Can I just say....

That I LOVE my Layla?
I do.

There are some dogs that affect me more deeply than others. Layla is one of those. There is just something about her.... she is an older dog, supposedly about 5-6 yrs old, but may be older than that.
She has gone through so much: shelter rescue, tumor removal surgery, etc.

She is bossy with our other dogs, and we've had to work with her constantly. She barks when someone knocks on the door, we have to muzzle her during play time with the other dogs so she doesn't get angry with them for barking, we have to make sure that she doesn't eat with anyone else, I'm constantly having to watch her to make sure that she's not pulling an attitude with the other dogs, she's gotten in a fight TWICE with the other dogs, but, in spite of all that, I just LOVE her. Deeply.

She has got the most incredible personality. The way that she looks at me when I talk to her. She likes to be right with me all the time, (and I don't mind). She can communicate with me completely by just a look.. her eyes say it all. She has such an expressive face.
When Im sitting on the couch, she will sit and look at me, and if I say "Layla, up" she will jump up on the couch next to me and just love me. She has such an incredible capacity for love.

I get such joy from watching her play. She gets so happy, and her entire face changes when she plays. The years just fall off of her when there is a tennis ball or a frisbee involved!

She listens SO well, and is very well behaved. She loves to go on car rides with me, and travels SO great in the car.

I really hope that we can find her a home where they are willing to have only one dog, and where they will give her the love and attention that she deserves. I fear that no one will want to give her the chance, but pray that her perfect family is out there somewhere, just searching for her.

It's my goal to help them find her.

And I know that I will cry like a baby when she leaves me.

9-18-09
Layla got adopted! Read her entry HERE for the full story.
And yes, I cried like a baby.

Update for Oscar!

Oscar got adopted today! Click on his link in this post, and scroll to the bottom of his entry for the update!

Mikey, again.

Mikey's story starts HERE


8-25-09

Mikey came back to us yesterday. Due to unfortunate circumstances, his family had to move into an apartment and he couldn't go with them, so they asked us to take him back.

I can't believe how much he's grown in just 3 weeks! Holy moly he's huge!

He remembered Ginger and Amikah when we got home last night, and went immediately into puppy play mode. He and Oscar get along great too.

I am sorry that the situation with his family made it so that they couldn't keep him, but I am glad that he came back to us. He'll go to our adoption event on Saturday and hopefully will find a great home. Again.

9-5-09

Mikey has had quite the week and a half. He spent a couple days with a fantastic couple who fell in love with him, but they would be traveling a lot and decided that Mikey may not be the best choice as a traveling dog. They reluctantly let him come back to our house as they were getting ready to leave on a 3 week motorhome trip across the country.

Mikey went to the parade in Hurricane (Peach Days) and was the hit of the day, as always. The kids just LOVE him. Then he spent the rest of the day at our adoption event here in St George.

Saturday evening, a couple from Enoch came to meet him, and decided that it was time that Mikey went home. They promised that once they took him that there would be no situation, nor anything that Mikey could do that would make them give up on him. They assured me that once he becomes a member of their family, it is forever.

They have 2 young girls and a lot of space for him to run and play. I am so happy for him... he definitely deserves some stability and love from a family he can call his own.

9-8-09

Nope. *many tears*
Forever, apparently, isn't very long.

On the day that I was to do Mikey's home check, his new family called and said that they couldn't keep him.
Mikey is very protective of his kids, and wary of men, and that caused an issue in their household. Mikey wouldn't let the dad in the same room where the daughters were.

So, Mikey is back with us, and is just as sweet as ever, going with the tide, happy to be back at our house.

10-04-09

Mikey went to a family in Mesquite for an overnighter. They were very interested in adopting him, and wanted to make sure that he would be ok with their cats and the baby.
Wade and I drove him down, and he seemed to do ok, though he was a bit clingy with us while we were there.

We left him with the understanding that it was just a trial to see how he did. They called us in less than 4 hours to come get him. The husband had an allergic reaction, and was swelled up like a pumpkin. :(

When we went to get him, the woman told us "You should just keep Mikey with you. He loves you guys a lot. He wouldn't stop looking out the window waiting for you to come back and get him.".

*sigh*

I love Mikey, I do. But he needs a home where he will be the center of someone's world. He deserves that, and we can't give it to him.

His home is out there. We'll find it.


10-12-09

Mikey is finally HOME.

Wade and I drove him 2 hours away to meet her, and it was TOTALLY worth the drive.

This woman was just perfect for him. I think she needed him just as much as he needs her. She knows everything about him (And I mean EVERYTHING). I wanted no surprises. She was ok with it all.
She lives alone, no men for Mikey to be wary of.
No kids for him to be protective of.
Nothing fancy in the house for him to ruin.

She is retired, and will be with him all the time.

She even went grocery shopping before we got there to stock up on everything so she wouldn't have to leave him at ALL for several days till he gets settled in.

First thing Mikey did when he met her was put his paw on her and kiss her face. It was love at first sight.

