Introducing Hershe, and more kittens!

First, I'd like to introduce you to my newest foster dog. Her name is Hershe, and she's a beautiful chocolate labrador retriever. She has been in foster care for a long time, and hasn't had very many people interested in her. She reminds me of Elvis because she's a bit timid in new situations. I am "borrowing" her from her previous foster home, so we can see how she would react to a new home, and if she has any problems that we need to work on. So far, she is doing great. She will take some time to settle in, so it'll be interesting to see what she's like in another week or so, but right now she seems very happy. She is the most camera shy dog I've ever met, so getting a good picture of her will be tricky, but here is the best I could do on short notice for you to see her. I might have to get out the telescopic lens for the camera so I can get her picture when she's not aware of it. Otherwise, well, I've taken many many pictures of the side of her head, or the top of her head (when she ducks down) since she runs as soon as she sees me holding the camera. :-)


And now, to introduce my new kittens - Frito, Cheeto and Nacho. We got a call from someone who's cat had kittens again (the third litter she's had) and wasn't able to give them all away through ads in the paper or at the flea market, so she wanted to know if we could take the last three kittens she had left. They're 8 weeks old, and all adorable male orange tabbies. I talked to the person who called, and was glad to hear she was getting her cat spayed after this! All our other foster homes are full, so I'm taking them. I'm going to put them on the foster website, so if you know of anyone who might be interested in fostering kittens, please direct them to http://www.hhsrescue.com/. These little guys are so cute - I forgot how completely insane kittens can be. They chase each other and are constantly moving - it's very hard to get pictures of them all together. It's also hard to tell them apart, but here's one way. Nacho, the kitten in front in the first picture below, is what is called a classic tabby. He has a kind of bulls eye swirl on his side. Frito, the kitten in the middle, is a mackeral tabby - he has the more common vertical stripes. He could maybe be called a spotted tabby since the stripes are broken up. And then Cheeto has some tabby stripes on his front legs, but no obvious tabby pattern on his body - at least not that I can tell. SO, that's how I tell them apart! Here are some pictures of them...

I'm also excited to report that Hunter, Murphy and Lexi are coming to visit! Hunter is one of my previous foster dogs, a Great Dane/Pointer/Lab mix, or something like that. :-) He's a great dog and I'm getting the chance to dogsit for his family while they're gone - I can't wait to see him again. He is a friendly easy-going dog and I have missed him! Also, later this month I get to see another one of my old fosters. Murphy, who used to be named Coal, was one of my first foster dogs that I fell in love with - he was shy and afraid of almost everything. These days he is a much more confident happy dog, and I am lucky to get to see him at PetSmart sometimes. His family knows how much I still miss him and everytime I run into them at PetSmart I beg to dogsit him again, so I was happy to find out they were going on a trip and letting Murphy stay with me. Murphy also has a new puppy sister named Lexi - she's adorable, and I can't wait to play with her! So I am really looking forward to having two of my old fosters back for a visit later this month, and a new puppy in addition!

Don't forget Trivia Night is coming up quickly - October 17th! This is Heartland's biggest fundraiser, and we could really use your support. You can click here: http://heartlandhumanemo.homestead.com/TriviaNight.html to find out all the details. If you can't attend, there are other ways you can help - click the link above for details. You don't have to be good at trivia - its just a fun way to spend the evening with friends, helping out the animals. And the silent auction and raffles are also a lot of fun! I hope to see you there!