Tag: dogadoption

Billie Jean, dog rescue, foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, puppies

They’re All Unicorns

Cara Sue Achterberg

“She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene….”

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Billie Jean is our newest foster. She arrived two days after the Suess Boys, so she’s been completely upstaged by their tiny but massive presence in our rescue world (YES- they have adopters and a long list of back-up adopters!).

Billie Jean has been in OPH care for over a month but spent a good part of that time in a boarding facility in Virginia because there wasn’t a foster home available. She had several sleepovers at various foster homes and enjoyed attending adoption events where she made many fans, just no adopters. No worries, though, this is a Continue reading “They’re All Unicorns” →

adopters, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, Gomer Pyle, oph

Long Distance Dog Adoption

Cara Sue Achterberg

I’m completely dogless.

Well, that’s not quite true. I have Gracie and Frankie. And they are VERY happy to have me back from vacation.

So happy in fact, that on our first night home, Frankie broke out of his soft-sided crate to crawl in bed with me. So now I’m trying to teach him to sleep in it with no door. Took me fifteen minutes of repeatedly putting him back in it before he finally settled down, but then around 3 in the morning, he still climbed in bed with us.

I’d be more than happy to share our kingsize bed with him, but Nick is Continue reading “Long Distance Dog Adoption” →

dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, Gala, puppies

People Save Dogs, but Dogs Can Also Save People

Cara Sue Achterberg

Sharing Gala’s situation last week triggered an avalanche of reaction. Many, many suggestions for trainers, meds, herbal supplements, etc. And more than that—lots of support and encouragement, which is maybe what I needed most. Sadly, it did not trigger any adoption applications.

I want to be clear, I was not suggesting that it is time to euthanize Gala. I don’t believe she’s out of options. And I ABSOLUTELY believe she can be successful and happy in the right adoptive home. What drove my frustration and sadness is that I’m pretty certain our foster home is no longer helping her. Her anxiety is up, not down. Yes, she has improved in many areas – she is better on the leash, she is accepting of her crate, she knows commands like sit, stay, and come. She is not trying to escape our house.

In other ways, though, I feel she has peaked and is regressing. Her reactivity to people has increased, and I believe that’s a combination of her becoming attached to us (and feeling she needs to protect us), and my nervousness when she meets someone new. I always worry how she will react. Gala is an extremely sensitive dog. And Gala loves me beyond reason. This combination becomes combustible when we are in public places where her anxiety is already ramped up.

This realization is what drove me to tears. I wrote that I don’t think I can save her, but I didn’t mean that someone else couldn’t. Continue reading “People Save Dogs, but Dogs Can Also Save People” →

Chuggy Alabaster, fosterdogs, oph, Pigweed

Meet the Real Chuggy Alabaster

Cara Sue Achterberg

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” →