Introducing Missy: Small But Mighty

Missy is a ten month old Schipperke/Chihuahua mix that was an owner turn-in at a local shelter. The All Paws volunteer who pulled her took her home to foster and got her all ready to be adopted. But there was a problem. Missy may only weigh eight pounds, but in her mind, she's a Big Dog. And she didn't do well with the other small dog that was in her foster home. Because after all, as the Big Dog in the house, she was sure she would be in charge, and when the small dog didn't agree, there were issues. So it was suggested that perhaps she would be better off in a different foster home, where she could no longer beat up on tiny toy poodles. This is how I came to foster Missy.


It's pretty obvious around here that although Remi weighs over twenty times more than Missy, he is not in charge. Although to be fair, Missy is also not in charge. In our house, we have a hierarchial relationship that looks like this:

I think it's obvious from reading this chart that I am very good at wasting time that could be spent on more important things like fixing up the house. It's also obvious that I need to spend more time learning the definition of a hierarchial relationship.  But the point is that the size of the dog or cat does not matter in the least. Tigger is my newest foster cat, and he is in charge of Missy. Granted, Tigger is larger than Missy. But Missy is in charge of Remi, and she is definitely not larger than Remi.

Never mind that one swipe of his giant paw could flatten her.

Missy is fast - she can run circles around Remi!

One thing that both Missy and Remi have in common, is they both think that no matter their size, they are cuddly lap dogs. Whether you want to cuddle or not - if you sit on a couch in my house, you must be prepared for this:

My dad, wishing the dogs understood the concept of personal space.

Missy is turning out to be a perfect foster dog, and surprisingly, a great playmate for Noelle (when she visits) and Remi (when he manages to wake up from a nap).  She will probably be adopted quickly but I'm enjoying every minute I have with her.

Wordless Wednesday



Angel, an All Paws Rescue cat looking for a home



Ziggy and Me: The Reunion

I have been Ziggy's foster mom for over a year. Since he was four months old, he's been part of my life. I have fed him, provided shelter, given him soft clean blankets to sleep on and chew toys to destroy. In return he's provided me with hours of entertainment and fodder for my blog. We've gone on weekly outings to PetSmart. We've gone hiking, and to the dog park, and to friends houses. We've bonded over training sessions and walks around the neighborhood. Other than a few short weeks he spent in boarding when I went on vacation, Ziggy and I have been together almost his entire life. So when he left for boot camp, I knew it would be a big adjustment for both of us. He was gone for five weeks before I was able to set up a visit with him. I envisioned the reunion that we would have when we met again. He would run up to me with his tail wagging and his eyes filled with joy, and I would throw my arms around him and apologize for sending him away. He'd lick away the tears on my face, and we'd both vow to never be separated again.

Then I got to PetSmart, our meeting place for the visit. Ziggy came in with his trainer, and I stood there and waited for Ziggy to recognize me. And I waited. And waited some more. It was busy at PetSmart and there was a lot to take in, so I knew it would take some time. Finally I went over to him and held out my hand. He sniffed it, and then it happened! There was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes. He licked my hand, and I reached down to pet him. He sniffed my pocket, and realized I didn't have my usual supply of dog treats. Then, as I bent down to throw my arms around him and let the happy reunion begin, he turned and walked over to the next person to see if maybe THEY had a ready supply of dog treats in their pocket. I sighed, and acknowledged that Ziggy was just being Ziggy. He wasn't holding a grudge, or deliberately ignoring me. He just was so busy living his life, that he didn't really miss me at all. So I did the only thing I could. I borrowed some dog treats and called Ziggy to me. Once he saw the treats, he was all mine. We went through our repertoire of tricks, and he remembered every one of them. There were no tears, no licks, no joyful reunion hugs. But as we finished the tricks and I watched his trainer lead him away, he gave me one quick backward glance. And I imagined, for that one split second before Ziggy once again focused on living in the moment, that perhaps he wished to stay with me. Then he went trotting off to his next adventure, waiting around the next corner, and I was happy that he was happy. And that I still had one more week to enjoy the peace and quiet before he came home.

Ziggy returns next weekend, and we'll see then exactly what effect boot camp had on him. Somehow, in spite of his intensive six week training course, I don't think there will be any lack of Ziggy stories to share in the future.

Why My Pets Hate Me

It's a good thing dogs don't hold grudges. If they did, I'd be in big trouble. Last night was my first night at the new house. I took Remi with me, but my husband Dave won the coin toss for Noelle and she is staying with him at the old house. Okay, we didn't really toss a coin. We had a grown-up rational discussion, where nothing was decided, until I finally acknowledged it was his turn to win a fight so I gave in. She's always been his dog, since the moment they met. I still get visiting rights, but the only thing Noelle knows is that I've abandoned her. Fortunately, she's a pit bull - one of the most loyal breeds there is - and when I come visit her this evening, she's not going to hold a grudge. She'll instantly forgive me and shower me with kisses. Of course that'll make me feel even more awful when I leave her behind again.

