New Fosters

The Saturday before last was an amazing day.  The rescue group I volunteer with had eleven dogs adopted!  And even more importantly, we had two brand new foster volunteers join the group.  This means we'll be able to save more dogs! 

When we get new foster homes, we try to give them a dog that is already in one of our foster homes and ready for adoption.  This is because when we get in new dogs, we don't always know much about them.  Some of them will be heartworm positive or have other health issues that will require long-term care.  Others have issues like ear mites and worms that can be contagious to other pets so they have to be quarantined.  Plus the dogs may have behavior issues that will need to be worked with, and often new volunteers don't want to take in a dog that they quickly learn is pushy with other dogs, or doesn't like kids, or screams when unhappy.  Since we want to keep our new volunteers, we prefer to give them dogs that have already been evaluated and fully vetted and that we know will be a good fit for their home.  That way they have a good experience and keep coming back!   

Since I somehow always seem to have plenty of foster dogs around, I often end up moving one of my foster dogs to new foster homes.  Or in the case of the past few weeks, I moved three of my dogs to new foster homes!  Both Bogey the shy dog (now called Brody) and Lucky the deaf dog went to a volunteer who is new to fostering but absolutely wonderful with training and socializing dogs.  I've shared a few of their pictures on my Facebook page and they are both doing great!  Also Louie my shy but perfect foster dog went to another foster home where he is being spoiled rotten. 

There's one other thing you should know about new foster homes.  They have uncanny luck in getting their fosters adopted.  Even dogs that have been around for several months suddenly become adopted once going to a new foster home.  It is wonderful!  In this case, both Lucky and Louie have been adopted in the past week!  This means I was able to send out two more foster dogs to those foster homes!  I've also taken in several new dogs, and one new cat, so here's a quick update.

Hoppy is a three-legged cat who was turned into a shelter when his family said they no longer had time for him.  He is very sweet and loving, and he was adopted three weeks after I brought him home!

Josie is a female English Foxhound or Treeing Walker Coonhound mix (your choice).  She was left behind in the parking lot of a vet's office.  One of the vet techs rescued her and she went to another relatively new foster home.  She had a bit too much energy for them, and since they had no other pets for her to play with, we moved her to my house so she could have some other dogs to keep her busy.  My back yard is basically like a dog park with new dogs being introduced often, so she always has someone new to play with.  Right now she loves running and playing with Jax and Lacey.   

 
Since Josie's foster family was willing to take another dog, they took home Gemma the deaf pit bull mix.  And since Moose the Great Dane and all five of Lacey's puppies were adopted, that gave me room to take in a few new dogs.  So stay tuned for more new fosters, coming soon!

More Returns!

One of the challenges of rescue is taking back previously adopted dogs when their owners can no longer care for them.  Since I volunteer with an all-foster home group, we have no shelter building to house the dogs.  If a dog is going to be returned, we hope that the person who originally fostered the dog will take him or her back.  But if that isn't possible, then everyone in the group works together to find a place for the dog to go.  I am fortunate enough to work with a wonderful group of volunteers, and someone is always stepping up to help whenever is needed.

Returns don't happen very often, but sometimes it seems as if when one happens, it is immediately followed by many more!  In the past two weeks, we've received several returned dogs, and it seems that most of them have been mine!  The good news is that Nosey, the blind Beagle puppy who was going to be returned, ended up going to a family member of the adopter and is no longer being returned.  Also one of our new foster volunteers stepped up to help out by fostering Bogey when he was returned.  He's doing wonderful in his new foster home!  It also helped that Allie and Natasha's adoptions are both working out, and in addition Trooper the Black Lab and Libby the deaf Jack Russell Terrier were also adopted!

Jax is one of the returns that I took in last week.  He is a great little guy - only 8 months old - and already I'm forcing him to earn his keep by collecting donations at adoption events.  So far he's earned around $40 over the past two adoption events - not bad for a dog!

Jax

The other returns that ended up coming back to my house are Louie the Black Lab mix and Gemma the deaf pit bull mix. Both were returned because their owners could no longer afford to care for them.

Louie is a year and a half old, and was part of the "Donald Duck" litter.  

Louie!

He is now all grown up.  He's very nervous around new people at first, but he's quickly learned to trust me and has become my constant companion, even sleeping on my bed at night.  

Louie looking nervous during an adoption event.

