Nice Day!

It was beautiful weather out today, and that may have been part of the reason that it was quiet at PetSmart - hopefully people were out enjoying the great weather before it ends. However it did mean that we didn't have a lot of luck at PetSmart, at least with dog adoptions. Penny, one of my favorite Heartland dogs, was adopted. She is a border collie mix, and very sweet. Also, Luke, a chocolate lab, and Hannah, a dachshund mix puppy were adopted. So all in all, it wasn't a bad day - although it would have been better (in my opinion) if Lacy or one of the lab/border collie puppies were adopted. Derby also is finally going to his new home tomorrow morning - hooray! I am hoping by next week to have Pepsi and Ginger ready for their first trip to PetSmart. Tomorrow I am determined to get pictures of them so I can get them on the website. And now I must end this, because Hunter is harassing Remi, Derby and Noelle are harassing Blaze, and I have no idea where Lacy is or what she's up to!

Orange Kitten Update

My orange kittens - Frito, Cheeto and Nacho - went to the vet yesterday to get neutered. I was hoping they'd get a clean bill of health and get to go to adoptions on Saturday, but the news wasn't so good. They have coccidia, which is a common kitten problem. So they have to get treated for a week, and won't be able to go to PetSmart tomorrow. So I'll just be taking Lacy, Blaze and Astro again this week.

Things are starting to calm down a little bit at home, now that the newcomers have learned what to expect. Jester, the new cat, is doing great. The vet estimated he is one year old. He is very playful and affectionate, and every time I go into the room where he's staying, he comes to greet me and climbs on my lap to be petted. The two puppies - Ginger and Pepsi - are estimated to be 11 weeks and 12 weeks old, respectively. They are the same size, and about the same energy level, and they have a great time playing together. The have the basement to themselves, and they're doing much better now about not destroying their kennels. I have been able to get them out to play 3 times a day, and I think that helps a lot to keep them tired. :-) Noelle is staying upstairs with Lacy and Derby, and she's doing great. She gets along with the other dogs and cats, and is just so sweet. I can never move anywhere without tripping over her, because she sticks so close to me. The vet estimated her at 4 months old.

Hunter got here last night, and fits right in! He met all the dogs, except the puppies, last night, and did fine with all of them. He really likes to play with Derby and Lacy. He misses his family though - for the first 20 minutes after they left, he kept going to the window and whining, waiting for them. But I was able to distract him with some games and treats, and he settled down after a bit. He slept on the bed right next to me last night, and seemed to be in a good mood this morning. All the dogs got Kongs filled with peanut butter, carrots, and dog food before I left... sounds pretty gross to me, but the dogs really like it! :-)

Introducing Noelle, Pepsi, Ginger and Jester

I only went to the shelter to pick out one... maybe two at the very most. Somehow in the past two days I came home with three new dogs and one cat. The two new puppies are rather time intensive, so I haven't been able to take pictures of anyone yet. I'm hoping this weekend I will have time. I spent last night and this morning getting them bathed, fed and settled in. Well, I didn't bathe the cat - i'm not that crazy. But for those of you who voted to hear more details of fostering, here's how the two days went at my house.

Noelle, my new white pit bull puppy, came home from the shelter on Monday night. I left her in the car while I went inside and let Derby and Lacy out in the backyard. Then I put Remi in the bedroom, and carried Noelle into the house, and straight to the bathtub. I like to give them baths before they touch anything just in case they're carrying any germs or viruses. She got a bath, which she didn't particularly like, and then got to come out and meet my husband. He wasn't happy about me bringing home a deaf dog, but once he met her he fell in love just like I did. She then went down to the basement to hang out with him, while I let the other dogs back in upstairs, and the night proceeded with a pretty normal schedule (feeding, playing, etc). When I went down to check on her later, she was curled up on a blanket, looking very content. The great thing about her being deaf is she is happy to hang out in the basement while my husband is working. He is finishing the basement (putting up walls, building a bar, etc) and it is a noisy place to be, but she didn't mind at all! :-)
Yesterday I left work and went to the shelter where I got Noelle to return a leash I had borrowed. I then saw five cats that were going to be put down this morning. I couldn't leave them there! But I couldn't take them either - my husband really dislikes cats. I also only had one cat playpen where I could quarantine a cat while it was being prepared for adoption. So, I picked out one that I fell in love with the moment I saw him, and took him in spite of what my husband wanted. I then cried over another cat that was so sweet and loving that I couldn't take. He was a long haired white cat, and reminded me a lot of Spock, one of my own cats that died in the past year. Another Heartland volunteer who was at the shelter with me must have felt sorry for him, and for me, and took him home with her. So thanks to her, we were able to save two of those cats that wouldn't be alive right now otherwise. I've named the cat I took home Jester. He is a cinnamon colored cat. He seems very friendly and purrs when I pet him or hold him. That's about all I know about him so far! :-)
Once I left that shelter, I went to the other shelter where I had signed up for two dogs previously. I got them both - one is a female pit bull puppy, dark brindle, with lots of energy - I've named her Pepsi. The other is a female Jack Russell Terrier mix puppy - she is super sweet, kind of shy, and so cute! The shelter had named her Ginger, so I'm keeping that name. She is white with brown patches. So the cat and both dogs came home with me last night. Once again, they waited in the car while I went in and let out the other dogs. Then Jester came in and went into the extra cat playpen. Both puppies got baths, and neither of them appreciated it very much. They are now in separate exercise pens in the basement, during their "quarantine". This is my least favorite part of bringing home new fosters - I just hate quarantining them. But, I don't want the other dogs or cats to get sick either, so I do understand the need for it. Hopefully this week will go by quickly.
Hunter will be here tomorrow night - I can't wait to see him again. I am already counting on him being my footwarmer at night - he always used to sleep at the end of the bed and keep my feet warm for me, so I'm hoping he does that again. :-) And then this weekend is PetSmart, and I'm hoping my orange kittens will be ready to go get adopted. They go to the vet tomorrow, so we'll see!

