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January 1999 Contest Page

Summary:

Prize: Custom "Your Own Babies" calendar from Kitten Jones(Lighthouse Animal Rescue)...see sample picture below and information in the text!

Featured Donation: Lighthouse Animal Rescue(see description below)

Winner: Penny Meyer (and her eskie Chloe)

Question: our question, from an eskie's persective, was "If you could take a Dream Vacation right now, what would it be?"

You can scroll down to get right to the winning entry, but first are further details on the January contest:

Well...after a few more days than intended, we've finally gotten the results for our January contest together. Again, we had some very nice entries to the contest, and we must reiterate that even though we can only choose one winner per month, it in no way means that "non-winning" entries weren't good...there were some really good ideas this time. In the end, we ended up settling on just one...and though it's kinda long, it's also kinda neat(maybe has something to do with R-R-R-A-C-E-P-U-P-P-Y)! Anyway...this month's winning entry is at the bottom of this page, but for the other details of the contest first we have:

For this month's donation- our most significant news was that our donation for the month was MUCH more than it has been in the past. Yes, both Lindy and I still sent in our $10 each, but we also received a most generous offer from Chuck Bruno to include a $60 donation to Lighthouse Animal Rescue in Tennessee. Chuck had originally wanted the donation to be $10/month spread out over 6 months, but after considering the aim of the contest AND that he wanted the whole amount sent to Lighthouse, we decided it would be best to make it a single contribution of $60 for this month. Thus, along with Chuck's wonderful offer, January's donation will be in the amount of $80 sent to Lighthouse. It's great what just a little help from a few folks can do!

So, yes, we decided to have "Kitten" Jones and her Lighthouse Animal Rescue as our featured donation for the month! We had Lighthouse on a list of future donations, so it actually worked out perfectly! Below is a little about Kitten's Rescue efforts and interests, sent to me by her:

I have been rescuing animals, of ALL descriptions, for forty eight years. I have rescued domestic animals, wildlife, livestock, birds, reptiles, etc.

Lighthouse Animal Rescue came into being two years ago. I started it when I became able to dedicate ALL my time to it and got involved in rescue through the internet. It is an all breed rescue. Although my chosen breed is the American Eskimo, I rescue any and every breed that needs me. At present I have American Eskimos, Shihtzus, Poms, Chihuahuas, a Rottweiler and a couple of Chihuahua/Poodle mixes.

I run Lighthouse Animal Rescue by myself, at my home. My husband is a wonderful man who rarely complains about all the dogs we usually have in residence at our house. There has been as many as twenty six dogs at one time living in our home with us for the past two years. The least has been seven. When he comes in from work, he counts heads at the door and then tries to figure out if any new ones have been added while he was gone. Our "babies" all live in our home and are all treated as family members. If there are under 10 animals here they are welcome to sleep on the beds with us. They live as beloved family members until good homes are found for them. I cry every time one leaves although I know they are going to good homes. I "know" because I have an eight page adoption application and I do a thorough reference check on the people and attempt to KNOW them before one of my babies can go live with them.. My adoption contract states that the dog MUST be returned to me if there is ever a problem.

We have six dogs of our own now because some of the fosters who come here are not adoptable. They will live out their lives here with us and will be our own precious babies.

I truly feel that I was placed on this earth to take care of these precious, unwanted animals.

I do rescue for a totally selfish reason- it makes me feel worthwhile.

Kitten and all the fuzzbutts(Lighthouse Animal Rescue & Heart Bandits American Eskimo Rescue- TN)

....and...contact information if anyone is interested in learning more about Lighthouse:

AND...we have further Lighthouse involvement for the month in the form of our "prize". Kitten had offered, prior to us asking her if she'd like to be a featured donation, one of her "Your Own Babies Calendars". These are calendars that Kitten puts together from YOUR OWN photos. Here is a little of what she told me about them:

These calendars are made up of pictures of the person's dogs, family, friends, whatever they want. They are a $20.00 value and seem to be very well received by all who have ordered them. The winner just sends me the pictures either in snapshot form, on disk,or by email if quality is suitable. I then design a calendar around them. They get their snapshots back along with the calendar. The disks I do not send back because of weight so they should make sure they have copies.

