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.