Gemma is the other recent return.  She originally came from a shelter in Kansas City, where she was going to be put down without ever being made available for adoption due to being deaf and heartworm positive and having some health issues.  Fortunately the shelter has a great rescue coordinator who shared her and when I saw her on Facebook I immediately said I'd take her.  She had been hit by a car prior to being taken to the shelter and has some nerve damage in her front leg which causes her to limp.  However she completed her heartworm treatment and is in good health other than the continuing issues with her leg.  Gemma is a very sweet dog - she is affectionate and loves everyone she meets.  The other family who fostered her previously wants to take her back as soon as their current foster dog is adopted, but in the meantime she is staying here with me.  I am enjoying having her back!

Gemma

The other exciting thing that happened this week was Zara, Ziggy's littermate who was adopted out three years ago, was lost and came back for a few days until we could locate her owner.  She is now safely back home!

Zara

For those of you wondering, Ziggy and Zara used to love to play together.  I wanted to give them a chance to play together again while Zara was back, but it turns out that they're much more mature now, and Ziggy was too busy worrying about if Zara would steal his stuff to actually want to play.  So Zara played with all the other fosters for a few days and seemed to have a great time visiting everyone except Ziggy!

Catching Up

Between the holidays and recovering from a cold, I have fallen way behind. So here's a quick update on everyone, and going forward I will do my best to keep up with new pictures and stories!

When I last posted, I had ten dogs at my house. As of right now, I still have ten, but not the same ten! I still have Lacey and her five puppies, now named Nike (chocolate female), Puma (smallest black female), Buster Brown (black male), Teva (yellow female), and Avia (largest black female). The puppies continue to be brilliant and extremely advanced for their age of less than five weeks old! They already have distinct personalities. Nike is the most vocal and demanding - she's like the big sister to the rest. Puma is the quiet one, content to sit back and watch what is going on. Buster Brown is the sweet one who is the most affectionate of the bunch. Teva is the adorable one who likes to be in the middle of whatever is going on, and Avia is the hungry one who is always first to the food bowl! The pups are growing quickly and new pictures will be coming soon.

Ziggy is still at my house. He's almost completely destroyed his bachelor pad, including destuffing the dog bed, finding and eating several dewormer pills (20 times the dose he should have had - of course it had no effect on him), and managing to burn out every lightbulb except one. I'm not sure how he pulled that last one off, but I'm sure it was something he did. He received a wonderful Christmas gift from Blueberry's human, and I'll tell you all about it as soon as I download the pictures off of my camera.

Lucky the deaf dog is also still at my house. He actually went out on a trial adoption. It lasted a week, which is seven days longer than I expected. He was returned for wanting to eat the bird, among other things. Poor Lucky isn't having the best luck. Fortunately the bird was uninjured.

Allie the extremely energetic Akita mix was also adopted. She's currently on day 5 of the trial period. This is 5 days longer than I expected! If there is any dog out there that needs a home (besides Ziggy), Allie is the one. So I am praying that this trial adoption works out... and I'm considering changing my phone number just to be sure. Just kidding.

Natasha the extremely-obsessed-with-me Poodle mix also is out on a trial adoption. She has a lot better chance of success, but being that she's in a home where I don't live, there's no guarantee. This is the dog that has gone to two different homes for at least three weeks each, then come back to me and never even looked back at her previous caretaker. And yet if I take two steps away from her at an adoption event, she goes nuts. It's kind of scary.

On the other hand, Libby the deaf JRT sees me at an adoption event and looks right through me.  She's still at another foster home, where her foster mom reports she gets the same treatment.  This does not make it easy for Libby to get adopted since she ignores anyone and everyone equally, but at least it makes me feel better that it isn't just me that she treats this way.  And it sort of balances out Natasha's behavior. 

Trooper the Black Lab I found on the side of the road is back at my house now too.  He's recovered from his broken spine due to being hit by a car, and he is now available for adoption.  Trooper is a good dog and gets along with everyone except Lucky, so currently I have to keep Ziggy, Lucky, and Trooper apart from each other at all times. 

The only other dog that Trooper didn't get along with was another deaf white dog named Ozzie.  I temporarily fostered him for a few days, and Trooper and Ozzie became mortal enemies during this time.  Ozzie is a Westie mix we think, and he's the cutest little dog who is a typical terrier and willing to take on dogs three times his size.  He is now back in his original foster home and I have to admit I miss the little guy!  He is available for adoption and hopefully will find a forever home soon! 