Introducing Hershe, and more kittens!

First, I'd like to introduce you to my newest foster dog. Her name is Hershe, and she's a beautiful chocolate labrador retriever. She has been in foster care for a long time, and hasn't had very many people interested in her. She reminds me of Elvis because she's a bit timid in new situations. I am "borrowing" her from her previous foster home, so we can see how she would react to a new home, and if she has any problems that we need to work on. So far, she is doing great. She will take some time to settle in, so it'll be interesting to see what she's like in another week or so, but right now she seems very happy. She is the most camera shy dog I've ever met, so getting a good picture of her will be tricky, but here is the best I could do on short notice for you to see her. I might have to get out the telescopic lens for the camera so I can get her picture when she's not aware of it. Otherwise, well, I've taken many many pictures of the side of her head, or the top of her head (when she ducks down) since she runs as soon as she sees me holding the camera. :-)


And now, to introduce my new kittens - Frito, Cheeto and Nacho. We got a call from someone who's cat had kittens again (the third litter she's had) and wasn't able to give them all away through ads in the paper or at the flea market, so she wanted to know if we could take the last three kittens she had left. They're 8 weeks old, and all adorable male orange tabbies. I talked to the person who called, and was glad to hear she was getting her cat spayed after this! All our other foster homes are full, so I'm taking them. I'm going to put them on the foster website, so if you know of anyone who might be interested in fostering kittens, please direct them to http://www.hhsrescue.com/. These little guys are so cute - I forgot how completely insane kittens can be. They chase each other and are constantly moving - it's very hard to get pictures of them all together. It's also hard to tell them apart, but here's one way. Nacho, the kitten in front in the first picture below, is what is called a classic tabby. He has a kind of bulls eye swirl on his side. Frito, the kitten in the middle, is a mackeral tabby - he has the more common vertical stripes. He could maybe be called a spotted tabby since the stripes are broken up. And then Cheeto has some tabby stripes on his front legs, but no obvious tabby pattern on his body - at least not that I can tell. SO, that's how I tell them apart! Here are some pictures of them...

I'm also excited to report that Hunter, Murphy and Lexi are coming to visit! Hunter is one of my previous foster dogs, a Great Dane/Pointer/Lab mix, or something like that. :-) He's a great dog and I'm getting the chance to dogsit for his family while they're gone - I can't wait to see him again. He is a friendly easy-going dog and I have missed him! Also, later this month I get to see another one of my old fosters. Murphy, who used to be named Coal, was one of my first foster dogs that I fell in love with - he was shy and afraid of almost everything. These days he is a much more confident happy dog, and I am lucky to get to see him at PetSmart sometimes. His family knows how much I still miss him and everytime I run into them at PetSmart I beg to dogsit him again, so I was happy to find out they were going on a trip and letting Murphy stay with me. Murphy also has a new puppy sister named Lexi - she's adorable, and I can't wait to play with her! So I am really looking forward to having two of my old fosters back for a visit later this month, and a new puppy in addition!

Don't forget Trivia Night is coming up quickly - October 17th! This is Heartland's biggest fundraiser, and we could really use your support. You can click here: http://heartlandhumanemo.homestead.com/TriviaNight.html to find out all the details. If you can't attend, there are other ways you can help - click the link above for details. You don't have to be good at trivia - its just a fun way to spend the evening with friends, helping out the animals. And the silent auction and raffles are also a lot of fun! I hope to see you there!

Hunter was adopted!

