Blogging

I've made some new friends since I started writing this blog.  It's great to find other people out there with similar interests, and to read about their lives as well.  Here are some of the interesting people I've met through my blog:

Amanda - she lives in Minnesota, and she takes the best pictures ever.  I love this picture she took of her son at Halloween with her dog and two foster dogs.  She's also super-nice and gave me some photography hints and encouragement.  She fosters pit bulls, and has an adorable son.  You can visit her blog here.

Ellen - she is the founder of the St. Louis Senior Dog Project, and she finds homes for senior dogs like Sara.  Sara lived most of her life chained up outdoors in North Dakota, but thanks to Ellen and many other volunteers, Sara is now in a wonderful home.  Ellen takes in the senior dogs that many others give up on, and does an amazing job finding them homes.  It's great to hear about others in the St. Louis area that I may have never known about if it weren't for the Internet and blogging.  You can read more from Ellen's blog here. 

Sara - This time Sara is the human, and Layla is the dog.  I just checked out Sara's blog today when she left a recent comment on one of my blog posts, and I am very impressed (and jealous).  Not only has she adopted and then helped a dog with a lot of issues, but she also does all those things that interest me (dog training, obedience, rally, agility, etc) that I never seem to find time for.  You can check out her blog here.

 



And I would be remiss if I did not include my friends Angie and Rhonda.  I did not meet them through blogging, but they both write excellent blogs about rescue and they have become good friends of mine.

Angie not only inspired me to start this blog by reading hers, but she has always continued to give me help with rescue questions and photography questions. She's a professional photographer and puts up with my questions like "if I am using a lens that doesn't have a zoom, do I actually have to MOVE to take the picture?"  Seriously, I asked her this on Saturday, and not only did she not laugh at me, but she assured me that yes, I did actually have to move the camera and there was no secret button I didn't know about.  You can read her blog here.

Rhonda is one of the best writers I've ever met.  I always look forward to seeing new posts on her blog.  She's also an awesome photographer, and another crazy rescuer like me who takes care of too many dogs and cats, and loves every minute of it.  You can view her blog here.

Saturday Adoptions

I got to see a lot of my old friends at adoptions on Saturday.  I even saw some of the Heartland foster pets that I had at my house temporarily in the past.  Some of them remembered me.  Some of them pretended they didn't. 

This is Jackson.  He is the cat who my niece named Princess.  This is before we knew he was a boy.  Jackson went to my friend Julie to be fostered, and he is doing great.  I excitedly greeted him, and he barely opened his eyes, looked at me, and then went right back to sleep.  I tried not to take it personally - I know how important naps are to cats.  He really did used to like me, even though I called him Princess. Not that anyone would guess he ever knew me from the way he ignored me. They had to get out the feather toy to get him to lift up his head long enough for me to take this photo.  How embarrassing. 

This is Rusty, being held by my friend Barb.  Rusty stayed with me for a few weeks, several months ago when he was a tiny kitten.  I fell in love with him and came really close to adopting him.  He's an awesome cat - very affectionate and loving.  See him reaching out in the picture?  He's reaching out to me saying how he loves me.  Okay not really - it was that feather toy again.  But I did hold him and he did seem happy about it.  I'll have to settle for that. 

This is Athena.  I temporarily fostered her at the same time as Rusty.  They aren't littermates, but they were put together at the animal control facility where they were turned in as kittens, and they've been in foster care together ever since.  Athena is a beautiful fluffy cat that probably needs to be in a home without other cats.  She is a bit of a diva.  Remember the wet cat contest?  That was Athena in the picture.  She looks much better when she's dry.  She was another one not so happy to see me - I think she remembered the baths I gave her. 

KERMIT!  My guy.  The reason I am a dog person more than a cat person.  When I came up to him and said "Hi Kermit!", he didn't ignore me, or go back to sleep, or pretend he didn't know who I was.  He got excited, and he showed it!  He was as happy to see me as I was to see him.  And that made me feel good.  I love this dog.  I've talked about him several times in the past, and he's always on my mind.  I've even asked if I can foster him, as soon as I can make room for him.  I just miss him so much.  It's nice to know he misses me too. 

My Rejects

My mom called my special needs foster pets "rejects".  I have been giving her a hard time ever since.  I know what she meant - they aren't perfect, and they were rejected by someone before they get to me.  And even after I get them, they are rejected by many potential adopters because of their special needs.  I understand why most people don't want a special needs pet.  I know they take extra work, and extra time, and not everyone has that to give.  But I think they give extra love that makes it all worthwhile.  So sometimes I seek out the rejects. 

Some animal rescue people take on really difficult cases, like bottle-feeding newborn kittens who need around-the-clock care, or taking on a dog that requires eyedrops several times a day.  Even if I didn't have a full-time job and was capable of doing that sort of rescue, I don't think I have what it takes to make that commitment.  I admire those who do, but I am content saving my favorite type of rejects - deaf dogs and pit bulls.  So when my recent special needs pets were adopted and they were no longer rejects, I decided to look for another one of my favorites and see if I could help them.  I went looking for one and found three! 

Mia is a senior pit bull.  I don't know why she was abandoned by her family, but she's been to several adoption events as an All Paws dog and so far she has not been adopted, due to her breed and her age.  I fell in love with her when I first met her.  Her current foster mom lives pretty far away so can't get her to adoption events very easily, so I offered to foster her since I could get her to adoption events every week.  I'll try her after Thanksgiving and see how she does with Noelle, and if she does okay, she'll be my newest reject... I mean foster dog. 

I was sad that my last deaf foster dog was adopted so quickly - I really enjoy working with deaf dogs - so I contacted another rescue group who has had a deaf pit bull at their shelter for quite some time.  This is Boo Bear.  She was living in a car before she went to the shelter, so she's never been in a house.  She needs some work with house-training and manners, but the rescue group who has her absolutely loves her.  I can't wait to go meet her.  I don't know if I'll take her home or not, but it's a definite possibility. 

Of course after offering to try out Mia and Boo Bear, I got an e-mail.  The heading just said "Deaf Boxer Pup".  I immediately started laughing, and said to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  Because I had after all just offered to take an adult deaf pit bull and an adult senior pit bull, and both were likely to be long-term fosters.  But I just couldn't resist - even before opening the e-mail I thought "Okay, I'll take it!".  I'm hopeless.  Bella is a deaf four-month-old Boxer puppy. She's become a reject because she is deaf.  I'll start her on some basic dog training using hand signals, and hopefully she won't be a reject for long.

Update on Orca and Chenille

This is my foster kitten Orca, all curled up in her crate during adoptions at PetSmart last week.  She's the last one left of the Black/White Sea Creature litter (wow, I really need to come up with a shorter description of Penguin, Puffin and Orca as a group.)  Anyway, she's been going to adoption events for a month now and still hasn't been adopted.  This amazes me since she's so tiny and sweet and perfect.  I love this kitten. 

She loves to climb on my lap and just lay there and purr for hours.  She also plays really well with the other cats, and as you can see, her and my cat Merlin have become close friends.  They are sitting here on my computer chair waiting for me to get back and cuddle with them some more.  Don't they look impatient?  No really, they do.  They miss me, I know it. 

This week I've had Chenille, my previous foster Pomeranian, back for a visit, and last night both her and Orca were curled up on my lap together.  Fortunately they're both very small!   



Chenille is living at another foster home who plans to adopt her once she is ready for adoption.  She's had some health issues so for now she is still a foster dog.  I enjoyed having her stay with me this week.  I am waiting until after Thanksgiving to take in any new foster pets, and it'll be very strange to come home to only Remi, Noelle and the cats.  Fortunately Chenille has been there this week to make things easier on me.  And I already know who I'm taking in next (stay tuned tomorrow!) so I have some new fosters to look forward to in about a week. 

Dear beta testers...

You guys are great.  Some of your test adoption applications made me laugh out loud.  I especially enjoyed the one from the person who said their pet's primary caregiver would be the dog (among many other funny answers).

I do appreciate all of you testing the website for me and offering suggestions for improvement.  I've incorporated several of your suggestions into the website, and would love to hear more ideas to make it even better.  You can visit the website here:  http://allpawsrescue.info/.

FIV Cats

I'm sure that some of you who are reading this know much more about FIV than I do.  But for those of you who don't know much about it, here's a quick lesson.  I'll try to make it painless.

- FIV (Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus) is a slow virus that affects a cat's immune system over a period of years. 

Chester

- FIV is a cat-only disease and cannot be spread to humans or other non-felines.

Bart

-  FIV cats most often live long, healthy, and relatively normal lives with no symptoms at all.

Arnie

- FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually - like in litter boxes, water and food bowls, or when snuggling and playing. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens.

Hallie

- The virus can be spread through blood transfusions, badly infected gums, or serious, penetrating bite wounds. (Bite wounds of this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, unneutered tomcats.)

Milo

- A neutered cat, in a home, is extremely unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced.

Morris

- Many vets are not educated about FIV since the virus was only discovered 15 years ago.

Theo

- FIV-positive cats should be kept as healthy as possible. Keep them indoors and free from stress, feed them a high-quality diet, and treat any secondary problems as soon as they arise.

Turner

FIV Facts courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society

As you probably guessed, each of the cats shown above is a cat waiting for a home.  They've each been waiting a long time, because they tested positive for FIV.  The crazy part is in some cases they may not even have FIV.  If they were ever vaccinated against it, they will show as positive for the virus for the rest of their lives.  And even if they do have FIV, they may go their entire life without ever showing symptoms.  FIV positive cats can live long, healthy, happy lives.  So please, if you're considering adopting a cat, consider one of these very worthy FIV cats. 

All Paws Adoption Events

We have fun at our adoption events.  We throw balls for the dogs to see how well they can catch them.  This is Shady.  He looooooves his ball. 

Sometimes we dress up the dogs in fun collars.  This is Morty.  He's getting a head start on the holidays with his cute Santa scarf.  I hope he finds a home in time for Christmas! 

This is Beckett.  I love this dog. 

Doesn't she look like she's having fun?

This is Momma Mia.  She seemed to be saying "How embarrassing. They make me wear this silly collar and sit in this chair just to take my picture."  Secretly I think she liked it. 

Sometimes when we're really bored we wrap up a dog's head in bandages and ask for money to have his ear sewn back on. 

I'm kidding!!!!  Unfortunately Bobby Hill had a small run-in with another dog and had to have his ear bandaged up.  Here's a picture of his nemesis:

Okay - so the other guy didn't really look like that... but I bet in Bobby Hill's mind he does!

Farley was adopted!

Yes it's true.  I have adopted out all four of my foster dogs this week.  I want to be happy about it.  I'm trying to be happy about it.  In fact, part of me IS happy about it.  I am glad that each dog found a home that will hopefully last forever.  But there's always a part of me that worries when a dog is adopted.  I worry that the family won't know what that dog needs, or that the dog will be scared in its new home.  I can't handle worrying about four dogs at once - especially since three of them are hard-to-place dogs.  They weren't supposed to all find homes in the same week!  I can't stand it.  I'm pathetic.  If you adopted Lizzy, Bear, Dodger or Farley, and you're reading this, PLEASE let me know if they're doing okay. 

Okay, on to details about Farley.  Farley was awesome - he got a ton of attention all weekend, and everyone loved him.  Many people were impressed that he was so well behaved and knew so many obedience commands in spite of the fact that he is deaf.  It was a great educational opportunity to teach people a little bit about deaf dogs.  I can't take any credit for his training - he went through the Humane Society of Missouri's shelter dog training program and learned basic obedience such as "sit" and "down" through sign language from their classes.  They did an awesome job with him! 

Farley went home with a very nice couple.  The wife met him on Saturday, then talked about nothing else to her husband all day on Saturday and Sunday, so on Sunday they came back up to PetSmart and adopted him.  I think he will be very loved in his new home. 

We had one other dog adoption this weekend.  Bistro, an American Bulldog, found his new home as well! 

Dodger was adopted!

Dodger just went to his new home on another two-week trial basis.  I love that All Paws Rescue does two-week trial adoptions - it gives the adopters a sense of security to find out if they really are ready for the lifelong commitment they're making to the pet, and if they find that they aren't ready for some reason, then it's nice to know the pet can come back to foster care and they get their adoption fee back.  I hope that Dodger works out in his new home and I only see him when his new family brings him in for a visit.  Speaking of, I saw Trey, my previous Cockapoo foster dog, at Petsmart with his adoptive family today.  He is doing great, and it was so nice to talk to the family and find out how much they love him. 

This has been a very good week for my foster dogs, as three of them went to new homes.  It's been hard saying goodbye to so many all at once though.  My only remaining foster dog is Farley, and the house seems quite empty without any others.  Since this is a big adopt-a-thon weekend for PetSmart, I'll be back at the St. Charles PetSmart tomorrow trying to find Farley a home.  But I won't be sad at all if he doesn't get adopted quite yet!

Bear was adopted!

What am I going to do without him?

Lizzy was adopted!

Lizzy met a very nice couple at PetSmart last Saturday.  They wanted to see how she did with their other dog, so last night we went to their house and Lizzy got to meet their dog and their neighbor's dog.  Everything went so well, that they decided to do a two-week trial adoption!  I am hopeful that it will work out and that Lizzy has found her forever home this time. 

I already miss her though.  This morning as I fed the dogs, I stood in the middle of the kitchen with an extra bowl of dog food in my hands, looking for Lizzy.  I'm so used to her being there - it's hard to come home and NOT have her there to greet me.  But I know she has a wonderful new family, and I really hope everything works out.

Beta Testers Needed

I like saying that.  Beta Testers Needed.  It makes me feel important, and smart.  Like I know what I'm talking about.  I really don't.  But please don't tell anyone - I think I have a few people fooled.  I know nothing about html or programming or creating websites or setting up domains.  But I am good at research.  Google is my friend.  Actually, Isearchigive is my friend.  It's like Google, only every time I search I raise money for All Paws Rescue.  I'm becoming quite a big earner for them with all the research I do. 

My latest research project was how to create a website.  So now I get to ask for beta testers for the website I created, on the new domain I set up, all without any clue of what I was doing.  This is why I need testers.  I found out a website will look different on each screen depending on the resolution, and what browser each person is using to view the website.  Don't worry, you can be a beta tester without knowing anything about what I'm talking about.  All you have to do is go to this website, and tell me how it looks.  Is the writing too small?  Are the pictures too big?  Did I misspell anything?  Are there extra spaces that shouldn't be there, or extra pictures or characters that don't belong?  And while you're at it, feel free to offer suggestions for improvement.  This is not yet an official All Paws Rescue website, although it may someday become one, so I'd like any input you can offer to make it the best website it can be, given that its being created by someone with absolutely no knowledge of html or css or any of those other goofy letters that mean something to web programmers.  Oh yeah, and you might want to check for run-on sentences while you're at it.

How to Beta Test
1.  Go to http://www.allpawsrescue.info/
2.  Pretend you're wanting to adopt a pet.  Or wanting to donate.  Or wanting to turn in a pet.  Or get a pet spayed/neutered.  Or any of the other reasons people visit a rescue group's website. 
3.  Check out the various pages.  Fill out the forms (just put BETA TESTER in for your name!).  Send a test e-mail.  Do anything you would do if this were a real web page - but if you donate, you will be donating your own real money, so keep that in mind!  After trying out all the features you want to test, let me know the results!
4.  Send errors, suggestions, etc via e-mail to dogfostermom@aol.com.

Thank you!

Introducing Farley

This is my backyard.  Look closely.  At the dogs, not the bare spots in the grass. 

Did you notice?

No, not that Bear is getting trampled by Lizzy. That I got another Noelle!  Only he's named Farley. 

Farley came from the Humane Society of Missouri. He's been waiting there a couple of months, but no one has adopted him, so they asked some area rescues if anyone could help. I see e-mails like that every day, and each time I sadly click the delete key, knowing that I have no more room. But I just had to make room for this guy. You see, he's deaf. And I got into rescue specifically wanting to save deaf dogs.

Many times deaf dogs are put down by breeders or shelters simply because they can't hear.  Being deaf doesn't make them more aggressive or harder to train.  In fact, in many cases they are easier to train than hearing dogs because they don't have as many distractions to deal with when learning new things.  And you know, I'm all about making things easier.

So I e-mailed back the HSMO volunteer and asked more about Farley. She told me all the volunteers loved him, and he'd been going through their shelter training program. He is already housetrained and gets along well with other dogs. So yesterday I drove out there after work and met Farley. And promptly took him home as my new foster dog.  He's awesome.  He's great with the other dogs, and the cats.  He's been with us for less than 24 hours, and he already fits right in. 

Roger Dodger

My foster dog Dodger wins the award this month for "Most Improved".  He came to my house when another foster volunteer had a family emergency and couldn't keep him any longer.  I didn't plan to keep him long, and quite honestly he wasn't my favorite dog at first.  He was funny-looking, and he barked too often, too loudly, and was rather demanding.  He was always itchy and had to eat canned food, and he was really just a lot of work.  He lifted his leg in the house often, and tried to push around the bigger dogs, which included every dog in the house, since he only weighs 15 pounds!  Suffice it to say that I was counting the days until his original foster mom could take him back. 

But then he settled in to the new place, and stopped being quite so demanding. His skin allergies went away, and his hair started growing out more. He started eating dry food, and he stopped marking in the house. He still pushes the other dogs around, and still has a very loud bark, but he doesn't use it as often as he used to.  Which is good, because it appears I'm stuck with this dog until he's adopted.  His first foster mom can't take him back, but I'm happy to say I don't mind so much anymore.  He kind of grows on you after awhile. 

But just for the record... sometimes... he's still funny-looking. 

Penguin and Puffin were adopted!

Two of my three tuxedo kittens have now been adopted!  There were some other happy endings at PetSmart today as well.  Fancy, a cute hound mix dog, went home with this very nice lady. 

And remember Champ?  He went with me to the JDRF walk this year.  He's now been adopted!   Obviously his bandana worked for him.  I think the adorable look on his face might have had something to do with it too. 

I also spoke with some nice people who had found a puppy that someone dumped on the side of the road.  They took the puppy home and have been caring for him, and now they're going to foster him through All Paws Rescue until he finds a permanent home.  They stopped by today and I took these adorable pictures of Joker and his girl.  He should be ready for adoption in a few weeks, so if you're interested in adopting him, you can fill out an online application here. 

 

Big dogs weigh more

Lately I've been fostering mostly small dogs, and I've come to appreciate them for one thing more than anything else.  They track in a lot less mud.  A 160 pound dog like my Great Dane will sink in mud quite a bit, and then proceed to track it all over the house.  This is his "who me?" look as I pointed out the muddy pawprints he had just left across the living room. 

Bear-Bear

I thought Bear would be ready for adoption weeks ago.  One thing came up, then another.  Today he went in to be neutered and he was supposed to go home to his new family on Saturday.  However the vet called and said Bear has a runny nose.  So they're going to hold off on neutering him one more week.  Poor guy seems to be stuck with me.  He's so smart - he's pretty much house-trained now, and he knows his name, and how to sit on command.  He loves to play with Lizzy and tries to play with the other dogs, but Lizzy is the only one who really plays with him. 

This picture is Bear hanging out in a tree during a rest stop on our way back from Maryland.  Why was he in a tree, you ask?  I'm not quite sure, actually.  Maybe Bear is having an identity crisis and thinks he's really a bear and therefore should occasionally climb a tree.  Or it could have had something to do with my mom picking him up and putting him there.  Either way, it made for a cute picture.

This is Bear in the car on the way back from our trip.  On the way there, he slept the entire time in his crate.  I guess on the way back he was tired of the crate, because he slept on the seat, on our pillows, and on the floor with his foot hanging in the water bowl.  Pretty much everywhere except his crate.

This is what Bear did when I tried to put him in the car after our first rest break following the taping of the Puppy Bowl.  I'm pretty sure he thought I was taking him back to that scary football field.

Scaredy-dogs and brave kittens

Recently I had the chance to dog-sit Murphy, my favorite dog in the world.  Please don't tell my dogs - Remi and Noelle don't know they aren't my favorites. Although they might have figured it out after Murphy got here and I proceeded to ignore them in favor of Murphy for most of the weekend. I know, I'm a bad dog owner - but it's Murphy!  Did I mention he's my favorite dog in the world? His family is kind enough to keep me updated on him and let him stay with me occasionally when they go out of town (and they keep paying me, even though I would pay THEM for the privilege of watching Murphy!).

Murphy is kind of camera shy, so when I got out my camera to take a picture of him laying on the couch with Remi, he got up and ran to his crate where he feels safe.  There's just no privacy in my house though - Merlin and the kittens thought that would be an excellent time to get a drink of water from Murphy's water bowl. 

Murphy is VERY camera shy.  He normally enjoys a fun game of chase-the-cat, but in this case, there's no way he was going to come out of his crate with the camera pointed in his direction.  In fact, Penguin the kitten felt so safe there that he decided to settle down and take a nap.