Dodger was adopted!

Dodger just went to his new home on another two-week trial basis.  I love that All Paws Rescue does two-week trial adoptions - it gives the adopters a sense of security to find out if they really are ready for the lifelong commitment they're making to the pet, and if they find that they aren't ready for some reason, then it's nice to know the pet can come back to foster care and they get their adoption fee back.  I hope that Dodger works out in his new home and I only see him when his new family brings him in for a visit.  Speaking of, I saw Trey, my previous Cockapoo foster dog, at Petsmart with his adoptive family today.  He is doing great, and it was so nice to talk to the family and find out how much they love him. 

This has been a very good week for my foster dogs, as three of them went to new homes.  It's been hard saying goodbye to so many all at once though.  My only remaining foster dog is Farley, and the house seems quite empty without any others.  Since this is a big adopt-a-thon weekend for PetSmart, I'll be back at the St. Charles PetSmart tomorrow trying to find Farley a home.  But I won't be sad at all if he doesn't get adopted quite yet!

Roger Dodger

My foster dog Dodger wins the award this month for "Most Improved".  He came to my house when another foster volunteer had a family emergency and couldn't keep him any longer.  I didn't plan to keep him long, and quite honestly he wasn't my favorite dog at first.  He was funny-looking, and he barked too often, too loudly, and was rather demanding.  He was always itchy and had to eat canned food, and he was really just a lot of work.  He lifted his leg in the house often, and tried to push around the bigger dogs, which included every dog in the house, since he only weighs 15 pounds!  Suffice it to say that I was counting the days until his original foster mom could take him back. 

But then he settled in to the new place, and stopped being quite so demanding. His skin allergies went away, and his hair started growing out more. He started eating dry food, and he stopped marking in the house. He still pushes the other dogs around, and still has a very loud bark, but he doesn't use it as often as he used to.  Which is good, because it appears I'm stuck with this dog until he's adopted.  His first foster mom can't take him back, but I'm happy to say I don't mind so much anymore.  He kind of grows on you after awhile. 

But just for the record... sometimes... he's still funny-looking. 

Update on my fosters - Part 1

Yep, it's time for another Foster Pet update, where I get to list all of the foster pets at my house, and you get to think I'm crazy. But it also gives those of you who want to know about a specific pet a chance to find out how they're doing, so I hope you like these updates from time to time. If nothing else, you can read this post and then feel sorry for my husband. Just remember, HE's the one who made me get a dog three years ago. Up until then, I didn't want a dog, and had been avoiding it as long as possible. So if he hadn't insisted on getting a dog, which led me to discover how many homeless dogs and cats are killed every day, which led me to want to help them, this never would have happened.

Also, as a special bonus, I'm going to include updates on my own pets. Aren't you excited?

Remi - My Great Dane, and one of the largest dogs in the city... well, maybe in our subdivision anyway. He is getting old for a Dane - he turns four this month! He plays less and sleeps more, and he backs down from little poodle/daschund mixes when they bark at him. But my wimpy 160 pound dog is still tough enough to bark at every person and bicycle and truck that goes by our fence - as long as they are on the OTHER side of the fence.

Noelle - My deaf pit bull mix is spending a lot of time lately with my husband Dave as he works on our basement. Even though I am the one who feeds her, pets her, plays with her, and takes care of her every need, she is so his dog. Okay fine, he feeds her and pets her and plays with her also. But that's only because she follows him around everywhere. Maybe she's trying to make up for the fact that she ate his cowboy boots one day last week when he wasn't home.

Lizzy - I call her my child-eating border collie. I'm sure THAT will help her get adopted. She's settled into our house great - which is good, because I have a feeling we will have her for awhile. She loves to play with Noelle, and she listens very well and always just wants attention. It's only when strangers come in the house, or when she sees children that she goes nuts. Minor issue, right?

Skye, Sonic and Snoopy - My foster puppies went to the vet this week and got spayed/neutered. They can't get adopted yet though - even though I had already dewormed them once (remember this?), when they checked at the vet they found the puppies still have hookworms, whipworms, roundworms and coccidia. Somehow I wasn't surprised. So they're stuck with me for another week at least.

Bear - As I mentioned yesterday, Bear is going to be traveling to Maryland with me in a couple of weeks to take part in Puppy Bowl VI. Anyone interested in going with me? We'll only be driving 28 hours in three days with a small puppy in the car. It should be fun!

Chenille - It turns out my sweet, loving deaf Pomeranian is about 12 years old! The shelter originally said she was six years, and I thought she was a little older than that, but not twice that age. I guess it will hurt her chances of finding a home, but senior dogs find homes all the time so hopefully she'll still be adopted. She's so sweet - she's happy just to sit on my lap and be petted.

Dodger - This funny looking guy (sorry, but he is) is starting to settle in to the new routine. Both him and Chenille get canned food instead of dry food and all the other dogs get jealous! He has a very loud bark for such a little dog, and he's not afraid to use it. But he's also playful and friendly, and he does well with the other pets. Even Noelle is getting used to having him around. He's another dog that likes to sit on my lap while I type on the computer. Unfortunately my lap already has a waiting list with the cats and Chenille, so he has to take turns which he doesn't really like. Hopefully he can soon find another home where he will get all the attention he desires.

That's it for the dogs at my house. I'll post an update on the cats tomorrow, so maybe it won't look like I have quite so many. It's worth a try.

Introducing Chenille and Dodger

You're not going to believe this.  I hardly believe it myself.  I took the four puppies to the vet this morning, and they all got pre-adopted!  No, not really.  The hard-to-believe news is actually that they said they can't neuter Bear yet.  They want to give him a little more time to finish, uh... maturing.  So they want me to hold onto him for three weeks and then they will recheck him at that time!  If I would have just waited one more day to talk about him, I never would have had to admit my embarrassing plan to keep him off the website.  Of course I was only planning on holding him an extra week - not an extra three weeks.  But I'm not complaining.  He's cute enough he'll still be very adoptable in three weeks, and that will give me some extra time to find him the perfect home (i.e. one who will send me regular updates on him). 

It's always scary offering to take foster pets sight-unseen.  Sometimes I am surprised by how adorable and sweet they are.  Sometimes I am surprised by how funny-looking or difficult they are. This week, I've had one of each. 

First is Chenille.  Someone who knew I have a soft spot for deaf dogs told me about a group looking for help with a deaf Pomeranian.  Of course small dogs aren't my thing, but deaf dogs are, so I said I'd take her.  I was told she was a senior dog, deaf, not house-trained, expected to be difficult to place - all in all, I expected the worst.  But then, thanks to a string of volunteers from Kansas City to St. Louis, this dog showed up. 

And not only did she turn out to be beautiful (thanks to a volunteer in Kansas City who got her groomed before sending her my way!) but also so very sweet.  She is a bit shy, and hides in her crate sometimes, but she also loves to be held and carried around.  She does great with kids, other dogs, and cats.  It's true she needs some work on house-training, but she's not going to be hard to adopt like I thought she might.  She's at the vet today being spayed and readied for adoption, so I will get her on the website and try to find her a home soon!

Sometimes the opposite happens.  A dog that sounds like a very easy adoption on paper turns out to be not so easy. I could be wrong.  I hope I'm wrong.  But when I was told a poodle mix who is already house-trained and good with other pets needed a temporary foster home, I thought I could get him adopted before he had to go to another longer-term foster home.  A poodle mix - how hard is that?  But here's Dodger, who showed up at my house last night:

 

It's not his fault he looks like a Dauschund/Poodle cross with bare spots in his thin fur.  It's not his fault he's missing a lot of teeth and has to eat soft food, or that he has allergies.  It's not his fault that he's probably younger than Chenille, but looks a lot older.  I just hope that someone can see what a great dog he really is and decide to adopt him in spite of those things! 

Quick Update

There has been a lot going on this weekend and not much time to take pictures, so I'll post more details with pictures soon.  But just because I can't wait to share news with you, I had to tell you now. 

First, I have a new foster dog named Chenille.  She's the deaf Pomeranian I was waiting for.  She came in on Saturday from Kansas City!   She's beautiful and a little bit shy and great with other animals and loves to be held.  I'm guessing she'll be adopted right away, even though she's mostly deaf and older.   

Second, my foster puppies go to the vet tomorrow so they will be ready for adoption hopefully by this weekend.  Except for Bear.  I am doing an awful thing.  I'm going to list his three littermates on the website for adoption, but not him.  Don't tell anyone.  I am ashamed of myself.  But I can't help it - he's my favorite puppy ever.  And that's saying a lot, because I've had some pretty awesome puppies, including my own dog Noelle who I got at 4 months old.  I just can't bear to put Bear on the website yet (ha).  So first I'm going to try to find a home for him with someone I know.  Someone who will keep me updated on him and let me see him from time to time.  If you know of a really good home who may be interested in adopting the cutest, sweetest puppy ever, let me know.  Otherwise I'll put him on the website as soon as his littermates are adopted.  I have to make room for more puppies, even if it means giving up the best puppy ever.  He is so laid back - he let my niece carry him around like a baby for an hour last night and never wiggled or complained.  He's fluffy and cuddly and, well, you just have to meet him and I think you'd fall in love too. I'm sure I'll have more pictures of him soon too.

Third, I'm getting a new foster dog tonight.  It's another small dog - a poodle mix.  What's the deal with me and small dogs lately?  I have never been a small dog person, and with a 160 lb dog of my own, I never expected to foster small dogs because I was afraid they would get stepped on!  And yet my four most recent foster dogs are all small dogs.  At least they're always in high demand.  And they eat less than the big dogs.  Less poop to pick up too.  (Sorry).   I'll have more news on the new foster dog tomorrow I hope.

Fourth, and most exciting for me - I got an inquiry on adopting Scribbles!!!  I never thought it would happen.  I recently made a video of her though, and I think that caught someone's attention.  It's not a great video - but how do you make a great video of a cat who doesn't do anything?  It's not easy.  So at least it helped her be noticed.  It remains to be seen if the inquiry will lead to an application or an adoption, but stay tuned and you'll know when I know!  Now I'm motivated to go make videos of all my hard-to-adopt pets.  Artemis and Lizzy are next on my list!   If you're a foster mom or dad for pets, I highly recommend making a video of your hard-to-place foster pets to help them get adopted.  Here are some tips from Petfinder.com.  And if you don't have a video camera but can get your fosters to me, I'd be glad to make a video of them for you.  I'll help any group, with any pet, as long as you promise not to expect much.  :-)