Petropolis

On Saturday we took several dogs to adoption events. Some went to our regular PetSmart location, and others went to the Petropolis Pet Carnival. Unfortunately most of the dogs didn't have much luck either place. We had three puppies adopted - Daniel, Brook and Buddy, but no adults.

We did have a good time at Petropolis though. They broke the record for the Guiness Book of World Record's Largest Mass Dog Wedding, with 184 doggie couples being married. It was fun, and we even married off three of our rescue dogs. Noelle and a few of the other dogs we brought decided they wanted to stay single, but Drake, Dash and Degan were all willing to be a part of the big event. On the left is Drake and Degan being married, and on the right is Dash being married to Bailey. The original plan was to have Degan and Dash marry each other, because they're play buddies who love to wrestle and play together. But then we didn't make it to the Speed Dating area for Drake, so we were trying to find someone for him to marry, and found Bailey, another guest's dog who was looking for her soulmate. Bailey is a female version of Dash. It's hard to tell in this picture, but she looks a lot like him - another red merle Cattle Dog mix. They looked so cute together that we did arranged marriages for Bailey and Dash, and ended up marrying off Drake and Degan to each other. They didn't seem to mind the last-minute change of plans - they were too excited about walking down the aisle and being on TV! And I have to admit, this is probably my one and only chance to play a part in breaking a record for Guiness, so I had fun too walking Dash down the aisle next to Bailey. Hopefully some of our photographers who were there will post some pictures on their blogs soon (hint, hint) so you can see more of the event. :-)

Pictures from http://www.reviewstl.com/

In addition to the dog wedding, we also sold t-shirts as a fundraiser for Heartland. The shirts were quite popular, and we only have a few left. If you're interested in one, please stop up at PetSmart on Saturday between 11am and 4pm and ask one of the Heartland volunteers to purchase one. Here is the design on the front:

New videos and pictures

Dash with his bone..


My smiley girl, Noelle

I got her when she was four months old. She's almost a year old now!!

Happy girl

BIG Smile!!

I mentioned before that Emma and Noelle like to tag team Dash when they're playing... here's what I mean:

Dash is back

This is Dash. He was adopted out on Sunday, but the family called and had to return him. They found out that a couple members of the family were very allergic to Dash, and although they tried special shampoos and baths, they were unable to keep him. They were so sad to let him go, and we were so sad that he came back. They said he was a perfect dog while they had him. I love Dash and felt sorry for him that his new home didn't work out. He went from being a homeless dog to having a wonderful home for just a few short days, and I didn't want him to go back to being homeless, so I took him home with me! Makes perfect sense, don't you think? I hope my husband agrees when he gets home. So far Dash is perfectly well behaved, and gets along great with all my other fosters. He is very playful and energetic, and he is having fun (and helping to wear out) Noelle and Emma. Remi is too lazy to run with him for more than a few minutes, but Noelle and Emma tag team him and keep him pretty busy.

In other news, the people who were going to meet Rocky decided to delay getting another dog right now, so I ended up taking him back to another volunteer. Hopefully he will be adopted soon - he's another really good pet - already house-trained and good with other dogs and so friendly.

This weekend is Petsmart's Spring Adopt-a-thon. They're offering incentives like free food and cat litter for pet adoptions, so if you've been thinking about adopting, now is a great time to do it! I'll be up at PetSmart in O'Fallon with Julie (another volunteer) for a few hours on Friday night to try to get a dog or cat adopted, and then back on Saturday with Noelle, Dash, Emma, Marco and Polo to try to get some of them adopted as well! I really, really hope I get someone adopted this weekend!

Plethora of dogs

I did not go to Petsmart for adoptions this Saturday, because of my Grandma's 80th birthday party (Happy Birthday, Grandma!). It was a much needed break, but of course by 4:00pm on Saturday I was calling another volunteer who had been there to find out what I missed! It was a typical adoption day - the dogs that are always the most sought-after did well. Puppies and small pure-breed dogs are generally very easy to find homes for. This week the adoptions of three puppies, a Bichon Freise and a Cocker Spaniel were not big surprises. We were all very happy they found homes of course, but it's usually the less sought-after dogs being adopted that we celebrate the most. This week, a dog named Champ was our biggest surprise. Champ is a Miniature Pinscher mix that has been staying at our shelter. He is a very sweet dog by himself, but he found the noise and the other dogs at the shelter to be a bit overwhelming, and he seemed very unhappy there. So it is great news that he has his very own home now.

As fast as we adopt them out, we can never get ahead. Right now we have some wonderful dogs available for adoption. You can read about their stories on our website, but since I only have Noelle at home, and I talk about her all the time, I thought I'd talk about some of my other favorite Heartland dogs who are waiting for homes.

WIGGLES

This is Wiggles - isn't he cute? Before volunteering for Heartland, I was never really a fan of beagles, but after meeting so many of them I have started to really like the breed. Wiggles is one of the best beagles I've met. He is so sweet and loving - and everytime I see him, he is happy to just sit in my lap and be petted.

FRAZIER

This is Frazier. He was found him running loose - he wouldn't put any weight on one leg, and we think he may have been hit by a car. We took him in, and the vet found that Frazier's leg had a serious break that requires surgery to repair. Without Heartland, Frazier would have been put down. He's a young dog, so sweet and affectionate, and has the potential to recover completely and live a full happy life. So the Heartland volunteers made the decision to proceed with the surgery and try to raise the funds to cover the cost. We received a grant from the United Animal Nations to cover part of the cost, but we still need to raise around $400.00 to pay for the rest of the surgery. If you can help with this, please click here to donate.

DEXTER

This is Dexter. He's an Australian Cattle Dog, or Blue Heeler, just like my previous foster dog Tulsa is. He is a funny little guy - he always has this big smile on his face, everytime I see him. Well, almost every time - sometimes at PetSmart he likes to bark at the other dogs, just like Tulsa used to. But Tulsa found a wonderful home so I know that Dexter can too! Australian Cattle Dogs are known to be very intelligent, and Dexter is no exception - he will make a wonderful pet for someone.

DASH

Dash is an Australian Cattle Dog mix - the same breed as Dexter, only Dash is a "red heeler" instead of a "blue heeler". Dash always makes me laugh. Every time I see him, we play a game where he does a play bow, then I do a play bow, then he picks up his favorite toy and runs with it as fast as he can. Then he stops suddenly, and runs back the other way, and I chase him. We both love the game (although I bet I look pretty silly when I'm playing with him). Like most cattle dogs, he has a lot of energy, but he's another dog who is going to make a great pet. Whomever adopts him will be very lucky to have him!

Thanks to Rhonda, another Heartland volunteer, for the great pictures of all of these dogs.