I also have another male foster dog named Jax.  Jax was adopted out as a puppy and recently returned because he didn't do well with children.  Since Ozzie also didn't like Jax, Jax came to my house instead of going back to his original foster home.  I really like Jax - he's friendly and well-behaved and happy and easygoing and smart.  He gets along with all the other dogs too.  I'm going to take his picture one of these days and get him up on the website so he can get adopted.  Sometime soon. 

As if these five adults and five puppies weren't enough, I recently received some sad news that two of my previous foster dogs are being returned.  The first is Nosey, the blind Beagle puppy I fostered in October.  The family who adopted him have to move out of state into an apartment that doesn't allow dogs, so Nosey, now named Radar, will be coming back to me sometime soon.  The other return is Bogey, the very shy dog.  He has been in a foster-to-adopt situation for two months but the foster family finally decided that another dog would be a better fit for their home. So Bogey returns on Saturday.  In an ironic twist, I just realized that the same blog post where I introduced Bogey last February, I also announced Allie's original adoption.  Now I'm announcing Bogey's return and Allie's second potential adoption almost one year after that original post. 

If you've managed to read this far, thanks for hanging in there, and I promise to provide shorter posts in the future, along with more pictures.  You're welcome. 

Adoptions!



Radar and Lucy



Nosey the blind Beagle pup, now named Radar, was adopted and is doing great in his new home!  Here's the note I received from his new mom:

---

I just wanted to update you on how Nosey (new name Radar) has adjusted to our family. He is doing GREAT!! Lucy (our lab puppy) has found her forever friend. They should have been named Bonnie and Clyde because what one does the other follows. Radar is up to 12 lbs and has adjusted to our home perfectly. He loves playing, running and digging ;) He is still very loving and cuddly when he gets tired.

We wanted to thank you for rescuing him and loving him until we did the adoption. We couldn't be happier that he is with us.
---

Frodo the adorable kitten was also adopted. 

Frodo

Gemma the deaf pit bull mix was also adopted.  

Me and Gemma at an adoption event



And last but not least, Bogey the shy dog went to a foster-to-adopt home and is doing well.  Bogey came to my house back in January.  He spent the first three years of his life prior to that in a kennel and with little socialization, and when I first took him in, he wanted nothing to do with me.  As the months went by he became more comfortable, and although he was scared of people, he was quite happy playing with the other dogs and being at my house.  He eventually would take treats from me, and even laid on the floor within ten feet of where I sat on the couch, as long as I didn't look at him.  Progress was very slow, but he did improve, to the point where I was able to take him to adoption events on the weekends.  And it didn't take long after that until the right family came along and fell in love with him.  He's doing well so far in his new home, and hopefully will be officially adopted within the next few weeks. 

Vinny was Adopted!

A great family was interested in Fawn the Italian Greyhound, but when they saw how shy she is, they realized they wouldn’t be a good fit for her. So I was excited when they decided to adopt Vinny instead. Vinny is younger, and although he’s also shy, he’s much more social than Fawn. Vinny is doing well in his new home so far, and he is going to be very loved and spoiled! 

In addition to Vinny, two other All Paws dogs were adopted this weekend. A couple people have wondered why Thor was returned.  It was not his fault, but he was adopted into a home with another dog, and that dog was young and playful.  He'd often torment Thor by bumping into him, trying to get him to play.  Thor has some arthritis in his rear legs, and he wasn't interested in playing, or in having a rambunctious dog bounce off him all the time.  So the people who adopted him opted to return him so he could go to a calmer home.  Eventually.  For now he's stuck being surrounded by rambunctious dogs, but at least they tend to play with each other and leave him alone for the most part!

I recently took this picture of my backyard.  I thought Bogey did a pretty good job of hiding in plain sight!

I also recently took this blurry picture of Jupiter trying to outrun Mayzie.  This was taken before he started treatment for heartworms, when he was still allowed to run and play!

And last but not least, this picture is also of Jupiter looking Most Handsome at an adoption event.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE this dog??

Foster Dog Update

I never say it enough, but thank you all for the comments and just for reading.  I appreciate it!