But then I get to go home to Remi, who doesn't have a reason to be angry with me. Oh other than the fact that I took him away from his home and brought him to this strange house that he hates. Dave installed all new laminate flooring throughout the house, and it's very slick. Have you ever seen a giraffe trying to walk on ice? If you can imagine that, you can imagine Remi trying to walk on laminate floors. It's not a pretty sight. But Remi doesn't hold grudges, so it's safe for me to return home. I think. Even if he is angry, it's pretty easy to outrun him inside the house.

Tomorrow I get to go to an adoption event and the boot camp instructor dog rehabilitator is going to bring Ziggy by to see us. I am so excited and nervous. Because if any dog were ever to hold a grudge, I'd imagine it would be Ziggy. When I see him, I want to just bend down to his level and wave at him and say Hi Ziggy!! and then throw my arms around him and give him a big hug. Which of course is exactly the wrong thing to do. I didn't say I'll do it. But I really want to. Hopefully Ziggy is not holding a grudge for me sending him to boot camp. If he behaves himself I may even be able to take him home soon!

And then there's Merlin. Merlin has been living a life of contentment and luxury at my parents' house for several months. But I miss him, and my parents are not begging me to keep him, so I'm going to be bringing him to the new house in the next few days. And one thing that is different about cats and dogs - I think cats do hold a grudge. So Merlin may never speak to me again, after I bring him to the new house. At least the dogs won't be able to chase him very easily on the new flooring. With enough canned food and cat treats, I might even be able to convince him that life with me isn't so bad after all.

Have you ever done anything so awful that your pet held a grudge? Tell me your worst stories, and help me stop feeling so guilty for making all of my pets miserable!

Merlin Lives Dangerously

When I was forced to temporarily relocate my cat Merlin, I thought long and hard about where he could go.  I knew he may have to be gone for a few months, and I wanted him to be happy, wherever he was.  So in the end, I thought the best place for him was my parents' house.  They have experience with cats, my mom is home all day so Merlin would get a lot of attention, and most importantly, I knew if I asked, even though they didn't really want a cat, they would say yes.  We thought at the time it would only be for a couple of months.  But Merlin has been there for well over six months now.  I could understand them wanting him gone, but I thought they'd just ask me to come get him, not take other, drastic measures.

My sweet, innocent Merlin is an indoor cat.  I don't ever let him go outside since there are too many dangers of cars, loose dogs, and other risks.  I knew my parents felt the same way - and even if they didn't, I knew they would keep him indoors since that is what he is used to and that is what I believe is best for him.  At least that's what I thought, until I received these pictures:

Not only was Merlin outdoors, but they had put him in a tree!  Just to take a picture and threaten to make him stay in the tree if I didn't come get him.  Poor, poor Merlin.

He looks so small and helpless.

Doesn't he look terrified?  How could anyone be so cruel... so heartless.... so.... oh, wait.  That's not exactly how it happened.

Okay, fine, the truth is Merlin is not sweet and innocent.  He is sneaky and quite brilliant. He learned how to slide open the screen door to make his escape to the Great Outdoors when no one was watching.  Then, because he's a cat, he decided the best thing in the world would be to go after those birds in the tree.  So he climbed the tree.  And since she's my mom and she knows how much I'd want pictures, my mom went and got her camera and took some photos before trying to lure Merlin down with his favorite canned food.  Which worked... eventually.

Notice how in spite of the canned food my mom is holding in front of his face, Merlin is focusing only on the birds still tormenting him from the safety of the treetops.

 Thanks Mom, for all you've done to keep Merlin safe.  Thanks for not taking any drastic measures to get rid of him, and for saying he can stay as long as needed.   I'm sorry I implied otherwise - it just made for a better story.   I'll come over and help you cat-proof your screen door tomorrow.

Wags and Wrigley and Zoe were adopted!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks as I've been trying to get the new house ready to move into. I'm hoping to move in within the next week or two, and then I'll be able to start fostering again, and blogging more often. Fortunately all of my fosters have been adopted, except for Ziggy who is still away at rehab. He's doing well and will hopefully be released soon! Here are some of the recent adoptions we've had:

Zoe
My previous pit bull mix puppy foster was adopted over a week ago, and so far, so good.

That basically means I haven't received a phone call from the adopter wanting to return her - yet.  Whew.

