A Detective Story - part 1

Last week my husband called me at work to alert me to the fact that a crime had been committed in our house.  When I got home, I confirmed his initial report.  Someone had vandalized the wall/support post in our foyer.

Evidence Exhibit A:

I immediately began investigating.  I started with an interview of the reporting officer - in this case, my husband Dave.  He related his suspicions that one of the dogs or cats was to blame.  He also suggested that proper supervision of the animals was lacking on the part of the main foster caregiver.  Since I'm the main foster caregiver, I quickly dismissed that accusation and moved on to the next phase of the investigation.

I felt it reasonable to believe that either a dog or cat had commited the henious crime, since as far as I know the fish are not capable of this sort of vandalism.  So my next step was to try to determine how the damage had been done.  A comparison of the crime scene was made with other similar crimes that have been committed in the past. 

Evidence Exhibit B:

I know for a fact that this vandalization of the kitchen wall was committed by one or more young canines, hereafter referred to as puppies.  The puppies were thought to be safely enclosed in an ex-pen, but the pen was placed too close to the wall, and the puppies tried to dig to freedom.  While their escape was prevented due to the ex-pen, they did manage to remove a nice round circle of drywall from the kitchen wall. 

Since said puppies have since been adopted out, they cannot be implicated in this crime.  Therefore, I next turned my attention to another similar crime scene.

Evidence Exhibit C:

This crime was committed by one or more members of the feline family.  While the guilty cat or cats have not yet been determined, due to the age of this vandalism and the fact that it has not been repeated since the original incident, I believe the guilty party has also been adopted out. 

Which brings me back to the recent crime that has taken place.  From the initial inspection, I am inclined to believe the damage was done by a puppy or dog.  There are no long scratch marks indicitive of a feline perpetrator, and the location of the damage (in the living room/foyer area) suggests a canine is most likely responsible.

However, since the dogs are supervised much more closely than the cats, I do not believe they would have had the time to get away with such a crime without being caught.  This bears further study, so the next step will be to round up the suspects.  Stay tuned this week as I make additional deductions in an attempt to determine the guilty party.

<Click here for part two of the investigation>

Why I love fostering....

One of the best parts of being a pet foster parent is hearing back from the new owners after the pets are adopted, and learning how well they're doing.  It reminds me why I do this.  Thanks to some previous adopters for sharing your stories!

"I just wanted to check in and let you know how Cooper (Rowdy) is doing. He is doing wonderful, he loves to play with his brother Toby and they go non-stop, but when he crashes.....he crashes and there is no moving him. He loves our Select Comfort bed...he is a 50. He really adjusted well and never seemed scared or uneasy about being here, he loves the grass in the yard...but not on hot days, he likes it cool."

"We love this dog! He has immediately become the baby in our family. Thank you very much for helping make this happen. We have renamed him Sherman. He and our beagle, Sadie, get along fine. Also so you know he got a clean bill of health from our vet at North Main Animal Hospital. Lisa wanted me to attach some pictures for you so there should be an attachment. Thank you once again,"

"Here are some pics of Puffin. She has really settled in at our house. Just wanted you to see how well she is doing."

"I just wanted to send you a quick note and let you know that your Bear is doing so great! I apologize for not sending this until tonight. I have to say how impressed I am with his obedience. He did have a couple accidents the first night, which was expected, but we now know his signal - he goes to the door, sits down and just stares at it (really cute). He knows how to sit and lay. He enjoys sleeping under my bed when he has had enough play time and needs a nap. I was also astonished that he doesn't mind going into his crate at night and when I go to work. When we got our other dog 3 years ago, I recall him crying, crying, crying for about a week straight when we put him in his crate for bedtime. So I owe you a big THANK YOU for potty and crate training him so well."

I thought now is a very appropriate time for this reminder of why I love fostering, in light of some recent happenings at my house.  I'll share all about it soon. 

Headless Duke

I'm still learning how to work my new camera, and in the meantime I often get blurry pictures.  But lately I've noticed I've taken a lot of pictures of Duke without a head. 

I'd be embarrassed about this, except that I can't recall any of my other dogs ever losing their heads in photographs.  But time and time again, I look at the pictures I've taken of Duke only to find his head is missing. 

I'm not sure why this is.  Even when the picture is blurry, the other dogs still have heads.  Blurry heads, but they're definitely there.  But not Duke. 

So I decided to help him out.  The headless photos you saw above were not edited.  These following photos are edited, and Duke now has a head! 

And because that was so much fun, I decided to make it more interesting. 

What can I say - I'm easily entertained.

I'm Tired Of...

I just purchased this bracelet.  It says "I'm Tired Of Homeless Animals."  Half of the purchase price will be donated to the Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation.  I'm not a fan of Cesar's training methods, but his foundation not only promotes the need to spay/neuter animals, but also helps non-profit animal shelters and rescue groups around the country - and that is worth supporting. 

The company I'm Tired Of... who is selling these bracelets (made of recycled tires) also sells a variety of other bracelets and various products to raise money for a lot of different causes.  They have items to support Best Friends Animal Society (I'm Tired Of Animal Cruelty) and Last Chance for Animals (I'm Tired of Puppy Mills).  They also support causes other than animals, like cancer, world hunger, AIDS, and diabetes.  You can visit their website to see if they support a cause you care about. 

I had a hard time deciding which cause to support.  I was going to support one for Haiti, but when I saw the one that said "I'm Tired Of Homeless Animals", I just couldn't resist it.  It is so appropriate for me.  Because not only am I tired of people dumping their animals when they don't want them anymore, but sometimes...just occasionally... I get tired of taking care of those homeless animals!   I'm pretty sure I should have bought one for my husband Dave also.  Because there's no question that he is very tired of homeless animals.

Wordless Wednesday

Remi

This is Remi's entry into the Mango Minster dog show.  He is entering the Hard Working Dog category.

My mom and dad adopted me when I was 1 ½ years old, and I was an only pet. They played with me and they took me to the dog park and it was an easy life. Then one day mom brought home a friend for me to play with. And I liked the new dog, but they told me she was a foster dog and was only staying for a short time. It was fun to have a friend to wrestle with. Then she went away and a different dog came home. And then later another dog. And another. And all of a sudden I went from being an only dog to having a constant stream of different dogs coming to live with us. And then mom started bringing home cats too! What’s a dog to do? My easy life ended and I had to start working.

Those foster animals sure don’t know much. Most of them have bad habits that mom and dad have to work to fix. And most of them don’t know my rules, which are as follows:

1. Leave me alone when I’m sleeping.

2. Leave me alone when I’m eating.

3. Leave me alone when I’m resting.

4. Never run faster than me when we’re playing.

5. Always let me go first out the door.

I’m not a Bad Sport like Noelle, so when the other animals break the rules I just grumble a little bit, but it is hard work to put up with all of those rule-breaking dogs and cats!

Not only do I have to put up with them, but I have to share everything with them. Now Noelle comes along and makes me get off the bed whenever she wants on. And she makes me get off the couch if mom is sitting on it. And the only reason she is no longer a foster dog and now is my adopted sister is because she is such a Bad Sport that mom and dad couldn’t find anyone else to put up with her! So we’re stuck with her, and its hard work living with a Bad Sport. But I don’t complain – even when dad yells at me for chewing up a package of gum that I never touched but that Noelle stole out of his dresser and left lying on the floor near me. I just work harder to stay out of the way and out of trouble. Mom says I sleep a lot, but that’s really my way of working hard.

So please, vote for me for Mango Minster 2010. My name is Remi and I am a Hard Worker.

Noelle

Against my better judgement, I'm allowing my dog Noelle to share the following post...

Hi everyone!  Hi Judge Ike!  I am very excited to be part of the Bad Sport Category of Mango Minster.  I have lots of bad behavior to share with you.  First is a picture of me on the coffee table.  This isn't a recent picture, but that's because my mom moved the coffee table out of the room so I wouldn't jump on it or chew it up anymore.  She's all about prevention, she says.  That's okay - I have several other ways that I can demonstrate how I am a bad sport.

Here I am about to do a sneak attack on one of the cats. They never know what hits them. I'm extra sneaky about cats because sometimes I ignore them and other times I chase them. They never know when I'm coming! Hee hee - cats are fun.

Sometimes I like to use my best scary snarl face on other dogs.  Mom says that's not being a good breed ambassador, but I don't care about that.  What good is it to have a really scary snarl face if I can't use it to have a little fun?

This is me running away from the scene of the crime.  Boy did I have fun ripping that pillow to shreds!  Mom estimates I have managed to destroy close to $400 worth of possessions in the past year.  I think by the end of 2010 I can possibly double that if I work really hard! 

I have lots more bad behavior I could share with you, but mom says that is all she can handle right now.  She says I should remind everyone that I am really friendly, and even though I like to scare the dogs and cats sometimes, I never ever hurt anyone.  And really I do like other dogs and cats.  They even let me join the Naughty Kitty Club as an honorary member.  So let's just not tell them about the little cat chasing incidents, okay?

Artemis was adopted!

Artemis, my black panther foster cat, was adopted yesterday.  He went home with a wonderful couple who recently lost their black cat named Ziggy.  I first brought home Artie about a year ago, and he's been one of my favorite foster cats.  He also became my husband's favorite cat ever.  We will really miss him, but I know Artie will be happy to go to a new home where he will be loved and spoiled and given all the attention he wants so much. 

And hopefully he will never have to go to another adoption event and have cat litter accidentally dumped on him again...

Oops.

The futon

Recently I moved an old futon into the living room, and it has been quite popular with the dogs.

Remi uses it as a safe place to stay out of the wrestling match taking place in the center of the room.

Please ignore the fact that the cushion is sliding off the frame. This happens when a 160lb dog jumps on it unevenly.


Noelle uses it (after chasing Remi off) as a launching pad to jump down onto unsuspecting dogs who are wrestling below her.

Duke uses it as a wrestling mat in an attempt to take down Noelle.

And Ziggy?  Well I'm not quite sure what Ziggy is using it for back there...

But whatever it is, he's awfully darn cute doing it!

