Selena

Remember Selena?  She was one of the first dogs I ever fostered.  She'd been sitting in a shelter for many months before I brought her home.  She wasn't house-trained and seemed to have no idea how to behave in a house.  She had a lot of energy, and she spent all of her time at adoption events barking non-stop.  I feared if I didn't bring her home as a foster dog she would never get adopted.  So she came home with me, and we started working on house-training and manners.  And she was the first dog to give me that great feeling of success as a foster mom, knowing that I made a difference in helping them become more adoptable.  After two months, she had greatly improved.  She was house-trained and much more well-behaved, although she still had that non-stop energy level.  She was adopted to a family with several young children.  Unfortunately two months after they adopted her, the family decided to return her when they found they had another baby on the way.  So she came back to my house, and I feared she would again take months to find a home that wanted a high-energy dog like Selena. 

Selena is wonderful - she is always so happy and just enjoys life.  She reminds me a bit of Noelle in that way.  But also like Noelle, she is not an easy dog.  She knows what she wants, and she is very determined and focused.  And if she doesn't get her energy out through exercise or play with other dogs or other energy-reducing activities, she can make life difficult.  So I feared that finding the right home for her would take some time.  I'm happy to say that I was wrong. 

The day that Selena came back, I remember a lady named Pam coming up to her and asking about her.  Pam said she'd been thinking about Selena for a long time (Selena had been going to adoption events for several months before she was adopted) but the time had not been right to adopt her.  And now that Selena had been returned, and circumstances had changed, Pam thought maybe she'd be interested in adopting her.  I tried not to get my hopes up.  So many times people express interest in a dog and it doesn't work out for one reason or another.  But I agreed to take Selena to Pam's house and introduce her to her other dog.  So the next day Selena and I went and met Pam and her dog, and they hit it off very well.  Pam decided to adopt her, and I waited every day for the next few weeks for a phone call saying that Selena had too much energy and it wasn't working out.  I remember a few months later Pam came into PetSmart and stopped to say hi.  Her arms were covered in bruises which she said were from Selena's rough play.  I thought "OK, this is it - she wants to give her back."  And who could blame her?   So I was surprised when she said she was just there to say hello and wasn't planning to return her.  I figured right then that Pam was someone special, and Selena was one lucky dog. 

Recently I ran into Pam at PetSmart again and she told me how well Selena is doing.  Pam went through obedience classes with Selena and said that really helped as well.  Even after almost two years, Selena has as much energy as ever.  She now has a blanket that she carries around with her everywhere.  It's great to see how happy she is and how well she is doing.

Update on previous fosters Lacy and Selena

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!

Vala and Selena were adopted!

This was a good weekend for me at Petsmart. Vala was adopted on Saturday, to a nice family with two young boys. I had a really hard time watching her go - they picked her up on Saturday evening from my house, and Vala happily jumped in the car, but when they got ready to drive away, she just kept looking out the window at me like "aren't you coming with me?". I still have this picture in my head of the car driving away with her looking back at me as long as she can. I know she'll settle in and be fine, but I hate that I can't explain to her somehow what is happening. Whenever I bring home a new dog, I give them a brief explanation on why they're there, and how its just temporary and they will find their forever home soon. Unfortunately most of them don't seem to understand, and Vala especially seemed to think we were her permanent family. I really really hope this works out, because I can't stand for her to keep leaving and coming back - its so confusing for her. She was adopted out once but returned the next day because the person's dog didn't get along with her. And then we went on vacation and she was sent to another foster home while we were gone. So she's been moved around a lot lately, and I really want this to be her forever home.

Selena was also adopted, and went to her new home yesterday. She took a very long time to get adopted at first, and when I found out she was being returned, I expected to have a hard time finding her a new home again. But she came back on Saturday, and was adopted again on Sunday! She is a great dog - no major issues at all, just very high energy. The lady who adopted her has another dog for Selena to play with, and has some experience with dog training, so I hope that it will work out for her.

