9.11

We will never forget. God Bless all lives lost, our armed forces, police and firefighters and all that fought to help that day, God Bless America.

Adoption Success!!

From Adam.

“We got our animals from Crossroads Shelter in Buffalo, MN – near our home. Before we were married, my wife, Megan, and I used to take dates to the local shelters to visit the animals and donate toys and food. We always had a great time and the staff was always so appreciative. It was inevitable that we would end up taking one of these cute little guys home – probably my plan all along. I always had dogs growing up and Megan always had cats. She told me that if I was going to get a dog, we had to get a cat for her too. So it was settled, we were after a cat and a dog. We went back to the shelters for another play date. At the local Humane Society we found a tabby kitten and a lab mix puppy. We put them in a room together and it was clear it was not a match made in heaven. We decided we’d try again at Crossroads just down the road. There we found an adorable 16 week old black lab mix named Oreo (due to her white striped chest) and a tiny 12 week old Turkish Angora kitten named Squigy. After seeing that they weren’t going to kill each other when they met, we took them to their new home. We changed their names to Lilo (dog) and Stitch (cat). They’re almost 7 years old now and, as you can see from the pictures, they “tolerate” each other.”

Thanks for sharing Adam, there is no more rewarding love than from that of an adoption pet!

TRINITY

Trinity is a charming brown tabby who was found as a stray and had her luck turn for the better when she was brought to Animal Friends. Now she’s waiting in her condo to meet her new owner and go to her forever home.
At just under three years old, Trinity loves to play and wants nothing more than to chase some toys! When playtime is over, she will very happily sit in your lap and be cuddled.
Animal Friends is a great place, but Trinity needs someone to love and a home to call her own. Ask to meet with an adoption counselor to see if she is the cat for you!

JEANNIE

If you dream of Jeannie, wouldn’t she be sweet and loving? This Jeannie sure fits the bill; she is a very friendly, happy girl with a mission to love every person she meets. You wouldn’t know it that she had to be confiscated for neglect. She comes right over to you ready to give you her loving attention and to receive it in return is heaven!
Jeannie has so much love to give to both people and animals. She is very social towards other dogs. But people are still her favorite, and she’d love to be your running partner!

Jeannie is strong and needs to learn to not jump, so a home with children 9 and over would be best. Behavior classes are recommended, and she is sure to do well because she wants to please you. Then she will be an even better dog then she is already. Come visit her at Animal Friends today!

What is Fartlek Training? Not what your thinking……..

When our fitness instructor told us about this training method of course the whole class started laughing….. the name is crazy, but the workout is good. If you have never heard of it, check the info out and try giving it a chance. One of the best things you can do for your fitness routine is to switch it up!
Fartlek, a Swedish term that means “speed play,” is a form of interval or speed training that can be effective in improving your speed and endurance.
Fartlek running involves varying your pace throughout your run, alternating between fast segments and slow jogs. Unlike traditional interval training that involves specific timed or measured segments, fartleks are more unstructured. Work-rest intervals can be based on how the body feels. With fartlek training, you can experiment with pace and endurance, and to experience changes of pace. Many runners, especially beginners, enjoy fartlek training because it involves speed work. But it is more flexible and not as demanding as traditional interval training. Another benefit of fartlek training is that it doesn’t have to be done on a track and can be done on all types of terrains — roads, trails, or even hills.
To do a fartlek workout, try introducing some short periods of slightly higher pace into your normal runs. Maintain the faster pace for a short distance or time intervals, such as 200m or 30 seconds. The intervals can vary throughout the workout, and you can even use landmarks such as streetlights or telephone poles to mark your segments.
Once you complete a fast segment, slow your pace to below your normal running pace, until you have fully recovered and your breathing has returned to normal. Then return to running at your normal pace, and incorporate more slightly fast intervals later in the run.
Fartlek training puts a little extra stress on your system, eventually leading to faster speeds and improving your anaerobic threshold.