I heard from the lady who adopted Lacy tonight. Lacy is a basset hound/beagle mix who I fostered in September/October. She is doing wonderful in her new home!! Also Selena, one of my early fosters who I had for quite awhile, came to PetSmart a week ago for dog training classes and stopped by to visit me. Selena's picture is at the top right of the page, from last winter. She is also doing well - still a lot of energy, but she is very much loved by her new owner and I know the feeling is mutual. It's so nice to hear success stories like these.
I wasn't able to be at adoptions this past weekend, but I heard that we had three dogs go home! Kodiak is a beautiful all-white Siberian Husky who went to a home with some other huskies (and people, of course). Chili is a very sweet chocolate lab puppy - she was my favorite of the litter of 5 that we have, and as expected, the chocolate lab was adopted prior to her four black lab siblings. And the third dog, Miya, was a cocker spaniel/long-hair chihuahua mix, and the cutest dog ever (except for maybe Dash - a dog belonging to one of the cat fosters). I like to think of Miya a little bit as mine, because I picked her out at a high kill shelter and that's how she became a Heartland dog. I had too many fosters at the time so another volunteer took her to foster. She got a ton of applications when she was put on the website, and she went to a great home. So it's great news that three more dogs were saved this weekend.
I'll be bringing home Duncan, my new chocolate lab puppy, tomorrow to start fostering him. I can't wait to see him again - I will take pictures of him soon!
Showing posts with label Lacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lacy. Show all posts
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Lacy and Frito were adopted!
Lacy was adopted at PetSmart today! She went to a home with a very nice couple who decided they were ready for a dog. They were "cat people" before this, so hopefully Lacy will do well with their cats, and maybe she can even convert them to becoming dog people. Hey, it happened to me once I got my first dog! :-)
Frito, one of my orange kittens was also adopted. I actually visited him in his new home this evening, and he has settled in already. He was sitting with his new family watching football - apparently he's a football fan and I never knew it - but he did fall asleep on the husband's lap while watching the game. He looked so happy in his new home with people to give him lots and lots of love.
Pepsi and Ginger made their first trip up to PetSmart this week, and they did very well. Well, Sue and Lori, two of the volunteers, may not agree - they had to clean up a few messes from the puppies! Both puppies are very young and not crate trained yet, so they haven't learned to hold it while they're in crates yet. But other than that, they did very well with all the noise and new people. Pepsi found a new best friend in Donna, another one of our dog volunteers. Ginger was a little more shy with meeting people, but she did very well overall. Jester, my newest cat, also made his first appearance at PetSmart. There was an empty cage there because Buttercup, a kitten I had at my house for awhile, was adopted today! So I left Jester there so hopefully someone will see him tomorrow or sometime soon and want to adopt him.
Last night was our Trivia Night fundraiser, and it was a lot of fun. I was happy to see a few people I knew - the people who adopted Elvis were there, and Diana - the lady who rescued Lacy, and Joanne - one of my co-workers, and several others as well. Thanks to all of you who made it out to support Heartland! And a very special thank you to Angie, the Heartland President, who puts so much effort into the event every year, and does a fabulous job. It seemed like everyone had fun, and we raised a lot of money to help us keep up with our vet bills!
Today was a crazy day for me. I should have known it was going to be a rough day when I woke up at 5:00am due to my husband's alarm clock going off. He's out of town for Army this weekend, and apparently forgot to shut off the alarm before he left. Okay, no big deal, I just hit the Off button and tried to go back to sleep. But 5 minutes later, it went off again. Hmm... apparently I hit the Snooze button, not the Off button. I can't figure out where the off button is in the dark, and if I get out of bed, the dogs will get up thinking its time to go out, and I'll have a hard time going back to sleep. Okay, I can solve this - I unplug the clock. Five minutes later, guess what - yep, the alarm goes off AGAIN. Apparently the thing has a battery backup. By this time I was NOT happy. I had to get up, turn on the light, and figure out how to end the annoying beeping sound. Remi, Lacy, Linguini and Murphy are all looking around trying to figure out what I'm doing - and of course Noelle is deaf so she slept through the whole thing! But then the dogs all get up, which wakes her up, and I end up having to go outside with them all, since Murphy doesn't like to go outside by himself, and Remi barks if left outside alone. Fifteen minutes later I go back to bed - again have to fight Remi for the covers, wait for the rest of the dogs and cat to settle in around me, and finally fall back asleep. Seems like only minutes later instead of a couple hours that my alarm goes off. So the day begins. It was then a rush to get everything done as usual - get the dogs outside, inside, fed, and outside again, then back in and crated. Quick trip to the vet to drop off stool samples and make sure the orange kittens can go to adoptions. Rush back home and pack up the crates and ex-pens, and get the dogs not going to PetSmart situated with bones or toys to keep them entertained while I'm gone. Track down the cats and pack them up. Load the cats, dogs, crates and supplies into the van, and head to PetSmart. Get there, and rush the cats inside since someone was waiting to meet my orange kittens. Set up crates, unload kittens, talk to a potential adopter, rush back to the car to unload and set up more crates outside, unload dogs, unload supplies, rush back inside to do adoption for Frito (hooray!), back outside to talk to someone about Lacy, back inside to drop off paperwork, back outside to talk to some other potential adopters, and so it goes. It finally slowed down after a bit, and by the time the day ended at 4pm, it was very quiet. We loaded back up the dogs into the cars, tore down all the crates, and headed home. Fortunately I live close - some people have to drive all the way out to Troy to take home their fosters - that makes for a very long day! After I got home and once again got the car unloaded and the dogs situated (outside, then inside, fed, then back out, then inside) I headed over to Frito's new home to drop off some medicine he needs to finish that I forgot to take to PetSmart with me. Then back home, to again let the dogs out, return some phone calls from people asking about my fosters, and then finally I could rest! Don't get me wrong, I love doing this, but days like today where I had a pet adopted (two actually!) make it so much better. Its the days that I do all this and don't get anyone adopted that are hard. I'm pretty lucky that I can foster so many animals, so I have more luck getting adoptions. Some of our foster volunteers have fewer fosters, so they might do this week after week, for cats or dogs, and not have an adoption in several months. :-( I know that has to be so disappointing. Sometimes people say "thanks for caring for these animals" or something along those lines, and it really feels good to have people recognize that. I don't know if other volunteers feel the same way, but for me if I don't have adoptions in awhile, its just nice to hear that my efforts to help these animals are appreciated. So next time you see a Heartland volunteer, please make sure to thank them for the work they put into saving animals. None of us get paid anything, and we all put in our own time, money and effort just to help animals get good homes, sometimes while listening to people complain or just exhibit a total lack of compassion for animals. So knowing there are people out there who actually appreciate what we do week after week really helps. And for those of you who haven't had an adoption in months, you know your fosters are lucky to have you, and the right home will come along! :-)
Frito, one of my orange kittens was also adopted. I actually visited him in his new home this evening, and he has settled in already. He was sitting with his new family watching football - apparently he's a football fan and I never knew it - but he did fall asleep on the husband's lap while watching the game. He looked so happy in his new home with people to give him lots and lots of love.
Pepsi and Ginger made their first trip up to PetSmart this week, and they did very well. Well, Sue and Lori, two of the volunteers, may not agree - they had to clean up a few messes from the puppies! Both puppies are very young and not crate trained yet, so they haven't learned to hold it while they're in crates yet. But other than that, they did very well with all the noise and new people. Pepsi found a new best friend in Donna, another one of our dog volunteers. Ginger was a little more shy with meeting people, but she did very well overall. Jester, my newest cat, also made his first appearance at PetSmart. There was an empty cage there because Buttercup, a kitten I had at my house for awhile, was adopted today! So I left Jester there so hopefully someone will see him tomorrow or sometime soon and want to adopt him.
Last night was our Trivia Night fundraiser, and it was a lot of fun. I was happy to see a few people I knew - the people who adopted Elvis were there, and Diana - the lady who rescued Lacy, and Joanne - one of my co-workers, and several others as well. Thanks to all of you who made it out to support Heartland! And a very special thank you to Angie, the Heartland President, who puts so much effort into the event every year, and does a fabulous job. It seemed like everyone had fun, and we raised a lot of money to help us keep up with our vet bills!
Today was a crazy day for me. I should have known it was going to be a rough day when I woke up at 5:00am due to my husband's alarm clock going off. He's out of town for Army this weekend, and apparently forgot to shut off the alarm before he left. Okay, no big deal, I just hit the Off button and tried to go back to sleep. But 5 minutes later, it went off again. Hmm... apparently I hit the Snooze button, not the Off button. I can't figure out where the off button is in the dark, and if I get out of bed, the dogs will get up thinking its time to go out, and I'll have a hard time going back to sleep. Okay, I can solve this - I unplug the clock. Five minutes later, guess what - yep, the alarm goes off AGAIN. Apparently the thing has a battery backup. By this time I was NOT happy. I had to get up, turn on the light, and figure out how to end the annoying beeping sound. Remi, Lacy, Linguini and Murphy are all looking around trying to figure out what I'm doing - and of course Noelle is deaf so she slept through the whole thing! But then the dogs all get up, which wakes her up, and I end up having to go outside with them all, since Murphy doesn't like to go outside by himself, and Remi barks if left outside alone. Fifteen minutes later I go back to bed - again have to fight Remi for the covers, wait for the rest of the dogs and cat to settle in around me, and finally fall back asleep. Seems like only minutes later instead of a couple hours that my alarm goes off. So the day begins. It was then a rush to get everything done as usual - get the dogs outside, inside, fed, and outside again, then back in and crated. Quick trip to the vet to drop off stool samples and make sure the orange kittens can go to adoptions. Rush back home and pack up the crates and ex-pens, and get the dogs not going to PetSmart situated with bones or toys to keep them entertained while I'm gone. Track down the cats and pack them up. Load the cats, dogs, crates and supplies into the van, and head to PetSmart. Get there, and rush the cats inside since someone was waiting to meet my orange kittens. Set up crates, unload kittens, talk to a potential adopter, rush back to the car to unload and set up more crates outside, unload dogs, unload supplies, rush back inside to do adoption for Frito (hooray!), back outside to talk to someone about Lacy, back inside to drop off paperwork, back outside to talk to some other potential adopters, and so it goes. It finally slowed down after a bit, and by the time the day ended at 4pm, it was very quiet. We loaded back up the dogs into the cars, tore down all the crates, and headed home. Fortunately I live close - some people have to drive all the way out to Troy to take home their fosters - that makes for a very long day! After I got home and once again got the car unloaded and the dogs situated (outside, then inside, fed, then back out, then inside) I headed over to Frito's new home to drop off some medicine he needs to finish that I forgot to take to PetSmart with me. Then back home, to again let the dogs out, return some phone calls from people asking about my fosters, and then finally I could rest! Don't get me wrong, I love doing this, but days like today where I had a pet adopted (two actually!) make it so much better. Its the days that I do all this and don't get anyone adopted that are hard. I'm pretty lucky that I can foster so many animals, so I have more luck getting adoptions. Some of our foster volunteers have fewer fosters, so they might do this week after week, for cats or dogs, and not have an adoption in several months. :-( I know that has to be so disappointing. Sometimes people say "thanks for caring for these animals" or something along those lines, and it really feels good to have people recognize that. I don't know if other volunteers feel the same way, but for me if I don't have adoptions in awhile, its just nice to hear that my efforts to help these animals are appreciated. So next time you see a Heartland volunteer, please make sure to thank them for the work they put into saving animals. None of us get paid anything, and we all put in our own time, money and effort just to help animals get good homes, sometimes while listening to people complain or just exhibit a total lack of compassion for animals. So knowing there are people out there who actually appreciate what we do week after week really helps. And for those of you who haven't had an adoption in months, you know your fosters are lucky to have you, and the right home will come along! :-)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Pictures of fosters
As promised, I took pictures so I can get my new fosters on the website. However, as usual the pictures didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Oh well, they'll do for now and maybe later I will get better ones. Here are pictures of my newest fosters:
First, here's Linguini. He's a gorgeous black cat that I fell in love with up at PetSmart. He was staying in one of the cat cages at PetSmart, hoping to find a home, but with Halloween quickly approaching, the black cats don't get to stay at PetSmart right now. So I asked his foster mom, and she kindly let me take him home with me. I put Blaze up at PetSmart instead, hoping that maybe he would find a home while Linguini is at my house. Once Halloween is over, I will take Linguini back to PetSmart, but in the meantime I am just loving having him around. I put him in the cat room and thought he might want to stay there for awhile, at least until he got used to all the other animals. But no, as soon as I left the room, he followed me out. The cat room is blocked off from the main part of the house with a baby gate, so the cats can go in and out over the gate, but the dogs can't go into the room. He immediately jumped the gate and braved all the other dogs in order to be in the same room as I am. I just love this cat! He follows me around everywhere, just like the dogs do, and jumps up on my lap whenever I sit down. All the dogs are scared of him now, which is pretty funny.
Next is my newest foster cat Jester. He's doing great. He just completely ignores all of the dogs, and he plays with the other cats, and he's so friendly. He purrs every time I pick him up. I feel a bit like the Pied Piper when I walk around the house, because now I'm followed from room to room by 4 dogs and 3 cats - every time I move! As someone who's used to not being noticed, its quite an ego trip to be so popular. :-)
Here are new pictures of Noelle. She always makes me smile, because the dog is only 4 months old and she acts like she's 10 years old! The only time I could guess she was so young is when she occasionally decides to play - she still has that puppy run and hop that is so cute. But 95% of the time she spends just laying around acting lazy. I have to admit, this is totally my speed of dog.
Here is a picture I took this morning - I was outside with the puppies, and in the window waiting for us were Lacy (basset hound), Astro (gray tabby) and Jester (cream tabby). They all wanted to come out and play too, but I didn't let them. :-)
Next is Pepsi, my little pit bull puppy. I wasn't very happy with the pictures I got of her. The only time she'd smile at me was when she was jumping up on me wanting to be picked up. I can't hold her and take a picture at the same time, so I finally put her on a tie-out so she couldn't run up to me. Then she just looked at me like "why are you mad at me?!".
And last is Ginger, my terrier mix puppy. She looks like a Jack Russell Terrier to me, but when I said this to the vet, he laughed at me. He said she's as big as a Jack Russell now, and she's only 11 weeks old! So I don't know if she has some Jack Russell in her, mixed with a bigger dog, or what - but she's a cutie!
First, here's Linguini. He's a gorgeous black cat that I fell in love with up at PetSmart. He was staying in one of the cat cages at PetSmart, hoping to find a home, but with Halloween quickly approaching, the black cats don't get to stay at PetSmart right now. So I asked his foster mom, and she kindly let me take him home with me. I put Blaze up at PetSmart instead, hoping that maybe he would find a home while Linguini is at my house. Once Halloween is over, I will take Linguini back to PetSmart, but in the meantime I am just loving having him around. I put him in the cat room and thought he might want to stay there for awhile, at least until he got used to all the other animals. But no, as soon as I left the room, he followed me out. The cat room is blocked off from the main part of the house with a baby gate, so the cats can go in and out over the gate, but the dogs can't go into the room. He immediately jumped the gate and braved all the other dogs in order to be in the same room as I am. I just love this cat! He follows me around everywhere, just like the dogs do, and jumps up on my lap whenever I sit down. All the dogs are scared of him now, which is pretty funny.
Next is my newest foster cat Jester. He's doing great. He just completely ignores all of the dogs, and he plays with the other cats, and he's so friendly. He purrs every time I pick him up. I feel a bit like the Pied Piper when I walk around the house, because now I'm followed from room to room by 4 dogs and 3 cats - every time I move! As someone who's used to not being noticed, its quite an ego trip to be so popular. :-)
Here are new pictures of Noelle. She always makes me smile, because the dog is only 4 months old and she acts like she's 10 years old! The only time I could guess she was so young is when she occasionally decides to play - she still has that puppy run and hop that is so cute. But 95% of the time she spends just laying around acting lazy. I have to admit, this is totally my speed of dog.
Here is a picture I took this morning - I was outside with the puppies, and in the window waiting for us were Lacy (basset hound), Astro (gray tabby) and Jester (cream tabby). They all wanted to come out and play too, but I didn't let them. :-)
Next is Pepsi, my little pit bull puppy. I wasn't very happy with the pictures I got of her. The only time she'd smile at me was when she was jumping up on me wanting to be picked up. I can't hold her and take a picture at the same time, so I finally put her on a tie-out so she couldn't run up to me. Then she just looked at me like "why are you mad at me?!".
And last is Ginger, my terrier mix puppy. She looks like a Jack Russell Terrier to me, but when I said this to the vet, he laughed at me. He said she's as big as a Jack Russell now, and she's only 11 weeks old! So I don't know if she has some Jack Russell in her, mixed with a bigger dog, or what - but she's a cutie!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
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!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
More about my new fosters
I just had to share more about my new fosters. I still haven't taken any pictures, but I did find some pictures of the dogs from when they were at the shelter, so I will post those.
This is Noelle, my deaf pit bull puppy. She is such a great dog - I'm already thinking about adopting her myself. The problem is if I do that, it will be one less dog I can foster in the future. But I'm totally in love with her, so I'm not sure I will be able to give her up. She has a pretty bad cough right now, so she's on antibiotics, and I'm taking her to the vet this afternoon to get her checked out. She is just so loving - she constantly wants to lay at my feet. She's also very low energy - I'm not sure if that's just because she's not feeling well, or if that's her normal activity level, but I'm hoping its her normal activity level. :-) She just follows me around, and every time I stop she lays down by me, and then when I move she gets up and follows me again! She never jumps up on me, and she even appears to be housetrained. Most of the dogs I get to foster haven't had any training - they jump, and bark a lot, and have other undesired behaviors. So when I get one that is either already trained, or just naturally well behaved, I am always very happy. :-) Noelle appears to be a large dog in this picture, but she's actually not very big - around 27 pounds right now.
Next is Pepsi. She's also a pit bull puppy - very young I think, but I'll have to wait for the vet to give me an estimate. She is a very happy, very hyper little girl. She is always so excited to see someone, that she tries to jump into their arms, and her tail just goes crazy wagging! Her and Ginger are about the same size, and while at first Ginger was intimidated by Pepsi, now they're best friends. I let them play together and they have a great time wrestling and playing chase. Whenever I hold Pepsi she settles down and puts her head on my shoulder and cuddles up to me - its so cute. As you can see in this picture, she was scared - see how her mouth is closed, ears back, and the worried look in her eye? I am sure the shelter was a scary place for her to be!
And last is my little Jack Russel mix puppy - Ginger. The cutest dogs are generally the most annoying, and she fits that profile. :-) She is a very loving dog - she just has the ability to destroy her kennel! I have puppy pads in there, since the puppies are not housetrained and are too little to hold it while I'm at work all day. Pepsi is very good about using the puppy pads, and making cleanup easier. Ginger on the other hand, prefers to tear up the puppy pads and newspaper and leave a huge mess everywhere in the kennel to clean up. Other than that, she's a great dog. She has very soft fur, and she loves attention. She also is hilarious to watch when she gets a stuffed toy - she picks it up and shakes it back and forth - definitely a terrier! Again, in the picture below, you can see she was scared when they took it. I will try to get some pictures of the puppies looking happy soon! :-)
Lacy and Derby are still doing well. They both went on long walks last night and walked very well on the leash - no pulling, or at least not much. They're having fun playing together, and I think Lacy will miss Derby once he's gone.
This is Noelle, my deaf pit bull puppy. She is such a great dog - I'm already thinking about adopting her myself. The problem is if I do that, it will be one less dog I can foster in the future. But I'm totally in love with her, so I'm not sure I will be able to give her up. She has a pretty bad cough right now, so she's on antibiotics, and I'm taking her to the vet this afternoon to get her checked out. She is just so loving - she constantly wants to lay at my feet. She's also very low energy - I'm not sure if that's just because she's not feeling well, or if that's her normal activity level, but I'm hoping its her normal activity level. :-) She just follows me around, and every time I stop she lays down by me, and then when I move she gets up and follows me again! She never jumps up on me, and she even appears to be housetrained. Most of the dogs I get to foster haven't had any training - they jump, and bark a lot, and have other undesired behaviors. So when I get one that is either already trained, or just naturally well behaved, I am always very happy. :-) Noelle appears to be a large dog in this picture, but she's actually not very big - around 27 pounds right now.
Next is Pepsi. She's also a pit bull puppy - very young I think, but I'll have to wait for the vet to give me an estimate. She is a very happy, very hyper little girl. She is always so excited to see someone, that she tries to jump into their arms, and her tail just goes crazy wagging! Her and Ginger are about the same size, and while at first Ginger was intimidated by Pepsi, now they're best friends. I let them play together and they have a great time wrestling and playing chase. Whenever I hold Pepsi she settles down and puts her head on my shoulder and cuddles up to me - its so cute. As you can see in this picture, she was scared - see how her mouth is closed, ears back, and the worried look in her eye? I am sure the shelter was a scary place for her to be!
And last is my little Jack Russel mix puppy - Ginger. The cutest dogs are generally the most annoying, and she fits that profile. :-) She is a very loving dog - she just has the ability to destroy her kennel! I have puppy pads in there, since the puppies are not housetrained and are too little to hold it while I'm at work all day. Pepsi is very good about using the puppy pads, and making cleanup easier. Ginger on the other hand, prefers to tear up the puppy pads and newspaper and leave a huge mess everywhere in the kennel to clean up. Other than that, she's a great dog. She has very soft fur, and she loves attention. She also is hilarious to watch when she gets a stuffed toy - she picks it up and shakes it back and forth - definitely a terrier! Again, in the picture below, you can see she was scared when they took it. I will try to get some pictures of the puppies looking happy soon! :-)
Lacy and Derby are still doing well. They both went on long walks last night and walked very well on the leash - no pulling, or at least not much. They're having fun playing together, and I think Lacy will miss Derby once he's gone.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Great Day!
Hershe was adopted!!!
I'm so happy for her. It's surprising to everyone that she found a home, because she's been in foster care for so long, but the right people just happened to come along today. They have very well behaved children, and no other pets, and were looking for a lab that wouldn't jump up or be hyper, so it sounds like a good situation for her. I've just been smiling non-stop since they adopted her early this afternoon. :-) It's so rewarding to see a dog that had a hard time finding a home be adopted. Now if we can just get Kermit a home.... he and Hershe were best friends, and he has been depressed and not eating much since she came to my house last week. I thought he'd be better soon since she'd be going back to live with him, but now that she has her own forever home, he's going to keep being sad. I hope he feels better and finds his own home soon. I've been posting more flyers, and asking others to post them places as well, so maybe the right person is out there for him and will see one of those flyers soon. If you go to the O'Fallon Petsmart, you can help by stopping by the Love-A-Pet-Center and picking up a few flyers to hang up at work, church, school, the library, etc - any public bulletin board you see. The flyers are in a green folder in the red cart outside the LAPC. Take as many as you can hang up - I will print more if we run out. ;-)
In other great news, two other dogs were adopted today as well. Chester, a beagle mix, found a home. I always thought he was funny looking and smiled everytime I looked at him - to me his head just looked wrong on his body. But he is a wonderful dog, and the family who adopted him thinks he is perfect. He's a very sweet dog and I'm so happy he found a home. And the other dog that was adopted is Derby! He has been waiting so long for a home - not as long as Hershe, but still a long time. We could never figure out why no one adopted him - he is friendly, gets along well with everyone, and is an all-around great dog. I was actually going to foster him next, and even took him home for a weekend not long ago. He had a short "vacation" at my house. :-) Here is a picture from when he was here last.
Don't you love his big ears? He actually is here at my house again tonight, I'm just too lazy to go find the camera. I'm taking him back to PetSmart either tomorrow or Monday for his new family to get him. In the meantime, Lacy and Derby are having a blast playing together.
Speaking of Lacy, once again she wasn't adopted. And neither were any of the adorable lab/border collie puppies! I'm very glad the hard-to-adopt ones are being picked, but its always surprising that the "easy" ones get passed over. Here are some pictures of me and Lacy from the Prairie Day event we went to a few weeks ago, and then from the Diabetes Walk we went on last Sunday.
Prairie Days - Lacy howling ;-)
Me and Lacy at Prairie Days.
Me and Lacy at the JDRF walk
This is toward the beginning of the 3 mile walk - Lacy was pulling me. Toward the end of the walk, I was pulling her!
Here we are after the walk ended. That's my grandma with me - she's awesome. I'm not just saying that because she reads my blog either. Hi Grandma! ;-)
Thanks to Angie for the Prairie Day pictures and my mom for the JDRF pictures!
I'm going to try to get back up to PetSmart tomorrow afternoon and see if I can get a kitten adopted! My orange kittens won't be ready for another week, but I still have Blaze, Astro and Buttercup to get adopted. Buttercup actually stayed up at PetSmart today, in one of the permanent cat cages that are there. Hopefully someone will see her and want to adopt her soon.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Elvis and Reese were adopted!
It was a strange weekend, but a very good one! Both Elvis and Reese, my two hardest to place fosters, found homes on Saturday. Elvis went home to a great young couple who decided they were ready for their first pet. He should be perfect for them, since he's already such a well mannered dog. Since he is so timid, it will take him awhile to settle in, but he seemed very comfortable around the couple at PetSmart so I am hoping it will not be a difficult transition for him (or for them!) Reese also found a home, and was chosen by a young girl who saw her and fell in love. It sounds like Reese will be a happy dog in her new home. The family agreed to let me go visit her in a couple weeks just to make sure everything is working out for everyone but I am hoping that everything will work out perfectly.
None of my kittens were adopted, and Lacy was not adopted either. I took Lacy to the Juvenile Diabetes walk in Forest Park on Sunday, and she had a great time. I was afraid I was going to have to carry her on the last part of the 3 mile walk though - she got very tired! She wore her adopt-me vest, and a couple people asked about her, so it was good advertising for Heartland, in addition to being good for Lacy to go out and meet new dogs and new people. She did very well with everyone, and enjoyed the post-walk hot dog that they provided.
I'm also happy to report that Lana, another one of Kiya's puppies, found a home. Her five puppies lived at my house for a few weeks when they were very young, so I am always extra-concerned about them. We're down to just two - Cody and Scout - that still need homes! It was very surprising that Lana was chosen because we also had the nine lab/border collie puppies there, and they are so cute. I thought if anyone was looking for a puppy they'd want one of those, but surprisingly, none of them were adopted. It was kind of sad to load up all 9 puppies again and take them back to their kennel. I hope next week we have better luck getting them homes.
None of my kittens were adopted, and Lacy was not adopted either. I took Lacy to the Juvenile Diabetes walk in Forest Park on Sunday, and she had a great time. I was afraid I was going to have to carry her on the last part of the 3 mile walk though - she got very tired! She wore her adopt-me vest, and a couple people asked about her, so it was good advertising for Heartland, in addition to being good for Lacy to go out and meet new dogs and new people. She did very well with everyone, and enjoyed the post-walk hot dog that they provided.
I'm also happy to report that Lana, another one of Kiya's puppies, found a home. Her five puppies lived at my house for a few weeks when they were very young, so I am always extra-concerned about them. We're down to just two - Cody and Scout - that still need homes! It was very surprising that Lana was chosen because we also had the nine lab/border collie puppies there, and they are so cute. I thought if anyone was looking for a puppy they'd want one of those, but surprisingly, none of them were adopted. It was kind of sad to load up all 9 puppies again and take them back to their kennel. I hope next week we have better luck getting them homes.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Busy weekend ahead
It's been a pretty busy week. Monday night I took Lacy to visit some people who saw her at the Dardenne Prairie Days event last weekend, and see how she did with their dog. She did very well, and got along great with the other dog, but the family wasn't sure they were ready to make the commitment of having a second dog just yet. I'm glad they were willing to give it some thought, because the impulse decisions that people often make for something that will be a 10-20 year commitment is always scary. But I think this family decided they weren't ready for a second dog, so this weekend Lacy will be back at PetSmart, trying again to find a home.
I also received an application from someone interested in adopting Astro this week. They're coming to see him on Saturday, so hopefully Astro will be going home!
Yesterday I visited another foster mom and helped to take care of some of the dogs. I got to play with these adorable puppies - aren't they cute?! They're making their first trip up to PetSmart on Saturday. There are actually NINE of them, and they all look almost identical!
Tonight I'm going to help get ready for our Heartland garage sale on Saturday. I have a lot of donations to drop off and will hopefully gather a few more things from my house to add to the list. All the proceeds of the garage sale will go to support Heartland.
Saturday I will be at PetSmart all day, hopefully getting a few animals adopted, and then Sunday I'm going to the Walk for Diabetes in Forest Park to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. After that, I'm going apple picking, a family tradition, in Grafton, IL. It should be a fun weekend!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Everyone to the vet!
At least that's the way it feels today! I took Bailey in to the vet this morning to get spayed, microchipped, vaccinated, etc. I also ended up taking my dog Remi in, because he's sick. I won't gross you out with the details, but let's just say my husband spent a lot of time cleaning carpets yesterday, because Remi couldn't make it outside in time. Lucky me, I was at work and got to miss all that! The vet fit him in even though I didn't have an appointment for him, so I'm anxiously waiting to hear what they find out. In addition to the dogs, I am taking in my own cat and one of my foster cats this afternoon to get checked out. I also might take in Lacy since she needs to get her stitches out from her spay surgery last week. I might as well get everyone in and out at once!
I finally broke down and bought a Gentle Leader head collar for Remi. I heard about these a long time ago, but wasn't too sure about them. The books I originally read about dog training and dog care had mixed reviews, and I'm not usually one to try the newest fad (even if they have been around for a few years!). Since Remi is stronger than I am, I can't walk him on a regular collar and leash, so my husband and I opted to get a prong collar for him when we first got him. Those are more of a classic training collar, and it allowed me to walk him and hold him back if he saw another dog or rabbit or something he wanted to go after. He responded well to it, and it worked so I kept putting off trying one of the head collars even though I kept hearing good things about them. Well, I finally decided it was time to at least try a friendlier method of walking Remi. I got the Gentle Leader a few days ago - along with some other very fun training supplies - and tried it out the same night. It is AMAZING! I am so happy I bought it - it works great! I've only used it on a couple of short walks so far, but so far he has been perfect - he doesn't pull me around, he seems very comfortable with it on, and when he's seen something he wants to go after, I've been able to redirect him without having to yank on the leash or cause him pain. I am a huge fan of this collar. I will stick to the flat collar on most of the dogs, but on dogs that are too strong for me to walk easily, this will be my first choice of training collars from now on. It actually makes me look forward to taking Remi for walks again!
One of my other fun training supplies I bought is called a clicker+. Clickers, just like head halters, were one of those things I felt like hadn't been around long enough to be proven. People have been training dogs for decades without needing a little box that makes a clicking noise. Besides, I have enough to worry about with a leash and treats! But once I started learning more about clicker training, I changed my mind. There are several scientific studies (those always help convince me - something measurable and proven to work) that show how much better animals respond to a consistent noise made right at the time of wanted behavior. And while I was doing the same thing with a verbal cue (saying "Good" each time the dog did the desired behavior), a mechanical noise that sounds the same each time is clearer and easier for a dog to understand. So, I started shopping for clickers. And one of the problems with training more than one dog at a time is that the click can be confusing since each dog isn't sure when its "being clicked". So since I like gadgets, and since I am usually training more than one dog at a time, I just had to buy this clicker+, which is an electronic clicker that makes four different clicking noises! It's easier to use than a typical box clicker because I don't have to worry about holding the clicker backwards or upside down and not being able to click at the right time. And its fun because I can give each dog a different kind of click. It also has different volume levels which is nice since Elvis is scared of loud clicks (surprise), but loud clicks are better for outdoors or when there is a lot of noise in the house. So I'm having a great time playing with my new dog training supplies. I've heard you can even train cats with a clicker, but I've got to figure out dog training with a clicker first.
I finally broke down and bought a Gentle Leader head collar for Remi. I heard about these a long time ago, but wasn't too sure about them. The books I originally read about dog training and dog care had mixed reviews, and I'm not usually one to try the newest fad (even if they have been around for a few years!). Since Remi is stronger than I am, I can't walk him on a regular collar and leash, so my husband and I opted to get a prong collar for him when we first got him. Those are more of a classic training collar, and it allowed me to walk him and hold him back if he saw another dog or rabbit or something he wanted to go after. He responded well to it, and it worked so I kept putting off trying one of the head collars even though I kept hearing good things about them. Well, I finally decided it was time to at least try a friendlier method of walking Remi. I got the Gentle Leader a few days ago - along with some other very fun training supplies - and tried it out the same night. It is AMAZING! I am so happy I bought it - it works great! I've only used it on a couple of short walks so far, but so far he has been perfect - he doesn't pull me around, he seems very comfortable with it on, and when he's seen something he wants to go after, I've been able to redirect him without having to yank on the leash or cause him pain. I am a huge fan of this collar. I will stick to the flat collar on most of the dogs, but on dogs that are too strong for me to walk easily, this will be my first choice of training collars from now on. It actually makes me look forward to taking Remi for walks again!
One of my other fun training supplies I bought is called a clicker+. Clickers, just like head halters, were one of those things I felt like hadn't been around long enough to be proven. People have been training dogs for decades without needing a little box that makes a clicking noise. Besides, I have enough to worry about with a leash and treats! But once I started learning more about clicker training, I changed my mind. There are several scientific studies (those always help convince me - something measurable and proven to work) that show how much better animals respond to a consistent noise made right at the time of wanted behavior. And while I was doing the same thing with a verbal cue (saying "Good" each time the dog did the desired behavior), a mechanical noise that sounds the same each time is clearer and easier for a dog to understand. So, I started shopping for clickers. And one of the problems with training more than one dog at a time is that the click can be confusing since each dog isn't sure when its "being clicked". So since I like gadgets, and since I am usually training more than one dog at a time, I just had to buy this clicker+, which is an electronic clicker that makes four different clicking noises! It's easier to use than a typical box clicker because I don't have to worry about holding the clicker backwards or upside down and not being able to click at the right time. And its fun because I can give each dog a different kind of click. It also has different volume levels which is nice since Elvis is scared of loud clicks (surprise), but loud clicks are better for outdoors or when there is a lot of noise in the house. So I'm having a great time playing with my new dog training supplies. I've heard you can even train cats with a clicker, but I've got to figure out dog training with a clicker first.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Slow day today...
I'm so weird - every week, around Wednesday or Thursday, I start looking forward to going to PetSmart on Saturday. By Friday night, I'm so excited that the next day is a PetSmart adoption event! And then by the end of the day on Saturday, I'm just tired and usually want nothing to do with dogs or cats! I start thinking "I really need to take a week off" - but then by Wednesday or Thursday, I can't wait for Saturday again! Weird, I know.
This week, we had two dog adoptions - one was Teddy, an adorable Pomeranian. He had an old injury that caused him to not use one of his back legs anymore, but he gets around just fine on three legs. He went to a home that sounds like it will be perfect for him. Our other dog that was adopted was Heidi, a dachshund mix puppy. Overall, it wasn't a great day for dog adoptions. Only two adoptions, and none of my fosters went home. It was Lacy's first week at PetSmart, and she did great, just as I had expected. She is happy to greet everyone, and very friendly and easy-going. Noah (oops, I mean Elvis - thanks Lisa!) was scared as usual, and hung out at the back of his crate wishing everyone would go away. Reese was her normal quiet self. She usually just naps the entire day. She seems to be saying to me "you can take me here, but you're wasting your time because I'm going home with you again at the end of the day, so I might as well ignore everyone and nap until its time to leave". Granted, she probably doesn't think in those terms - but that's definitely the impression she gives to people while she's there!
In happier news, one of my cats was adopted - sort of. I mentioned before that I was cat-sitting for another foster home - a kitten named GiGi. Well, she got adopted! This is a Very Good Thing, because last Saturday I also brought home her identical twin sister Buttercup. However, my husband didn't know this, and since Buttercup was shy, she spent most of her time hiding under the bed in the kitten's room, so there was really no need to tell him. The thing is, in the past few days she's become much more comfortable in the house, and has started not only coming out from under the bed, but actually coming into the rest of the house where I usually am, and the dogs are, and my husband usually is. So far I had been lucky because she looks just like GiGi, and they were never in the same place at the same time. But it was just a matter of days until my luck ran out and he realized there were actually four kittens here instead of three. He's already been complaining quite a bit about having three kittens, so I am VERY happy that GiGi got a home and he'll never need to know that Buttercup isn't actually GiGi. :-)
You may have heard me talk about Kermit in the past - he's one of the foster dogs from Heartland that I am crazy about. Believe it or not, I actually do have a few favorites other than my own foster dogs! He's been in foster care for a long time, and I really want him to get a home. So I helped him write his own web page, and I'm going to post some flyers in the area to try to reach a few more people and tell them about this great dog. I think I am drawn to him so much because I can sort of relate to him - I'm pretty clumsy myself. :-) He deserves his own home with his own family, and I just can't believe that there isn't someone out there who would be perfect for him. So please check out his web page, and pass the link on to anyone you know who may be able to give Kermit the great home that he deserves! http://www.hhsrescue.com/kermits-page.html
This week, we had two dog adoptions - one was Teddy, an adorable Pomeranian. He had an old injury that caused him to not use one of his back legs anymore, but he gets around just fine on three legs. He went to a home that sounds like it will be perfect for him. Our other dog that was adopted was Heidi, a dachshund mix puppy. Overall, it wasn't a great day for dog adoptions. Only two adoptions, and none of my fosters went home. It was Lacy's first week at PetSmart, and she did great, just as I had expected. She is happy to greet everyone, and very friendly and easy-going. Noah (oops, I mean Elvis - thanks Lisa!) was scared as usual, and hung out at the back of his crate wishing everyone would go away. Reese was her normal quiet self. She usually just naps the entire day. She seems to be saying to me "you can take me here, but you're wasting your time because I'm going home with you again at the end of the day, so I might as well ignore everyone and nap until its time to leave". Granted, she probably doesn't think in those terms - but that's definitely the impression she gives to people while she's there!
In happier news, one of my cats was adopted - sort of. I mentioned before that I was cat-sitting for another foster home - a kitten named GiGi. Well, she got adopted! This is a Very Good Thing, because last Saturday I also brought home her identical twin sister Buttercup. However, my husband didn't know this, and since Buttercup was shy, she spent most of her time hiding under the bed in the kitten's room, so there was really no need to tell him. The thing is, in the past few days she's become much more comfortable in the house, and has started not only coming out from under the bed, but actually coming into the rest of the house where I usually am, and the dogs are, and my husband usually is. So far I had been lucky because she looks just like GiGi, and they were never in the same place at the same time. But it was just a matter of days until my luck ran out and he realized there were actually four kittens here instead of three. He's already been complaining quite a bit about having three kittens, so I am VERY happy that GiGi got a home and he'll never need to know that Buttercup isn't actually GiGi. :-)
You may have heard me talk about Kermit in the past - he's one of the foster dogs from Heartland that I am crazy about. Believe it or not, I actually do have a few favorites other than my own foster dogs! He's been in foster care for a long time, and I really want him to get a home. So I helped him write his own web page, and I'm going to post some flyers in the area to try to reach a few more people and tell them about this great dog. I think I am drawn to him so much because I can sort of relate to him - I'm pretty clumsy myself. :-) He deserves his own home with his own family, and I just can't believe that there isn't someone out there who would be perfect for him. So please check out his web page, and pass the link on to anyone you know who may be able to give Kermit the great home that he deserves! http://www.hhsrescue.com/kermits-page.html
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Update on my fosters
The good news is that Leonard was adopted! The bad news is that I took 7 dogs and 3 cats (not all mine!) to PetSmart on Saturday morning, and left at the end of the day with all of them. It was rather depressing that none of them found homes. I am hoping that next week goes better. Lacy will be ready for adoption next week as long as everything goes smoothly at the vet, and I hope she will be a quick easy adoption. Right now my other fosters are turning out to be longer-term fosters for various reasons. Elvis is so scared of everything that he needs a very special home to work with him. And Reese is great except that she resource guards, which means if she gets a chew bone, she doesn't want to share, so that limits the families that can adopt her (no small children). Even Bailey, my adorable little boxer puppy, should get adopted quickly once she's ready, but she still has to wait for two more weeks before she can get her next vaccination. So at the moment I have four fosters, and another dog that I'd already offered to take as soon as I have room. Is there anyone out there who wants to foster?! We'll find the perfect dog for you - you only have to foster one - the part where you become insane and foster 3 or more at a time comes much later. :-) If interested, visit http://www.hhsrescue.com/ or e-mail me at dogfostermom@aol.com
Here are some new pictures of Lacy that I took this weekend.
She is such a great dog - very friendly and loving. She is definitely a basset mix of some sort - notice the shorter ears? She also doesn't have that typical basset hound bark - I was slightly disappointed about that, but it might actually make it easier for her to get adopted. :-) I love the zig-zag pattern on her back. She is doing well with her house-training and gets along great with all the other dogs and cats.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Pictures!
My husband took these pictures one day last week while I was at work. The dogs seem to be comfortable...
Bailey sleeping.
Remi sleeping - good thing he gets the loveseat to himself - no one else would fit!
Reese sleeping?!
I'm starting to wonder if he drugs them when I'm not there! :-)
Here is a picture of my newest foster - Lacy!
And here is another picture of Bailey - she's just so cute, I can't help but love her! We think she's a boxer mix, and almost 11 weeks old now.
This is a picture of my new toy. I bought it for the cats, but I have more fun watching them play on it than they probably do actually playing! :-) It's the coolest cat tree, with hammocks and ladders and hidey-holes and dangling mice, and its almost 7 feet tall!. All the kittens seem to enjoy it too!
Here is a new picture of Astro, my flood kitten. I love his expression in this picture!
Here is Blaze, being "king of the world".
Here is my newest kitten - GiGi! She is actually from another foster home, but they haven't had as much luck as I have getting their kittens adopted recently, and since I was down to just two, I offered to keep this one at my house until she finds a home. Isn't she pretty? She's the same age as Astro, and she's sooo friendly. She's brave enough to come out around all the dogs and cats, and just wants to lay in my lap and purr.
Bailey sleeping.
Remi sleeping - good thing he gets the loveseat to himself - no one else would fit!
Reese sleeping?!
I'm starting to wonder if he drugs them when I'm not there! :-)
Here is a picture of my newest foster - Lacy!
And here is another picture of Bailey - she's just so cute, I can't help but love her! We think she's a boxer mix, and almost 11 weeks old now.
This is a picture of my new toy. I bought it for the cats, but I have more fun watching them play on it than they probably do actually playing! :-) It's the coolest cat tree, with hammocks and ladders and hidey-holes and dangling mice, and its almost 7 feet tall!. All the kittens seem to enjoy it too!
Here is a new picture of Astro, my flood kitten. I love his expression in this picture!
Here is Blaze, being "king of the world".
Here is my newest kitten - GiGi! She is actually from another foster home, but they haven't had as much luck as I have getting their kittens adopted recently, and since I was down to just two, I offered to keep this one at my house until she finds a home. Isn't she pretty? She's the same age as Astro, and she's sooo friendly. She's brave enough to come out around all the dogs and cats, and just wants to lay in my lap and purr.
Introducing Lacy
Okay, I don't have a new picture yet, but I just couldn't wait to tell you about my newest foster dog. I wrote about her last week, and picked her up yesterday. Lacy's story is all too common, and yet it still makes me sad. Her owners lived in a mobile home that they rented, and they left town and left Lacy behind. She lived outside until some neighbors called the landlord and reported the dog being left. Now in most cases, a landlord would call the city to pick up the animal. Since this took place in a small town in Lincoln County, the dog would most likely have ended up at a small outdoor pound for a short time and then been euthanized. However, Lacy was lucky. This landlord cares about animals, and instead of just calling the city to deal with the problem, she started making phone calls on Lacy's behalf. She had a neighbor of the people who abandoned Lacy provide Lacy with food and water until she could be given a home, and she put out the word with rescue groups that Lacy needed help. I posted about this, trying to find someone to help her. Another foster mom read the post and said she could make room for Lacy at her house, even though she has several other dogs right now. So Lacy was going to escape the fate of so many other abandoned dogs. The landlord didn't stop there - she picked up Lacy, took her to the groomers to get her cleaned up, and then made a donation to help with Lacy's medical care. Lacy couldn't have asked for a better human to help her out - a far cry from the humans who were supposed to be caring for her but left her to fend for herself instead! Now Lacy is a Heartland dog, and she's temporarily living at my house. She'll go to the vet and get spayed, microchipped, vaccinated and all that good stuff, and then be ready for adoption. She'll go to a new home where she will never have to worry about being left again! This is the happily-ever-after that so many dogs don't get. And I love being a part of making it happen - its the best thing about fostering!
One interesting thing about Lacy is the effect she's had on Elvis. It's always a little bit scary to bring home a new dog, because I never know how they will react to my other dogs, or how my other dogs will react to them. The "correct" way to do it, according to some dog training experts, is to take several weeks to introduce the dogs gradually. Let them be aware of each other but never close together to start off. This is fine when introducing a new dog to your own family, but it doesn't work so well for fosters. I might only have a dog for a couple of weeks, and if I keep them separated from my own "pack" the whole time, they might not get any attention at all! So I think, even though it is stressful on the dog to just join in the pack right away, it is more stressful to be left alone for so much time. Dogs are pack animals, and while they crave social contact, they especially crave contact with humans. We've bred this into them, and I think the worst thing you can do to a dog is to lock it away and ignore it. This is what many people do when they have "outside" dogs. I'm not against dogs being outdoors, but if you spend your life inside, your dog is most likely going to want to be inside too! Anyway, for most dogs, the one thing they want is to be with people. I think this is especially true of the dogs I've brought home because they've been locked away in shelters or cages or left outdoors alone in most cases. So I just introduce them to my pack right away, and so far its been fine. I'd like to claim it is because I'm a strong "pack leader" but actually its probably just because I've had all good well-socialized dogs so far! Besides, my dog Remi wouldn't hurt anyone, but he is very intimidating to other dogs because he's so big, so that usually puts a stop to most dogs thinking they want to start trouble. Anyway, back to Elvis. I introduced Lacy to Bailey first, because she's small and definitely not threatening. Of course, Bailey is a 10 week old puppy, so the one thing she IS, is annoying! :-) Immediately she started jumping all over Lacy and trying to lick her face, and Lacy didn't like that! She growled at her to warn her off. So, with that introduction not going quite as smoothly as I hoped, I put Bailey back in the house and brought out Remi and Elvis. It went surprisingly well - within about 5 minutes she was running around the yard with Elvis playing! The VERY surprising part, is that when they all went inside, Elvis still wanted to play -- he even picked up a toy!! I know this sounds silly, but he has never ever touched any of the dog toys since he came to my house. He'll go outside and play chase/tag with the other dogs in the back yard, but he doesn't touch the toys out there, and he doesn't want to play or touch the dog toys inside either. Until Lacy - now he's running around inside, barking, smiling, playing with a ball, and generally acting like a fool - I think he's in love! Lacy seems equally taken with him - its great to watch!
Oh, Reese hasn't met Lacy yet because she got adopted on Wednesday, but she's being returned tomorrow because it turns out the guy who adopted her lives in a condo and they changed their rules recently to not allow pit bulls. Sigh - it was such a good match, so I'm sorry for both Reese and the guy that it didn't work out. Anyway, she'll get to meet Lacy tomorrow night I guess. Tomorrow I'm leaving Elvis home from PetSmart because he doesn't like it there, and I'm going to take some dogs from one of the other foster homes. Their foster mom just had a baby so she is quite busy at the moment! Hopefully we can get a few of those dogs adopted and maybe even a few of my kittens!
