Since our big beeeyutiful Pitty Boon hasn't had many dog to dog interactions I figured it was time to have him meet our little psycho pogo stick Coopie. They have been going to play yards that are next to one another and I have noticed Boon enjoying running back and forth in the yard along the fence with Coopie. Coopie wasn't trying to weasle his little nose through the fence to bite Boon so I saw that as a positive sign. No no Coopie is really not a bad dog he's just a high strung mess of a mix (Italian Greyhound and Terrier).
Coopie's brother got adopted so he no longer had a play buddy and he is in true need of one. The problem is that Coopie is kinda leash reactive which means some aggression is triggered in him when he is restrained on leash and around other dogs. Yes since we have to go the safest route we can't just throw them in a yard together and hope for the best which does make it a bit more challenging. We did have some things going for us that helped. Coopie is easily distracted with treats and we can use those to keep him calm as he is approaching Boon. Secondly Boon is a big wuss and I say that in the best most positive way. :) He is a Pitty and he is the most sweet and submissive dog (poor thing gets picked on by all of the other kids)so I wasn't to concerned about Boon's reaction to Coopie. We walked them together a bit and then went down to a play yard. We usually keep their walking gear on for a bit to see how their play will be. All was good with the play bows and running together until we tried to remove their gear so they could play better. As Coopie was getting his gear taken off Boon came over to play and Coopie felt the tug of being pulled back to get the harness off and he just lost it. I liken it to maybe a psychotic break or a Dr. Jeykel and Mr. Hyde. Coopie turned into a sniveling snarling white hot ball of canine terror. He was on top of Boon and was snarling and had poor Boon rolling on the ground and on his back. It looked like a pirana on a wounded guppy. It took us maybe 10 seconds to scramble and get them apart. Whew, it was all just talk and spit..no marks on our little Boon. So since there was no injury, Boon is not the type to fight back and we know Coopie's issue, we allowed play again but just let leashes drag. Boon is a soft hearted boy and Coopie thought he would make it known he felt he was the top dog ...(oh he tried to mount Boon once)and Boon was happy to let him be and Coopie was happy to have another brother he could play with. We cut it short to make sure it ended on a good note and hopefully they will have another supervised play date soon..it took alot out of us after that little tussle of theirs and I wouldn't trust just anyone putting them together because Coopie is a tough one. To smart and to high energy..that is not a great combo in the shelter world.
Coopie is as I mentioned before, a pogo stick. There are little ledges all along the walls of each kennel that are probably about 2-3 inches wide and are about 4-4 1/2' up. We started seeing Coopie up on the ledge with his head sticking out of the kennel! I was amazed that he would be able to leap that high. Well our little jumping bean isn't actually jumping all the way up there. What he does is jumps up, wedges his head in between the gate door and gate wall as a lever to hold himself up and then shimmies his legs the rest of the way to the ledge. We even had to wire tie little crate doors across the small opening so he wouldn't squeeze out. I think if this little fella had an IQ test we would find he's not just above average intelligence but a genius, which is probably why he is such a nut in the shelter. A sweet nut but still a nut. Given the proper outlets and stable home I feel he will be an excellent companion.
Boobahla my lioness long termer has FINALLY gotten her home. A lovely fella had been coming to see her and had several showings with her. He was very patient with her dead stopping and deciding she was not walking any further which she has done many times with different people. We would walk with him leading the way with another dog. He would come visit her again and there would be a new challenge..like she had giardia (a treatable intestinal parasite) and was on special food. The next time it was that she was now eating her own poop. I told him that it could be because of the supplements we have been putting in her food or that because she has been her so long it could just be a sign of stress and that it may subside when she gets into a stable home but to watch her around her poop. I'm suprised it didn't send him running for the hills but he made light of it. He kept coming to visit her while he was waiting for his room mate and the other dog to be able to meet Boobahla. He worked on her jumping in the kennel and really fell in love with her. The day came when the room mate and dog could come for a meet and greet. I didn't do the intro so I awaited the news with baited breath. I saw him at the front counter and asked him how it went and he held up his hand for a high five. YES! the other dog corrected her and she listened woo hoo! (I was worried she would try and tear his ears off like her and Coraline do to each other). He had to go on one last trip over the weekend so will be taking our girl home on Monday. One down 3 to go as far as long termers go.
We'll see who we can home next. We will be getting about 10 newbies on Monday also. Can't wait to see what we get.
Thanks for tuning in
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Day of Puppies and Bunnies
We had a Valentine's event this past weekend...we're slashing prices and everything must go go go! <---true but it's not as easy as selling used cars. Of course we had three of THEE cutest little fuzzy black tuxedoed 3 1/2 month old big balls of squishy love. Now when I say little I really mean Baby Huey little. These puppies are the way you dream all puppies will be. They are mellow and sweet and not crazy hyper yet are playful and not squirmy worms in your arms. They don't bellow out the high pitched ear bleeding scream and bark like some. More like a low whine at times. Hmm maybe they have parvo. J/K. They are just that good. One can forget what a good puppy is really like when we have recently had several little boogers in a row. Not "bad" dogs per say, just....boogers. Ones in need of some SERIOUS structure, discipline and mental stimulation.(Not to forget about patience and love being the engine and caboose to that train.) Just puppies who were little smarty pants' and/or fearful toughies who very well may bite you should the proper circumstances arise, or those who wanted to pick fights with the other dogs or were in just plain need of maybe some Ritalin.
These puppies were even so smart as to go on their potty pads. Ok it was only once and the rest of the time they would poop right in fron of their door and step all in it and then jump up on the door and try to jump on you because thy are just so hyper and happy to see you first thing in the morning! All I want to do at that time is grab them as quickly as possible so as to keep them from slapping those poopy paws anywhere on my body and getting me all full of smelly foulness before the day has even begun. I usually try to make it through to after they have all gotten out for their morning breaks but then again they are the biggest causers of poop getting all over me. Them, and when the poop they have somehow burried UNDER their covers flies out when you are fluffing their beds and hits you in the leg.
