It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I have so much to say, that I'm not sure where to start. So let me give you a quick summary, and maybe later this week I'll share more about some of these things.
1)
First, let me assure you that life around here continues as usual. I still haven't closed on the log home that I've had a contract on since September. I'm told it could happen any day now. In the meantime, Ziggy continues to be Ziggy (yes, he was laughing at me when I caught him chewing on the vacuum cleaner cord). Please note that both the vacuum and the carpet spot cleaner have taken up permanent residence in my kitchen since they are put to use so often. Also please note the silver exercise pen that has been turned into a fence to block off the kitchen from the living room. This serves two purposes. First, it limits the destruction caused by Ziggy to just the living room. Second, it keeps Peanut and Cricket safe in the kitchen. Please ignore the chew marks on the windowsill. These were not caused by Ziggy!
2)
Remember the thirteen puppies I talked about several weeks ago? They grew up and got adopted. At least ten of them did. There are three left, including the one shown above. I am guessing they will all be gone by next weekend!
3)
Cricket and Peanut are doing great. I am so crazy about these puppies. One of them actually went to their new home yesterday, and the other one has received two applications (we are waiting on the vet check and home visit to be scheduled). I'll tell you more about them later this week - I promise!
4)
I was recently contacted by a teenager who lives in Illinois. She is a volunteer with Forever Home Feline Ranch, a 501c3 organization that provides sanctuary for homeless cats in need of a forever home. Owen has not only fostered special needs kittens for this group, but she's actually written a grant proposal that has been accepted by the Pepsi Refresh Project! That's pretty amazing for a 16-year-old to do all on her own. The organization sounds like a great group of people, so I hope you will support them and Owen by voting for them as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project. You can vote every day, once a day, throughout the month of January. And if you have a blog or a twitter account or Facebook account, please share the link below with others.
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. I haven't taken any new pictures for a few days, so I decided to share this video with you. This was taken a few weeks ago at my mom's house, shortly before decorating the Christmas tree. Merlin, my cat, loves to play fetch. He also loves to chew on small items, and to wrestle. We think he may be part dog... or perhaps he's just been living at my house for too long.
I had some trouble with my camera battery not being charged, so the video is a bit choppy, but I hope you enjoyed it. My nieces and nephews especially like the part where Merlin runs into the wall. In fact, I've heard rumors that people may at times deliberately throw the mouse against the wall on purpose just to watch Merlin hit the wall. I do not condone this behavior, and I swear when I threw the mouse against the wall on the video it was an accident. Really. And the laughter you hear afterwards was me laughing at something my mom said - I was not laughing at Merlin. Really. Although the fact that he continues to run into the wall time after time (or so I've heard) may just be another example of how his intelligence more closely mirrors a dog than a cat. I'm just sayin'.
Two three month old Boxer-Lab mix puppies were living outside. One was tied to a lawnmower, and the other was tied to a BBQ pit. They had no shelter and very little food. They were very skinny and filled with parasites.
When I first started volunteering with a rescue, I'd see rescue people get really upset about puppies being given away at Wal-Mart. It happens quite often around here, and I couldn't quite understand their reactions. After all, anyone taking in a puppy would give it a good home, wouldn't they? Since then I've seen the reality of what happens to many of these "free to a good home" puppies.
They don't usually go to good homes. Even people with good intentions often don't know how to properly care for a puppy, and aren't prepared for the amount of work or the cost involved. Too many people take in a puppy because they are cute or their child begs for a dog, and next thing you know the dog is either living in the backyard tied to a lawnmower, or taken to a shelter to be euthanized.
These two puppies were lucky. They ended up in rescue where they were given medical care, healthy food and a safe warm place to stay until they could be adopted into loving homes that were ready for the realities of adopting a puppy. These puppies were also spayed/neutered before being adopted in order to prevent an "oops" litter that may then be given away at Wal-mart next year.
I like seeing puppies like this be rescued. It is another reminder of why we do what we do. Thanks to Bev for taking in these two sweet pups and caring for them and getting them healthy and adopted into good homes.
I was told about four Toy Fox Terrier/Chihuahua mix puppies needing to get into rescue. I've never fostered a Toy Fox Terrier. Or a Chihuahua, for that matter. And they're only ten weeks old. So how was I supposed to resist? Two of the four puppies went to another group, and the other two... well, allow me to introduce Peanut and Cricket.
Can you guess which one is named Peanut? I know it's not very original, but it just fits him so well, that I couldn't resist. Peanut is a bit more outgoing than his sister. He loves to play, and will pick up a stuffed toy that is almost as big as he is and shake it and run around. When I tried to take pictures of his sister Cricket he insisted on getting right in front of the camera lens every time. He's a bit of a show-off, I'm afraid.
Make sure to get my good side!
Cricket is quite different than her brother. She is very shy and scared. She's only been her a couple of days and she's already improving, but I admit I was surprised at how shy she was for a ten-week-old puppy. I'm used to the large-breed goofy puppies that don't know to be scared even if they should be. When I brought Cricket home, she curled up in a little ball and started shaking, and I just wanted to pick her up and cuddle her and make her feel safe. I named her Cricket because sometimes she tries to jump out of the ex-pen that she and Peanut are in. She can jump very high. Apparently Toy Fox Terriers... or Chihuahuas... or both... are quite athletic little dogs. Cricket is doing much better now and has started coming up to me and asking to be cuddled, which I'm quite happy to do.
These puppies will be ready for adoption in a couple of weeks. I'm sure you'll be reading more about them before that happens though!
Right after Ziggy finished destroying the box, Remi engaged him in a rousing game of Tug-O-War. I tell you this to explain why there is still cardboard all over the floor at the time these photos were taken. We won't discuss whether or not there is still cardboard on my floor today, okay?
Noelle also got in on the action.
I thought about editing these pictures and correcting Ziggy's glowing red eyes. Then I decided they were appropriate, and I was lazy so I left them.
Here Ziggy engages in the ever popular "head-twist" manuever in an attempt to confuse his opponent.
Please ignore the lamp with the missing lampshade in the background. Ziggy ate it.
In the end, I decided pictures couldn't do this justice, so I took this video. It's very long, but only by watching it will you truly understand what takes place at my house every night. Please take note of the following:
At 00:28, I talk to Ziggy. I know he can't hear me. I don't care.
At 00:40, Noelle decides to come in and be a bully to Remi. I love her anyway.
At 01:04, Ziggy takes refuge under the futon. He's a strange dog.
At 01:19, Ziggy does his best seal imitation. You don't want to miss that!
At 02:05, Ziggy runs across the glass-top end table. This is nothing out of the ordinary.
At 02:12 - 02:43, Ziggy takes a water break.
At 04:21, Ziggy begins pulling Noelle across the floor. She seems to have forgotten she has front legs.
At 04:27, Ziggy the deaf dog begins growling at Noelle the other deaf dog. I wonder if Ziggy realizes Noelle can't hear him.
At 05:52, Ziggy steals the rope from Noelle, which apparently I found very funny for some reason.
Ziggy was sent home early from the adoption event yesterday for misbehavior. He decided that he didn't like being around other dogs, so since we were at a pet store filled with dogs, he had to stay in his crate. However once he started trying to destroy his crate, he left me no option but to send him home.
I returned to the adoption event, while Ziggy took a nice long nap. By the time I returned home again, I was exhausted and he was full of energy. That is how this happened:
I knew what he was doing. I had a large Great Dane sized crate in a box in my living room. I heard him knock over the box and start chewing on it. But I was so tired, and he was happy, and he wasn't hurting anything except some cardboard that is easily cleaned up. So I decided I didn't care to stop him. I went back to the kitchen and left him alone with the box. Then Noelle decided to get in on the act.
What'cha doing Ziggy? That looks like fun!
Remi took a supervisory role:
Quite impressive for a small doggie such as yourself.
That cardboard piece is longer than me!
And finally I found something that kept Ziggy busy for almost 20 minutes!
True, there's still a huge mess in my living room waiting to be cleaned up. But the peace and quiet I got while he worked on destroying the box was totally worth it!
This is Hannah. She was pregnant stray that a rescue volunteer took in. She is heartworm positive and has a bad front leg, but is extremely sweet. She recently had puppies.
There are several black ones.
There is one tan puppy.
There are a few black and tan puppies.
And there is one tan and black puppy.
There are, however, no brown puppies.
Puppies are fun, but they are a lot of work. In fact, there is a direct correlation between the number of puppies, and the amount of work it requires to care for them. So imagine how much work these puppies are:
Especially when I tell you that they weren't even all in the picture! Poor Hannah had thirteen puppies. I feel sorry for Hannah, and even more sorry for Hannah's foster mom. But I have to admit I love going over to visit them. Playing with one or two puppies is fun... and playing with thirteen puppies is a LOT of fun.
I just sit on the floor and let them crawl all over me.
Of course, standing up is a challenge - as is walking with thirteen puppies underfoot. I took this picture of my feet while standing so you can see the danger of trying to move without harming any puppies or myself.
These puppies will be ready for adoption right after Christmas, and will make wonderful Christmas presents for some lucky families!
And no one is more excited than Binky, the All Paws Rescue mascot. He not only has the requisite Santa hat, he even dresses up with tinsel.
Binky was not the only one dressed up. This is Aunt Dolly, and she's a beagle who just can't wait for Christmas.
You see, Aunt Dolly is a retired hunting dog. She has lived outdoors her whole life, and has never experienced the life of an indoor dog. She doesn't know about decorations, or Christmas trees, or family get-togethers. She has never experienced a cozy bed next to a fireplace, or a couch where she can cuddle up next to her person. In many ways, this will be Dolly's first Christmas. She just moved from a shelter into a foster home, and has immediately fallen in love with all the comforts of home. Fortunately Binky lives at this foster home so he will be able to show her the ropes.
We're just hoping she can reign in some of her enthusiasm about the upcoming holidays. You can see she's a bit out of control.
And once we told her about the food that comes along with Christmas, well, her excitement level was through the roof. She had to sit down, she got so excited.
We're just hoping that Binky can be a good influence and teach Dolly how to slow down a bit.
Last April we were notified of two adorable white puppies at an area shelter. All Paws Rescue pulled them both, and named them Freckles and Buddy. Freckles was adopted quickly. Buddy had a bit of a harder time. He was adopted, then returned, then adopted, then returned, and then adopted. By the time he was four months old, he'd already lived with four different families (including foster families). By the time he was seven months old, it was six different families. It wasn't that he was incorrigible. Dogs that are incorrigible live with their foster familes for years without being adopted. They never even get to go live at another foster home. Not that I would know anything about dogs like Ziggy that are incorrigible.
Bosco at PetSmart last month
Oops... I was trying so hard to get through just one blog post without mentioning you-know-who. It just couldn't happen. Anyway, Buddy was bounced around through no fault of his own. In the process he ended up with a new name (Bosco) and eventually a new family. In August he was adopted, and a few weeks ago I ran into Bosco with his family at PetSmart. The dad reports that he is doing great, never has had any house-breaking issues, and is very well behaved. Between the dad and the daughter, it was obvious that he is very well loved. I then tried to talk the dad into a second dog... one that already knows Bosco and loves to wrestle with him... but they didn't fall for it. It was worth a try.
Adoption events are stressful for pretty much everyone involved. The volunteers are stressed out from getting up early, loading their vehicles with crates and supplies and foster pets, traveling to adoption events, unloading everything, taking care of their fosters in a stressful environment, interacting with the public, and then at the end of the day, once again loading their vehicles and traveling home where they have to unload all over again. This is difficult to do week after week. It is all worth it when a foster pet is adopted, but sometimes weeks or months go by with no adoptions.
Adoption events are stressful for potential adopters too. They go to these events, meet many, many different animals all needing a home, and are often trying to decided in the space of minutes or hours whether a dog or cat will be the right fit for the rest of their life. It's especially hard to do considering that the animals at the adoption event are generally more stressed than anyone else, so it's hard to get an idea of what they are truly like.
But adoption events are the worst for the foster pets. They're taken to a strange place surrounded by strange dogs or cats, and are constantly bombarded by the noise and excitement going on around them. People are constantly coming and going, stopping to pet and greet the animals. Strange dogs are barking or coming up to greet them as well. Often the foster animals are placed into an unfamiliar crate and left alone while their foster parent goes off to talk to a potential adopter or take care of other chores. It's understandable that so many pictures of animals taken at adoption events show them looking nervous or fearful.
To give you a small idea of what it's like, please watch the following video. This is Ziggy in his crate during a recent adoption event. Although he can't hear the noise going on around him, the fact that he is deaf makes him more vulnerable to someone coming up behind him and surprising him. Also, this is in the middle of the day so the stress has been mounting, and he's been placed into a crate while I go off and take pictures of other pets. When I return to him, I open the crate door and put the camera in his face to take a video to show people how stressed he gets.
On second thought, this may not be such a good example after all. Let me change the above statement. For some pets, adoption events are not at all stressful. They find a place to relax, find a good chewy, and close their eyes to block out the world around them as they focus their full attention on the joy of chewies. They easily ignore all sounds, all other pets, and even the camera in their face as they chew. Adoption events are some of their favorite places to go!
One thing I love about dogs is how they live in the moment, and they have such enthusiasm for life. Ziggy especially can find joy in everything. He also seems to live by the motto "Carpe Diem", or "Seize the Day". And while he's at it, he likes to seize anything and everything else. For example..
I made the mistake of leaving some treats on the counter while turning my back.
Ziggy immediately decided that was an invitation to help himself.
And then he ran into the living room with his prize.
Fortunately Ziggy has not yet learned to successfully play "keep away" when he has something he knows he shouldn't have. Instead he always runs to the futon and waits for me. This gives me the opportunity to easily take things away from him (by trading him for something he wants more!) In this case, I decided that this was such a classic "Ziggy" event that I needed to allow him to do the same thing a second time while I took pictures. Training versus Blogging... sometimes sacrifices must be made.
