Reality Check

“Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.” - Albert Schweitzer

It is estimated that 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized.

"You only have one day left." I heard the shelter worker say. Does this mean I get a second chance? Am I going home today?

It is easy to not think about the suffering that so many animals are enduring even now, but that doesn't mean its not happening. And I don't want to depress you or make you feel bad. But once in awhile, asking you to face the reality of what is happening, is that okay? If you can, please help. Adopt a homeless animal, or foster an animal for a short time, or donate your time or money to a shelter or rescue group. At a minimum, spay and neuter your pets, make sure they have a collar with tags, and don't abandon them, thinking that someone else will care for them! More than likely they'll spend the last few days of their life in a scary noisy place where they don't know anyone, and then be killed. You are the best they will ever have - so do the best you can for them.

Sage was adopted!

Saturday was a very slow day at PetSmart, as only one dog was adopted. The good news is that dog was Sage, one of my previous fosters. I only had Sage for a short time, before she went back to her first foster mom's home. She went home to a family with kids, and I think she'll be a great fit for them. They were originally interested in Kermit, and while I know he would have been a little too much for them because of the small children, I was so happy that someone *wanted* him (besides the HHS volunteers). I really really want to foster Kermit, if I can ever get down to no other foster dogs. My only concern is how he will do with Remi, since they are both very large male dogs. But if he does okay, I want to foster him at least for a short time, and help him find a home that is perfect for him. (Read my old post on our special needs dogs, or his bio on the HHS website for info on Kermit). He's such a great dog, and if I can foster him and see how he does in a home, and find out more about what his special needs would be, it might be easier to find someone who will be able to give him his own forever home.

Vala and Sam are doing great, and will be ready for adoption in another week or so. I did decide to keep Vala's current name, since it won the most votes, and she's even starting to learn what her name is. Vala has calmed down quite a bit, and both dogs are settling in well. They're also both sleeping in our bed every night - once again, totally spoiled for whomever adopts them. But I figure that's my perogative as a foster mom. :-) They're not completely housebroken yet, but they are improving every day. They're also doing great with learning some basic obedience, and getting along well with each other, my dog Remi and the cats. In fact, the kittens came out of their room to check the dogs out, and walked around like they owned the place. It was very funny to watch.

The kittens went up to Petsmart on Saturday, but none of them were adopted. Hopefully this week they will do better! I also found out from one of the cat foster moms they're old enough to purr, but none of them ever do. So my new goal is to get them to start purring for me. Not sure how to accomplish that right now... but I'll see what I can figure out. :-)

Foster Cat Update

The kittens went to the vet yesterday to get ready for adoption on Saturday. They were neutered and microchipped and given shots. They also all received clean bills of health, including testing negative for FIV and FeLV. I was very relieved! Now the hard part - I have to keep them separated from the mother cat. I feel so cruel doing that! But I know its in their best interests. First, the mother cat needs it so they stop nursing, because she can't be spayed and get ready to get adopted for a few weeks after that. Also, since the new kittens could be going to a new home as soon as this weekend, they need to get used to being without their mom. I still let them "visit" when I can watch them, but I think this will be a more gradual way for them to get used to being on their own. My little boys are growing up! :-) I am glad they will be adopted soon though because they need more human contact than I can give them. Since I have to keep them quarantined from my animals, and since I don't want Remi to eat them, they stay in an extra bedroom. The cats are all glad to see me when I come in, but especially the mother cat. I like to think its because they like me - not just because I sometimes bring them canned food when I come in.

Here is their latest picture, which will be added to the Heartland website soon:

And here's one of Ella. I have put in several different cat beds, in addition to the regular bed in the room, but she prefers to lay in the middle of the floor on the carpet. :-)
Here are the kittens right after they woke up one morning.
And here they are during one of their "play sessions" that they have whenever they aren't sleeping!

Which name do you like best?