Last week Thor the German Shepherd was returned, Chief the Beagle was adopted, Mayzie the energetic pit bull went to another foster home, and Vinny the Italian Greyhound came to stay with me. So I still have eight foster dogs, but fortunately they all get along well, even though they range from only 12 pounds to 100 pounds! Here is one interesting fact about each of my current fosters that you may not already know:



Thor

This 100 pound German Shepherd used to be owned by a priest. This may explain why he is the best behaved of all the dogs. 

Charlie

Charlie does not like fireworks while he is inside the house. He barked at them constantly. Then we finally had to go outside for a final potty break before bedtime, and suddenly he just ignored the fireworks. So the sound of fireworks inside = danger, but the sound of fireworks outside = safe.

Bogey

Bogey is a hoarder dog. No, he didn’t come from a hoarder – he actually is the hoarder. He goes around and collects toys and blankets and anything else he can find and hides them in his crate.

Ziggy

Ziggy has been extremely well behaved (for him) lately. And he’s stopped chewing on everything – even on his chew bones! I think something must be wrong with him. He still loves to eat his kibble though.



Jupiter

Jupie has had to undergo a bunch of extra tests because he is anemic and may even have a weird doggie disease known as babesia. Test results are pending.  Bonus fact - he likes to sit in laps. 



Aridan

This eleven year old German Shepherd has won several Schutzhund awards, and even competed in the 2009 GSDCA-WDA Schutzhund National Championship and World Qualifier. I feel very safe with her around.

Fawn

Fawn's birthday is today – she is four years old.


Vinny

This Italian Greyhound thinks he is invisible as long as no one looks at him. He’ll approach strangers from behind and sniff them, then dart away. He’s stealthy.



Jasper

Tonight I’m bringing home Jasper. He’s staying for a week while his foster mom goes out of town. I don’t know any interesting facts about Jasper yet. 

Updates and Adoptions

I’m sorry that I’ve been too busy to update my blog lately! Somehow I’ve ended up with eight foster dogs and a constantly changing number of kittens and cats, which keeps me too busy to write posts or take pictures. So today I’m going to play “catch up” and give you the condensed status of my foster pets:

Scamp the Fox Terrier mix, Socks the cat, and Thor the giant German Shepherd Dog have all been adopted. I still have Charlie the unknown mixed breed who is frightened of new people and barks at them non-stop. I also still have Bogey the Mostly Hairless dog who is frightened of all people, including me. Not surprisingly, I still have Ziggy the deaf and difficult pit bull mix, although he is currently on a two week vacation at a friend’s house, where he gets to be an only dog and go for walks in the park and have a real life. I also have Aridan the German Shepherd Dog who I am dog-sitting for a friend. She used to be a well-trained dog. Now she ignores me constantly, counter surfs, jumps over baby gates to eat the cat food, and chews up metal cans full of spray cheese. Don’t tell her human mom, but I think I ruined her dog. In addition to all of these dogs, I still have Chief, the Beagle. He’s my only “highly adoptable” dog. He’s also my favorite of all my fosters, and the easiest dog I have, so I’m sure he’ll be adopted soon.

Minnie - aka "Bitey Girl"

I took in a few new dogs. It turns out they all have issues. One dog – an eight month old Chihuahua/Doxie mix - was given to me by my neighbors when a family member went to jail and the dog was left without a home. Her issue is called fear aggression. I am calling her Bitey Girl. She’s going to a new foster home tomorrow with someone who actually likes working with little aggressive dogs. I’m very grateful.



Another dog is an Italian Greyhound that was a breeder release. I named her Fawn, and she is terrified of me (it seems to be a theme with my foster dogs lately) and won’t let me touch her. She is only going to stay with me until another foster home can be found. Charlie and Bogey are enough shy dogs for me.

Fawn the Italian Greyhound

A third dog I took in is a brindle pit bull named Mayzie. Her issue is the opposite of fear. She is a typical joyful, excited, highly energetic pit bull. She really doesn’t have any issues except that she is a hard-to-adopt breed.



Mayzie the brindle pittie

And the last dog that I unexpectedly took in is Jupiter. He’s a pit bull mix, and he was given to me by a friend of my neighbors, because the original owner was planning to shoot him and the guy didn’t want to see that happen. He couldn’t keep him but didn’t want him to be shot, so he ended up in my driveway. And now he’s living in my house. And he is capturing my heart. I can write a whole post about Jupiter, if I ever find the time. He has several issues, including being heartworm positive, and having an extremely high prey drive, but I love him anyway.

