Introducing Misty; Misty Was Adopted

One thing I really enjoy about volunteering with an all-breed rescue is that I get to foster many different breeds of dogs. A few years ago, I decided that one of my goals is to foster dogs from every common dog breed at some point in my life. Why? I have no idea. But I have a list, and I enjoy checking off each breed when I foster a new dog. Some of them were easy. Beagles, Labrador Retrievers, American Pit Bull Terriers, and Chihuahuas are all relatively common. Some of them are rare. I’ve only fostered one Old English Sheepdog, and one Neapolitan Mastiff. I’ll probably never see a Bedlington Terrier or a Komondor. But it’s fun to learn about each new breed and get a chance to foster a dog from a breed I’ve never met before. So when we received a call from someone needing to surrender a Havanese, I have to admit I was a little bit excited. I did my research on the breed to make sure it was a dog that I would be able to work with and that would fit in well at my house. Then I talked to the owner to find out more about the dog. And later that evening, I met her and picked up Misty.



Misty the Havanese

Misty is an eight-month-old Havanese. She came from a wonderful family who is going through a rough time. The owner had recently been diagnosed with a medical condition that made her unable to care for Misty anymore, and she wanted to do what was best for her and find her a great home. I was glad to help, and glad to get to know more about a Havanese. They are little dogs, belonging to the Toy group, and are part of the Bichon family. They are extremely intelligent and social little dogs, and love to play. Misty was a bit shy at first but quickly began playing with Twinkie, my foster Chihuahua. They would run and wrestle and chase each other all over. Because the owner had taken such good care of Misty and was able to tell us all about her, we were able to put Misty up for adoption almost immediately. And within a day of placing her bio on the website, she received four applications for adoption. This is more than Ziggy has received in the past three years!

It took a few days, but we finally settled on the perfect home for Misty. We found a wonderful owner who has no human children but says “her dogs are her children”. She has a home with a fenced yard, and most importantly a young Shih Tzu for Misty to play with. Misty met the other dog and immediately began playing with him. She has now been adopted!  And as you can see from the photo, Misty seems quite comfortable with her new owner.  Here is the note her new mom sent to All Paws the night she took her home:

SO, lil Misty is doing GREAT at our house!  Came in sniffin' everything!  Loves the huge backyard--running around chasing her new brother Bruno!  She was a little apprehensive about the stairs to the basement but once she did um once she's an old pro.  She got to meet new daddy and barked like crazy but now is warming up to him.  Snuggled up with me at the moment...c attached pics.  I think we have a winner!!  Thank you so much All Paws!   Jess, Trav, Bruno and Spot

And although I don't have any pictures to show you, Sophie the St. Bernard mix has also been adopted!  She went to a home that was perfect for her, where she will get to be the only pet and get all the attention she desires from her new mom and dad. 

Introducing Grace, Hope, Sophie, Dolly and Conner

I've taken in just a few (ahem) new foster dogs recently, and decided I'd better introduce them to you before they all get adopted. 
 

Grace



First meet Hope and Grace.  Five puppies were found running loose in a county with no animal control.  All Paws Rescue took them in, and eventually the two girls ended up at my house.  Grace has already been adopted, and the other three puppies she came in with have also found homes.  This just leaves Hope, who is still Hoping to find her very own home soon! 

Hope



These puppies are extremely well behaved, considering that they are puppies.  I don't think Hope has had even one accident in the house since the day I brought her home.  And she's very smart!  Whomever adopts her is going to be very pleased - unless they're looking for a challenge in which case they will no doubt be disappointed. 


 

Sophie



Next came Sophie.  Sophie is a seven year old St. Bernard.  She was at an animal control facility for several months without being adopted, so when I had room, she came home with me.  Sophie has perfect house manners.  She never has accidents, never chews anything up, and is calm and laid back.  This is one of the advantages to adopting an older dog!  She gets along well with the other dogs and the cats, and lately she and Lucky have become good buddies.  In spite of being seven years old, she still loves to run and play!

Dolly

Then there are my two newest foster dogs that I just picked up last night.  Several weeks ago another animal rescuer named Tracee had asked if I could help with some very shy dogs.  I told her I currently had several dogs and was still working with Bogey so I wouldn't be able to take on another shy dog for awhile.  Since I had not met Tracee before, I made sure to tell her how much I loved working with deaf dogs, so if she came across any needing help she would be able to give people my contact information.  I didn't know it at the time, but Tracee had a deaf foster dog right then.  When she told me about the dog, named Dolly, and asked if I would be interested in working with her, I jumped at the chance.  Although pit bulls are my favorite breed, I absolutely love the look of scruffy dogs, and Dolly was one of the cutest I've ever seen.  So yes, you can call me shallow, but I totally wanted to foster this dog because she was the cutest deaf dog ever.  Tracee warned me she was a spitfire, but said she had no real problems like fear or aggression.  I told her that after working with Ziggy, I felt confident working with just about any dog. 



Dolly does a play bow

I suppose you can guess what happened as a result.  I meet Tracee to get Dolly, and as Tracee's husband hands her over, Dolly goes wild and starts struggling and biting at me to get away.  Oh yes, she was a spitfire.  I quickly placed her back onto her foster dad's lap and told him "why don't you just go ahead and put her in the travel crate".  I wasn't feeling so confident right then! 

Fortunately once Dolly got home, she quickly settled down and has decided to let me pet her and pick her up without feeling the need to bite me again.  Her fur is so soft, and she's extremely loving and playful.  She does great with all the other dogs, except Lucky who she's not allowed to be around because he seems to think she might be a chew toy.  Right now she's playing with my other newest foster dog. 



Conner the Chiweenie



Conner is my unexpected, and very temporary foster.  When I talked to Tracee to arrange to get Dolly, she told me about a Chiweenie (Chihuahua/Dashchund mix) puppy who needed rescue.  The puppy was only eight weeks old, and had been given away on the side of a road.  The person who took the puppy was over the pet limit allowed by their area so had to give it away again.  So I told her if she could pick up the dog on her way to meet me, I would take that one too.  Chiweenie puppies are pretty easy to find homes for - small breed dogs are always popular, especially when they're puppies.  So as Tracee approached me with the puppy, I expected to see an eight-week-old Chiweenie.  Instead, Tracee and I both thought that Conner seemed to resemble another, less popular breed of dog.  Those are NOT so easy to place.  We laughed about it, and then I named him Conner (because calling him a Chiweenie seems to be a total con).  But no matter what breed or mix of breeds he is, Conner is absolutely adorable.  He's only staying a couple of days and then he'll be going on to another foster home.  He should be ready for adoption in another couple of weeks!