puppy – Page 3 – Another Good Dog™

adopters, euthanasia, fosterdogs, fostering, fostering dogs, Husky, oph, puppies, shelters

Last one left is a….wonderful puppy.

December 17, 2024 Cara Achterberg

Last one left is a….wonderful puppy.

I never really know why a person picks one puppy instead of another. I suppose it’s kismet or karma or whim. What I tend to believe is that there is almost always adoption magic afoot. People tend to find the dog they need (and vice versa).

I have only one foster puppy left looking for her forever family. And she is a gem. Becca is crazy smart but eager to please and VERY food motivated, so training this baby will be fun. The sky’s the limit. With her long legs and athletic body, I’d bet she’d be an ace at agility.

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fostering, puppies

Christmas Puppy Anyone?

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024 Cara Achterberg

Who is hoping to find a puppy under the Christmas tree?

I’ve got some pretty adorable puppies looking for a home of their own. The ABC pups – Alex, Becca, and Cassie – arrived this past week from Mississippi.

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Ehrlichia, foster cats, foster dogs, fostering, Humane Society of Shenandoah County, mama dogs, oph, puppies

A Puppy Just for You

July 25, 2024 Cara Achterberg

It’s been a week with these little ~~mice~~ puppies, and while they have gotten bigger, they’re still tiny.

At seven weeks, the smallest (Chrystanthemum) is 2 pounds, four ounces and the largest (Gus Gus and Norman) are 3 pounds, 13 ounces. Which, if you trust a puppy growth calculator means they will grow to be 16 pounds and 27 pounds.

So, they’ll be small dogs when they grow up, which is why I’m kind of surprised, and not, that they don’t have adopters yet. This is typically a slow time of year for adoptions. But because these puppies will grow to be small dogs, I did think they’d have a better chance than most of finding a family quickly.

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Humane Society of Shenandoah County, litters, mama dogs, oph, puppies

Summer Puppies: The Literary Mice

July 19, 2024 Cara Achterberg

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.

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Little Moments Equal Big Progress

May 31, 2024 Cara Achterberg

It’s the little moments that feel like big progress with Bonnie and Clyde. Having spent their entire life until now in a small, poop-covered room, they are like giant, bewildered puppies most of the time.

In the early days, we worked on eye contact and impulse control (sit before being let out of crate or out the door or having dinner served). I improved my ability to be patient and learned to respond to the tiniest improvement. Now, over a month later, they’ve both more or less mastered those big asks.

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adopters, Dogs with Issues

Bonnie and Clyde

May 16, 2024 Cara Achterberg

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.

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adopters, foster dogs, puppies

Knowing Where They Come From

May 10, 2024 Cara Achterberg

I don’t usually know where my foster dogs come from. Well, that’s not exactly right, I know it’s a shelter or maybe another foster home, but not much about their story.

I don’t know their parents or their previous owners.

When I foster puppies (and dogs), everyone wants to know what breed they are. But that’s another detail I don’t know and can only guess.

Not so, with the dogs and puppies I have fostered so far this year. All of them have come from local hoarding/eviction situations.

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adopters, dog rescue, fostering dogs, puppies

Puppy-palooza!

May 3, 2024 Cara Achterberg

It’s a regular puppy-palooza at this foster cottage. I was home from the latest shelter tour only a few hours when the deluge began.

Nancy and I picked up Sampson from the house of a new HSSC foster where he’d been with his mom for the last ten days. Tina told us that he’s a doll but he was driving her older dog a little nuts. She would continue to foster Sampson’s mama (Beatrix’s sister!) because she’s so easy and good, but would be grateful if I could take the youngster off her hands.

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