Jupiter - a dog with issues

As for the cat fosters, I still have Midnight and Murphy, the two FIV+ cats. I had nine kittens and their mom, who have all moved to a shelter for adoption, but then three of them came back because they weren’t big enough to be spayed yet. I also ended up with five more kittens who will be going to the shelter in another week or two. I have sworn to never ever take in any more kittens – at least for the next month.


So that’s my story – I don’t usually do this, but today I’m begging for foster homes to help out with some of these animals. Like most rescue animals, these foster pets do not come already trained. Most of them aren’t house-trained. Most of them will climb on your furniture and try to steal food from your countertops. As foster parents, our job is to work with these animals and make them more adoptable. We work on house-training, and we work on behavior issues like counter surfing. We also work on self-control, for the highly excitable dogs, and on overcoming their fear, for the shy dogs. We truly make a difference in these dogs’ lives, because we aren’t just “warehousing” them until someone comes along and adopts them and fixes their issues themselves, we’re actually working to make them more adoptable with each interaction. Foster homes that have only one foster pet are ideal, since they have more interaction with each foster pet. Right now I have too many foster pets that need some extra help to overcome issues, and they each need someone to step forward and say “I am willing to help.” I’m not the only one with too many foster pets. Rescue groups and shelters around the country are overflowing with homeless animals. They all need help. I can honestly say that fostering is the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done in my life. I hope that you find that is true for you too.  To find out more about fostering, please contact me. 

Fostering - Can't Do It Alone

After being out of work for four months, I finally got a new job. I am working as a contractor at Monsanto Corp, and although I’ve been there less than a week, I’ve already started to feel comfortable. This could be because I changed the background picture on my monitor to this:

I did that just in case one of my new co-workers walks by, sees his picture, and says “what a great dog”, so I can say “he’s for adoption” and they can say “well, I’ve been looking for a deaf pit bull who loves to chew, always pushes boundaries, and wants to be an only pet”. And I’ll say “you won’t be disappointed with Ziggy” and then they’ll live happily ever after. Hey, it could happen.
The hardest part about going back to work is the amount of time it takes away from my fosters. The office is over an hour away from where I live, so I end up being gone for almost twelve hours a day, five days a week. Not only do my foster pets miss me (or at least my ability to open doors and throw tennis balls) but I also no longer have time for all the vet appointments and other errands that I did while I was out of work. Fortunately, I am only one volunteer in an organization made up of many other volunteers. When I shared the news that I was going back to work, many people have stepped forward to help. Bev took Thor to the vet for me, and offered help with future vet visits. Karen took home Salem, a foster cat who just had his leg amputated (more about him later), so she could take care of all his medical needs while he recovers. Lynsey is taking Ziggy to the vet for me tomorrow. Even the local shelter is helping out – they took in a dog that my neighbors found, and got her vet work done before she comes back to me later this week. They’re also going to take Jefferson for awhile, because he has so much energy, he needs more play-time and attention than I can give now that I’m working. At the shelter he’ll get to go outside to the play yard and play with other dogs and get attention from the volunteers. I couldn’t survive without all of these wonderful people stepping forward to help.

So now I’m gainfully employed, and no longer have to worry about how I’m going to make my house payment or afford gas for my car. I’ll soon be able to buy more chew toys for Ziggy and maybe even get a riding lawnmower someday (such lofty goals). I’m hoping to eventually hire someone to come out to the house a few days a week to play with the dogs while I’m at work. Until then, I’ll have to cut back on the number of fosters I can take in, but I’ll keep fostering. After all, with foster dogs like Bogey the Extremely Fearful and Partially Hairless Dog, Charlie the No-Longer-Hairless But Still Fearful of Men, People with Hats and People with Sunglasses Dog, and Ziggy the Waiting-For-Two-And-One-Half-Years And Still Not Adopted Dog, I am going to be fostering dogs for a very long time.

