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Fluffs + Wags—All things dogs.

@fluffsandwags

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✨Dogs: Adoption, training, illness, + grief.
🐕 Juno 7/22/15-4/4/21 🐕‍🦺 Onyx 2/11/19 🐾 Iris 3/5/21
🏳️‍🌈 2016, Juno made me a dog parent—aka O’Pa.
📍MI

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Happy birthday, Juno! 🥹

Today would have been Juno’s 10th birthday. Double digits. 🔟

I remember when I got her and the time was flying by, I was already dreading her growing older. I remember thinking, “once she hits ten, I may be a mess in anticipation of her being old.” Little did I know our time was going to be much shorter than ten. 🥺

Reaching her 10th birthday without her hurts. She loved birthdays. Every year since she has passed, I get a portrait done of her — a tradition started by a dear friend. It’s something new of her to keep her that much closer — plus, the world could always use more Juno. 🥰

I love the way she walked into a room. She was curious, happy, and tapped her tail just because you looked at her. We were so in sync. Often, I would look at her and we would make a decision together in an instant. To be understood and loved on that level is unmatched. 💞

I love the way she stretched when she got off the couch — splooting mid-air with her little feet upside down on the couch and pulling each back foot down one at a time. I love the way she would lay belly side up in a perfect sploot and curl up into a ball like a lobster fox. 🦊

I love the way people would smile when they saw her. The instant light she brought everywhere she went. The stories people would tell her. She was a walking ray of sunshine. 😍

What I love most is all the gifts she gave me during our time together. Five birthdays without her and she’s still right here. The memories are an eternal gift and on the hardest days I think to myself, “how incredibly lucky I am to have had and loved Juno while she was here.” 💗

She taught me so much about life when she was here, and so much about death. She taught me how to live each day with the goal to spread joy, and appreciate the little things like a look or a good friend saying your name. ❤️

Thank you for being my best friend and changing my life, Juno. The world is undoubtably a better place because you were in it. I would not be where I am today without you. You made me a better person, and I’ll always live my life with the lessons you taught me and to make you proud. I love you. 🫂

🐕 #JunoTheFoxDog by @fluffsandwags

3/5/21 – 9/24/24
Iris Alexis H.

3 years, 6 months, 19 days.

Iris, I will love and miss you forever.

You taught me so much. You pushed me to grow in ways I didn’t think were possible. You expanded my knowledge as a dog parent beyond what I ever thought I could know.

This year we were really starting to hit our stride, but her front legs failed her and she wasn’t a good candidate for surgery or other alternatives. Her body ran out of time, the pain was too much, and the chances of an even worse, catastrophic event were looming.

Iris had a lot of things in her life that were stacked against her. She was dealt the absolute worst genetic hand and health complications. We did absolutely everything we could. She saw 13+ vets, many board specialists, had surgeries on every leg before her second birthday, completed 205 sessions of physical therapy at MSU, and a few months at another rehab center, had bone and joint biopsies, multiple CT scans, countless x-rays, and so much more.

She saw the world as a pretty scary place when she started feeling ill as a young pup, but placed her trust in me — it forever is my greatest accomplishment.

She set firm, enforced boundaries that demanded respect, and although she wasn’t the easiest going dog, the amount of people that love her is immense. She became a favorite of many despite the odds and requiring more. She showed me that being high needs and clear about what you want is powerful and worthy of endless love.

There was so much she couldn’t control, but she still chose each day to be the biggest (literally at 128lbs.) cuddle bug. She was goofy, playful, wickedly smart, sweet, and the biggest mooch. She happily would let me pet her for hours and I soaked it all up.

She loved trapping me in the bathroom to steal head rubs and keep me company. She never wanted to miss out on a good time, loved her people fiercely, protected us from delivery trucks every day, and always wanted to follow Onyx. Birds always fascinated her — she was scared of them and ran then grew to tilt her head in amazement. She hated thunderstorms and fireworks and loved hiding in the basement.

[continued below] by @fluffsandwags

I think some people still think I’m exaggerating when I say that there is no space untouched by white supremacy. Brit (@fluffsandwags) and I (@gingers_naps) got together to actually unpack what white supremacy means, and what it looks like in practice in the dog world. We noticed which common behaviors in white dominant culture (WDC) mirror behavior we witness in humans’ relationships with dogs.

Many Indigenous cultures practice a more horizontal relationship with non-human members of their environments. Chief Dan George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation said, “If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.”

Scholar Billy-Ray Belcourt of Driftpile Cree Nation wrote that “Insofar as decolonization is a violent and totalizing gesture that displaces the mechanisms governing (settler) colonialism, those spaces for animal activism that center whiteness thus further impossibilize decolonization and leave in tact the power relation that make speciesism possible. A decolonial animal ethic must instead center both indigeneity and animality as sites of anti-colonial possibility.”

To us, both of these quotes represent a spirit of interspecies commonality and cooperation that colonialism and WDC squash(ed). Balanced and FF advocates need to keep this in mind in the ways we speak to and about each other. Human cooperation is necessary because as long as we fight each other, WDC in dog training will persist. The relationships we need to develop with our dogs can only come into fruition if we turn away from the WDC norms that have overtaken dog training and focus on mutuality and compassion.

Disclaimer: We are not saying that anyone that uses different methods is racist, but that the current culture of dog training that depends on harmful methods and modern interpretations of our dogs’ actions are heavily impacted by WDC.

Let us know what you think in the comments, especially if you have any examples we may have missed, and share this post to keep the conversation going!

[Image descriptions pinned in comments.] by @fluffsandwags

Vote! 🗳️

Today is the day! Text three people and ask them if they have voted. It makes a difference. ✨

We’ve been texting, phone banking, and talking to our neighbors. We can make a difference! We’re voting for @abdulelsayed because we want money out of politics, money in the treat fund, and Medicare for all! 🎉 by @fluffsandwags

What’s better than one Ms. Rachel? 👀
Three @msrachelforlittles! 🩷

We had so much fun dressing the dogs up as someone who shares our values, compassion, and lives those out daily. 💖

Let’s live our values on Tuesday too! We already voted, have you? 🗳️ by @fluffsandwags

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood to be friends with Ms. Rachel. 🚂

Happy Halloween! 🎃

We love children’s books. 📚
We love people who stand up for what is important. 🇵🇸
We love Mister Rogers and @msrachelforlittles. 🩷
We love being in community and being surrounded by dogs. 🐕
We love fall. 🍁

Enjoy today and make sure you have a plan to vote on Tuesday. 🗳️

Which icon would you dress up as? ✨

P.S. I always put one of my favorites at the end so only the best people see it. 🥰

#MsRachel #MsRachelHalloween #DogCostumes by @fluffsandwags

Today we lost a dog that changed my life. 💔

For years, a dog that lived about 700 miles away taught me how to care for my own family. 🚀

Years ago, I met @TemboAndLaika. In March of 2026, I was on my way to meet her for the first time in NYC. We had so much fun, and an equally incredible part of this trip was meeting Laika, Io, and Hamtaro. 🥰

Io was famously known as Mr. JOMO (joy of missing out). For years Io had learned about how he set boundaries with his family. In the fall of 2023, he woke up unable to walk, and for a dog that was like Iris in so many ways, requiring extra handling was a challenge. Throughout the years, I learned so much from watching his family love and care for him. ❤️‍🩹

He taught them so much about loving through caregiving when a pet does not want help but needs it. He was an excellent teacher, and his mom is an excellent storyteller, and I took note. 📝

This sweet face on the other side of the country with the sweetest eyes I have ever seen changed my life and the lives of every dog I’ve come in contact with since. He jokingly was referred to as an alien from outer space by his family, and the lessons he brought to Earth are bigger than most people can imagine. 🌎

