“So, now instead of twelve dogs, we only have eleven.”
I’m sure I never imagined I’d utter that remark in my lifetime.
Catalina took off for her forever home today. Of course, it’s only a trial adoption since Heather has cats and Cat has a small cat obsession. We shall see.
I’m hoping it sticks because that will mean she stays local and I can keep tabs on her. I can’t wait to see if she grows into those big, goofy feet.
Cat’s adoption may make it harder for my husband to get his favorite contractor out here ever again. Heather’s other half is Barry who is our go-to guy for all matters involving digging, block laying, paving, or moving anything large. He’s built a rock wall, re-graded our hillside, yanked out a few trees by their roots, addressed our barn flooding issue, and paved our driveway in the past and now he’s back to help us with our garage building project this summer.
Heather met Cat the day she and Barry were here to quote the job. When Heather introduced Cat to Barry, he said, “But we’ve almost gotten rid of the kids….”
He’s a softie, though, so he called only a few hours later and said, “What do we have to do to get this dog?”
Somehow, I doubt he’ll be in a hurry to come out the next time Nick calls him with a job.
It’s a great home though, so here’s hoping Cat can figure out how to live with cats.
Meanwhile, let me introduce you to our newest guests….Momma Schuyler and the cast of Hamilton-
The email said, “Jen just posted a momma and 3 pups on Facebook.”
Mindy knew I was jonesing for some puppies, so I appreciated the heads up. I checked the page and there was a picture of a momma and there were five pictures of individual puppies. I examined them and decided that some of the pictures were just different angles of the same pups.
And the pups were adorable- only two weeks old, their eyes barely open. Like human newborns, unless they’re yours they all do look kind of alike.
I remember a similar feeling after giving birth to my own first born. The world seemed maybe not so simple, while at the same time it was much clearer to me what matters.
Berneen (or Bernie as we’ve taken to calling her as she is also a bit of a rumpled underdog) has clearly been a mama. Her body would testify to that, but so would her heart.
I picked her up from boarding on Sunday in the rain. She ducked her head as I herded her to my car, but I know now it wasn’t because of the rain. That’s been her way. She’s an incredibly humble dog, always wanting to get out of your way, not claim too much space. She still crumbles to the floor when I reach for her collar to snap the leash on and whimpers in gratitude once it’s clear we’re going for a walk.
She spent the first two days here sleeping. She lay on the Frank bed (covered with a blanket because I worried when she hadn’t peed for hours – although she has yet to have any accidents). She lay with her legs tucked under her so that she resembled a seal. She seemed exhausted, not even raising her head when we moved about the kitchen. I wondered if she was mourning something or someone or if the last months of being a stray and a shelter dog were very hard and finally she was in a safe place where she could sleep.
She’s clearly been someone’s dog before. She’s housebroken and well-mannered. She reminded me of Carla when she first arrived – another heartbroken dog.
Oak was just dying to meet her and when I finally allowed it, he crawled all over her, like the puppy he is. Continue reading “Being the Mama”→
Fostering has so much become our way of life that all my kids (and most of their friends) always close the baby gate behind them when they leave the kitchen, even when there’s no dog about. They are careful when they exit/enter the house, looking all around them like soldiers averting land mines. No one wants to chase a foster dog up the hill.
Visitors don’t bat an eye at the keys hanging out of the front door lock (on the outside) because they know that some of our fosters (Meredith, Tennessee, John Coffey, and Frank) know how to work a lever handle door. Even if you’re only going for a piece of wood for the fire or to throw some scraps to the chickens, LOCK the door behind you.
The stacks of towels, bags of food, and random collars that litter the landscape of our house don’t look so out of place to me anymore. I just dust around them (if I were to dust).
Best of all, there’s no need to explain the random crates, assorted dogs, or that funny smell to anyone who stops by because they know all about my dog habit.
Meredith took off for her forever home on Monday after being a ROCK STAR at the Hanover OPH event. She was a much different dog than the frightened little girl who hid behind me on her first visit to the pet store. Continue reading “There’s Always Another Good Dog”→
Early last June, while sipping too many rum drinks on the ferry between Cape Henlopen and Cape May, I checked my email and saw a plea from OPH. They were looking for someone to take four adorable puppies from the same litter. Oh my! how cute, I thought. I want them!
When I came home from vacation, I learned there were actually two more puppies from that litter that needed foster care. What’s two more? I thought (although this time I wasn’t even tipsy, so I should have known better).
Well, those puppies were SO BEYOND CUTE that now all I want is puppies, puppies, puppies. They were my entry drug. And even the mess and the noise and work had no deterring effect. Seriously hooked. See?
Have you been wondering what happened to them? Me, too. I do hear from a few of them occasionally with pictures which I pore over and news which always makes me smile. So, for this post I emailed all of the adopters and asked for updates. I heard back from five of them! Continue reading “Once Upon a Puppy”→
Never a dull moment. That’s what I can say about fostering. Especially puppies.
Two of my puppies have been playing musical chairs in terms of adopters the entire time I’ve had them. First they have an adopter, then they don’t. I’m always extra nice to the currently unadopted puppy- as if they know it – more snuggles, extra treats.
There’s been one puppy available for adoption pretty much the entire time I’ve had the bunch, but which puppy it is has changed too many times to count. First it was Begonia, then Snap Dragon, then Pigweed, then back to Snap Dragon, and now we’re back to Pigweed. But Pigweed may be available just a wee bit longer. She’s going to need a special adopter.
So, everything I read said we should wait for Hadley to come out of her crate on her own. And I get that. She is insecure and needs to know she has a safe place to go to, but here’s the thing – some of us need to be pushed from the nest.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of change. I like to have my little routine in my little world. Things like software updates, new technology, attending public events, even parties make me anxious. There’s no avoiding most of them, so I plunge ahead, stuffing my worries and nerves aside. And you know what? Almost always it goes well. And then I’m happily chatting with new people or marveling at how much easier my work is with this new whiz-bang system. I wasn’t going to venture out of my crate on my own, but once you force me – hey, this is pretty great!
I think Hadley and I are kindred spirits on this one.
Three days ago, I let her out of her crate in the morning and then I closed it behind her. At first, she seemed worried. She clamored up on her couch cushion cave and hunkered down. But now it’s been three days and she is boldly trotting through the kitchen, snagging a bag of cookies abandoned by some kid, and slinking back to the couch, hoping we don’t notice. Nick follows her out and retrieves the cookies and a moment later she is back, sniffing around the backpacks.
I had to shut Gracie’s crate also because Hadley would only take up residence there, so Gracie claimed the Frank bed. The first time Hadley attempted to join her there, Gracie snarled and Hadley scooted away, but an hour later, Hadley boldly claimed her portion of the bed and Gracie backed down.
Taking Hadley out this morning, she fearlessly approached one of the cats and was game to chase it if it weren’t for that silly leash. Next she grabbed a stick and carried it around with her as we toured the yard.
Who is this dog?
The puppies have also been key to Hadley’s recent blossoming. She LOVES the puppies. As Looney Tunes Abominable Snow Rabbit would say, she’d like to hug them and love them and name them George. To keep the puppies safe from Hadley’s overly enthusiastic affection, we take the same approach we did when an older sibling wanted to hold the newest baby we brought home. We get her comfortable on the couch and then we hand her the swaddled infant, or in this case the wiggling bundle of happy. Then we supervise the interaction.
For their part, the puppies LOVE Hadley, climbing over and under her, lounging on top of her, chewing her tail, and giving her all manner of kisses. We have to keep all the action up on the couch and supervised because Hadley can get overly excited and forget her size, plus Gracie is pretty much the neighborhood bully who trots by, snarling mean threats at them.
Sneezewort REALLY loves HadleyFoxglove and Pigweed playing tag overtop HadleySnap Dragon and Foxglove doubleteaming Hadley
Pigweed gets a little too wild and is subjected to the big dog smack down
It’s so awesome to see Hadley’s fun side, it makes up for the walks where I have to carry her back because she is overcome with what can only be described as a panic attack and she flattens herself against the ground and refuses to move. Fear still rules her days, but hopefully when forced to face a few of her fears, she’s learning that her fear is pretty unfounded and once more, there’s treats out there in the big bad world, plus gentle touches, cats to chase, puppies to wrestle, and ear buds to munch.
The puppies have all now been claimed by adopters, so there’s no pressure to advertise their cuteness, still I can’t resist and regularly toss out the better pics on Facebook and twitter. They have a growing number of fans all over the world
Foxglove – big handsome boyPigweed – can’t take a bad picture of this gorgeous pupBegonia and SneezewortEverybody’s sleeping but Snap Dragon – he’ll make the best watch dog.My favorite sight of all!
The puppies have arrived! The cuteness is pretty much unbearable, so it’s good that they stink pretty bad.
At five weeks, they have no qualms about walking through, playing with, or even sleeping upon each other’s poops. I’m trying to stay on top of it (so to speak), but with the Christmas chaos, visitors, my own work, Hadley, GRACIE (no, we haven’t forgotten our own personal pup), and the fact that I have to bake six dozen cookies and package them beautifully for a cookie exchange tonight, it’s pretty much impossible to keep them poop-free.
My five little charms are half of the litter of pups that I witnessed Lily give birth to back in November. They are growing fast and resemble little bear cubs. While I’ve only had them 24 hours, here’s what I can tell you about them as individuals- Continue reading “Puppies!!”→
Hadley’s progress seems to have stalled. My mother-in-law is visiting and my college age son just got home, so the household dynamics are shifting and perhaps our little sensitive girl is picking up on that.
She’s back to staying in her crate for hours on end. She runs for the crate every time anything frightens her or makes her nervous. I’m trying to counter my own impatience and leave her be, but it’s frustrating. I’d like to shut the crate up during the day, but I know it’s her safe place. We all need a safe place.
I thought the rate of progress would increase, not decrease, since she seemed to be getting so comfortable with the house, the people in the house, and Gracie. That evaluation is relative, since anything probably seems like progress when you start with a dog who was curled in a ball for three days unwilling or unable to engage with us.
She still slinks around like she’d prefer to be invisible, startling at any sudden movements or noises and making a beeline for her crate. She runs when any of us reach out to touch her. She does love to be petted and cuddled, but only on her terms. Continue reading “Erratic Progress Before the Puppy Invasion”→
Having a house full of puppies is like having several hundred toddlers pop in for a visit.
It’s loud. It’s messy. Things break. But gosh, they’re so darn cute. (Thank God they’re leaving.)
We are entering week three of the puppydom. Some of us are growing weary of the efforts. As veteran parents, we are accustomed to the work that comes with caring for toddlers. We even understand that sometimes a toddler might bite you. They can pee on the floor on occasion. They don’t take direction well. These are known facts accepted.
Even so, with all that cuteness, one still can become resentful. Shut up, I think, when I hear Chism holding forth. Sure, she’s barking at a butterfly or a cat wandering across the yard. Cute. Yes. But loud. And I’m trying to write, here. Continue reading “Is Anyone Getting Anything Done Around Here?”→
Never a dull moment. That’s what I can say about fostering. Especially puppies.
So, everything I read said we should wait for Hadley to come out of her crate on her own. And I get that. She is insecure and needs to know she has a safe place to go to, but here’s the thing – some of us need to be pushed from the nest.
Another Good Dog™ 