Our adventures as a foster dog family
Since arriving here in my foster cottage, Berry has had a pretty sheltered life. We’ve journeyed all over the back roads around me at dawn and taken dozens of turns around our back pasture, but beyond that, his world has been pretty small.
Not anymore! If there was any doubt that Berry is a dog about town, it has all been shushed. My ‘shy’ guy spent this past Saturday greeting all kinds of people at the Farmer’s Market and in downtown Woodstock.
Continue reading “Berry’s Day Out”
Dogs just aren’t moving. Like everyone else’s, my foster dogs linger as adoptions have slowed down all over the country.
There are lots of theories about why this is happening, and I wrote about that this week on the Who Will Let the Dogs Out Blog.
‘Ann’ had a healthy baby boy and is doing well, but it is still undertermined whether she’ll be able to find work and housing that will allow Diamond to finally go home. This sweet girl is challenged by allergies and we are working through it, but treatment ideas are welcomed. She is red and itchy between her toes, and it’s quite a torment for her. I’ve cut out all chicken and chicken by-products in her diet, and that has helped but not eliminated the issue. She’s not a fan of probiotic wipes, but we’re trying that too.
Nancy was here to join me on the latest shelter tour and took some great pictures of this sweet, wiggle-butt:
Continue reading “Lingering Foster Dogs”
I hadn’t planned on taking any puppies this summer. I wanted to be able to do some camping, kayaking, traveling…but then the heat/drought arrived and my youngest got a promotion that has him moving back to the east coast in August (2.5 hours from us).
I don’t think the temperatures will come down anytime soon if the Weather Channel is to be trusted, and Ian will need us (or at least our truck) for his big move. The water levels are so low that kayaking is out of the question, and frankly, I couldn’t justify staying on the sidelines while shelters are completely overwhelmed and the ‘euthanasia’ numbers continue to climb.
Continue reading “Summer Puppies: The Literary Mice”
Bonnie and I have had a quiet week.
I was tempted not to write at all, but didn’t want to miss the opportunity to put out more Bonnie propaganda. Not that it’s propaganda, but any/all exposure is good because you just never know when the right person will catch of glimpse of her and think – ‘Yes! That looks like a great dog for me!”
I looked up propaganda to be sure I was correct in my assumed definition…
Propaganda is the dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumors, half-truths, or lies—to influence public opinion. Deliberateness and a relatively heavy emphasis on manipulation distinguish propaganda from casual conversation or the free and easy exchange of ideas.
Continue reading “Team Bonnie”
I’ve been waiting to tell you this story. The puppies were much too distracting, but now that five of six puppies have been adopted (and the sixth will go home on Sunday), I can tell you about Bonnie and Clyde.
The other reason I’ve waited is because I wanted to give them time. Their minds were so completely blown when I first brought them home and I didn’t think it was fair to assess them until they had the opportunity to settle in and be treated like the good dogs they are.
Bonnie and Clyde were born in a house rented by an elderly woman. She kept all of the dogs in a small ten by ten room off her kitchen closed in with a piece of plywood. She had illusions of breeding ‘Scotch Terriers’ to make money. Her story is not unusual. In fact, it’s the reason so many shelters are overwhelmed by the number of puppies coming in.
Continue reading “Bonnie and Clyde”
I was really counting on that adoption magic to prevail this week, but I’m an overly optimistic person.
I was able to see four of my puppies into the arms of their new families.
Oh my gosh, small dog puppies are SO much easier than big dog puppies. At least in large quantities.
Clean up takes a fraction of the time and the correlating stink is also much lighter!
Maybe the best part is that I can hold three of four of them on my lap at a time (which still leaves two yelling for my attentions).
And talk about cuteness – why are small things so much cuter than large things?
Continue reading “Small Dog Puppies and Big Dog Puppies”
My husband is pretty great. If you’ve read my book, Another Good Dog, you probably already know that (and wonder why he’s still married to me).
He likes dogs. But not like I like dogs. Or at least not like I like fostering dogs. Right now we have two foster dogs (the puppies all went home-finally!!) living with us (plus Gracie Lou who is currently fostering in Maryland).
Continue reading “My Husband is Pretty Great”
I’m currently working in the house of bark.
It’s rarely like this, but for the next nine hours, until our temporary foster takes off for his new life, there doesn’t seem to be a way around it. I’m trying to breathe calmly and exude still energy, but nothing really helps with this particular combination of dog.
I’m fairly sure he’s a Husky mix because of his need to ‘talk’ all the time, his crazy smarts, and his style of play (chasing anything and everything but not bringing it back). At nine months, Steele is a bundle of energy and curiosity.
Continue reading “The House of Bark”
The Snack Cake Pups were born November 2, so they were five weeks old on Thursday. They are weighing in at between six to seven pounds. The question everyone asks (right after they ask what kind of puppies they are) is—how big will they be?
The answer to that question depends largely on the answer to the first question. And the only one who has the answer to that question is Krimpet, and she’s not been forthcoming with the information.
Continue reading “How Big Will the Puppies Be?”
Another Good Dog™ 