More Returns!

One of the challenges of rescue is taking back previously adopted dogs when their owners can no longer care for them.  Since I volunteer with an all-foster home group, we have no shelter building to house the dogs.  If a dog is going to be returned, we hope that the person who originally fostered the dog will take him or her back.  But if that isn't possible, then everyone in the group works together to find a place for the dog to go.  I am fortunate enough to work with a wonderful group of volunteers, and someone is always stepping up to help whenever is needed.

Returns don't happen very often, but sometimes it seems as if when one happens, it is immediately followed by many more!  In the past two weeks, we've received several returned dogs, and it seems that most of them have been mine!  The good news is that Nosey, the blind Beagle puppy who was going to be returned, ended up going to a family member of the adopter and is no longer being returned.  Also one of our new foster volunteers stepped up to help out by fostering Bogey when he was returned.  He's doing wonderful in his new foster home!  It also helped that Allie and Natasha's adoptions are both working out, and in addition Trooper the Black Lab and Libby the deaf Jack Russell Terrier were also adopted!

Jax is one of the returns that I took in last week.  He is a great little guy - only 8 months old - and already I'm forcing him to earn his keep by collecting donations at adoption events.  So far he's earned around $40 over the past two adoption events - not bad for a dog!

Jax

The other returns that ended up coming back to my house are Louie the Black Lab mix and Gemma the deaf pit bull mix. Both were returned because their owners could no longer afford to care for them.

Louie is a year and a half old, and was part of the "Donald Duck" litter.  

Louie!

He is now all grown up.  He's very nervous around new people at first, but he's quickly learned to trust me and has become my constant companion, even sleeping on my bed at night.  

Louie looking nervous during an adoption event.

Gemma is the other recent return.  She originally came from a shelter in Kansas City, where she was going to be put down without ever being made available for adoption due to being deaf and heartworm positive and having some health issues.  Fortunately the shelter has a great rescue coordinator who shared her and when I saw her on Facebook I immediately said I'd take her.  She had been hit by a car prior to being taken to the shelter and has some nerve damage in her front leg which causes her to limp.  However she completed her heartworm treatment and is in good health other than the continuing issues with her leg.  Gemma is a very sweet dog - she is affectionate and loves everyone she meets.  The other family who fostered her previously wants to take her back as soon as their current foster dog is adopted, but in the meantime she is staying here with me.  I am enjoying having her back!

Gemma

The other exciting thing that happened this week was Zara, Ziggy's littermate who was adopted out three years ago, was lost and came back for a few days until we could locate her owner.  She is now safely back home!

Zara

For those of you wondering, Ziggy and Zara used to love to play together.  I wanted to give them a chance to play together again while Zara was back, but it turns out that they're much more mature now, and Ziggy was too busy worrying about if Zara would steal his stuff to actually want to play.  So Zara played with all the other fosters for a few days and seemed to have a great time visiting everyone except Ziggy!

Pitter Patter

Pitter Patter is a blog that shares fun pictures of pit bulls with funny captions. I submitted a few pictures of some of my current and previous foster dogs, and one of them was picked to be on the Pitter Patter blog last Thursday!

That is Zara, a pit bull puppy who was adopted recently. She is Ziggy's sister. Check out the Pitter Patter blog more funny photos!

From rags to riches: Zara’s story

Zara’s life didn’t start out very well. As a puppy, she was taken to a shelter with her littermate. The owner signed the release that they could be immediately euthanized. And the facility she was taken to is a place that euthanizes unwanted dogs three days a week. They receive mostly pit bulls, and Zara didn’t have much of a shot. Like so many other puppies before her, she would die because she was born a pit bull.

But in this case, Zara was lucky. You see, her littermate was deaf. And one of the shelter workers knew of a rescue volunteer who loved to work with deaf dogs. So she contacted the rescue volunteer and told her about the deaf dog. She also mentioned that the deaf dog had a sister who could hear.

