Things I thought you should know.

Some people have extra compassion for certain types of animals. For example, I am a sucker for a deaf dog. One of my rescue friends told me she likes older cats, and Abyssinians. She offered to take Barney Rubble from me to foster, and I immediately said "Yes, can I bring him to you tonight?" I wanted to make sure she didn't change her mind. But I have to tell you, I already miss the old guy. Okay, not really. I am just grateful to my friend for taking him. Not nearly as grateful as Barney is, but still - very grateful. It also opened up room at my house to save some kittens. More about them tomorrow  whenever I get around to taking their pictures soon.  

Remember Duke? He used to be my foster dog. Then he ate my wall. Then I persuaded another foster home to take him, by taking one of her foster dogs that didn't get along with her own dog. We switched fosters, and the foster dog I took from her got adopted almost immediately, while she's had Duke for over three months now. In my own defense, I have offered to take Duke back - several times. The first time was right after he ate her wall. The second time was after he dug out of the yard underneath the fence. The remaining times were usually after another one of my foster dogs went home and I had room to take him back. Each time she declined, claiming she liked the little guy. So I happily went on with taking in other foster dogs that as of yet have NOT eaten any drywall in my house. Oh and as for Duke, last Saturday he went out on a trial adoption! I am now taking bets on how long it'll be before he eats their wall and gets returned. Is that wrong?


You know how sometimes you hear a story after its been told by several people, and later you find out all of the details were wrong? I'm about to tell you one of those stories, and since I don't know all of the details, I think I'll make up some of my own. Just so you know.

A family was driving down the road in their car, their much loved family dog on the seat next to them. The dog had been with them for his whole life, and he was now a senior dog, looking forward to spending his last years with his family. Then the family was pulled over, and the police officer found that they were illegal aliens. The family was detained by Immigration, and the dog was removed and sent to a shelter.  The dog was so depressed, he decided to live out the rest of his days under a van. 

No, not really.  The ending of the story hasn't been written yet. The dog is in a shelter now. Will he find a new home with owners who will love him his remaining days? Will he take too long to be adopted, and have to be euthanized? I met him at an adoption event last weekend. He was napping in the shade under a van. I thought about joining him, but I didn't want to get too attached. And I didn't want people to make fun of me. But mostly I didn't want to get too attached.

Ziggy is still with me, and is still generating as much drama as ever. My sister asked if it would be possible to just give him away. I told her no one would take him.  Then my husband asked if we could just let him go free (he wants to do this with the cats on a regular basis too). I told him Ziggy was microchipped so he'd just find his way back to us. He was still willing to take the chance, but I said no. On the plus side, all of the All Paws volunteers agree with me that he is making progress. For example, at adoptions this Saturday he chewed up and ate the following: two rawhide bones, six beef jerky treats, four pieces of trash found on the ground, one dog toy, and twenty-seven sticks. This is an improvement because last week he ate all of that plus a plastic water bottle. Also because he spent a little bit less of his time trying to chew on people's hands this week. Overall, I'm very satisfied that our training regimen is working. At this rate of improvement, he is still on track to be adoptable by the time he turns three or four years old!

Actually I may have figured out a way to market Ziggy a little bit more. Besides his Fan Club (autographed pictures are forthcoming to all fans!), I think I can leverage the whole "Green" Environmental craze to get Ziggy a home. After all, we already know he is a "green" dog. And obviously he is working hard to recycle every single thing he can fit in his mouth. If I can turn it into a positive instead of a negative, maybe Ziggy will be in high demand! In the meantime, I'm still keeping an eye out for that lumberjack family to come along.

Puppies Galore

Last Saturday the rescue group I volunteer with had two puppies adopted (Freckles and Buddy).  In the same day, we also took in ten new puppies, not including my two five-month-old foster pups.  Sadly, there is no shortage of puppies needing homes in our area.  On the plus side, this means I get to post lots of puppy pictures today!

This happy puppy is Daisy.  At the same time as I was talking to Freckles' adopters about him, I noticed one of our other volunteers talking to a guy with another puppy.  Next thing I knew, the guy was signing the puppy over to us.  I didn't hear the whole story, but I am glad that one of our foster families was able to fit in this sweet girl and she'll never have to know what her life would have become if she'd ended up at a shelter.

The next nine puppies are all from the same litter.  And one foster mom took home all nine of them.  The same foster mom that is still fostering the infamous wall-eating dog Duke.  She's crazy, I tell you, and I'm so glad that she is, because these puppies were going to be shot if we couldn't take them. 

I love these puppies.  They're having a blast in their foster home - running all over and throwing wild parties.  These are nine very lucky puppies to end up where they did, thanks to many different volunteers who made calls on their behalf, and transported them to us, and thanks to a wonderful, Most Awesome foster mom who does more than I can imagine to save dogs and give them a happy life while they're waiting to be adopted.  Hopefully we'll have lots of people wanting to adopt some very cute puppies very soon!

Random Thoughts and Photos

I went through my photos from the past month and found some I just had to share with you.

Powers of Levitation: Iz haz it

Noelle appears to be levitating. And Remi has a big mouth.

Meditation: Iz can do it

Duke, the wall-eating dog, does actually get tired occasionally. I didn't think it was possible.

Puppy Love

When Ziggy is sleeping, he's cute.  I love his pink paws.  I love how for the first 15 minutes after he wakes up, the only thing he wants is to cuddle.  After that, watch out - but oh, those first 15 minutes are precious.

Remi: Surveyor of All He Can See

Because anything he can see automatically becomes part of his domain.  That's just the way it is. 

What's For Dinner?

Parents, don't let your doggies grow up to eat frisbees. 

Otherwise they'll vomit all over your bedspread two hours later.

Thank you.  I hope these random photos and thoughts have been informative and helpful to you. 

Update on my Pets

Yep, it's that time again.  Time for you to catch up on what all animals are at my house, and what they've been up to lately.  First are my own pets...

Remi - a four year old Harlequin Great Dane.  We adopted him when he was one and a half.  He'd already been through several obedience classes, and came to us well trained.  He gets along great with other dogs, and lets the cats walk all over him (literally).  He is my dog and prefers to be with me as much as he can.  Until 8pm which is his bedtime.  Then he goes and waits to be let into the bedroom so he can go to sleep.  I don't know how he knows what time it is, but he always knows. 

Noelle - Totally a Daddy's girl.  She follows Dave around the house, and he lets her get away with anything she wants.  She is the most loyal, loving dog I've ever met.  She loves to cuddle, and loves to show how much she loves us.  Lately she's taken to climbing up onto my lap while I type on the computer.  All 60 pounds of her.  And of course I let her, because I love her too. 

Merlin - The last official member of the family.  I am crazy about this cat, and Dave is going crazy because of this cat.  It's a nice balance, I think.  I let Merlin get away with anything he wants, and Merlin thinks he owns the house.  He meows to get attention or to have a door opened for him.  He jumps on counters and steals people food.  He follows me around and sleeps on my pillow at night.  And I encourage him in all of it.  I love this cat.   





Now for the foster animals... in order of arrival at my house. 

Scribbles - arrived Jan 2009. This is Her Fluffiness when she takes on one of the dogs.  Scribbles eventually got tired of living in our spare bedroom and has joined the rest of the family.  She now usually hangs out in the living room or the kitchen.  And what is great is if any of the dogs decides to bother one of the other cats, Scribbles jumps to their defense.  And ALL the dogs keep their distance from Scribs!

Simon and Sampson - arrived Dec 2009. These two have made themselves at home.  Usually one or the other is sitting on my lap, and they both enjoy drooling and then rubbing their face on my face.  Someone told me its a sign of affection in cats.  Its one I could do without.  But I am glad they like me.

Ziggy - Arrived Dec 2009.  Ziggy has improved greatly since I brought him home.  He gets along well with all the other dogs, and loves to wrestle with them.  All those possessive behaviors he exhibited when I first brought him home are gone, and other than being so mouthy, he's turning into a very good dog.  Which means he is sure to get adopted soon.  Because as soon as I get them trained, they get adopted and I have to start over again.  It's the curse of a foster mom.

Rudy - Arrived February 2010.  This is my newest foster cat.  He kept trying to sneak out the door at his previous foster home, so I offered to let him come to my house.  Three or four large dogs trying to come in or go out whenever I open the door have prepared me to handle door-darting cats.  Rudy is a sweet cat.  He's very affectionate and seems to be fitting right in. 

And that's it right now for fosters!  Only one dog and four cats - its like a vacation at my house!  Duke the Beagle/Coonhound is still at my friend's house.  He's still doing well, and up to his usual antics (more on that later).  Babette the Persian cat went to stay at PetSmart, and she appears pleased with the change in environment.  I am hoping to take Kermit the Heartland dog home, but have to wait for approval from his shelter caretakers.  So my next foster dog is probably going to be Emma's sister, named Shadow.  Another black lab - hopefully this one doesn't mind baths so much!

Culprit Identified!!

Continued from A Detective Story - Part 1, and A Detective Story - Part 2...


Earlier this week, I posted about a crime that was committed in my living room.  An investigation took place, and finally yesterday came a break in the case.  I received this e-mail...

I was reading your detective blog and was wondering if there was a reward for turning in and conviction of the felon?

I was intrigued.  The e-mail came from a friend who is temporarily housing one of the suspects.  Did she have proof that the suspect she is housing was guilty?  I quickly offered a very large reward of $0.25 for any information leading to the identification of the suspect.  She went on to send the following:

I hate to be a rat but I caught Duke trying to eat my wall while I was watching TV. Luckily I heard him and caught him in the act.  I had to tell him twice to leave the wall alone. I know it will be circumstantial evidence but......if I were on a jury I would convict Duke.

Best regards,
Bev the snitch

Thank you Bev.  I know you will use the reward money wisely.  Perhaps you can put it into a fund for wall repairs. 

Now about the other suspects.  All survellience of the crime scene has been halted, and each suspect - I mean foster pet - is once again free to roam the house within the limits allowed.  As for Duke - well, I will be sure to warn anyone who wants to adopt him to watch him around walls.  And in the meantime, I think Bev's house is an excellent place for him to stay. 

Those of you who tried to blame the cats (I believe it was only dog visitors who did so) should now apologize to the cats.  Those of you who defended the cats or Ziggy have been vindicated!  Anyone who has some demolition they need done on a wall should contact Duke directly. 

Part 1 of

Faces of Duke

Due to recent photographic issues I've been having, I have been practicing taking pictures of Duke's head.  So here are the faces of Duke:

Inquisitive: 

What is that smell?!


Alert:

Sound the alarm!  Those feet are STINKY!

Apologetic:

Sorry Mom, I didn't mean to tell everyone. 


And that is the last time that Duke will be allowed to provide his own captions on this blog!

A Detective Story - part 2

If you have not already done so, please read part 1 of the detective story in order to familiarize yourself with the scene of the crime. 

And now, let us turn our attention toward the suspects. 

Remi - Great Dane

Motive: Remi has recently been put on a diet.  Perhaps he decided to supplement his food with drywall? 

Means: Remi has long nails, but they are probably too thick to do this kind of damage. 
Opportunity: Never crated, and allowed run of the house even when everyone is asleep and no one is home - Remi had plenty of opportunity

Detective Notes:  While I do not believe that Remi was capable of this crime, he was most likely present - lying on the couch nearby - when the crime was committed.  Unfortunately, this eye-witness refuses to testify.

Merlin - Orange Cat

Motive: Boredom. Merlin often complains that I don't spend enough time playing with him. He may have become a vandal in retaliation.

Means: Merlin has claws. Very sharp claws which I'm in the process of trying to get clipped. So far he is not cooperating.
Opportunity: Merlin is the only cat that constantly hangs out in the living room regardless of what dogs are around. He had plenty of opportunity to vandalize without fear of any dogs coming by.
Detective Notes: It doesn't look good for Merlin - he has motive, means and opportunity. But Merlin has been living in the home for many months now, and has no previous known history of vandalism. 

Noelle - American Pit Bull Terrier

Motive: Noelle seems to enjoy being naughty, so it is no stretch to believe that she realized this would be naughty and jumped at the chance.
Means:  Noelle has nails that are definitely capable of scratching up a wall. 

Opportunity: Noelle is usually not left alone due to her tendency to be naughty at times, but she may have managed to sneak away for a short time without someone noticing.

Detective Notes: Dave claims that Noelle is not capable of such destruction, but since it is a well known fact that Dave has a blind spot when it comes to this dog, I am not ready to rule out Noelle as a suspect.

Babette - Persian Cat

Motive: Just look at her glare at me.  I think her obvious dislike for me is excellent motive.
Means: Babette has sharp claws. 
Opportunity: None.  Because she also glares at the other cats (and hisses at them too!) she is in solitary confinement. 
Detective Notes:  I am confident in ruling out Babette as a suspect due to the lack of opportunity she had to commit the crime. 

Duke - Beagle/Coonhound mix

Motive: Duke always wants to hide his bones, and could easily have decided to dig up the wall in order to make a new hiding spot.
Means:  Duke has shown to be a good digger, as evidenced by the holes in the back yard.  He is definitely capable of this crime.
Opportunity:  Duke has been crated when I am not watching him, so he has not had much opporunity to commit this crime. 

Detective Notes: Since either Dave or myself are responsible for constantly watching Duke, and Dave claims he did not fail in his supervision, I am inclined to believe that Duke is innocent.  Otherwise I would have to take responsibility for his failed supervision, and I'm not prepared to do that at this time. 

Scribbles - Tortoiseshell Cat

Motive:  Revenge.  It's been a year since I brought this dog-hating cat home as a foster cat, and I believe she has been plotting her revenge all this time.
Means:  Sharp claws.  Very sharp - this I have learned the hard way.
Opportunity: Limited.  Since the living room is the dogs' domain, Scribbles rarely ventures into their area. 

Detective Notes:  If the damage had been done to the wall in the spare bedroom, Scribbles would be a prime suspect. But since the damage was in the living room, it's highly unlikely that she is the culprit.

Ziggy - American Pit Bull Terrier

Motive:  Enjoys chewing up things.  Has been known to enjoy chewing rocks, limbs (the kind from trees and the kind on people), paper, and many other non-food items.

Means: Ziggy has had a lot of practice chewing and digging.  He is believed to be very capable of this crime.

Opportunity: Due to not being 100% house-trained yet, Ziggy is watched very closely.  For that reason, it is highly doubtful that he had the opportunity to commit this crime.

Detective Notes: If not for the lack of opportunity, Ziggy would be my prime suspect.  Therefore, I am keeping an open mind in case it is determined that there was a lack of supervision that has not yet been discovered.

Harley - Himalayan cat

Motive: Unknown
Means:  Harley is a four-paw declawed cat.
Opportunity: Limited.  Harley prefers to stay away from the area of the house where the dogs hang out.

Detective Notes:  I feel confident in ruling out Harley as a suspect. Even if he wasn't declawed, he's much too sweet to do something like this.

Simon and Sampson - Domestic Short Hair cats

Motive: Simon's vision is impaired, so perhaps he thought he saw a bug or a shadow and was trying to destroy it. 

Means: Both Simon and Sampson have front claws and are capable of commiting the crime.

Opporunity: These are two sneaky cats.  Sampson has always taken care of Simon, and is always watching his back.  As evidenced in the photo of them together. 
Detective Notes: These two kitties had the motive, means and opportunity.  Also the fact that there are two separate spots of damage located next to each other is suspicious to me.  I'm definitely keeping my eye on these two.

Conclusion: Prime suspects are Duke, Ziggy, Merlin, and Simon/Sampson.  Interviews with the suspects themselves produced nothing more than blank stares, tail wags, licks and purrs - not helpful at all.  The crime scene was dusted for paw prints with no luck.  All suspects nails and claws were inspected for evidence of drywall, but it is believed the perpetrator cleaned up after leaving the scene of the crime, so nothing was found. 

The decision has been made to enforce a lock-down of the suspects when the primary caregiver is not supervising, in order to set a trap in case the perpetrator returns to the scene of the crime.  This will be done by giving one suspect freedom while the rest are sequestered overnight.  If the damage reoccurs, the responsible party can be identified by process of elimination. 

The suspects do not appear to be pleased with this decision, but the primary caregiver is unrelenting.  Further updates will be made as the investigation progresses.

<Click here to learn of the culprit>

Headless Duke

I'm still learning how to work my new camera, and in the meantime I often get blurry pictures.  But lately I've noticed I've taken a lot of pictures of Duke without a head. 

I'd be embarrassed about this, except that I can't recall any of my other dogs ever losing their heads in photographs.  But time and time again, I look at the pictures I've taken of Duke only to find his head is missing. 

I'm not sure why this is.  Even when the picture is blurry, the other dogs still have heads.  Blurry heads, but they're definitely there.  But not Duke. 

So I decided to help him out.  The headless photos you saw above were not edited.  These following photos are edited, and Duke now has a head! 

And because that was so much fun, I decided to make it more interesting. 

What can I say - I'm easily entertained.

Wordless Wednesday

The futon

Recently I moved an old futon into the living room, and it has been quite popular with the dogs.

Remi uses it as a safe place to stay out of the wrestling match taking place in the center of the room.

Please ignore the fact that the cushion is sliding off the frame. This happens when a 160lb dog jumps on it unevenly.


Noelle uses it (after chasing Remi off) as a launching pad to jump down onto unsuspecting dogs who are wrestling below her.

Duke uses it as a wrestling mat in an attempt to take down Noelle.

And Ziggy?  Well I'm not quite sure what Ziggy is using it for back there...

But whatever it is, he's awfully darn cute doing it!

Introducing Duke

Earlier this week I received an e-mail from a friend at an open admission shelter.  She wanted to tell me about this dog named Duke.  He had been at their shelter for awhile, but finally he was adopted.  Unfortunately, the people who adopted him did not take the time to introduce him to their own dog properly.  A scuffle broke out, and as Duke and the other dog were being pulled apart, he snapped at the man who was grabbing him.  So that was it for Duke.  He was returned to the shelter, and based on the shelter policies, he was going to be put to death. 

The volunteers at the shelter immediately spoke out in Duke's defense.  They knew he was a sweet, loving dog, and they knew he did great with other dogs at the shelter.  Whatever happened at the adopter's house, they didn't think that Duke deserved his sentence.  Fortunately the shelter listened to their volunteers, and although they would not put him back up for adoption, they agreed that Duke could go to a rescue group if the volunteers could find one quickly. 

When I heard Duke's story, I knew I had to help.  But it was with some trepidation that I went and met Duke.  After all, I wasn't really ready for another foster dog - and one that had been in a fight with another dog was a risk.  What if he didn't get along with Remi or Noelle?  Still, he sounded like such a sweet, adoptable dog.  I was told he is house-trained and crate-trained, and when I met him it was obvious that he is very friendly.  He let me pull on his tail, and pick him up, and tug on his ears without ever snapping or even acting upset.  So I took him home, and introduced him to Remi and Noelle. 

I can't image what happened at the first adopter's house, because Duke was perfect with my dogs.  He lets Noelle be the boss, and plays very well with both of them. So now I have a very affectionate, house-trained, crate-trained, loving dog who is very submissive with other dogs.  He's a perfect foster dog - he doesn't get into anything, he doesn't chase the cats, and he lets Noelle push him around whenever she wants.  So he's now playing happily with Noelle, and sleeping next to my bed at night.  He will be ready for adoption this weekend, and hopefully he'll quickly find his new home!