Dog Rescue

Dominique's
original photo

A couple of weeks ago, I found a gorgeous dog at the shelter who was scheduled to be euthanized at 7:00 the next morning.  She had a few notes on her profile and a shelter profile picture, which did not do her justice. To make matters worse, the notes were not positive! The shelter suggested she be placed in an adult-only home because she had "growled" at someone, and she was not eligible to be fostered through the shelter, due to high fear, anxiety, and stress. (FAS) Why a FAS dog cannot be fostered makes no sense to me!

Upon our first meeting, the odds of getting her out of the shelter seemed slim to none. As I approached her cage, Dominique and her sister Flo barked ferociously. Usually, when I get that kind of reception, I back off. I gingerly placed my hand for her to smell, in which she momentarily stopped barking only to start again. However, I noticed a wagging tail, so something possessed me to move forward and open the cage. Somehow, I got Dominique out, without Flo darting down the hall, and brought her outside.

Once outside, I saw a beautiful and loving animal!

Dominique - video links

Dominique is a true love dog, and her videos got a lot of traction. By day's end, she had almost $600 in pledges and a rescue commitment. The rescue ended up taking both her and Flo. I drove the ladies to meet their foster about an hour and a half out of Memphis. 

This woman, who will foster both animals, only has 28 dogs: eleven are indoor dogs, three puppies, and she has multiple other animals, such as cats, on her farm. Why does she have so many? She falls in love with them and foster fails. I get that, because we still have Kumquat.

The fosters have changed Flo's name to Angelique and fluffed them up with a professional grooming session. Aren't they gorgeous?

Dominique is on the left and Flo (Anqelique) is on the right.

I tell this story because rescue has become a part of my life, and the positive stories keep me going. Seeing dogs I love die is the worst! 

I have a new realistic fiction story based on another dog whom I helped find a home for. I changed a lot in the story to protect the owner's identity and add a new element, bullying. I have no idea if the owner was bullied, but I do know she had a beautiful, acne-free face! 

If one kid in a teacher's class adopts a shelter dog, my job is done. Unfortunately, I will never know unless a customer tells me it happened.

Click the picture or here to find Rescue Both of Us at my store on TpT. Plus, if you buy it before tomorrow morning, you can get it at half price! Here is a little bit about it.

$2.73

$5.45

SAVE 

$2.72

Build reading comprehension skills with this delightful, realistic fiction story about a bullied middle schooler's encounter with a lovable dog. This original reading passage comes complete with vocabulary words, high-level reading comprehension, research, and point of view questions, plus an answer key. The engaging story is based on real events at an animal shelter.

Use this story and questions for literacy groups, reading centers, whole or small group activities, partner or independent work, emergency sub plans, or homeschool for grades 5 - 7. Quick and easy setup makes this a win for you and your students.

Inside this no-prep activity, you'll find:

• Reading Passage ~ 6 pages
• 16 Vocabulary Words Matching
• Vocabulary Fill-ins
• 7 Reading Discussion Questions
• 4 Research Questions
• Point of View Questions
• Answer Key
• Printable PDF. File
• Link to Google Slides
• Easel Worksheets

Please check out my resource at Catch My Products, and thanks for reading Catch My Words!

Joyce

Catch My Products

October on TPT

I've been selling teaching items on Teacher's Pay Teachers for a year and a half and sales are going well. Since it's October, check out my booklet on Halloween Activities. It contains logical thinking puzzles and other activities complete with answer keys.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Halloween-Activities-For-Intellectually-Gifted-Students-746518

I've created different logic problems and lessons throughout my teaching career, so it's fun to be able to sell these and earn cash, too.

The best bargain on my site is my Literary Unit for 

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Number-the-Stars-Complete-Literary-Unit-for-Power-Point-1233089

I made this 183 page power point for my class when we read the novel. However, Number the Stars is popular and my work became buried among the hundreds of products for the same book. Usually, I sell my literary units for anywhere from $14 - $16. Since there were so many other products, I originally priced it at $10. But alas, it was still buried, so I formed a plan. I practically gave it away at $5 and then decided I would add .50¢ back to the price every time it sells. The unit is now selling at $6 and listed on page two–instead of page 8–of the Number the Stars materials, which is getting there. The more an item sells, the higher up on the listing it becomes, so I had to give it away to make it visible, and technically, I still am providing a great bargain at $6 a copy.

If you are interested in purchasing items for your class or home school, please visit my store at:

    http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gifted-And-Talented-Materials-By-Joyce-Lansky. 

I've made 271 items for multiple ages and grade levels and in various subjects. If you purchase something and leave a comment on this blog post with your email address and what you would like, I will send you an additional product of your choice for free, just for shopping at my store and being a blog reader. Not bad!

#AtoZ "V" for Very Happy About Teachers Pay Teachers #TPT

I've blogged about Teachers Pay Teachers before, but it's time to bring it up again because this site has become a wonderful business for me. I have a store at TPT that contains 246 teaching products, and I am constantly adding more. Every product is for sale with items listing from Free to $15.

These are items that I've made for my students and sell to other teachers. Since joining Teachers Pay Teachers in February, 2013, I've sold 452 products and earned $1,074.72. I use these dollars for groceries, gas, and normal life instead of looking at it as extra income. It's really not extra pay, since I took a pay cut when our school system was part of a hostile take over from the city schools. It's a long story, but to make it short, my earnings from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gifted-And-Talented-Materials-By-Joyce-Lansky still does not add up to my pay loss this year.

 So if you're a teacher, I'd love for you to stop by my store and check out my products. I try to keep them inexpensive because I know teachers don't make excessive amounts of money, especially for all of the extra hours we put in.

 

I have many literary units, math lessons, writing activities, logical thinking activities, as well as lessons to go along with holidays. I even have a freshly posted Tired Teachers Logic problem that contains my humor and sells for $1.  And, if you stop by my store between Sunday and the end of April, you'll find all my products on sale for 10% off!

Also, I'd love for you to follow Gifted and Talented Materials By Joyce Lansky at TPT. As a side note, I may start a new blog this summer related to my TPT store. Hopefully, the blog will get the word out.

Remember:
Sunday, April 27 - Wednesday, April 30 = 10% Discount!