Great news - Jade has found a home! She was adopted by a very nice family, and they have promised to throw a lot of tennis balls for her to chase. I am so glad she found such a good home. I was worried about her because even though she's friendly and well behaved, she still started out with three strikes against her - she's a large dog (most people want small ones), she's a black dog (always the hardest to adopt out), and she's high energy (too much for many people to keep up with). So when I received an e-mail from someone inquiring about Jade, my first thought was that "they must mean someone else". I found out that they had recently lost a dog that is very similar to Jade (beautiful lab mix named Mickey), and they were ready to add another dog to the family. I'm so glad they picked Jade - she has had a rough first year of her life, and I hope she only has great years ahead of her with her new family.
Jade was adopted on Friday. Saturday I had Elvis, Reese and the three kittens at PetSmart. I was hopeful that one of them would also be adopted, but it was not to be. We had a very slow, hot day on Saturday. We did get Toby adopted - he was a cute little beagle puppy that never even made it onto the website because he was adopted very quickly. Remember me talking about those two adorable beagle pups I wanted to take home and keep? Toby was one of them! The other one made his first trip to PetSmart but is still waiting on his home. Also we had two other dog adoptions during the week. Buster is a cute lab/basset mix who had a great personality, and Kiya is a Pharaoh Hound mix who was the mom to the puppies that I dogsat. Kiya was the escape artist who turned out to be smarter than me - I was never able to keep her in any enclosure - she just wanted to be with people so bad! She was adopted before any of her puppies found homes! Even though Saturday was slow for dogs, today (Sunday) was a little better for me personally. I took all three kittens to PetSmart, and came home with only two! Avalanche was adopted right at the end of the day - he went home to a great family who was looking for a new kitten to spoil. The three kids begged, pleaded, and offered thousands of dollars to their parents, and who could resist that? So Avalanche, my favorite kitten ever, now has his very own family to give him a lot of love and attention.
Showing posts with label Jade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jade. Show all posts
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Ella was adopted; Noah is renamed; Training begins; Supply Drives
Ella, the first cat I ever fostered, has finally found a home! I guess as foster cats go, it really hasn't been that long, but as a relatively new person to the rescue world, four months seemed like a very long time for such a wonderful animal to be without a home. Especially since she's spent the last two months of her life in a little cage at Petsmart. I hated leaving her there all the time, but it was the best way for her to meet the most potential adopters, and she was much better off there than at my house since she wasn't crazy about all the noise and excitement and other animals. She had a lot of people, volunteers and employees alike, stop by and visit her every day, and she was well cared for. Her time there finally paid off, as she went to a wonderful new home yesterday! I am so happy for her!
I hate to do it, because my mom will get mad at me, but I'm doing it anyway. I'm changing Noah's name. My mom hates it when my foster animals names change, because she gets confused enough with all the different animals going into and out of my life - changing the names of the animals is even more confusing, she says. And generally, if we know what name the pet already had, we never change it. But Noah is a special case. Noah, my shepherd/hound foster dog, is very skittish and shy. If anyone in the house raises a voice, whether its directed at him or not, he cringes and runs away to hide. The problem is that in order to get the attention of Remi or Jade, a loud voice is usually required. One day something made me realize that I spent a lot of time saying "Remi, NO!" or "Jade, NO!", and each time, NOah acted like I was yelling at him. I thought, NO! does sound similar to NOah!, and could make it very confusing for him. I could have started saying "Remi, QUIT" or Jade, QUIT", but NO is a common English word, so I thought it'd be easier for him to just change his name. So now Noah is Elvis! It started out as a nickname, but now I'm so used to calling him that, that I keep confusing the names when I talk to people. He might take awhile to get adopted because he is so skittish and shy, so until we find the right home for him, I might as well at least change his name in my blog to match his name in real life. He answers to Elvis all the time now - and I think he's doing much better at accepting the loud voices and noises around him in the house. Although, if anyone has a nice quiet house and wants to foster one of the best dogs in the world, let me know and we'll talk. :-)
All the dogs have started obedience training, courtesy of my amateur attempts at training. We have nightly "classes", and each dog is working on a different skill. Granted, it'd be easier to teach them all the same thing at the same time - but not as interesting! Elvis is working on "sit" - he has finally figured it out, so we're in the "practicing stage". Reese can sit and is working on "down" - she almost has it figured out. And Jade can sit and is working on "stay" - this is really hard for her because she has never had to learn self-control before. But she desparately needs to be taught this because she has so much energy and enthusiasm and hasn't learned many manners yet. All in all, I'm very proud of my dogs and the progress they've made. I hope with additional training this will help them to find good homes, since all three of my fosters are likely going to be harder to place than cute puppies or small dogs. Reese is still a puppy, but she is, and looks like, a pit bull, so that scares some people away. Elvis can climb fences and is very skittish, so that limits the homes that will be right for him. And Jade is a wonderful dog, but she's big, black, and high energy, so that automatically is three strikes against her in most people's eyes. The more they can learn over time, the easier it will be to find them homes, so I will hopefully be able to keep up their new training schedule and they will learn a lot!
The girl scouts have been holding supply drives for the past couple Saturday's at PetSmart, and we have received several donations from people. Someone donated a big package of liver treats that the dogs LOVE - they work great for training - so if you made a donation of supplies - THANK YOU! You are helping to care for the dogs and cats that don't have homes, and you're also helping to prepare them to find new homes! If you are interested in sponoring a supply drive at your school or workplace, please contact me for more information at dogfostermom@aol.com. Our group is 100% volunteer run, and all of the foster homes provide their own supplies, crates, dog/cat beds, cat litter, etc - this quickly adds up and we can always use help. Our biggest needs are cat litter, canned (wet) cat and dog food, cat climbing trees/scratching posts (okay, this is my biggest need - not sure about others) ;-), and of course we can always use cat/dog treats, collars, leashes, toys, dog bones, paper towels, bleach, old blankets, cat/dog beds, and anything else that cats or dogs use! We are in a program where we are provided dry cat and dog food, so that's about the only thing we can't use - everything else would greatly help our foster homes care for their foster dogs and cats. If you have any items to donate, you don't need to wait for a supply drive - just drop them off with Heartland Humane Society volunteers at Petsmart on Highway K on any Saturday between 11am and 4pm, or contact me and we'll make other arrangements. Thanks!
I hate to do it, because my mom will get mad at me, but I'm doing it anyway. I'm changing Noah's name. My mom hates it when my foster animals names change, because she gets confused enough with all the different animals going into and out of my life - changing the names of the animals is even more confusing, she says. And generally, if we know what name the pet already had, we never change it. But Noah is a special case. Noah, my shepherd/hound foster dog, is very skittish and shy. If anyone in the house raises a voice, whether its directed at him or not, he cringes and runs away to hide. The problem is that in order to get the attention of Remi or Jade, a loud voice is usually required. One day something made me realize that I spent a lot of time saying "Remi, NO!" or "Jade, NO!", and each time, NOah acted like I was yelling at him. I thought, NO! does sound similar to NOah!, and could make it very confusing for him. I could have started saying "Remi, QUIT" or Jade, QUIT", but NO is a common English word, so I thought it'd be easier for him to just change his name. So now Noah is Elvis! It started out as a nickname, but now I'm so used to calling him that, that I keep confusing the names when I talk to people. He might take awhile to get adopted because he is so skittish and shy, so until we find the right home for him, I might as well at least change his name in my blog to match his name in real life. He answers to Elvis all the time now - and I think he's doing much better at accepting the loud voices and noises around him in the house. Although, if anyone has a nice quiet house and wants to foster one of the best dogs in the world, let me know and we'll talk. :-)
All the dogs have started obedience training, courtesy of my amateur attempts at training. We have nightly "classes", and each dog is working on a different skill. Granted, it'd be easier to teach them all the same thing at the same time - but not as interesting! Elvis is working on "sit" - he has finally figured it out, so we're in the "practicing stage". Reese can sit and is working on "down" - she almost has it figured out. And Jade can sit and is working on "stay" - this is really hard for her because she has never had to learn self-control before. But she desparately needs to be taught this because she has so much energy and enthusiasm and hasn't learned many manners yet. All in all, I'm very proud of my dogs and the progress they've made. I hope with additional training this will help them to find good homes, since all three of my fosters are likely going to be harder to place than cute puppies or small dogs. Reese is still a puppy, but she is, and looks like, a pit bull, so that scares some people away. Elvis can climb fences and is very skittish, so that limits the homes that will be right for him. And Jade is a wonderful dog, but she's big, black, and high energy, so that automatically is three strikes against her in most people's eyes. The more they can learn over time, the easier it will be to find them homes, so I will hopefully be able to keep up their new training schedule and they will learn a lot!
The girl scouts have been holding supply drives for the past couple Saturday's at PetSmart, and we have received several donations from people. Someone donated a big package of liver treats that the dogs LOVE - they work great for training - so if you made a donation of supplies - THANK YOU! You are helping to care for the dogs and cats that don't have homes, and you're also helping to prepare them to find new homes! If you are interested in sponoring a supply drive at your school or workplace, please contact me for more information at dogfostermom@aol.com. Our group is 100% volunteer run, and all of the foster homes provide their own supplies, crates, dog/cat beds, cat litter, etc - this quickly adds up and we can always use help. Our biggest needs are cat litter, canned (wet) cat and dog food, cat climbing trees/scratching posts (okay, this is my biggest need - not sure about others) ;-), and of course we can always use cat/dog treats, collars, leashes, toys, dog bones, paper towels, bleach, old blankets, cat/dog beds, and anything else that cats or dogs use! We are in a program where we are provided dry cat and dog food, so that's about the only thing we can't use - everything else would greatly help our foster homes care for their foster dogs and cats. If you have any items to donate, you don't need to wait for a supply drive - just drop them off with Heartland Humane Society volunteers at Petsmart on Highway K on any Saturday between 11am and 4pm, or contact me and we'll make other arrangements. Thanks!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Skittles was adopted!
Yesterday was a great day for dog adoptions. We had several puppies and small pure-bred dogs available at PetSmart, and most of them found homes. Even a couple of our older puppies and dogs, Logan and Sage, were adopted. Skittles went home with a great family and will have an Irish Setter to play with as she grows up. Reese, Noah and Jade are still waiting for their homes. None of the cats found homes yesterday, so I hope they have some better luck today.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Kitten Adoptions
Three of my kittens have found new homes! Ace, Apollo and Taffy were all adopted on Saturday. I now just have two left from each litter. Blaze and Monkee are the slightly older kittens, and then Astro and Avalanche are the two remaining flood kittens. I'm hoping to teach Monkee and Astro to be more friendly this week, and to teach Blaze to be less friendly. Avalanche is already perfect. Monkee and Astro just aren't that interested in cuddling, so I'm trying to teach them how nice it is to be held and petted. Blaze just needs to be taught that people are not supposed to be climbed like trees - he digs his claws in and climbs from the floor to the top of my head, and then digs his claws into my head. He does this to everyone he meets unfortunately. I know a little bit about dog training and dog behavior, but nothing about cats, so it is time for me to consult one of the cat foster moms and learn some new things!
None of the dogs were adopted this week, but they did do very well at Petsmart. It's always hard to guess how a dog will do if they've never been there. Some of them are quiet and shy, some are friendly and outgoing, and some of them are loud and upset. I was afraid that Jade would be one of the loud and upset dogs - barking at every person and every dog that walked by. But she actually did very well - she turned out to be one of the friendly, outgoing dogs! We put a donation vest on her to try to get some donations, and she happily greeted all the people and dogs, and had no problems. I was very relieved about that. The puppies of course also did great, and enjoyed playing with another puppy that was there to be adopted (Yosemite Sam, the last of Molly's puppies still waiting to be adopted). We didn't get any new puppies adopted this week though - the only dog adoptions were pre-arranged ones. Now I'm hoping that someone sees one of my puppies on the website this week and decides to adopt them, so they don't have to wait until next weekend to get another chance at a new home.
None of the dogs were adopted this week, but they did do very well at Petsmart. It's always hard to guess how a dog will do if they've never been there. Some of them are quiet and shy, some are friendly and outgoing, and some of them are loud and upset. I was afraid that Jade would be one of the loud and upset dogs - barking at every person and every dog that walked by. But she actually did very well - she turned out to be one of the friendly, outgoing dogs! We put a donation vest on her to try to get some donations, and she happily greeted all the people and dogs, and had no problems. I was very relieved about that. The puppies of course also did great, and enjoyed playing with another puppy that was there to be adopted (Yosemite Sam, the last of Molly's puppies still waiting to be adopted). We didn't get any new puppies adopted this week though - the only dog adoptions were pre-arranged ones. Now I'm hoping that someone sees one of my puppies on the website this week and decides to adopt them, so they don't have to wait until next weekend to get another chance at a new home.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Pictures of Jade, Skittles & Reese
I helped my sister move to her new house yesterday so I didn't get to take any of my fosters to Petsmart this week. I heard they did very well with adoptions - at least the dogs, not sure about cats. They had several puppies that were adopted, as well as some of the adults. My fosters should all be ready to be adopted next Saturday, so hopefully we'll have another good week then. I took some pictures so I could get them on the website, and decided to share a few of them here.
Here is Noah and Samantha (taken before she was adopted) in the back yard. 
Here is Jade, my newest foster. She is doing very well with the other dogs!
Here is Skittles, taking it easy on the couch.
Reese playing with her favorite squeaky toy.