Hunter has a new family! He was adopted on PetSmart on Saturday, and he'll be going to his new home tomorrow. He's also going to be cousins with Murphy (previously Coal)! It turns out that the family who adopted him is related to the family who adopted Murphy a few months ago. And since we're dog-sitting for Murphy this week at our house, Murphy and Hunter got to spend a few days together getting to know each other before Hunter goes to his new house. I'm very happy for Hunter, and I think he'll be a very spoiled dog.

Baby Expo, Foster Dog Update

Selena and I attended the baby expo on Saturday, and it went very well. I was hoping someone would want to adopt Selena, and several people did, but they all either had too many dogs already, or a husband or wife who wouldn't allow it. SO, Selena didn't find a home this week. However we met several nice people, made some new contacts for Heartland, and hopefully someone who picked up one of our cards will be looking for a dog or cat very soon.

Next week, Murphy is going to return to our house for a short visit. Murphy (previously named Coal) was one of my earlier foster dogs. I've stayed in touch with his new family, and they're going to let him stay with us while they go on vacation. I'm so excited - I fell in love with Murphy the first time I saw him, and I still miss him. I can't wait to see him again.

Hunter, Selena and Koda are all doing great. We haven't had any accidents from any of them in awhile, and they aren't being crated anymore except when we aren't home. They've chosen new sleeping arrangements at home. Remi sleeps on the love seat in the living room, Koda sleeps in between my husband and I in our bed, and Hunter sleeps on the other side of me in our bed. He likes to burrow under the covers until you can't even tell that he's there! We aren't sure where Selena sleeps - or IF she sleeps. :-) Actually she seems to prefer to start off on a dog bed in our room, and then move to a dog bed in the living room later in the night. Once my alarm goes off in the morning, she's right there next to me ready to jump on the bed and give me a lot of licks to get me up. The dogs are all settling in nicely and I'm going to be sad when one of them gets adopted. They'll all three be up at PetSmart this weekend to try to find a home, and I hope for their sake that they do find their own permanent family. In the meantime, I feel lucky to get to spend a small part of life with each one of them.

Here's a new picture of Koda - she went from 16 pounds when we got her, to 31 pounds and still growing!

Introducing Hunter

Selena and Tulsa spent the day at PetSmart again on Saturday, but neither found homes yet. One thing I've read over and over about deaf dogs is they are always a dog first, the breed second, and deaf last. I've definitely found this to be true with Tulsa, and I'm sad to say that I've decided I'm not the right foster home for her right now. Tulsa is only six months old, and she's very high energy, and as sweet as she is with people, she still needs a home with someone that can work with her. Since my husband and I both work full-time, and have three other dogs to take care of, we weren't able to spend the time with her that she needed. She liked to nip at other dogs during playtime, and that's a natural thing for her breed to do, but it was beginning to hurt Remi and since we couldn't spend enough time training her, I thought it was best if she went back to her original foster home for now. I feel really bad about sending her back, but I know she will be well taken care of, and it will make the situation better for our other foster dogs as well as my husband and I.



While our eventual goal is to get back down to only two foster dogs (plus our own dog and cat), I did not want to give Tulsa back to her first foster home without taking another dog to make space for her. So I talked to the Heartland volunteers in charge of dog fostering and we decided that Hunter might be a good choice. Hunter was taken in by Heartland from a kill shelter when he ran out of time. He is a pointer/great-dane mix, and he's about 1 1/2 years old. He was unhappy at his first foster home, because its more of a kennel environment and since he'd been in another animal shelter before that, I'm sure he was anxious to get back to having carpet and couches and a few more "creature comforts". I think he's a typical Dane in that respect. Hunter reminds me of Remi in so many ways. He has the same face (on a much smaller body), and he even acts the same as Remi in many ways. He is goofy and funny, and loves to play with Selena, Remi and Koda. He drips water everywhere after he drinks, which we're used to because Remi does the same thing. He behaves really well so far. My goal with him is to teach him to stop jumping on people, and my #2 goal is to teach him to sit. He is already housebroken which is a big plus. He is VERY skinny and looks like he's been starved, although I think that might just be his body type. But I'll keep feeding him a lot (he was eating 8 cups a day at his last foster home!) and see if we can get his weight up some. In the meantime, if I take him anywhere I will have to make sure to take one of our other dogs so people know that I'm not really starving him. :-) In fact, Koda is starting to gain a little TOO much weight. My husband says she looks like a piglet, and I have to agree. She's pretty good at cleaning up any stray pieces of dog food that the other dogs leave behind, and I will need to start cutting back on her food pretty soon. She always acts so hungry, but I do want her to stay healthy and not get too overweight. I'll try to post some new pictures of her soon - I think she's growing quickly! She goes to the vet this week to get spayed and another round of shots, and then she'll be ready for adoption on Saturday if she's feeling well enough!



Here is a picture of Hunter: