Highlights of the past week...

September 27th - Went to an area shelter to drop off Harry and pick up Molly and two more FIV+ cats.  Harry is a previous foster dog that wasn't doing well here with the other fosters, and since we currently have no other foster homes available to take him, he is temporarily staying at the shelter.  Molly wasn't doing well at the shelter so she became my foster dog.  And since this shelter doesn't adopt out FIV+ cats, I brought home Scotty and Charley until room opens up at another area no-kill shelter that has a free-roaming adoption room for just FIV+ cats.   

Scotty

   

Charley

 They have joined the rest of my foster cats - Kirby, Bandit, Belle, Thomas, and Pogo.  Mercury, Kona and Kimba have all been adopted! 

September 28th - Went back to the shelter and picked up Thumper, a Bearded Collie mix.  She's eight years old and very sweet.  

Thumper

September 29th - Helped set up the All Paws garage sale fundraiser.  Got to do some pre-sale shopping.  Spent  more money than I had planned.  

September 30th - Got up at 4:30 a.m. for the garage sale.  Spent most of the day trying to stay awake. Bought more items and spent even more money.  Realized I ran out of checks and had no cash.  Blamed it on lack of sleep and wrote an IOU.  

October 1st - Went to the Purina Pet Project Event.  Ziggy got to join the Purina Dog Show and pray for all the animals to find homes.  I didn't actually see anyone get adopted at the event, so I'm hoping that's not Ziggy's fault.  We had a great time and I met some wonderful people.

October 2nd - Held a small adoption event at PetSmart.  No one was adopted, and I came home completely exhausted.  Brought home Audrey, a temporary foster dog who is already scheduled to be adopted as soon as she is vetted.  

October 3rd - Got up early and dropped off Audrey and Carlos, another All Paws dog, at the vet.  Went back home and worked for several hours.  Went back to the vet with Elton and Thumper for their exams, and then took all four dogs with me to the shelter to pick up Roo, another foster dog.  Came home and got Roo introduced to everyone else.  Left and took Ziggy to Agility class.  Came home and collapsed.  Got a good night's sleep surrounded by Miley, Molly, Elton, Thumper, Roo, Audrey, Pogo and Charley.  

Living With Fourteen Dogs and Cats

As one of my friends recently pointed out, only in the rescue world does it seem normal to live with seven dogs and seven cats.  That's how many I have right now, although the numbers change a bit from day to day.  My house is divided by baby gates, and each room has a purpose related to the animals.  One room is currently occupied by several dog crates where Ziggy, Miley, Elton and Ellie sleep and eat their meals.  They also stay there when I'm not home.  The rest of their time is spent with me in the living room or outside.  The other three dogs - Harry, Roxy and Bunny - currently have crates in the living room.  Harry just came back from a foster-to-adopt home which didn't work out for him.  His crate is in the living room so he can get used to the other dog's presence and they can get used to him.  Bunny is in the living room because that's where I spend most of my time and I want her to get used to me.  Her crate door is never closed but she feels safe in her crate so she spends most of her time in the crate by choice.  And Roxy is only in her crate at meal times, but I've found it's convenient to leave her crate in the living room in case one of the dogs needs a short time-out when they're playing.  The living room is basically one very large room consisting of a living area, dining area, and kitchen area.  This leaves a lot of floor space for the dogs to run around and play.  There are also several good spots for the cats to hide if the dogs get a bit over exuberant.  I only foster cat-friendly dogs, but occasionally one of the dogs will think chasing a cat is a terrific idea.  Hiding behind the couch or sitting up above them on the top of a cabinet is a great relief to the cats at times.  Of course they have their own spaces too.  I have one room currently used only for a new cat to settle in and get accustomed to the house prior to introducing him to the other cats.  Then there is another room blocked off by a baby gate (so the cats can jump over and have freedom but they dogs can't get in).  That room has the cat trees, food, cat toys, and all other things that are too tempting for dogs to stay away from.  Of course the cats don't spend much time in that room - they prefer my bedroom.  Right now only Roxy has been allowed to sleep on my bed at night, plus of course the cats.  And during the day no dogs are allowed in the room but again the cats take it over. All in all, everyone seems quite happy.  At least it's much better than the alternative of a shelter while they wait for their forever homes.

Speaking of forever homes, Tulsa recently went out on a foster-to-adopt situation which is so far going very well!  And Roxy has a home visit scheduled for this weekend, so she may have her forever home soon also.  Harry also has a home visit to be scheduled, and he may only be back for a short time.  Now if only Ziggy or Bunny would find their forever homes!

Here is a short video of the dogs enjoying the nice weather:

Foster Updates; Introducing Teddy

I've been very busy the past few weeks, so now I have a lot to share!  In no particular order, here are some recent happenings:

* Harry the American Bulldog/Lab mix went to a foster-to-adopt home.  This is a great option for someone who is not sure if they're ready for a dog or who wants some time to make sure the dog will work with their household.  They foster the dog, and if it works well, they adopt the dog, and if it doesn't work well they either keep fostering until the dog is adopted or return the dog to his original foster home.  I am hopeful that Harry will do very well in his new foster home.

* Maddie the Australian Shepherd went to another foster home who fell in love with her when they saw her.  Maddie has had her surgery and is now recovering.  She was able to keep her leg (there was some concern that they may have to remove it) and will now be able to run and walk without being in pain.  She's doing great in her new foster home and quickly learning all about living in a home and being spoiled.

* All of the Beagle/Shih Tzu/Brussels Griffon puppies have been adopted.

* Roxy the pit bull has had two adoption applications on her this week.  One family lives in a city that requires a six foot fence for pit bulls, which they do not have.  The other lives in a city that doesn't allow pit bulls.  So Roxy is still stuck with me, but neither of us are complaining.  Today she takes her Canine Good Citizen test.

* Tulsa the deaf Australian Cattle Dog and Noelle, my deaf pit bull, have both started beginning agility class.  And Ziggy has started intermediate agility class.  Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

* Yesterday's adoption event was very slow so we packed up early and four of us went to a nearby shelter and pulled four dogs that were out of time.  They are all what we call "foo foo" dogs - small, fluffy, easily adoptable breeds.  We took a Shih Tzu, a Lhasa Apso, a Pekingese and a Poodle.  I got the Poodle.  At least I think it's a poodle.  You decide...

Poodle?

Or mop with a pink tongue?

He does have eyes under there, and he can see through all that hair, believe it or not.  I named him Teddy, and he fits right in here.  I say that, because he has separation anxiety just like Morgan, and he cries nonstop if I leave the room without him.  He also jumps in little circles when he is happy, and he seems to be housetrained, and he does great with the other dogs and the cats.

Bunny, Morgan and Teddy

The first thing I did when I got him home was to give him a bath, because he was rather smelly after being in the shelter for two weeks.  He will be groomed as soon as possible, and I think then he'll look like a whole different dog.  Although I have to admit I kind of like the "mop" look.

Introducing Harry

Harry before rescue

When Harry first came into rescue, he was a very sad sight.  He
was very skinny, and he'd lost all of his hair due to bacterial and fungal infections.  His ears were infected, his skin was awful, and he was a miserable guy.  But his foster mom took him in and nursed him back to health. She named him Harry in hopes that someday he would become hairy again, and she fattened him up and took care of all the infections with medicine and special baths.  It was a lot of work, but by the time she was done with him, he no longer looked like the same dog.

Harry 

He's now gained 30 pounds, grown out all his hair, and is feeling great.  He's good with kids, ignores cats, and is fine with calm dogs.  Unfortunately his foster home has a foster dog named Toby.  It's the same Toby that visits here periodically.  Toby is anything but calm.  And Harry had a hard time adjusting to Toby's energy level, so it was decided that perhaps one of them should be moved to a different foster home.  I immediately volunteered to take Harry, because my foster dogs are so very calm and laid back.  Stop laughing.  I wasn't talking about Ziggy.  Or Roxy.  Or Tulsa. I was talking about my OTHER foster dogs.  Okay fine, my foster dogs aren't calm and laid back, but no one else had room for Harry, so I brought him home anyway.  And although he hasn't met Ziggy yet, he's doing great with the rest of the crew.  He has picked out his favorite spot on the couch.  Fortunately this is not the same couch that is usually occupied by me, Roxy, Tulsa, and one or more cats.  Because it's really getting crowded on this couch.  

Harry is an American Bulldog/Labrador Retriever mix.  He's four years old, and he loves to play fetch.  He also enjoys playing tug with Roxy, and letting Tulsa herd him.  Even though he towers over the other dogs (he weighs 91 pounds), he is very gentle with the little dogs, and never chases the cats.   I think he's going to fit in fine around here!