Another quiet day at PetSmart

It was very slow at Petsmart today. We still had a few dogs adopted though. I came back home with the same dogs and cats that I took up there - but at least I didn't add any new ones this week! :-)

Boo is so funny - of all my foster animals, she is the only one who seems to enjoy going to PetSmart. In fact, she seems to enjoy everything she does. At home when I can't watch her she stays in an exercise pen, with a plastic crate inside it where she sleeps. Lately she's been climbing on top of her crate - my husband said she thinks that she's Snoopy. Today she's figured out how to climb onto the top of the crate and then out of the expen, and she's done it several times already. I finally had to take the crate out - the ex-pen is four feet tall, and I'm afraid she will get hurt one of these times jumping down from that height! Right now she's curled up in her new dog bed and seems very content.

Pit Bulls in the news

I don't read or watch news usually, so I may be sharing news everyone is aware of. But upon reading the Bad Rap blog today, I found some very sad information. Yesterday, 145 dogs were killed, after 3 defendants were sentenced in a dog fighting bust. The saddest part is that the dogs were killed simply for being "fighting dogs" - they were never given a chance. Many people are upset with the Humane Society of the United States, who recommended the dogs be killed. The HSUS claimed the dogs were bred to be fighting dogs and could not be rehabilitated. This, in spite of the many other fighting dogs who have been "rehabilitated" and gone on to be loving pets - some even have become certified therapy dogs! Various reputable groups, such as Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, who have worked with the Vick dogs and other dogs from dog fighting busts had offered to go out and evaluate these 145 dogs on an individual basis, and take in at no cost any who could be rehabilitated. The HSUS turned them down, and said no, they should all be euthanized. So they were - 145 dogs killed - approximately 60 of whom were puppies!

As a fellow blogger stated...
"I'm assuming they killed all the adult dogs, who had no known history of biting, without so much as one evaluation by a qualified behaviorist. I'm assuming all the baby puppies, born in the past couple months, were taken from their dams, and killed. And I'm assuming all the bigger pups, who were seized in the original raid, who never got to grow into their big paws or figure out their floppy ears or have someone tell them to sit their waggy butt down if they want a cookie - I'm assuming they've all been killed too."

She was right - they're all dead.

Puppies were adopted!

I'm so excited - all of the eight puppies I was fostering have now been adopted! One was adopted on Friday night and the last four were adopted today! I do miss them already, but I'm happy that they all found good homes. Also another one of my favorite Heartland dogs - GiGi, was adopted today. She is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, and she is very loving - and I am sure she will be very loved in her new home. And Roxie, a cute little dauchshund mix, was also adopted and went home with a great family. It was a wonderful day! Now I just have Tulsa, Noelle and Boo as foster dogs. Check out Angie's blog for some awesome pictures of Boo, and some of the puppies that were adopted this weekend!

Boo's drive-by eating habits

I noticed something this morning that I hadn't paid much attention to before. I'm calling it Boo's drive-by eating habits. Boo, the little pit bull puppy, has been skinny since I got her. She always seemed to eat a lot, but then she'd burn off all the calories with her non-stop energy. Since she's been living with the other puppies, I've noticed she doesn't seem to get as much food as them. I feed them twice a day, and dump their alloted portion into two bowls in their exercise pen, and watch them all dive in. They don't get aggressive with each other, and at first I was worried that Boo would push the other ones out of the way - she's not shy about getting what she wants. :-) But she tended to stay in the background - she'd go up and get a piece of food then retreat, while all the others were practically immersed in the food bowls. So I started hand feeding her extra food after they finished eating. So this morning, I decided to let her run around the house with me while I got ready for work. The puppies were in the ex-pen, and the adult dogs were in the backyard, so I just carried an extra food bowl into my room with me, hoping she would eat more. It was then that I realized what she does, whether there are other dogs around or not. She runs up to the food bowl, grabs one piece of kibble, and then darts away as fast as she can. She gets ten feet away or so, and chews up that one piece of kibble, and then she goes running back to the food bowl and grabs another piece. She acts like she's stealing each piece, and she won't eat anywhere in the vicinity of the bowl. Sometimes she rushes by so fast, she grabs for a piece of kibble but misses it altogether. It's so funny to watch - I didn't have time before work, but later this weekend I'll try to get it on video. She seems to do it whether there is anyone around (human or canine) or she is alone. I think she probably burns more calories running to and from the food bowl than she actually gets from each little piece of kibble she takes. Silly puppy!

Update on Noelle

Here is a new picture of Kiwi. She was getting sick every few days, but since she's started her new diet, so far she has not been sick at all. I'm hoping that the new food works and she can go up for adoption soon. She is so friendly and she deserves her own family.


Here are some new pictures of my crazy foster dog Noelle. I am so lucky that my husband loves her. She has chewed up around 20 pair of his socks so far. Any other dog, including our own, would have been in big trouble by now. But with Noelle, he just sighs and puts a new pair of socks in his work boots for the next day. I keep suggesting he stop putting his socks out where she can find them, but he's as stubborn as she is. So the socks are always left out where she can get them, and she always gets them and chews them up. I have enough to do without guarding his socks, so I just take them away when I see her chewing on them, and move on. It's really a silly situation.



Noelle went to the vet this week and we received great news that her mange is cleared up! She has to keep getting medicine for another 3 weeks to be safe, but she can now be adopted again! The bad news was they found a small tumor while she was there - but they believe its benign and will go away on its on in 3 months or less. So now she's not funny-looking from the hair loss, but she's funny looking from the shaved area and small button tumor on her rear end. Oh well, it might make it harder for her to get adopted, but my husband has plenty more socks for her to chew up while she waits.


When I take Noelle out in public, people have a hard time believing she's as quiet and laid back as I claim. She just wants to greet everyone she meets, and she acts like it's her long-lost owner with each person. She can't wait to jump up and lick them and she wags her tail so hard it hurts! I do appreciate such excitement, but unfortunately she tends to forget all of her manners when she gets so excited. Now that more of my foster puppies are adopted, I'm determined to start working with her more to improve her manners.

I also have sad news to report - our long-time Heartland dog Kermit was returned. He did pretty well overall in his new home, except he didn't like to be crated, and his new mom was afraid he was unhappy not having a yard to run in. She had planned to fence her yard but then found out the cost and decided it wasn't practical at this time. So unfortunately she felt it was best for Kermit to find another home where he could have a fenced yard. I just hope it doesn't take another two years to find that home. But he seemed happy to come back and see all his old friends again.

Puppy adoptions; Introducing Artemis

Taking care of 9 puppies keeps a person busy! But I'm happy to report that two of the nine puppies were adopted on Saturday. Keebler and Clover both found new homes. Tonight, Amos is supposed to be adopted, and I have a couple more pre-arranged adoptions for this weekend. At times I think anyone who adopts a puppy is crazy - especially if they work full time. Puppies are soooo much work. But then at other times I think about keeping one of the puppies for myself. Oh, I know I can't (my husband wouldn't let me, for one thing) but they are just so darn cute. It would be fun to watch them grow up, and be able to train them and not have to give them up. So in the end, I do understand the attraction of getting a puppy, even if they ARE a lot of work. For now I'm just enjoying playing with them, and looking forward to the day that I only have one or two left, and I can stop spending all my free time changing puppy paper! :-)

Since I have no room left to bring in new dogs (or puppies), I brought home another cat on Saturday. I know, I know.... but this cat needed me. Black cats are the hardest to find homes for, and a family who was moving couldn't take their all-black cat, and was unable to find a home for him. I agreed to take him sight-unseen, which is always a little scary. The family might say he's affectionate and a great cat, but what if he turns out to be really mean? Still, he had nowhere else to go, so I said I'd take him. His name is Artemis, and I must admit, from the second I saw him, I fell in love. He is quite possibly the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. He has this shiny, beautiful black coat, and bright yellow eyes, and he looks like a black panther. AND, he's sooo friendly. I am very happy to be fostering Artemis, and I will try to take some pictures and post them soon.

As an update on my other fosters, here's the news:

Whisper (tortie cat) has moved up to PetSmart, and has settled in very well. We weren't too sure how she would do, since sometimes she can have a bit of an attitude, but so far she's doing fine. Now if someone will just fall in love with her, we'll be set.

Tulsa (deaf Blue Heeler dog) is also doing well. Since I had the puppies I didn't take her to adoptions on Saturday, so she got another week off. She is driving my husband crazy by barking at the cats whenever she sees them behind the baby gate that blocks the hallway. Scribbles likes to sit there and hiss at her.

Noelle (deaf Pit Bull Terrier mix) has finished her first month of treatment for mange. She will be going back to the vet to get rechecked this week, and maybe she'll be able to start going to adoption events again soon! She's as sweet as ever - the best cuddler I know.

Scribbles (tortieco cat) is another cat with an attitude. She is the sweetest most affectionate lap cat when we're alone, but if any other cats are around, she hisses at them. And if there are dogs around - well, I even avoid her then, because she is downright scary. She spits and growls and hisses and attacks, and I have to protect the dogs from her. I'm possibly going to move her to PetSmart just so she can get away from the dogs, and I think everyone (but especially Scribbles) will be much happier then.

Kiwi (torbie cat) is my friendly, perfect, highly adoptable cat, except that she vomits occasionally. This cat is one of the best cats I've had - everyone who meets her loves her. She is friendly, gets along with everyone and everything, and would probably be adopted right away if she were healthy. However since I got her she's been vomiting every few days, so the vet checked her out and suggested a change in diet to a special prescription food. I'm going to try that and see how she does - hopefully the new food will do the trick.

Boo (American Pit Bull Terrier puppy) is growing so fast! She's so cute, and her ears seem to be growing at a faster rate than the rest of her body. She still has more energy than she knows what to do with, and has become adept at climbing baby gates and fences to get to where she wants to be.

Tommy was adopted! Introducing Kiwi & Scribbles

Yesterday, my gray tabby foster cat Tommy has found a home! He's been living up at PetSmart for awhile, and yesterday someone met him and adopted him! Now he can finally have a real home with room to run and play and people to give him a lot of love and attention.

I also took in two new foster cats about a week ago. First is Kiwi - she is a gray tabby with brown markings, aka a torbie. She is very sweet and affectionate, and loves everyone. She is not scared of much either - she already hangs out in the house with all the dogs, and even ignores them when Tulsa barks at her. Here is a picture of her staring down the dogs. :-)

And this is Scribbles. She has tortoiseshell markings and calico markings, aka a tortieco. She is very sweet and affectionate with me, but very scared of everything else. She's afraid of the other cats and the dogs, and still spends most of her time in the cat room. Whenever I go in she runs to me and sits on my lap to be petted. I hope she finds a quiet home where she will be given a lot of attention, because she is so loving when she isn't afraid.

Here is a picture of Tulsa (my foster Blue Heeler) and Remi (my own Great Dane) - they were watching the cats sitting behind the gate on the other side of the room. They kind of look like they're waiting for the cats to jump over the gate so they can have a meal. :-) Remi is really afraid of cats though - and Tulsa just likes to bark at them, but she doesn't try to eat them!

Boo is only a week older than the litter of 8 puppies I am fostering, so I put her with them so she would have company and be able to practice her dog relationship skills. She has done great with them - as you can see, she fits right in!

The puppies are finally ready for adoption, and will be able to go to PetSmart this weekend to try to find homes.