Welcome to Riley and his Family

My name is Chelsea, and I live in small-town Iowa with my husband Jared and our dog Riley.  I blog over at Second Chances about animal rescue and all things dog.  When I'm not blogging, I work in rescue as well as a doggie hotel called Bark Break Hotel.  

Riley is an 8-year-old Pekingese/Poodle mix who loves belly rubs and nice, long naps.  We adopted Riley two years ago from the Humane Society of North Iowa.  His owner had passed away, so he lay shaking in the back of a cage in the shelter.  My husband fell in love with him immediately, and we took him home a few days later.  Since then, Riley has basically become the love of our life - he is a couch potato and loves to snuggle.  He also has an intense fear of the ice maker and a fierce love of squeaky toys.

I decided to start writing Second Chances after volunteering and working at an animal shelter.  I fell in love with rescue, and I wanted to show the world how important it is to adopt and volunteer.  I use the blog primarily to share animals in need and promote different shelters, but Riley definitely makes frequent appearances  - usually wearing an adorable sweater or bow tie. :)  I have had so much fun blogging so far, and I've really enjoyed meeting so many wonderfully kind people.  The pet blogging community really is amazing - so supportive and welcoming!

In addition to working at the Bark Break Hotel, I also am a substitute paraprofessional in special needs classrooms, and I am on the board of directors for an up-and-coming Iowa rescue called Wags to Riches.  Not to toot my own horn (okay, a little), but Riley and I recently had a short article published in the October issue of Dog Fancy magazine!  Just one of the many good things that have happened to us since adopting Riley.  He truly has changed our lives in the best way possible :)  We're so excited to be featured on the Blogville Welcome Wagon and look forward to "meeting" everyone soon!
Welcome Riley!! We're glad that you are in Blogville.
Head on over to Second Chances and Bark at Riley!!