We stayed and visited for quite some time, and Mikey just wandered around exploring. He found a bone that she had left out for him, and brought it into the living room, dropped it at her feet like he was asking if he could have it.
She told him it was his, and he laid right at her feet and chewed on it while we all were visiting.

He didn't cling to us while we were there as he's done at other homes.

She took him out the back door to go for a walk and then Wade and I left, hoping that would fix the 'he wont stop looking out the window for you to come back' issues.

She asked if when she comes to St George to go to Costco sometimes if she can call us and have Mikey come over to play with our dogs while she shops. We think that would be AWESOME.

She told us lots of stories of her past dogs.. one of which had Wade and I in tears.

Here's one of the stories she told us. (grab your kleenex)

Mikey was just gazing into Ginny's eyes while she was petting him, and she said "You have Maggie eyes".
She said it a couple more times to him throughout the visit, then said to us "oh, I need to tell you about my Maggie".

Maggie was her 'ultimate joy' and the best dog she ever had.
She had a disease (I don't remember what it was called) that finally took it's toll on her when she was older. Ginny was out of town when her daughter called and told her that Maggie was real sick and she'd taken her to the vet.

Ginny rushed home, went to the vet and they told her that Maggie was real sick and that they'd have to put her down. She argued with them and said no she's fine.
They told her to go ahead and take her home for the weekend, and to come back in on Monday and they'd discuss what needed to be done.

So she took her from the vet's and went home to spend some time with Maggie.

By Saturday night, Maggie was just so sick that she knew what had to be done, and called the vet. They came into the office special on Sunday just to take care of Ginny and Maggie.

They left the two of them together in the room for awhile, and Ginny held Maggie and told her that she knew that Maggie was holding on because she wanted to make sure that Ginny would be ok. She told her that it was ok to go, and that she'd see her in awhile when she crossed to the other side too.
She just said over and over "it's ok to go baby. I'll be ok. You'll see... I'll be taken care of here, don't worry. You can go."

When the vet came in with the shot for her, Maggie had already died in Ginny's arms.

*sob*

So then Ginny looks at us (While Wade and I were both in tears) and says "Mikey has Maggie eyes"


*sob*

I am so happy for Mikey that I can't even express it in words. I just know that this woman won't give up on him. I pray that she won't. I think he's found his final home, and I .... well, I can't finish typing because I'm crying.

New homes! Update for Anni and Cosmo

What a wonderful week! I can't even express my amazement and my joy.

2 dogs were adopted this week, by PERFECTLY matched families.
Both adoptions were just perfect, and it brings tears to my eyes to know that these two amazingly wonderful dogs found homes with people who will love them like they deserve to be loved.

You can read their updates by going to their entries and scrolling down to the bottom:

COSMO

ANNI

Oscar

8-24-09

Wade and I went and got Oscar from the shelter today and brought him home.
He is such a fantastic, gorgeous boy!

He knows all his basic commands, and knows them WELL. He is gentle and well behaved. And that's pretty good for a 2 year old Golden!

He fits in great here, though Layla is trying to show that she is the boss of him. LOL

I have no doubt that we will be able to find him a great home. A dog this fantastic will get snatched up pretty quick!

8-30-09

Oscar got adopted today! They met him yesterday at our adoption event, and wanted him then. They had some work to do on their fence so that it would be secure, and we took Oscar to their home today for the home check and to make sure everything was a good fit. I think it went fantastically, and I was very comfortable with that being his new home. His new person is a teenage boy, and I think that he and Oscar are perfect for each other.

I got a little teary letting him go. I love every dog that comes into my house. Some, though, I love more deeply. Oscar was one of those. I am happy for him, but will miss him terribly.

Cosmo

8-18-09

I drove to the Enoch shelter today to pick up a mama dog and her 8 pups. We already had a foster home for them, and I was taking them there on my way home from Enoch.

While there, I looked to see if there were any dogs that I could bring home with me, and Cosmo was the one! He is an older dog, probably about 5-6, but still very active. He loves to play ball. LOL

Out of all the dogs that we've brought home over the years, not one of them smelled even HALF as bad as Cosmo did. PHEW!
Let's just say that his bath took a long time. LOL

He is a sweetheart... he's got the gentlest personality, and is so loving. He will go to our adoption event with us this Saturday, and hopefully we will be able to find him a great home.
But for now, he's here, and loving it. He is currently stretched out on the floor right by my computer chair, sound asleep. What a doll.

8-24-09

Cosmo was adopted! Oh my gosh, he couldn't have gone to a more perfect home! I am so happy for him! I get choked up every time I think of how amazing it was that Cosmo and his new dad crossed paths and came in to each others' lives. Truly amazing, and wonderful!

I believe that Cosmo was meant to go live with his new dad. His new dad needed him, as much as Cosmo needed a home. It was a match made in heaven, and I'm blessed to have been a part of it.

*wipes away a tear*

Hoss

8-17-09

Hoss is an owner release, his family is moving into a smaller home and can't take him with.
We got Hoss on Saturday, and he was adopted Saturday. We never even brought him home with us.

Then his new family called and said that it just wasn't working out, as much as they would have loved it to. Their little girl wasn't quite comfortable around him, so they returned him to us today.

We do have another couple who is interested in Hoss, but we can't do their home check till this evening (they live out of town), so Hoss gets to hang here with us.

He is a big teddy bear. What a sweet dog. BIG, but sweet. He loves the attention the girls are giving him, and he even likes the cats.

So, even if he's only here for today, he still gets a place on the wall here. ;)

8-17-09

We drove Hoss to his new home today. They are great! They've got a huge lot for him to roam around on, and a gorgeous Rottweiler gal for him to play with!

Layla

8-16-09

We have Layla here now.

Layla has a long story...
We took her from the shelter with what we thought was mastitis. Turned out to be a couple large mammary gland tumors, that doc removed. The pathology reports came back BENIGN! YAY.

She is recovering well, and gets her staples out on Thursday. She was in another foster home, but it turned out that she didn't get along well with one of the other dogs in the house, so we were asked if we could take her just for the day till she can be moved to our Apple Valley facility.

She and Ginger have gotten along well so far, but we are being very diligent in watching them, and making sure that no situations arise. I couldn't imagine Layla fighting right now... wouldn't be good for her incisions.

She is a sweetheart, and will make someone a wonderful pet. She is SO smart, and has a great personality. If I was sure that she and Ginger would get along ok, I'd keep her here till she got adopted. But I know it's just a matter of time before they knock heads, so better safe than sorry.

She's good here for now though, and I'm enjoying her company.

8-30-09

Turns out that Layla got to stay here much longer than anticipated. I didn't want to send her to Apple Valley when she was doing so great here, so she'll stay till we can find her a home.

Layla is such an amazing wonderful dog, she really is. She is so well trained, and listens well.

Her biggest downfall: she is bossy and can be aggressive towards the other dogs in the house if she doesn't get her way. We've had issues with her twice: once when Cosmo tried to eat at the same time as her, and once when she and Ginger went for the same ball that I had thrown. Geez, I hate dog fights! There wasn't much blood either time, but it was still traumatic.

Because of this, Layla has to go to a home with no other dogs. It's already going to be hard to place her, because she is older, and this just adds to the problem.

We've been working with her really hard, and she is getting better, but she still has that attitude that we need to fix.

In spite of all that, I REALLY love this dog. She has an incredible heart, and the way that she looks at me... goes right into my soul. She goes everywhere with me (only because I can't leave her here with the other dogs when I'm not home), but she travels so well, and minds me completely.

She will make someone a WONDERFUL companion. The trick is to find someone who is ok with the fact that she wants to be the only dog in the house.


9-18-09

LAYLA GOT ADOPTED!

I can't even tell you how happy I am for my Layla.

her new family took her for a sleepover last night, then called me first thing this morning to tell me that they definitely wanted to keep her, so we went to their home and finalized the adoption this evening.

The home check for Layla was PERFECT. There is not one thing I would change about the family who adopted her. When we got there tonight, Layla was TOTALLY in her element, and unbelievably happy.

She slept on the bed with her new mom and dad last night, and N told me how she was rubbing Layla's ears as she was falling asleep, and every time she would stop petting, Layla would nudge her head back under N's hand. N finally moved her hand up and away so she could fall asleep, so Layla scooched all the way up and found her hand again, and that's where she slept all night. *grin*

She was SO happy, and the family is SO perfect for her. I couldn't be happier. They let me have some time alone with her to say goodbye, and she gave me so much love with just a look and a nudge... what an amazing dog. And she went to an amazing family.

I cried all the way home, but these are happy tears. Yes, I'm going to miss my girl. Immensely. But I am so incredibly happy for her. She deserves only the best, and she has it with them.

*sigh* I'm emotionally beat, but oh so so happy.

A very dear friend of mine gave me a hug and said "it's always good when a starfish hits the water."


Amen, Becky. Amen.

UPDATES!

We have updates on these three fosters. All have been adopted!

Ryder
Rocco
Harli

Scroll down to their entries to read their updates, or click on the links above.
Harli's update comes complete with photos from her new mom!

Also, Abbie was accepted at HWAC last week! That is fantastic news, and I know that they will find her a perfect home. :)

Anni

8-14-09

Anni is so unbelievably sweet, your heart melts when you see her. She has these amazing soulful eyes, set in the most adorable face.
She is less than a year old, just a small little Blue Tick Coon Hound.

We got her from her previous owner, removing her from a very abusive situation. She was, apparently, 'too stupid to hunt coons' so her owner was trying to make her mean by abusing her.

I won't go into the whole situation, but lets suffice it to say, that I'm glad she came to us instead of ending up on the wrong end of a shotgun like her owner wanted.

She spent her first few days with Lorraine, and was starting to come out of her shell. Then she came to us while Lorraine is out of town for a few days.

She is scared of everything, sudden movements, noises, doors shutting, everything. Yet, at the same time, she craves attention, and cannot handle being out of eyesight of everyone.
She will let me pet her if I am sitting on the floor and call her quietly.
I love this little girl and want to help her see that not all humans are mean. I want her to know that we will never let anyone hurt her ever again.

8-16-09

This morning, about 1:30 AM, Anni needed to go outside, and I got up to go out with her. She totally went all puppy, and was just this rambunctious little cute thing. I ended up sitting outside with her for about an hour, just watching her play with Amikah, and laughing. It was amazing to see her play like that. She kept bouncing up and down and spinning in circles, and jetting around the yard, with Amikah close on her heels.

I didn't even mind that it was the wee hours of the night. Watching her, and seeing the joy in her play was uplifting and amazing. I didn't want it to end.

8-23-09

Today we took Anni to our adoption event. We weren't expecting to get her adopted, but thought it would be good for her to be around a bunch of different noises and sights.

But sometimes our plans don't go like we are expecting. A young couple was at the farmer's market and saw Anni, and fell in love.
I told them everything about her past, and what she would need to be rehabilitated.
They wanted to take her in and love her and help her be the dog she was meant to be.

It was amazing... I really was expecting to have Anni for a few more months at least before she was adoptable, but these 2 wonderful people walked into her life, and I believe that they are just the people to make a difference for her.

Miracles happen. I've witnessed my share of them, and this one goes on that list.

Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends has been so fantastic with us, helping us get our feet off the ground. They recently wrote a news story, published on their website, about H.A.R.T.
Little Lightning is highlighted in the story. The article is really well written, just awesome!

You can read the story HERE.

How fantastic is that!

Thank you Sandy!

Rocco

8-11-09

Rocco is a fantastic little guy! About 9 months old, GORGEOUS red Border Collie. His registered name is Sir Roccus, his previous owner called him Roc. He's already been dubbed Rocco here though. LOL

He is doing great, though a little overwhelmed by all the girls. He can run like the WIND, and with a little training will make someone an amazing agility dog.

8-12-09

Well, that was fast! I contacted a Border Collie Rescue in AZ, and they are taking Rocco! The details are still being worked on, but it looks like he'll be going to them on Friday. YAY! It will be great for him there!

8-14-09

Rocco left this morning for Border Collie Rescue. He was a great dog to have here, such a fantastic dog. He loved to play fetch, and was just as ball crazy as our Amikah!
He did NOT like cats, however, so I'm glad that it was only a few days that we had to keep him separated from the cats.

I hope he finds a great home through the rescue! I will update here when I hear news. :D

Ryder

8-08-09

Wade went and got Ryder while I was in Salt Lake City for a couple days. She is an ADORABLE little German Wirehaired Pointer, about 3-4 months old. What an absolute doll. :-)

It is a HOOT to see Harli and Ryder (Harley Rider, hahahahaha!) playing together. They just love being together, and have been playing non-stop!


8-14-09

Ryder got adopted! She went to a wonderful home with kids and other dogs. She will be trained as a hunting dog, but will be a companion dog as well. Her new dad has promised me photos of her in training and while hunting, and I'll be sure and post them here when I get them!

I'm so happy for her, but we will miss our little bearded girl.

Lightning

8-06-09

Lightning is a 3 1/2 month old Shepherd mix. He was an owner release directly to HART. He is SO cute, and very much a puppy.
It was hard to go get him. The owners had to give him up, but that doesn't mean it was easy for them.
I'm used to taking dogs TO their new homes, and the owners being happy. I'm not used to taking a dog from a family and seeing their anguish. :( That was really difficult for me.

I promised them that we would find Lightning a great home, and I intend to keep that promise.

8-08-09

Lightning got adopted! WOW, that was fast! We brought him home on Thursday, he spent Friday at the Vet getting neutered, then he was adopted on Saturday!
We didn't get to spend much time with him at all. I didn't even get any more pictures of him!

I'm going to ask the people who adopted him if I can come over and take a few shots of him, so that I've got some for here. ;)

8-16-09

Still haven't gotten any other photos of Lightning yet, but wanted to get his collage done, even if it's only with one photo. LOL

Lightning's new name is Maximus. (Max for short). He is doing GREAT at his new home!

Harli

8-05-09

Harli is an adorable little 4 month old Weimaraner who was dumped at the shelter yesterday.

Our original plan today was to take some photos of her, and get her up on Petfinder, and Craigslist to see if we could get someone up to the shelter to adopt her right away, then if she wasn't adopted by Monday I would take her out.
But when we went to take her for photos this morning, she had a bark collar on. The officer at the shelter said that she had been barking incessantly since she'd gotten there Tuesday.

My heart wrenched, but I held my tongue. We took her out for photos and then, as we had other dogs to photograph, we put her back in her kennel.
Anytime we walk the corridor between the kennels, the dogs all come to their gates and bark.
Poor little Harli was curled up in a ball in the back corner of her kennel just shaking from the effects of the bark collar.

I couldn't leave her there like that, so she came home with me. :-) We're contacting Weimaraner rescue to see if they'll take her, and if not, she can stay with me till we find her a good home.

Oh.... and she hasn't barked once. ;)

She's curled up on one corner of the couch like she's been there her whole little life.



8-12-09

Harli is a HOOT! I just love this little girl. Her personality is so much like our Weim, Amikah. She is spunky, and just full of love. She is completely housebroken now, and runs around like she owns the place, LOL. She adores Ginger. :)


8-14-09

Well, our little Harli got adopted today as well. (Big day in the Freitas Zoo today!)
We had a couple drive up from Vegas to meet her. They brought their two dogs with them, to see how they all got along.
All the dogs did great together (Well, our Ginger was quarantined to the bedroom as I wasn't sure SHE would get along with everyone, lol).
These people were really great, and Harli seemed to really like them. They decided to adopt her, and she went home with them.

Not long after they got home, I got an E-mail from Harli's new mom, with pictures and commentary. She said that I was welcome to share any of the photos here, so the photos that follow are from Harli's new mom.








8-15-09

Got another E-mail from Harli's new mom. It is so awesome to get updates and photos!
She is doing great, learning the rules of her new house and getting on with her new sisters, Sierra and Lakota.

She also got a new name.

Below is part of the E-mail I received:

Hi Cathymomma,

It's me Harli! Well, actually my new name is Angeni (An-jen-ee). My new mommy spent hours and hours looking for the perfect name for me and she finally found it. My name means Spirit Angel in Native American and that what she thinks I am "her little angel". Today was a day of RNR and getting to know my new family. Sierra taught me she's the alpha in our family, while Lakota is unsure of me. Not to worry, I know she'll love me soon, just like Sierra! My new mommy took pictures of me today. I looked at them with her- Am I cute or what????

Love,

Angeni

Angeni and her new sister, Lakota, going for a swim.

Abbie update.

Please scroll all the way down to the bottom of Abbie's entry, HERE for another update. This one is not so good, but just as I share my joys and triumphs, I lean on you all during the setbacks.

Mikey

8-01-09

Everyone meet Mikey! He is a 7 month old long haired Shepherd mix. He is absolutely darling! At 7 months old, he is almost the same size as Amikah, so he's going to be a big boy!

We took him from the shelter this morning so that he could go to our H.A.R.T. event and hopefully get adopted. He was the hit of the day, and many people were interested in him. He got to go home with a wonderful woman who fell in love with him, but unfortunately her dogs did not get along with him.

So he got to come to our house, and we'll foster him till we find him a home. I have no doubt that we will be able to find him a fantastic home. He is a great dog, and I know that there is someone out there who is perfect for him!

UPDATE 8-4-09

Mikey got adopted! He went to a wonderful home with 4 children. He seemed to fit right into the family the moment we got to their house with him.
YAY! I'm so happy for him. He was such a love bug. I think he will do great with his new family.

UPDATE: we got Mikey back. His story continues HERE

Wonderful News!!!

You may have wondered why we haven't had any new fosters lately.

Well, first and foremost, it's because I have been out of town a lot lately. Don't want to bring a new dog home if I'm not going to be there with it.

And, ALSO, because we have been working on setting up our new rescue group!

I am SO excited, words cannot describe. This is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, and together with our friend Lorraine, who has been in the rescue business for a very long time, we have made it happen!

Our new group is H.A.R.T. (Homeless Animal Rescue Team). We are a group of people who all have the dogs' best interests at heart.
We started with a bang... from our first board meeting (organizational meeting), to our first big entrance into the public eye was only about 10 days. (WOW!)

Today was absolutely AMAZING. Our group received a donation of dog food from Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab. They are an awesome rescue group, with some incredible resources that they are willing to share with the little guys (us).
I'm not talking a little bit of dog food.
16 pallets of dog food at about 1000 lbs each. (WOW!)

We decided to donate that dog food back to the community. We have 3 dates set, the first of which was today.

In only 3 hours we handed out about 6000 lbs of dog food to residents of Washington County. (WOW!)
We had flyers that had been passed out, as well as radio public service announcements. Almost everyone who showed up said that they had heard it on the radio, and the ad was AWESOME.

We held it at the shelter today, and 1 dog was adopted and went home, and 2 others are 'waiting' there for their new families to come pick them up. 1 cat was also adopted today as well!

It is just so amazing, and I am blessed to be a part of this wonderful adventure!
We have a lot of work to do, and I love every minute of it.

I am looking forward to our next foster dog, and am even more excited that this new one will be a part of HART!

Joey Update!

Check out Joey's entry for an update from his foster mom!

Abbie update!

Check out Abbie's update! I got an E-mail and pictures from her family and they said I could share them with you!

Midge

6-29-09 to 7-7-09

Midge is a 4 month old pointer. She was at the shelter and was taken out when she got Parvo at the same time as Joey. So she's been at Doc's for almost a month.
She is so small! Probably only about 15-20 lbs.

She is so happy to be out of her kennel! And she's got a great personality. She's so sweet.

We gave her a bath, and she HATED it. I've never heard such a racket. LOL!

7-6-09

Oh my gosh, this little girl is so sweet. She is sweet incarnate.
So mellow, and so intent. On everything. She watches everything you do. She is always watching with those big round eyes.

She wants to be on your lap, and cuddles so incredibly. She is also an incessant licker, but she does it so SWEETLY.

She LOVES the cats. She wants to be Jeffery's friend in the worst way. He is very tolerant, and even purred while she was cleaning his face yesterday. She sleeps on the couch with her head up on the arm, and it is adorable.

UPDATE: 7-7-09
Midge is adopted! She went to a fantastic home, and I am so happy for her. There was a bit of a bump in the road to her adoption, but it all got worked out, and I am so glad. I actually cried when I heard that the adoption went through. I think that this was the perfect family for her.

On our way out of town for our camping trip, we dropped her off at the rescue to wait for her transport to Cedar City. It was SO hard to leave her there, but knowing that she was on the way to her new home gave me the strength I needed to hug her goodbye.

Abbie

June 19-25 2009

We've only had Joey for a couple days, but we just had to bring Abbie home too.

She is a gorgeous girl. About a year old. She was brought in as a stray, but this girl has been loved before.
She knows basic commands, loves to play ball, and appears to be housebroken.

I'm so glad that we got to bring her home! I have no doubt that she will find a wonderful home soon.
* * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * *

So... funny story...

There was a bit of commotion in the kitchen, then running out through the dog door, then a bit of tussling outside.

Wade and I were otherwise occupied, so didn't pay much attention to it, because there were no angry sounds.

A little while later, we notice that Abbie has reddish stuff on her paws. I say "is that mud?" Wade says " is that blood??" is it poo?

What can I do? I smell it.

It's pizza.

Upon further inspection, Amikah has pizza sauce on her shoulder, Joey looks guilty, and Ginger's breath is slightly pepperoni-ish.

They had snagged almost an entire pizza off the counter and shared it outside. No traces left.

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Update, 6-24-09

Abbie is AMAZING. I don't know her back story, because she was brought in as a stray, but I cannot even begin to imagine someone dumping a dog like this, or not looking for her if she was lost.

There is no way I can adequately describe how amazing she is, but I will try.
I think she's about 1 1/2 years old. She knows ALL basic commands (including shake and heel).
She walks on leash like a dream.
We haven't had her off leash yet, but I bet she would do great.

She goes right to bed when told to, though she looks at me with her gorgeous eyes, just waiting for the word. If I say "ok, up" she will exuberantly jump up onto my bed, and take up her place at the foot like she belongs there.

She is incredibly loving, yet not clingy. She is attached to Wade, and will follow him around, and he has taken her to work with him a couple times. She loves that, and charms all the guys at the shop.

She loves to play ball, and she LOVES the water. We have a kiddie pool and she would live in that all day if she could. LOL. I can't wait to take her to the lake.
Wade and I had our flat bottomed fishing boat out in the backyard, cleaning it out getting ready for the weekend, and Wade said "In the boat, Abbie!" and she jumped right in and sat down, all ready to go fishing. LOL.

She has got the greatest personality, and I love her to pieces.

6-25-09
Abbie got adopted! I met her new family, and I think she is a perfect dog for them. They spent the day with her and love her! They've told me that they would send me updates on her, and pictures, so I will post then here when I get them. I'm so happy for her. She's got kids to play with, and a whole life of love ahead of her. *happy tears*


Abbie Update! 7-3-09

I got an E-mail from Abbie's new family, complete with pictures! It is so awesome to see and hear how she is doing. She is most definitely loved.
They said I could share, so here are some excerpts from her letter and one of the photos:

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I thought I would share these two new best friends with you. This is the pop-corn night I was telling you about. Abbie was trying so hard to be careful taking the pop-corn from Noah.



Abbie lets Noah crawl all over her and pull on her ears and even practice his karate on her.

Noah tries so hard to throw the ball for her, but most the time she gets it before he has a chance to let go of it.

Abbie has been a great addition to our family, (even though she is a bed hog). *wink* I'll try to get pictures next time we go to the water park of her "biting" the water and playing in the stream. She is a hoot.

Oh! we took her off her leash at a company picnic and she did great.

Greg taught her to dance with him.


Update 8-02-09

I've been struggling with whether or not to share this update, but I know that you all share in my joys and sorrows, so ... here is more to Abbie's story.

Abbie's family returned her to PAWS. They were struggling with her in a few areas, one of which was a chewing problem that she had (she liked to steal shoes apparently), and another being that they found that she has a hormone deficiency which causes her to be incontinent when she sleeps.
The incontinence is fixed with a hormone replacement pill, but that is not something that they were willing to take on.

Unfortunately, I no longer work for PAWS, so when Abbie was returned to them, I was not a possible foster home for her. I don't have any updates on her after her return, but I hope that she finds a great home soon. She is such an incredible dog, and I love her dearly. It breaks my heart that it didn't work out with her family, but I understand that sometimes it just doesn't go like we want it to, and we have to pick ourselves up and keep on keeping on.


UPDATE 8-12-09

Abbie was accepted at HWAC in California yesterday! YAY! That is SO fantastic! HWAC will find her a wonderful home.

Joey

June 17- July 2, 2009

Joey was a stray that had been taken to the shelter, then moved to the vet when he came down with Parvo. He has spent the last couple weeks at Doc's fighting the virus, and won!

He is a 5 month old Irish Setter with GORGEOUS eyes.
He got a bath right away (that was an adventure, let me tell ya. Took 2 of us to do it, and we were soaked clear through when we were done, lol!)

He is very sweet, and desperately wants to be loved. I don't think he's had any training whatsoever, but he is young. He will learn.

update, 6-21-09
Joey is the MOST lovable, cuddly dog that we've had. He will crawl up on your lap and just melt into you.
He is learning SO fast. He is housebroken now, knows 'sit', and is taking treats softly and patiently waiting his turn. I'm amazed at how fast he is learning.

update 6-30-09
Poor Joey. This little guy has been through so much in his few short months of life.

He went into the vet for his vaccines and to be neutered, and came out with an Elizabethan collar and 17 staples holding him closed. He had Cryptorchidism and what should have been a routine neutering turned into a 2 hour surgery.
The little guy is all disoriented, and lethargic. He cries, and it breaks my heart. I slept very little last night, hanging on his every sound.
He got some good pain meds, and they are helping him sleep a little better, and we take the collar off when one of us is sitting with him so he can be comfortable.
He should be able to get his staples out in 10-14 days.

Update 7-02-09
Joey was accepted at a Setter Rescue in Arizona. Lorraine is driving him there and we are just waiting for her phone call this morning to let me know she's on her way here to pick him up.

Gosh, I've grown so attached to Joey while he's been here. As happy as I am that he is going to the rescue, I wish that I could keep him till he recovers from his surgery. The mama in me wants to take care of him while he doesn't feel well, you know? I'm not ready for our home to be Joey-less. :(



* He's on his way to the rescue.

It was awful... about 20 minutes before we had to take him to his transport, he was lying down and must have gotten a muscle spasm near his incision. He started freaking out, crying and spinning in circles.
Then he got all lethargic, threw up everywhere and just laid down, shaking.

He got another dose of pain meds to help for the travel, and we sent his bed with him, because he's comfortable in it.

I'm so glad that Lorraine is the one driving him. I completely trust her to put his comfort and well being ahead of anything else. But even then, I had a hard time letting him go. I wanted to sit with him and rub his ears and tell him that it was going to be ok.

Dang leaky eyes.


7-6-09
I got an E-mail today from Joey's new foster mom. He was taken to the emergency vet right when they got him because he was in so much pain, and they fixed him up. She said that he is doing MUCH better. It was so good to hear from her... I had been worried about him and hoping that he was doing ok.
She said that she'd send me updates on him, and I'll share here when I hear anything!


7-17-09
Got another E-mail today from Joey's foster mom. He's had his staples removed, and is doing great! She sent along a few pictures, and said I could share. Isn't he gorgeous?

The hard part

Yesterday was a roller coaster of emotions.

Louie was taken to HWAC (and accepted, woo hoo!). Bittersweet emotions. It's always hard to let them go.

I learned also that a few of the shelter dogs were put down Monday. One of them I had grown very attached to, and was hoping that we might have been able to foster him. His name was Sam. He was a Great Dane/Lab mix. Beautiful dog, with an exceptional personality.
When at the shelter taking photos of the new dogs, I would often take Sam out to the yard and play with him when I was finished.
Tevin and I were with Sam, playing with him, when he was adopted. It was a fantastic day, and Tevin was so excited to be able to see some of the good stuff that happens at the shelter.

While we were on vacation, Sam was returned to the shelter. He didn't get along well with the woman's other dog, so she brought him back. I imagine the only thing worse for a dog than to be taken to the shelter and dropped off, is to be taken to the shelter and dropped off twice.

I felt so badly for Sam, and when we got home from vacation, I immediately went to the shelter to photograph all the dogs that had come in while we were gone.
There were so many, that I didn't have time to take Sam out and play with him, though I desperately wanted to.

That was Friday.
They killed him on Monday.

I had no idea that they were going to, and I was devastated to hear the news. My heart broke with a pain that I can't describe.

I have many friends with strong shoulders on which to cry, and I am eternally grateful for that.

I am reminded to think of the starfish. And I try.

I can't help Sam now.
But I can help others.

Dry the tears and move on, though a piece of my heart stays with Sam and the others that I have lost.

RIP Sam

Maggie Update!

Scroll down to Maggie's entry and see her update! We got to spend several days visiting her in Oregon. We had a blast at the coast!

Louie

May 14 - June 16 2009

We just brought home Louie from the shelter today. He is a young Pointer mix, with one of the most adorable faces EVER. :D
He's only about 5 months old.

First impressions:
He learned the dog door in about 30 seconds. In and out.
He is super smart, and very attentive.

If you are interested in adopting Louie, contact me! :D

5-19
I LOVE Louie. Oh my gosh, he is a wonderful dog!
He is sweet, and smart. He listens, and is super quick to learn everything that we are teaching him. I hope that he finds an exceptional home, he deserves it!

6-15
Louie has been such a great dog. He got to go to another foster home for about 10 days while our family went on vacation, and we picked him back up when we got home.
He's had a couple people who were interested in him, but none of them worked out for him.
He is on his way to Helen Woodward in the morning, and if he gets accepted there, they will hopefully find him a fantastic home quickly.

6-16 Louie got accepted at HWAC! Hopefully they will find him a wonderful home quickly. :D I will miss him terribly, but am so happy for him!

Casey

April 28 - May 14, 2009

I'm going to post about our current foster, then update it when they get transported or adopted. That way, you can see who we have right now. :D

If you are interested in adopting Casey, please contact me!!

We brought Casey home from the shelter yesterday. He'd been there for quite awhile.
He is an odd looking dog.. a jumble of several different breeds. Any guesses as to what he is would be appreciated! He is not small, about 40 pounds right now, and only 6 months old.
His back legs look like a German Shepherd, but his face is somewhat Terrier.
His tail is SO unique. It is really long, and hangs down, but curls in a spiral at the end. When he wags his tail, only the spiral goes back and forth and curls around and around. It is so funny!

ADDED: after doing some research, I would say that Casey definitely has some Smooth Fox Terrier in him!

He is SUPER shy and timid. He plays with Troy, but is scared of our dogs.
We are working on that.

He is really really sweet, and just yearns for any attention he can get. He got a bath yesterday, and a good brushing, and his fur is SO soft.

I'll update this with more pictures and more stories as I time goes. :D

5-3-09
Casey is very sick. Right now he's getting pedialyte every hour and some great homeopathic remedies that may help as well. Please keep him in your prayers. He'll see Doc in the morning ... keep all your fingers crossed that whatever he has is fixable.

5-5-09
Casey is feeling much better! YAY. He's back to himself this morning, stealing socks and bounding around. :D

5-14-09
Casey moved to a long-term foster home where he'll stay till he is adopted. I will miss him.. he was such a love bug! He gave great lurpy hugs. LOL.

6-16-09
Casey was accepted at HWAC today! I was so happy that I cried! He deserves it, and I hope that they find him a fantastic home where he will get all the love that he needs.

Troy

April 23-May 15
2009

We brought Troy home from the shelter. We still had Riley when we brought Troy home, and Troy ADORED Riley.
The kids just love him, it's fun to have a little puppy in the house. He's only 12 weeks old, and just full of fun and energy.

He has the sweetest little personality, and the cutest face.

Troy was with us for only 6 days, and was taken to HWAC in CA. They will find him a fantastic home!

ADDED: Troy wasn't accepted at HWAC because they said he may have kennel cough. So he'll be coming back to us tomorrow! Bummer that he didn't get accepted, but Yay that we get him back! The kids are excited about that, LOL!. :D

5-15-09
Troy was adopted! He went to a fantastic family. The kids there just adore him, and he will have a great life with them.

9-16-09

Wade and I went to visit Troy today. Oh my gosh, he is such a gorgeous dog! I couldn't believe how much he had grown. He remembered us, and it was so great to just love on him and pet him for a little while.
*sniff* I might admit to getting a little bit teary.

An inside look at fostering

Quoted from "Fostering a Rescue Dog" by M. Shirley Chong

"Like any foster parent, you have a special task ahead of you. You have to guide, teach, help and love this refugee, without becoming this dog's one-and-only person.
You have to be ready to spend time and energy and love on this dog, and yet be able to give it up when the right family comes along.

If everything works out right, someday not too far in the future, there'll be a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes as you watch your foster dog eagerly leave your home and loving care for a new life with a new family."


And it is SO worth it.

Darlin

April 15- 19 2009

The 15th was the last day at the shelter for several dogs. We went to go get one, even though we still had Riley. I just couldn't sit by knowing that there were dogs that were going to be put down, and not do anything about it.

When we got to the shelter, they had already put down several of the older/harder to adopt dogs. :( As badly as I wanted to save them all, it just wasn't possible.
I kept repeating the starfish story in my head, and trying to hold back the tears.

We took home a gorgeous little girl, a lab/spaniel/collie mix about 9 months old.
She didn't have a name, but I was calling her Darlin when we took her into the vet, and that's what they wrote on her records, so it stuck.

Darlin was just the calmest, sweetest little thing. She would sit back and quietly watch the other 3 dogs go nuts, LOL.
She was SO smart. She wasn't housebroken when we brought her home, but she picked it up in the first day.

We took her to the Adopt-a-thon with Riley. She had several people look at her, and who were interested, but she came home with us. That Sunday though, a family called us who had seen her that Saturday, and wanted to adopt her.
We took her to their house, and they kept her for one night and were totally in love.
That family was perfect for her, and I am so happy that they found her. They renamed her Harley and said that she is doing really well there, and is happy!