Chuggy Alabaster, Meredith, Okeriete, oph

Rescue Dog Fill in the Blank

IMG_0631I just returned from a much-too-quick trip to Florida to meet with a book club. (Shout out to the fabulous ladies of the Forest Lakes Estates Book Club! Smart, interesting, fun women! Thanks for having me!)

 

I don’t think that there has ever been a dog more happy to see me come home than Meredith. She nearly lost her mind – leaping through the air, yelping with joy, only to throw herself on the ground and wriggle around, before tearing around the house and repeating the process ad infinitum. Gosh, she breaks my heart – would somebody please adopt this girl already??!

Meredith has the biggest, happiest heart. That was hard to see at first because she was so terribly frightened of people. Because she can’t tell us, we can only guess where her fear comes from, but she’s quickly overcoming it and learning to trust more every day. I promise you that if you take this girl home and love her, even a little, you will have a devoted disciple all your days.

DSC_2622

Add to the loyalty factor- she is gorgeous and has the most velvety coat imaginable. It’s like permanent puppy fur. We fitted her with a harness and solved most of her leash issues – she still gets on a happy tear occasionally and bounds around in sheer joy, but it’s much more controllable with the harness.

I’ve taken her for a 4+ mile run and she is stellar – great manners, no monkeying around, cordial to all we encounter.

And, she’s so smart we were able to house break her in one day! She’s not a huge chewer, although she will inspire you to keep your counters clean. She’s trying very hard to make friends with Gracie, but Gracie has no patience for her exuberance.

Meredith’s also over-the-moon excited to get to know Okeriete, but we haven’t put them together yet because I fear she will squish Okeriete. The energy level alone with the two in one room could power a football stadium.

Speaking of Okeriete, I know you’re dying to know something about our tiny little buddy. Continue reading “Rescue Dog Fill in the Blank”

Chuggy Alabaster, LIly, oph

Our Special Visitor (and news of the Chugster!)

DSC_2205

We were foster dog-less for almost 24 hours.

The plan had been to be foster dog-less until after we get back from our BIG VACATION (I can’t tell you about it or you’ll be super jealous and stop reading my blogs).

But then, you know, twist my rubber arm. Plus, this isn’t just another foster dog this is a VERY SPECIAL foster dog.

Super excited to tell you that Liliana (or Lily), the puppy mama, is staying with us for two weeks!! I’ve been smitten by this gorgeous girl since the first time I laid eyes on her, which was back in November when she was giving birth to all those beautiful puppies.

And here’s the thing about Lily. Consider what she’s been through. Basically she’s a teenage mom. Her age is guessed to be between 1 and 2, but her need to play, chew, and RUN make me certain it’s closer to 1. She was impregnated, abandoned, kenneled, then shipped a day’s drive north where she gave birth to ten puppies with four birth attendants that she’d only just met.

So, considering all that, you’d think Lily might be a little shy. Maybe suspicious. You’d think she might have trust issues. Continue reading “Our Special Visitor (and news of the Chugster!)”

Chuggy Alabaster, fosterdogs, oph, Pigweed

Meet the Real Chuggy Alabaster

DSC_2160Fiona, the puppy formerly known as Pigweed, took off for her forever home. Chuggy (and the rest of us) are missing her. Minutes before her adopters arrived, she and Chuggy had one last King/Queen of the Frank Bed battle and I captured it for posterity. My phone is clogged with these videos because every time I witnessed them I wanted to share them with the world, but despite my best intentions and most likely, because of my limited technical abilities, they remain trapped on my phone. You’ll have to stop by if you want to watch any others.

Life got much easier this morning. As cute as they are, Pigweed and the rest of the puppies were a LOT of work. Chuggy is not. He is a delightful and gracious house guest. I’m afraid the puppies have been upstaging him during his time here, so let me properly introduce him.

First off, Chuggy Alabaster has more expressions than your average dog. Sometimes he can look at you like he knows exactly what you’re thinking, and once more, he agrees with you. Continue reading “Meet the Real Chuggy Alabaster”

Chuggy Alabaster, fosterdogs, oph, Pigweed, puppies, Uncategorized

A Puppy and a Puppy-sized Dog

Big weekend here. Four out of five puppies took off for their forever homes.

It was fun to see the happy faces – especially the kids. Puppy adopters are my favorite people because they are always bubbling over with excitement. I mean, who isn’t over-the-moon happy to be taking home an adorable puppy? I’m sure some of that happy might wear off after a few days of cleaning up poo on the carpet, but for that 30 minutes or so when they are here meeting their puppy and signing the papers and taking pictures, they are THE happiest. And that’s fun to see.

Makes me smile now just thinking about it. I loved watching Sneezewort (now Cooper) jumping all over his new boys and Snap Dragon (now Rocky) giving his new mom a face bath. The grins on the faces of Foxglove’s (now Teddy) new mommy and daddy practically split their faces and seeing the dreams come true for one teenager when she snuggled Begonia (now Calypso) simply made my day.

 

 

DSC_2016
(I picked a really sad face pic for this just so you’d say, “awe…..”)

And that leaves Pigweed alone. It was a long, tough night for that little girl. We’ve learned she can bay like a hound when she is VERY sad. She goes home to her VERY excited forever family on Friday. This morning Ian said, “Next time we do puppies, can you make sure they ALL go home on the same day.”

Yuppers. That would be ideal.

DSC_2083

I had tried to head off this predicament by claiming a very small foster dog. Chuggy Alabaster (and who can resist a name like that?) arrived on Saturday afternoon. He’s a pug/Chihuahua cross and weighs a little less than Pigweed, my smallest puppy.  He’s got a smashed in, turn up nose which is a perfect combo of the two breeds, plus a mini-Superman build – svelte waist and broad chest. He’s about a year old and has lots of small dog energy. The perfect playmate, right? Continue reading “A Puppy and a Puppy-sized Dog”