Two of them got adopted by really good people who you hope are as ready for a baby as they feel they are. (and oh yes it is a "baby") A crying, chewing, peeing and pooping machine who's self relaince and learning capacity will only reach to about a 2yr old's (with ADD). Willing to feed them, potty them, keep them somehow entertained (hey not all two year olds play well by themselves right? ) clean up after them, keep them from running into the street or wandering off with strangers.
Hoping they understand there will always be the occasion of having to wipe their dirty butts, clean their vomit off the couch,(and your bed and the floor and your shoes...you get the point) pick up after the things they chewed up and then spit out, give them the "it’s been way to long and you are just too smelly" bath they hate and forever remind them what is appropriate.
Wait a minute! (I thought I didn't want kids so how did I wind up with them!?) There is only the boy left and of course he’s the biggest and we estimate them all to be round 60-70 pounds. Big babies!
We have had a good run on rabbit adoptions recently. They can come in waves it seems. No rabbit showings for weeks or adoptions for months and then BAM one day a rabbit gets adopted a week later another, a day later one of the pairs of rabbits are adopted. Now thankfully rabbits seem to do fairly well in the shelter except for when they get “cage aggressive”. Oh lordy let me tell you I would rather take my chances with a growly dog than a feisty “get yer damn dirty ape hands out of my cage” rabbit.
Somehow these little beasts are given carte blanche when it comes to biting. Now a dog that bites over something ferociously or repeatedly or unpredictably may very well be considered for the green mile But Rabbits they get to charge you, kick at you and even bite you (with a lock jaw clamp that makes you almost pull them out of the cage when pulling your hand back in pain because the little teeth grinder wouldn’t let go) with no repercussions at all. Don’t tell me those bites don’t hurt! The good thing about rabbits is the more people are with them and handling them they become nicer. Kinda like hey just keep snuggling that badger and he’ll get friendlier. In my three + years working with the animals I have received the most bites that broke skin from those wascally wabbits! Crazy how I still love em and am happy when they get into a good home.
More on the hounds later.
Be kind to your pets
These puppies were even so smart as to go on their potty pads. Ok it was only once and the rest of the time they would poop right in fron of their door and step all in it and then jump up on the door and try to jump on you because thy are just so hyper and happy to see you first thing in the morning! All I want to do at that time is grab them as quickly as possible so as to keep them from slapping those poopy paws anywhere on my body and getting me all full of smelly foulness before the day has even begun. I usually try to make it through to after they have all gotten out for their morning breaks but then again they are the biggest causers of poop getting all over me. Them, and when the poop they have somehow burried UNDER their covers flies out when you are fluffing their beds and hits you in the leg.
Two of them got adopted by really good people who you hope are as ready for a baby as they feel they are. (and oh yes it is a "baby") A crying, chewing, peeing and pooping machine who's self relaince and learning capacity will only reach to about a 2yr old's (with ADD). Willing to feed them, potty them, keep them somehow entertained (hey not all two year olds play well by themselves right? ) clean up after them, keep them from running into the street or wandering off with strangers.
Hoping they understand there will always be the occasion of having to wipe their dirty butts, clean their vomit off the couch,(and your bed and the floor and your shoes...you get the point) pick up after the things they chewed up and then spit out, give them the "it’s been way to long and you are just too smelly" bath they hate and forever remind them what is appropriate.
Wait a minute! (I thought I didn't want kids so how did I wind up with them!?) There is only the boy left and of course he’s the biggest and we estimate them all to be round 60-70 pounds. Big babies!
We have had a good run on rabbit adoptions recently. They can come in waves it seems. No rabbit showings for weeks or adoptions for months and then BAM one day a rabbit gets adopted a week later another, a day later one of the pairs of rabbits are adopted. Now thankfully rabbits seem to do fairly well in the shelter except for when they get “cage aggressive”. Oh lordy let me tell you I would rather take my chances with a growly dog than a feisty “get yer damn dirty ape hands out of my cage” rabbit.
Somehow these little beasts are given carte blanche when it comes to biting. Now a dog that bites over something ferociously or repeatedly or unpredictably may very well be considered for the green mile But Rabbits they get to charge you, kick at you and even bite you (with a lock jaw clamp that makes you almost pull them out of the cage when pulling your hand back in pain because the little teeth grinder wouldn’t let go) with no repercussions at all. Don’t tell me those bites don’t hurt! The good thing about rabbits is the more people are with them and handling them they become nicer. Kinda like hey just keep snuggling that badger and he’ll get friendlier. In my three + years working with the animals I have received the most bites that broke skin from those wascally wabbits! Crazy how I still love em and am happy when they get into a good home.
More on the hounds later.
Be kind to your pets
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Not Such A Bad Place ?or is it?
So as I briefly mentioned last post, we had a boy named Jokester. Our sweet Border Collie got a home and was scheduled to be returned since our little fella seemed to have some seperation anxiety. Now seperation anxiety isn't little fido or fifi going poop in your shoes or just barking through the day or even deciding to TP the inside of your house (that's just them having some fun.:)) Seperation anxiety is more towards breaking through the glass window or jumping off the 2nd story balcony or eating half the door jam trying to get out of the house to (most likely) find you or SOMEONE. [thankfully my girl just runs away when a door is left open..no glass breaking or door chewing so far]
Jokester seemed to be tearing the house apart when mom & dad left even for an hour. We had set up our boys room for his return and my concerns of course immediately ran amuck wondering how long it would take for someone to be able to work with his issue! The day came when Jokester was to come in and lo and behold the people loved him so much they took off work and decided to work with him on his anxiety and are letting him have more free reign in the house and leaving him for brief intervals to get him used to being alone. They let us know he is getting better. Those are the kind of pet owners one hopes all our kids get.
I came up with an idea long ago that I dubbed Special Needs Animals. These are dogs (and sometimes cats)that have either been here a long time and/or are those who are showing some signs of needing more. More of something, everything. More exercise, more rest, more mental stimulation, more companionship/quiet time. They DO get all these things at the shelter..but not always enough. Often, just getting their basic needs taken care of like clean housing and bedding, food, medicine, potty time out in a play yard and getting them introduced to potential adopters, is all we have time for in the day. The special needs animals are to have some one on one time with a staff member everyday. I usually get 25-30 min of solid play time or quiet time or even obstacle course time with at least one of them...on a good day I'll do 2 special needs animals and still get to sit with a couple others for 10-15 min. Those days are my favorites.
Our 3 girls Coraline, Boobahla, and Lady, along with the lovely, sweet, thick, busty, white with a batman mask, ball of rolling thunder (that's labled an Am. Bulldog but is in my view just a beautiful bully mutt) named Cheekaleeka are all on the Special Needs list, as is the ASP Pitty Boon whom Boobahla beats the crap out of. Each of these kids have started to show obvious stress signs.
Coraline our Husy has her girlfriend Boobala and they always play together since they both need a serious expenditure of energy and that is the best tool we have..other dogs. One day we decided to give them a really big yard....not quite remembering that Coraline has jumped fences. Well Boobahla this day was apparently not enough entertainment to keep Coraline around. I guess all the pulling on the ears wasn't as enjoyable as jumping the fence and taking off to siff out a squirrel, a gopher, the countryside, or the oceanside for that matter. Everyone was distraught once we realized our girl had gone AWOL and we had people out driving around looking for her and creating posters to make sure people would know where she belongs. Unfortunately we couldn't find her and all we could do is wait. Well a Husky likes to roam and explore so who knows how far she went but she was a mess when she was found HANGING AROUND IN FRONT OF THE SHELTER the next morning! How happy we all were to know she came back to us as if we were "home" and she was saying "I'm done playing now, can I have breakfast"? Our girl got to hang out up front that day which I thought was an odd reprimand for running away :) and she was zonked out all day. Silly beast. She has started some whining and a little over aroused nipping and has started to shred some of her bedding again. She gets exercise and campanionship/quiet time.
Boobahla is still jumpy and crazy and has gotten a little to rough at times with Coraline. She gets lots of quiet/companion time. She's now got some belly issues and currently there seems to be no medical problem so it could be stress. She's been with us to long..she needs her forever home soon. My sweet lioness.
Lady has been going up front to stay with the front office gang since she does so well up there. She settles right down onto her blanket and plays with her toys and is well behaved and not barking at kids and other dogs and often is snoozing away right next to the filing cabinet. She is doing pretty well compared to the increasing signs of stress from the others.
My Boon, whom I ADORE (I'm a pitty lover)is starting to jump much more and try a lot of muzzle punching which is when a dog jumps up to pop you in the eye or mouth or anywhere else they can get to on your face. Trust me Boon may not be tall but ole boy's got enough muscle in that butt and legs of his that he can easily reach the nose on my 5'8" frame. I swear he's got the jumping power of a flea! He's gets relax time and more play time.
Then there is my Cheekaleeka who has been with us awhile and though she is hanging in there pretty well she has a tendancy to look depressed when she's not with someone. When she is with you she hops up and down with her back legs on the ground. She reminds me of one of those souped up cars that can bounce. That's what she looks like when you enter her kennel. She gets soooo excited and will kiss you all over and chase her toys and chew on her rawhides. She does none of those things when alone. If not interacted with, she just stands at her kennel with this blank look on her face and none of theat bubbly personality shows through. You want to make everyone see just how funny and lovable she is when she's not just staring at you with this stoic look on her face through the gate. She gets mostly lovins/campanion time.
I think we may have a couple more to add to special needs as we've noticed one of our IT Greyhound mix gettting much more dog reactive and he is trying his best to jump up and pop you in the face and grab his leash in his mouth and jump up and pop you in the face and oh did I mention he tries to jump up and pop you in the face? He needs it all..love, exercise, mental stimulation... OY my poor Coopy..he's a pistol.
It's an interesting dynamic here at the shelter. On one hand you Watch some dogs come out of their shell here and blossom and that keeps one feeling good but when you see the reverse, where they started out here happy and fairly well behaved then after so much time they start to stress, and stress, and stress. It makes me think of a drip on a rock. The drip doesn't look like it's wearing away at the rock because it's just a drip but after months of drips that rock has been worn away.
We have had dogs who actually didn't want to leave. We've had dogs that leave and come back..even voluntarily. We've had dogs change in ways that were disheartening to us and difficult to witness. Within the life of a shelter dog maybe there was once a thought "this ain't such a bad place" but when compared to a real home a pooch may coem bacj and say "isn't it?" There's the good and bad, black and white to all of life, it's the grey I have a hard time with.
Save A Life Adopt A Pet
More on the others later
Be kind to your animals
Thanks for reading
Jokester seemed to be tearing the house apart when mom & dad left even for an hour. We had set up our boys room for his return and my concerns of course immediately ran amuck wondering how long it would take for someone to be able to work with his issue! The day came when Jokester was to come in and lo and behold the people loved him so much they took off work and decided to work with him on his anxiety and are letting him have more free reign in the house and leaving him for brief intervals to get him used to being alone. They let us know he is getting better. Those are the kind of pet owners one hopes all our kids get.
I came up with an idea long ago that I dubbed Special Needs Animals. These are dogs (and sometimes cats)that have either been here a long time and/or are those who are showing some signs of needing more. More of something, everything. More exercise, more rest, more mental stimulation, more companionship/quiet time. They DO get all these things at the shelter..but not always enough. Often, just getting their basic needs taken care of like clean housing and bedding, food, medicine, potty time out in a play yard and getting them introduced to potential adopters, is all we have time for in the day. The special needs animals are to have some one on one time with a staff member everyday. I usually get 25-30 min of solid play time or quiet time or even obstacle course time with at least one of them...on a good day I'll do 2 special needs animals and still get to sit with a couple others for 10-15 min. Those days are my favorites.
Our 3 girls Coraline, Boobahla, and Lady, along with the lovely, sweet, thick, busty, white with a batman mask, ball of rolling thunder (that's labled an Am. Bulldog but is in my view just a beautiful bully mutt) named Cheekaleeka are all on the Special Needs list, as is the ASP Pitty Boon whom Boobahla beats the crap out of. Each of these kids have started to show obvious stress signs.
Coraline our Husy has her girlfriend Boobala and they always play together since they both need a serious expenditure of energy and that is the best tool we have..other dogs. One day we decided to give them a really big yard....not quite remembering that Coraline has jumped fences. Well Boobahla this day was apparently not enough entertainment to keep Coraline around. I guess all the pulling on the ears wasn't as enjoyable as jumping the fence and taking off to siff out a squirrel, a gopher, the countryside, or the oceanside for that matter. Everyone was distraught once we realized our girl had gone AWOL and we had people out driving around looking for her and creating posters to make sure people would know where she belongs. Unfortunately we couldn't find her and all we could do is wait. Well a Husky likes to roam and explore so who knows how far she went but she was a mess when she was found HANGING AROUND IN FRONT OF THE SHELTER the next morning! How happy we all were to know she came back to us as if we were "home" and she was saying "I'm done playing now, can I have breakfast"? Our girl got to hang out up front that day which I thought was an odd reprimand for running away :) and she was zonked out all day. Silly beast. She has started some whining and a little over aroused nipping and has started to shred some of her bedding again. She gets exercise and campanionship/quiet time.
Boobahla is still jumpy and crazy and has gotten a little to rough at times with Coraline. She gets lots of quiet/companion time. She's now got some belly issues and currently there seems to be no medical problem so it could be stress. She's been with us to long..she needs her forever home soon. My sweet lioness.
Lady has been going up front to stay with the front office gang since she does so well up there. She settles right down onto her blanket and plays with her toys and is well behaved and not barking at kids and other dogs and often is snoozing away right next to the filing cabinet. She is doing pretty well compared to the increasing signs of stress from the others.
My Boon, whom I ADORE (I'm a pitty lover)is starting to jump much more and try a lot of muzzle punching which is when a dog jumps up to pop you in the eye or mouth or anywhere else they can get to on your face. Trust me Boon may not be tall but ole boy's got enough muscle in that butt and legs of his that he can easily reach the nose on my 5'8" frame. I swear he's got the jumping power of a flea! He's gets relax time and more play time.
Then there is my Cheekaleeka who has been with us awhile and though she is hanging in there pretty well she has a tendancy to look depressed when she's not with someone. When she is with you she hops up and down with her back legs on the ground. She reminds me of one of those souped up cars that can bounce. That's what she looks like when you enter her kennel. She gets soooo excited and will kiss you all over and chase her toys and chew on her rawhides. She does none of those things when alone. If not interacted with, she just stands at her kennel with this blank look on her face and none of theat bubbly personality shows through. You want to make everyone see just how funny and lovable she is when she's not just staring at you with this stoic look on her face through the gate. She gets mostly lovins/campanion time.
I think we may have a couple more to add to special needs as we've noticed one of our IT Greyhound mix gettting much more dog reactive and he is trying his best to jump up and pop you in the face and grab his leash in his mouth and jump up and pop you in the face and oh did I mention he tries to jump up and pop you in the face? He needs it all..love, exercise, mental stimulation... OY my poor Coopy..he's a pistol.
It's an interesting dynamic here at the shelter. On one hand you Watch some dogs come out of their shell here and blossom and that keeps one feeling good but when you see the reverse, where they started out here happy and fairly well behaved then after so much time they start to stress, and stress, and stress. It makes me think of a drip on a rock. The drip doesn't look like it's wearing away at the rock because it's just a drip but after months of drips that rock has been worn away.
We have had dogs who actually didn't want to leave. We've had dogs that leave and come back..even voluntarily. We've had dogs change in ways that were disheartening to us and difficult to witness. Within the life of a shelter dog maybe there was once a thought "this ain't such a bad place" but when compared to a real home a pooch may coem bacj and say "isn't it?" There's the good and bad, black and white to all of life, it's the grey I have a hard time with.
Save A Life Adopt A Pet
More on the others later
Be kind to your animals
Thanks for reading
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
They come, They go, sometimes they come back
It's been awhile I know and apologize..holidays sickness and days off but back we are.
The best news is that one of our long termers Marjorie who is deaf and a little booger with many other dogs, got adopted! Interesting thing about this adoption is she was adopted by a partially deaf woman and her children know how to sign. It was so cute when she asked us if we had a sign for Marjorie's name. No we didn't but she had other signs that she knows. So cool to have a family who can relate to little Marjorie's disability. I know she will be greatly taken care of.
We recently had a few returns of our animals. People will return pets for many different reasons. Sometimes they become ill or they decide the animal is 'too much" or they move or the animals shows behaviours that no longer are workable in the home. It's sad to see them returned but knowing they are back where we can find another good home is a relief. We have one named Coraline who is a beautiful Husky x who came back to us and she seems to be doing much better with us this time around. She used to shred her bedding and jump constantly but now she is a little lady. She is so pretty with her one brown eye and one blue eye and she will just sprawl out next to you and lift her leg showing her belly for you to rub it. Her forever home is on it's way and even when the animals come back to us we can say that at least they got a nice vaca away from the shelter.
Another of our returns is a Beautiful Lab x Lady. She is something else! She is a fence jumper/climber is not very nice to other dogs and has the energy of 20 energizer bunnies. She is a toughie since she has always barked at children which she seems to have some fear and dislike of and now is barking at random people. Now when I say bark I don't mean the usual "hey over here me me me pick me come pet me" kind of bark. This is more of a "hey you, you come closer I'm gonna turn a finger into a chewstick" kind of bark. Miss Lady is beautiful sweet smart and energetic and since she is not dog friendly it is going to have to be a special home that she goes to. We will surely do all we can to keep her sane and happy until her right home comes along.
I got to take Lady off site for a nice 30 min walk. She LOVES to sniff and did very well walking after she burns a little energy but given the chance she will run you until you drop...I think I may need to use a dog pack on her. Dog packs are great for those dogs who may have more energy than you. By using a dog pack the animal has to work harder with the pack on when weights are in it and will tire a little sooner than without it. After our walk I took her into the quiet room to settle down on the couch with me. What did our little dominatrix do? she gets up on the couch with me and no she didn't lay down and get all snuggley, she sits right on my lap. Guess she didn't want me going anywhere without her or she was telling me in dog language that SHE was the queen. I prefer to believe in the first idea. :) she is a sweet kissy girl with those she loves.
Then we have our current longest resident Boobahla. Another high high energy female lab mix who reminds me of a lioness. She is the same color as a lioness but is brindle (black lined markings)and she has the same strut as a lioness creeping through the grass waiting to take down a caribou...oh well for her maybe it would be more like a terrier she's looking to take down but trust me she could take down a caribou too if she wanted. She is sleek and stealthy and can be brutal yet a big ball of mush with people, but know she can be just as tough as a lioness. Right now Boobahla can only play with Coraline (who plays just as rough) and a foster Pitbull we have and she beats the crap out of him. She will always try and go for his arms but he is quick enough to tuck his arm and drop to his shoulder every time she goes to bite at it. Boobahla then just reverts to grabbing him by the ears and pulling as hard as she can. She's a bully with dogs but a sweet one with humans. She can jump almost to the top of her door when she is over excited and has to wait until she is on all fours before she can come out to play, if you don't then you will get mauled by paws and kisses. We always try and teach some manners here at the shelter as well. Having playmates is a huge help for dogs of her caliber and she gets her bully stick and rawhide everyday (since she plows through them like they were made of taffy) and that helps divert some of that unexpended energy as well. Keep your fingers crossed
We have a new bunch of kids that came in this week and one who stands out already is a sweet clingy VOCAL Border Collie, and as a fellow staffer stated, he's like Macgyver. His name is Jokester..which suits him pretty well. He jumped out of his play yard several times. One might think off he goes trying to escape but our sweet needy little man just wanted to be next to a human and he would walk right next to you when you walked him back to where he was supposed to be. We have a few totally enclosed play yards for our escapees and one of them has about a 6" gap between the gate door and the covered ceiling. Houdini which is really what he should be called, escaped from THAT ONE more than once. Now this dog in not a small 20 pounder he is a regular sized Border Collie! and how this desperate fella escaped from there is beyond all of us. Therefore we moved our slick willy to the other covered yard that has NO gap. Fortunately he has yet to reappear somewhere else with the gate still locked. :)
I'll update as new fun info arises.
Thanks for reading and be good to your animals!
The best news is that one of our long termers Marjorie who is deaf and a little booger with many other dogs, got adopted! Interesting thing about this adoption is she was adopted by a partially deaf woman and her children know how to sign. It was so cute when she asked us if we had a sign for Marjorie's name. No we didn't but she had other signs that she knows. So cool to have a family who can relate to little Marjorie's disability. I know she will be greatly taken care of.
We recently had a few returns of our animals. People will return pets for many different reasons. Sometimes they become ill or they decide the animal is 'too much" or they move or the animals shows behaviours that no longer are workable in the home. It's sad to see them returned but knowing they are back where we can find another good home is a relief. We have one named Coraline who is a beautiful Husky x who came back to us and she seems to be doing much better with us this time around. She used to shred her bedding and jump constantly but now she is a little lady. She is so pretty with her one brown eye and one blue eye and she will just sprawl out next to you and lift her leg showing her belly for you to rub it. Her forever home is on it's way and even when the animals come back to us we can say that at least they got a nice vaca away from the shelter.
Another of our returns is a Beautiful Lab x Lady. She is something else! She is a fence jumper/climber is not very nice to other dogs and has the energy of 20 energizer bunnies. She is a toughie since she has always barked at children which she seems to have some fear and dislike of and now is barking at random people. Now when I say bark I don't mean the usual "hey over here me me me pick me come pet me" kind of bark. This is more of a "hey you, you come closer I'm gonna turn a finger into a chewstick" kind of bark. Miss Lady is beautiful sweet smart and energetic and since she is not dog friendly it is going to have to be a special home that she goes to. We will surely do all we can to keep her sane and happy until her right home comes along.
I got to take Lady off site for a nice 30 min walk. She LOVES to sniff and did very well walking after she burns a little energy but given the chance she will run you until you drop...I think I may need to use a dog pack on her. Dog packs are great for those dogs who may have more energy than you. By using a dog pack the animal has to work harder with the pack on when weights are in it and will tire a little sooner than without it. After our walk I took her into the quiet room to settle down on the couch with me. What did our little dominatrix do? she gets up on the couch with me and no she didn't lay down and get all snuggley, she sits right on my lap. Guess she didn't want me going anywhere without her or she was telling me in dog language that SHE was the queen. I prefer to believe in the first idea. :) she is a sweet kissy girl with those she loves.
Then we have our current longest resident Boobahla. Another high high energy female lab mix who reminds me of a lioness. She is the same color as a lioness but is brindle (black lined markings)and she has the same strut as a lioness creeping through the grass waiting to take down a caribou...oh well for her maybe it would be more like a terrier she's looking to take down but trust me she could take down a caribou too if she wanted. She is sleek and stealthy and can be brutal yet a big ball of mush with people, but know she can be just as tough as a lioness. Right now Boobahla can only play with Coraline (who plays just as rough) and a foster Pitbull we have and she beats the crap out of him. She will always try and go for his arms but he is quick enough to tuck his arm and drop to his shoulder every time she goes to bite at it. Boobahla then just reverts to grabbing him by the ears and pulling as hard as she can. She's a bully with dogs but a sweet one with humans. She can jump almost to the top of her door when she is over excited and has to wait until she is on all fours before she can come out to play, if you don't then you will get mauled by paws and kisses. We always try and teach some manners here at the shelter as well. Having playmates is a huge help for dogs of her caliber and she gets her bully stick and rawhide everyday (since she plows through them like they were made of taffy) and that helps divert some of that unexpended energy as well. Keep your fingers crossed
We have a new bunch of kids that came in this week and one who stands out already is a sweet clingy VOCAL Border Collie, and as a fellow staffer stated, he's like Macgyver. His name is Jokester..which suits him pretty well. He jumped out of his play yard several times. One might think off he goes trying to escape but our sweet needy little man just wanted to be next to a human and he would walk right next to you when you walked him back to where he was supposed to be. We have a few totally enclosed play yards for our escapees and one of them has about a 6" gap between the gate door and the covered ceiling. Houdini which is really what he should be called, escaped from THAT ONE more than once. Now this dog in not a small 20 pounder he is a regular sized Border Collie! and how this desperate fella escaped from there is beyond all of us. Therefore we moved our slick willy to the other covered yard that has NO gap. Fortunately he has yet to reappear somewhere else with the gate still locked. :)
I'll update as new fun info arises.
Thanks for reading and be good to your animals!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Oh Shaqy Day!
What a way to start out my vaca!..with our baby Shaq Attack getting ADOPTED!! I did the showing yesterday with a lovely low key family with a cute 6y son. Some worry because they feared Shaq wouldn't show affection or show well in general but my boy shined yesterday. I left them alone with him for a bit and came back and he was lovin all over them and not just for his toy. They live in a nice quiet area with few dogs around and he will be inside with free access outside. i just hope they remember to keep the cheese off the counter because he will snatch it! little scavenger that he is. Our one staffer who took him overnight a few times cried as soon as she heard he was adopted and of course made me cry and the lovely woman said I didn't realize he was wanted here so much but it wasn't that. Our staffer had just ended up filling herself with doubt that he wouldn't get adopted and to hear that he is just made her joy and relief overflow.
I'm glad I had that chat with Shaq about not staying with us any longer..guess he listened. ;}
Most of our long timers are gone now.WHEW! We got our grandma Shnauzer a home and our little blind Annie got snatched up pretty quick.
We only have Marjorie our little deaf spinner who is willing to go after even a 200lb dog. We will have her up front more since she seems to blossom up there. She is more social less nervous and I'll have to find out for sure but I think she spins less up there.
Then there is Teej who is a total gentle sweetie of a black whippet lab mix (maybe?) thin girl with short medium hair deep narrow chest who just wants you to be near her. She tolerates dogs but just wants people.
I'm off for a week so I hope the rest of the babies I know will be gone to homes by the time I get back. If not, then it's Just A Matter Of Time!!!! :)
Love to you n your family Shaqy
Thanks for reading all.
I'm glad I had that chat with Shaq about not staying with us any longer..guess he listened. ;}
Most of our long timers are gone now.WHEW! We got our grandma Shnauzer a home and our little blind Annie got snatched up pretty quick.
We only have Marjorie our little deaf spinner who is willing to go after even a 200lb dog. We will have her up front more since she seems to blossom up there. She is more social less nervous and I'll have to find out for sure but I think she spins less up there.
Then there is Teej who is a total gentle sweetie of a black whippet lab mix (maybe?) thin girl with short medium hair deep narrow chest who just wants you to be near her. She tolerates dogs but just wants people.
I'm off for a week so I hope the rest of the babies I know will be gone to homes by the time I get back. If not, then it's Just A Matter Of Time!!!! :)
Love to you n your family Shaqy
Thanks for reading all.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Wonderful Week
What a fabulous week we have had. At the beginning of my week I had been somewhat stressed and frustrated as 2 of our long termers were starting to really show regression. Our Copper boy was starting to grab at his gate door and pull on it with his teeth which is a BIG sign of being highly stressed. If we didn't get him out soon my fears were his anxiety would quickly snowball. Well I am happy to say the universe constantly reminds me that we truly know nothing because here came this couple who had 3 Malamutes before and saw our Copper boy online and decided to come see him. They had just lost their last Mal. a week prior and weren't sure they were ready until they saw our boy's pic on our website. The only thing they were unsure about was he is about half the size of what they are used to. Their last 3 were all around 150 and here was our little (HA) 65 pounder. Since I am a jokester and did the showing with them they kept saying how wonderful he is buttttt his size....I said well ya know kids you ARE getting older hee hee (they were in their 50's probably) and we laughed about it and they finally decided the one con was not worth all the other pros that Copper had and they trucked him off back to Alpine. The wife called the following day to ask some questions. Since we are all used to it being a call about a problem, we all held our breathes as I answered the call. Lo and behold all she wanted to ask was how much we were feeding him! WHEW! She told us how wonderful he is already and following her around the house and laying at her husband's feet and even nudging them in the morning to take him out to potty. Another wonderful home for a wonderful deserving pet.
Usually Sat.'s are our big days as that is when our newbies become available and people are lined up to meet with them. Of course at least 4 out of the 10 got adopted that morning which is lovely since they won't have to stay in bizarro world for long. The only small (and I mean REALLY small)sad part is you don't get to spend much time with them and if people bring them back to visit us which we LOVE, I don't usually remember them. This Saturday was particularly wonderful because we had a woman come in to see our Bogenaught. She was told about his Lupus which is treatable and that he had a history with another family. She brought her 12y old Shepard mix with bad hips to meet. This threw up a worry flag since Boge likes to play rough..too rough usually. She came back with her son and her dog and we did the intro way off site since Boge does better away from the shelter with meeting new dogs. He wanted to play with her right away. He tried to mount her a few times but the gave him warnings that he listened to but would then smack her with his paw, go into a play bow and bark at her till she wanted to play with him. He must have know she was old because he really respected her warnings and would finally go and stand by the son for a bit but would come back and try to get her to play again like a little kid nagging you for something he wants. I gave the woman lots of info on how to watch their interactions and how to help tech him that certain behavior is not allowed. She seemed to adore him and felt her dog was pretty comfortable with Boge and decided they would make a good match. YEAH! Perfect timing as Boge was another one showing signs of his threshold level reaching it's limit. He started biting at his leash and refusing to go back to his kennel. Wow 2 babies out in the nick of time I might say. One can only hope they will all be happy with each other and live out the rest of their lives together. If not then as I heard one person put it.."then they just got to have a nice adventure" and we will wait for the next people to come along for them.
Other than our Shaq Attack we have two other little ones who will be getting some much needed time up front with staff. We have our deaf, very cute, vicious little Chihoo Marge. I call Marge vicious only because when she is on leash and she sees other dogs she acts like a Pit Bull with rabies! She doesn't care their size or look, she will go for them like they are meat on a hook. I was daring one day and decided to see if Shaq and Marge could coexist up front for a bit. OH BOY WAS THAT A MISTAKE. I had Shaq, and another staffer had Marge and as soon as she saw him she started going off like a rocket. I think some of that foaming from her mouth hit me in the eye! I tried to get her to settle with treats but once our other food hound Shaq got his face in there Marge went for him and he was not about to let some tiny little whipper snapper 1)take food from him or 2) think she was boss over HIM. He retaliated and fortunately didn't get to bite her head clean off, especially since it's about the size of a treat, but it was close. After that lack of a love fest going on, little miss bossy thang got to stay up front by herself for some much needed down time. Hopefully someone will fall in love with her soon and be willing to work on her doggie "issues"
Our sweet little Ann and Shaq will have to share their time up front with Marge for now.The odd thing I noticed about Marge and our Ann is that they both tend to do circles. When Ann hears a lot going on she just keeps doing them and sometimes hits her little head into the wall :( sad. Ann has been going home with different staff and volunteers at night since she seems to have a hard time being alone. Marge has always done circles but seems to do it less now that she has had some deaf training and more interaction.
