Secret Santa 2023: Wish List Thread Get 'em Done!!!

Seriously???

It's a wishlist thread for SS participants...

You'd only be as lame of a gift-giver as your soul allows...

Just because you run a business doesn't mean you can only give your inventory as a gift...

It IS cool to participate; but your heart must be open to finding the ideal gift for your recipient and one that brightens their day, not yours...

(cue lump of coal emoji)

 

I got your back, Santy.

 

I’m sending you Metallica patches and stickers. And a Prince bobblehead collectible.

 

No Raspberry Beret?

 

All I want is a donation to this local rescue group.

They rescue some of the most abused and left for dead animals I've ever seen around these parts. One of the worst areas is Cleveland, TX where a population boom is underway. Rapid, cheap housing developments and an influx of low socioeconomic individuals have created the perfect storm for an animal crisis.

The other option is to adopt a student from our angel tree at school. My school district is very small. We only have 4 campuses. Our enrollment is around 1,500 but the community is made up of country folk who don't make much money. Only one highway goes through the town which only has 800 people living in it and it isn't widely traveled. There's no major industry. The District itself pays the least out of any district I've worked at...by a good $8-10k. One of my students has a hoodie he wears everyday. It's filthy but I'm sure he's got nothing else for cooler weather so I'm getting him a new one. There are at least a dozen more kiddos I can think of in the same boat. Some of my students come to school everyday with Tea Tree Oil in their hair trying to stave off lice.

Anyway, Dear Tundra Santa, here is my wish list.

 

This is what it's about....

 

This elf would be all over that...
My pup is literally my best friend, the wife is a close second...



A donation was made tonight in your honor...



A few Secret Santas ago, someone made a St Jude's donation in my honor.
It had nothing to do with the actual gift-giving, they did it on their own, separate from the Secret Santa gifts..

It was anonymous, I have no idea who did it.
But I do wear the shirt that was sent quite often....

I'm happy to pay that gesture forward tonight...

 

These types of gestures truly bring joy to my soul and a put a smile on my face... Thank you guys!!!

@texasrho83 a second donation was made tonight in your honor

 

This tugged at my heart strings……we lost Beans in august. We rescued him from a high kill shelter in Ohio and he changed our lives……literally our best friend. Can’t seem to shake the feeling of grief or loss. So after reading this I made a donation in his honor:




I never have participated in the secret Santa here mostly because you guys are incredible gift givers and don’t want to disappoint. BUT this is an easy way bring smiles to a lot of people and help some pups along the way.

 

Wow. Wrote my post in sort of a daze from lack of sleep. It was one of those tired nights where you're so tired but you aren't ready for bed. Been a long week and the night before I was up with my little one cause he caught a stomach bug.

I woke up today and was reading the forums like I do while I brush my teeth or find what I'm going to wear for the day. Stumbled upon the donations made. It's already such a good Christmas and it ain't even December! Thank you so much @1lowlife, @Tripleconpanna, and @shawn474. Ppl like yall are why this forum stands the test of time and shines like a beacon in the midst of a black, unkind internet.

 

So as fate would have it, my daughter was at volleyball travel team tryouts this afternoon. Some guy was walking around this pittie and I got to talking to him. He is fostering it (has three other dogs). Spent some time talking, introduced Baxter and applied to adopt him. Beans was a pittie mix and was the sweetest boy ever.

Meet Ike, if all goes well we might have him in the next few weeks.

 

Awww he's quite the handsome pittie! We got Lucy from a local shelter. We were told she was going to stay small-ish. Last vet visit she was 60 lbs lol

 

Secret Santa 2023!!! Can't wait to start, this forum has the best members hands down!

Quick list for me, here we go:
Obviously anything for the Tundy is welcome!
Size XXL shirts or L/XL flexfit hats
I am a hunter (bow and rifle) and outdoorsman, so anything related to that would be cool. I also love cooking so just like many on here rubs, spices, sauces, etc. are welcome. Only sport I follow is baseball and the Cubs are my team. Lastly, if you wanna be lazy gift cards for sporting goods stores (got a sportsman's warehouse and Cabela's nearby), Amazon, home depot, etc. work too.

 

Well, the adoption is off. We wanted Ike very badly and the wife and kids are gutted. We got all the way through the process and they pulled the rug out at the last second. Because we don’t have a loop and lock pool cover they denied our application. They said unless the pool is fenced or there is a loop and lock cover on it in the offseason, they cannot allow us to adopt. Our in-laws have lived in this house for four decades owning multiple dogs and we have had multiple children raised in the house with never a problem. But they denied us. I just wish we had known that requirement from the jump or we wouldn’t have gotten our hopes up. We just can’t swing the cost of the loop and lock cover and installation right now. Very disappointing

 

What does the cover cost?

 

the cover and installation is around $3500-$5k apparently!!!! We are calling tomorrow to get estimates but we are not optimistic

 

I don't do the Christmas thing on here, but I'd pitch in on a cover to help you guys get the dog. Lost my dog this year, so it'd please me to help if you'll accept it. See if they'll hold your pup and if they have any other reason to deny you.

 

That’s extremely generous of you and much appreciated. That’s the ONLY reason they have to deny us - the person who conducted our interview yesterday said it wouldn’t be a problem because we are so well qualified in every other category. Wife works from home, he rarely will be home alone, wife takes the dogs on 3 mile walks daily, fenced yard, proven spoiling of other rescues, etc……

I am more disappointed that they let us get this far along with the kids involved (even going so far as meeting Ike with our dog and kids). The fosters were so appreciative of our interest since he has been with them for 3 months (he is almost 6 months old). I just can’t understand why they’d deny us for this when we have proven to be extremely responsible dog owners whose lives literally revolve around our kids and pets…..and why they wouldn’t advertise these requirements if they are in fact deal breakers. Maybe they have multiple applications and it was a way to select - ie: other people who applied may not have a pool in their yard…..

BUT I can assure you that no other owners could possibly treat Ike better than we could. After losing Beans we were thinking this was meant to be.

 

Seems a bit rude of them, for sure. Keep us posted on the cover bit and if you guys are promised the pup if you get it done. What's the timeliness on the cover?

 

I can’t imagine there are any pool companies hurting for business at the moment. I have some calls and emails into companies but everyone is closed today. We will find out more tomorrow. I guess timeliness of the cover isn’t really the issue - it would be if the agency agrees to hold Ike for us until we can get it done. I am not optimistic that they would if they have multiple applications. I am going to try to sort through all of this tomorrow and see what’s what.

 

I'm sure you've already done this, but if not... it may be worth another face to face w/the decision makers on this one.

I can certainly understand and have an appreciation for this concept, and I am personally aware of a few incidents where dogs have drowned when they fell into the pool and were trapped by the cover.

However, the reality is that unless the dog running around the back yard unattended while the cover is on, the risk is minimal at best; and even if the dog was allowed in the back yard unattended while the pool was covered, there are far greater risks in any household/environment to a dog's well-being.

Maybe approach with the concept of 'hey, we haven't really ever considered this an issue because of our history in this home and our history w/previous pets. However, we do understand your position and can appreciate the policy. Is there any way you can 'suspend' this portion of the requirement for a period of time (6 months or so), so we can have some additional time to come into compliance and shop around a bit more for a reasonably priced solution; in the meantime, we'll agree to not allow the dog in the back yard unattended while the pool cover is on. Another option that may be cheaper, is to offer to partition the back yard in a way that allows a fenced area for the dog to be in while unattended in the back yard that does not give the dog access to the pool'...

Hope this works out for your family.

 

Yeah we tried an approach similar to that….this was part of their response “Thank you for the additional pictures and while I understand you have not had any issues up to this point your cover is not safe for any animal/person. It only takes one second for someone to look away and the dog goes into the pool.” The response honestly put us off as if we were being scolded for having the audacity to apply when our back yard is an obvious death trap…..despite owning dogs and having children in the yard for the last 45 years (my wife grew up in this house and we bought it from the in-laws who live with us as well). Literally the dog will never be unattended.

 

Yeah, that's definitely off-putting... and quite frankly it sounds like a singular person w/a personal agenda as opposed to someone that is representing an organization with the best intentions of the dogs and donor base in mind based on its policies. I'm assuming this is some kind of 'foundation' or 'rescue' and not a municipal or county animal shelter.

If the person who sent that reply is not part of the 'Board' for that organization, you may have better luck reaching out to the board of directors, president or whoever is in charge of operations. Just spitballing here...

 

Not a bad idea - it’s definitely an individual representing the rescue (it’s an actual 501(c)(3) organization if that means anything). And I agree that they seem to have a personal agenda. I will look into it more tomorrow - including trying to install a security cover on my own. I just don’t want to go through the expense or trouble of installing a new cover if we aren’t guaranteed to get the dog if we follow through with that plan.