Introducing Jill, Iris and Ivy

Two months ago I received a message about a guy who raised hunting Beagles.  He was wanting to give up some of his dogs due to a change in life circumstances, and was looking for a home for a momma Beagle with two babies.  They were living outside and the smaller of the two pups was not doing well.  All Paws agreed to take the three dogs, and they went to a local rescue specalizing in neonates until the pups were four weeks old.  Then a month ago they came to my house.  And over the past four weeks, I've learned a few new things about hunting Beagles. 

1.  Hunting Beagles are loud.  Loud, Loud, LOUD.  And they love to run.  And chase.  And run.  Watching the joy they find in running, and chasing, and hunting, is wonderful.  Listening to them bark when they aren't allowed to run and chase and hunt - not so wonderful. 

Jill

 2.  We were told the Beagles were "pocket Beagles".  I don't know if that's an official term, but all three are rather small for a Beagle.  Ivy is the smallest and she can easily fit in my pocket!  In fact, I am tempted to carry her around in my pocket all the time.  But once I was cleaning her kennel and accidentally dropped her into her water bowl.  It was only a few inches so a short drop, but she was soaked.  Now I no longer carry her in my pocket.    

Ivy


3.  Iris is the other baby Beagle, and she once again proves the theory that the cuter they are, the more trouble they will be.  Iris is demanding, like her mom, and will let you know if she isn't happy.  Ivy on the other hand will hardly ever cry - even if she's dropped into a water bowl.  Both babies are sweet and love to give puppy kisses and be held and cuddled. 

Iris

It's a Mystery Dog

Anyone recognize this dog?

When she went to the vet's office yesterday, they hardly recognized her!  

 She is Piper, the sixteen-year-old pit bull rescued from a hoarding situation about a month ago.

She's had a couple of growths removed (non-cancerous, fortunately), had some blood work done (all good) and been treated for ear infections, an eye infection, and skin infections.  In spite of being partially blind and partially deaf, Piper is looking and feeling great, and is ready for a forever home where she can have all the love and attention that she deserves. 

Noelle is Reunited with her Dad

Noelle, our deaf pit bull terrier mix, came to stay with me while my husband Dave was gone for military duty.  On the day he returned home, I took Noelle with me to an adoption event so Dave could pick her up from there. 

Noelle patiently waited during the event, and although many people came up to say hello to her, she continued to lie there and ignore everyone.

"I want to go home."


She looked so sad that everyone felt sorry for her.  

"I miss my dad."

Then, towards the end of the day, this happened:


And once again, all was right in Noelle's world.

"My dad is HOME!"

Re-Introducing Allie

Last December I went to a local animal shelter with a friend, and we rescued two puppies. I took home Allie, a Border Collie/Akita mix. She immediately dug out under the fence and ran away. I looked for her and posted signs and worried for two days. Then she turned up at a neighbor’s house, and I brought her back home. Then she got sick, and threw up a large amount of roundworms in my lap. I couldn’t even be mad at her, because she was sick. She got pneumonia and had to go to the emergency vet for a couple of days. I think she was doing her best to make sure she was one of my most memorable fosters. Although I only had her for about a month before she was adopted, she accomplished her goal.



Innocent look perfected


Recently the family who adopted her had to return her. They brought her back during an adoption event, and although I knew she was coming back, I didn’t recognize her until someone said her name. She had gone from a small puppy to an 88-pound giant. And although she has the size and curly tail of an Akita, she has the high-pitched bark and the drive and intelligence of a Border Collie.

Lucky and Allie are almost the same size, and unfortunately they felt an instant dislike of each other. So that meant keeping them separate, which is tough to do, especially when one of the dogs is an extremely intelligent and very large dog (the other one is just very large). The first time I had Allie behind a very tall baby gate while letting Lucky out into the backyard, when she pushed the gate out of the doorway and went after him. The next time when she was in the back yard, and he was inside, she got her mouth on the doorknob, turned it, and pushed open the door to enter the house. I started having to turn the deadbolt every time just to keep her in the yard. Fortunately within a few days I was able to integrate them and they became good play buddies. That didn’t stop the escapes though. Allie later climbed a fenced area and talked Lucky into following behind her so they could go explore the neighborhood. And a few days later, she managed to open the latched gate in the privacy fence and stroll right on out of the yard. I have to say I really prefer the not-quite-so-intelligent dogs – they are much easier to care for!

Allie has settled back in at my house quite well, other than the many escape attempts, and she already has a potential adopter!  I hope they're ready for a challenge!

Introducing Misty; Misty Was Adopted

One thing I really enjoy about volunteering with an all-breed rescue is that I get to foster many different breeds of dogs. A few years ago, I decided that one of my goals is to foster dogs from every common dog breed at some point in my life. Why? I have no idea. But I have a list, and I enjoy checking off each breed when I foster a new dog. Some of them were easy. Beagles, Labrador Retrievers, American Pit Bull Terriers, and Chihuahuas are all relatively common. Some of them are rare. I’ve only fostered one Old English Sheepdog, and one Neapolitan Mastiff. I’ll probably never see a Bedlington Terrier or a Komondor. But it’s fun to learn about each new breed and get a chance to foster a dog from a breed I’ve never met before. So when we received a call from someone needing to surrender a Havanese, I have to admit I was a little bit excited. I did my research on the breed to make sure it was a dog that I would be able to work with and that would fit in well at my house. Then I talked to the owner to find out more about the dog. And later that evening, I met her and picked up Misty.



Misty the Havanese

Misty is an eight-month-old Havanese. She came from a wonderful family who is going through a rough time. The owner had recently been diagnosed with a medical condition that made her unable to care for Misty anymore, and she wanted to do what was best for her and find her a great home. I was glad to help, and glad to get to know more about a Havanese. They are little dogs, belonging to the Toy group, and are part of the Bichon family. They are extremely intelligent and social little dogs, and love to play. Misty was a bit shy at first but quickly began playing with Twinkie, my foster Chihuahua. They would run and wrestle and chase each other all over. Because the owner had taken such good care of Misty and was able to tell us all about her, we were able to put Misty up for adoption almost immediately. And within a day of placing her bio on the website, she received four applications for adoption. This is more than Ziggy has received in the past three years!

It took a few days, but we finally settled on the perfect home for Misty. We found a wonderful owner who has no human children but says “her dogs are her children”. She has a home with a fenced yard, and most importantly a young Shih Tzu for Misty to play with. Misty met the other dog and immediately began playing with him. She has now been adopted!  And as you can see from the photo, Misty seems quite comfortable with her new owner.  Here is the note her new mom sent to All Paws the night she took her home:

SO, lil Misty is doing GREAT at our house!  Came in sniffin' everything!  Loves the huge backyard--running around chasing her new brother Bruno!  She was a little apprehensive about the stairs to the basement but once she did um once she's an old pro.  She got to meet new daddy and barked like crazy but now is warming up to him.  Snuggled up with me at the moment...c attached pics.  I think we have a winner!!  Thank you so much All Paws!   Jess, Trav, Bruno and Spot

And although I don't have any pictures to show you, Sophie the St. Bernard mix has also been adopted!  She went to a home that was perfect for her, where she will get to be the only pet and get all the attention she desires from her new mom and dad.