I am back to only two foster dogs now - Noah and Samantha. Samantha is doing great - she's ALMOST house-trained, and she is just the sweetest dog. She follows me around and just wants to lay at my feet all the time. Now that her best friend playmate is gone (Vala), she's kind of lonely. Remi and Noah are both older and don't like to play as much. Samantha is only 7 months old. I know a lot of people only have one dog, but if its a young dog, I don't know how they do it. It is so much easier when they have another dog to play with!

I am hoping to work with Noah more now that it is a little less hectic at home. He doesn't know any obedience commands - no one has ever even taught him to "sit" - or if they have, he's forgotten it! Shy dogs can do really well with obedience training, because it increases their confidence. Think about it this way - if you learn a new skill (say, you learn to speak French) then all of a sudden you feel more confident when you go to France. Sure, you don't catch every word - but if you can at least understand the basics of what people are saying, you are going to be a little less timid. Noah is doing well at my house, but he doesn't seem to be showing a lot of progress. I'm hoping that some basic obedience training will help him develop more confidence.

None of the kittens have been adopted yet. I am trying to talk my husband into letting me adopt Avalanche as a birthday present. He's the sweetest kitten - he just wants to be held and petted all the time. I don't expect to talk my husband into it, but I'm going to keep trying. :-)

Update, HHS Video

First, a quick update on my fosters. Ray, my foster Pekingese, went to another foster home, since my husband thinks four foster dogs is too many. :-( I really miss Ray, but I'm glad he's at my friends house - I know she'll take great care of him! Thanks Donna! Noah, Samantha and Vala all went to PetSmart this week, but none of them were adopted. It was a very disappointing week, since we had 10 dogs at PetSmart and NONE of them found homes on Saturday. I did have some people interested in adopting Noah, and they sound perfect for him, so I hope they call and decide to adopt him. This would be very helpful since I got some bad news recently - one of my old fosters, Selena, is being returned. You may remember her, if you ever visit PetSmart. She was a Heartland dog for a very long time before she was adopted. Her new family adopted her a few months ago but decided with a new baby that they just don't have the time to devote to her that she needs. So she'll be coming back to my house later this week and trying to find another home. I also took in one more litter of kittens, since due to the flood they were out of room and out of time at a kill shelter. They are adorable - and so small compared to my other litter of kittens. I will post more about them later. They will hereafter be referred to as my flood kittens, so I can tell them apart from the kittens I already had. The ones I already had (Taffy, Blaze and Monkee) went to PetSmart but did not get adopted either on Saturday. I hope to get them on the website this week and maybe someone will see them online and want to adopt them!

I have now been fostering for Heartland for eight months. It doesn't seem near that long. I have met some amazing people, and made many new friends in the process. Most importantly, I have found so much joy in helping animals that don't have anyone else. I've been doing this less than a year, but many of the Heartland volunteers have been doing this for years and years. Some of the people who started Heartland ten years ago are still rescuing animals today. I am amazed by their dedication. They spend their time, money and energy to save animals, and none of them get paid in any way except in doggie kisses and kitty purrs. They don't ask for recognition, but they deserve it. They've saved so many animals during the past 10 years. Click here to see a short video to recognize the contributions of the Heartland volunteers. This is only a small number of many of the animals that would not be here today if it were not for Heartland Humane Society.

Selena was adopted!

Selena has finally found her (hopefully) forever home! She met a nice family on Saturday at PetSmart, and yesterday we went to their house so she could meet their dog. Selena had a great time playing with the dog, as well as the kids in the family. So she stayed there, and I went home without her. I miss her very much - the house is much quieter without her. She was my second-longest foster dog ever - I had her for about two months. I know that's a very short time compared to the length of time that some people foster animals. But for me, it's plenty long enough to get very attached. I got to see her improve so much from where she started. She became housebroken, and learned various obedience commands. And she even became a little bit calmer! I feel like I really made a difference with Selena, and that almost makes up for how much I miss her! It will help when I have another foster dog. Right now the house is quiet with just our own dog Remi and the cats. It's boring, to be honest. :-) I am going to a high-kill shelter this afternoon, and will be able to help pick out another dog that would die without Heartland Humane Society. I may foster it, or more likely I'll send it to the "expert" foster mom while I foster another one that has been at Heartland for awhile. When the dogs first come in from the high-kill shelters, they usually haven't been vaccinated or treated for most medical conditions. Sometimes they have parvo or kennel cough or other problems. So I get the easy end of the deal by sending them to the expert foster mom for care, and then taking one of the other dogs that she has already treated and vaccinated and prepared for adoption! Good deal on my part, don'tcha think? :-)

What kind of dog IS that?!

