Hmmmm, where to start. How about with the Happy Endings? Jake the black Lab was adopted in June, he went to live at summer camp. Seriously. His new mom works for, and lives on the grounds of, a large summer camp. Pearl the Poodle/Bichon mix found her forever home when her foster Dad failed Fostering 101. (We hear she's really coming out of her shell, even walks on a leash now!) Buddy - sweet, sweet Buddy the Beagle/Shar Pei mix, such a nice dog - finally found a home. I couldn't figure out why nobody even wanted to meet him, I thought it was the beagle part that was putting people off until one applicant told me it was the Shar Pei part. His new mom and dad were interested in another dog but at least agreed to meet Buddy when I suggested him as a possible fit, and they fell in love. Holly the Beagle/Fox Terrier found a home. Scooter learned to walk on a leash and now lives with another male toy poodle. Honey the cocker-with-a-tail was adopted.
Geraldine the Bassett/Beagle went to the Rainbow Bridge in June. We're glad we had the opportunity to know her, and we'll remember her with fondness.
Flora the Chiweenie was all fixed up a couple of weeks ago. One night when she was lying on her back on my lap, I noticed her "mammary mass" was moving. Since mammary masses don't move, and I'd already begun to think it was an inguinal hernia, I tried gently pressing on it to see if there was, indeed, a hole in her abdomen wall and the "mass" would go back through it into her abdomen. Yup, it did. It was a huge relief to know it was a hernia, which could be repaired and would have no further effect on her health, rather than a tumor. So the hernia was repaired, she was spayed, and got a dental all at the same time. (She only lost 4 teeth at her dental, but that's probably because some of the looser ones fell out on their own prior to the appointment. Her mouth was a mess.) She's clearly feeling better; she's become much more active and athletic, and her true personality is beginning to shine. She's such a little character - stubborn but submissive, tough as nails (she fearlessly scolds the big dogs if she thinks they need scolding) but she turns into a total Gumby when her tummy's tickled. She's always good for a grin, some lucky adopter's just going to adore her.
Flora sunbathing
We got some new dogs, too. Maon (pronounced Moon) and Morag (pronounced MOR-ak) (a pair of Scotties, about 4 years old) and a petite Miniature Schnauzer (also about 4) were breeder surrenders. Both the Schnauzer and Mooney had skin issues when they came in; the Schnauzer cleared up in a couple of weeks but Mooney lost quite a bit of fur which is only now beginning to grow back in. He looks a little funny now, but he'll be very handsome when his coat is healthy.
Morag
Morning Glory and Petunia are black Lab pups born in April. There were three puppies originally, but Morning Glory and Verbena came down with parvo and we lost Verbena. With round-the-clock nursing, administration of subcutaneous fluids, antibiotics, anti-nausea medication, and Tamiflu, we were able to pull Glory through. We started Petunia on a prophylactic course of Tamiflu and she never became clinically ill. Though she still needs to put on a little more weight, Glory has completely recovered and is no longer contagious, so both pups will be spayed and made available for adoption in the next couple of weeks.
Reilly is a little Maltese/Poodle mix, 2-3 years old, and absolutely adorable. This little guy was languishing away in a small, rural shelter out of state. His owner had turned him in to the shelter because he was "growly". He's not a dominant-aggressive dog, he's a little fearful. He doesn't actually want to hurt anyone, he just wants to make scary things go away. At one point in his life he discovered that lifting his lip and, if necessary, growling a little usually accomplishes just that, and he's been using it successfully ever since to avoid things like nail clipping, combing, grooming, teeth inspection, etc. He's learning that we understand he's scared but that we're not going to hurt him and we're not intimidated by that little lip-lift, so he'll have to tolerate whatever it is we're going to do. He's really a charming little guy, and though we won't place him with children because of his touchiness, he'd be great in an adult-only home with someone who won't let him get away with anything.
Reilly
Dottie and Dinky are red-ticked chocolate tri-color adolescent beagle sisters. They're both quite petite, even though they're just about fully grown. Dottie's only about 13 pounds, and Dinky's really tiny at about 9-10 pounds. They were dumped in a cemetary and were in danger of being shot. They're both sweet and absolutely adorable. They're a little shy, but not problematically so.
Dottie in front, Dinky behind
Most recently, we got the puppymill-rescue Turnpike Girls: Elyria (Ellie, red and white parti-color), Vermillion (Millie, black and white parti-color), Sandusky (Andie, buff), and Maumee (Mimi, buff) the Cockers and Lorain (Rainy, apricot with white chest) the Cocker/Poodle. The girls are very sweet and unusually social for mill dogs, they should be easy rehabs.
Sandusky
We obtained the domain names katzenwoofers.com and katzenwoofers.org this month, and got hooked up with a web host. We're currently working on putting together a website, and hope to go "live" by the first of August. It'll be pretty bare bones at first, not much more than what's on our Petfinder page, but we're working on putting together a reference library for information about heartworm preventative, vaccinations, pet food, etc. and a section of training articles. Eventually, we'd like to formulate our applications so they can be filled out and submitted online. We have some other bells and whistles planned, too, but they're down the road a piece, so we'll announce them when they're ready to publish.
