Hello all!

Well, the interview with Neale is up and ready for viewing. I must say, the content was very rich, which is why I decided to offer 3 parts rather than edit it down to 5 minutes in total. I will likely be doing that for all the spiritual series movies. I filmed Bruce Newman of Tashi Choling and that is packed with mind expanding content! That will inevitably be broken into multiple clips as well. I knew that the moment I was done filming. So, be on the look out for Bruce’s show coming soon!

Well, my beloved dog Stella has been in need again so production of the shows is behind.  She has been through so much lately and when she needs me, I am there.  The last 5 days have been very trying.  She would not eat and could not walk well due to a couple different things.  So I have not even made it into the studio because I have been watching her like a hawk, cooking for her, massaging her and smothering her with love.  Hell, I have cooked more for her then I do for my husband and myself!  She is my baby and I would do anything for her.  So for all my viewers, please send prayers and good thoughts for Stella.  I appreciate your patience as I catch up on things for All About Ashland!

This is a story about a pit bull raised in a litter of Chihuahuas. It began with the Chihuahua mix pups, found on the side of the road on a cold November night. They were brought into the Jackson County Animal Shelter and when I came in to work the next day, I offered to foster them. There were five of them. Two black with ears like a bat and three black and white spotted. All five had hernias caused by a genetic condition, since it wasn’t life threatening, the Shelter staff decided to have the new adopters pay for the necessary surgeries in order to save the medical funds for more serious cases. The extra cost scared off a bunch of potential adopters and it took a couple months to get them all adopted.

When we were down to two pups left, a 6 week old pit bull was brought into the Shelter. Found as a stray, he was tiny and scruffy with skin so bad the staff had to inspect him for parasites. Turns out he just needed a bath, good food and lots of love. He was the same size as the Chihuahuas at that point, so I took him home and put him in with them. They were instant friends. The pit even matched with his black and white coat. If I blurred my eyes I couldn’t tell which breed was which!

I named the pit, Brutus, after the Great Dane raised in a litter of Dachshunds in the classic movie, “The Ugly Dachshund”. After a week or so, the spotted Chi mix was adopted and we were left with Brutus and one Chi named Maui. They were best buds. They shared a bed at night, ate from the same bowl, and wrestled all the time. When Maui was adopted, poor Brutus cried; he did not like being alone. My husband and I caved, and let him sleep in the bed with us and our three other dogs. And, since he didn’t have a kennel buddy anymore, I started taking Brutus to work at the Shelter with me. He sits on my chair with me for four hours every day. Everyone who walks by gives him a pat and he rewards them by whipping his tail back and forth as fast as he can and licking them with his extra long tongue.

And that’s where he is right now. Sleeping on my chair next to me, waiting like an angel for his “furever” home.

By: Sansa Collins
Manager of Volunteer Services
Friends of the Animal Shelter
www.fotas.org

Well today was interesting!  I shot the first episode of Nitty Gritty with host, Randall Hopkins and guest Phillip Lang.  The topic discussed was affordable housing in Ashland.  Or should we say lack of!  These two guys are passionate about wanting to bring positive change to the community and I was honored to have them on the first episode of this show!  They both use a great deal of their free time working on behalf of us, the residents of this community.  Watch this show and you will question why we don’t offer more affordable housing in this town.  It is a concern because amazing people are having to move away because they can’t afford to live here anymore.  Great people are leaving in drones.  What will become of Ashland if only people who can afford houses worth half a million remain?