Jenni and Nellie

5-18-10

A couple of overnighters. :)

Jenni is a Puggle that we pulled from the shelter last week. She was in a different foster home, and then she was adopted on Saturday! YAY. We picked her up for the night so that I could take her in to her spay appt this morning. She'll go back to her new home when I pick her up from the vet this evening.

EDIT 6-19-10
Jenni was returned to us. The family who adopted her felt that she wasn't the right fit for their young family.
She's been hanging with us here, being her quirky little self, and will be going to HWAC the end of the month. :)

6-30-10
Jenni has been staying at our house, and enjoying the life of a pack dog, LOL. She was rejected from HWAC because she tested badly after her long trip to CA. We had already taken in a few more dogs while she was gone, so when she came back, she went to AV for a little while. It will most likely just be for the weekend, then we'll go get her and bring her back here. :)

7-27-10
Jenni is adopted! Great family, and they LOVE her! She's going to have a great life with them. YAY! It's about time for miss Jenni girl!

Nellie is one of the Dolan Dogs. She is one of the few that we couldn't find a foster home for, so she came to our house last night, and will go to Apple Valley today until a foster home can be found, or until a few of my fosters get adopted. :)

She is very very scared and shy, and we had to keep her in the side yard. My gang was just too much for her.
Hopefully she'll do well at AV, where she'll be with 2 of the other Dolan Dogs. We'll bring her back here once we've got some space.

Amos

5-17-10

Amos is a shelter rescue.
The first time that we tried to take him to the play yard from his kennel, he was so terrified. I've actually never in my life seen a dog as scared as he was. We couldn't get him to walk on his leash, and he fought against it so badly that we couldn't control him at all. He pooped all over out of fear, and snapped at me (not out of aggression, but out of terror).

We had a trainer come to the shelter to help us assess him, and when the trainer came, Amos had been at the shelter for about a week or so, and was doing a LOT better on leash, thanks to a couple very dedicated volunteers.
The trainer said that Amos had some anxiety (normal for an abandoned dog) and that his fear was definitely workable.

So we brought him home. :)
Underneath that anxiety, he is SUCH an awesome dog. He's got a great, loving personality, and it is there, just under the surface, waiting for the fear to go away.

He loves to play fetch, and when there's a toy involved, his fear is gone, and he is SO happy.

Look at this boy. He's so gorgeous, and really a great dog. I hope that we'll be able to make him confident in himself and his surroundings again, and be able to find him a home where he will be loved like he deserves.


5-21-10

Amos and I just went for a relaxing leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. I used a harness on him, so there was no pressure around his neck, and BINGO. That was the trick! He was the best dog on a leash that I have ever walked! Absolutely amazing.

I'm so happy for Amos that I'm sitting here blubbering like a baby. LOL.

The change in this dog between the first time we saw him at the shelter, and just now when he and I went for a lovely walk, is unbelievable. I can't even begin to describe it.

Right now, he's sitting with his head on my lap, comfortable and relaxed.
To think that he would have been killed at the shelter is unimaginable to me now. What an amazing dog this is.

6-1-10
Amos went to spend the long weekend with Paxton's family while we were gone on our road trip. He went there Thursday, and we just picked him back up today. It was SO good to see him, and he was happy to see us as well.
He settled right back in once we got home, and was so so happy to see the girls. LOL.
He's such a great dog.
I'm. In. Love.
He has completely captured my heart.

7-16-10

Amos has improved dramatically over the last month or so. We don't use the harness on him anymore, he walks perfectly with just his collar and leash.
He is doing better on tile floors, though he still has a bit of an issue there.
He will jump into the car now on his own. YAY!

He doesn't seem to have any issues at all at home now, though he'll still get a bit anxious when we are in new places with him. Working on that.

He's going to make someone SUCH a wonderful pet! I love him to pieces, but I can't wait for him to find his forever home!

9-11-10

And it finally happened. Amos went home.
It's been a long time coming, and it's the home that he's been waiting his whole life for. It's perfect for him.
He will be loved and understood, and allowed to adjust at his own pace.
Couldn't have asked for anything better for my Moski!

4-11

Unfortunately, sometimes what seems perfect, isn't.
But even bad things can end well. See the end of Amos' story HERE.

Joey the Chiweenie

5-15-10

Not to be confused with Joey the Irish Setter. ;)

Joey has been a H.A.R.T. dog for a few months, but his foster mom is going to be out of town for a few weeks, so Joey gets to stay here with us. :)
He is very shy and nervous around people, but really loves the other dogs. He's got a cute personality.
He acts like he WANTS to be pet and loved on, but if you reach for him, he runs away.
He's doing great here with the other dogs, and seems to have settled in quickly to our routine.
I look forward to the day the he'll voluntarily let me pet him. :)

6-26-10

And Mr. Chiweenie is ADOPTED!
YAY!
His new family saw him at 2 different adoption events, and decided that he needed their home. They have a calm environment, 2 other dogs, and plenty of time to give him to settle in and learn to trust them.
I'm so happy for little Joey! Every dog deserves a great home, and he's found his!

Misty

5-15-10

Misty has a long story, even though we just got her this Saturday.

She was owner released to the shelter several months ago. We decided that we were going to pull her and bring her here, but were waiting until Star's adoption was final so that we'd have a space.
The day that we got to the shelter to pull her, she'd just been adopted. Literally only hours before.
We were happy for her, and glad that she'd gotten a home.

A few months later, she was returned to the shelter in horrid condition. She hadn't been taken care of at all, and was a skeleton of the dog she'd once been.
The shelter called us when they got her back, and we said that we'd come and get her the following day.
When we got there, they said that there was a family who had seen her and would be adopting her. Oh YAY... we were happy for her (again) that she would have a family, and someone to care for her.

Fast forward to this Saturday. We were at our event and I got a call from a couple who said that they needed to rehome their GSP because she was too high energy for them. After talking to them for a bit, I came to realize that they were talking about Misty.
Of course we'd take her! I told them to bring her to us right then and we'd get the paperwork taken care of.

When they got to the event, turns out that they are the people who were going to adopt Luna several months ago, and decided not to because when they took her home for her trial stay, she rolled in poop. I guess they decided that they'd give a shelter dog a try instead, but this one didn't work out for them either.

(I have decided to refrain from writing what I'm thinking right now. I wrote/deleted, wrote/deleted, wrote/deleted. After the third time, I decided maybe it's better left unsaid, and I'll leave it to all of you who know me well to imagine what I would have written in this space.)

I was so surprised to see that Misty was still skin and bones, even though they'd had her for over a month.
We'll get her fattened up. She's getting some special food and a LOT of TLC.

Anyway, to end a long story, we finally got Misty (they had renamed her, but we went back to her original name that she had when she was owner released to the shelter).
I wish that we had gone to get her from the shelter that first time just one day sooner. She could have missed all that she's been through in the last several months if we had just gotten her sooner. :(
But she's with us now, and we are in love. She is such a great dog, with an amazing personality. She is sweet and attentive. And her energy is no match for our gang here! We keep her busy. LOL.


5-27-10
Our sweet Misty was accepted at HWAC today. I wasn't the one who made the transport because Marian was graduating today, but I was told that they absolutely loved her! They will find her the perfect home. :) I'll miss her. I got really attached to her and her goofy fly-chasing. LOL

Vikki

5-13-10

We pulled Vikki from the Enoch shelter. She's been there awhile, and I've been so anxious to go get her! She looks so much like our Obi and Keeya!

When we first brought her home, she went to a different foster home, but it turned out that she didn't get along really well with their other dog, so she came here.
She is doing really really great. She's a bit 'love possessive', meaning that if I'm loving on her and another dog comes up to us, she'll growl a bit, but she's been reprimanded a few times for it, and is doing SO much better.
She is a bit anxious, and needy, but that often happens with dogs who have been at the shelter for awhile.

She is very very sweet, and very loving. She listens EXTREMELY well, and is unbelievable attentive. She is very smart, and willing to learn anything.
She is housebroken already, uses the dog door, and we are working on crate training.
I can't wait to find this wonderful girl a perfect home!

5-27-10

Vikki was accepted at HWAC today! YAY! I'm so happy for her. :) It was fun having her here, but she was one of those fosters that sucks the energy right out of you. LOL. I have no doubt in my mind that HWAC will match her up with her perfect forever home. :)

Paxton

5-11-10

Paxton came to us malnourished and unhealthy, and had been living on grass and weeds for who knows how long. He is very underweight, and seems a bit sad. He's got a broken tail, and he was sunburnt on his face and ears.

He's a sweet sweet boy, and he looks jut like our Pixie! He is such a gorgeous boy. We think that he and Pixie must be littermates, separated at birth. It's the only explanation for these 2 itty bitty pitties who are almost identical in every way. LOL

He's got an infection in his throat, so he's all swollen, but the vet says that it should work itself out before too long, with some antibiotics and painkillers. Poor little guy. He's got the sweetest little face, and the most gentle personality.

5-22-10
Update:

Pax had to go back into the vet because the swelling got SO bad that he was having a hard time breathing. They had to cut his throat open and get the foxtail out, then leave it open so that the infection could drain. Grody icky gross!

After we brought him back from the vet, he went to a different foster home, and they decided to adopt him!
YAY! We made it final today! Yay for Pax! He's got a wonderful new home where he is SO loved. :)

6 Fosters accepted at HWAC!

5-8-10

Wow. We had 7 fosters that went to California to the Helen Woodward Animal Center. SIX of them were accepted, and the 7th is getting adopted here!

It was a GREAT run, we had a lot of really awesome dogs.

Diesel.
I got to give him a big hug goodbye after he passed his physical and his temperament test with an A+. He is SUCH an awesome dog, and I'm really going to miss him. He was only at HWAC for 2 days before he was adopted. Isn't that awesome??!

Higgins.
This little pup captured my heart. Even though he was super active, and unbelievably loud (LOL!) I loved the little guy. With him gone, my house is eerily quiet. I'm sure that he'll be adopted quickly from HWAC as well.

Cisco.
We got Cisco back from the family who adopted him several months ago, because he didn't get along well with their older dog. We've had him back for a few weeks, and he's been doing really really great. He passed both his temperament test, and his physical, and was taken to his new room before I got a chance to say goodbye. :( I'll miss his goofy ears and his sad-looking face.

Axl, Lita, and Bono.
I will miss these 3 little pups! What great puppies they are. Loved their personalities, and each one of them had their uniqueness. Lita was a HOOT, and had a strong personality. She would stand up to the big dogs with an attitude that was WAY bigger than her body! LOL.

Aspen.
She was the only one that we took that didn't get accepted. She was so terrified after being on the push cart across the parking lot into the testing center, that they couldn't get her to come out of her crate, so she didn't even make it to the testing stage. :(
They said that she was gorgeous, and that she could come back again if we worked with her on her apprehension.
BUT, on the drive home from CA, we got a call on her, and she is now on a sleepover with a really great family!

At this time, we are without fosters. *shock!*

I can't remember the last time that we didn't have a foster in the house. It's quiet, and empty.
And a weird mixture of happy and sad all at the same time.

On one hand, I'm enjoying the time with just my girls, and on the other hand, I can't wait to get to the shelters next week and get our new fosters!