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My
Paw Pal Buzz
My
assistant, Vicki, met a really pawsome dog in North
Carolina named Buzz. He is a therapy dog, too! We became paw
pals so we can keep in touch and talk about how things are
going with our kids.
December 13 , 2007
Dear Archie,
I just need to
start off by saying that as a dog – these children here sure
do keep me hopping like a bunny rabbit! They do so many fun
things, it’s hard for me to take the time to stop and write
to you, but I will continue to try to do my best!
This past
Tuesday, after they finished school at the Crossnore Academy
here on campus, they headed to what they were calling
‘Santa’s Workshop’. I peaked in and they were SHOPPING!
Each of them had a list of people they wanted to get some
special Christmas gifts for and they were having lots of
fun, as usual. I hope I made the list!
Christmas is a
really special time here for my children in the mountains.
Since many of them will be here through Jesus’ birthday, the
staff works with Santa and his elves try to make it as
special as possible. I hear next week they will be having a
party that they call Bird Cage. Since our school has been
around for 94 years, it’s a tradition that they have this
party. Friends who love Crossnore donate money and gifts
all year round so that my children can have the most
beautiful Christmas and then they have this party! We even
have Santa come by to say hello and bring some of the
presents his elves prepared for our children. It’s an
awesome time from what they say and I’ll be sure to tell you
all about it after the 18th of this month.
It’s also
somewhat of a time of mixed emotions for me. Some of my
cottage children are heading home with their families; and,
while I am so happy that they are being reunited with more
people they love, it’s sad for me to see them go. I know I
will be around to try to help more children though. That’s
what gets me through this emotional time.
The mountains
have been what the people call “unseasonably warm” these
days, but I hear that we are getting some snow soon. I love
the snow!
Talk to you
next week dog!
~BUZZ
Crossnore, NC
P.S. ~ In
another note, I will share with you more info about the
“Stepping Stones” program, but for now, I just want to tell
you that Dr. Crain and Mr. Keith took two of our girls from
this program to NEW YORK CITY for a long weekend! They
stopped in and told me: while they walked A TON, they had a
blast seeing NYC during the Christmas season!
January 1, 2008
Dear Buzz,
Happy New Year, pal! Thanks for
keeping me updated on what you and your kids have been
doing. We have been very busy here! We had a Christmas
party, too!! It sounds a lot like yours - people brought so
many gifts for my kids! Santa stopped at our party,
too! He asked me to be one of his reindeer because one of
them looked like he was getting sick (his nose was really
red)! Because of the generosity of so many people, my kids
had a really great Christmas even though many of them
couldn't be with their families. I get really down in the
snout, too, when a bunch of my kids go home. But, I know
they are happy to be with their families and that makes my
tail wag.
Another thing I did recently was
have a weekend play date! One of my people friends from Casa
Pacifica asked if I could come over for the weekend to play
with her Golden Retriever. Wow! That dog wore me out! When I
came home, I slept almost constantly for two days!
I am so jealous that you have snow!
I have never played in snow but I think it would be pawsome!
I'd finally get to test out m really thick coat. I mean, I
know it keeps me warm when it gets "cold" here (it might get
into the 40's at night in Southern California, but I sleep
inside). I think it would be fun to romp in the snow,
though.
Love and schnarf,
Archie
Dec ember
3, 2007
Dear Archie,
Boy – this
past week has been quite exciting here on campus. All of
the children and staff are buzzing around with excitement
that I have a paw pal. I’m not sure what all of the buzz is
about – can’t a dog have a friend from California??
I hope you had
a great Thanksgiving. I sure did, everyone was eating all
sorts of yummy turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes with
gravy and the dessert table I was smelling – woo-eee! I
just got my regular ol’ food, but the children in my cottage
did hook me up with some tasty turkey dog treats, they are
always thinking of me! The Tuesday before the holiday I was
roaming around the campus and saw all sorts of different
people showing up at the Gymnasium and it was set up for
something big, so I figured I would stick around. Sure
enough I saw some of my kiddos all dressed up in funny
lookin’ things that I later learned were Pilgrims and
Indians, and Miss Dana was directing them in their rendition
of ‘The First Thanksgiving’. They were singing so nicely,
they just make me so proud! Some of the kids’ family
members were there, and these Social Worker people they kept
mentioning – I think they are the folks who are helping the
children try to get back together with their families. So
all these people enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner together in
the Gym. Pretty good time they had I suppose, there was
smiling and laughing, hugging and chatting.
I know you had
asked about the Mountains and what they were like, I’ll be
sure to fill you in on that all through our chats. Right
now I am going to help the kids put up our Christmas tree.
They keep saying for me to be careful not to knock it over
with my tail or by running through the house – goodness, I’m
a dog, but I’m not dumb! I know not to knock over an 8
Fraser Fir foot tree in the living room! (We live in the
Fraser Fir Capital of the World!)
Talk to you
soon dog!
Your east
coast canine pal,
BUZZ
Crossnore, NC
P.S. – My
buddy Caryn stopped by and said that you connected me to
your website and put a special spot on it for me! How cool
is that??!! But you know people sometimes get me mixed up –
I'm a Goldendoodle. Thank you for doing that and tell your
Assistant Vicki that I really appreciate it. My kids are
great here and I love for as many people as possible to
learn about our work here in the mountains. Keep up your
good work!
December 15, 2007
Hey Buzz buddy!
Wow did I have a good Thanksgiving,
too! Mine started out well, with everyone sharing their
turkey, even though they aren't supposed to feed me from the
table. I even gave them sad looks and they shared dessert,
too! I regretted that later, though, when I had a sore tummy
for the rest of the night. I just laid on the floor moaning,
and my assistant, Vicki, said that's what I got for eating
people food. I just looked at her and moaned. Doesn't she
know how good people food smells?
Love and schnarf,
Archie
November 20, 2007
Dear Archie,
As our
nation celebrates the Thanksgiving season, I wanted to
personally thank you for the GREAT work you
do with helping children at Casa Pacifica in
California. I loved seeing you on the Today Show. I
am so glad your recent surgery went well! I do similar work
of providing hope and healing for children from families in
crisis in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina at a
place called The Crossnore School. I am a golden
Labradoodle and live in Meredith Cottage with ten
children who are actually three sibling groups. My
children's ages are 5 to 11. I love taking them for walks
(which are most often runs -- gotta keep these kids
active, you know). They need this one-on-one time with
someone they can trust, and they know I am all ears. My
favorite thing is simply snuggling with any child who is
feeling especially down, sad or lonely. A few hugs and an
occasional lick -- and soon they are smiling again! You can
read about where I live and work at our website --
www.crossnoreschool.org.
And better yet, have your assistant, Vicki, bring you the
next time she comes to visit Crossnore. I really like her
-- we even have the same color of hair!
Thank you for having a heart for kids. May the beat (and
schnarf) go on!
Your east coast canine pal,
BUZZ
Dear Buzz,
What's up there, buddy! Thanks for
the note! It sounds like your kids are a lot like mine -
they love to take walks, snuggle and talk. I like to spend
time with them all! I like to go for walk-runs, too!
Sometimes, I can't help myself when I see a squirrel or
bunny. They like to play chase with me and sometimes, the
child who is holding my leash gets extra exercise, too! You
live in the mountains? What is that like? We have mountains
here, but I live near the beach. I went to the beach last
week and, dog, did I have fun! I ran around with my other
dog friends and I was full of sand! You should come visit
me, too, and we can play at the beach. I will ask my
assistant if we can come visit you, too. I'd love to see
blue mountains! Bark at you soon!
Love and schnarf,
Archie
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