Most of the dogs we get in foster care come in as strays and we have to guess what the dog's breed is. This is one of my favorite parts of fostering (along with the doggie kisses and wagging tails, and getting to name and give birthdates to new fosters, and getting updates on how well previous fosters are doing in their new adoptive homes). Playing the "What kind of dog is that?" game is always a fun challenge. The hard part is never knowing for sure the right answer!

But now there is a new way to find out what kind of dog you really adopted. Its been featured on the Today show, and is offered by vets all over the country, including vets in our area. It is a DNA test being offered by a company that will tell you what breeds make up your mixed-breed pet. Finally, a way to know the answer to the game! It is expensive (around $100 currently) and when I looked at the small print on the brochure, it says it has been 84% accurate in first-generation mixed breeds. They have genetic markers for many of the AKC breeds, but not all of them. And most dogs are not first-generation mixes. So for those dogs who are made up of more than two breeds, I suspect the results would be much less accurate. In fact, for an interesting perspective on the subject of DNA testing for dogs, click here: http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/identity-crisis. I love the comment someone added at the end -- if this DNA testing is really as inaccurate as the author suspects, it will be a great tool for owners of pitbulls and other banned breeds. They can send in their dogs DNA sample, and prove to the city that their dog is really a hound/lab mix! :-)

Of course, I'm no expert on dog breeds at all. Lately I've been spending a lot of time on this website: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/, which gives information and pictures on many of the breeds and mixed breeds out there. I find pictures of other people's dogs who look like my foster dogs. And then I go back to the people who have years of experience in rescue, and veterinarians, and other experts and get their opinions on it. Using this process, I recently updated Selena's breed description on our website! She was originally listed as an Australian Cattledog. I also added Akita Shepherd to that list, which is a hybrid of Akita Inu and German Shepherd. Since many people search for their new dog by breed on Petfinder.com, I'm hoping her revised listing will reach more potenial adopters. Selena has been in foster care for most of her life, and she deserves her own home and family! If you want to play the game, here is a new picture of Selena -- check it out and let me know what breed you think she is!

Dog and Cat Update

First, an update on the cats. Since I'm new to fostering cats, I am turning into an overprotective mom who always thinks they're about to "kick the bucket". :-) I've heard a lot about the dangers facing kittens, and naturally assume that my kittens are facing all of those dangers! So this morning I took the kittens and Ella (mother cat) up to the vet to get them checked out. They didn't have an appointment for another week, but I was concerned about them having something called "coccidia" which can potentially be fatal for kittens. The vets office fit me in right away and did some tests to make sure my cats were healthy. They didn't have any deadly parasites, although they did find ear mites and are now on medicine for that. So I'm glad I took them in, and relieved they're going to survive. :-) The kittens are glad to be back home, and although they aren't crazy about the medicine they're getting, I am sure they'll feel much better once those icky ear mites are gone. Yet another reason to get your cat from a rescue group instead of a "free to good home" ad -- the rescue volunteers already take care of all the icky and dangerous problems that many kittens start out with!

On to the dogs - well, dog, in this case. I didn't bring home another foster last week - I decided it would be nice to have a week off. It has nothing to do with the cats I'm fostering, but I've been planning to get back down to only one dog foster at a time for awhile. My own dog Remi has had some behavioral issues lately and I want to focus more on working with him. Also, Selena is such a high energy dog, she requires more exercise and attention, which is harder to provide with another foster in the house. So since I promised her a long walk last night, and was feeling lazy, I decided to compromise with a trip to the dog park instead. I was surprised there were not more people there, but it was probably a good thing since Selena decided she wanted to be "dominant dog" at the dog park. Maybe she is starting to gain confidence from being at our house - I'm not sure why - but when another dog tried to dominate her, she refused to put up with it. So, to prevent any fights from breaking out, we left the park and went for a hike instead. She still got the long walk I promised her, and I got an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather and work a lot on her "sit-stay" commands during the walk.