Skittles and Reese - best friends! My husband wants them to be adopted together, but I said I'd just be glad for either of them to find a home. :-)
Reese is another lap dog, just like Vala was. She prefers to sit on people's laps whenever possible. Or in this case, she's using Remi as her cushion. :-)
I love Skittle's ears in this picture - so cute!
Here is an action shot of Jade, playing with one of the toys made and donated by the Girl Scouts - the dogs love them!!
Rachael (Dave's daughter) is home visiting for the summer, and lucky for me, she likes animals! She's been a huge help with all 13 cats and dogs! :-) Noah sleeps with her every night, and I think she is his favorite person in the world now. He will miss her when she goes back home to Alabama in a few weeks.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sam was adopted!
Samantha was adopted on Saturday, to a family who lives on my street! We didn't realize it beforehand, but once they filled out the application I saw that we were actually neighbors. Hopefully this means I'll get to see Samantha out in the neighborhood once in awhile.
Since Sam is gone, the house is much quieter. Just kidding - its as crazy as ever. I really miss her, but the new puppies are keeping me so busy that I haven't had much time to be sad that she is gone. Just to make sure I stay busy, I'm bringing home another dog tonight. Jade is a dog that was picked up as a stray at the North County shelter. I saw her there a couple of months ago, and wanted to take her but didn't have room. Another Heartland foster mom volunteered to take her for me, and has been keeping her at her house for the past month getting her ready for adoption. She's now been vaccinated and spayed and is all ready to be adopted - she's even on the website already. I named her Jade, because one of our previous adopters kindly donated some old leashes and bandanas and collars, and one of the bandanas was monogrammed with the name Jade. So I told them we could still use it, and would just name one of our fosters Jade! So she doesn't have green eyes, but I checked and the gemstone jade actually does come in the color black, so its all okay. :-) I just have to remember to put the bandana on her at adoption events now!
Anyway, I'm going out to the other foster mom's house tonight and I plan to bring Jade home, so she has more room for some new dogs that she recently took in (she has the cutest baby beagles I've ever seen - I just want to take them home and KEEP them!) . Jade has been a little bit nervous around other dogs at her house, even though she did fine at the shelter with other dogs before we got her. I hope that she'll be okay at my house with Remi and Noah, but if she's not, it may be a very short visit and then back to her current home. Maybe I'll get the beagles instead. (just kidding, Gina... unless you like the idea.) :-) My favorite thing about Jade is that one of her ears is always straight up, and the other one is always flopped over at the very tip. It's so cute. I hope to get some better pictures of her while she's at my house - the one on the website is one I took but I don't like it very much. I'll try to get some more pictures of Reese and Skittles while I'm at it. They're done with their quarantine now, and they're both doing great. They LOVE to play together, and they are just so cute when they hop around attacking each other with puppy sneak attacks.
Since Sam is gone, the house is much quieter. Just kidding - its as crazy as ever. I really miss her, but the new puppies are keeping me so busy that I haven't had much time to be sad that she is gone. Just to make sure I stay busy, I'm bringing home another dog tonight. Jade is a dog that was picked up as a stray at the North County shelter. I saw her there a couple of months ago, and wanted to take her but didn't have room. Another Heartland foster mom volunteered to take her for me, and has been keeping her at her house for the past month getting her ready for adoption. She's now been vaccinated and spayed and is all ready to be adopted - she's even on the website already. I named her Jade, because one of our previous adopters kindly donated some old leashes and bandanas and collars, and one of the bandanas was monogrammed with the name Jade. So I told them we could still use it, and would just name one of our fosters Jade! So she doesn't have green eyes, but I checked and the gemstone jade actually does come in the color black, so its all okay. :-) I just have to remember to put the bandana on her at adoption events now!
Anyway, I'm going out to the other foster mom's house tonight and I plan to bring Jade home, so she has more room for some new dogs that she recently took in (she has the cutest baby beagles I've ever seen - I just want to take them home and KEEP them!) . Jade has been a little bit nervous around other dogs at her house, even though she did fine at the shelter with other dogs before we got her. I hope that she'll be okay at my house with Remi and Noah, but if she's not, it may be a very short visit and then back to her current home. Maybe I'll get the beagles instead. (just kidding, Gina... unless you like the idea.) :-) My favorite thing about Jade is that one of her ears is always straight up, and the other one is always flopped over at the very tip. It's so cute. I hope to get some better pictures of her while she's at my house - the one on the website is one I took but I don't like it very much. I'll try to get some more pictures of Reese and Skittles while I'm at it. They're done with their quarantine now, and they're both doing great. They LOVE to play together, and they are just so cute when they hop around attacking each other with puppy sneak attacks.
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