Back in the Saddle and Forever Homes

I have felt so out of the loop being first stuck in the front office for a week and then gone on vaca for a week and then still trapped up front for additional time and so the only babies I get to see are those I know of that are in need of some serious down time. I decided to be nice one day and let our new front office manager pick a dog since he already had a favorite. It was a new girl Cleopatra who is a Border Collie X. I teased him about her not being so stressed since she had just arrived and teasingly gave him examples of stress. Is she Pacing in her kennel? Is she barking non stop at people? Is she sitting in the back looking depressed or not eating? Well than she isn't SOOOO stressed is she?!. He teased that Cleopatra told him she needed time up front so I gladly conceded. I had not met her before but oh my goodness is she a love muffin. There have been a few dogs I have encountered that don't even seem to need to sniff you before they are loving all over you and asking for some in return. She was very good up front and was lovey with me the moment I met her. She supposedly has toy guarding but not seriously and not shown with everyone. She's high energy but got swiped up already by her new forever home.

I just couldn't allow a fairly secure and stable dog hog up all the front office time so I requested Big Bear again . I had just come back from vaca so hadn't seen my boy for a bit. He came in and I immediately noticed that he was thinner..he was a stout fella to begin with who could use a few less pounds but I was also aware that we were not TRYING to get him to lose weight so I asked Mama Z our wonderful Medical Manager to weigh him and see if he was losing weight and found he had lost 6lbs which was ok since it was more appropriate for him but we didn't have him on the South Beach Diet so knew he wasn't eating much with all his anxiety. She made a note to keep an eye on him and we will feed him wet canned food with his dry for breakfast too instead of just dinner

(You may be amazed at how even just a little cuddling will get animals to eat when they are stressed. I have often hand fed our kids while petting them because it is the only way they would eat. I even did it today with one of our skinny minny's and she refused to eat out of the bowl or off the floor but as soon as I decided to sit down and wait for her, this tiny little terrier who is very shy and timid crawled slowly right into my lap looked up at me and ate with me giving her one kibble bit at a time..and she had not even met this two legged monkey bringing this smelly stuff reeking of all kinds of other animals before. Now, if I had left the food overnight, there is no telling whether she would eat eventually or not but my ego likes blowing smoke every now and again telling me what a special gift I have. Ha! Either way it's just a joy for me to be able help them feel comfy enough to eat right away)

OK Back to my Big Bear..Well not only did I notice that my boy was losing weight but he was losing more hair! He had come in with parts of his hindend shaved close but I saw it was now more towards his front and once again asked our Med Mgr to have the vet look at him. LOW AND BEHOLD my big loveable kisser has low thyroid and he will now be on meds to help his skin and weight. Mama Z was very thankful to me for noticing and I was so stoked to be able to have helped hopefully bring my big boy some relief. The more often we have him up front the more I notice him not drooling excessively in his kennel or looking at everyone with these wild whale eyes worrying about what harm may occur in the next moment. Another great sign to see with him is his willingness now to play with toys. Just yesterday he was chasing after his hedgehog and was willing to play a little tug o war instead of looking around or pacing. Even when lying down he no longer breathes fast or through his mouth! My joy could only be raised up to a higher level by him getting a wonderful forever home with someone who will love him endlessly. He's a little past middle age so my hope is that does not hinder to many from seeing his beauty and gifts of love and companionship. He's especially fun to watch when you put peanut butter on his nose and he licks and licks but never seems to get that tongue up over onto his nose. Speaking of eating...Our boy is even eating all of his dinner now.

With Big Bear eating well now you can only guess what comes next...yeppers the gasies. The rest of the front desk staff was WONDERFUL to let me keep Big Bear up front for the extra 15 min even though I swear we actually had to open the windows and front door or die from noxious fumes. Even staffers in the OTHER ROOM were blaming others for funking up the staff restroom but it was our boy Bear. I have a very poor sense of smell and only my love for this beast kept me from chucking him right out the door for such foulness but he got to stay and I love the staff for letting me or more so him...in comes my Black n White Cookie

Oh my big mush Cookie. Not much different than she was before. Very relaxed, doesn't care about any rawhides or chewies or toys. She just lays down and looks up at you waiting for some love. Now when i called her a big ball of clay I wasn't kidding. i wanted her close to me and couldn't situate myself to where she was so she just let me crab her legs and pull her gently across the tile to me and never made a move other than her lifting that back leg to signal it's belly rub time. She's so happy up there that our FD Mgr took all the toys she had and just lined them up on top and across her. We all had enough time to even take pictures of her like that because she didn't care. It was only when there was 3 of all all making a commotion that she lifted her head up enough to make all the toys fall (soft toys mind you). She is the best..she started getting gassy and because of the last attack we endured she was not allowed to linger as long but I believe it is benefitting her just being able to be close to us even if we are not smothering her with kisses and lovins.

Best news ever..Dezziroo and our little couch potato Coolio have their Forever Homes and I am Back in the Saddle again, going back to kennels to spend more time with more of the kids. I don't know who took Dez since I was off at the time but I do know that Coolio is being adopted by a woman who was LOOKING for a couch potato dog! Yea! Not to many long termers left but Griffin, Big Bear, Black N White Cookie and Magadoodle who is now off medical hold and been with us for way to long but is lucky enough to have pulled the heart strings of one of our lovely volunteers who occasionally takes her home for overnights.
A grateful week for many many different reasons. More to come..I would like to spend more time with Itsy & Bitsy and with little Baby Twig who have all tugged on my heartstrings just today after me sitting with them for a bit...sweet sweet tellings to come I'm sure.