Frannie the larger cocker/poodle mix has gone out to foster. Friday afternoon we picked up Donovan, a 1.5-year old Shih Tzu boy who's a real sweetheart. I took Zuzu the Brussels and Norman the Chihuauzer along for the ride, so Donvan already had a couple of friends by the time we got home. He settled in immediately, and has been a joy to have around. I think he'll place very quickly.
The trip was good for Zuzu. When we left the house she was huddled down, frozen in place. But by the time we got home she was sitting up, looking around, and interacting with everyone. Just this morning, she went outside all by herself. In the last week she's worked her way through the kitchen gate, then down the hall, and then this morning, hesitantly and with lots of coaxing, past all the noisy dogs in the family room to the door and, finally, over the threshhold and outside to me in the yard. This is big progress, and it'll make both her life and mine easier. (I won't have to carry her out any more.) In a couple of days she should be able to do it with only minimal coaxing.
Bibi cracks me up. She's such a bright, funny little thing. She's getting braver all the time. When she got here she wouldn't meet my eyes. Wouldn't even look at me. Now she watches me all the time, doesn't look away when I look at her face, and her tail wags when I talk to her. Once I capture her and take her over to my chair and sit down with her in my lap, she really enjoys the skritching (and, recently, combing/brushing). Last night she got so relaxed she draped her chin over my forearm and went to sleep. She still moves away if I move toward her, but she comes a lot closer to me if I stay put and coax her. She's getting there. Someone's going to be lucky to get her, there's a very neat little dog lurking in there.
Cider continues to improve, the lesion on her leg is healing nicely. She's a good little girl, very sweet and affectionate. She's a big lap dog, she can't think of anything she'd rather do than snuggle. She's very responsive, she'd be a great companion for a single person.
Minnie came back. She seems happy to be here. I'm thinking maybe she needs to be in a home with another dog, and a fenced yard so she can get out and play/exercise with her canine companion. I took her (and several others) over to play, yesterday, with an adopted alumni, and she really enjoyed herself. She gets along with everybody - human, canine, and feline - and is surprisingly mature for an adolescent.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Updates
Well, all of the dogs at the pound from the last post were adopted - the boxer mix, the beagle/dachshund (I helped a family with a little girl decide on that one), the older-looking beagle girl, and the beagle mix puppy. Two days after I posted last, the shelter called. They had a little brown dog in there with a wounded leg, technically she wouldn't be available for adoption for another 6 days but the leg was in bad shape. She was also emaciated, and the shelter said if they took her to the vet they'd probably just euth her, but she was so nice they wanted to see if a rescue would take her. They knew the right sucker to call, so I went and got Cider:
A week of antibiotics and a little wormer have gotten Cider healing up and gaining weight. She's a very sweet girl, she gets along well with other dogs, is good with cats, and absolutely loves to cuddle. She's a petite little thing, can't be any more than 30 pounds, and she thinks she's a lap dog.
I got a call from the shelter again late last week. I had seen a fellow there I liked a lot, a blue-eyed lab/hound mix the shelter was calling Frank. I had them put a note on his card to call me if he didn't get adopted. They called me the day he became available - the shelter was full, they wanted me to come get him ASAP. I was able to find a sponsor for his pull fees so Frank - now Sinatra - came home with me.
The shelter was, indeed, full. Over-full. More than half the kennels are occupied by dogs confiscated from a hoarder, and some of those dogs are housed 2 to a run. There must be 25 of them, everything from a Saint Bernard to labs to a couple little scruffy terrier mixes. I took Sinatra into the cat room to see how he'd do with cats and I found two of the cat cages occupied by dogs - in one cage were 4 adorable baby Lab/Rottie mixes, and in another cage was a little scruffy dog. I didn't even look at the little dog, just went back to the office and told them "I'll take the little guy, too."
He's a 4-month old Chihuauzer (that's pronounced cheeWOWzer), a Chihuahua/Schnauzer mix. We lost one of our personal dogs early in December, a little Chihuahua/Dachshund mix named Dudley. Dudley raised Sparky (a Chihuahua/Dachshund/Shih Tzu mix) and Sparky has been bereft without his buddy. I've been looking for a small puppy for Sparky, and for me. I need a new demonstration dog for my obedience classes, my sweet 11.5 year old setter has been my demo dog for years but she has trouble with the slick floors in the rooms where we teach so she's semi-retired. This little shaggy boy might be exactly what we've been looking for. Now, if I could only come up with a good name for him!
We also received three more mill dogs a little over a week ago. A pair of cocker girls - one buff (Taffy), one red with a full tail (Bit O'Honey) and a little blonde Brussels Griffon (Zuzu). These girls are in much better shape than I've come to expect of mill dogs, both physically and psychologically. The candy girls are beautiful, sweet, and social and won't need any special skills/experience in an adoptive home. Zuzu is a little more timid, but coming around very quickly. She loves, loves, loves to cuddle, and thinks hanging out on a lap is just the best thing ever. She loves other dogs, loves to play. She may never make it to Petfinder. *grin*
We've got a dog going out to foster on Friday. Maybe Frannie, maybe Sinatra. We'll see which one the fosters like best.
A week of antibiotics and a little wormer have gotten Cider healing up and gaining weight. She's a very sweet girl, she gets along well with other dogs, is good with cats, and absolutely loves to cuddle. She's a petite little thing, can't be any more than 30 pounds, and she thinks she's a lap dog.
I got a call from the shelter again late last week. I had seen a fellow there I liked a lot, a blue-eyed lab/hound mix the shelter was calling Frank. I had them put a note on his card to call me if he didn't get adopted. They called me the day he became available - the shelter was full, they wanted me to come get him ASAP. I was able to find a sponsor for his pull fees so Frank - now Sinatra - came home with me.
The shelter was, indeed, full. Over-full. More than half the kennels are occupied by dogs confiscated from a hoarder, and some of those dogs are housed 2 to a run. There must be 25 of them, everything from a Saint Bernard to labs to a couple little scruffy terrier mixes. I took Sinatra into the cat room to see how he'd do with cats and I found two of the cat cages occupied by dogs - in one cage were 4 adorable baby Lab/Rottie mixes, and in another cage was a little scruffy dog. I didn't even look at the little dog, just went back to the office and told them "I'll take the little guy, too."
He's a 4-month old Chihuauzer (that's pronounced cheeWOWzer), a Chihuahua/Schnauzer mix. We lost one of our personal dogs early in December, a little Chihuahua/Dachshund mix named Dudley. Dudley raised Sparky (a Chihuahua/Dachshund/Shih Tzu mix) and Sparky has been bereft without his buddy. I've been looking for a small puppy for Sparky, and for me. I need a new demonstration dog for my obedience classes, my sweet 11.5 year old setter has been my demo dog for years but she has trouble with the slick floors in the rooms where we teach so she's semi-retired. This little shaggy boy might be exactly what we've been looking for. Now, if I could only come up with a good name for him!
We also received three more mill dogs a little over a week ago. A pair of cocker girls - one buff (Taffy), one red with a full tail (Bit O'Honey) and a little blonde Brussels Griffon (Zuzu). These girls are in much better shape than I've come to expect of mill dogs, both physically and psychologically. The candy girls are beautiful, sweet, and social and won't need any special skills/experience in an adoptive home. Zuzu is a little more timid, but coming around very quickly. She loves, loves, loves to cuddle, and thinks hanging out on a lap is just the best thing ever. She loves other dogs, loves to play. She may never make it to Petfinder. *grin*
We've got a dog going out to foster on Friday. Maybe Frannie, maybe Sinatra. We'll see which one the fosters like best.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Keeping Track of What's at the Pound
I stop into the county pound once a week or so, to see what's there. They have a Petfinder site, but it's not always current, and some dogs never get posted. (I have no idea why.) I stopped in on Friday and temp-tested a few dogs, including a black Lab mix someone had asked me to pull. The Lab failed my temp test, I told the person who asked me to pull him that I wouldn't accept him into our program.
I stopped back in again today. The Lab had become a moot issue - rescues are not allowed to take dogs until the day after they become available to the public, the Lab became available on Saturday and was adopted then. I hope they didn't have children. A lovely 3-year old Keeshond, an owner surrender, was adopted this morning. There's a Boxer mix fellow there I like, he becomes available to the public tomorrow. I suspect he'll still be there on Wednesday, he's got something intestinal going on and is "leaking" a little poop, and I can't imagine anyone would adopt him. But he's already neutered, I cat-tested him today and he passed, and he's a nice young fellow, so if he's still there on Wednesday I'll pull him.
There are 3 other dogs there I'm interested in, all either beagles or beagle mixes. sigh One is, I think, a Beagle/Dachshund, built very much like Beanie and with the same sweet, affectionate temperament. Another is a little tiny female who looks old, but isn't. The shelter staff said they think she's probably about 10, but her teeth say otherwise. She's got a little tartar but not much, I'd put her in the 3-4 year old range. Very sweet, and totally overwhelmed by being in the shelter. They both become available on Friday, so I'll be going Saturday morning to get them. The third is a puppy, another tri-color (but mostly black) beagle mix. Very sweet and very cute, her tail wags her whole body. She becomes available on Thursday, if she's still there on Friday I'll go get her.
There's a new mom and litter there this morning. I don't know what she is, she might be part pit bull but might not be, too. And she has 7 or 8 little black babies with her, they look to be 6-7 weeks old. Very cute. Mom's a quiet dog and the pups are quiet, too. Someone called me a few weeks ago about a litter of pit/Lab mix puppies and I couldn't take them at the time. I wonder if they are the ones in the shelter.
In other news, Molly will be going to her forever home some time this week, probably Friday. Bibi, the shy Cocker/Poodle mix is starting to be less timid. She loves to play with other dogs, she runs and jumps and spins and play-bows and her tail wags furiously. She'd be a great companion for an active dog. She's also gotten brave enough to run past me now, going out or coming in, coming down the hallway, going through the gate between the hallway and the kitchen. And though she still moves away from me when I move toward her, if I tell her "Up!" she'll go into the kitchen and just stand there, waiting for me to come pick her up. Frannie (the larger, more outgoing Cocker/Poodle), Pearl (who needs a different name), and Scooter are all going into their kennels voluntarily now. This morning I had to crate them when I went out, and all three went right into their kennels when I tossed treats in. I won't have to be chasing them all over the house any more when I need to crate them, that will make life easier.
I stopped back in again today. The Lab had become a moot issue - rescues are not allowed to take dogs until the day after they become available to the public, the Lab became available on Saturday and was adopted then. I hope they didn't have children. A lovely 3-year old Keeshond, an owner surrender, was adopted this morning. There's a Boxer mix fellow there I like, he becomes available to the public tomorrow. I suspect he'll still be there on Wednesday, he's got something intestinal going on and is "leaking" a little poop, and I can't imagine anyone would adopt him. But he's already neutered, I cat-tested him today and he passed, and he's a nice young fellow, so if he's still there on Wednesday I'll pull him.
There are 3 other dogs there I'm interested in, all either beagles or beagle mixes. sigh One is, I think, a Beagle/Dachshund, built very much like Beanie and with the same sweet, affectionate temperament. Another is a little tiny female who looks old, but isn't. The shelter staff said they think she's probably about 10, but her teeth say otherwise. She's got a little tartar but not much, I'd put her in the 3-4 year old range. Very sweet, and totally overwhelmed by being in the shelter. They both become available on Friday, so I'll be going Saturday morning to get them. The third is a puppy, another tri-color (but mostly black) beagle mix. Very sweet and very cute, her tail wags her whole body. She becomes available on Thursday, if she's still there on Friday I'll go get her.
There's a new mom and litter there this morning. I don't know what she is, she might be part pit bull but might not be, too. And she has 7 or 8 little black babies with her, they look to be 6-7 weeks old. Very cute. Mom's a quiet dog and the pups are quiet, too. Someone called me a few weeks ago about a litter of pit/Lab mix puppies and I couldn't take them at the time. I wonder if they are the ones in the shelter.
In other news, Molly will be going to her forever home some time this week, probably Friday. Bibi, the shy Cocker/Poodle mix is starting to be less timid. She loves to play with other dogs, she runs and jumps and spins and play-bows and her tail wags furiously. She'd be a great companion for an active dog. She's also gotten brave enough to run past me now, going out or coming in, coming down the hallway, going through the gate between the hallway and the kitchen. And though she still moves away from me when I move toward her, if I tell her "Up!" she'll go into the kitchen and just stand there, waiting for me to come pick her up. Frannie (the larger, more outgoing Cocker/Poodle), Pearl (who needs a different name), and Scooter are all going into their kennels voluntarily now. This morning I had to crate them when I went out, and all three went right into their kennels when I tossed treats in. I won't have to be chasing them all over the house any more when I need to crate them, that will make life easier.
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