Oscar, Theo, and Ziggy

Oscar, the deaf Boston Terrier, has been adopted!  You can see here the scar on his back from where someone poured lighter fluid on him and set him on fire.  It hasn't stopped him from loving people one bit though.  Oscar is always happiest when someone is holding him and giving him attention.  He often stands on his back legs and uses his front paws to tap people on the arm and say "please pet me!"  Now he has a home where he will get all the attention he wants.

Theo the kitten was also adopted, before I even had a chance to take his picture!  Theo was a cute brown tabby kitten who had been at animal control for over a month when I brought him home.  Within a week of being at the local PetSmart store, someone spotted him, fell in love, and adopted him.

 And last, but certainly not least, is Ziggy.  Ziggy won an awesome, personalized collar from Gangs of New Yorkie via a contest on Kol's Notes.  He looks so handsome in his new collar.

Unfortunately Ziggy is having some trouble settling in to his new home. He was adopted by a great guy who is doing everything he can to help Ziggy settle in, but Ziggy is showing some aggression at times.  I am sad because I know this is Ziggy's only chance.  If he can't make it in this home that is perfect for him, with an owner who really loves him and is doing everything he possibly can to make this work, then he's not going to be adoptable.  I'm trying not to dwell on that, but just hoping for the best.  I saw Ziggy a couple of days ago at a training class, and I wanted to lecture him and yell at him and beg him to straighten out, but I knew he wouldn't understand.  Ziggy's adopter is working closely with the trainer, and I'm just praying it works out.

"Sorry, mom - I'll try to do better."

The rest of the fosters are doing well.  Molly, Chloe and Roo went to training class last weekend.  Some other rescue volunteers are working with them during class so they can all attend at the same time.  Roo and Chloe are both working toward earning their Canine Good Citizen certification, and Molly is just working on some basic obedience.  They've all mastered "sit" and "down" and are starting to learn "stay" and loose leash walking.

Update on my Fosters... part 1

Currently I have seven foster dogs and two foster cats.  King, the extremely smart pit bull puppy, has gone to a foster-to-adopt home where he's doing really well.  And Bandit the previously semi-feral kitten has finally found a home just in time for Christmas! 

You may remember me claiming that I could handle Jefferson, the incredibly energetic and challenging Shepherd mix.  Well, I was wrong.  Fortunately one of my friends gave me the best Christmas present ever when she took Jefferson to work with him some more.  She's a professional trainer and if anyone can get through to him, it's her. 



Oscar



This is Oscar, the deaf Boston Terrier.  He's doing really well with house-training and is finally allowed to sleep in bed with me and the other dogs at night (all the dogs except Ziggy, who would likely eat the bed while we slept).  Oscar has such a funny personality - I've learned from a friend who often sends me Youtube videos that many Boston Terriers have this same "silly gene".  He loves attention, likes to play with the other dogs, likes to be held, and thinks that he is Mr. Tough Guy.  He always makes me laugh.

Chloe, my brown and white cow-dog, tested positive for heartworms. This means she will have to undergo a painful, expensive and dangerous treatment to get rid of them.  If left untreated, they will eventually cause congestive heart failure.  I'm talking to more and more people who don't have their dogs on heartworm preventative.  They often want to adopt one of our rescue's dogs, but we don't adopt to people who don't use heartworm preventative, because we've seen the devestating effects firsthand.  If you don't use heartworm preventative, please talk to your vet and see if it is recommended in your area. 




Roo

Roo the red pittie mix with the large ears, is doing very well with her Canine Good Citizen training classes.  She has passed her first level (where she learned sit and down) and is now working on stay and come when called.  She's also learned she can jump four foot tall baby gates and fences.  This is why the new fence will be a six foot privacy fence.  In the meantime, she's having to stay on a tie-out or leash while in the yard, which makes her sad.  I call her my squeaky girl, because she she whines/squeaks when she is sad or nervous.  And lately, I've needed some WD-40 to stop all the squeaking! In case you were wondering... yes she was squeaking when we made her wear a Santa hat.  But she looks so cute!

I'll update the status of the rest of my current foster pets tomorrow!

I'm feeling slightly crowded.

I have a very large living room area.  In the living room, there is a full sized couch, a lot of open floor space with several dog beds, and a loveseat.  So why is it that right now there is no one on the couch, and no one on the floor or the dog beds, but there are six of us sitting on the loveseat?

I used the webcam on my laptop to take this picture.  I couldn't quite get the distance needed to see the whole area, but I think it shows enough for you to understand my confusion.

In case you need some help figuring out what you're looking at, I've added some labels for you.  

Molly likes to lay on top of the couch right behind my head.  That's her back leg and tail at the top of the picture.  Oscar is curled up on the left, and Roo is squeezed in between him and me.  Morgan found a comfy spot on my lap, and Charlie (best kitten ever) found a comfy spot on top of Morgan.  That's my arm reaching out between Morgan and Roo to reach the keyboard.  Ever tried typing with a dog and a cat laying on top of your arms?  It's not easy. 

I'll admit it's slightly chilly in here since I haven't yet turned on the furnace, but I don't think it's cold enough to explain the need for so much closeness.  Especially when both Oscar and Morgan are snoring rather loudly. If I didn't love them so much I'd go sit on the empty couch by myself.  Except I'd have exactly two seconds alone before they all followed me over.  At which point Morgan and Oscar would fall asleep and the snoring would begin again.  

Okay, I admit it, I am loving the closeness.  It would be a lot colder in here if I didn't have so many furry warm bodies to keep me warm!  And even the snoring is kind of cute.  

By the way, for anyone wondering where the other fosters went... Ziggy is asleep in his crate, the rest of the cats are asleep in the bedroom, Gonzo went to a temporary foster home, and Bailey and Cooper have been adopted!

Introducing Oscar

Recently I received an e-mail from someone looking for help with a deaf Boston Terrier.  Since I love working with deaf dogs, I immediately offered to take him.  The people who had rescued him weren't able to keep him, so after giving him a lot of love and attention, and getting him vetted, they contacted the rescue community for help.  That's how I came to foster Oscar, a five or six year old Boston Terrier.

Oscar

Oscar has had a rough life.  Before being rescued, he was moved around to several homes.  At one point he was reportedly injured by one of his previous owners when they poured lighter fluid on him and set him on fire.  He has a long scar on his back from this injury.  He's a happy little guy though, and is quickly settling in here.  He's doing great with the other dogs, and he will do just about anything for a belly rub.

I've started teaching Oscar some basic hand signs, and he is learning very quickly.  It shouldn't take long for him to find a perfect forever home, but in the meantime we'll keep working on house-training and some basic obedience.  I think as long as I keep those belly rubs coming, he'll be happy!

Boo was adopted!, Introducing Oscar

Today was a good adoption day. My foster puppy Boo was adopted. She now has a great family and a wonderful future. Two of our other Heartland dogs were also adopted at PetSmart... Sampson, a black lab, and Dallas, a lab/border collie mix, both found new homes today.

Yesterday I made a trip to a shelter to pick up one of our Heartland dogs that had been dropped off there. We always ask people to let us know if they can't keep the dog or cat they adopt from us, but sometimes that doesn't happen. In this case, the dog was adopted from us many years ago, and two years ago he was given away to another family, who then recently turned in the dog to a shelter when they could no longer afford to keep him. I am only keeping him temporarily until he gets checked out by the vet later this week, and then he will be going to another foster home. But I'm really enjoying having him around right now! This is Oscar:



Oscar is a basset hound, approximately 8 years old. He is a very nice dog. Here is Oscar greeting my dog Remi.


I also have pictures of Zeke, my newest puppy now. Zeke is around 10 weeks old, and he's probably a bassett hound mix. He has the long body and short stubby legs and big feet just like a bassett hound, but his ears aren't quite long enough, so he's mixed with some other kind of hound I think. He also has the basset hound bark!