Maggie Takes A Trip

The wonderful organization of Pilots N Paws has helped once again.  This time pilot Jim flew down from Minnesota to pick up Maggie the Old English Sheepdog at an airport near Alton, Illinois, before flying back home to Minnesota with her.

Maggie and Pilot Jim

Maggie had a good flight and is now settling in well at her new foster home with Midwest Old English Sheepdog Rescue.  Huge thanks go out to Jim the pilot and Nancy the rescuer for saving Maggie!

Long Overdue Foster Pet Updates

Ziggy the deaf pit bull is doing well.  He's attending Rally classes each week, and enjoys finding yet another way to earn treats.  I've also discovered that he and Jefferson are good playmates.  They love to play chase and wrestle with each other.

Chloe the pit bull is my girl.  She's like the best dog ever.  She started heartworm treatments and is now on strict rest for eight weeks.  She's pretty lazy though so she's happy to lay around on the couch all day.

Ace the deaf Dogo Argentino mix is now adopted!  He went to a home with another dog who is a therapy dog, and his new owner plans to train Ace to be a therapy dog as well.

Fanny the Basset Hound mix did really well in her beginning agility class.  She loved going to class, but had to cut her beginners class session short because she found her forever home!  She's even happier now to be in a home where she gets all the attention.

Maggie the deaf Old English Sheepdog is getting ready to get on a plane.  She has some aggression issues that need special help, so she's going to be traveling to Minnesota, to Midwest Old English Sheepdog Rescue.  Pilots 'N Paws will be helping her to get to her final destination.

Jefferson the Shepherd/Lab mix is his same silly self.  He has been to the vet twice in the past two weeks because he has caused his tail to start bleeding by wagging it so much.  He can't help it, he's just a happy guy!  He loves to play and wrestle with Maggie and with Ziggy - they are his two best friends.







And that's all the time we have for updates today!  More updates coming soon!

Charlie's Story

With every foster pet that comes in, a small part of me always keeps in mind that they are just a foster - they aren't staying.  But every once in awhile, no matter how much I try to keep a bit of distance, one of the foster pets just captures my heart and won't let go.  This is what happened with Charlie the cat.

I took in Charlie last October after he had been diagnosed as FIV+ by an area shelter.  He immediately decided that he owned the house, and should be allowed to do whatever he wanted.  This included things like decorating the Christmas tree, stealing my food as I was trying to eat, and sneaking out the door every chance he got, so he could go climb a tree:

Recently Charlie was re-tested for FIV since sometimes kittens who test positive will test negative as they grow older.  Unfortunately in this case Charlie tested positive again, but for Feline Leukemia, not FIV.  Feline Leukemia is a very serious virus that is the main cause of cancer in cats.  There is currently no cure, and most cats who test positive for Feline Leukemia don't live more than a few years.  Charlie was most likely diagnosed incorrectly at the shelter when he was a kitten, and was never FIV positive, but has been positive for Feline Leukemia all along.  Once I learned this news, I knew then that I'd be keeping Charlie for whatever amount of time he had left.  He had captured my heart from the moment he came here, and cats with Feline Leukemia are very difficult to find homes for.  

So I left Charlie listed on the website with information about Feline Leukemia, and accepted that he was basically my cat.  Charlie is the best cat - not because he is well behaved - he isn't - but because he is always affectionate and always purring.  He loves the dogs, and cuddles with them every chance he gets:

He sleeps with me every night, and entertains me every day.  At least he did, until a couple of weeks ago, when someone saw his information on the website and ended up adopting Charlie!  I am happy that he found a permanent home, but oh how I miss my cat!  I hope he has many more happy years in his new home. 

Charlie

Introducing Maggie

I love fostering different breeds of dogs, and on Saturday I brought home my first Old English Sheepdog.  Maggie is a one year old female with one blue eye and one brown eye.  She is deaf, but she is learning some sign language.  I don't think she'll be here long enough for me to teach her very much, because the Old English Sheepdog is pretty rare in this area and I think she'll be adopted quickly.  This is Maggie at her previous owner's home: 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Her owner had to give her up due to a change in family circumstances, and she had Maggie shaved down recently, so now Maggie looks like this:

I wanted to keep her until her hair grew out again, because I love the look of the long hair, but I know that wouldn't be fair to Maggie, so I'll just have to insist that whomever adopts her lets me visit her once her hair is grown out.  That's not too much to ask, right?

Maggie is a very sweet dog - she is great with all the other dogs and good with the cats.  She's fitting in really well around here!

