Just One More Dog

Archive for February, 2010

Meet Luna:

This girl is pretty sweet. She is approximately a year old and hasn’t spent much time around people. She is shy at first and will keep her distance from you. But, once she gets comfortable she comes closer and closer. Her tail constantly wags, sometimes just a little bit and other times so fast it is going in circles.

Luna has been with me a week yesterday. I picked her up at the vet after she had been fixed and checked over. After the car ride to my house, she slowly crept out of her crate to check out the garage. Once outside I introduced her to Whitley, Boo Boo and Denny. She pretty much kept her distance from me, watching everything that was going on around the house. However, she never gave off the air of the fear/shyness that would lead other dogs to bite. Rather, when she felt it was required, she would lay down on the floor and basically shut down. Then, Luna discovered my bed. Oh, and the couch.

We really started to bond once she realized that me laying on the bed meant that I was at her level. She slithered like a snake up onto the bed head first, her tail thwapping against the bed and wall and anything else it came into contact with. Once she was on the bed she got so excited. She pushed her nose into my face and gave me kisses and I scratched her ears. I think for her that was heaven. She closed her eyes and got this look of bliss on her face. And then we had a nap together.

She is very good with Cameron and the other dogs. I feed her each meal from my hand and that has really built the trust up between us. She also now comes to me when I get home to say hi. Before, she would stay back halfway across the room and whine because she wanted to be close and say hi but just couldn’t do it. Amazing how much can change in just a week. I can’t wait to watch her grow that much more, trust more and blossom as a loved part of our foster family.

A close call for this girl. She almost … almost … was going to stay at my house. BUT, a better offer came along. Boo Boo has gone to a home with another dog to torment err love and a mom who will spend a lot of time with her. Days will be filled with dog walks and nights of cuddling. I am so happy for both Boo Boo and her new family.

Again, yes, a bit sad, but in a good way. Its only heartbreaking for a bit, until my son reminds me why it is good that the dogs are adopted!

Denny is a 5 month old prairie dog. He is an absolute doll. Initially he was reserved about meeting humans but seems to have gotten over that quite quickly. At PetSmart on Saturday he really came out of his shell. I am very proud of him. He loves to curl up with me and be close. At the same time, he loves to play with the other dogs and is really good with my son. He is crate trained and we are working on him slowing down how quickly he eats. He needs to understand that the food is not in short supply!!

He looks bigger in these pictures than he is. He is quite a dainty boy for 5 months compared to the bear pups that were here.

Well, this post is a wee bit late. Wheatie went to his forever home a week ago. I think that his name is going to be changed – perhaps to Dexter or something like that. I am really happy with the match!

It has been a very big weekend here at Chez Morgan. Kodiak and Paddington went on successful home visits while Boo-Boo and I were at PetSmart (more on that in another post!) I am happy to announce that they have found forever homes with two wonderful families who will shower them with love and probably spoil them rotten. PLUS, last night both dogs came back walking on leashes.

Kodiak was the first to go.

Of course Paddington gives me a good picture on his last day with me! He was picked up shortly after Kodiak. I will admit that I was slightly verklempt.  I am really happy for everyone.

Its been a busy morning here at Chez Morgan. Both Paddington and Kodiak have gone on day visits. Keep your fingers crossed for them. Both of them are visiting families who have a lot of love to give and will probably come back here spoiled rotten!

Boo-Boo and I are heading to PetSmart today. And Wheatie has a visit with a family this afternoon.

Whitley, well I think she is liking the fact that there are only two other dogs in the house at the moment as she is flaked out on the couch which she hasn’t had the opportunity to do much of with a house full of puppies.

It has been a busy weekend here at Chez Morgan. 6 new puppies were at Petsmart on Saturday. Cameron was with me and we decided that we would take one of them home with us. So, the new member of the Chez Morgan pack is ….

2 month old muttilicious male puppy. He is fitting it quite well with the pack at the moment. He holds his own when they are all playing together and has inserted himself into the puppypile:

A very cute picture of puppypile bliss.

We also had a visitor for a Saturday night sleepover.

Baloo was over for the night. She came running up to the house when her Dad dropped her off and the pups played like crazy the whole day. It was awesome to see. In the week that she has been in her new home she has become quite a bit more independent which was wonderful to see. When her mom picked her up today she was just as happy to see her too! Wagging her tail at her family. I loved it.

Sherri left a great comment on my post about my thoughts on fostering so I thought I would answer it here.

Sherri wrote:

thank you for your post. i’ve been seriously considering applying to foster as well (or at the very least adopting a dog of our very own). my biggest worry is how MY 7-year-old will handle having to give up the puppies when they find a forever home. also, do you work full time? how do you manage with walks, house training, etc.? any advice you could provide would be so helpful. thanks again :0)

Thanks Sherri for leaving a comment. I honestly think it is how you approach what you are doing openly with your child. At least, this worked well for me. I have been very honest with Cameron about why fostering these puppies is a good thing and what we are doing to save them. It has helped him take ownership of the process also. I made a statement the other night when I was goofing around with the dogs and said “how are my puppies” and he piped up from the living room saying “they are OUR puppies mommy”.

Julie, who organizes the fostering, says “don’t kiss the fosters” because its hard to let them go when you are attached. I agree with her. At the same time, I know that if one of the pups came into our world that “had” to stay with us that I would adopt it. I am not saying “no” to that avenue. And trust me, I have thought about the bear pups because they give me so much happiness, but I also know that I am helping them learn to be good pups that will complete some other family.

I do work full time but I have a dog walker who also lets the pups out for me during the day. It was more important when I first got them. Now, at almost three months they are able to hold their “stuff” for 5-7 hours. As for house training, I started off with feeding them in their crates. This helps them associate the crate with their den and they don’t like to go potty where they eat. Of course there were accidents. But, we haven’t had an accident in a week. I have hardwood floors. Whats a little pee? That’s what a mop is for. Of course, I do have the mop bucket fresh each day because with four dogs, a kid and me the floor does get dirty.

Fostering has really enriched my life. Erin, foster mama over at Haven for Dogs, said to me that she tells people she volunteers every day. That is what we do!

Hazel’s foster family sent me an update the other day about her which warmed my heart and re-enforced just how awesome doing this is – Hazel has taken to walking on her leash, she goes out for a walk with her human sister every morning before school and then gets to go on another walk during the day. The sense of happiness I get from them is rewarding.

Finally, this month’s ARF newsletter brings it home. In December, there were seven puppies that were sheltered in a tree with their mom. They were only a few days old. Because there weren’t any open foster homes ARF couldn’t take them. Recently, when ARF went back to check in, there were only three puppies there. Had their been homes these pups could have survived and could have made the perfect companion to some family out there.

It’s about doing what you can. If you aren’t sure about taking the step with fostering, there are many other ways to help out. We are at the PetSmart across from Chinook every Saturday from 1-3 and need volunteers to help there. We have the Pad for Paws campaign, the annual golf tournament, people to screen potential adopters and then those people who are able to help out with other fundraising campaigns. Just a few of the volunteer opportunities are listed on the ARF Website. If there are other questions about ARF or volunteering you can always send them an email and someone will contact you. Every little bit helps.

WOW … I can be long winded. So, if you have stuck with me this long, here is your reward …

Yes, that is Paddington, discovering the fresh water of the toilet.

What is it with these pups and the lack of desire to have their pictures taken. I swear, I maybe get one good one for every 25 I take. Tonight, they were sharing the pillow so I figured I would try to take some shots.

Great I thought. I can take a picture of them. So I tried. Kodiak and Boo Boo were semi helpful.

And then there is Paddington. The camera shy boy – or maybe he is just into being coy or playing hard to get. This was the best I could get.

I love how much they have changed in the couple of weeks they have been with me.

I have been fostering with ARF now for a little over a month. Amazing that it started only on December 23, 2009. It feels like I have been doing this forever. And. It just feels right. Puppies bring happiness and happiness is not something to turn away from. I thought I would document some of my reflections on fostering and what I am learning…

1. Having discussions constantly with Cameron, my 7 year old son, about why we are doing this. He knows that we are fostering puppies so that we can make sure “more puppies don’t get dead” as he told me because when it is cold and the weather is bad he knows that puppies having a warm home to come to can save them. I feel that Cameron is learning about the value of life, of helping and volunteering and of responsibilities. He gets up in the morning sometimes before me and will let the puppies outside while I get them breakfast. After school he stays outside with them to make sure that they go to the bathroom and “reports” in on what they did. He helps out with feeding, cleaning up, and giving the puppies love.

2. Always have more than one dog to foster. This last week both Hazel and Baloo were adopted. It is bittersweet because I am so happy for them but at the same time I was a little sad, that is, until I came home on Sunday after dropping off Baloo and was attacked with puppy kisses. I couldn’t imagine coming home to an empty house after an adoption!

3. Cameron is very proud about the fact that two of the puppies have been adopted. I guess he was talking about it at school and daycare today. Pretty cool. He even asked me when we are getting more puppies!!

4. My floors have never been so dirty and clean at the same time! Having puppies has kept me on my toes with my cleaning. I like to play with the dogs on the floor and since they do get time each day where they get to come in and out as they please the floors get dirty. So I vacuum and mop. I have it down to an art so it takes me five minutes at the most – usually while I am making a pot of tea in the evening.

5. Puppies = Laughter – case in point, they have no coordination [the pups have come running into the house chasing each other and keep slipping and sliding on the hardwood floor - it cracks me up]

6. Fostering has also brought me in touch with some great people and re-connected me with others who I had no clue they fostered with ARF.

7. I look forward to more puppies and a long future fostering with ARF. I am so glad that I found this organization (or perhaps it found me).