Hopefully when I get back from my days off more of our longer term babies will be gone. Especially Shaq! Keep sending out that positive energy!
Thanks for tuning in!
Usually Sat.'s are our big days as that is when our newbies become available and people are lined up to meet with them. Of course at least 4 out of the 10 got adopted that morning which is lovely since they won't have to stay in bizarro world for long. The only small (and I mean REALLY small)sad part is you don't get to spend much time with them and if people bring them back to visit us which we LOVE, I don't usually remember them. This Saturday was particularly wonderful because we had a woman come in to see our Bogenaught. She was told about his Lupus which is treatable and that he had a history with another family. She brought her 12y old Shepard mix with bad hips to meet. This threw up a worry flag since Boge likes to play rough..too rough usually. She came back with her son and her dog and we did the intro way off site since Boge does better away from the shelter with meeting new dogs. He wanted to play with her right away. He tried to mount her a few times but the gave him warnings that he listened to but would then smack her with his paw, go into a play bow and bark at her till she wanted to play with him. He must have know she was old because he really respected her warnings and would finally go and stand by the son for a bit but would come back and try to get her to play again like a little kid nagging you for something he wants. I gave the woman lots of info on how to watch their interactions and how to help tech him that certain behavior is not allowed. She seemed to adore him and felt her dog was pretty comfortable with Boge and decided they would make a good match. YEAH! Perfect timing as Boge was another one showing signs of his threshold level reaching it's limit. He started biting at his leash and refusing to go back to his kennel. Wow 2 babies out in the nick of time I might say. One can only hope they will all be happy with each other and live out the rest of their lives together. If not then as I heard one person put it.."then they just got to have a nice adventure" and we will wait for the next people to come along for them.
Other than our Shaq Attack we have two other little ones who will be getting some much needed time up front with staff. We have our deaf, very cute, vicious little Chihoo Marge. I call Marge vicious only because when she is on leash and she sees other dogs she acts like a Pit Bull with rabies! She doesn't care their size or look, she will go for them like they are meat on a hook. I was daring one day and decided to see if Shaq and Marge could coexist up front for a bit. OH BOY WAS THAT A MISTAKE. I had Shaq, and another staffer had Marge and as soon as she saw him she started going off like a rocket. I think some of that foaming from her mouth hit me in the eye! I tried to get her to settle with treats but once our other food hound Shaq got his face in there Marge went for him and he was not about to let some tiny little whipper snapper 1)take food from him or 2) think she was boss over HIM. He retaliated and fortunately didn't get to bite her head clean off, especially since it's about the size of a treat, but it was close. After that lack of a love fest going on, little miss bossy thang got to stay up front by herself for some much needed down time. Hopefully someone will fall in love with her soon and be willing to work on her doggie "issues"
Our sweet little Ann and Shaq will have to share their time up front with Marge for now.The odd thing I noticed about Marge and our Ann is that they both tend to do circles. When Ann hears a lot going on she just keeps doing them and sometimes hits her little head into the wall :( sad. Ann has been going home with different staff and volunteers at night since she seems to have a hard time being alone. Marge has always done circles but seems to do it less now that she has had some deaf training and more interaction.
Hopefully when I get back from my days off more of our longer term babies will be gone. Especially Shaq! Keep sending out that positive energy!
Thanks for tuning in!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Week of Reiki & Regression
So we have been fortunate enough to have another tool in our box other than regular dog training or behaviour knowledge/experience. Several of the staff members including myself have become Reiki I practicioners. If you don't know what it is, my best crude explanation is first having an intention for being of assistance which comprises of being a conduit for healing energy and projecting that energy to wherever the individual's body calls for it. Whether that be animals or people. Many at our Shelter think it is a bunch of metaphysical mumbo jumbo and I definitely know if I was back in Chicago and I brought this idea they would first tell me I was out of my mind and then probably say of course! it comes from the land of fruits and nuts! Fortunately here in S. Cali it is much more acceptable which I find refreshing.
I've done some Reiki on a few of the animals and for now I don't see any immediate reaction but hope that it at least has some bit of calming for them...other than the contentment of just having the company itself. I will continue to practice it and hopefully will gain greater ability with it, especially since they have scientific proof that it actually works. After we practice more we will continue our schooling to become Reiki II and III Masters. I'll let ya know how and if it works on our kids here.
One of our front desk ladies has been practicing Reiki on Shaq Attack & staff has tried to stay conscious in keeping on the protocal for our stressed little fella. He is kept away from the other dogs as much as possible and spends most days up at our front desk. It's gotten to the point that he knows exactly where he likes to be and will pull you all the way to the front office door if you let him as he was some dowsing rod pulling you directly to water. He is even sharing the space with a SUHWHEET young little Shihtsu named Anna, who had to have both her eyes removed because of a blunt trauma to her head. Shaq doesn't mind her up there at all but maybe it's fromthem both getting Reiki :) Who knows? Regardless, it's good to see he can share his space with another of his kind. So far so good. All he needs now is to attract that forever home that will keep him happy and healthy.
We ended up getting this deathly afraid, adorable little Chihuahua Choochoo. She is the kind of dog who hides in the back of her crate and acts like she wants to be ok with you, as she will come up and take treats from your hand (though funnily enough food can get many dogs right out of a fearful moment)and off your legs etc but if you move she will run away again. Patience is a true virtue with this kind of animal and I'm sad to say that not a lot of people really have that kind of patience especially if they feel they are in a hurry. I am in charge of what we call "special needs" animals and that would be any animal that needs extra attention whether it be more exercise, quiet time, more socialization etc. so even though she had special instructions I only put her in my own mental special needs. The first few sitting it would taker her about 20 min. before she would climb onto my lap after a thousand treat of bribery and sloth like stealthiness. Even after the few good intros we had she still would come to the gate door but not come out until I opened it abit and she would allow you to pet her neck and then come forward for more and the she would let me pick her up. As I said before this much time was not taken with her by everyone and one day while trying to get her to come forward from her play yard she darted and ended jumping over another staffer who caught her but it freaked Choochoo enough that she bit the staffer. Now my Choochoo is on Bite Quarantine where she is secluded from the general population for 10days. I was told the other day that she is now on the green mile. I'm frustrated because she had shown some improvement and I believe (and still willing to admit I MAY be wrong about this) that if everyone had worked with her the way that was best for her then she probably would have made more strides.
