Silly Billie, our Favorite Hillbilly

Billie at the shelter

Billie, Day 1

This gorgeous stray Treeing Walker Coonhound girl came to us pre-named by her rescue group as "Aldie", which didn't really suit her personality. We ended up calling her Billie as a combination of all her quirk: her gangly and random "billy goat" ways, her "hillbilly" country roots being a hound from rural Georgia, and her ridiculous goofiness which had us always calling her "silly billy". I tried to figure out a way to make "Billie Jean" fit because of the spelling, but yeah, no. Anyhow, that's how Aldie came to be called Billie. Sorry, not sorry! I'm sort of big on names. ;-)

I was at the Hall County shelter with Perfect Pets Rescue shortly after we moved back to ATL, helping assess dogs for rescue commitment. Billie wasn't on their list to look at, but she caught my eye in her kennel as we walked by. I didn't take her out, didn't want to slow down their process or interject much in a situation where I was a ride-along, but for whatever reason Billie stuck in my head. I asked about her and expressed my interest, but that's about it. I just couldn't stop thinking about her...sometimes I wonder if at this point in the game I am innately drawn to those that are "my type" or "good saves". Who knows? All I know is that in a shelter full of dogs in need, when one jumps out at me through kennel bars and manages to make that much of an impression, that says something and is usually worth pursuing. Lucky for me - and Billie, of course - I got a message from the rescue that she'd become "urgent" and needed rescue a couple weeks after I'd seen her. She needed a foster while recovering from her spay and entropion surgery before heading up to NY for adoption. She needed to put on a good several pounds, too. We welcomed Billie home on November 8!

This. Dog. Is. Awesome. I fell in love immediately. Everything she did just tickled me: the way she ate her first dinner practically upside down, the way she dove head first into the couches with great enthusiasm for each impending nap, the way she loved to spend hours outside just staring up into the trees looking for squirrels and practicing her houndy ways, the way she tried out every possible sleeping surface in the house like Goldilocks and the three bears, the way she slept with her mouth open - just everything about her carried some sort of dopey adorableness that drove into my heart like a Mack truck. By the way, there's a photo included here that illustrates every single one of those quirky examples of her personality. Enjoy! I loved how anti-feminine she was, utterly oaf-like and completely uncoordinated. I think she had two accidents in the house and slept maybe 75% of the month she spent with us - talk about easy peasy! There's nothing we like better in a dog than 100% Genuine Lazy Bones...this girl's got it! It's like she knew she was born to lie on someone's big comfy couch for the rest of her days.

The Goat (see video below for a situational explanation of this nickname) endured her entropion surgery very well. Dr. Daniel at The Veterinary Clinic in Marietta reconstructed Billie's eyelids so that they droop properly instead of turning inward. Entropion causes inflammation and heightened risk of infection, so Billie felt immediately better post-surgery. I think of how obnoxious it is when I have a mere eyelash floating in my eye and imagine how it must feel like for these dogs whose eyelashes are constantly scratching away at their corneas...she only looked like a FrankenBillie for a few days before we could really see a drastic improvement. Fellow Perfect Pets Rescue foster moms, Lisa and Amy, kept Billie for us while we traveled home for Thanksgiving. By time we returned, she had fully recovered and we got her stitches out. A brand new Billie!

 

Our goodbye photo

On December 2nd, Billie boarded the transport van and headed off to New York. Perfect Pets is located up there and their GA dogs stay in local NY foster homes until adoption once they arrive. I always send a letter to the adopter with my transport dogs, including my contact info and musings about the dog. It's proven to be a great way to get updates and stay in touch once they've left, so here's hoping we get an update on Billie! This sweet girl has a great new life ahead of her and I'm so thankful to PPR for sponsoring her. She was a true pleasure to host! We're rooting for ya, sweet Billie Goat!

They Say Love is Blind...Meet Hope!

Hope on an adventure at Home Depot

Meet Hope, a gorgeously unique American Staffordshire Terrier mix available for adoption through Fred's Friends Rescue. At one year old, Hope is fully grown at 38 pounds. She's a nice pocket-sized Staffie. She came into animal control back in March as a stray found wandering the streets. See those big, clear, green eyes? They don't work. At all. Turns out, Hope is blind as a bat. She seems to have been born that way. She also has a severe heart condition, pulmonic stenosis, that requires daily medication. Her cardiologist said that with the severity of her condition, Hope may live up to two years or she may live a full life. In other words, who knows. Given her blindness and heart condition, Fred's Friends suspects she is a product of bad breeding. Oddly enough, being blind (and thus relatively slow-going) sort of works in her favor with regard to keeping her heart from exploding. 