See the post below this one to learn about the two new foster dogs I brought home last night. My husband named the shepherd/rottweiler mix Samantha, so that's definite. We're trying to come up with a name for the Pitbull mix now. At the moment I'm calling her Vala, but I think I might change it. Please vote for one or more names listed in the poll at the bottom of the page, for this dog:

Of course, my husband gets final say, but I will try to persuade him of whatever the majority likes. You may ask why he gets final say -- since he doesn't read this blog, I will tell you. :-) He is not crazy about us fostering dogs. And since I work full-time, I depend on him to help me somewhat, by taking the dogs out when he gets home from work, or putting up with them when they have accidents or chew up his shoes or things like that. I think if I let him name the dogs, he becomes more attached to them and therefore likes them better. At least, this is my working theory. ;-) I thought when I got these two dogs that he would like the pit bull puppy - it would remind him of Koda, possibly. So I got the pit bull puppy for him, and the shepherd puppy for me. Samantha reminds me of Ernie, who I recently fostered. However, so far it appears that he will be more attached to Sam, and I'll be more attached to the yet-unnamed dog (because it would be unfair for both of us to be more attached to the same dog)! I've only had them less than 24 hours though, so we'll see what happens. :-)

Introducing Sam and Vala

Any Stargate SG-1 fans out there will know where those names came from. ;-) Sam is short for Samantha, and she's a beautiful shepherd/rottweiler mix, around 4 or 5 months old. She is shy and just wants to climb in my lap and hide. I had a hard time getting a picture of her this morning because she wanted to be right next to me at all times. But here is a slightly blurry picture of Sam:

And here is one of her in motion... ;-)

Vala, who's name may be changed later, is the complete opposite of Sam in almost every way. She is not shy at all, and has more energy than any dog I've ever met. I'm hoping its due to being locked in a small cage 24/7 and not even being allowed outdoors for bathroom breaks. The dogs picked up by Animal Control go into the shelter and don't see daylight ever again unless they're rescued or adopted. When I saw Vala in her cage she wouldn't even stand up to say hello - just looked up at me mournfully. However, once she realized she was saved, she turned into a non-stop ball of energy. She BOUNCES up and down, onto people, or furniture, or if nothing else is convenient, just up and down in the air. She is the best jumping dog I've had! Here is a picture of Vala:

She may look like she's comfortably lying in the grass, but don't be fooled. She's really just getting a good low position so she can jump even higher. :-)

My trip to the shelter

Okay, I couldn't do it -- go to a shelter with soooo many more dogs than I expected, and only take one. I wanted to take many of them - but some were not ready yet - they were still being held for the required six days in case their owner turned up for them. Other people sometimes were also interested in those dogs, and had put their name down on a waiting list to be informed when the dog was allowed to leave. So I was relieved that there were some names on the lists of the dogs I was interested in. Except for two of the dogs I couldn't leave behind - neither one had any names on their list, and both were living on borrowed time. One dog had been there since 4/2 and was supposed to have been euthanized last week, but was given a temporary reprieve. The other one had been there since 4/14, and since it was a pit mix, had very little hope of getting rescued or adopted. I took both of them home. My sneaky plan to let the expert foster mom do all the work while I took the ready-to-be-adopted dog went out the door - I will keep these two young dogs at my house and deal with any sickness or problems while I get them ready for adoption. They will need vaccinations, and rabies shots, and deworming, and spayed and micro-chipped before they will be ready for adoption. So if everything goes perfectly, they may be ready in three weeks. Already one of the dogs has kennel cough, and the other one may have it as well - so hopefully that will clear up quickly. It was hard to leave the other dogs behind. There is one in particular that I love, and he isn't ready to go yet, but he does have names on his list, so I really hope that one of those people who's interested in him will adopt him and give him a good home. So many other dogs there don't have a chance. They euthanize most dogs after six days because they have to make room for all the new dogs coming in. Sometimes people dump their dogs because they just don't want them anymore. Other times they let their dog run loose, then don't want to go to the shelter and pay the fines to pick the dog up so they leave them there. One person had two dogs at the shelter - she came and picked up one of the dogs and left the other behind. He is a pit bull mix and will be euthanized. I was amazed at how many dogs were there at the shelter, and really sad to hear that it was a low number then, because we went on Monday and they'd just euthanized many dogs on Friday. I don't blame these shelters for having to euthanize dogs - but I blame all the owners who are not responsible - who don't care for their animals, and don't spay or neuter their pets. It causes so much unnecessary suffering.

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: