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!

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. 

Introductions and Adoptions

Lately I feel as if I'm always running behind.  Somehow as I look at my most recent blog posts, I find that I've neglected to tell you about several new fosters, and a few of them have already been adopted!  So to catch up, here's the short version..



Peaches

  Peaches is an extremely sweet Lab mix who belonged to my neighbors.  Since they let their dogs run loose, Peaches and the other dogs often came over to my house across the street to visit me.  I fell in love with Peaches the first time I met her, and often reminded my neighbor that if she ever decided to give Peaches up, I would take her.  That day finally came, and last week Peaches came to my house as a foster dog.  She's a great dog - loves to cuddle, loves to play with the other dogs, loves to eat - she just loves life.  So when she was adopted this past weekend, I was very happy for her, but just a little bit sad that I didn't get more time with her!




Natasha



Natasha came from an animal shelter in Columbia, MO. She is around four years old, and has this cute scruffy look that I love.  She was one of those dogs that I brought in and instantly she fit in with no adjustment time at all.  She stayed loose in the house while I was at work and never tore anything up.  She slept on my bed at night and never bothered the cat.  She played great with all the other dogs, and she bonded very quickly to me.  Natasha hasn't been adopted yet, but we had a new volunteer sign up to foster for us, so I gave her my perfect dog so she would hopefully have a good foster experience.  Because if I'd given her Ziggy to foster, she'd have drove him back to my house and we'd never see her again.  So far she says she hopes Natasha gets adopted soon because she is falling in love with her!

Nosey is my newest Beagle puppy.  When I heard that SNUGGLE, the neonate rescue group who had helped us with Jill and her puppies, had a blind puppy that they wanted us to take, I basically begged them to pick me please.  Amazingly enough, the competition was slim and I was allowed to foster this adorable guy.  Nosey was born with retinal dysplasia and has been blind from birth.  There's nothing that can be done to repair his vision, but so far he has no idea that all the other dogs have a sense he is missing.  In his world, we're all blind.  And he gets around just as well as all the other dogs.  He's a happy little pup, always sniffing and usually finding stray pieces of kibble that the other dogs miss.  He loves to play with the other dogs, but he is a bit rough on small dogs, so will do best with bigger dogs.  He's received several applications for adoption but so far none of them have passed the vet check that we do, so he is still with me! 


Frodo



 And then there's Frodo.  Frodo is a long-haired cat, although in this picture he has been shaved down.  He is a very tiny cat with a very large personality.  He had ringworm when he was a young kitten, and is still recovering, so I will have him at least a few more weeks until he is deemed ready for adoption.  He's extremely affectionate and playful, and will make a wonderful pet for someone eventually! 



Jude



 Jude is another foster dog who has been fostered and is already adopted.  He is your typical Lab puppy - easy-going, friendly, loves everyone.  He is around 8 months old, and was turned into rescue with his sister.  He has been adopted by a family with three kids, and it seemed to be his dream come true!   

 Other recent changes include Trixie the Chihuahua who was adopted, Twinkie the Chihuahua who went to another foster home and may be adopted by the foster, Ivy the Beagle puppy who was adopted, Iris the Beagle puppy who went to a foster-to-adopt home, Gemma the deaf pit bull mix who went to another foster home, and Piper the 16-year-old pit bull from the hoarding situation who went to her forever home!

I still have Bogey the shy dog, Lucky the deaf Catahoula/Great Dane mix, Allie the Border Collie/Akita mix, Jill the Beagle mom, and Ziggy the TV star. 

Introducing Gemma

Revelie, the deaf pit mix from Kansas City, arrived on Saturday.  I renamed her Gemma, because it's easier to spell. 


Gemma waits to go home



I find her kind of adorable.

Gemma is wonderful. She reminds me of Shelby.  She's very laid back and is perfectly content sleeping all day on the couch.  She was recently treated for heartworms so she may become more lively once she is feeling better, but as of right now I am enjoying the laid-back attitude.  She does great with all the other dogs, and she's such a friendly and loving girl.  I am pretty sure she'll be adopted quickly, in spite of being a deaf pit mix.  

My Week

It has been a crazy week, and I haven’t had time to take any pictures or write any blog posts. Here’s what I’ve been doing instead:


Adoptions
On Saturday, I started out with eight foster dogs. By the end of the day, I was down to four foster dogs. Hope the Black Lab mix puppy was adopted. Also Dolly the deaf Shih Tzu mix puppy was adopted. Connor the Chiweenie went to his new foster home. And best of all, Thor the German Shepherd Dog went to his foster-to-adopt home. He has the best new family. They rescue and foster senior German Shepherds, and are planning to adopt Thor once he is done with his surgery!

New Fosters
Twinkie and Trixie were two of the dogs were rescued from the hoarding situation. They’ve been at another foster home until last weekend. That’s when Trixie went into heat. Since we’re not able to get the dogs spayed or neutered until the court case is resolved, we had to get Trixie away from the other male dogs that were also rescued from the property. That meant that she had to come to my house. And since we didn’t want her to be alone, I took Twinkie too.  

Trixie



Twinkie

 Coordinating Transports
I generally rescue dogs from my immediate area, but since I really enjoy working with deaf dogs, I will sometimes take in dogs from out of the area. Right now there is a deaf six-month-old Chihuahua/Dachshund mix named Axle in Ohio that needs help, and a deaf pit bull mix named Revelie in Kansas City that needs help. I’ve been trying to coordinate getting Axle here, which has been a huge headache. However another rescue group – WonderWeims Rescue – is going to be driving to Ohio to pick up another dog next weekend and they’ve very kindly offered to bring back Axle for me too. So hopefully that will all work out and Axle will arrive safely next weekend. Revelie is scheduled to arrive tomorrow sometime, although exact details are still pending.

Writing a Guest Post
I am a big fan of the Deaf Dogs Rock website, and was recently asked to write a guest post about fostering for them. I wrote this post. I left out the warnings about how foster pets may decide to eat the house. I didn’t think that would help convince anyone to foster.

Hopefully the upcoming week will be a bit calmer and I will have a chance to take pictures and tell you all about the new fosters.  As always, thanks for reading!