Her littermate Venture (a.k.a. Scary Puppy) has now been renamed Mia and is in another foster home, where she is doing great and being spoiled!  Here is Mia attending a parade with her foster family:

Guess she's not so scary when she's all dressed up!

My friend Bev, the craziest most wonderful foster person I know, took in eight Chesapeake Bay/Labrador Retriever mix puppies recently, and they were ready for adoption this past weekend, at the same time as Wags and Wrigley.  She knew I couldn't make it to adoptions last weekend because I was working on the house, so she kept Wags and Wrigley, along with her eight foster puppies, all weekend and took them to three adoption events!  That's right - she gave up her ENTIRE weekend - Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday, to hold adoption events at a local PetSmart to try to find the puppies homes.  And it paid off, because by the end of the day on Sunday, all ten puppies had been adopted, along with one adult foster dog. It was incredible.  Did I mention she's crazy wonderful?  In addition to the three day adoption event, she also attended/worked at a fundraiser for All Paws on Saturday night, and temporarily kept another six puppies and one adult all weekend for another foster mom who had to go out of town.  I am in awe of her, and can't quite understand how she stays sane, but I am glad she does!  Thanks to her, a lot of puppies are now happily living in new homes, including Wags and Wrigley.

Wags, being held by a volunteer at an adoption event on Friday night.

One of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Lab mix puppies

Another Chessie/Lab puppy - 8 weeks old.

The puppies were worn out after 3 adoption events in a row!

In Need of Rescue

Every day I receive many e-mails with requests for dogs or cats needing help.  These requests go out to rescuers in the immediate area of the animal, and sometimes all over the country, asking for anyone who can help.  Sometimes a rescue group will be able to assist with one of the requests.  Other times, no help can be found and the dog or cat is killed.  I get very frustrated with the people who say that this country does not have a pet overpopulation problem. It is worse in certain areas than others, but for the United States overall, it is still a very real issue.  I would love to see us become a no-kill nation that can provide good homes for every dog and cat that is born, but right now we aren't there yet.  

Tonight I received a request to help this dog. 

He was found on a highway median, feeding on a deer carcass.  The person who found him knew he was in danger when he started dragging a deer leg across the highway in front of oncoming traffic.  She was able to catch him and take him to an area shelter.  This is what he had wrapped around his neck: 

He had no tags, and no microchip, so no way to identify his owner.  He was tested for heartworms and tested positive.  Heartworms are transmitted to dogs by a mosquito bite, and if not caught and treated, can cause congestive heart failure.  They are prevalent in this area of the country but can easily be prevented by a monthly heartworm preventative chewable tablet that can be purchased from a veterinarian.  It appears whomever owned this dog did not have him on preventative, and now he will require an expensive and somewhat dangerous treatment to remove the heartworms.  The shelter where he was taken advised the rescuer who brought him in that because he tested positive, he would be euthanized.  So the rescuer has sent out an e-mail to every rescuer she knows, and asked them to send it out to every rescuer they know.  It will end up on various yahoo groups e-mail lists and Facebook and other social media sites - all to try to find someone to save this dog.

I don't know if he'll be saved or not.  I'll try to find out and let you know, but the sad truth is that there are many more dogs like him out there.  I receive multiple requests like this one every single day, for dogs with medical issues, dogs with disabilities, dogs that are perfectly healthy and their owners just don't want them anymore, all out of time and options.  There are not enough foster homes, not enough money, and not enough adopters to save them all - not yet.  But we're working on it, one dog (and cat) at a time!  So to all rescuers out there, and all volunteers, adopters, and donors, please, keep up the good work!

Remi is a Guard Dog

Remi is my Great Dane. He lives for guarding. Even when given a comfy bed on the deck in order to nap, Remi feels it his his job to guard. Unfortunately in our subdivision there are a lot of things that Remi finds threatening and needs to warn off. Things like mothers pushing their babies in strollers down the sidewalk. And things like delivery trucks driving down the road. And things that I don't even notice and can't identify, but that must be threatening because Remi gives his best threatening bark.


 

He has one bark he uses when he perceives a threat, and a different bark he uses when he is hungry or wants to go outside, and a different bark he uses when he is playing. But the bark he likes the most is his threatening bark. Great Danes were at one time bred to be guard dogs, and Remi seems to have all of those guard dog traits. He has even been known to ignore bones tossed to him when he is in guard mode. This is bad because I can never have a petsitter come to the house since Remi won't let anyone in the house - even people he knows - unless Dave or I give our permission. But this is good because I'm going to be moving out to the country by myself, and Remi makes me feel completely safe. Well, Remi and my Colt .380 handgun. But mostly Remi, because he is a lot more effective at scaring away bad guys. He is the best guard dog I've ever had. Okay, fine, he's the only guard dog I've ever had. Other dogs are good at keeping intruders away because they look or sound scary, but they wouldn't really guard a home or a person. I have no interest in training a dog to be a guard dog, so the fact that Remi is a natural guard dog, with no training required, is going to come in handy when I'm living in the middle of nowhere with no close neighbors!