My Day: Guest Post by Jefferson

Hi everyone, I'm Jefferson, but everyone calls me Jeffy.  My foster mom is the lady who usually writes this blog.  She said I could tell you about my day!  Today is Saturday which means it is an Adoption Day!  Every Saturday we all get loaded up in the car and we go to PetSmart where people come to admire us.  I was so excited to go to PetSmart today, because it's the best place in the whole entire world!  In fact, I got so excited that I wagged my tail really hard and it started bleeding.  My foster mom took me over to the vet and they fixed me right up, but my foster mom told them I had better wear a lampshade on my head or else I'd take off the bandage they put on.  So now I get to wear a lampshade all week!  This is me in my stylish lampshade.

Me looking Most Handsome.

There were about 287 dogs at the adoption event today!  I'm not very good at counting, but I'm sure there were at least that many.  Only two of them found homes, but that's still better than zero (hey, maybe I am not so bad at this math thing!)  My foster mom wanted to take home this dog:

Greta

but decided that she'd have too many dogs if she did that.  Apparently Greta is very affectionate and deserves to be in a home instead of a shelter, where she is living now.  Greta didn't get adopted so hopefully she gets adopted soon before foster mom goes and gets her and brings her back here in spite of the 43 other dogs here.  Oh, wait - foster mom said that there are less than ten dogs here.  I guess I need more math practice after all.

I got to meet a dog named Breeze today!  She was at the adoption event waiting to be admired by people.  My foster brother Bogey is her real brother, which is probably why they look so much alike.  Breeze has a lot more hair than Bogey though.  And she smells better.  I'm just sayin'.

Breeze

I also saw my pal Toby again.  Toby has been in foster care almost as long as Ziggy (like, forever!).  He is real good at getting attention from people by doing crazy stunts like trying to chew his way out of his crate.  He is my role model!

My role model.

My foster mom says I should try to get attention by being cute, like this puppy:

Macy

The puppy slept like this for hours!  I told my foster mom that first of all, since the puppy didn't get adopted, this tactic was obviously no better than Toby's brilliant method of getting attention.  And second of all, how could I possibly sleep for one second while at the most exciting place in the world??  My foster mom just isn't too smart sometimes.

Thanks for listening about my day, and I hope you had a GREAT day too!

Hairless Dogs - We've Got 'Em!

Charlie

My foster dog Charlie went to the vet to get checked out for some missing hair, and we learned he has demodex mange.  This is not contagious to other dogs, but it will require several months of treatment.  So in addition to medicine for the mange and medicine for secondary skin infections, Charlie will also be receiving weekly baths.  Poor guy is not very happy with me right now!  

 Charlie's not the only hairless dog around here though.  Meet Bogey, a Shar-Pei mix.  He's missing a lot more hair than Charlie, but he doesn't have mange or any other skin conditions that the vet can find.  They're doing some tests to try to determine the problem, but it may just be that Bogey is going to always be mostly hairless.  

Bogey

Bogey came to my house after escaping his previous foster home and going on the run for a week.  He had countless volunteers out looking for him and was spotted several times but was too shy to approach anyone.  Eventually he was caught in a live trap and came here.  He used to be best friends with Charlie at the shelter they both lived at, so I thought they might like seeing each other again.  However Charlie seems to think that since he was here first, he should get all the attention and he's not making Bogey feel welcome.  Poor Bogey is very afraid of me, doesn't want to play with the other dogs, and just looks really sad all the time.  

He's also getting medicine for ear infections and an injury he received while on the run, so I'm playing doctor a lot these days.  Hopefully Bogey will start to settle in soon and feel better.

In happier news, we've had several adoptions lately, including Allie the Border Collie mix puppy, Roo the pit bull mix, and Molly the Min-Pin/Puggle mix!  

Puppies!

I recently was a temporary foster home for five puppies - Magic, Macy, Madeline, Micah and Maya.  Magic and Maya have been adopted, and the other three are in another foster home now.  It was fun having them here for the week!

Macy

Magic

Micah

Madeline

Maya

Sometimes even though there were only five of them, it seemed more like fifteen!

We're Having A Party: Guest Post by Remi

Remi

Hi everyone, remember me?  I'm Remi the Great Dane. I don't get to be in my mom's blog much anymore since she moved out to the country.  She really likes to help homeless animals, so she bought a house where she would be allowed to have foster pets.  But my dad is still living at our old house, so Noelle and I stay with him. He doesn't ever take my picture so I don't get to be in the blog very often.  But today I have some really fun news to share, so I get to post even though there are no new pictures of me!