One interesting thing about Lacy is the effect she's had on Elvis. It's always a little bit scary to bring home a new dog, because I never know how they will react to my other dogs, or how my other dogs will react to them. The "correct" way to do it, according to some dog training experts, is to take several weeks to introduce the dogs gradually. Let them be aware of each other but never close together to start off. This is fine when introducing a new dog to your own family, but it doesn't work so well for fosters. I might only have a dog for a couple of weeks, and if I keep them separated from my own "pack" the whole time, they might not get any attention at all! So I think, even though it is stressful on the dog to just join in the pack right away, it is more stressful to be left alone for so much time. Dogs are pack animals, and while they crave social contact, they especially crave contact with humans. We've bred this into them, and I think the worst thing you can do to a dog is to lock it away and ignore it. This is what many people do when they have "outside" dogs. I'm not against dogs being outdoors, but if you spend your life inside, your dog is most likely going to want to be inside too! Anyway, for most dogs, the one thing they want is to be with people. I think this is especially true of the dogs I've brought home because they've been locked away in shelters or cages or left outdoors alone in most cases. So I just introduce them to my pack right away, and so far its been fine. I'd like to claim it is because I'm a strong "pack leader" but actually its probably just because I've had all good well-socialized dogs so far! Besides, my dog Remi wouldn't hurt anyone, but he is very intimidating to other dogs because he's so big, so that usually puts a stop to most dogs thinking they want to start trouble. Anyway, back to Elvis. I introduced Lacy to Bailey first, because she's small and definitely not threatening. Of course, Bailey is a 10 week old puppy, so the one thing she IS, is annoying! :-) Immediately she started jumping all over Lacy and trying to lick her face, and Lacy didn't like that! She growled at her to warn her off. So, with that introduction not going quite as smoothly as I hoped, I put Bailey back in the house and brought out Remi and Elvis. It went surprisingly well - within about 5 minutes she was running around the yard with Elvis playing! The VERY surprising part, is that when they all went inside, Elvis still wanted to play -- he even picked up a toy!! I know this sounds silly, but he has never ever touched any of the dog toys since he came to my house. He'll go outside and play chase/tag with the other dogs in the back yard, but he doesn't touch the toys out there, and he doesn't want to play or touch the dog toys inside either. Until Lacy - now he's running around inside, barking, smiling, playing with a ball, and generally acting like a fool - I think he's in love! Lacy seems equally taken with him - its great to watch!
Oh, Reese hasn't met Lacy yet because she got adopted on Wednesday, but she's being returned tomorrow because it turns out the guy who adopted her lives in a condo and they changed their rules recently to not allow pit bulls. Sigh - it was such a good match, so I'm sorry for both Reese and the guy that it didn't work out. Anyway, she'll get to meet Lacy tomorrow night I guess. Tomorrow I'm leaving Elvis home from PetSmart because he doesn't like it there, and I'm going to take some dogs from one of the other foster homes. Their foster mom just had a baby so she is quite busy at the moment! Hopefully we can get a few of those dogs adopted and maybe even a few of my kittens!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Gidget was adopted!
Gidget, and several other dogs and puppies, were all adopted at PetSmart this weekend. It was a great day for dog and cat adoptions! The best news of all is that two of Kiya's puppies were adopted! I was so worried about them ever finding homes. They're cute, but going to be such large dogs, and many people don't seem to want large dogs. This was their third or fourth trip to PetSmart and no one had ever been interested in them before this week, so getting two of them adopted is wonderful! I'm happy they will have their own families now. Only three of Kiya's puppies are left without homes. The other great news is because of all these adoptions, one of the other foster homes has room for Lacy now! So Lacy the basset hound will be saved!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Basset Hounds!
I have never fostered a basset hound, but I want to one day! They sound like great dogs - according to dogbreedinfo.com, basset hounds are sweet, gentle, devoted, peaceful and naturally well-behaved - that's my kind of dog! :-) We have Leonard, a great basset hound currently available for adoption. The website says he's adopted at the moment, but he's actually still available, so if you know of someone looking for a great basset hound to adopt, please let them know. Here is Leonard:
And here is his information:
Leonard, male, Basset Hound, tri-color with ticking, Date of Birth: 7/30/06, weight: 42 lbs.
Calling all Basset lovers . . . here is Leonard! If you have never had a Basset Hound, be sure to research the breed. He is such an affectionate, sweet, all-American Basset Hound, but make sure the Basset bark is one you can love (also the sloppy kisses, and dripping water from the water bowl). Leonard was lingering in a rural dog pound. Leonard loves other dogs (big and little, old and young), cats of all sizes and shapes, and people. Leonard would be happiest in a home with a fenced yard and another canine companion (dog- friendly, canine companion, of any size or age) for company. Leonard adores children of any age, in addition to adults. Leonard is house trained. He would do best in a home that does not require crating (he's awfully long and seems to hate the closeness of a crate). Potential adopters should be aware that he does like resting on a couch and/or dog bed (depending on the comfort-factor of either!) Leonard's adoption fee is $200. Tag #5714KD
In addition to Leonard, we got a call from a lady who needs to find a home for another basset hound named Lacy. This dog was left behind when some people moved out of state, and has nowhere to go. I want to take her, but with 5 dogs right now I just can't. All of our other dog foster homes are full also. If I get some of my current fosters adopted, and Lacy hasn't yet been taken to a shelter and euthanized, I'll go get her. If you know of someone who'd be interested in fostering Lacy, or one of my current foster dogs, to give us room to take her, please let me know. Here is a picture of Lacy:
And here is her information:
Lacy is approximately 1.5 years old, has been vaccinated, weighs about 40-45 pounds. She is super sweet and just wants to be loved. She loves children and other dogs. She is not 100% housebroken, so she would need a little work there. She is pretty good most of the time but does have a few accidents. She came from a home where people didn't pay attention to her and she is the sweetest sweetest dog! If you'd be interested in fostering Lacy for Heartland Humane Society until she can be placed for adoption, please visit http://www.hhsrescue.com/ and fill out a foster home application.
And here is his information:
Leonard, male, Basset Hound, tri-color with ticking, Date of Birth: 7/30/06, weight: 42 lbs.
Calling all Basset lovers . . . here is Leonard! If you have never had a Basset Hound, be sure to research the breed. He is such an affectionate, sweet, all-American Basset Hound, but make sure the Basset bark is one you can love (also the sloppy kisses, and dripping water from the water bowl). Leonard was lingering in a rural dog pound. Leonard loves other dogs (big and little, old and young), cats of all sizes and shapes, and people. Leonard would be happiest in a home with a fenced yard and another canine companion (dog- friendly, canine companion, of any size or age) for company. Leonard adores children of any age, in addition to adults. Leonard is house trained. He would do best in a home that does not require crating (he's awfully long and seems to hate the closeness of a crate). Potential adopters should be aware that he does like resting on a couch and/or dog bed (depending on the comfort-factor of either!) Leonard's adoption fee is $200. Tag #5714KD
In addition to Leonard, we got a call from a lady who needs to find a home for another basset hound named Lacy. This dog was left behind when some people moved out of state, and has nowhere to go. I want to take her, but with 5 dogs right now I just can't. All of our other dog foster homes are full also. If I get some of my current fosters adopted, and Lacy hasn't yet been taken to a shelter and euthanized, I'll go get her. If you know of someone who'd be interested in fostering Lacy, or one of my current foster dogs, to give us room to take her, please let me know. Here is a picture of Lacy:
And here is her information:
Lacy is approximately 1.5 years old, has been vaccinated, weighs about 40-45 pounds. She is super sweet and just wants to be loved. She loves children and other dogs. She is not 100% housebroken, so she would need a little work there. She is pretty good most of the time but does have a few accidents. She came from a home where people didn't pay attention to her and she is the sweetest sweetest dog! If you'd be interested in fostering Lacy for Heartland Humane Society until she can be placed for adoption, please visit http://www.hhsrescue.com/ and fill out a foster home application.
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