How well do you know Miss Sunshade?

I looked like this about 10 days ago,


Now, I want to ask you......

WHO do you think this is???


All groomed up?


And a sleepy head???



Do you know WHO it is?

Now BEFORE you answer, please take a look at the following pictures,


Are you seeing double??




Now that you have seen those very important photos, I'm going to test you on How Well Do You Know Miss Sunshade - The SuperDALE!

Am I.......

Girl A

OR

Pretty Girl B

Girl A

OR

Pretty Girl B

Girl A

OR

Pretty Girl B

ooops, excuse me, inserted the wrong photo there....

Here it is again.....

Pretty Girl B

So am I Girl A or Pretty Girl B??

The Answer IS.....

I'm Pretty Girl B!!!!


Girl A is NOT the SuperDALE! I hope you knew that!!!


Girl A has no name yet, so we'll just call her Girl A for now. I guess I'll have to start from the beginning......

Mum recently became a volunteer for AireCanada Rescue (Mum: Airedale Rescue of Canada.), because she wanted to help Airedales who aren't as fortunate as me to better lives. Before she became a volunteer, we were making regular donations from the proceeds made through Squaire Dog Grooming. Now mum will be the one to do home checks on potential adoptive homes in the Vancouver area, and also to groom some of the dales that come into rescue. Of course, we will continue to make donations to AireCanada as long as mum continues to groom!

Well, a little over a week ago, someone told mum about a family wanting to rehome their Airedale. The family was going to take the dale to the pound. So mum talked with a couple of rescue coordinators, and they decided that they would take the dog in.

Soooo, mum went to pick up Girl A (without consulting with me first!).

(Mum: The only information I was given on Girl A was that she was 6 years old, good with people (kids), good with dogs, in good health, registered with papers, and they just didn't have time for her anymore. They did not have a picture of her to send me.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Girl A trotted out from the room she was being kept.

Black ears..... creamy colouring...... super fluffy..... SHE WAS A SHEEPCOAT!! Those of you that have been following the blog over the years know that Sunshade has a very rare type of coat that's considered anomaly of the breed. What a nice surprise it was; my first Airedale being a sheepcoat, and now my first rescue was a sheepcoat as well!

Girl A came right up to me wiggling and Aire-snapping because she was so happy. Then I learned from talking to the male owner that this girl was being kept in the filthy room (did not want me to see) 24/7. She was almost never walked, sometimes not even let out to do her business (because it was the kids' job to let her out and they sometimes forget, I quote), so she ended up going inside. Because she was peeing/pooping inside, she was banished to the little room. She was fed when the kids remembered, otherwise, she didn't get fed everyday (because it was the kids' job to feed her). I also learned that these people were her 2 owner. She was rehomed when she was 3 by her first owner, and now at 6, she was about to be given up again.

After I got acquainted with Girl A, I brought Jaffa in to make sure she was good with dogs. She was excellent with him, Jaffa didn't pay much attention to her, which was a bit surprising. He usually goes nutty over Airedales! Instead of trying to play with Girl A, Jaffa decided to go investigate what was behind that closed door where Girl A was being kept. The door was shut, but Jaffa nudged it with his nose, and pushed it open. As soon as the door opened, his one leg went up, and he backed away. He DID NOT want to enter that room. That was the first time I got a glimpse to where Girl A was being kept. I did not even have to take a step closer to smell the stench. There were torn, grossly stained carpet every where, shredded books and papers on the ground, kibbles scattered, etc. There was no water because I was told that they stopped giving her water whenever they were away (which was 14+ hrs a day according to them) to stop her from having accidents.

The rescue had a foster home lined up for her already, so I just had to get her out of there successfully. And I did. I was happy I got Girl A out of the situation. She was a lovely girl who was still so happy, friendly, and trusting despite what she'd been through. She deserved better, way better, and I'm glad I played a part in making this beautiful girl's life better.)

Even though I didn't like to share what was MINE, I was being a good sport. Mum brought Girl A home, this is what she looked like when she came,


(Mum: I know first hand how easily the sheepcoats mat. They mat much much more easily than any other soft coated Airedales. The girl was totally unkempt, probably never brushed. She did have patches of shorter hair, so I think they did try to cut some of the mats out. Still, she was matted pretty much down to the skin in a lot of places, especially around her hind end. She was very smelly too being cooped up in that dirty little room.)


Mum brought her to my friend Faye's house and introduced her to Faye, (From left to right: Girl A, STINKY, the bootiful me, and Faye with the wicket cool ears)


I gave her a tour of Faye's house,


Showed her Faye's bed, and Faye's couch,


Took her to Faye's kitchen,


Gave her a stern talk about where Faye's food was (to the left) and how she should NOT touch it, (Please note, something very MUSCULAR and attractive in the center of the photo!)


Then it was stairs time,


Told her to go down the stairs,


And bring the ball back up to me,


She didn't seem to understand that though....

So I had to break it to her that I'm the QUEEN here and I run the show (yes, even at Faye's house)!!


Just as I was finishing up the tour (Mum: more like a lecture!), I looked and saw STINKY doing this!!!


He said MY tour was boring! How disrespectful!!!


(Mum: Jaffa had had enough of THREE girrrrrls lol!)

After the visit with Faye, mum groomed Girl A,


What a difference!


I don't mind mum grooming her at all, but I kept seeing mum STARING at her, smiling AND taking photos of HER......


(Mum: I have only ever met one other sheepcoated Airedale in person, and that dog was shaved. I just couldn't believe how much the sheepcoats make them look alike, especially after grooming! When I look at them closely, I could see the shape of their eyes, heads, ear set, body built are very different. But the coat similarity alone is enough to throw anyone for a loop! Sunshade's colouring is a bit lighter now than Girl A's, and that's because she's twice her age. She used to be just as dark.

BTW, I have decided that a sheepcoat somehow hides age very well. Girl A looks like a pup instead of a 6 year old. Pretty Girl B will be 12 in a couple of weeks!!)


Not only that, I kept seeing mum putting MY treats in HER mouf......


I was NOT happy about that!!!


To make matters worse, I saw D-Guy petting Girl A, AND he said "Hi, Sunshade clone" to her!!!!


I couldn't believe it!

Did you hear that mum??? He called her a SuperDALE CLONE while petting her!!!


I told D-Guy that there will NEVER be another Sunshade aka. SuperDALE!


I decided to go over to D-Guy's side to make my point clear,


Told Girl A to STAYYYYYY on this side!


Good girl Girl A...


You STAAAAAAAAY!


Stop hiding in the room D-Guy, come out! We need to have a TALK!


Rule #1: You ALWAYS pet me FIRST


Then you can pet her too



Rule #2: You NEVER only pet her (I don't like it, can't you tell??)



Rule #3:

NEVER.....

Call.....

Her.....

A.......

Sunshade CLONE!!!!!!!

You got all that D-Guy? Did I make myself clear??


Now the very important part, Girl A will need a forever home soon,


She stayed with us for 3 days, and today, her foster mom, Margaret came to pick her up, (Mum: Margaret is a retired Airedale breeder. She used to breed fabulous Airedales. Her kennel name was Rollingstone. I just recently found out that all of Margaret's Airedales were related to Sunshade (and Jaffa) by the same grandfather; a dog bred/owned by my breeder.)


Girl A will be staying with Margaret and the handsome, 13 yr old Fox (red collar), until she's ready for adoption. (Mum: Girl A will get a full check up at the vets to make sure she has no health issues. If any problems are found, she will be treated before she is put up for adoption. While in foster care, Girl A's behaviour will be monitored to make sure there are no behavioural problems. It usually takes at least a few weeks to have a full assessment, and if the she is deemed adoptable, then she will be put up for adoption then.)


So I REALLY need someone nice to adopt her BEFORE mum has a total melt down and brings her home... (mum had to go to AA meetings for her Airedale Addiction a few years ago. She's a recovered Airedaleholic, but this is like the perfect recipe for a major RELAPSE!)

If she has a relapse, I'm afraid history will be repeating itself.... and I will have no choice but to move out like I did last time with MY Georgie,


D-Guy said he will come with me if mum brought Girl A home. (Mum: Derek took one look at Girl A, and he knew he was in danger. The first thing he said to me after was - oh no no no, you can't keep her just because she looks like Sunshade!)

The thing is though, D-Guy wants to bring Juice the Bully with us too.... And I DO NOT like Juice. He is NOTHING like MY Georgie.

Juice was mean to me the first day he came, and he continued to be meaner as he grew older.

(Mum: I have quite a few little scars on my hand from him biting me and drawing blood while I was pouring water or filling his food bowl. So now Derek feeds him.)

D-Guy LOVES Juice, he thinks he's the coolest (because he can take on Airedales)....,



So I'm begging you to please give Girl A a great home when she is ready for adoption. You can contact the BC Rescue Coordinators via the websites below if you are interested in Girl A:
(Mum: please note, she won't be ready for adoption for at least a few weeks.)

• AireCanada Rescue Homepage

• AireCanada Blog (she may be featured on the blog when she's ready for adoption, so check the blog regularly)

If you cannot provide a home for Girl A, there are other ways you can help the rescue dales,

From Maureen Scott, BC Rescue coordinator of AireCanada:

Since fundraising opportunities are so limited these days and because AireCanada really COULD use the cash, the Littlest Lunatic has agreed to help our rescue group make ends meet by permitting us to publish a selection of her stories under the title of Starfish Stories 2. The coil bound booklet also features photographs and drawings of LL illustrating her various misadventures and transgressions. At 68 pages, this is a much larger book than the original Starfish Stories.

We have a limited number of copies of Starfish Stories 2 available. These will make excellent Christmas gifts for Airedale friends and other dog lovers who will laugh out loud at the shenanigans of LL and her friends, Angie, Pixie, Pifflesqueak & Murphee.

Full ordering details can be found HERE. The price is a nominal $15 to Canadian destinations.

If you have a slow internet connection and cannot easily access the website, please email directly for ordering information.

Littlest Lunatic and I as well as AireCanada thank you for supporting this fundraiser!

You could also help by voting for various Airedale Rescue organizations across US and Canada (ie, Northwest Airedale Rescue) in the shelter challenge. The winning shelter will receive $1000 cash price to help Airedales in need. Voting is simple, here are the steps:

1. Click on this link
2. Choose State OR
3. Copy and paste "Airedale" into "Shelter Name"
4. Click "Vote"
5. Enter the Captcha Code, and confirm

Please vote everyday if you can, we THANK YOU for it!!

PS. Please don't forget to vote for ME in the Fido Casting call. The contest is ending on November 17th, I would love it if you could vote for me everyday too!!

(Mum: vote for Jaffa too please!!)