Gremlin

January 2012

Gremlin

What kind of dog is this? NO idea. But he is ALL character. He's hilarious, in looks and antics. He makes me laugh. A lot.
When we first pulled him from the shelter, we thought he was a Boxer puppy. But it turns out that he is almost an adult, so he's got to be a smaller breed. Maybe Puggle?
He is a fantastic little guy, loves everyone, and shows his love by licking. He licks everything... the furniture, the walls, the picture frames, the other dogs, your ear, the cats, etc etc etc. LOL.
I'm sure it won't take this little guy long to find his forever family. There is someone out there just waiting for a dog like this to bring laughter into their home.

Honey

November 2012 and January 2013
 Honey

Honey was never meant to be a foster. She was a Shelter dog, that was being adopted from the shelter, and we pulled her to get her spayed before she went to her new home.
She was only going to be here overnight, but she got out of the yard and disappeared on us, missing her spay appointment.
She was found early the next morning, but I was already on the road to the vet in Kanab, so she didn't go with us.
We couldn't send her back to the shelter, and we couldn't get a hold of the people who were going to adopt her, so she stayed with us, even though we weren't taking in any new fosters because we were planning on traveling for Marian's graduation in Chicago.
When it was time for us to leave, we put out a request for a new foster so that we wouldn't have to take her back to the shelter. (she still technically belonged to the shelter, we hadn't officially taken her on as a HART dog yet).
The person who came forward to foster was the family who originally wanted to adopt her from the shelter.
Perfect, right?
Fast forward a month later. The family called and said that it wasn't working out and they decided not to keep her. So we officially took her on as a H.A.R.T. dog, and she came back to our house.
Honey is such a sweet dog. A bit shy, a little timid, but oh so sweet and snuggly. She loves to be pet and snuggled, and knows how to get a space on the bed and cuddle right in.
We had her back here for a couple weeks then took her with us to HWAC in CA. I wasn't sure if she would pass the temperament test or not, since she was so shy, but they loved her and accepted her into their program. She was adopted out in only a couple days, and I hope that she has the wonderful family that she deserves.

Josie and Briggs

Jan 2013

Both of these pups were shelter rescues, SO young, and SO little.
Josie went to a different foster home for a few days, but then we took her when her foster went out of town. Briggs came here directly from the shelter.

Josie

                            



Josie is an 8 wk old Aussie mix pup. Full of piss and vinegar, LOL. She definitely has attitude and character. Not afraid of anything, will stand up to the big dogs like she's 10x the size she really is.
She housebroke herself in just a couple days, and was perfectly crate trained.
SUCH a good puppy, I really enjoyed having her here.
We had her for only a couple weeks, until we went to HWAC where she was accepted and adopted very quickly. She kept everyone on their toes and was definitely a lot of fun to have around.

Briggs

Briggs is 7 wks old, a little grunty Shep mix pup, with amazing puppy breath. He was absolutely adorable and so much fun to have here.  He was only here a short time before our trip to HWAC, but I enjoyed every moment. Except for the pee. And the poop. And the whining. And the pee. It's a good thing he was adorable. LOL

Irwin, Bonnie, and Al

1-13-13

Irwin




Irwin is one of 11 dogs that we pulled from the shelter this week. He is the cutest, sweetest little pup. I said we'd never have another red Heeler after Sedona, but this little guy was out to prove me wrong. He is well behaved, so sweet, and really smart.
And quiet. Oddly quiet. I dont' think I've heard one peep from him in the days that we've had him. Even when he's playing with the other pups, he never makes a noise.
He is only 4-5 months old, housebroken and crate trained.
He's supposed to be going to CA with us next week, but I won't be surprised if he gets adopted before we go. What a doll.
He had started training as a service dog, but was having a hard time getting used to his owner's electric wheelchair, so he ended up at the shelter. I'm so glad that we pulled him (at the ACO's insistent urging, lol. She wasn't going to let us leave without him.)


Bonnie

Bonnie was a 'free pup' on Craigslist. I had contacted the people who posted the ad last week, but they had decided to keep her. Fantastic. That leaves us space for others. So we went to the shelters and pulled a dozen dogs. The very next day the owner called and asked if we were still able to take her, as she was having an allergic reaction to her. I couldn't say no. What's one more puppy, right?
I hadn't seen her before they brought her to me, and oh my gosh. I was surprised (for some reason I was expecting a little black dog). She is gorgeous.
Her owners had named her Bon Qui Qui, but we 'adjusted' it to Bonnie. Wade and the boys can NOT stop laughing. And yes, they all still call her Bon Qui Qui. LOL!
She's a smart little thing, about 11 wks old. Uses the dog door (not 100% housebroken, but oh so close), and she's already crate trained which is a huge plus.
She has a tiny sliver of blue in one eye, which gives her a bit of a lopsided look when she stares at you, and it makes me laugh. She's got a great personality, so so sweet.
She'll be going to CA with us next week as well.


Al

Oh Al. He is one of the dogs pulled from the shelter this week. We had a foster for him right out of the shelter, but it didn't work out there, he killed the foster's bird :(. Bad Al. And after animal control had picked him up while he was trying to get warm in a chicken coop! Never touched a chicken. But a pet bird... oh Al. Not a good way to make friends.

We were able to get him a ride to St George, and he came here. I didn't want to place him in another foster home, because I wanted to keep an eye on him. His first foster said that he had been trying to dig out of her yard, and he was lifting his leg in the house. Generally being a bad house guest, even before the unfortunate bird killing.

So, I was prepared to have my work cut out for me with this guy. But I couldn't have been more wrong. Al is amazing. He is unbelievably sweet, well behaved, and quite the snuggler. He gets along well with everyone, including the cats. He has lifted his leg in the house a couple times, but stops immediately when told no. He pouts when reprimanded and hangs his head, lol, so he knows he's done wrong. . He will learn quickly that it's not allowed (and once he's neutered, that will help too). He uses the dog door and other than the marking, he is housebroken.
We brushed him with a shedding blade, and removed an entire Cocker Spaniel. He's still harboring a Pomeranian in there, but we're getting it a little at a time. LOL. I think he's been an outdoor dog for quite some time.

He is a dancer, a bendy-wiggler, a smiler, and a snuggler. And a thief.... he's stolen my heart. He wants to be with people, and is happiest if he's touching someone. Right now, he's lying by my feet, just watching me type. Every time I look at him, he wags his tail.
He is going to make someone a wonderful forever friend.

Update: Al was accepted at HWAC in CA, and has been adotped.

Kyla: First foster of the New year 2013

Kyla
12-30-12



I am not letting another year go by without writing in the Starfish Journal. This journal means a lot to me, and there are numerous times that I've come here to look up past fosters to remember when we had them, or for how long, or what fosters we had together.
It's an important part of our lives, and I don't want the memories lost. These dogs make a big impact on our lives, and they deserve to be remembered.

I knew when I logged on in September and saw that I hadn't posted anything for a whole year, that it was going to be impossible to 'catch up'. I think that's one of the reasons why I kept getting further and further behind... I was waiting for time to catch up. Well, that wasn't going to happen.
Even after my resolve to start afresh, I made that post in September and then that was it. Even though we had several fosters at the time.
But now I find myself in a new year, with only one foster, so I figured now is as good a time as any to get the Starfish Journal back on it's feet.  I can't promise to be as on top of it as I was in the beginning, I just don't have the spare time that I had back then, but I'm going to give it my best shot. :)



So, how is it that we find ourselves with only one foster dog at the moment? The last couple months have been a bit hectic in the Freitas household. But we were striving towards a goal: no fosters by Christmas, so that we could leave for a week to fly to Chicago and attend our daughter's Navy boot camp graduation.
Thanks to the Super Adoption event on Dec 7-8 EVERY SINGLE ONE of our fosters was adopted (19 H.A.R.T. dogs adopted in 2 days!!!) and we were able to accomplish  that goal.
Of course, even though we tried to remain foster free, fate always has other ideas, and we ended up with 3 more fosters before too long. But they were all taken into other foster homes shortly before (and in one case, ON) Christmas Day.
We were then able to enjoy a short (VERY COLD) vacation to Chicago.

They day we got home, miss Kyla came to us. She was Lorraine's foster, but they were leaving for New Years, so we got to have this perky puppy stay with us.
This little 12 week old girl is FULL of personality. Smart as a whip, playful, and with more confidence than should be allowed in a package this small.
We don't know what her breed mix is. We're thinking there is some Pointer in there, mixed with a bigger breed like Lab, Boxer, or Pit. She's got a gorgeous brindle on her legs.
She had already learned how to use a dog door at Lorraine's house, so after only a day or so, she was using the dog door here like a pro, and was completely housebroken, even overnight. We don't crate her at night, she has been so good with no accidents.

Kyla has been good for my heart this past week. Puppies have a healing quality about them, their ability to soothe an aching heart is a special gift from God. Kyla came to us while one one of our other fosters was losing his battle with Parvo. Her happy puppy antics could bring a smile to my tear-stained face, she could make me laugh even as my heart was breaking. Holding her in my arms, feeling her little beating heart, gave me the strength to endure the agonizing pain of watching another special heart stop beating.

We think, as foster parents, that these orphans need us.
More times than we realize, it is we who need them.

Update 1-12-13
Kyla is ADOPTED. She has a new big BIG s mastiff sister to play with, and a great new family.