Judy Vorfeld's
Office Support Services

Have you ever ordered something online and been thoroughly delighted with the customer service? I have, and my latest adventure reinforced my enthusiasm about online businesses. Sure, I checked them out first, and The Cat Tree Store seemed ideal for my intensely busy, athletic kitty, L'il Bear and his older brother, Shadow.

I ordered a kitty condo--free shipping--and received it within a week. L'il Bear and I proceeded to put it together. It took some effort, but it was fun, and truly easy to follow the visual instructions. Here are some pictures showing how L'il Bear helped me, and how much he and Shadow enjoy it...

Continue reading "Kudos to The Cat Tree Store" »

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 07:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Kelly Martin, a geography teacher at North Forsyth High School, is a single mother of two boys and she has boundless energy and a heart for children with disabilities. She originally had the idea of a staff game to raise funds to buy an autism dog for her youngest son, Carter, who has "classic autism" or Kanner's syndrome.

"Through numerous donations," says the North Forsyth County News, "she's already raised the $13,000 plus necessary for her son's dog and training. But the game will go on, so others can be helped." And she's doing this with a broken wrist. Read about Kelly Martin's commitment to the ideals of 4 Paws for Ability by clicking here.

I announced the goals for Carter earlier in my blog. Click here to read the full story.

Note from Judy: 4 Paws for Ability is an amazing nonprofit organization located in Xenia, Ohio. It provides highly trained service dogs in many areas, but does require that approved families raise funds to train the dog. Please consider this child whose life will change significantly upon receiving an assistance dog. Read the testimonials. Reading them could change your life. It changed mine.

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

L'il Bear, fondly known as Destructo Kitty, spent a few minutes rearranging one of my bookshelves. The photos speak for themselves.

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Having a new kitty is a warm and wonderful adventure. It's fun to see the world through L'il Bear's eyes.

Ever since he joined me and Shadow, he's had an eye on two bedroom pull chains...to the overhead fan's light and fan functions. I forgot that when it's time to vacuum the bedroom I always put a little footstool on the bed.

This morning was vacuum the bedroom day, and little Bear 2.0, beta version, had a party.

He totally wrapped one of the chains around the light, and was able to bat the other one to his heart's content.

And that takes some doing. Everything is different with a kitten in the house.

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While the sun peeks through the clouds in the Phoenix area, Seattle is a different story. This morning the skies dropped buckets of snow on Greater Seattle, including my son and daughter-in-law. Here's a shot of their driveway. But that's not a problem when they have a 4WD!

There's one member of the family that loves this weather; she was born to...

Continue reading "Seattle Snow" »

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What is as cute as a little kitten interacting with another cat? Let me re-phrase that: I love to watch my new kitty, L'il Bear, interacting with the newly senior cat, Shadow.

The little one just worships Shadow. In fact, he is Shadow's shadow...

Continue reading "Saturday Morning Playtime" »

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Less than two weeks after Shadow and I lost our senior cat, Bear, I decided we'd mourned long enough. The house was a bit gloomy. Shadow moped. There's an animal rescue shelter not a mile from where we live, so late on a Saturday afternoon I hopped in the car and headed for the shelter.

I sat and watched cats and kittens, and when I spotted L'il Bear, I knew he was just right for Shadow, who was now the senior cat. The little guy was four months old. At first, Shadow hissed just as I expected...

Continue reading "Welcome, L'il Bear" »

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two weeks after my return from Hawaii, I woke up to discover that my Senior Cat, Bear, was dead. Everyone who owns a pet knows that the pet's life is limited, but of course we don't know how limited. And are we ever reallyprepared?

Bear was a rescue cat. He saw one owner through until his or her death, and Jack and I adopted him in April of 1998. Then he saw Jack through his illness and death. He was always there for Jack. He then discovered Shadow, and was his mentor and big brother for three years.

I took this picture when I was helping an animal rescue put together a newsletter. Bear was up for adoption, and he caught my eye...

Continue reading "Well done, good and faithful servant" »

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Meet Nellie Simpson, one of my many adorable granddogs. She recently had radical surgery on her knee: Tibial Patellar Leveling Osteotomy, and it is the 24/7 duty of Ron and Kerrie Simpson to ensure that she stays off her feet almost all the time. Yeah right...

Continue reading "Nellie loves Nancy loves Nellie" »

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Do you know someone in need of a trained assistance dog? You might want to investigate Canine Co-Pilots, of Flagstaff, Arizona.

This organization raises service dogs, social therapy dogs, hearing dogs, and autism dogs. Here's the way this 501(c)(3) works:

Our puppies are placed into volunteer homes at 8 weeks of age. The puppy raiser then attends training class once per week to learn training techniques and commands. The puppy raiser also gets to take their dog in training everywhere, including to their place of employment! After placement, the volunteer is required to participate in weekly field trips out in public alongside Canine Co-Pilots trainers. The dogs come back to us prior to their placement with a person with a disability.

Continue reading "Canine Co-Pilots" »

Posted by Judy Vorfeld at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)