Dogster Dogs in Columbus, Ohio

It was a fun filled trip combining two groups of friends, many I'd never met in person, and some really big dogs! Why did I go to Ohio? Well it all began a few years ago... Most of you who know me well know I am a fan of Dogster.com an online information source and  social community of dog lovers from around the world.

Mellow

I've learned so much in their health, nutrition, rescue and legislative forums. To an internet novice the most appealing thing about the site may be that, because you are using your dog's persona, it's very anonymous. People create profiles about their four legged fur balls then befriend other dog owners using their dog's names and photos. Despite the anonymity I became friends with two groups of women there and over the past couple of years many of us have become real life best friends.

Caelen

At first we only communicated online as our dogs. Later, we began calling each other on the phone. Over time we became such good friends that some of them attended my wedding last fall. One came to NYC when Kitai and I were there for the TODAY show last Halloween, and one I met while she was visiting San Francisco. So really, I'd met almost all of them already. But we decided we should all meet face to face, together, in one city all at the same time.

But there's more, I also became part of a second group on Dogster. We had come together to rescue 6, under-socialized, female puppies that were about to either be killed outright or would be taken to a high kill shelter in Kansas. The funniest part of this is that none of us lived in Kansas.

But we didn't let that stop us when from coast to coast we teamed up and saved their lives. Lainie (pictured above) is one of the first 6 puppies our grass roots rescue group saved from ending up in a kill shelter. We were able to find homes for her and all 5 of her sisters. We were told there were two male pups in the litter but they had already found homes so weren't in danger. You can read their story by CLICKING HERE. Start at the bottom of the page and work your way up to read just what happened.

A year later one of our members spotted Levi on the website at the same shelter that Lainie and her sisters almost ended up in. We just knew he had to be one of her two brothers we had heard about a year earlier. Right age, similar in appearance to two of the girls and shared a feature common with all of the girls, exceptionally small paws. In no time we contacted the shelter, paid the adoption fee and got Levi pulled, transported, fostered and adopted. Look at what a gorgeous boy he's grown into! Sweet and oh so lovey. He's always ready to give anyone a kiss!

Kade Now

Just a few months ago Kade was spotted online by a Dogster.com member in a high kill shelter in Ohio. They posted his urgent need for a foster family in the Dogster forums.  When one of our rescue group members saw the post they got the ball rolling and from there he was pulled, transported, fostered and adopted. Kade is now a beloved pet having been adopted by his foster failure mom. She just couldn't let him go once he came to recuperate from his ordeal.

Kade, formerly "Jimmy," at the shelter.

Though she wasn't rescued by the group, Raven, who belongs to one of our members, was also a foster failure. LOL It's a term we use quite frequently in our groups. It's when a foster parent decides they can't give up the dog they were supposed to be temporarily caring for and instead adopt and keep them forever.

Levi gave me lots of kisses.

Kade ate my shoe!

At around a year old it's hard to believe that Kade is still basically a puppy. A ginormous 80+ pound puppy. But watch this video and you'll see what I mean. So cute! Look at his gorgeous tail. Hard to believe that had another day passed he would have become one of the millions of dogs that didn't make it out of a shelter and into a loving home. 

Though I'm sure there are plenty of people who have had less then positive experiences making friends with strangers online... I have been very fortunate to have found these incredible women. I would always urge caution when befriending strangers on the internet but there are some good people out there and now these women are some of my best friends. I swear they have made me laugh every day since the day we met. Meeting them all in person was simply the icing on the cake. We're already planning a meet up for 2009. I can hardly wait!

Rosie and Vincent