Leave of Absence

Greetings from Montana, where I've moved in order to escape from the craziness of fostering.  I've traded in dogs for bighorn sheep, elk and bears.  I think I'm staying forever.  Or at least until I miss Ziggy so much that I can't stand it anymore.

This guy sort of reminds me of Ziggy.

The Results Are In...

HE DID IT!!!!  Ziggy is now an AKC certified Canine Good Citizen. The test went something like this:

Part 1: Accept a friendly stranger

Ziggy did very well with this, since the friendly stranger ignores the dog during the test.  Ziggy has great manners with people who ignore him.  He sat quietly while I spoke with the friendly stranger, and then walked away with me when I asked him to. 

Part 2: Sit politely for petting

This was a bit more challenging for Ziggy.  He doesn't particularly like people to pet him, so this was the thing we worked on most during the past six weeks of training.  He did well and I was very relieved when he passed this section!

Part 3: Appearance and grooming

This is the other most challenging section for Ziggy.  Instead of being brushed, he wanted to eat the brush.  But he managed to pass this section as well.

Part 4: Walk on a loose leash

Ziggy does well at this.  He stayed focused on me the whole time, which was awesome.  I took him for a 30 minute walk before the test and again during the entire walk he stayed focused just on me.  It's so much easier when there are no cows to distract him.  He passed this section easily. 

Part 5: Walk through a crowd

Ziggy had no problem with this part of the test.  If people ignore him, he's happy to ignore them in return.  Unless of course they have food - but fortunately no one was trying to eat a hotdog while being part of the crowd, so Ziggy passed this section easily as well.

Part 6: Sit and Down on Command and Stay in Place

Ziggy mastered these commands when he was a puppy, so this was pretty easy.  He had to sit and then lie down on command, and then stay while I walked away, and remain in place until I returned.  As usual, he didn't bother to get up even once I returned to him and released him from his "stay".  Once he's down, he makes himself comfortable and usually won't get up unless I ask him to move!

Part 7: Come When Called

This is another one that Ziggy has known for a long time, but we've worked on it a lot over the past six weeks just to practice.  Ziggy is one of the slowest pit bulls I have ever seen.  He generally comes when called, but at his own pace.  Even when he's in a hurry (for example, while chasing some bunnies in the back yard this morning), he only has a top speed of about 5 mph. Ziggy came as fast as he could when I called him, but it's a good thing it wasn't a race or a timed contest.  He got there eventually and passed this section too.

Part 8: Reaction to another dog

Ziggy had to walk with me to meet another dog and handler, then stop and sit while we (the handlers) greeted each other, all while he ignored the other dog.  This was easy for him too.  Just like with people, Ziggy has great manners with dogs who ignore him, as long as there is no food involved.  Ziggy passed this step easily.

Part 9: Reaction to distraction

This test is making sure the dog doesn't panic or become aggressive when faced with a distraction.  They are allowed to show some interest and curiosity, which is exactly what Ziggy did when an umbrella suddenly opened up in front of him as we were walking.  He didn't startle at all - just sniffed it as if to say "is this edible?" and then realizing it was not, continued walking.  Another easy one!

Part 10: Supervised separation

This test shows that the dog can be left with a trusted person while their handler is gone for three minutes.  This can be challenging for some dogs, but not for Ziggy.  Remember how I complained that Ziggy never missed me when I left him at adoption events?  That trait was very useful for this test, since Ziggy really didn't care if I was gone for 3 minutes or 3 days.  He passed this section easily as well!

And that was it - Ziggy became a certified Canine Good Citizen.  Great Job Ziggy!  He celebrated on the way home by drinking the Pepsi I had left in the car.  He then got the cup stuck on his nose.  I guess you're right - being a Canine Good Citizen will probably not cause an end to future Ziggy stories.

Is Ziggy a Good Citizen?

I've been fostering Ziggy for a year and a half now.  From the beginning, even when he was just a three month old puppy, I've struggled with him. And I've never hesitated to share my frustrations - sometimes perhaps too much!  I've called him tenacious, impossible, mischievous, and a challenge.  I've suspected him of having a learning disability, and I've declared that he is incorrigible.  He even gets blamed for things he didn't do, just because he's Ziggy.  But although he's more challenging than any dog I've ever fostered, he's also made me laugh more than any other foster dog.  He has made me crazy at the same time as he's made me fall in love with him.  I've never had to work so hard with any other dog, and yet I've never accomplished so much with any other dog either.  He's taught me more about dogs and about dog training than I ever thought I'd learn.  He's improved a lot in the past year and a half, and I do believe he's finally on track to be adopted by the time he's three years old.  Or maybe four years old.  

Ziggy and I, with the help of several trainers and dog behavior experts, have worked hard to get this far.  He's even been attending CGC (Canine Good Citizen) classes, and will be taking his CGC test tonight.  I am very nervous and excited for him.  The American Kennel Club's CGC program is "designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community."  Ziggy's manners at home and out have improved significantly since returning from boot camp and continuing with his training.  This means he may actually be able to pass the CGC test.  It also means there may be less "Ziggy stories" on my blog in the future now that Ziggy has developed good manners.  It's a price I'm willing to pay!   Tune in tomorrow to find out if Ziggy really is a canine good citizen!

Introducing Bunny

I recently brought home another foster dog.  Bunny is a five year old Bichon who came from a puppy mill.  She was released along with many other breeding dogs, including Chihuahuas, Miniature Dachshunds, and Shih Tzus. My previous foster dog Polly was one of this group.  The two Bichons who were released were the most afraid out of all of the dogs.  The rest of the dogs have been adopted, but both Bunny and Sassy, the other Bichon, are still finding it hard to learn how to be normal dogs.  Often dogs who are very scared will do better when they are separated, so I took Bunny home in hopes that both she and Sassy would start to show more improvement apart.  After only a week, Sassy is already doing better without Bunny, and has begun to explore her foster home and go out in her back yard to play with the other dogs.  Bunny is not yet showing so much improvement here.  I blame this on Ziggy.  I'm not sure how it can be his fault - he hasn't even been around Bunny - but when things go wrong around here, Ziggy usually has something to do with it, so I figure he must be somehow responsible.

Bunny is a very sweet dog and I've finally found something she likes - Cheese Whiz - so we've started cheese therapy.  So far she's progressed to licking cheese off of my fingers if I lay flat on the floor and hold my hand as far from my body as possible.  She also will come out of her room about two feet to lick cheese off of a plate if I'm nowhere nearby.  At the rate she's going, I think she'll be running around the house like a normal dog in no time several months.

I have to admit, I am really attached to this dog who doesn't want anything to do with me.  She's spent the first five years of her life without knowing how good life can be, or how nice people can be.  I am really looking forward to the day when she comes to meet me instead of running away from me!

Toby Plays Soccer

Toby loves soccer. Recently he called all the dogs together for a game of soccer in the back yard. I got to be the referee. My first act as referee, before the game even started, was to eject Ziggy for bad behavior. He hadn't done anything wrong yet, but I knew it was just a matter of time, so he was forced to leave the playing field before someone got hurt. Then, I blew my imaginary whistle and tossed the soccer ball into the middle of the field.

 This is how soccer games start, right? I'm not really a soccer fan, so I sort of made up rules as we went along. None of the players seemed to mind.


Jumping right into action, Target gets the ball first, while Toby circles around to steal it, and Tulsa gives him "the look".

 
Tulsa's stare-down wins her the ball and she sniffs it to make sure it isn't trying to get away. 

In an action packed moment, Toby steals the ball from Tulsa and takes off towards the goal.



Toby is cheered on by his rhinocerous, donated by his sponsor, who also donated the soccer ball and many other toys!



 Toby doesn't get far before being tackled. I blow my imaginary whistle, which all the dogs ignore, and play continues as before.


Target has taken a breather on the sidelines (i.e. the back deck) and Toby chases him down to force ask him to rejoin the game.


Mission accomplished, Toby and Target return to the field.



The game continues for awhile, until finally the other dogs get tired of playing and leave Toby alone, wondering where everyone went. 

Undeterred, Toby continues to play soccer alone.  This is one soccer-loving dog!

Wordless Wednesday

No time for words today - I have to get the grass cut before the dogs are completely hidden.

Attachment Disorder



Please come back!

Many times when someone takes a foster dog to adoptions, the dog shows an obvious attachment to the foster parent.  They may happily greet all people, but let the foster parent walk away, and the foster pet is immediately looking for "mom" or "dad".  

I forgot how strong this attachment can be since I only fostered Ziggy and young puppies for so long.  Young puppies don't know enough to develop strong attachments to anyone, and Ziggy... well, I'm not sure what his excuse is, but he never missed me either.  So it's been awhile since I had a foster dog who could make me feel guilty just for walking away from them. 

