I knew was dangerous. That problem kicked off the idea and resulted in the creation of a pet ID tag site that allowed you to create an online profile for your pet, aka: our Virtual Leash program. I’m so happy I did and can continue to help save pet’s lives around the world.
