Monday, October 19, 2009

Do you know how to blacken beeswax? & my first foster ~

Do you know how to blacken beeswax or where to find instructions? I've searched the Internet without success. There are many items for sale, but I'd like to know how to make my own. Years ago, I made beeswax ornaments, and the smell of melted beeswax is heavenly.
Since it seems very strange to post to my blog without any pictures, I thought I'd share a couple of pics of my first foster, TeeJaye. In August of 2008, I got a call asking if I'd be willing to foster a female pug that was in a shelter. Barb wanted to pull her from the shelter, but could only do it if she had someone lined up to foster her. She knew nothing other than it was a female. I himmed and hawed and reluctantly said I would. At that point, I wasn't sure if I wanted to foster. Fast forward to the same evening. Barb and I met and she handed TeeJaye to me. The word that came to mind when I saw her was "skanky" (if that's a real word!). Poor thing was missing about 25% of her hair. She was skinny and so pathetic looking. I thought how could I ever care for this girl when I didn't even want to touch her! The loss of hair was due to a bad case of fleas (which thankfully were gone by the time I got her). The hair immediately started to grow back, she put on some weight, and she was the most loving girl and a real beauty. Here she is in her "street walking" costume....
...and all decked out for fall!
This young lady ended up stealing my heart and she came very close to being a foster failure. Luckily, I had met the lady who ended up adopting her, so I knew she was going to a good home. The day she was adopted, I took a half day off work and spent the day crying. I knew I was doing what was best for TeeJaye but it still hurt.
I am now fostering pug #6 and each and every one has been special. They have all taken a little piece of my heart when they've been adopted.
Please, if you are thinking about a pet, consider adopting or buy from a reputable breeder. PLEASE do not buy from a pet store. My current foster Eema has spent her entire life in a cage having babies! Her baby days are over and my hope is that she will soon go to her forever home where she will live with the dignity she deserves!
Thanks for listening and I'll get off my soap box now!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

4 comments:

weaverpat said...

Hi Lauren,
The soap box message is necessary! And it applies to cats, too. The little furry ones do not deserve a life of misery, and it's up to us to do all we can to keep that from happening.
Bless you for caring!
She turned out to be a cutie!

Doris said...

Hi Lauren - how could you part with teejaye - such a cutie. You are so right about the puppy mills - so glad you are in a position to help. I have the most spoiled Jack Russell little girl and I adore her and all her kind! Keep up the good work.

Primitives By The Light of The Moon said...

What a wonderful story! Glad you got to see Teejaye go to a great home.

Anonymous said...

Blackening beeswax is very easy to do. You can use black crayons but you will need lots of them. There is a seller on ebay candlechem who has color blocks. You just add them to your wax when melting and you will get a very blackened wax. Not sure if you can find the color dye blocks in a store near you. I have been making beeswax for years and have never found them anywhere but online.
Hope this helps.