Tenacious Ziggy

Ziggy is all about cuddling.  And chewing.  Occasionally I have to kick him off the couch because he won't stop chewing my hands, or my feet, or my watch, or my computer cord.  So then he finds some friends to chew on. 

And it doesn't matter if they're already busy, he'll chew on them anyway. 

Even when they put him in a headlock, he won't let go. 

He's Tenacious Ziggy. 

Puppy Photography

Anyone remember this puppy? I fostered her for just a few short days, and quickly fell in love.

She had several littermates, all Min-Pin/Pug mixes like her.

I saw one of her littermates at PetSmart, where she was waiting for her first obedience class to start. I asked the owners if I could take a few pictures of her since her foster mom wasn’t there that week to see her. They kindly said yes – and even more kindly, they didn’t give me any weird looks or make any comments when I proceeded to sit down on the floor in the middle of PetSmart and photograph their dog for 15 minutes.

In my defense, it is very difficult to photograph a quick-moving object like this little puppy. And she is very little – the only way to get a good photo was to practically lie down on the floor. That is why I always try to wear old clothes to PetSmart – because you never know when a tiny puppy is going to come in and you will need to lie on the floor and take their picture.

Mango Minster

Remi and Noelle have told me that I’ve been writing about my foster animals too much – especially cats. Noelle said that cats are only good for chasing, and Remi said that he is much more handsome than any scrawny little cat. I explained to them that since Remi only sleeps on the couch, and Noelle only causes trouble, I couldn’t write about them all the time. And then I received the worst news I’ve heard all week.

I have just been informed that Noelle is working on her own blog post. She found this dog show called Mango Minster that she is very excited to enter. I thought this was a good idea at first. After all, since Noelle is deaf, she would never be allowed to compete in the Westminster dog show. Well, that plus the fact that she has no papers to prove she’s a purebred… and for that matter she probably isn’t even a purebred at all. Plus if she ever got to go to a real dog show, she would immediately be thrown out for bad behavior. But then I found out more about the Mango Minster show. They have a category called Bad Sports. So of course that is Noelle's category. And as part of the competition, she wants to write about all of her bad behavior!

I told her I couldn’t allow this. I’m supposed to be knowledgeable about dogs. I’m supposed to have well trained dogs that always behave. If she wrote about all of her bad behavior, no one would ever take me seriously again. But she insisted. And Noelle can be very, umm, demanding at times. She says that is more proof that she is perfect for the Bad Sport category. So I relented and said she could write a blog post. But I wouldn’t like it. I know it will take her a few days to write down all of her bad behavior, so maybe by then I can distract her with something else… like a cat to chase. It’s worth a try.

Remi is also thinking about entering the Mango Minster show. He thinks if there were a Tallest Dog category, he could win. But since there isn’t, he is probably going to enter the Hard Working Dogs category. I tried to convince him that sleeping on the couch was not hard work, but he claims that putting up with all the foster animals I bring home is the hardest work there is. And I just can’t argue with that.


Merlin wanted to enter the Cat-Dog competition, but Remi threatened to sit on him and Noelle threatened to eat him (Bad Dog!) so he withdrew his entry. If you have your own pets who would like to participate, check out the Mango Minster show, and tell Mango that Noelle and Remi said hi!

Introducing Harley and Babette

Harley is a Himalayan cat, around 5 years old.  Due to allergies, his family wasn't able to keep him any longer, and they asked for help in finding him a good home.  He's a purebred Himalayan, and he's declawed, so I think the hardest part about fostering him will be sorting through the many applications he is sure to receive.  That, and trying to keep him happy at my house while he waits for that perfect home.  He's never lived with other pets before - poor guy doesn't know what is happening to him!  But he is still sweet and friendly, and lets me visit and pet him.  I'm keeping the dogs and other cats away from him right now, so he can adjust to them slowly. 

My other new foster cat, Babette the Persian cat, is also starting to slowly adjust to her new surroundings.  In this picture she's hiding under a bookshelf, but that was because she was scared of the camera.  So I stopped taking pictures and started just petting her, and she seemed to enjoy that.  Even though she never did purr, and she does still seem to glare at me on a regular basis.  Except when I give her canned food - then she seems to like me a little better.  So now I'm giving her canned food every chance I get. 

Adoptions

We had a busy day at our PetSmart adoption event yesterday.  Both Heartland and All Paws rescue groups were there, as well as some dogs from the St. Charles County Pet Adoption Center.  It was wonderful to see so many volunteers there working to save homeless animals.  And to see all of those homeless dogs and cats there, being made available for adoption thanks to those volunteers, was great.  I'm not sure how many total adoptions were done yesterday, but I know there were a lot of people looking at all the available animals.  None of my fosters were chosen for adoption this week, but it was still a good week.  A Girl Scout troop came with donations for the dogs and cats, and a few other people also stopped and dropped off some much appreciated donations. 

This adorable puppy was not chosen for adoption, but one of her littermates was adopted. 

This senior Yorkie, also known as The Toothless Wonder, was not adopted yet either. 

This Yorkie, held by one of the Girl Scouts, was adopted!