But all of my recent foster dogs have quickly reminded me what it's like.  Everytime I turn around, one of them is looking at me, and if I look back at them for more than a split second, their tail starts wagging and they start getting sooo excited.  The following pictures were taken a few weeks ago, before Abby was adopted. 

Target gets distracted, but now Abby is watching!

 Then one of the volunteers is able to distract Abby. 

But there's still Toby, who refuses to look away!

Hey Foster Mom, this lady's trying to pull me away, but I'm not leaving!

Until the treats suddenly appear.

Oh, you have food - okay lady, I'm all yours!

It's such a good feeling to know that they love me almost as much as they love milk bones.

Four Kittens and a Dog; Update on my fosters

Five of my foster pets were adopted this weekend!  Thunder and Stormy, two kittens from the Tornado litter, were adopted together.  And then Lightning and Raine, the other two kittens from the same litter, were also adopted together!  We always like to adopt out young kittens in pairs if possible, because it gives them a friend to play with in their new home.  So I was really excited to have all four of them go home in pairs.

In addition to the four kittens being adopted, Forrester was also adopted!

It was a great weekend, as several other puppies and dogs were also adopted.  It also gives me a much needed break, since for awhile there I had five foster dogs and eight foster cats.  Four foster dogs and four foster cats is a much easier number.  Here's a quick summary of my remaining fosters, in order of arrival:

Ziggy - Deaf pit bull, he got to stay home on Saturday because there wasn't enough room in the car for everyone to go.  I'm planning to alternate him and Tulsa at adoption events because both of them can be challenging to handle at PetSmart with all the strange dogs and people.

Kira, Kimba and Kona - All three cats are finally ready for adoption.  Kimba and Kona, the two kittens, went to adoptions today, and I don't think they'll take long to be adopted.  Kira, the momma cat, is still recovering from being spayed so she will not be ready for adoption events until next weekend.

Belle - Belle, the FIV positive calico cat, has settled in to life in my bedroom, and she enjoys spending her days looking out the window, and her nights cuddled up with me.  I had planned to take her to the adoption event today but somehow I forgot about her she managed to stay behind.  Adoption events aren't her favorite thing, but they're her best bet for finding a permanent home, so I'll try to take her next weekend.

Target - White and brown mixed breed dog - Target is doing great - he's learned to walk well on a leash, is crate trained and is doing very well with house-training.  He is very popular at adoption events, and I expect that he will soon be finding a home of his own.

Toby - Another white and brown mixed breed dog! - Toby is also doing great, and had a lot of fun at today's adoption event.  He got some great new toys from the lady who was responsible for getting him into foster care, and he loved the new toys and all of the attention from the volunteers and customers at PetSmart.

Tulsa - Deaf Blue Heeler, went to her first All Paws adoption event and did much better than expected.  She met and greeted several dogs without issue, and although she barked at dogs while in her crate, she was very good about not getting too excited when being held on leash.

Flashback Friday: Trey

In October 2009, I fostered a cockapoo named Trey.  I only had him a few weeks before he was quickly adopted.  Recently I saw Trey again at PetSmart.  He was there for a grooming appointment, and I got to spend a few minutes talking to his owner.  Trey is doing great and seems very happy.  I took some photos of Trey before he was groomed, so he's extra fluffy in this picture.  He reminds me of a little stuffed toy that I just want to pick up and squeeze!   

Re-Introducing Tulsa... Again



Tulsa as a puppy

 I first introduced Tulsa on February 3, 2008.  At the time I brought her home, she was just a six month old puppy.  She is a deaf purebred Australian Cattle Dog (also known as a Blue Heeler) who was turned in by her first owners because they didn't have enough time for her.  She was my first attempt at fostering a deaf dog, and she was just as much of a character as Ziggy is! 

She seemed to think the other dogs were there for her convenience. For example, she used Remi as a table while she munched on a cow's hoof.

She also tended to have a sarcastic streak.  After taking a small bite of dog food, she immediately pretended that she had been poisoned.

But it wasn't all fun and games with Tulsa.  She was only my fourth foster dog and I still had a lot to learn about dog training and dog behavior.  After two months at my house, I realized she was just too much for me to handle and I sent her to another foster home who had much more dog experience. 

A month after that, in April 2008, Tulsa was adopted!  She went to a home with two other Australian Cattle Dogs, and I thought that she would have her happily ever after.  But it was not to be. 

Eight months later, in December 2008, Tulsa was returned.  Her owner had to move and was unable to keep her, so Tulsa came back to my house.  She settled right in, and was doing great for the most part.  But we weren't sure that she'd ever be adopted because at every adoption event, she'd bark non-stop at any dog she saw, including the ones she lived and played with at her foster home.  So most adoption events, you'd see something like this:

That's Tulsa in the crate underneath the striped blanket.  She didn't bark, but no one could see her either!  Not a good way to get adopted.  By the way, see the white dog sleeping in the crate on the left?  That's Noelle.  She always slept through adoption events - another reason she never found a home before we adopted her.  Anyway, back to Tulsa.  She continued to be her sweet, silly self at my house.  She continued to use Remi as her own personal furniture - in this case, a pillow while she slept:

Several months later, Tulsa was adopted!  This time the adoption lasted less than eight months, and she was returned again, back to her first foster home.  And then she was adopted again!  And then returned again.  I have lost count of the number of homes this dog has lived in, but I know that she was most recently returned because she had trouble getting along with other dogs.  So Tulsa is coming back to my house, to live with me and Ziggy and the Three Musketeers (Target, Forrester and Toby).  This will be a bit of a challenge, since she has become selective about what dogs she gets along with.  I'm a little bit nervous about it, because one difficult foster dog is all I really want to handle at a time, and Ziggy is already firmly established in that role.  But I made a commitment to Tulsa when I took her in as a foster originally, so I'm going to do my best to help her now.  And Ziggy and I are going to start praying that the perfect home for Tulsa AND Ziggy comes along as soon as possible!  Or at least that's what I'll be praying for.  I'm pretty sure that in spite of the instructions I give to Ziggy, he'll still be praying for treats.

Update on Ziggy

A few people have asked about Ziggy, so I wanted to share an update.  I believe that Ziggy is enjoying life in the country.  There are places to explore:

Neighbors to observe:

Sticks to chew:

Interesting smells:

Dogs to play with: 

And even more sticks to chew:

Overall, Ziggy is doing great at home.  He can still be pushy with other dogs so he still stays separate from the other fosters except under close supervision.  He also gets stressed at adoption events so I have to limit the amount of time he spends at adoption events each weekend.  But he's doing very well at home and seems happy here.  At least I'm hoping that's what this look means:

Tornado Damage

We recently had a tornado that damaged a lot of homes and businesses in a city near us.  Here is a photo (courtesy of KTVI) that shows a satellite picture of some of the damage.  Fortunately no people were killed in this tornado, but some animals were, including one mother cat.  Her four five month old kittens survived, but with their house totally destroyed, the family turned them over to us to find new homes for the kittens.

(click to enlarge)

This is how I came to foster these adorable kittens:

Stormy

Thunder 

Lightning

Raine

I took these pictures within 2 minutes of putting them into their new room, and as you can see, they made themselves right at home.  Thunder, the only boy, is the most active which is why I had such a hard time getting a picture of him.  But you can see him better in this video - he's the one actually playing with the toy while Lightning and Raine are watching.

Abby was Adopted! Introducing Toby

Abby received an application for adoption last week, and went to her new home on Saturday!  She's now living with a very nice couple who has a lot of dog experience.  She has a fenced in yard and I think she'll be very happy in her new home, in spite of the fact that she has to share her new home with cats!

On Saturday I met Toby, who came to adoptions from an area shelter.  He had been there awhile and was getting a bit difficult to handle since he'd been living in a kennel for so long.  He also wasn't getting much attention from potential adopters at the shelter, so another volunteer agreed to take him as a foster dog.  But since Abby was adopted, and the volunteer who planned to take Toby didn't have any other high energy dogs, I offered to take him so he would have Target and Forrester to play with at my house.  He's fit right in, and is doing great so far.

Toby is about ten months old, and he is a very high energy, playful dog!  He doesn't have many manners yet, but we're starting to work on that.  He loves other dogs and so far he just seems afraid of Merlin, my cat.  He shouldn't be too hard to adopt out, especially once he learns some manners, since he seems to love everything and everyone.

Sunday Scoop: Shelters

This week's Sunday Scoop is about shelters.  There are good and bad shelters, but how do you tell the difference?  It's not about who has the nicest building or the most funding.  Those things can help make it a better place for the animals, but the people who run the shelter are much more important than the facility. 

Let's say you've just won the lottery, and you decide to spend that money on building a new animal shelter for your town.  First, let me thank you for your generosity!  Now, since you've chosen to not only donate the funding, but to actually run the shelter yourself, you have some decisions to make.  The big decision - are you going to be a no-kill shelter?  If you live in the north-eastern United States, this will be much easier than if you live in one of the southern states.  There are so many more homeless dogs in the South that they are constantly being transported to shelters and rescues in the North where there is a lower supply and higher demand.  Let's say you live in a rural area of the Midwest.  Now you know that if you choose to be no-kill, you're going to have to be limited admission.  This means that you will only take in dogs and cats until you run out of room or resources.  Then you'll turn animals away until you get enough pets adopted and have room to take in more.  Before you say "yes, I want to be no-kill", consider this.  The county where you live has no animal control facility at all.  If you turn away a dog or cat, they're going to be dumped on the side of the road.  They'll probably be hit by a car or shot by a rancher or just slowly starve to death.  Before that happens, they'll spread disease and they'll procreate, creating more unwanted dogs and cats who will also suffer because they don't have homes. Then again, if you are open admission and take in every animal that someone wants to turn in, you'll quickly run out of space and money, and either you'll have to euthanize dogs and cats or you'll find the animals you are supposed to be saving are actually suffering in your care because there are too many animals and not enough resources. 

Okay, have you made your decision?  It doesn't even matter which one you've decided, because whether you're an open admission or a "no-kill" limited admission shelter, you can still be a very good or very bad shelter.  Now let's talk about resources.  You've purchased the land and building for a shelter, but that took all of your lottery winnings.  Dog food is expensive, and so is the basic vet care.  If you put your extra money toward special vet care like heartworm treatment and fixing broken bones, you will not have enough to pay any salaries for people to care for the dogs and cats.  You also have to worry about paying for insurance and all the expenses that go into running a shelter.  You'd like to stay open on weekends and evenings, in addition to your regular hours during the workday, because you know that will help increase adoptions.  But what do you give up in order to have the money to stay open the extra hours?  You also have a volunteer program but not many volunteers.  More volunteers will give the dogs more time out of their kennels, and more volunteers, if they're trained, will help the dogs with basic training and teaching them to be more adoptable.  So find some time to improve your volunteer program, okay?  Also while you're at it, there have been some people protesting lately because they don't understand much about animal sheltering and they'd rather complain than learn, or help. They're hurting your reputation which will cost you in donations, so make sure you deal with them.  And don't forget to work with all the rescue groups who are willing to pull dogs from your group.  But make sure they're reputable groups first, because otherwise you'll be sending the dogs and cats to an even worse situation.  Oh, and if you'll have a few fundraisers, you can increase your funds to help animals... but good luck finding someone to actually lead a fundraiser.  You'll probably have to do it yourself.  In your free time. 

It's not easy to be in charge of a shelter.  Good shelters are made up of people who really care - especially when those people are at the top of the organization and have the influence to really make a difference.  Good shelters are open to the public during evenings and weekends in order to increase adoptions.  They have a strong volunteer program where the dogs and cats are provided enrichment (walks, petting, grooming, toys, play time, basic training, etc), in addition to the volunteers or employees who spend their days just cleaning kennels, scooping litter boxes, and feeding and watering the animals. They have separate quarantine areas and are clean and sanitary.  All pets are provided with at least the basic needed veterinary care.  Good shelters are willing to work with reputable rescues to get animals into foster care, and/or they have a foster care program of their own.  They aren't overcrowded, but they don't euthanize animals just for the sake of getting rid of them (yes, this happens).  They do their best for every animal that comes in the door, all for low wages (or for no wages at all).  They are friendly and easily accessible to the public, in order to reach potential adopters or supporters.  They have an online presence and take advantage of the largest online adoption websites like Petfinder.com and Adoptapet.com to help share the word of their available pets.  No shelter is perfect, but the good shelters are the ones who are constantly trying to improve.  And the best thing we can do as members of our community is to support those shelters. 

Belle is Positive... and that's a negative.

Any cat that is taken into the rescue I volunteer with gets vetted prior to adoption.  This means they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV, and microchipped.  And if they have special needs we take care of those too.  In Belle's case, she had already been spayed prior to the time I got her, so I had hoped one vet visit would take care of all her needs and she could move to PetSmart to be seen by a lot of people and hopefully be adopted quickly.  She's front declawed and very friendly, so I hoped she'd be another quick adoption.  Unfortunately, things didn't happen as planned.  

Belle tested positive for FIV.  This means at some point she has been exposed to Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.  Or she could have antibodies from receiving an FIV vaccination in the past.  Since her previous owners abandoned her without sharing that information, we don't know, so we have to treat her like she is actually carrying the virus.  

FIV isn't all that scary.  It can't be transmitted to dogs or people, and it can only be transmitted from cat to cat via a deep bite wound or blood transfusion.  Most cats with FIV never even show symptoms - they live long, happy, healthy lives.  But when there are thousands of other cats to choose from (literally - there are over 1,500 cats available for adoption within 100 miles of me right now), people tend to overlook the cats with special needs or the cats who test positive for FIV.  Some rescue groups euthanize cats who test positive because their odds of getting adopted are so much lower.  But the rescue group I volunteer with doesn't do that, so Belle is going to live a long happy life.  Of course she's stuck with me until she gets adopted, so it may not be as happy as she wants. 

In the worst case scenario, FIV can cause Belle's immune system to stop working as well, and she could become seriously ill from an infection or illness.  But I've decided that she is going to be one of those cats who never shows symptoms.  (yes, it's just that easy).  She can't stay at PetSmart because the cats are allowed to interact with each other, and there would be a risk of her getting in a fight and spreading FIV to another cat.  So I take her to adoption events on the weekend, but the rest of the week she is here with me. 

I tend to have a bias against calico and tortoiseshell cats after fostering Scribbles and Whisper.  Calicos and Torties in general are known to have more "cattitude" than other cats.  There's no scientific basis for it, but in my experience, it's true, so I actually almost didn't take Belle from the shelter just because she was a calico.  But I'm so glad I did take her - she's one of the sweetest cats I've met.  She's started sleeping with me every night and she is so affectionate.  I hope that some adopter out there will see what a wonderful cat she is, and give her the forever home that she so deserves.  

The Best Things In Life Are Free

One thing I love about dogs is they don't care about brand names or what's in style.  They don't care if their toys come from a specialty pet store or a discount store.  I bet you can't guess where this wonderful toy came from:

Actually, this was Target's find.  Before it was a dog toy, it was a discarded broken plastic cup left under the deck.

But now, it's become a highly sought after, favorite dog toy.  Best find ever!

Three Out and Three In

Cleo, Brie and Sorbet were all adopted!!  I expected Brie and Sorbet to be adopted quickly, but I wasn't sure that they'd be able to be adopted together.  Fortunately a very nice guy came along who had previously had two littermates with completely opposite personalities, just like Brie and Sorbet, and he adopted them both!  And Cleo I also expected to be a quick adoption.  She was such a perfect dog at my house - well, except for wanting to eat the cats.  But when we got to the adoption event on Saturday, she quickly became a non-stop barker, a bully to other dogs, and a strong leash puller.  Basically she was very bratty and I feared she'd never be adopted.  So I was surprised when a nice older couple came along and asked about her.  I stood there with her pulling on the leash and barking away, and told them how she was a great dog - usually.  They have no cats, and a perfect home for her, so Cleo went out on a trial adoption this weekend.  I really hope she's behaving better at their house now than she did at the adoption event. 

Our group had a very good weekend at adoptions - in addition to my fosters, there were several cats and dogs placed into new homes, including Tucker - a foster who's been waiting almost as long as Ziggy for a new home!   


Somehow before Saturday's event had ended, I had already filled Cleo's spot with a new foster dog.  A lady showed up at PetSmart with this adorable dog in tow:

She explained that her daughter had rescued the dog as a puppy, along with 12 other puppies left in the freezing cold.  She found homes for all of them, but this puppy had mange and was returned by the person who originally took the dog.  So her daughter took the puppy back, and the lady was helping her daughter by keeping the dog at her house.  They treated the dog and had her spayed, and she'd been spoiled rotten at this lady's house.  But the lady lived in an apartment and due to a disability couldn't walk her, so the dog, who had been named Abby, needed a home with more space and a yard where she could run.  Sometimes people rescue dogs and do everything right by them, including giving them up when it's what is best for them.  I know it was very hard for the lady to give up Abby, but it won't take long until Abby is adopted.  She'll have a loving, wonderful home with a fenced in yard where she can run to her heart's content.  And in the meantime, she's having a blast running around my back yard and playing chase with my other foster dogs.  Then she cuddles up to me on the couch and falls asleep.  I love this dog. 

You may have noticed I said "other foster dogs".  That's because I have more than just Ziggy and Abby now.  Last week I took in two other foster dogs.  They're the same age as Abby - 5 months old - and just about the same size as her, so they love playing together.  Target and Forrester were also turned in by someone who couldn't care for them properly.  Another rescue volunteer contacted me about some dogs owned by a lady who had cancer and was losing her home.  She had been trying to save up to get her dogs spayed and neutered, but being on a tight income, she hadn't been able to come up with the money in time.  Unfortunately her vet, who knew she was saving up, never bothered to tell her about the low-cost spay/neuter options available, and she never knew she had any other options except to come up with hundreds of dollars for the surgeries.  So her dogs had litters.  And while some of the litter was taken in by another rescue, she still has four dogs waiting to get into rescue.  So I took two of the dogs now, and if no one steps forward to take the other two by the time these two are adopted, I'll try to take them then.   

Target and Forrester are having a hard time with the change in environment, in spite of their young age.  They've never had a collar and leash before, so they're not sure what to make of that.  I have to carry them if I want to take them anywhere. Everything new is scary, and it seems almost everything is new to them, but they're quickly adjusting.  Forrester, the brown one, is already becoming my shadow.  He's always right by my side.  He's also the braver of the two.  Target, the white dog, is still a little bit nervous around me, but he'll finally let me pet him.  Forrester never makes a sound, but Target is more vocal, and will bark at anything scary - like a school bus, or a stranger, or a cat.  They've had a few days to settle in, so today they're going to start dragging around their leashes to begin their leash training.  This will get them used to the feel and presence of a leash without anyone pulling on the other end.  We're also starting to work on some basic manners training like "don't jump up", and of course house training.  But it's not all work around here - most of the time, all I see of Abby, Forrester and Target is a blur that looks like this:

May Featured Blogs

The following blogs have been selected as featured blogs for May!

Open Hearts: Dog Fostering Blog - I recently discovered this blog written by another dog foster mom, and it has become one of my favorites.  Kim writes about the joys and heartaches of fostering, and makes me fall in love with each dog she fosters.

Donna and the Dogs - Donna writes about her life with her dogs, including adventures with rally obedience and K-9 nose work.  She's done an amazing job with her rescue dogs, and has helped to show just how much a rescue dog can accomplish!

Chronicle of Woos - I enjoy reading this blog, but I have to admit I would visit this blog even if they never wrote a word, just because of the pictures.  Thunder, Dakota and Phantom are Siberian Huskies, and they are just gorgeous.  If you haven't visited, stop by and check them out!

Bad Blair - This blog is written by Blair, a tortie cat who lives with Erika, a university student in Ontario, Canada.  Blair is currently teaching cats everywhere how to be naughty - very useful information!

We Three Doxies - This blog is usually written by Puddles, the most difficult challenging entertaining Doxie I have ever met.  She always makes me laugh, and often reminds me of a much smaller Ziggy.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to check out these blogs and maybe make some new friends!

Sunday Scoop: Foster Homes

One thing I've learned is that the animal rescue world has a lot of people with very strong opinions. Sometimes sharing those opinions causes divisions that do more harm to animals than good. This is one reason I try to keep my blog a bit more light-hearted. Well, that plus I want you to like me. But once in awhile, I like to be more serious. So I'm bringing back the Sunday Scoop feature, in which I share my opinions on various aspects of animal rescue. Over the next several Sundays, I'm going to share the scoop on rescues, shelters, and foster homes. Let's start with the scoop on foster homes.


Let's say you're part of a rescue group - the only one in your area that takes in dogs from your local animal control facility. You do your best to recruit foster homes, but it's a small area and right now you only have four foster homes in your group. The animal control facility calls you about this dog:

Ginger

They tell you that she was picked up as a stray, and is out of time. They say she's very young, and a bit shy. They ask if you want her, or if they should euthanize her. You go see her in order to get more information, and you spend a little time with her. You find out she's good with other dogs and seems fine with cats. She doesn't show any aggression and you know that she wouldn't take very long to get adopted if you could just fit her into a foster home. So you reach out to your four foster home volunteers, and find out their status.


Darby fosters for you and usually takes in small dogs. She takes in just one at a time, and does a fabulous job getting them ready for adoption. They get a lot of one-on-one attention, play time with other pets, they go places with her to get them socialized, and she brings them to adoption events regularly to find them new homes. She's your ideal foster home, but she already has a foster dog, and one more that is waiting to go to her as soon as she has room. So there's no way she's going to be able to help with this stray dog.


Next you contact Reagan and Jack. They would be a perfect foster home for this dog, because they have children, cats and dogs of their own, and foster pets. Reagan is very experienced with dogs and you know the stray dog would quickly come out of her shell in a home like this. However Reagan and Jack already have two foster dogs that are special needs, and don't have the room for another foster right now. So you move on to your next foster home.

Kirsten has taken in several foster pets lately.  You decide to stop by and visit her to see how it's going, before asking if she can take in one more.  When you arrive at her house, she shows you into her back room which is lined with cages.  There are several dogs who begin barking as soon as they see you.  You can see the dogs are physically healthy and the cages are clean.  Kirsten tells you that she's been letting the dogs go out in play groups in the backyard, so they can get some exercise.  But there are so many dogs there already, that you know they aren't getting much attention. You can see that Kirsten is very devoted to these dogs, but you also know that the dogs are basically living their entire lives in crates.  They aren't being house-trained or learning about life in a home.  And although Kirsten offers to take the dog, you are concerned that another dog will be more than she can handle.  You decide to contact your last foster home before making any decisions.

 

Sue has been fostering for several years.  She is very experienced with dogs, and is your main "go-to" foster home.  Sue usually has four or five foster dogs, but right now she has a litter of six puppies in addition to the three adult foster dogs that she has.  You're not sure if she's going to be able to take in another one, but you know that if she thinks she can handle it, the stray dog will be happy there.  You have been to her house many times, and the dogs are given enough freedom to learn what it's like to live in a house, while still having enough rules and structure to be well adjusted.  The dogs go to adoption events almost every weekend, and every attempt is made to place them into good homes.  You tell Sue about the stray dog and ask if she can help.  However Sue tells you that as much as she would like to help, she needs to get at least one of her other foster dogs adopted first. 

What do you do?  The dog is not a purebred or even close to a purebred so you can't get her into a breed-specific rescue.  You've contacted some other all-breed rescue groups but they're all full.  Do you send the dog to Kirsten and hope for the best?  Do you tell animal control to go ahead and kill the dog because you don't have any openings? 

 

Once you make your decision, you call Animal Control to let them know.... and they tell you about these two dogs who are in the exact same situation - out of time.  They're just puppies, and they're really sweet.  What should you do about them?

 

Salt & Pepper

This is what rescue groups face every day.  We can only save a few, and there is always a trade-off for each foster home as to how many they save versus what level of care they provide the dogs in their home.  I try to work with each foster dog I have - to give them a bit of one-on-one time, and some basic training - to teach them and to make them more adoptable.  This means I take in less foster dogs than some other foster homes who are able to save more dogs.  It means some dogs die because I don't fit them in.  And yet I have enough foster dogs that I can't always give my fosters as much attention as they want. They spend more time in crates than I'd like. But my goal is to save my fosters from somewhere worse, whether that's the shelter or the streets, and as quickly as possible prepare them to go on to something better - a loving adoptive home.  I believe this is what fostering should be.  

I based the example above on real life people and dogs (names have been changed!)  I aspire to be like "Sue", who is based on the president of the rescue where I volunteer.  She is my hero.  Of course there are a lot of areas where I can improve (just ask Ziggy!)  Some things I've learned from others in rescue are that the best foster homes are good at saying "no", even when they know they're a dog's only hope, for the sake of their other fosters.  The best foster homes do whatever they can to find good homes for their dogs.  They take them to adoption events every chance they get, and they follow up on every phone call or e-mail they receive.  They have good people skills in addition to good dog skills.  And in the end, they not only save lives, but they improve lives of both dogs and people.  

For those of you wondering what happened to Ginger and Salt & Pepper - Ginger was a dog I took in several years ago when she was out of time at an Animal Control facility.  She was adopted into a great home.  And Salt & Pepper were dogs at the same animal control facility whom I had to say "no" to due to lack of room.  They were later euthanized.