Introducing Ritter

Ritter is a Beagle mix, possibly with Dachshund.  He is about a year old, and he's a great dog.  He is housetrained and gets along well with the other dogs and the cats.  He loves to cuddle and he usually wants to be a lap dog. He is a little guy, but I don't think he's figured that out yet.  

He loves to play with Tulsa and Ziggy, and I can often find them off by themselves plotting some sort of mischief.  I think it's obvious that Ritter is calling the shots in these little pow-wows.

I took Ritter home last weekend because Target went out on a trial adoption!  He was adopted by a family with two children and another dog who looks remarkably similar to Target.  I hope that this trial goes well and Target has found his forever home!

Update on my life

There have been a lot of changes since I returned from vacation two days ago. Tulsa, Ziggy and Bunny are back home with me. Toby did not come back home. He was staying at a foster home where he got to sleep on the bed and be totally spoiled. He was very happy there and his new foster mom said he could stay, so I reluctantly agreed. Actually I thanked her profusely and was very relieved. That's because this is National Return Month. It happens every year around this time. Adoptions slow down and we get call after call from adopters needing to return their pets. I don't know why the returns don't happen when adoptions are high - it would be so much easier. Instead all of our foster homes are full with fosters that aren't being adopted, and then the returns start coming in. So far this month I've had three calls about returns. First was Target, who was adopted out and then came back while I was on vacation. He's back home with me again and doing great (if you don't count the flip-flops he ate and the accident he had on my bed...sigh). Next is Stormy, a kitten adopted about a month ago who stopped using the litterbox. She will be going to the vet to get checked for a medical condition and then may or may not be returned. And last is Pepsi, a pit bull that I fostered about three years ago. Her family has to give her up and I'll be getting her back in another couple of weeks. Several other foster homes have also been getting returns this past week, so we're all hoping for a good weekend of adoptions. We're going to hold an extra adoption event on Sunday to try to get our foster pets seen by as many people as possible. I'll also be getting my cat Merlin back this weekend, as well as my foster cat Belle and a new foster cat named Lovey. I was supposed to be taking in three kittens as well, but fortunately their temporary foster mom fell in love with them while I was on vacation and is going to keep fostering them. I am not sure where they would go!


As soon as I get my act together, I'll have more pictures and stories for the blog. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these final vacation photos from Waterton Lakes, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Tetons National Park.

Target was Adopted! And more bears...

I just received the news that Target was adopted last weekend!  I had reviewed the adoption application before leaving and I think it'll be a great home for Target.   I am very grateful for the many foster homes who fit in an extra foster pet so I could go on vacation.  Judy took Target, Bunny went to Lisa, Belle and Toby went to Bev, Tulsa went to Donna and my husband Dave got stuck with has Ziggy, as well as Noelle and Remi.  Yep, I went on vacation without him.  Someone had to take care of Ziggy while I was gone!

I'm still here in Canada, vacationing with my parents and my sister Traci.  We've done a lot of hiking and sightseeing.  We've seen countless waterfalls, mountain lakes, bison, bighorn sheep, elk and deer.  And lately, several bears as well.  For any other wildlife fans out there, here are a few of my favorite bear pictures from the past few days:

Thanks for bearing with me as I post vacation photos.  I promise to return to dog pictures and foster-related blog posts very soon!

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!

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.

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: