Name: Blue Ivy - 1 year 3mths old
How long has Blue Ivy been in your family? 1 year
Family Members: Blue Ivy has a big family. Pauline (Mom), then Blue Ivy shares her home with Pauline's brother, Bud, and his fiance, Erica. Their dog, Ellie (an 8 lb Doxie Pin), is Blue Ivy’s best friend! Ivy also spends time at her owner’s boyfriend’s house a couple days a week. His name is Nick and he has a greyhound named Winnie Cooper!
Profession: Art Director
Location: Peachtree Battle
Nicknames: Baby Girl, Ivy, Ivy Badivy, Blue, Allen Ivyson
5 of the best words/phrases to describe Blue Ivy:
- What did you eat?
- The best napper in the world
- Friendly Giant
- Cuddlebug
- Vocal Yawner
What makes Blue Ivy unique? I’m not sure if this is unique because I know most dogs like to eat everything, BUT Ivy will eat anything and everything. I’ll tell you a list of things that have gone in and out of Ivy’s body!
• Whole socks – not torn up socks, but intact socks
• Pieces of blanket
• Door stopper tips
• String
• $10 bill – although I haven’t seen it come out yet
Zoomies with a stick!
Rescue Story: I love the story of how Blue Ivy came into my life because I believe it was fate! All the signs were in front of me and I followed all of them—straight to Blue Ivy.
I had a sweet, old beagle, named Murphy Lee, who had lived a long and happy life of 16 years. He passed away January 2016. The last months of Murphy’s life were both emotionally and mentally stressful, so not having to take care of a dog seemed nice! I wanted some time to relax and enjoy the freedom of being able to leave the house for more than 4 hours at a time! Plus, I needed some time to mourn the loss of my sweet baby boy.
A couple of months had passed and I still wasn’t sure if I was ready, but my co-worker came to me one day and told me about a litter in her neighborhood of Reynoldstown. I think there were about 8 puppies who needed forever homes.
Signs #1 and #2
They were born on January 13, so around the same time I had to make the hardest decision of my life. They were rescued on March 19, which is my dad’s birthday. Okay, his birthday is March 18, but it’s close.
Every day after my co-worker told me about this cute litter of boxer/pitbull mixes, I would check their Facebook page. Yes! They have a Facebook page dedicated just to these puppies, the Reynoldstown Puppies.
I questioned if I was ready for another dog and of course guilt crossed my mind. How could I replace my baby boy of 16 years with a new puppy?
Sign #3
One day, I was walking over to Whole Foods for lunch and as I was walking up I noticed a couple with a cute puppy outside. I approached the couple and asked if I could pet their puppy. As I was trying to pet the puppy, I realized that I had seen this squirmy little pup before. I thought to myself that this couldn’t be one of the Reynoldstown Puppies. How could a puppy travel all the way from Reynoldstown to the Whole Foods in Buckhead? And what are the chances of me running into one of these puppies on the street? I apprehensively asked the couple if their puppy was one of the Reynoldstown Puppies. Sure enough, the couple had just adopted one of the Reynoldstown Puppies–Mingus! I told them that I was thinking about adopting one of the puppies, as well.
I wasn’t sure if I needed another dog before I saw Mingus, but I took seeing him as a sign. I should at least go and visit the two puppies that are left—Blue Ivy and Beau! I immediately wanted to see Beau because that’s the name of my godson, BUT as soon as I read the description of Blue Ivy, I knew that we were meant to be together. The caption of one of the images of her sleeping on her back with her legs spread wide open read: Blue Ivy loves to get her naps in.
Signs #4 and #5
I scheduled a meet up with the foster mom to see Blue Ivy that week. The day that I was meeting Blue Ivy, my friend had offered me a ticket to see Beyonce in concert! (Blue Ivy is the name of Beyonce's little girl) Another sign! I knew that Blue Ivy was the one, and to top it off, when I took Blue Ivy on a walk with the foster mom we ran into another dog and his name was Murphy. This brought tears to my eyes and I told the foster mom right then and there that I would take her!
Blue Ivy heading to her forever home!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Blue Ivy has only been with us for a year but our favorite pastime is to go to the dog park. Blue Ivy is so friendly with everyone at the park and loves playing and running around with other dogs. Sometimes – actually, all the time – she’s too friendly. The way she greets others is by rolling over on her back and spreading her legs. <shake my head>
What is life like since you rescued Blue Ivy? Life with Ivy has been so amusing! Besides eating everything, she is well-trained and a quick learner! She is sweet, cuddly and friendly to everyone and every dog. I always tell people that I think Murphy, who was a sweet but grumpy dog, brought Ivy to me. I think he knew that his grumpiness stressed me out, so he wanted my life with my next dog to be somewhat easier.
Photographers Note: Blue Ivy's photo shoot took place in a beautiful park in the Buckhead area called Tanyard Creek Park. Its nestled back in the neighborhood and the Beltline cuts right through the middle of it. This park was a great setting for a photo shoot and bonus for Ivy, it had a huge green field for her to race around....and race around she did. Granted trying to take photos of a dog that is running full speed and in a big circle around us, can be challenging. I ended up capturing a lot of her butt exiting the frame. Finally I was able to track ahead of her and capture some joyous play time with this sweet pup. If she was running with a huge stick she found or her favorite toy, there was nothing but joy on this sweet girls face and what's better then that on a sunny Saturday?