When I got to meet him in March, we knew he had stranger danger. So, I laid on the ground and he came over to check me out. He didn’t bark when he saw me and even came up to smell me (a huge badge of honor that I will always carry with me). I was even lucky enough to take these photos of him. 🥹

Io, thank you for living life the way you needed it. For sharing when things were too much, for setting clear boundaries, for being happy doing your own thing, for bringing so much joy to all of us, and for filling your family with so much love. We miss you already big guy. Rest in peace. ❤️ by @fluffsandwags

This had never happened before. 👀

There are two really important things about the photo of all three of them. 📝

On Iris’ death anniversary, we took the dogs out to a park that is our favorite and she would have adored. 🌥️

If you don’t know, our three dogs cannot be together inside. Hera does not like other dogs indoors and her and Onyx have not always gotten along. We’ve spent over a year getting the three of them to enjoy being outside together. 🌲

You should also know that Iris was the absolute best dog at taking photos. And Onyx, Hera, and Cora have never posed for a photo together. 💕

So, when these three posed for a photo together so easily for the first time ever on Iris’ death day, I literally jumped with joy. 🥹

Here are some photos from that day that I’ll always remember as new firsts. We took photos, ate dog cookies, and did Iris’ favorite things. I arranged my second floral arrangement for her and we took more photos. 📷

We love and miss you Iris, and all of this will always be what we wish we could have done with you. ❤️‍🩹 by @fluffsandwags

Two years ago, our beloved Iris passed away at home surrounded by people she loved.

Time is a tricky thing. It moves so slow in the moments that we wish would end and so fast when we want to hold on a little bit longer. These past two years, I’ve wanted to hold on a little bit longer.

So we create traditions that we had when she was here that she saw us do with the death of Juno, and new ones now that Iris is gone too. So we did those today.

At midnight, I go over and pet her urn from @craftedurns like I would her head every day when she was here. Then, I carry her up from her usual place and place her beside my bed.

In the morning, I hug her urn so tight, sometimes I sit her in my lap.

I make a flower arrangement for her and take photos. Iris was the best at taking photos.

In the afternoon, we take her and Juno’s urns with us in their carrying bags. We play and run in ways Iris didn’t often get to do when she was here. We book extra time at the park to lay around and enjoy the view—just like Iris did. We soak up the time we have together.

I carry her urn in my backpack around the park. Honoring her memory drives our whole day.

The dogs enjoy the cookies we ordered for them. We order pizza and give some crust to the dogs and play the playlist she listened to non-stop during the last month of her life: coffee house.

Being two years away from Iris’ death feels surreal. She was our entire lives nearly 24/7 for three and a half years—all 120+ pounds of her.

Losing her at three and a half years old is not something I ever imagined. It still feels impossible.

Every day I look over at her ashes in the urn. I see the beautiful wood that has intricate grain—I picked it because it was so specific, just like Iris. I pet it and it is nearly as soft as her fur behind her ears. So smooth, so perfect, so Iris.

Grief shows up often and today is one of the hardest days. I’m so thankful to have her with me. Still huggable, still soft, still complex, but still so simply my Iris.

I love and miss you, Iris. In another life, with different luck, you would still be here. But in this one, we live each day you aren’t here a little extra for you. 🫂 by @fluffsandwags

Happy 2nd Birthday, Cora! 🥳
Cora is all grown up! 🎈

She still is very much a puppy, but she is officially an adult. Time has flown so quickly. It is hard to believe. 🥹

Her favorite things include her sister Onyx and following me around the house. So much so, that half of the time it looks like I have a long white tail out of the corner of my eye. 😂

Cora loves to play with toys and adores shredding things. She loves destroying rope and getting shred boxes. She has a spot in the pantry where she can take boxes and she loves going in there and taking one and scurrying away. 📦

But if Onyx is up for playing, that is always her first choice. She still needs help sharing sometimes because it is very confusing for her that Onyx would want to play with a toy by herself when Cora is available and wanting to play. 🤣

She loves playing with Hera and is a really fast runner. Her favorite trick is “wave” and she loves to interact with the world with her paws. 🐾

Her biggest quirk is licking. She licks any and everything all the time if possible. We’re working on it and getting her anxiety medications right. 👅

She loves car rides, but within 5 minutes of being in the car, she falls fast asleep. She isn’t much of a barker, but is alert if Onyx is barking and stands on the couch. She will join in if she sees what is going on too. And apples are still her favorite food. 💕

Cora is exactly what we needed. She has added to life in all the ways we wanted after so much loss. She makes us laugh daily, is always ready for fun, and loves adventures. ☀️

Happiest birthday to my little missing piece. We love you so much. 🥰

✨ #CoraTheLabDog

[Image descriptions: Cora is outside and indoors with balloons. There is a wall that has balloons shaped like her name.] by @fluffsandwags

Happy 3rd Gotcha Day, Hera! 🎉

To our foster “Apple Pie” who was supposed to be temporary, I’m so proud of you. The dog that came here is not the same dog we have today. 👀

It feels like she’s been here forever. Yet, she still feels like the newest addition to the family. 🥹

Hera came here as an anxious, scared, cautious, quiet, nervous baby. 🥺

Today, she is bold. She is confident and loud. She sings to us often. She spots toys and excitedly grabs them and loves to play tug. 💖

In three years, she healed from her spay, learned to relax, treated ehrlichia, worked on her separation anxiety, swallowed some toys and part of her leash, had multiple foreign body scopes, survived many pokes to bumps, got diagnosed with an abnormality in her spine via MRI, healed an ear infection, had a bullet removed that was there when we adopted her, survived and healed from a dog attack, and has a surgery coming up to remove two concerning bumps on her leg. She has had four specialists and two primary care vets that have taken excellent care of her. ❤️‍🩹

In that time she has learned so much. She has made friends with dogs and humans. She loves going to physical therapy, is very playful, and is starting to get along with her siblings. She spends her days comfortable, communicating, and relaxing. 🥰

She has a severe case of FOMO all the time and wants to be your best friend, but only for a little bit—she gets bored easily. 😂

She knew back in the shelter that she had found her family. It just took us almost a month to see that she needed the home we could provide. I’ve always said adopting Hera was one of my biggest mistakes, and I still think that is true. But mistakes can come with good and bad consequences and despite all the challenges, there is still a lot of good. ❤️

Hera came into our home during so much change. From Iris, to losing her, to adding Cora, and all while learning that Onyx’s bark is not so scary, she’s overcome a lot. I’m so thankful she has taken it all in stride for the most part. ✨

We love you, Hera. Thanks for telling us we were meant to be your family. 🫶🏻

🥧 #HeraTheHuskyDog

We got her these Gotcha Day cookies from @afbonetique to celebrate 3 by @fluffsandwags

Happy 11th Birthday portrait, Juno. ✨

Every year for Juno’s birthday, we get a portrait done. The tradition started in 2021—the first Juno birthday without her here. 🫂

Our friend surprised us with a portrait of Juno on her birthday. I cried and smiled. I missed her so much, and I was looking at something new of her. 🥹

When your loved one dies, the number of new things you see fades. Any new photo, video, or story feels like such a gift. And here it was. On her birthday. A new piece of Juno. 🥰

Every birthday since then, we’ve gotten a portrait of Juno. A gift to us for a year she should have been here, living new memories. It doesn’t replace the years of memories we didn’t get to have. But it brings her image to life through incredible artists who help us keep her memory alive and present. 🫶🏼

Juno was so smart, kind, and eager to go on any adventure. She loved meeting people and absolutely adored other dogs but especially her sister Onyx. She followed me everywhere and is my soul mate. I still miss her every day. 💞

Thank you to @artist._.Sara.h for this beautiful portrait of Juno. I appreciate you so much. Please go support her work. Always and forever, Free Palestine. 🇵🇸 by @fluffsandwags