The rescue volunteer could not imagine taking the deaf puppy and leaving his sister behind. So Zara and her brother Ziggy came to live with the rescue worker. Zara immediately became a favorite of the rescue worker, because of her cute, rather large ears, and her sweet disposition. Once Zara was healthy enough and had been spayed and vaccinated, she went to PetSmart for adoptions.

It was a very cold day last Saturday, and the store was not very crowded. Zara barked at everyone. Her foster mom worried that no one would want to adopt such a loud dog. Zara just wanted attention, and was so excited to meet new people and the other dogs. But she had a loud bark, and it would not help her get adopted.

Then, shortly after Zara arrived, a couple arrived to shop for their dog. They met Zara and remarked how much she reminded them of their own dog as a puppy. After visiting with Zara for awhile, they left and picked up their dog from the groomers, and then returned so their dog could meet Zara. And the dogs did great together. So the couple decided to adopt Zara!  Now Zara has her very own family, with another dog to play with, and a fenced yard to run in, and people to love her and spoil her. And everyone hopes that she’ll live happily ever after.

The difference between Zara and Ziggy...

Ziggy has a brown spot around his left eye. 

Zara does not.

 

Zara was sad about this.  Ziggy decided to help her out.

Now Zara also has a brown spot around her left eye.

And I can no longer tell them apart.

Another Difference Between Cats and Dogs

When one cat is playing with something, another cat may come along and see what fun the first cat is having. Notice Orca, the black and white cat, in the picture below. She's perched on top of the tub, looking down at Merlin who is playing with a plastic ball with a bell inside.

She thinks "that looks like fun - perhaps I will join him".

She jumps into the tub, and when the ball rolls near to her, she bats it away. Merlin and Orca take turns batting at the ball with their paws, making it jingle and chasing it around. For them, this is fun.

 
 
Now allow me to show you how dogs react in a similar situation.
 

Zara finds a plastic bag.  What fun!

 

Ziggy spots Zara with the bag, and thinks "That looks like fun - perhaps I will take it!"

 

So he does. 

But not without a fight. 

Which becomes a wrestling match. 

Where the bag is all but forgotten.

 

But Ziggy is finally victorious.

 

And he thinks "Bag?  What bag?"

"Oh yeah!"

Update on my fosters

Yep, it's time for another update.  Sort of like introducing the starting line-up of a sports team... or not. 

First up, the dogs. 

Zara - 16 week pit bull mix puppy, sister to Ziggy, very sweet, very friendly, extra-large ears, no manners whatsoever but listens well.  Cute brown spots on her back.  I'm hoping she turns out to be smart and learns quickly.  Time will tell.  Did I mention the giant ears?

Ziggy - 16 week old pit bull mix puppy, brother to Zara, deaf, full of energy and enthusiasm, loves attention, no manners whatsoever, eager to communicate.  That's a code term for either "barks a lot" or "very demanding".  Or maybe both - I'm not telling.  Has a short attention span and a love for his sister, all humans, and food.  Not necessarily in that order.

That's it for the dogs.  I still have a few on a "waiting list" but for one reason or another the time hasn't been right to bring them home just yet.  I'm hoping to not bring in any new dogs until at least sometime after Christmas.  Which is less than a week away.  Yikes - I really should start my Christmas shopping soon. 

Now for the cats...

Scribbles - Good news - Scribbles is improving!  I now can leave her door open all of the time, and she often comes into the other rooms when the dogs aren't around.  And if she sees them, she's not outright attacking them, unless they get too close.  This also means she's living with several other cats (who apparently like her room better than their own) and she is doing fine with them as well.  She still spends most of her time in her room, but she does come out for some extra petting and attention every day. 

Artemis - Unfortunately Artie has been moved temporarily to solitary confinement.  I am pretty sure he's the one who seems to have forgotten his litterbox manners lately.  I'm not sure if its because of the stress of meeting new cats, or something else.  But the first step is to segregate him and make sure he is the guilty party.  Figuring out which cat isn't using the litterbox and WHY is not easy. Someone please remind me of this next time I say "I'll foster that cat!" 

Orca - She is the sweetest little cat.  She is my almost-constant companion at home.  She likes to sleep under the covers, and she settles on my lap every night and just purrs even if I don't pet her.  She gets along with all the other dogs and cats - although occasionally she meets a cat she doesn't know and if she feels threatened she starts growling like a dog.  Her brother Penguin did the same thing - it's very cute coming from such a little cat.  I wonder if her sister Puffin ever does that.

Gandalf - This guy is settled right into the old routine.  He is buddies with my cat Merlin, and I'm constantly seeing an orange cat and calling him Merlin when its really Gandalf, or vice-versa.  I'll be putting him back on the website in the next few days and he'll be ready to once again try to find a forever home.

Simon and Sampson - The Salmon brothers are still happily hanging out in the sink, although they do come into the bedroom to sleep at night.  One of them, or maybe both, spends his day by carrying stuffed animals from a shelf in my bedroom to the bathroom.  So far I've found a stuffed dog in the cat crate, a stuffed monkey in the middle of the floor, a stuffed buffalo in the cat bed, and another stuffed dog in the shower.  Seriously, I've never had a cat do something like this before.  It's very intriguing. 

And that is it for cats!  Hopefully I will have no recent returns, and will be able to get a cat adopted eventually - it's been awhile.  Not that I'm complaining - I've had phenomenal success with dog adoptions lately, and I really like all of the cats I have right now.  Yes, even Artemis. 

Oh, in case you're wondering, Blitzen and Comet, my two adorable orange kittens, went back to the St. Charles Pet Adoption Center, who I was fostering them for, when they were old enough to be adopted.  They have a big adoption event today, so if they haven't been adopted yet, they probably will be very soon! 

Zara

I figured out who she reminds me of....

This dog. There's an uncanny resemblance there, don't you think? 

Fortunately Noelle grew into her big ears, so hopefully Zara will do the same! 

Oh, funny Noelle story.  For any new readers, this is Noelle, my deaf pit bull mix. 

   This morning as she woke up, she realized that Simon and Sampson were also sharing the bed.  She immediately stood up and began giving them her best tough dog glare.  Which was quite impressive, for the half of a second before she got a horrible case of the hiccups.  She tried to keep up the pretense, but the hiccups pretty much ruined it.  Poor Noelle - Simon and Sampson were not intimidated in the least.  It's tough trying to assert your authority as top dog with a bad case of hiccups. 

Introducing Zara and Ziggy

This is Zara. She and her brother Ziggy are my newest foster dogs. Zara looks familiar to me. Maybe once she grows into those ears, I'll realize who it is she reminds me of...

Zara is not deaf, but Ziggy is.  He's also currently breaking my heart.  He became sick a few days after I brought him home.  Right now he's at the animal hospital/emergency clinic, receiving around-the-clock care.  I took him in yesterday after the vet said he was ill enough to require going to the hospital.   So far he's doing okay, but he may be there for several more days, receiving IV fluids and antibiotics.  The bill to treat him is going to be somewhere between $800 and $1700.  I'm praying that he gets better, and that Zara doesn't get sick too.  I'm going to donate what I can to All Paws to help pay for his vet bill.  As a small rescue group, they can't easily afford to treat him, but they have been very supportive and told me to go ahead and do whatever he needed.  Even though donations have been down a lot because of the economy, they didn't hesitate to help him.  So please, if you are able to, make a donation to help treat Ziggy.  You can donate via credit card or by Paypal by clicking on the link below, or donations can be mailed to the following address: 

All Paws Rescue

c/o Ziggy

PO Box 1274

O'Fallon, MO 63366

I'll be posting updates on his condition throughout the next few days.