They Come And They Go

Except for Ziggy of course.  He came and refuses to leave, no matter what I do.  But the others come in and sometimes leave sooner than I expect.  I thought Oreo the American Bulldog would be a tough one to place due to his breed and the fact that he wasn't house-trained.  But as soon as I put him on the Internet, applications started coming in.  He received three applications in one week, and last week he went on a trial adoption with his new family.  I also thought that Amber the Pointer mix would be adopted before Sox the Border Collie/Basset mix.  I was wrong again - Sox was adopted to a wonderful family last week.  Amber is still waiting, although she does have an interested family who may adopt her soon!  Lindsay the Aussie mix has also been adopted and is doing great in her new home.  This just leaves me with Chloe the often-upside-down pit bull, Bogey the feral and semi-hairless Shar Pei mix, Charlie the shy dog, Jefferson the obnoxious Shepherd mix, Amber the hopefully-soon-to-be-adopted Pointer mix, and of course Ziggy the Adoptable Dog.

Chloe will be receiving her final heartworm treatment tomorrow, and then will need four more weeks of rest and relaxation before being allowed to resume attending adoption events and running marathons.  Okay maybe not the marathons.  But she will be allowed to go to adoption events in four weeks.

Bogey is still afraid of me.  He loves to play with the other dogs, and he loves to play with toys, and he loves to collect things.  He'll go around the house and pick up any dog toys or blankets or anything else he can and hoard them in his crate.  He will not willingly come anywhere near me, and will move away if he notices that I'm looking at him.  I tell myself that he's making progress, but I'm really not so sure.

Charlie the unknown mix dog (breed guesses, anyone?) has completed his treatment for demodex manage and was given a clean bill of health at the vet.  He is doing great here, but when we go out he is still afraid of strangers - mostly males.  He loves hot dogs so we're starting "hot dog therapy" where strangers toss him small pieces of hot dog so he learns that when a man approaches him, good things are going to happen!

Jefferson is being his usual happy and obnoxious self.  He's now decided that cats are Public Enemy #1, and he feels obligated to bark non-stop whenever he sees one.  If possible, he will also chase and possibly chew on the cat.  I say possibly, because so far I've kept him from actually obtaining a cat - but in a house with five cats, he gets plenty of opportunity to observe and bark at them!

Amber is such a good girl.  She does really well with all the other dogs, and she loves to play.  She and Jefferson are a really good match - they are roughly the same size and have the same amount of energy, so they wear each other out quite well.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Jefferson once Amber is adopted!

Ziggy is in BIG TROUBLE!  We had an incident where he decided to run across the room and down the hall in order to attack my cat Merlin, because he thought Merlin was going to go into his room.  Merlin ended up with a dislocated jaw, and Ziggy ended up with one more strike against him, since now he can no longer go to a home with cats.  In the past two years he's never attacked a cat, and typically ignores them altogether, so now that he's decided that cats are a threat who must be attacked to keep them from eating his food, it makes him even harder to adopt (and much harder to live with).  He already spends too many hours in a crate because he can't be out with other dogs - now I'll also have to rotate and make sure when he's out there are no cats around either.  Did I mention he's in Big Trouble?

Ziggy did not want me to tell you about this Most Dreadful Incident because he was embarrassed that he panicked and thought Merlin was there to steal all his stuff.  He did not mean to hurt Merlin and claims is very sorry for his bad behavior.  I have not completely forgiven him yet, since Merlin is still in pain and has to stay in a crate for two weeks while he recovers.  Merlin should make a full recovery though and my guess is that he will never, ever, go down that hallway to Ziggy's room again.  As for Ziggy, plans are in the works to build him his own room in the walk-out basement and fence in an area on the side of the house with a dog door in the basement door so he can have much more freedom and the other dogs and cats will not be forced to "time-share" the house and backyard. At this point, it's still just a dream, but several wonderful people have volunteered their time and expertise to make it happen, so hopefully it will one day be a reality!

Also, for any of you familiar with the All Paws dogs, you may remember that I occasionally fostered Toby, the Shepherd/Pointer/Hound mix.  He has been in foster care for a Very Long Time, and has caused more than his share of destruction and trouble.  He has a lot in common with Jefferson, as they both have goofy and obnoxious attributes.  But it finally happened - a lady who loves big, goofy dogs saw Toby on the Internet and ended up adopting him.  She says he is doing really well and she's very happy with him.  So sometimes there are Happy Endings even for the very special fosters like Toby!

New Fosters!

But first, the remaining updates on current fosters that you've already met:

Charlie the Hairless Dog has been treated for demodex mange and is doing great.  He has two more weeks of medicine and then another recheck at the vet, and then he's hoping that he'll be done with the bad-tasting medicine and even worse medicated baths.  He is getting much braver, although he's still scared of men, but he now approaches strange women and children without much hesitation.  He still barks at the television if it's too loud, but he's getting much better with that as well.  He's been going to adoption events each weekend to work on meeting strangers, and he's hoping he'll soon meet that stranger that wants to adopt him.

Bogey the Other Hairless Dog is making progress as well, but much more slowly.  He had some skin biopsies done which found that the missing hair is due to scarring, most likely from mange as a puppy, and will not grow back.  So he is permanently hairless, but he doesn't seem to mind.  He is still very, very shy, and will not come near me or even look at me if I'm looking at him.  I would like to find a foster home for him with someone who could really work with him and help him to overcome his shyness.  If you're interested, let me know!


After Fanny was adopted, I had no one to take to the beginning agility class.  Charlie and Bogey were too shy, Ziggy had already passed the beginner class, and Chloe was still undergoing heartworm treatment.  So that left me with two options - take Jefferson, or get a new foster dog.  I considered Jefferson - after all, he's very energetic, but he's also got the memory of a goldfish and the coordination of a giraffe on roller skates.  So new foster dog it was!

I brought home Lindsay, a sweet four year old dog who had been waiting at the shelter for a long time.  She is another one of those rare brilliant, perfect dogs.  Already house-trained, good with other dogs, cats, and kids, and extremely affectionate.  She caught up with the rest of the dogs in the agility class very quickly, and she's been wonderful at home.  Since our trainer's name is Lynsey, I have nicknamed Lindsay "Zee" to make things less confusing.  Zee has been here a couple of weeks now, and she's done really well at adoption events and at obedience classes.  She's learned to sit, lie down, come when called, and we're now working on staying in place.  Zee is a wonderful dog and whomever adopts her will be very lucky to have her.

"Zee"

In addition to Zee, I also brought home another FIV+ cat.  This one looks nothing like Merlin either, but at least this time I was able to recognize that right away.

Midnight

Midnight was picked up by animal control and once he tested positive for FIV he was turned over to the vet to be euthanized.  The vet realized that Midnight was a great cat - very friendly and sweet - and instead asked for help saving him.  Since I already had one FIV+ cat, I figured one more would be no problem, so I took him home.  And yes, I'm the one who named him Midnight.  I know it's an odd choice for a black cat, but I like to be original.

Midnight is a great cat.  He has very thick plush fur, and he loves to be petted.  He gets along great with the other cats, although he's not such a big fan of dogs.  He's actually much cuter than his picture looks, but I'm not so good at photographing black cats.  Especially when they want nothing more than to rub against the camera and won't stay in place for a picture.  Cats are much harder to teach to "stay" than dogs.

So that's it for the new fosters, at least for now.  For latest news and previews of soon-to-be foster pets, visit me on Facebook.

Hairless Dogs - We've Got 'Em!

Charlie

My foster dog Charlie went to the vet to get checked out for some missing hair, and we learned he has demodex mange.  This is not contagious to other dogs, but it will require several months of treatment.  So in addition to medicine for the mange and medicine for secondary skin infections, Charlie will also be receiving weekly baths.  Poor guy is not very happy with me right now!  

 Charlie's not the only hairless dog around here though.  Meet Bogey, a Shar-Pei mix.  He's missing a lot more hair than Charlie, but he doesn't have mange or any other skin conditions that the vet can find.  They're doing some tests to try to determine the problem, but it may just be that Bogey is going to always be mostly hairless.  

Bogey

Bogey came to my house after escaping his previous foster home and going on the run for a week.  He had countless volunteers out looking for him and was spotted several times but was too shy to approach anyone.  Eventually he was caught in a live trap and came here.  He used to be best friends with Charlie at the shelter they both lived at, so I thought they might like seeing each other again.  However Charlie seems to think that since he was here first, he should get all the attention and he's not making Bogey feel welcome.  Poor Bogey is very afraid of me, doesn't want to play with the other dogs, and just looks really sad all the time.  

He's also getting medicine for ear infections and an injury he received while on the run, so I'm playing doctor a lot these days.  Hopefully Bogey will start to settle in soon and feel better.

In happier news, we've had several adoptions lately, including Allie the Border Collie mix puppy, Roo the pit bull mix, and Molly the Min-Pin/Puggle mix!