Hope on her favorite bed

Fred's Friends reached out to us about taking Hope when her previous foster family had to move suddenly. We're good friends with one of their volunteers who knew we'd fostered a blind dog (Buck) before and she thought we'd be a good fit for Hope. Special needs dogs hold a special place in our hearts - it's how we started fostering and it's what we enjoy most. We've gotten away from that for quite some time now, so it's nice to do a special needs case again. So, Hope moved in with us last Sunday.

We have a lot of stairs in our house and they have a lot of twists and turns. Hope learned how to go up the stairs on her first day here, no problem. Going downstairs proved to be a bit trickier, but she got the hang of that on day three. Now she goes up and down without any difficulty for every potty break, every meal, and every time she decides to follow us up or down. Just like with Buck, she'll run into something if it's moved out of place. That's to be expected and it just makes us keep things tidier; we are diligent about pushing our chairs in and not leaving things out in the middle of the floor. She knows where all the dog beds are around the house, where the water bowl is, where the stairs are, and where the gates are that block off the stairs. She also knows where the toy basket is and enjoys rooting through it on a regular basis. Hope loves her toys! She piles them up on her dog bed so she doesn't misplace them. Every now and then she'll forget where she put one or another dog will move one and she gets confused about it. It's entertaining. You can practically see the, "Hey, that's not where I left you!" look cross her face when she stumbles over a rogue toy. She likes squeakers, but she also likes bouncy toys because she can hear where they go as they bounce across the wood floor. She loves going for walks, too. We usually take her for a 1-2 mile walk each day, sometimes twice per day. She does well on leash and enjoys the fresh air. Other things Hope loves: cuddles, treats, antlers, meal time, naps, and her people. Emphasis on naps though. She really loves naps.

Who you callin' a goofball?

So yeah, Hope is a pretty easy dog. She's quite mellow and really isn't any different than a "normal" dog with sight. Sure, she'll get spooked by strange or loud noises every now and then and she may run into stuff in new environments, but that's pretty much it. Her blindness doesn't get in her way much at all. She gets really excited when she "finds" us around the house and likes to celebrate by licking the backs of our legs. She likes that our two foster Chihuahuas wear cat collars that have bells on them, so she knows where they are at all times. She goes potty in the yard just like everyone else and abides by "big dog" rules (no couch, no human bed). She knows "sit" and understands "step" for curbs and stairs. She knows what "leave it" means and is learning how to apply it. She has free roam of the house when we're away, along with our two old guys, and does just fine. She's not a troublemaker and she's not a barker. She does make this really cool wookie noise when she wants something! It's sort of her signature yodel. She does it when she wants to play, wants attention, wants to go for a walk, wants to eat, or just wants to be a goofball. It's pretty fantastic. Check out her video and get to hear her wookie yodel for yourself:

Having a blind dog isn't necessarily a greater challenge than having a sighted dog. It's more of an exercise in patience and compassion. It forces you to slow down and consider things more carefully from the dog's perspective. Hope is a great dog. She just needs someone who will treat her like a normal dog and not coddle her excessively because of her disabilities. If an adopter can understand that, they'll get a fantastic companion in return. In our house, all dogs are given boundaries, structure, and equal love. Hope is expected to toe the line just like all the rest and she does. With so many dogs around, newbies figure out their place pretty quickly. Hope needed some extra help learning the ropes up front, but now she's got it down pat. She seems pretty darned happy about it, too. We're sure happy to have her around! Hope is a gem and it is a pleasure to have her as part of our pack for a while. If you'd like to fill out an adoption application for Hope, please follow this link: http://www.fredsfriends.org/adoption-application.html

PUPDATE: Hope was adopted on October 21, 2015 by a wonderful couple! Her new mama works in child development with special needs children, so she was very ready to accept Hope's variety of challenges. Her words: "I work with special needs kids. This shouldn't be much different and if it is, I'm used to a good challenge!". Things were a bit rocky after several months for Hope when the couple learned they had a baby on the way, but they stayed true to their pledge to stand by Hope's side, challenges included, and found ways to make things work for their growing family. We are happy for Hope...she's a special girl who so deserves a loving family!

Happy Tail: Blue Belton Buck

This blog post is so overdue. Shortly after my last post, my grandmother passed away. She read my blog regularly and enjoyed hearing all the stories about our foster dogs. I didn't feel like writing for a while because I felt like no one was listening anymore without her there reading my posts. Of course, that's not true, but it took the wind out of my blogging sails for a bit. Next thing I knew, six months had gone by and I hadn't finished telling Buck's story. It's a wonderful story, a happy tail to top all happy endings, so I can't move forward without sharing it. So here we go, back on the blogging train. This one's for my Tutu, who made sure I was raised with dogs and supported my rescue efforts 100%.

Post enucleation

Bob & Buck

After determining Buck had lost his sight again and that the inflammation in his eye was not improving, we made the difficult decision to remove the right eye. We all agreed that Buck would be much better off without that irritated eye bothering him constantly. Dr. Burling did a fabulous job and Buck recovered from his enucleation beautifully. It was very quickly clear to us that he felt much more comfortable even just a couple days after the eye removal. We knew we'd made the right choice for Buck, even though it felt a bit defeating. With his head held high, Buck moved forward with life as we'd seen him do so many times already.

In this midst of all this, something amazing happened. We received a perfect adoption application for Buck from a wonderful man named Bob in New Mexico. Bob fell in love with Buck while searching for English Setters on Petfinder. He'd rescued a few other English Setters previously and missed their companionship after they passed. We were unsure about sending Buck so far away at first, but didn't write it off as a dealbreaker. After all, we've got dogs all up the Northeastern United States thanks to transport efforts. What's the difference? 

Livin' the life!

I had a lengthy, heartwarming, and exciting phone conversation with New Mexico Bob. Next thing we knew, he flew up to San Jose to meet Buck in person. They were a perfect match. Not least of all, Bob wasn't put off by Buck's health uncertainties. Bob met Buck before we knew his eye needed to be removed. We wanted to see him through the rest of his eye situation before adopting him out, which Bob understood. I kept him posted throughout Buck's surgery and recovery. He never wavered in his commitment to Buck. I'll never forget Bob's inspiring answer when I asked him if he'd be put off by Buck losing his eye: "Perhaps when I was younger and vainer I might have felt differently, but age has made me a more compassionate man and I want nothing but his comfort and well-being". I could not have scripted a more perfect response. This guy won me over with his patience, compassion, and dedication to a dog he'd barely met.

He's even got 2 Christmas stockings!

He loves his bed

On August 31, we sent Buck off on the road to forever. Bob flew up to San Jose, rented a car, and drove back to New Mexico with Buck alongside him. I didn't cry over Buck. This adoption was so incredibly happy, inspiring, and perfect. With all the obstacles Buck faced and the logistics Bob hurdled to adopt Buck, we felt nothing but joy and gratitude as we watched them pull out of our driveway. We knew Buck found the life he deserved. I get pupdates from New Mexico Bob every so often. Buck lives the life of a king, which is exactly as it should be. He goes to work with Bob every day, rests in orthopaedic beds cushier than any human mattress, naps in front of the fireplace, enjoys brunch at the club overlooking the golf course, goes for leisurely car rides on the weekends, and never leaves his daddy's side. Buck is comfortable, happy, and well-loved.

I can never thank all of Buck's fans enough for their amazing amounts of support and encouragement. Animal Eye Specialists, Dr. Burling, St. Francis APS, and many friends and neighbors rallied together for this old dog. Thank you. He is so very special and he's safe because of all of you. Most of all, thank you to New Mexico Bob for being an incredible human being and of course, to Buck, for growing our hearts just a couple sizes bigger. We love you, Schmuck! Happy forever, old boy.

Happy Tail Photo!

Blue Belton Buck: A Glimpse into the Future

Wow, a lot has happened since I last posted! Our boy Buck had his eye surgery on June 17. All went very well; Dr. Burling removed the cataract from his right eye and replaced it with an artificial lens. To be honest, the first night was a bit anticlimactic. Buck was so drunk and disoriented from the anesthesia that he didn't really have much of an "I can see" moment. Regardless, we filmed his grand entrance post-surgery to share with everyone. You can hear Dr. Burling describe his immediate post-op vision as "a little funky" in the video. Here it is:

Day 2 was awful. Buck was uncomfortable, his eye was inflamed, and he required more assistance than he did before the surgery. Dr. Burling warned us this would be the case, so we weren't disheartened. Still, seeing him struggle so much was difficult. He barely opened his right eye at all. We went back for his first post-op re-check and Dr. Burling said everything looked fine, so home we went for more rest in hopes of a better Day 3.

Buck's right eye before & after

We didn't really see much improvement until Day 4. Buck's eye stayed open most of the time by this point and he felt much better. We could see how clear and beautiful his eye looked without the cloudy cataract (see the photo to the right for before & after). For the first 10 days after surgery, I gave Buck three different types of eye drops six times every day to reduce inflammation, exercise the pupil, and prevent scar tissue from forming. He's a trooper and doesn't mind the drops at all. Now we are down to three types of drops four times per day, but starting tomorrow we're dropping down to three times per day. Ultimately, Buck will only need one type of drop once per day. We'll get there!

Such a baby!

Last week we noticed some increased cloudiness, so Buck went back to Dr. Burling for a tissue plasminogen injection that dissolved the cobwebby fibers forming in his eye. No biggie! During this visit, Dr. Burling noticed a minor vitreous hemorrhage as well. This means there's a little bit of blood between the retina and the lens. Although this hemorrhage doesn't mean the retina definitely will detach, it's an indicator of heightened risk of detachment. It's something Dr. Burling will continue to re-check, but we can't guarantee that Buck will retain his vision indefinitely. She says that usually three-month post-surgery is the "out of the woods" marker for retinal detachment. So far, so good. Paws crossed for smooth sailing! Today marks two weeks since Buck's surgery and he's doing great. We've hit a couple minor bumps along the road, but overall Dr. Burling says everything looks pretty darn good. Buck had his third re-check yesterday and he'll go back for his fourth next week.

Buck & his Crinkly Cajun Croc!

We've seen a tremendous difference in Buck's quality of life since his surgery. He is happy all the time, gets excited about everything, and gets around with no trouble at all. He jumps up on the couch and cuddles up next to us while we watch TV. He doesn't cry and whimper when we leave the room anymore. He even jumped up into the truck all by himself to go to his check-up! Most exciting of all, Buck PLAYED with a TOY for the very first time since we've had him last night! It was such a cool thing to see. He'd never shown interest in toys before his surgery. Sometimes we could tell he was excited and wanted to play, but he didn't know how to play without being able to see. Well, Auntie Melissa sent me home with some new toys for my crew yesterday. On a whim, I introduced one of the new toys to Buck. Lo and behold, he chomped at it! Before I knew it, he was tossing it around and chewing on it like a champ. So awesome! THIS was truly a tremendous moment. Enjoy the video:

Buck also enjoys going for walks now much more than he did pre-surgery. He's a great loose-leash walker and he lets you know when he's ready to turn around and head home. To see how well he's navigating since his surgery and to get a glimpse of his spectacular leash manners, check out this video (sorry about the noisy wind!). That's all for now. Buck's walking into the next chapter of his life...never looking back!

Pupdate: Moving Forward with Buck's Cataract Surgery

Whew, sorry for all the dead-air time on this blog recently! We've been going 100 miles per hour with rescue around the clock it seems. I know many of you probably already know the latest report on Buck through his Facebook page, but I want to share it here as well.

Uncle Buckle had his ERG at the eye specialist last week. We received both good and bad news from it. The bad news is that the left eye, which houses the older cataract, experienced retinal detachment at some point. This means that there is no hope for Buck to regain sight in that eye, with or without cataract removal surgery. Thus, we will not do the surgery on that eye and will instead manage the inflammation caused by the cataract with prescription drops. Now for the good news: Buck's right eye passed the ERG and is a perfect candidate for cataract surgery! He is scheduled to go under the knife next Tuesday, June 17, and will regain all vision in that eye. Hurray!

I know it's a bummer that we can't salvage the left eye, but hey - one eye is way better than none! Although St. Francis is willing to pay whatever it takes to give Buck the gift of sight, only doing one eye will reduce our bill by a good bit. That's not what we're focused on here, but it's a silver lining for sure.

St. Francis is doing pretty well raising funds to cover Buck's eye care. We've applied for a grant through the Doris Day Foundation. We've received a good amount of private donations from folks via Facebook, adoption events, and the St. Francis website. We've got $500 in GAP funds pledged from the San Jose shelter where Buck came from and the eye specialist is giving us a 30% rescue discount on his procedures. Without the rescue discount, Buck's diagnostics and surgery would cost roughly $5,500. We are still hoping to raise a total of $4,000 to cover follow-up visits and prescriptions. Although only fixing the one eye does reduce the surgery cost, it doesn't knock off quite as much as you might think. We're still paying for the vet's time and expertise, the use of the hospital's highly specialized equipment, a full day hospitalization, and slightly less anesthesia than we'd need for two eyes. The major difference is that we're only paying for one artificial lens implant, which knocks about $500-700 off the bill. So that's the state of Buck's financials for those of you who are curious. He's very fortunate to have St. Francis's and his followers' support. Last time I posted we didn't have a designated sponsorship page set up for Buck yet. We do now! If you'd like to do a one-time donation or a recurring sponsorship, please click this link to visit Buck's page: http://stfrancisanimal.rescuegroups.org/animals/sponsor_this_pet?AnimalID=6895219

In other Buck-related news, he's been doing great overall. He's got some itchy allergies and minor tummy issues going on that we're working to resolve. No biggie - just the normal stuff for an old man! Buck attended several adoption events over the last couple weeks. He's not available yet, but he really enjoys car rides, walks, and outings in general. One of his favorite outings is going to the food trucks at Willow Glen Movable Feast every Friday evening. He wears his fabulous blue "adopt me" vest and catches everybody's eyes. Check out the video below to see how excited Buck gets when he hears his leash and collar jingle! That signals him that he's about to go for an adventure. Thanks for reading our latest update! Stay tuned to read how Buck's surgery goes next Tuesday...can't wait to share pictures and videos of that tremendous life-changing moment!

Pupdate: Buck's Eye Consultation

Dr. Burling checking out Buck's eyes

We just returned from Buck's consultation at Animal Eye Specialists. Dr. Burling and her tech, Julie, are awesome. For those of you just tuning in, Buck has advanced cataracts that completely obstruct his vision. He can't see a thing. Today's consultation basically served as an opportunity for the vet to examine the eyes, see how severe the cataracts are, and evaluate whether Buck is a good candidate for surgery. Cataract surgery is only performed if the eye is healthy and if sight can be restored. For these reasons, diagnostics have to be done before determining the next step.

Buck's exam went pretty well. Dr. Burling said the left cataract is chronic and older than the right one. She saw some scarring in the left eye, meaning that the cataract has shrunken and/or shifted with time and caused further irritation. The right cataract is less dense and a bit newer, which is good. Both eyes are irritated, but the pressure in both is normal so that's a big relief. We have to go back in a couple weeks for additional diagnostics (retina exam, etc.), but as of right now Dr. Burling believes Buck's right eye is prime for surgery. Assuming nothing unexpected is found during the retinal exam, Dr. Burling estimates with 95% certainty that Buck's vision can be restored to the right eye. The left eye is more complicated due to the cataract's age and severity. She's not as confident about the retinal health in the left eye. If the retina isn't in good shape, there's no point in removing the cataract. If the retina is healthy and we remove the left cataract, Buck will regain his vision in that eye barring complications.

So sleepy after his appointment

Obviously there are a lot of variables and "ifs" involved here, but how amazing! I learned so much from this consultation today and I'm super excited by the prognosis for Buck. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, but I can't help but imagine how incredible it will be to bring him home after surgery when he can SEE again for the first time. Dr. Burling sent us home with special eye drops today to reduce the inflammation in Buck's eyes. We'll see what St. Francis wants to do and proceed from there. If we move forward, diagnostics and surgery could be only two short weeks away. Folks - this is a VERY expensive surgery. I don't want to ask for donations until we get the final go-ahead, but please be ready to share Buck's story. St. Francis is going to need all the support we can get in order to make this happen for Buck. PAWS UP for this step forward...and paws crossed for even more good news. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out Buck's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bluebeltonbuck 

PS - The mass Dr. Osterman removed from Buck's chin was benign! Hurray!!

Blue Belton Buck: A Setter with Soul to Spare

Drew and I picked up a very special new foster last night from the shelter. Buck is a 9 year

Buck's pitiful shelter intake photo

old, 

purebred, blue belton English Setter. He is blind. Buck's story is really sad: his owners of nine years surrendered him to the shelter as a euthanasia request because he is no longer able to see. Buck is blind due to advanced cataracts in both eyes; had his owners treated the cataracts, he'd still have his sight. Turning him in to die alone in a shelter - and not even having the decency to take him to the family vet for euthanasia if that's what you've decided on - is beyond my comprehension. You don't just discard a living creature like that, right when he needs you the most. I hope nobody's there for these people when they get old. I'm not sorry.

How do you say no to this?

I saw Buck on the "needs rescue" list and I knew I had to meet him. I visited Buck for the first time last Tuesday. It took all of five minutes for me to totally fall in love with him. When we entered the courtyard, Buck seemed pretty spooked as he bumped into walls, fences, chairs, and even knocked over a broom. He didn't respond to whistling or other "come here" noises, so I tried his name. I'm used to dogs not knowing their names at the shelter, but I forgot Buck lived with someone for nine years and of course knew his name. As soon as I said, "Buck!", he stopped stumbling into things, turned around, walked straight up to me, and rested his head on my knee. His expression said, "That's me! Somebody knows me!". I've done a whole lot of rescue, but this is one of the most poignant moments I've experienced so far. My heart just melted. As if that wasn't enough, when I sat down next to Buck a couple minutes later he backed right up into my lap and sat there happily for the rest of our visit.

Of course, St. Francis Animal Protection Society stepped in once again and saved yet another life. Thanks to them, Buck is home with us. Buck got neutered and had a mass removed from his chin yesterday. When he got home with us. Buck met our dogs, explored the backyard, went up and down all the stairs without any major wipeouts (on-leash, for safety), got cleaned up and tucked in for bed. What a day! He did pretty well in the crate overnight. No barking, just a bit of squeaking and stressing. We can work with that. He'd do just fine sleeping on a dog bed outside of the crate, I'm sure, but we have so many stairs that I want to crate him for safety purposes while we're gone until he gets used to them. Ultimately, he'll be able to have free roam with the rest of the pack. He's such a good boy.

Exploring the backyard

Today he's settling in some more. He's totally housebroken - no surprise since he lived with people for almost ten years. He's a little clingy because he can't see where anyone is, so he'll whimper if I walk away and is still afraid to try and follow me. That will improve as he becomes more confident and gets used to this new environment. I don't expect a blind dog to adapt to all the nooks and crannies of a three level townhome overnight. It's definitely not the easiest place to navigate by scent and sound alone. He's doing quite well, all things considered. Check out this video of him conquering the little concrete steps from the garage to the backyard (he's still reaching, but he didn't miss any!):

Plz lady, can I keeps dis rug?

Buck loves the white shag rug in the living room. He's obsessed with rolling on it and rubbing his face all over it. He pretty much thinks it's the best thing we've got. He's content to lie on the rug by my feet while I'm on the couch. We're anxious to get the biopsy results from the mass he had removed yesterday. I'm hoping to hear something by the end of the week. We'll see. We had it taken off because it kept opening up and bleeding. Hopefully it was just a benign old man growth. I'll let you know when we find out.

I called the eye specialist this morning. Buck is going in next Friday, the 16th, for a consultation. The doctor is going to look at his cataracts and see if there's anything we can do for him. He hasn't been blind for long; he lacks developed navigational and coping skills. I'm not too hopeful that removing the cataracts will be able to reverse his blindness at this point, but we'll see what the vet says. I don't know much about eyes, but I'm looking forward to learning a lot. At the very least, we need to know what he's dealing with and if there's anything we can do to help him. His eyes are a bit red right now, but I'm hoping it's just from stress and not irritation. I'm trying to clean his tear stains, but not much luck so far. I've wanted to foster a blind dog for a while now, so I'm happy to help Buck and learn a lot along the way.

It's going to be a while before Buck is available for adoption, but we are happy to have him. He's a wonderful dog: so sweet, gentle, well-behaved, and of course absolutely beautiful. Check out Buck's Facebook page and stay tuned for pupdates as we move forward: https://www.facebook.com/bluebeltonbuck