Do your dogs make you feel safe? Would they guard your house if you weren't home? Would they be distracted from guarding by a bone or a piece of steak? Would they welcome all intruders to your home with a big lick and a friendly wagging tail? Or would they run and hide under the bed?

Ziggy's Prayer

Before Ziggy went to boot camp, he used to come up to me every day and ask to pray.  He would put his paws up on my leg and look at me like this: 

"Mom, it's prayer time!"

And then I would say, "Again Ziggy?  Really?"  And he would keep looking at me until I relented.  So finally I would say "okay Ziggy, let's pray".  I'd clasp my hands together, and bow my head, and he would do this:

"Dear God, please bring me noms."

And Ziggy would pray for food, while I prayed for him to get adopted.  Somehow he ended up with a treat after each of these prayers...  which probably explains why he became the most religious dog I have ever met.  

Cutest Puppies Ever

I'm quite sure that my two current foster puppies - Wags and Wrigley - are the cutest puppies ever.  Forget all the adorable puppies you see on calendars or commercials.  Never mind that all puppies are cute.  Ignore when I posted before that this was the cutest puppy ever.  That was before I met Wags and Wrigley.

Wrigley does not like to get his picture taken. Or rather, he doesn't mind getting his picture taken as long as he doesn't have to leave my side. But in almost every picture of Wrigley, you will see either my foot or my leg or some other part of my body that he is touching.  This can make taking his picture something like a game of Twister.

It's not his fault he loves me so much. It's not his fault he feels most at ease when he's right next to me. It's not his fault he's a little cuddlebug who is happiest getting a belly rub. But it does make it challenging to get a good picture of one of the cutest puppies ever.

And then there's Wags. He's a bit more independent. He'll happily lay in his dog bed and look adorable while I take his picture.

At least until he's distracted by a movement or a noise or just the sight of a toy that he could be playing with. This one has a short attention span. But he's a puppy, so it's allowed.

Wags went to the vet today to get neutered and vaccinated and all that good stuff. The vet said his tail is deformed, but doesn't need any medical treatment. So he's an extra special puppy because not only is he a very unique mix of breeds (i.e. a mutt), he's also got a one-of-a-kind tail! Wags will be ready for adoption on Saturday, and will get to go to the adoption event with Venture and Zoe and all the other adoptable dogs! Wrigley has to be stuck with me for a few more weeks though because he's too cute to give up still undergoing treatment for the missing hair on his face. Sigh - the sacrifices I make - another few weeks of puppy cuteness and puppy snuggles and puppy kisses. All part of the burden of being a foster parent.

Featured Blogs for March

So here it is, March 1st, and once again it's time to select this month's featured blogs.  These are some of my favorite blogs to visit, and they have been chosen as a Featured Blog for the following reasons:

Kol's Notes:  Kolchak Puggle is funny.  He's very funny.  He's one of the very few doggies that can make me laugh even when I'm having a really bad day.  He's also smart - he taught himself how to turn on the fireplace!  He had good motivation because he doesn't like the cold.  And he lives in Canada.  Thanks for always making me smile, Kolchak Puggle!

At A Glacial Pace: This blog is written by Jess, the blind owner of a seeing-eye dog named Glacier.  I love reading this blog because it is really interesting to see how the dogs that are trained as guide dogs end up living their lives.  Jess also has a husband with a guide dog and two pet dogs - a full house!  It is amazing to read about all that Jess has accomplished, and the large role that dogs play in her life.  

Tucker Tells All: This blog is written by a Powderpuff Chinese Crested!  Tucker is a rescue dog who has passed his CGC and is very smart and well behaved.  He has a great mom and he even lets her post sometimes.  His mom is doing a special series of posts called "50 Shelters in 50 States".  It's a great idea and something I hope to participate in eventually.

Rescued Insanity: This is a blog written by Shiva's mom.  She writes about her life with Shiva, an energetic, challenging, wonderful rescue dog.  I love the honesty and thoughtfulness that she shares on a variety of topics.  I love her training videos, and her obvious devotion that she has to Shiva.  I wish all of my fosters pets were adopted by owners even half as wonderful as Shiva has.

The Life and Times of Remington:  Remington is a Newfoundland, and I believe he is the biggest football fan I know. He is also the best dog at posing for photographs, and has the best sign-offs on his posts that i've ever seen!  Remington is also the Judge of Blogville, so if you need any judging, you know who to contact.