When I left my house this morning to go to work, I saw a dog trotting along the sidewalk. I expected a person to be following close behind, but there was no one there! I walked out to the sidewalk and called the dog, but he didn't seem to hear me and just kept right on going. He was a beautiful dog - probably a Chow Chow mix - and looked a little like a bear. He also looked in bad shape - his tail looked mangled and he looked as though he may have been in a fight or been abused. I tried to circle around in front of him to see if he just couldn't hear and didn't know I was there. He looked at me then but didn't slow down or come over to me. So, since I couldn't just let him go, I tried to circle around widely in front of him to see if he'd come to me. He just headed off in another direction, so I gave up. I briefly considered trying to catch him - he seemed hurt and I hated to let him go - but even though he didn't appear aggressive, I knew that could turn out to be a very bad idea, so I didn't try. I went in and called the police Animal Control unit, then grabbed some treats and went back out in my car to try to find him. I didn't have any luck finding him though, and I doubt Animal Control did either. I finally gave up and headed to work, after leaving out a water dish and some treats in case he happened to come back. I have been worried about him all day. I checked for lost pet ads online and looked for posted signs on my way to work but haven't found anyone who is looking for him. I hope someone is able to find him and help him.

Ernie found a home!

Ernie was adopted at PetSmart on Saturday. His new family lost their dog to cancer a few months ago, and they fell in love with Ernie when they met him. I made them promise to send me pictures and updates before I let them adopt him, and they graciously agreed. I am sure he will be very happy in his new home. Selena really misses him too - they were great play buddies, and Remi just doesn't have the energy to keep up with her now. I promised her a long walk this evening to make her feel better.

In addition to Ernie, two other dogs were adopted as well! Honey is a adorable puppy who is going to probably be a very large dog someday. She was adopted out to some very nice people. And Eddie, aka Freddie, is a beagle who was adopted very quickly. He was only in foster care for a week before he found his new home.

It is "beagle month" at Heartland. We have several beagles and beagle mixes now that are going to be up for adoption soon. So if you know of anyone who wants their own "Snoopy" (my favorite beagle), let them know we have a beagle waiting for them!

We also have a really cute bassett hound/lab mix, and another puppy, and several other dogs that will be added to our website within the next week - so stay tuned!

Kitten Names, Update on Ernie

I named the kittens last night. My niece Darby came up with the name for the mother cat - her name is Ella. The dark-brown kitten looks a little like a fuzzy bear. I named him Ewok, after the little brown bear-like creatures from Star Wars. The gray kitten doesn't look anything like a donkey, but he is the same color as Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, so he is named Eeyore. And the jet black kitten is named Eclipse. They'll probably not learn these names, and get new names when they get adopted - but I wanted to give them names other than Cat1, Cat2, and Cat3 , which is what my husband was voting for.

I'll get a better family photo later, but here's a picture that at least has all four cats in it. That's Eeyore and Eclipse in the front, with Ella behind them and Ewok way back in the corner. They are sooo soft and fuzzy!

And since this is a DOG foster blog, I have to add something about my dogs. :-) We're hating all this rain, since it turns the yard into a big mud puddle, and the dogs stay cooped up inside most of the time. But Selena and Ernie are both handling it well - patiently waiting for the weather to get better. Selena loves the outdoors, and can happily spend hours outside on her own. Even the rain doesn't bother her much. Ernie doesn't like the rain, and when he gets wet, his hair all gets spiked up - he looks like he has a full body Mohawk. Last night Ernie spent the night sleeping in our bed. Usually he stays in his crate at night because we're still working on housebreaking, but I wanted some company last night, and he is like having a giant teddy bear to sleep with. He curled up next to me to keep me warm, and stayed there all night. He is such a sweet dog - he's definitely a foster dog I selfishly don't want to get adopted.

