Nicoh was adopted, KERMIT WAS ADOPTED!

First, the not-so-surprising news that Nicoh was adopted today. I met his new family and thought they were great. Nicoh has a wonderful new mom and three boys to wrestle and play with, and a new dog who appears to be a larger version of Nicoh (roughly standard poodle size). I miss him but I'm so happy for him to be able to start his life with such a great new family. The hardest part about fostering a dog like Nicoh was fielding the many phone calls and applications we received for him. I talked to many wonderful families and it is very hard to tell them that someone else applied before them and Nicoh is no longer available. I know small dogs, especially low-shedding dogs like poodles, are harder to find than bigger dogs, and so he was in very high demand. Not only was he an adorable small breed low-shedding dog, but he was house-trained and loving and got along with everyone and everything. I even taught him to jump into my arms on command, and all he wanted was to be carried around and be petted. That was so cool. :-) Dogs like Nicoh don't come along every day.

However, for every "perfect" dog like Nicoh, there's a dog out there who's not so perfect, but who is just as wonderful. If you've read my blog for very long, you've probably heard me talk about Kermit a few times. Kermit was not one of my foster dogs, but he was a very special dog for me and for many of the Heartland volunteers. Kermit was taken in by volunteers at 8 weeks old. Many people would have chosen not to save Kermit, because he had a neurological disorder and no one really knew how serious it was. However, over time our Heartland volunteers worked with him, and taught him, and loved him. And he became this giant 70 lb dog who was house-trained and would sit on command and loved everyone, and all he needed to be happy was a belly rub and a kind word. And his neurological disorder was not a big deal - it means he bobs his head up and down in a funny way, and he has a little trouble keeping his balance so he walks funny and falls down sometimes. But because he's a large, black dog, and because he wasn't "perfect", he was passed over for adoption time after time, year after year. Until last Saturday - two years after he came into Heartland as a young puppy, he finally found his new home!! A lady saw him at PetSmart and realized he needed her, and she needed him. She is a wonderful person who has saved some other special needs animals and now Kermit is part of her family, and he will be getting a lot of belly rubs and love for the rest of his life.

In addition to the great news about Nicoh and Kermit, there were several other dogs also adopted last Saturday. Among those were the rest of the litter of adorable puppies - all six of them!! This is good, because my litter of puppies will be ready for adoption in a few weeks, and they really don't need the competition of ADORABLE puppies - they're cute, but not THAT cute. :-) Also, the puppies I talked about in my last post who need a foster home have found a place to stay with another of the Heartland foster homes. I'm so happy that someone else made room for them and now they will be saved. And once again, we have a whole lot of puppies who will soon be available for adoption, so send your friends who are looking to adopt a puppy to us! ;-)

More about Nicoh

I took a few more pictures of Nicoh now that he's been groomed. I know I say this about a lot of different dogs, but Nicoh is just the best dog ever. He just wants to be held and petted all the time, and I'm happy to oblige every chance I get. He gets along well with all the other dogs, and the cat, and he's housebroken, and so cuddly!


That's Whisper in the bottom right corner of the second picture. She is doing great; she's like a totally different cat than she was at first. Now she no longer runs from the dogs, and she seems to think she owns the place. She's started jumping up on tables and counters, which my husband isn't happy about, but I'm just glad she appears so much at home finally. I know it is hard to go to a new place, and I was afraid she'd never get used to all the dogs at my house, so its nice to see her finally settle in.

We were contacted today about someone else who found a dog who had been hit by a car, and the dog was pregnant, and they need help placing the puppies into homes. There are so many needy animals out there, and I wish I could help the family who took in this injured dog, but I already have a house overfull with puppies.

My adorable eight foster puppies are doing wonderful. They are so much fun to watch - they wrestle and give these little tiny puppy growls while they play, and then they fall over, or sometimes they knock each other into the water bowl. Granted, they are very very messy, but so sweet! And then they all curl up together and nap, and I love to watch them.

Update on my fosters

Nicoh (poodle mix) - Nicoh is doing great - after just a few hours with him, I am totally in love. He is very sweet, and just wants to be held and petted. He appears to be house-trained - at least, no accidents so far! He also did well with all my dogs! He gets along best with Tulsa - they love to run and play together. He's a bit intimidated by Remi and Noelle right now. He is going in tomorrow to be groomed, and then to the vet on Friday to be neutered.

Tulsa (deaf Blue Heeler) - She's SUCH a good dog - I grow to like her more every day. She is very responsive - probably because she is deaf, she relies more on her other senses to stay attuned to what is going on, so she's always watching, and responds immediately when I call her with a hand signal. She does whatever I ask of her, and has perfect house manners. If only she would display her great personality at PetSmart - but since she is so noisy there, she's going to get to take a week off from adoptions and relax at home this Saturday. Hmmm... maybe that's been her plan all along!

Noelle (deaf pit bull mix) - Poor Noelle has demodex mange. Fortunately this is not contagious, so she doesn't have to be quarantined. But she does need daily medication, and twice weekly medicated baths. She also will not be eligible for adoption until the mange is cleared up, so my husband is happy to know she'll be around for at least another month. It will also give me time to keep working with her, and perhaps even get her started on her intermediate obedience training class during that time.

Whisper (cat) - Whisper is settling in nicely, and is even starting to come out to the rest of the house around the dogs. She's stopped bossing Tommy around, and comes out to greet me and be petted whenever she sees me.

Tommy (cat) - Tommy is moving up to PetSmart! He is so friendly and cute, and so hopefully he will be adopted quickly. By moving up to one of the cages at PetSmart, he'll have a lot better chance of being seen and adopted. So tonight is moving night for him.

Bugsy (cat) - I almost forgot Bugsy! He's been living up at PetSmart, and you know- out of sight, out of mind. :-) Seriously, I am happy to report he is doing good. He gets all sorts of attention up there - I stop by when I can, other foster volunteers stop by, the volunteers who clean the cages there twice a day all give him lots of attention, and even my mom stopped by with my niece and nephew to visit him earlier this week! No one has really forgotten him, but he is still waiting to find a perfect home. Hopefully his new family will find him soon!

Introducing Nicoh

NOkay, I will admit I like bigger dogs better than little ones. My favorite breeds are the big, easy-going dogs like Newfoundlands, Irish Wolfhounds, and the forever sought-after but never seen Black Russian Terrier. I'm also a huge fan of pit bulls - American Pit Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Terriers, for example. I used to be scared of those breeds, until we fostered a pit bull puppy that we found, and then a few more pit bull mixes, and once I realized what sweet, loving, loyal dogs they are, I fell in love with them for their personalities. But the big scruffy looking or furry dogs are my favorite - they remind me of giant teddy bears. As for small breeds - well, with a few exceptions, they're just not my favorite. Until I met Nicoh. Heartland recently took in several various dogs that were out of time at a local shelter and were about to be euthanized. They are in need of foster homes, and since Duncan was just adopted, I was able to take one home. There were several medium and large breed dogs that are already house-trained and would have been a great fit with my dogs. But who did I ask to foster? The little 16 pound poodle mix named Nicoh. May not be house-trained, may not get along with other dogs, and he's a little tiny poodle mix - but he's adorable! So I brought him home last night! The first thing he did, after coming into the house, was to greet Whisper my foster cat. He then promptly raised his leg and "marked" her. I guess she's his cat now! So, that wasn't the best start to our new relationship. :-) But once he's neutered hopefully that behavior will stop! I haven't introduced him to the other dogs yet since I just got him last night. I will introduce them tonight and we will see how it goes.


He's a cute scruffy little guy - I need to get him groomed, but probably then I won't like him as much. :-) Seriously, I am sure I will love him for his personality by then... right? I am guessing he is maybe a Shih-Poo (Shih-Tzu/Poodle), or a Malti-Poo (Maltese/Poodle), or a Bich-Poo (Bichon Frise/Poodle), or a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle), or a Whoodle (Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier/Poodle). If you look at pictures of the various breeds, he seems like he could be any of these. I like to call him a Whoodle - just because its the most fun to say. :-)

So this is Nicoh, my adorable little fuzzy soft teddy bear poodle mix.