Near the top of this page is a file she sent me with "samples" of a few of the calendar pages. We had heard of these calendars but had not seen them prior to this file, so it was really neat to get a MUCH better idea of how the pages look! Pretty neat, eh! Sooo...yes, our winner this month will receive one of these calendars, courtesy of Kitten & Lighthouse. Kitten also informed me that she does Photo Restoration as well, and she, of course, turns proceeds from the calendars and Photo Restorations back into her rescue work! So, if you have an aged, torn, or other photo in need of restoration, feel free to check with her and see what she can do! We greatly appreciate the offer Kitten has made and were glad that we could work her "prize" offer into the same contest where Lighthouse is the featured donation. With Kitten, Chuck and Lindy's great help, this has made for a most wonderful contest!

AND...what was the question that had to be addressed for this month's contest? Well, being that it was early/mid January, the holidays were pretty much over, and we(at least up here in the artics of the Midwest) were on the tail end of a 3 week deep freeze, we thought maybe it was time for a "dream vacation"...and since we couldn't really go on one, well, maybe just a "dream" would have to suffice, so we decided to see what others might like to do on a "dream vacation". And...to make it even more eskie-ish, we figured it should be from an eskie's perspective. Thus, our question, from an eskie's persective, was "If you could take a Dream Vacation right now, what would it be?"

AND.....for out winning entry, we ended up settling on Penny's entry about her eskie, Chloe's "dream vacation"...looks like Chloe's looking forward to next year's dream vacation already too....what a busy girl! Penny actually sent us a URL where she had posted her entry on her own web space. She included some nice pictures and very nicely formatted it, so if you want to check out the "original" copy, check out her URL at: http://www.rentatek.com/personal/chloevacation.htm

Otherwise, here is the text from Penny's entry. Again....it's kinda long, but some neat parts to it! Also...once more...thanks to Kitten, Chuck, and Lindy and everyone who sent in entries for their wonderful help in making our January contest a great one! Do enjoy........

And now...for Penny's Winning Entry:

Oh Give Me A Home … Mom and Dad and I are going on our dream vacation!! We're going to Oregon to a farm where there are thousands of birds, prairie dogs, rabbits, and even flying squirrels! Can you imagine? Squirrels that fly!! Mom says there are so many trails to explore that we won't even be able to get to all of them in one vacation, and Dad got some new hiking boots so when we get stuck in high places that look steeper going down than they did going up he can carry me back down without slipping! I'm sooooo happy! This is going to be great!! I'm so happy (yawn) and kinda sleepy. Mmm…I must stay awake so I can hear the pla…the pl…(yawn)…mmmm…well, maybe I can snooze just for a minute. MmmHmmm…Mom's showing me a picture of the farmhouse where we're going to stay…(blink, blink, bli…big sleepy sigh)… Ahhh…this feels so good. I'm so warm and snuggly. I just need to wriggle a tiny bit right here…oops…hey…I'm in bed between Mom & Dad! This is my favorite place to be!! But wait, this isn't our quilt. Hmm…where are we? I'll just straighten Dad's whiskers a bit before he wakes up and then I'll ask him what's up (smiles). Well, (lick, lick) this looks about right (lick, lick, lick). Maybe this hair should be a little more this way … oops … HI DAD! Ooo…Ooo…Ooo…I love my daddy so much (wiggle, snuggle, huggle, and giggle). I really like it when Daddy's happy (kissy, kissy, kissy). "Chloe," Dad says, "Chloe, now listen for a minute." Well, I listen. Dad tells me, "Now, Chloe, this is our vacation. Mommy and Daddy are going to be with you all the time." Ooo…I like that idea. I hear Mommy giggling! I think I better tell her the great news! I wag my tail real hard to show Mommy how happy I am. Ohh…I love it when she wraps her arms around me and kisses my head. Ahhh…yes…rub, rub, rub the tum, tum, tum. Right there, Mom! Ahhh… "Well, Good Morning sleepy heads!" Grandma? Hey! Grandma's here too!! I gotta run over to her and get her to pet me in my favorite Grandma petting spot. (grin) There's bread baking, and when Mommy opened the fridge I saw a TON of homemade doggie meatloaf…oh yum… I'm gonna watch really close when they open the fridge again and see if there are any … YES!!! … there ARE!!! There's a bag of baby carrots big enough to feed us all for forty-two days!!! Hurray!! Hey! Here comes Aunt Joannie, and Uncle Rob, and Aunt Glenda, and Uncle Rich, and, and everybody's here!! Oh boy!!! This doggie meatloaf is the best. (munch) What's that! (bark) Hey, Mom and Dad! Look!! Look out the window!!! There's a doggie that looks just like me!!!! Hurry, you guys, let's get out there and make friends!!!!! The new doggie that looks just like me is named "Cimboy." His mommy and daddy say they named him that because it sounds like "Simba", the wise and brave young lion that became a great leader. Hmmm…he does look regal…and he's very sweet to me (smiles). Our mommies and daddies say Cimboy and I are going to be together for the entire vacation! (sigh) He looks so brave. Mommy and Daddy are smiling. I like it when they smile. I'm a good girl. I'm behaving like a good little lady. I ask the man to shake hands with me. I think I remember this man and lady from somewhere. Mommy and Daddy call them Kim and Dan. Hmmm…well…they feel very nice (smiles). Ok! Mom said it's time to go walking!! Oh boy!!! Walking along a new trail with my new friend and my mommy and daddy. I see BUTTERFLIES, and Mommy says I can go run with them! R-R-R-R-R-A-C-E-P-U-P-P-Y! "Watch me jump, Cimboy!" It's so fun to run with Cimboy. "Chloe! Chloe!!" Cimboy barked at me. "Chloe, come here!" I guess I'll go see why he's calling me. Cimboy found a bunch of prairie dogs! And they're all saying, "We can run faster than you!" "Come on, Cimboy. Let's chase them back into their holes!" R-R-R-R-R-A-C-E-P-U-P-P-Y! This is so fun. Cimboy shows me where the stream is. The water is so cool and clean. We have huge drinks and even get our feet wet. Then we walk across the stream on a swinging bridge. YIKES. Cimboy is so brave. I follow him as close as I can. I can't believe we're almost back to the farmhouse. Wow! Time really does fly when you're having fun. Cimboy and I run around in figure eights like the gray fox does, and everybody laughs. Uncle Rob and Uncle Rich have a fire built. It is getting a little chilly. Cimboy and I shake ourselves really hard to get all the dust off, and then we lay down on the porch together to watch the humans. Aunt Glenda and Aunt Joannie are bringing out some good smelling stuff. Grandma is giving us treats. Mom gives Grandma the brush, and Grandma brushes me. I gotta concentrate now and show her all my favorite spots to brush. Looks like Daddy's going to take some pictures! "Smile, Grandma!" I love to have my picture taken. It makes Mommy sound so happy. Mommy has so many of my pictures hung up. I like it when Mommy's happy. Grandma's brushing Cimboy, too. I smile at him and tell him it's okay. He looks grumpy at me, but he sits still and lets Grandma brush him. Hmmm…I'm gonna snooze for a bit. (smiles) Ohhh…I think I'm waking up. Maybe if I hold this one ear back I'll stay asleep for a little longer. Oops. Didn't work. UhOh…an eye popped open. Everybody's laughing! Well, must be something funny going on (stretchy stretchy). I'm gonna go lean on Dad. It's dark and the campfire is popping. It's pretty. I think I'm gonna sit on Dad's lap. Mom snuggles up to us and puts my favorite red fleece blanket over us. It's getting cold. Cimboy is lying next to Mom. I like Cimboy. I wish he could come home with us. Wow! The moon is bigger than anything I've ever seen before. Should I be scared? Cimboy isn't. Well, Daddy's lap is always a safe place to be, and Mommy's the greatest about telling me when something's dangerous. They love me, you know. Mom and Dad are talking about the stars. They're sure bright. I'm gonna snuggle in here some more. I keep feeling like I have to stare at Cimboy. Most of the time it bothers me when other dogs get close to Mommy or Daddy, but Cimboy's okay. I think I love him. Well, Mommy says it's too cold now and we have to go in. Dad's going to play the piano, and Cimboy and I will lay at his feet and listen. Maybe the uncles will sing! I like it when the humans sing and play the piano. Cimboy does, too. I like it when Cimboy's happy. Oh boy! Another day of our dream vacation!! Hey. Where's Mom? Dad? Where's Mom? I'm so worried. Where IS my mommy? I'm going to ask Cimboy. Where's Cimboy. I'm going to go find them. Uhh…I'll follow this smell for awhile. Hey! There's Mommy!! Oh my…what is Mommy doing in the water? Maybe I don't really want to find her after all. "BOO!" YIKES! "Cimboy! Don't startle me like that!! I almost jumped into the water!!!" Cimboy and I laugh at each other. Cimboy runs into the water and swims out to Mommy, but Mommy tells him to go back. She says he's scaring the fish! Fish? F-I-S-H?? Well, Mommy's laughing so fish must be a funny word. Mommy comes out of the water with her stuff, and we all head back to the farmhouse. Daddy asks us if we want to climb up the mountain today. YES! OF COURSE I DO!! I jump around to be sure they know what I'm saying. Cimboy is laughing at me again. He's a little older than I, you know. Daddy puts on his new boots. I think he understands. I think we're going … yes … we're going … WE'RE GOING UP THE MOUNTAIN!!! When we get up the mountain, we get into some wet white stuff. Cimboy is burying his nose in it and plowing trails, so I try to do it but it makes me sneeze. Everybody laughs. Even Cimboy is laughing. I like it when they laugh. Mommy says this is the perfect place for us. She says it's heaven, and since eskies are angels heaven's the place to be (smiles). She loves me, you know (wag wag). I think I should wag my whole bottom to show her I love her, too. It took us all day to go up the mountain and come back down. We're all very tired. Suddenly, Cimboy stops and his ears and his tail and his hair are all standing up. I look around. I don't see anything. Cimboy looks at me with a worried look. I sit down next to him. I ask Cimboy if he wants to do racepuppy. He just looks back up the trail to see if Mommy and Daddy are still coming. Yup. They're coming. "What is it, Cimboy?" He doesn't answer me. He just looks worried. I sit closer to him, and he stands bigger. We're very quiet. Then when Mommy and Daddy stop to look at us, Cimboy barks a lot and very loud. Mommy screams, and Daddy calls out, "STAY! CIMBOY! CHLOE! STAY!" Ok. We stay. But Cimboy's pretty bouncy about it all. He really wants to chase that thing. That's a very strange smell, and now my hairs are all standing up. I ask Cimboy what it was. He says it was a cat. A cat? Strange smell for a cat. Kinda big for a cat. I'm glad we don't have cats like that at home! Cimboy laughs at me again (smiles). When we get back to the farmhouse, Grandma has a whole bunch of food ready for us. Uncle Rich and Uncle Rob and Aunt Joannie and Aunt Glenda are gone. The lady and man are there and smiling at us. The lady's eyes start raining. Cimboy licks the lady's raindrops. I like the lady and the man. I remember them from somewhere. I remember they were very nice to me. In the morning when we wake up, Daddy says it's time to go home. I feel a little sad because it was a great vacation. I love Cimboy so much. When we get into the car, Mommy tells Cimboy to jump in, too. He looks around a bit, and then he jumps in right next to me! Is Cimboy coming with us? I look at Mommy, and her eyes are raining. Oh! Cimboy!! I LOVE YOU!! (kissy kissy kissy) Daddy laughs. I think they love Cimboy, too. I think we're going to adopt him!! Adopt is a very good word, you know. I'm so happy!! As we drive down the road, Cimboy and I snuggle and listen to Mommy and Daddy talk about next year's dream vacation. We're going to come back to this farm in Oregon where there are thousands of birds, prairie dogs, rabbits, and even flying squirrels! Can you imagine? Squirrels that fly!! I'm so happy (yawn) and a bit sleepy. Mmm…I must stay awake so I can hear the pla…the pl…(yawn)…mmmm…well, maybe I can snooze just for a minute. MmmHmmm…Cimboy's cleaning behind my ear for me…feels so good…(blink, blink, bli…big sleepy sigh)… Where Two Eskies can roam …

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