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.