A trip to the dark side...

Yesterday, one of the Heartland volunteers took me on a tour of many of the area animal shelters. It was very interesting to see the difference between a good shelter and a not-so-good shelter, and the different ways that animal shelters and rescues work. Some of them take great care of their animals, and work hard to get them good homes with adopters or rescues. Others are simply warehouses, holding the animals for the required number of days before they can be euthanized. You may think that “A trip to the dark side” refers to visiting these animal shelters – but it actually refers to the cat and three kittens I brought home with me at the end of the day. I’m a dog foster mom, not a cat foster mom! But who could resist such fluffy cute little kittens?! The animal shelter wanted us to take them – apparently kittens often don’t do as well in a shelter, where they have a greater possibility of getting diseases from other animals. The other volunteer agreed to take them, but wasn’t sure who would be able to foster them. Well, I have an empty room in my house – and the cats are really not much work. So I brought them home with me. They’re living in my daughter’s bedroom now – quarantined from my own cat and the dogs. They’ll stay there for a few weeks until they’re ready to be adopted.

So now I’m the proud foster mom of a beautiful tortoiseshell mama cat and her three kittens. The kittens are all boys, and none of them look like their mom. One is all grey, very fluffy and soft. The second one is a dark brown, almost black color. He’s just as fluffy and soft as his brother, and he loves to play the most. He’ll play with a feather toy, or other toys, and if no toys can be found, he’ll pounce on his mom’s tail! The third one is all black, and not quite as fluffy as the others. He is the least likely to play, and is happy just laying next to his mom and watching his brothers. He is adorable – when he gets scared, he’ll bare his teeth like he’s hissing at me – but he never tried to claw or bite me. And he doesn’t make any sound – just this funny face that is supposed to be mean but looks silly on such a cute little kitten. The mama cat is so sweet – even when she was hiding under the bed and I pulled her out, she growled a little but didn’t scratch me or try to bite me. My cat would’ve been fighting to get away, but she didn’t fight at all. She is very friendly and purrs a lot. Now that she knows me, she’ll come up to me and wrap around my legs to get attention. I need to come up with names for them soon!

As for the dogs, they know there are a few more cats in the house, but they’re blocked by doors and baby gates, so they can’t get close enough to meet each other. The kittens will probably be adopted before they ever meet the dogs, but if the mama cat is not adopted right away, once her kittens are gone and she’s been tested and processed, I may introduce her to my cat and the dogs. In the meantime, the dogs just hear the cats now and then, and watch me disappear into the hallway occasionally. As much as I love playing with the kittens, I don’t want to take time away from the dogs – they need me the most. Selena and Ernie are both doing great. They love to play together, and will do almost anything for a treat-filled Kong toy. They’ve become good friends, and I know they’ll really miss each other when one of them is adopted.

PICTURES OF THE CATS:

The gray kitten...

The dark brown kitten...

The black kitten...

Mamma cat


Play time...

Tulsa, Selena and Ernie!

First, the good news - Tulsa was adopted! She went to a great new home with a family who already has two Australian Cattle Dogs, so they are very familiar with her breed. I am very happy that she found her new home!

I also had my first return on Saturday. Anyone who adopts from Heartland must agree that if they cannot keep their pet, they will return it to us. We definitely want to get the animal back, but at the same time, I've been dreading my first return. In most cases, there are circumstances that we could not have known or prevented - a death in the family, allergies, a pet that couldn't get along with the other pets in the home. But the ones we hate are when we get a call about an animal we adopted out that has obviously been abused or neglected. The animals we save place their lives in our hands - and while we all do our best to make sure that our foster animals are going to good homes, the times when we fail are so difficult. This is why I've been dreading my first return. Ironically, my first return was quite possibly the shortest adoption we've ever had. Selena was adopted on Saturday around 4pm, and returned Saturday evening, just a few hours later! In this case, its more humorous than sad - my first return turned out to be not so bad after all. Selena was adopted by some very nice people who were just overwhelmed by bringing a new dog into the home - especially one as strong as she is. They had trouble walking her - she was apparently too excited to walk politely next to them as she's been learning. And she was also a bit too excited about meeting the cats at the new home, so the cats were scared and the people were worried about the cats. They decided to return Selena and try to find a smaller dog that would fit into their home a bit better. So Selena had a "field trip" and is now back at my house, enjoying the new toy she got out of the deal. ;-)

While I was at PetSmart Saturday for the adoption event, I fell in love with another dog that was there. His name is Ernie, and he is adorable. It was his first Saturday at PetSmart trying to find a family, and I was very surprised that he wasn't adopted. Since I thought Selena had a new home, I couldn't resist bringing Ernie home with me. For me, he is the cutest, softest, most loveable dog I've had since Coal(Murphy). While I love all of my foster dogs, I try not to get too attached since I know they'll be leaving me. Some of them I just can't avoid getting attached - I think its usually the shy and scared ones! So Ernie came home with me, and I've had him less than 48 hours and already I don't want to let him go. He is six-month-old puppy, probably Australian Shepherd/Rottweiler mix, very very soft fur, and so sweet. He is enjoying playing with Selena, and is very well behaved.

Sage couldn't go to PetSmart this week since she had a medical issue. She has a small mass on her jaw that the vet is going to remove later this week. Since she has to go back to the vet, and since my house is getting a bit crowded with the return of Selena, Sage went back to stay at another foster mom's house for now. I hope she'll be fine and back up at PetSmart on Saturday to find her new home.

Here is a picture of Ernie:

Baby Expo, Foster Dog Update

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

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

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

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

Family Expo

There is a family expo coming to the St. Charles Convention Center this Saturday. (http://www.fabulousbabyexpo.com) As of yesterday, I officially volunteered to go and set up a booth for Heartland. I actually more like begged for the chance. :-) I am still new and inexperienced in the dog rescue world. Everytime I see a large group of people gathering, I think "wow, look at all those people who could help us save some dogs!". I fear it won't be long before I become jaded - or should I say pragmatic. Maybe not one person there tomorrow will want a dog, or be the right home for a dog, or even want to donate money to save a dog. But I hope if nothing else, I can teach a few kids how to interact safely with dogs, and maybe educate a few parents as well who already have pets at home.

While searching for handouts I could use to educate people about their pets, I came across a website (http://www.mysmartpuppy.com/). It was started by two of my favorite authors - they wrote the book "Good Owners, Great Dogs" that is my favorite dog training book ever. I was glad to find articles on their website that they kindly gave me permission to give out at the expo on Saturday. As for the expo itself, I'm scared to death. Because it was such short notice, I haven't found anyone else to go with me - and this is kind of scary to do alone! If you don't know me in real life, I'm actually very shy and uncomfortable talking to people. But if it helps save a dog, I'll do it anyway. :-) However, the lady in charge of the expo did mention in an e-mail yesterday that if anyone backs out of the planned events on the main stage, she might ask me to go up and cover for them. I'm afraid that's asking too much of me, even to save dogs. If any of you reading this want to come help me out though, and always wanted to be a star - this could be your big chance! :-)

I'll be taking Selena to the expo with me on Saturday. I wonder if I can teach her how to "high five" the kids before then. Hmmmm...

Introducing Hunter

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



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



Here is a picture of Hunter:

Update on Selena, Tulsa and Koda

Selena and Tulsa spent the day at PetSmart hoping to get adopted on Saturday. Although no one picked them to take home, we (Heartland) did get three puppies and one other dog adopted, so it was a very good day! And I didn't mind taking them back home with me - things are starting to settle down as the dogs get used to their new routine. I've heard how important routines are for dogs, and now I can attest to it myself. They are much calmer and quieter now that they know what to expect - when they get to eat, and when they get to go outside - and when playtime starts and ends. It definitely helps with the house-training too. As soon as I get them to quit chasing the poor cat, we'll be all set. ;-)

Selena is doing better every day. She's settled in quickly, and is very smart! At first she was always hyper and desparate for attention, but now she has calmed down quite a bit. She has almost completely quit jumping up on people, unless they aren't quick enough to pet her while she's sitting at their feet. :-) She listens very well and comes when called every time. We went for a hike and then to the dog park yesterday, and she had a great time with all of the other dogs. Selena is quickly becoming one of my favorites - she is very eager to please and gets along with other people and other dogs. I think she'll make a great and easy pet for someone.

Tulsa continues to be a source of entertainment and a challenge! She gets a lot of attention when we're out, due to her unique look and coloring. She looks a bit like a fox, and sometimes when she's playing, she'll get a sneaky look on her face and "stalk" her prey (one of the other dogs). Of course, as soon as she "catches" the other dog, she's ready to have them chase her! She loves to play tag, and its a lot of fun to watch. The challenge comes in due to her wanting to bark a lot -- she's very loud for such a little dog. :-) We're still working on that and she's starting to improve. I was a little worried on the hike yesterday, since she would bark at any dog that she saw. I wasn't sure how she'd do at the dog park -- barking dogs create "instability" and can precipitate dog fights. But when we got to the dog park area, she did great - no barking at all! I was very happy about that.

Koda made her first appearance at PetSmart on Saturday too. She's not ready to be adopted yet - she still needs to be spayed and get her second round of shots. But my husband brought her up for a short amount of time so I could introduce her to the other volunteers. Several people asked about her, so I hope that is a sign she will be adopted quickly when she is ready. I want her to find a great home before my husband and I decide we can't part with her! She is so cute, and loves to cuddle. My favorite thing with Koda is to watch her get stuck in our fence. Okay, I know, that's probably not something I should share - but its so darn cute!! I thought she was too big to fit through the fence, but a few days ago when I was in the garage and all the dogs were in the backyard, all of a sudden she appeared in front of me in the garage. That's how I learned she could in fact wriggle through the slats in the fence. So now she isn't in the backyard unless my husband or I am back there with her. Yesterday we spent several hours in the back yard enjoying the beautiful weather, and there were two occasions where she decided to stick her head through the slats -- and then couldn't go forward or backward! I helped her once I stopped laughing - next time I'll get a picture. :-)

Four Dogs under the age of 2!!

Technically Remi just turned 2 years old -- but we basically have four puppies of varying ages at our house right now. A 2-year-old Great Dane, a 1-year-old cattle dog/shepherd/unknown mix, a 6-month-old Australian Cattle Dog, and a 3-month-old unknown mix puppy. The one thing these dogs have in common - they LOVE to play. Here are some pictures I took recently.

Here is Tulsa, showing us how much she dislikes her dog food -- she pretends if she eats it, it kills her.

Remi and Tulsa play tag:

When playtime is over, Remi makes a great table for Tulsa to munch on her bone.



Here's an idea -- let's put one toy in the middle of three puppies, and see what happens!

Koda says "why's that big dog destroying my puppy toy?!"

Introducing Selena

Now that we have a fence, my husband agreed that I could bring home a second foster dog. I was very excited, and immediately asked for Selena. Selena is a beautiful intelligent dog, who has had a very hard time finding a forever home. She has lived in a shelter environment most of her life, and I don't know if she's ever really had a family of her own. We think Selena is a cattle dog/shepherd mix, but she could be mixed with other breeds as well. She's about a year old, and in spite of her circumstances she is still a very happy dog who loves people. She also loves other dogs and gets along with cats, so she'll make someone a wonderful pet. We're going to start working on some household manners, since she hasn't had the opportunity to learn that in the past. She already knows how to sit, and now she's learning not to jump up on people. She is getting along great with Remi and Tulsa. I was a little worried that she would be noisy, since her biggest problem in getting adopted is probably that she spends most of the day at PetSmart barking. However she's been surprisingly quiet at our house. She doesn't bark when she's crated or when she wants anything - that's a nice surprise! Here's a picture of Selena: