Tag: dogs

foster dogs, fostering, hound dogs, Humane Society of Shenandoah County

Get the Foster Party Started

Cara Sue Achterberg

It’s quite the dog party at my foster cottage. The last month with the hound dogs has been relatively quiet. Other than the occasional concert, they are a pretty quiet pair. Lots of sleeping, casing the joint for treats, and counter-surfing, but no real rough-housing.

Enter Gina, our party girl. She has definitely upped the energy level here.

Rufus is thrilled to have a playmate. The two have regular play sessions all day long – chasing, wrestling, rolling, and lots of keep away with a toy (but no tug, Gina doesn’t seem to understand tug, she just gives the toy up). For a dog who is supposed to be seven, Rufus has some serious game.

Continue reading “Get the Foster Party Started” →
dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, training

Moose Moves In

Cara Sue Achterberg

I’ve tried. Hard. For the sake of my family and our new home and the holidays and my husband’s patience.

I’ve tried not to foster.

The plan we made (and I agreed on) was once we were settled in our new house, put up a dog fence, and renovated the cottage, then I would start fostering again.

So, we’re here. Mostly settled.

And the dog fence went in last week.

Continue reading “Moose Moves In” →
canine health, distemper, dog rescue, euthanasia, foster dogs, shelters

A Little Dog From Texas Who Changed the World

Cara Sue Achterberg

Sometimes rescue sucks.

I’m sorry. I’m not usually so negative. I’m really a very positive person.

When my children were small and we talked about swear words, I told them, “People who need to use those words so often simply lack creativity.” But sometimes, those bad words fit the situation. And I muttered more than my share in the past week.

Continue reading “A Little Dog From Texas Who Changed the World” →
canine health, cats, dog rescue, foster cats, fostering

One Day at a Time

Cara Sue Achterberg

It has been quite a rollercoaster ride with Miss Bippity Bop this past week.

The good news is that we’ve been able to get her seizures under control.

The bad news is that we still don’t know what brought them, and the medication she is taking to prevent them is having a strong effect on her.

She is docile, dopey, and a wobbly. Gone is her fiery little personality that claimed her space at this house. Now, she seems to be sleep-walking through her days, and sleep-walking unsteadily at that. She naps all day long and is happiest if she can nap in a lap.

Continue reading “One Day at a Time” →
canine health, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, Texas

Rescue Comes With A Lot of Unkowns

Cara Sue Achterberg

I put off writing this post because I wasn’t sure what was really happening to my little foster dog, Bippity. I still don’t know, but I’ve decided to write anyway.

The not knowing? That is a big part of rescue.

Continue reading “Rescue Comes With A Lot of Unkowns” →
canine health, dog products, Ehrlichia, feeding dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, Gracie

Foster Dog News, Personal Dog Update, and a Recommendation

Cara Sue Achterberg

We’re still waiting for word on a transport date for Bippity-Bop to make her way eastward, but since I’ve restarted this blog, I thought I’d stick to my new Thursday posting habit. (I’m sure you missed me expected me to take up space in your inbox today.)

X-Port Paws has decided to keep Bippity in the boarding/foster situation in Texas for another week to be certain she is healthy enough to travel. At her vet appointment last week she was infested with fleas/ticks and running a fever. She also tested positive for Ehrlichia (but negative for heartworm!). Ehrlichia is a tickborne disease that is very treatable but must be monitored. Bippity has been started on a course of Doxycycline. This week her fever is gone and her energy is back.

Continue reading “Foster Dog News, Personal Dog Update, and a Recommendation” →
dog rescue, fosterdogs, no-kill, shelters, transport

Easy-Peasy Foray Back Into Fostering

Cara Sue Achterberg

We are certainly just easing back into fostering with this sweet pup. Serendipity is just about as easy as they come in terms of foster dogs.

Even after a three-day journey in a crate inside a van full of dogs, she arrived happy and friendly and pretty much ready for anything. Her enormous tail (which belongs on a lab not a petite girl like her) and her elongated body (I think she more resembles a fox than any other breed), wag ferociously at the sight or sound of any human being (and dogs too I would soon learn).

Continue reading “Easy-Peasy Foray Back Into Fostering” →
dog rescue, emergency transport, euthanasia, foster dogs, fostering, shelters, transport

Saving Lives with two Wonderwomen of Rescue (and a foster dog is coming!)

Cara Sue Achterberg

I had not planned on getting a new foster dog. Our house is too small, too much under construction, and we already have three needy dogs.

We’re still getting settled here in Virginia, figuring out what’s what and where, and have no actual yard, so another dog means another four or five walks around the block a day (this would probably be good for me after a two-week vacation in Florida!). Plus, I’m too busy with Waldo and am writing to a deadline for a new book.

But then I saw the sweet face of a little dog in Texas who was scheduled to be ‘euthanized.’ The shelter was full and she’d been there too long with no interest.

Continue reading “Saving Lives with two Wonderwomen of Rescue (and a foster dog is coming!)” →
cats, Dogs with Issues, Fanny

Dog Park By Reservation Only

Cara Sue Achterberg

Ever since moving here, I’ve been tracking the activity at the local dog park. It’s a great park. Two big areas that have built-in agilty equipment, plus shade and water and benches to sit on.

It’s a busy place.

And that’s the problem.

Continue reading “Dog Park By Reservation Only” →
Uncategorized

Walking Dogs

Cara Sue Achterberg

I’m a slave to the leash. Or at least a slave to the creatures on the other end of it. While I’m not presently fostering any dogs, my days still revolve around dogs – walking them.

Living with our three dogs in ‘downtown’ Woodstock, has changed my world (and theirs) dramatically. Now instead of opening the door to let the dogs out, I leash them up, generally one at a time but sometimes two at a time.

Continue reading “Walking Dogs” →