Some of my mom's blog friends read about her problems with the foster dogs escaping the fenced yard and being in danger of being shot by the neighbors.  My mom is real worried about that, and she says the only way to make sure the foster animals are safe is to put up a privacy fence.  Now I don't know why these foster dogs would want to leave the yard in the first place.  But you know, some of them come from shelters where they ended up as strays, because they had become experts at escaping their yards at their old house.   So maybe they just have bad habits that they need to give up.  But since running around the countryside is not such a good idea, mom has to put up a fence that will keep them in the yard.  She just hasn't found a new job yet so she's not sure how she's going to afford it.  This is where the really exciting thing takes place.  Those blog friends decided to have a fundraiser to help my mom pay for a fence to keep all the foster dogs safe.  When my mom heard that she couldn't believe it.  She was so shocked that they would do that, and that so many in the blogging community would want to help.  She is grateful beyond words, which is probably why she's letting me tell you this news instead of telling you herself.  So here's the deal - we're having a party!!

Jess and Glacier are organizing the event, and it is going to be great!  There are even rumors that Ziggy has volunteered to help staff the Kissing Booth!  You can read more about it here.  Thanks to Jess and everyone else who is helping to put this pawty together - you are wonderful!

Improper Use Of a Dog Crate

Dog crates can be a huge help when raising a puppy or an adult dog who hasn't yet learned good house manners.  They are a useful tool, but they can also be used incorrectly.  Ace recently provided me with an excellent demonstration of this fact. 

"Am I doing it right, foster lady?"

So if you use a crate with your dog, make sure to give them proper instructions first!

The Flying Ace

Ace was living in Tennessee with a family who had rescued him from a bad situation.  They tried to find him a permanent home in their area but weren't able to do so.  Ace is deaf, and the family needed to find him a home with someone who was willing to take on a deaf dog.  I said if they could get him to me, I'd take him as a foster dog.  That's where the wonderful people at the Dogo Argentino Rescue Network stepped forward.  They put me in touch with a pilot from Pilots N Paws, who would use his own time, money, and his own plane to fly Ace to me.  He also took many pictures along the way so I could tell you about it.

The Flying Ace

Ace used to be named Doofus, by an uncaring owner who thought he was stupid just because he was deaf.  The family who rescued him renamed him Einstein because they quickly realized he was really smart.  Since I have fostered a dog named Einstein very recently, I decided to change his name (he's deaf, so he doesn't mind).  And since Pilot Jim told me that Einstein wanted to fly the plane on the way here, I decided he must be a great pilot so I renamed him Ace.

Ace in flight

Ace is an amazing dog.  He did great on his flight here - after supervising Pilot Jim and finding that he was a more than capable pilot, he watched out the window for awhile to make sure Pilot Jim knew where he was going, and then like any smart relief pilot, he took a nap so he'd be well rested and ready to fly if Pilot Jim needed a break.

"Wake me if you need me, Pilot Jim!"

 Fortunately for everyone involved, Pilot Jim did not need to call on Ace's untested flying skill, and they made it safely to the ground without any help from Ace.  Pilot Jim has flown many of these flights, rescuing dogs all over the country and flying them to safety.  It always amazes me how many people are out there willing to help these homeless animals.  Pilots N Paws is a non-profit agency devoted to saving innocent animals by pilots donating their time, money and talents to get these animals to rescues, shelters, and adoptive homes all over the country.  Huge thanks to Pilot Jim for helping to save Ace!

"Thanks so much Pilot Jim!"

After the flight, I met Pilot Jim and Ace at the airport, where we posed for a quick picture.  Ace looks quite proud of himself for making it through the flight.

"I flew all the way here!"

He's now at my house and settling in nicely.  He's met all the other dogs and loves to play with Jefferson and Roo.  Charlie is still being stand-offish, and Ziggy seems to think I tried to replace him while he was gone, but everyone else just loves Ace.  He was already fully vetted by the family who rescued him so he'll be ready to start training and trying to find a new home right away.  He's such a sweet dog that I think he'll have no trouble finding a home.

Message from Ziggy

Hello my friends, have you missed me?  My foster mom says there might be some new readers out there, so if that's the case, let me introduce myself.  I'm Ziggy.

This is me.

I'm the only foster dog my foster mom has ever had long enough to actually give me my own page on her blog.  And my own website.  And my own Facebook page.  And my own business cards.  Yeah, she's been trying to get rid of me get me adopted for years now.  This is me and my foster mom:

I know you're hiding a treat in your hand!  Please let me have it!

She says she loves me a lot, but I'm a very special dog who needs a home without other pets, so she is trying to find a great home for me.  Recently I had the chance to go into a foster-to-adopt home.  I've been gone for about three weeks, and enjoyed every second of my time with Darren, but we finally realized that we're not meant to be together.  You see, Darren is one of those wonderful dog owners who likes to take his dog everywhere, and spend time with his family, and go on long walks.  The long walks part was great, but I'm not really a take-everywhere, hang out with family sort of guy.  Plus, can you believe, Darren doesn't have any cows living next door to him. Boy did I miss those cows.  And I missed all of you too, of course (my foster mom reminded me to say that).  She claims that I missed her too, but really Darren has better treats at his house.  Anyway, I'm back now and I am once again looking for my forever home.  I told Darren not to worry, that he'd find the right dog for him, and he said he'd do what he could to help me find a home too.  He's a very nice guy and I will really miss his treats him.  It's very important that I find just the right owner (maybe a dairy farmer?) so if you know of someone who might want a dog like me, please let me know!

When Bassets Attack

I used to like Basset Hounds.  I always thought with their short fat legs and long fat bodies, they were quite silly.  And when I brought home a Basset Hound mix named Fanny yesterday, I made the mistake of not taking her seriously.

The attack happened this morning.  The victim was Chloe, the sweet affectionate pit bull.  The perpetrator was Fanny.  She's a Basset Hound mixed with Border Collie and maybe Labrador Retriever.  Three very dangerous breeds of dogs - I should have been more wary of her.  If you own one of these dangerous breeds - especially a Basset Hound - be aware that they should be taken very seriously.

WARNING: The following pictures are quite graphic.

Fanny stalks her prey:

She approaches her victim, who is enjoying a nice back scratch.

With no warning at all, she leans over Chloe's neck, and gives her a little lick.

Mission accomplished, Fanny looks up and scopes out her next victim.

She leaves the scene and leaves Chloe behind, totally upside down after the vicious lick she received.

The whole thing happened so quickly, I hardly had time to react.  I am relieved that Chloe seems to have bounced back quickly from the event, and seems almost normal.  

At least normal for Chloe.  

Introducing Charlie Scaredy-Dog

Recently a no-kill shelter in a very rural area of the state asked for some help in moving out some of their dogs. They were willing to give other shelters and rescues their most adoptable dogs, but I decided I would rather help with a harder to adopt dog.  I picked out Charlie, a mixed breed dog who has been at the shelter longer than any other resident.

Charlie is now in a home for the first time ever.  He'd been living in the shelter since 2007, and has never experienced being a pet dog before.  He barks like crazy at the television because he can't understand where the people on TV are coming from.  He is scared of people and loud noises and new places.  He was very well cared for in the shelter, but in a place with so many dogs, and so few adopters, he wasn't lucky enough to get a home before now.  So Charlie is now here, and learning about being a pet dog for the first time.  He is great with the other dogs, and does okay with the cats too.  He will start going to adoption events and training classes every week so he can learn that other places aren't so scary.  And hopefully soon he'll find a home with a patient adopter who is willing to give him the time he needs to adjust.

There are many more dogs like Charlie waiting in no-kill shelters around the country.  Foster homes make a huge difference in the lives of these dogs because they can teach them about living in a home and help them prepare for an adoptive home.  I hope to get a second dog from this shelter this weekend, and several of our foster volunteers also took dogs from this shelter.  We usually take in dogs that are going to be euthanized, but it's nice to be able to help these dogs who were safe but don't have as much of a chance at being adopted.

Ziggy is still out on his trial adoption.  And Allie is meeting some potential adopters on Saturday, so hopefully she'll go to her new home and that will open up space for another foster.

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.

It's A Christmas Miracle

Most people thought it was impossible.  Only a few kept the faith.  Some offered encouragement, and others prayed.  One special friend even asked Santa - for the second year in a row - for a Christmas miracle.  And on Christmas day that miracle happened.  I got a phone call from someone who wants to adopt Ziggy.

Ziggy prays for a home.

When I brought Ziggy home as a foster puppy two years ago, I didn't expect to have him for long.  But as the days turned into weeks, and then months, I began to fear he would never know what it was like to have a home of his own.  Ziggy is an amazing, wonderful dog and I love him very much.  But he's never been an easy dog.  He prefers to be an only pet, so it hasn't been easy for him living with so many other foster dogs.  He deserves a home of his own, and it seems that he may finally get his chance. 

Part of me is trying to not get my hopes up in case this doesn't work out.  Another part of me is trying not to be sad that I may soon lose this dog who is such a big part of my life.  But mostly I am just so excited for Ziggy.  He's waited so long for a home of his own, and this is a perfect fit for him.  The adopter met him today and is very excited about adopting him and continuing to train him.  Ziggy will be leaving me sometime in the next week and will go to his new home as a foster-to-adopt situation to see if he'll be a good fit.  I'll continue to share updates as I receive them.  Sometimes long-term fosters get adopted and returned more than once if they have issues, but Ziggy has never even been adopted once.  I hope and pray that he has finally found his forever home.  

Ziggy