My frustration also stems from experiencing other dogs who have come in here traitwith very similar behaviour traits (minus the fear bite) and got more put into them to see if they could adjust and the last one I can remember of those fearful ones has been adopted. I will openly admit I am stubborn in my views and that on occassion they may be idealistic yet I prefer to think of it more as being hopeful. It's been a battle for three years with me and another individual who have completely opposite ideas about the animals in the shelter as to whether they are "suffering", whether anyone would want them or not or if they will be some kind of danger in the home. I find the person to be focused on created stories of negativity and my created stories side on the positive side. All I can do is keep working with my kids the best I can and fight for those I feel are misrepresented or if rulings are unsubstantial.
As for my Choochoo, I'm not sure what to do about her. I adore her of course but she does spend the majority of her time tucked away in the back of her kennel and often shaking. What I do accept for right now is that here, we do not have the proper tools to work with her without continually causing her even more stress and anxiety. I wish we had a foster that would take her home and see if she is adaptable...would that just prolong a life of fear? I don't know. What I do know is that if I can get these kids to be able to just hang in there long enough without going off the deep end then an openhearted, kind patient person will take each of these "special needs dogs home. Like I said before..It's just a matter of time.
Last note of the day..Big Bogenaut and my Copper are still here yet doing pretty well. Bogers is seeming a little sad but I have spent some extra time with him getting him to get excited and play. we also got 10 newbies who will be available Sat. All small all cute and all champions when it came to their shots and blood draws. What BRAVE little monkies!
Wish I had more time for all of them.
Thanks for reading!
Stay Tuned
1
I've done some Reiki on a few of the animals and for now I don't see any immediate reaction but hope that it at least has some bit of calming for them...other than the contentment of just having the company itself. I will continue to practice it and hopefully will gain greater ability with it, especially since they have scientific proof that it actually works. After we practice more we will continue our schooling to become Reiki II and III Masters. I'll let ya know how and if it works on our kids here.
One of our front desk ladies has been practicing Reiki on Shaq Attack & staff has tried to stay conscious in keeping on the protocal for our stressed little fella. He is kept away from the other dogs as much as possible and spends most days up at our front desk. It's gotten to the point that he knows exactly where he likes to be and will pull you all the way to the front office door if you let him as he was some dowsing rod pulling you directly to water. He is even sharing the space with a SUHWHEET young little Shihtsu named Anna, who had to have both her eyes removed because of a blunt trauma to her head. Shaq doesn't mind her up there at all but maybe it's fromthem both getting Reiki :) Who knows? Regardless, it's good to see he can share his space with another of his kind. So far so good. All he needs now is to attract that forever home that will keep him happy and healthy.
We ended up getting this deathly afraid, adorable little Chihuahua Choochoo. She is the kind of dog who hides in the back of her crate and acts like she wants to be ok with you, as she will come up and take treats from your hand (though funnily enough food can get many dogs right out of a fearful moment)and off your legs etc but if you move she will run away again. Patience is a true virtue with this kind of animal and I'm sad to say that not a lot of people really have that kind of patience especially if they feel they are in a hurry. I am in charge of what we call "special needs" animals and that would be any animal that needs extra attention whether it be more exercise, quiet time, more socialization etc. so even though she had special instructions I only put her in my own mental special needs. The first few sitting it would taker her about 20 min. before she would climb onto my lap after a thousand treat of bribery and sloth like stealthiness. Even after the few good intros we had she still would come to the gate door but not come out until I opened it abit and she would allow you to pet her neck and then come forward for more and the she would let me pick her up. As I said before this much time was not taken with her by everyone and one day while trying to get her to come forward from her play yard she darted and ended jumping over another staffer who caught her but it freaked Choochoo enough that she bit the staffer. Now my Choochoo is on Bite Quarantine where she is secluded from the general population for 10days. I was told the other day that she is now on the green mile. I'm frustrated because she had shown some improvement and I believe (and still willing to admit I MAY be wrong about this) that if everyone had worked with her the way that was best for her then she probably would have made more strides.
My frustration also stems from experiencing other dogs who have come in here traitwith very similar behaviour traits (minus the fear bite) and got more put into them to see if they could adjust and the last one I can remember of those fearful ones has been adopted. I will openly admit I am stubborn in my views and that on occassion they may be idealistic yet I prefer to think of it more as being hopeful. It's been a battle for three years with me and another individual who have completely opposite ideas about the animals in the shelter as to whether they are "suffering", whether anyone would want them or not or if they will be some kind of danger in the home. I find the person to be focused on created stories of negativity and my created stories side on the positive side. All I can do is keep working with my kids the best I can and fight for those I feel are misrepresented or if rulings are unsubstantial.
As for my Choochoo, I'm not sure what to do about her. I adore her of course but she does spend the majority of her time tucked away in the back of her kennel and often shaking. What I do accept for right now is that here, we do not have the proper tools to work with her without continually causing her even more stress and anxiety. I wish we had a foster that would take her home and see if she is adaptable...would that just prolong a life of fear? I don't know. What I do know is that if I can get these kids to be able to just hang in there long enough without going off the deep end then an openhearted, kind patient person will take each of these "special needs dogs home. Like I said before..It's just a matter of time.
Last note of the day..Big Bogenaut and my Copper are still here yet doing pretty well. Bogers is seeming a little sad but I have spent some extra time with him getting him to get excited and play. we also got 10 newbies who will be available Sat. All small all cute and all champions when it came to their shots and blood draws. What BRAVE little monkies!
Wish I had more time for all of them.
Thanks for reading!
Stay Tuned
1
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