It's funy to me how certain dogs will all of a sudden hit me as a new favorite (yes, I am shamed to say it but I do at times have favorites out of our ever changing family. My DUST..as in almost as old as. Well not really, but people act as though it were so. My DUSTty Rhodes as I sometimes call him has grown on me today. He is a 7yr old overweight not so dog friendly Aussie Shepard. Now I've always liked DUST, he's a chill friendly with people nice boy. I don't know what it was but he looked at me today and he is so sweet with his little stitched up nose that's all dry and cracked from having a biopsy to see if he has Lupus. He's all wiggly with his big butt that's missing some hair as he had so many flea bites when he came in the poor baby. I'm glad the people gave him up to us. He was mostly outside and wants to be near his people the poor thing. He's now on my lovins list. He'll be a good companion. He's housetrained but he does have some strong reaction to other dogs and not an oh baby that's good kind of reaction. Think Mike Ditka screaming at a ref at the superbowl kind of reaction. But he does let a lot of dogs pass his kennel without gettind riled so far and that's a plus. Problem is he is a big boy and bigger dogs don't have as long a life span as the wee ones and most people don't like the idea of mourning the loss of a loved one and not having enough time with them. Humbug I say! Old dogs rock.
There is someone interested in SKIPPY DOODLE our 12yr old black, maybe 25lb fox eared greying muzzle, fluffy curled tail with a little white on it "Schipperke X". A woman came in to see him and I believe we are waiting for some requirement to be met and then sounds like she will want to take him home. SKIPPY DOODLE a chill little old man with still enough energy for a mobile (wheel chairs count) old person or someone who wants a companion but is to lazy to do tooo much. He's a fav of one of our volunteers and she will foster him overnight every now and agian and she sits with him in his kennel often. I love to see that. Not only because he's getting lovins but that leaves me time for another one who may not of had much time with someone.
Then there was MAKO. Our 7yr old stoic, prey driven, smart, prey driven, bark that sounds like a cross between a clown horn and a seal cough, prey driven, curl up in your lap and nap, ever searching, prey driven, stubborn, built like a little brick shithouse, jump like he's a flea, vampire fanged Fox Terrier. He barks at other dogs like he wants to get at their neck and just shake, like he does that fuzzy squirrel in his kennel, but really wants nothing to do with them once he's gotten to sniff them (as long as they don't react to his assholishness). And he's one of my favorites. In those brief moments between Oh oh is that a dog!? Hey hey hey a squirrel! Ooo Ohh A gopher! A bird! I see Something!, he is a very sweet stoic little fella looking for companionship.(And something to stalk dig for and kill.) And he's one of my favorites. MAKO has gotten better with being able to even see a dog and not go bananas. He's passed several dogs lately and not released that abombanation of a bark on any of them which for him is a huge improvement. He still can't go down below to the big play yards because his anal glands would probably explode from the overload of triggers of being around all those other dogs and prey. He gets so excited now when he sees me and I get a few kisses from him now and he has never been much of a kisser. We play fetch in the big yard down below when no one else is around. He gets treats esch time he brings the toy back and I've gotten him to come on command..as long as long as we are in a vaccum :) but hey it's a start. Tried him up front today but once he saw a dog, that car horn bark was stuck on and he couldn't settle so back to his room he went. Poor baby. It's a big deal for lots of people not to be able to walk their dog around town without it acting like a . So owner either works on impulse control around other dogs which takes lots of time energy and patience and/or you have a yard and like to play ball and maybe even go hunting or have lots of gophers in the yard you care nothing about, which will also take time energy and patience. We'll find him his home and he's high on my lovins list.
As is BLARNEY our 6yr old little headed, bulky shouldered, crimp tailed, gap toothed, fuzzy bodied, sweet, nervous barky Shepard X who was much fatter when he came in but since he is a stubborn eater and needs to be hand fed for him to eat he has lost some weight (but he was a chunko so it's ok). He was so freaked out here that we couldn't go into the kennel with him. We made a gated corral for him to walk to the potty yard so we could clean his kennel and when I first saw he liked to catch the treats we had it down and then it was discoverd that he is WILD for a squeaky toy. It's his crack. He's got a loud serious bark that I believe is all talk. He is a nervous nelly and even the papers and blanket on his kennel door moving in the wind freaks him out. I don't believe he would do harm but oh man he can talk a good game. When he knows you, he loves you and will lick your face off. He will play with a squeaky toy every time like it's the newest playstation. BLARNEY does have an odd behavior I've never seen before and that is he barks the entire time he is passing dogs and down the hall and down the stairs and almost all the way down to the yard. Just barking the whole way. Same with coming up to his kennel. I imagine that he's announcing himself..here I come. I'm coming. It's me! Yep That's right ME! Who didn't see or hear it? Here I am and I'm walking! You all suck! Um yeah he has some dog issues. He comes on like an asshole. He gets all jacked up and starts that barking then he bouncing on his front legs and usually wants to bite at them. We were told by his previous owner who was an old woman that he had been good around dogs. Well not here in Bizarro World. He is a very sweet fearful affectionate big ox. He has horrible kennel manners and gives a poor and askew impression of how he usually is, since he barks at many of the people that go by him (it's not pretty). I've tried talking to him about it and told him he needs to be nice to get out of here but he's not cooperating yet. I'll talk with him again soon.
And our newest geriatric to the family is WYLERS a 12y old Dachshund. I fell for him as soon as I saw him. He is ADORABLE. I'm not a typical little dog fanatic and for a Doxie he is rather small if ya can picture that. He's this reddish brown with all this white/gray on his muzzle and sometimes his canines will be on the outside of his mouth and he reminds me of a little hillbilly. He probably won't have any teeth left after he gets his dental. I'll tell ya for a 12y old he is spry. He trots along with me with those little legs zipping back and forth so fast it's hard to believe he's that old. AND the poor little man came into our county shelter I believe as strays and he had a little partner who was attacked by a coyote and didn't survive so we took him. He hangs with WINNERS and TIPPIRILLO and TIPPIRILLO is a small 15lb spazzy brown Tina Turner haired wild bully beast of a Spaniel X who would try and mount poor old WYLERS. WYLERS is even smaller than TIPPIRILLO but he would whip around and giver her the what for and she backed off. He is so freakin cute!
Last but certainly not least is WINNERS our little 30lb Jack Lelanne. For an old man he is one put together Jack Russel Heeler X. He is in really great shape AND he was hit by a car years ago. I can't imagine how much healthier and stronger he would be if that hadn't happend. ooooo Jack Lelanne on steriods. Scary. WINNERS breaks my heart ..cuz he's a wimperer/moaner/cryer. He VOCALLY tells you he's sad. Especially at the end of the night. All the blankets will be up over the kennel doors to keep out those chilly winds (their kennels also have heat in the floors or overhead) and I will hear him cryin. It's kills me so he's another on my lovins list. Oh AND our boy has allergies and has to be on special food and he's STILL in fabulous shape.He is such a good boy. He's the reason I only want older dogs in the future. Well him and the others. Leave the puppies to the stupid crazy people.
They are not so old and never in the way. Consider an older dog next time around..they give as much love, loyalty and affection, they just have worse odds on years.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Good The Bad The Ugly and potentially The Awesome
Ok so since I want to end on a good note I will start with the ugly. Our beautiful HIGGY is gone. There are few "in house" dogs that have been euthanized that I have not been a part of, but the last I saw of him was when I spent some time with him saying my goodbyes and apologies in his kennel. With growling/barking/air snapping at unpredictable times he had been deemed unadoptable. Personally I don't believe a dog should be put down if it hasn't done harm..."yet". YET? What's my crime? Loud threatening behavior at weird times? Might be a little off? OK possibly a screw loose somewhere, I'll agree with ya there, but I didn't attack anyone for walking past me wearing a green shirt on a Friday..."YET"....the most I do is scream jibberish at em about it. Weird, maybe even to the guy wearing green a little scary but no crime has been committed so why a death sentence? Apparently crazy is a crime. Now me I'm always willing to give crazy a chance. I hear their worries and concerns. I just can't understand how one's own fears can be a good enough reason to end a life. I love my job and the rest of what I do so I accept this part I don't agree with. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be with you in the end. RIP sweet HIGGY.
Now on to some of the bad. COOPIE is getting more stressed. He's barking at most of the people who walk by his kennel. I swear sometimes he looks like a crazy man with his arms reaching out through the bars and just screamin' jibberish and some people walk by and he's waggin' his tail. He's been getting less because he's been exposed to ring worm and so not as many people want to take the risk in getting it or giving it to their own animals they don't get the walks/lovins/ or play they normally do. My little man used to curl up on my lap and take a snooze and now he's acting like he doesn't want to be petted. He stays arm's length away and backs up when I want to love on him but will still come to me and let me pick him up to carry him to his play yard. I carry him because he does not react to us passing the other dogs when I do. I'm worried about him. I sit with him and BOON (our Pitty who has the ringworm) as often as I can since I know they are getting less. At least they can play together even if it isn't in a big yard.
BOON has started barking at a few of the dogs that pass him. He's not done that before and so that concerns me. I hate seeing the signs of stress emerge as my babies wait longer and longer for their forever family to get them. The best I can do is keep watch for any signs and give them all that I can. The good thing is he is not getting mouthier and still loves to soak your face with slobbery kisses.
PADDY our Shepard is still with us and getting a little more stressed. I have seen more of his jumping onto the kennel door at about 5' up and bouncing off of it in a big circle. Paddy is fortunate enough to get to go into our Volunteer Coordinators office for a good portion of the day to keep him out of the chaos and lonliness of his kennel space. Paddy also gets to go home with a fello staffer a couple times a week to play with his dog and get some R&R. The smarter the dog the quicker they tend to deteriorate so Shepards are in that category. It may take a little longer with Paddy since he showed some seperation anxiety in the home he was in for one lousy week. I'm sorry people, but A WEEK? Dogs are not robots. They are freaked out sentient creatures who have no idea what's going on, who the hell are these talking monkies and what do they want with me oooooooo a shoe! They need time to adjust, to know what is going on, what the rules are, and if they are going to be ok. They will need LOTS of patience for them to do just as YOU WANT them to..like the little robot you probably should have paid for instead a wonderful creature like Paddy.
Ok Now for the good news: JAKEY & PEACH got adopted, BEEBER and JANIE got adopted together and will be room mates for life now yea! Our sweet LEGGY has escaped the green mile ! A Bassett Rescue took him and think he's as wonderful as the rest of us do. He is now in a foster home awaiting adoption.
Then yesterday we had an angel sent to us in the form of LADY's now owner! Well not YEEETTT but she has had our girl for 48 hrs now and so far so good. We let her take her on foster for a week or two because we know she is a handful and has a few behaviors that are not always easy to work with. So far she took her for a run last night and around the neighborhood and she did aces. LADY even passed some kids without any aggression and met the neighbor got home sniffed around and curled up to nap the night away (I hope) This woman is a friend of one of out Front Desk Staff. She will be keeping us informed hopefully daily. For Lady to get out when she did is HUGE. She really needed this. She was already a few steps down the green mile and not walking slowly. Lady got her a runner who's last dog was more difficult than her and he was with her for around 15 yrs. It sounds good. Sign here please....maybe soon. That is awesome! Keep them fingers crossed! I'll keep you updated.
Now on to some of the bad. COOPIE is getting more stressed. He's barking at most of the people who walk by his kennel. I swear sometimes he looks like a crazy man with his arms reaching out through the bars and just screamin' jibberish and some people walk by and he's waggin' his tail. He's been getting less because he's been exposed to ring worm and so not as many people want to take the risk in getting it or giving it to their own animals they don't get the walks/lovins/ or play they normally do. My little man used to curl up on my lap and take a snooze and now he's acting like he doesn't want to be petted. He stays arm's length away and backs up when I want to love on him but will still come to me and let me pick him up to carry him to his play yard. I carry him because he does not react to us passing the other dogs when I do. I'm worried about him. I sit with him and BOON (our Pitty who has the ringworm) as often as I can since I know they are getting less. At least they can play together even if it isn't in a big yard.
BOON has started barking at a few of the dogs that pass him. He's not done that before and so that concerns me. I hate seeing the signs of stress emerge as my babies wait longer and longer for their forever family to get them. The best I can do is keep watch for any signs and give them all that I can. The good thing is he is not getting mouthier and still loves to soak your face with slobbery kisses.
PADDY our Shepard is still with us and getting a little more stressed. I have seen more of his jumping onto the kennel door at about 5' up and bouncing off of it in a big circle. Paddy is fortunate enough to get to go into our Volunteer Coordinators office for a good portion of the day to keep him out of the chaos and lonliness of his kennel space. Paddy also gets to go home with a fello staffer a couple times a week to play with his dog and get some R&R. The smarter the dog the quicker they tend to deteriorate so Shepards are in that category. It may take a little longer with Paddy since he showed some seperation anxiety in the home he was in for one lousy week. I'm sorry people, but A WEEK? Dogs are not robots. They are freaked out sentient creatures who have no idea what's going on, who the hell are these talking monkies and what do they want with me oooooooo a shoe! They need time to adjust, to know what is going on, what the rules are, and if they are going to be ok. They will need LOTS of patience for them to do just as YOU WANT them to..like the little robot you probably should have paid for instead a wonderful creature like Paddy.
Ok Now for the good news: JAKEY & PEACH got adopted, BEEBER and JANIE got adopted together and will be room mates for life now yea! Our sweet LEGGY has escaped the green mile ! A Bassett Rescue took him and think he's as wonderful as the rest of us do. He is now in a foster home awaiting adoption.
Then yesterday we had an angel sent to us in the form of LADY's now owner! Well not YEEETTT but she has had our girl for 48 hrs now and so far so good. We let her take her on foster for a week or two because we know she is a handful and has a few behaviors that are not always easy to work with. So far she took her for a run last night and around the neighborhood and she did aces. LADY even passed some kids without any aggression and met the neighbor got home sniffed around and curled up to nap the night away (I hope) This woman is a friend of one of out Front Desk Staff. She will be keeping us informed hopefully daily. For Lady to get out when she did is HUGE. She really needed this. She was already a few steps down the green mile and not walking slowly. Lady got her a runner who's last dog was more difficult than her and he was with her for around 15 yrs. It sounds good. Sign here please....maybe soon. That is awesome! Keep them fingers crossed! I'll keep you updated.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
One Leap Forward Four Steps Back
Another week of cheers and sobs. Most of the last newbies got adopted through the week. Whitey got to go home with a sweet young couple and the cutest white tiny winged angel (no really, they had a harness on her with angel wings on it) Little Lamby is gone and my Astin just got adopted today and my Finny is with his family now too. The only ones left are our two little nutties, Janie and Beeber. Oh Paddy the black & blonde Shepard. Paddy is one of our steps back.
Our big lovely leap this week was getting Coraline adopted. I did the showing with her and it was with a mom and 16yr old son and their 5yr old Cocker Spaniel. they walk their dog a lot and don't have a yard so no more worries about her escaping that way. Their dog and her played and respected each others boundries though she did gurad the water bowl for a bit. They seem to have understood the need for her to have stimulation as they are already enrolling her in obediance class. Mom doesn't even mind so far that she chewed a couple of pillows. Hopefully the son will run with her like they said he planned to. So far it sounds good.
The end of the week was hard on the heart. All in one day we got three of our animals returned back to us and then another prior to that. We do our best to make people understand what is needed for the particular dog they are interested in and want to believe them when they say they will do what it takes but sometimes it just doesn't work out the way one would like.
Our big black Lab Higgy was gone for a week or so and returned for growling several times at assumedly nothing. Usually at night when he is on his bed and or lying down. It concerned the people enough to relinquish him back to us. Now Higgy is one of those truely tolerant of anything dogs. loves other dogs is shy but loving with people and so submissive he often goes belly up. We had a staff member take him home and he growled and snapped at her boyfriend once over nothing. growled at her once with no provocation and then growled another time when no one was even around him. Again this behaviour is happening at night. Personally I think he can see ghots and who the heck could blame him for being freaked out by that!? Our behaviourist is taking him home too to see if she can see some kind of pattern and so far only when he was sleeping she walked by and knocked into his bed and he whipped his head and gave a growl. If you met this dog you just wouldn't believe it. He is perfect in every other way. I'm worried that he may be considered for the green mile if they can't tell if or when he may bite. I would have an especially hard time putting an animal down that hasn't caused any harm yet. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Higgy.
First of the D day returns was Paddy the Shepard. He went home with a couple that had at one time adopted Coraline but brought her back I believe for escaping but I'm not privy to all the details. It seems that when mom n dad leave Paddy has a need to chew/destroy the blinds. They tried leaving just the steel safety door closed and it seemed as long as he could see out the steel safety door he was ok..but the neighbor came by to check on him, closed the door when they left and he wen't for the blinds again. Apparantly he would even sit by the door if one of them left and then start to go after the blinds even if the other was in the house with him. He also chewed at the bars of his crate. Otherwise when you are with him he is a wonderful sweet perfect dog. Hopefully it won't be long before people with the time and willingness to work on his seperation anxiety come along.
Then came sweet Peach. A sweet, silly Basset body with anything but a Basset head or coloring. She was brought back by the old couple because she was "just to much" Goodness she's a stubby Basset bodied little Lab! How much energy could she possibly have? Needing more than one walk around the block 2x a week I guess. She also chewed on a coffee table one time in the 10 weeks they had her. (heck my pitty mix ripped the whole back of my sofa and dragged it to the front door the first day he was home alone and I still kept his trouble making butt). Peach was from another shelter with no history and for some reason these people felt if they had known her past it would have made a difference (??in her behaviour??) Fortunately they have decided they are done with owning a pet. The old woman was crying and thought we were going to put sweet Peach down and I assured her Peach, who is just that, will get herself the right home and there would be no walking the green mile for her. She likes people and dogs and won't take to long to find her her home.
Last and saddest of all is Leggy. He is THE sweetest, loving ooooooooohhhhhey gooey dumbo eared bundle of kisses and true Basset Hound. There had been some growling at the hubby going on whenever Leggy was on the bed or couch with mom. One day dad was supposedly playing with him and rubbing his belly and Leggy leapt up and bit the guy in the armpit chest area. It was a lasting, noticable, serious bite. They brought him back and with that kind of bite which seemed without provocation he will be considered not adoptable and is on bite quarantine awaiting his geen mile sentence. If we can get a Basset rescue to consider taking him we won't have to do the unthinkable. Some people love certain breeds and are willing to put up with more sometimes. I sat with Leggy for a while today since the system isn't perfect and he has to wait 10 days before saying goodbye. It's still so hard to believe he is capable of such an aggressive action because he's as sweet as a lamb here with all of us. I would of had my doubts had I not seen the bite myself. I'm a harsh one usually blaming the people and rarely blaming my kids for any bad behaviour...what can I say, they're my babies. I just wish people would have it in them to put more effort, patience, and time into their pet's learning and adjusting.
Good news is my Coopie has survived bite quarantine and will be back in general population in 2 more days. I sat with him everyday and did Reiki on him and my little man was quite good and often spent his time just napping in my lap. Now on to finding him his forever home asap before the stress level rises and he loses his manners again! Our lovely Lady is still hanging out up at the front desk and doing fairly well and has it in her to bark pretty assertively at some people on less occassions. If you don't know her she's a hard sell..but if you know her like the staff and volunteerts do you'd want to take her home even though she's can be an uncontrolable shit around other dogs at times. It's all those other endearing qualities you see in her as the days go by that make you just fall completely in love with her...and really, for me, with all of them.
We will be getting another gang of newbies on Monday and we just got this big black tounged black Lab named Jakey relinquished to us because they don't have the time for him. He could be the brother of my own sweet Lab Chow mix I named Blue because he has the full blue black tongue. Labs don't often stay to long with us. Hopefully this will be true for him.
Thanks for reading and any comments are appreciated. Stay Tuned
Our big lovely leap this week was getting Coraline adopted. I did the showing with her and it was with a mom and 16yr old son and their 5yr old Cocker Spaniel. they walk their dog a lot and don't have a yard so no more worries about her escaping that way. Their dog and her played and respected each others boundries though she did gurad the water bowl for a bit. They seem to have understood the need for her to have stimulation as they are already enrolling her in obediance class. Mom doesn't even mind so far that she chewed a couple of pillows. Hopefully the son will run with her like they said he planned to. So far it sounds good.
The end of the week was hard on the heart. All in one day we got three of our animals returned back to us and then another prior to that. We do our best to make people understand what is needed for the particular dog they are interested in and want to believe them when they say they will do what it takes but sometimes it just doesn't work out the way one would like.
Our big black Lab Higgy was gone for a week or so and returned for growling several times at assumedly nothing. Usually at night when he is on his bed and or lying down. It concerned the people enough to relinquish him back to us. Now Higgy is one of those truely tolerant of anything dogs. loves other dogs is shy but loving with people and so submissive he often goes belly up. We had a staff member take him home and he growled and snapped at her boyfriend once over nothing. growled at her once with no provocation and then growled another time when no one was even around him. Again this behaviour is happening at night. Personally I think he can see ghots and who the heck could blame him for being freaked out by that!? Our behaviourist is taking him home too to see if she can see some kind of pattern and so far only when he was sleeping she walked by and knocked into his bed and he whipped his head and gave a growl. If you met this dog you just wouldn't believe it. He is perfect in every other way. I'm worried that he may be considered for the green mile if they can't tell if or when he may bite. I would have an especially hard time putting an animal down that hasn't caused any harm yet. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Higgy.
First of the D day returns was Paddy the Shepard. He went home with a couple that had at one time adopted Coraline but brought her back I believe for escaping but I'm not privy to all the details. It seems that when mom n dad leave Paddy has a need to chew/destroy the blinds. They tried leaving just the steel safety door closed and it seemed as long as he could see out the steel safety door he was ok..but the neighbor came by to check on him, closed the door when they left and he wen't for the blinds again. Apparantly he would even sit by the door if one of them left and then start to go after the blinds even if the other was in the house with him. He also chewed at the bars of his crate. Otherwise when you are with him he is a wonderful sweet perfect dog. Hopefully it won't be long before people with the time and willingness to work on his seperation anxiety come along.
Then came sweet Peach. A sweet, silly Basset body with anything but a Basset head or coloring. She was brought back by the old couple because she was "just to much" Goodness she's a stubby Basset bodied little Lab! How much energy could she possibly have? Needing more than one walk around the block 2x a week I guess. She also chewed on a coffee table one time in the 10 weeks they had her. (heck my pitty mix ripped the whole back of my sofa and dragged it to the front door the first day he was home alone and I still kept his trouble making butt). Peach was from another shelter with no history and for some reason these people felt if they had known her past it would have made a difference (??in her behaviour??) Fortunately they have decided they are done with owning a pet. The old woman was crying and thought we were going to put sweet Peach down and I assured her Peach, who is just that, will get herself the right home and there would be no walking the green mile for her. She likes people and dogs and won't take to long to find her her home.
Last and saddest of all is Leggy. He is THE sweetest, loving ooooooooohhhhhey gooey dumbo eared bundle of kisses and true Basset Hound. There had been some growling at the hubby going on whenever Leggy was on the bed or couch with mom. One day dad was supposedly playing with him and rubbing his belly and Leggy leapt up and bit the guy in the armpit chest area. It was a lasting, noticable, serious bite. They brought him back and with that kind of bite which seemed without provocation he will be considered not adoptable and is on bite quarantine awaiting his geen mile sentence. If we can get a Basset rescue to consider taking him we won't have to do the unthinkable. Some people love certain breeds and are willing to put up with more sometimes. I sat with Leggy for a while today since the system isn't perfect and he has to wait 10 days before saying goodbye. It's still so hard to believe he is capable of such an aggressive action because he's as sweet as a lamb here with all of us. I would of had my doubts had I not seen the bite myself. I'm a harsh one usually blaming the people and rarely blaming my kids for any bad behaviour...what can I say, they're my babies. I just wish people would have it in them to put more effort, patience, and time into their pet's learning and adjusting.
Good news is my Coopie has survived bite quarantine and will be back in general population in 2 more days. I sat with him everyday and did Reiki on him and my little man was quite good and often spent his time just napping in my lap. Now on to finding him his forever home asap before the stress level rises and he loses his manners again! Our lovely Lady is still hanging out up at the front desk and doing fairly well and has it in her to bark pretty assertively at some people on less occassions. If you don't know her she's a hard sell..but if you know her like the staff and volunteerts do you'd want to take her home even though she's can be an uncontrolable shit around other dogs at times. It's all those other endearing qualities you see in her as the days go by that make you just fall completely in love with her...and really, for me, with all of them.
We will be getting another gang of newbies on Monday and we just got this big black tounged black Lab named Jakey relinquished to us because they don't have the time for him. He could be the brother of my own sweet Lab Chow mix I named Blue because he has the full blue black tongue. Labs don't often stay to long with us. Hopefully this will be true for him.
Thanks for reading and any comments are appreciated. Stay Tuned
Thursday, March 4, 2010
As in all of life, with the ups come the downs
Our Big Cheekaleeka, one of our long termers was adopted! We even got to see her again since she had to be brought back to have a rash checked on. We were happily informed that she has been a perfect angle in the home so far. She was even excited to see us again, lavishing kisses on me and nibbling my chin,(Cheekaleeka not the adopter) as though it really was a good home for her and not such a scary place. She will be missed and yet happily missed.
Unfortunately the "long termers" never quite disappear they just keep changing. Our sweet Lady is still here but made some huge improvements since she has been spending lots more time up front with the front desk staff. She is much calmer passing all the dogs to and from her kennel and rarely lunges or barks at them. Before you would have to make sure you had a good grip and strong legs to get our little crazed one past the dogs without her making her way over to one by pulling you. She spends much of her time just laying around and getting petted. Amazing what just longer amounts of company/socialization and relax time can do for a soul. (hmm maybe LOVE IS THE ANSWER)
Coopie has reached long termer status and today our little stress monger was walking with one of our volunteers and I don't know all the details but somehow he got near our other long termer Coraline and in the scuffle he apparantly lost more than his temper but with it some of his scruples as well and he bit. He broke skin which means our little man is on bite quarantine for 10 days. He will need a lot of company during that time since he won't be able to play with his buddies until off quarantine and will not be allowed to be handled or seen by many people. My hope is that he will relax at least a little during this time since he will be away from the rest of the dogs in the general population area and won't have the opportunity to work on those stratagies with no dogs around to arouse him. But smart dogs can go stir crazy a little quicker so I will be spending as much time with my little scamp as possible.
It was very cute as we had a fellow staffer bring his dog and introduce him to Coopie and it was a match made in heaven. They stood on their hind legs and held each other like they were on Dancing With The Stars and took turns mounting each other. I think Coopie may not have felt as much as the other dog did that they were soul mates but they surely enjoyed each other's company.
Our new crew of kids didn't fly out the door as quickly as they tend to do so no new dog shopping for at least another week. We have another escape artist disguised like a beautiful sweet Blonde and Black Shepard who is a sweet sweet boy. One little poodlie mix that I have dubbed Lamby because he looks like a little lamb to me. I am not a huge fan of the poodles but My little Lamby is a cute spaz full of fun and lovins for you. We also have Whitey an albino Chihu mix. Pink little nose and light eyes and is so sweet and shy...until a dog he doesn't like comes by then WATCHOUT he's gonna tell ya what he thinks of that nonesense. My Finny is I think Bipolar. I jest but he is so shy and sweet with you and crawls into your lap all low and shy like but when another dog comes over to weasle in on some loving or gets to close to food he claims as his then up goes that lip and a snarl and a growl are things you would never imagine would come from this shy low creeper. Funny Little creatures. Then we have Beeber our Chihu who LOVEs to play rough with Janie a sweet spazzy probably Chihu pug mix with an under bite and Astin a blonde Chihu that seems to be less than excited to be shacked up with Lamby who seems to want desperately to play with Astin. Only two of the current batch got adopted which with all the cuteness going on is hard to believe.
There was a bitter end to my day today. Other than Coopie having to go on bite quarantine for biting a volunteer today there was another Bite of the day. One of our previous residents who had been homed for a little over a year I believe named Letta, a large mutt that really didn't like dogs and was a handful to deal with especially around them was brought in for euthanasia after biting a friend whom she had met before, on the face and breaking skin in more than one place. It was relayed to me it was an unprovoked attack. Letta was a sweet girl that had escaped the green mile before when she was with us(she had not done any harm while in the facility but was known to get out of control when around other dogs)and soon after had gotten adopted by a couple willing to work on her issues. They have a small child now and understandably no longer feel safe with her around the wee one. I was glad to be there to hold her and tell her I love her as she gobbled up cream cheese happily oblivious to the needle going in and quickly slipped into her permanent slumber with cream cheese on her lips and my I love yous in her ear. I always love to see my kids again but I would rather never see them again than to see them under those circumstances. It's a very tough and sad part of this vocation but fortunately it is not such a common thing. RIP Letta . I'm glad you got to experience what a happy life was like for a bit.
Unfortunately the "long termers" never quite disappear they just keep changing. Our sweet Lady is still here but made some huge improvements since she has been spending lots more time up front with the front desk staff. She is much calmer passing all the dogs to and from her kennel and rarely lunges or barks at them. Before you would have to make sure you had a good grip and strong legs to get our little crazed one past the dogs without her making her way over to one by pulling you. She spends much of her time just laying around and getting petted. Amazing what just longer amounts of company/socialization and relax time can do for a soul. (hmm maybe LOVE IS THE ANSWER)
Coopie has reached long termer status and today our little stress monger was walking with one of our volunteers and I don't know all the details but somehow he got near our other long termer Coraline and in the scuffle he apparantly lost more than his temper but with it some of his scruples as well and he bit. He broke skin which means our little man is on bite quarantine for 10 days. He will need a lot of company during that time since he won't be able to play with his buddies until off quarantine and will not be allowed to be handled or seen by many people. My hope is that he will relax at least a little during this time since he will be away from the rest of the dogs in the general population area and won't have the opportunity to work on those stratagies with no dogs around to arouse him. But smart dogs can go stir crazy a little quicker so I will be spending as much time with my little scamp as possible.
It was very cute as we had a fellow staffer bring his dog and introduce him to Coopie and it was a match made in heaven. They stood on their hind legs and held each other like they were on Dancing With The Stars and took turns mounting each other. I think Coopie may not have felt as much as the other dog did that they were soul mates but they surely enjoyed each other's company.
Our new crew of kids didn't fly out the door as quickly as they tend to do so no new dog shopping for at least another week. We have another escape artist disguised like a beautiful sweet Blonde and Black Shepard who is a sweet sweet boy. One little poodlie mix that I have dubbed Lamby because he looks like a little lamb to me. I am not a huge fan of the poodles but My little Lamby is a cute spaz full of fun and lovins for you. We also have Whitey an albino Chihu mix. Pink little nose and light eyes and is so sweet and shy...until a dog he doesn't like comes by then WATCHOUT he's gonna tell ya what he thinks of that nonesense. My Finny is I think Bipolar. I jest but he is so shy and sweet with you and crawls into your lap all low and shy like but when another dog comes over to weasle in on some loving or gets to close to food he claims as his then up goes that lip and a snarl and a growl are things you would never imagine would come from this shy low creeper. Funny Little creatures. Then we have Beeber our Chihu who LOVEs to play rough with Janie a sweet spazzy probably Chihu pug mix with an under bite and Astin a blonde Chihu that seems to be less than excited to be shacked up with Lamby who seems to want desperately to play with Astin. Only two of the current batch got adopted which with all the cuteness going on is hard to believe.
There was a bitter end to my day today. Other than Coopie having to go on bite quarantine for biting a volunteer today there was another Bite of the day. One of our previous residents who had been homed for a little over a year I believe named Letta, a large mutt that really didn't like dogs and was a handful to deal with especially around them was brought in for euthanasia after biting a friend whom she had met before, on the face and breaking skin in more than one place. It was relayed to me it was an unprovoked attack. Letta was a sweet girl that had escaped the green mile before when she was with us(she had not done any harm while in the facility but was known to get out of control when around other dogs)and soon after had gotten adopted by a couple willing to work on her issues. They have a small child now and understandably no longer feel safe with her around the wee one. I was glad to be there to hold her and tell her I love her as she gobbled up cream cheese happily oblivious to the needle going in and quickly slipped into her permanent slumber with cream cheese on her lips and my I love yous in her ear. I always love to see my kids again but I would rather never see them again than to see them under those circumstances. It's a very tough and sad part of this vocation but fortunately it is not such a common thing. RIP Letta . I'm glad you got to experience what a happy life was like for a bit.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
New Friends and a long termer gets a pardon
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
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
