What's one more?

A few weeks back our neighbor informed us that she had some long work days ahead. Would we be willing to let her (recently rescued pekingese :-) dog, Brucey Bear out during the day? Of course, not a problem. He gets along great with Relay.

Then came the call from NACC. Could we possibly take in a mother and her 5 kittens? Of course, not a problem. Mama does all the hard work and we have a big spare bathroom.

Just a few days later came the call from Collie and Sheltie about a hoarding situation. Did we feel up to taking Kyle? Of course, not a problem. You know how Jeff loves his shelties.

Last week came a text from a friend headed to San Fransisco for a week. Bogey the Puggle needed a place to crash, was that okay? Of course, not a problem. Bogey and Relay love hanging out, it's a hound dog thing.

Not a few days later came a second text from friends desperately trying to get out of town to visit family. Can you take Pudgy and Remmy for a week?  Of course, not a problem. Any chance this Navy family can spend with their kids they should jump at, we can handle a pekepoo and boxer.

Are you guys keeping track? Because I obviously never did. I'm in the middle of 'The Week' and it's a marathon to be sure.Hardest part so far had to be trying to transition the kittens to can food. Mama ate the most of it and made herself sick. EVERYWHERE. Otherwise, we're doing okay. Not a problem. Okay, maybe a little.

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Introducing... Kyle!

After another trip to the vet to help Collie and Sheltie Rescue for the last sheltie from the hoarding situation and a collie that was an owner surrender (that trip totaling $630), I was cleared to take Kyle home. To hear his back story, check this post out. Isn't that face heartbreaking? 

Well, my days have been filled with s-l-o-w progress. Well, to be perfectly honest I'm not sure that I'm making progress yet. I suppose that is to be expected. He doesn't know what it means to be in a home, how to be around people, how to interact with dogs... He's just overall terrified of the world. So I've been giving him a lot of time to himself. Whether on the back porch, the yard or the kitchen, he could only seem to settle when he was alone. A few problems came up rather quickly. Jeff suspected that he started to urinate on the porch. I began to suspect that he would eat his feces while in the yard. So, now he cannot be unsupervised unless crated. Almost a week into this that is where I am.

We took a step back in building trust with a bath yesterday. He handled the situation like a champ during, but the poor thing was shaking for hours after. He won't take treats and hasn't eaten well. He needed to loose some weight, but I don't want him starving himself. I'll keep trying to make baby steps. On the positive side, Kyle does not have an aggressive bone in his body. He's a sweet boy, just very, very scared.

Now almost demanding as much time is the situation in the bathroom. If you'll remember, we've been hosting a very cute family. The five kittens and mama cat are all perfection, and as of yet all nameless. (Send in suggestions :-) Mama is just a love bug, she lives to be pet, especially on her tummy. Also, not inline with cat stereotypes her favorite pass time is to play with water. 4 of the kittens are inquisitive  sometimes feisty but all around adorable. The last little runt is so far behind in development, Jeff and I take turns making sure that it gets ample feeding time to catch up.

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Sheltie rescues respond to hoarding in NOVA

What would we do without great rescues? The Humane Society of Orange County reached out to local Shetland Sheepdog rescues to help with a hoarding case. The owner lost her home and 15 shelties were turned in. Without hesitation Northern Virginia, Northern Chesapeake, and Collie and Sheltie Rescue of Southeast Virginia were there to step in. These dogs were neglected and bred irresponsibly.

That picture above is of one of the dogs taken in by the group I foster for, Collie and Sheltie. Six volunteers "spent four hours nonstop shampooing, clipping, and picking hundreds of ticks off their little bodies." And they went through the process again the next day. Here's the bathtastic photo gallery link. One dog had to have a patch shaved down to get at a nest of ticks. But as always, you should never underestimate the resiliency of a good dog. All three poochies were amazing.

I happened to be out of town this weekend, but was able to help two of the dogs get some much needed medical attention today. Teddy had the worst of the tick infestation and was a bit overweight. Meghan seemed to fair better with the bugs but her nails were so over grown she couldn't walk straight. Great news is they seem to be pretty healthy, that aside. Some blood work, shots, nail trims, fecal came to almost $450. The third sheltie, Kyle goes in Thursday for his first visit. Then it's spay and neuter surgeries, dental work, more shots and blood tests, prescriptions, heartworm and flea preventative... These three dogs will end up with thousands in medical bills.

Thankfully these babies are on the road to recovery. When Kyle gets his vetting done, he's going to come stay here at Relay's House and Teddy and Meghan will find their own temporary home to care for them. I know I often hear about animal hoarding in the news, but I suppose I never really thought of what comes after the dogs are saved. Now, I'm going to get a front row seat and I must admit to being a little intimidated. I'll start with some love and go from there.

 

If you are able and would like to help, all three rescues are not for profit charities. Every little bit counts. Thank you.

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Nobody called

Well, this is the excuse I allowed myself. I'd planned on writing my next post the when I got another call to be a foster. So I waited and put off blogging. And kept putting it off. Honestly, I have no excuse. But here to distract you from my bad writing habits is the latest group to take over our spare bathroom. This is my first crack at fostering a mama and her kittens. 5 of them! Can you believe it? And all they do is sleep and nurse. If you all can find it in your hearts to forgive me, care to help me out with some names?

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7 Things to know about Smokey

1. Smokey is a sock monster. I can walk around the house and find kidnapped socks stashed around the dining room table, by the toy bin, and next to his crate.

2. He hip checks Relay to indicated he's ready to play.

3. If I'm holding the puppy, he can spring straight up in the air a good three feet to get a sniff.

4. Grooming time is one of the best times of the day.

5. He does not believe in personal space when it's petting time.

6. Dogs in TV commercials need to be barked at, passing fire trucks need to be howled at.

and last, but certainly the most exciting...

7. We're meeting up with a potential adopter today! Wish us luck.

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Introducing... Nutella!

A 3 week old chocolate lab came into my life all of about 10 minutes ago and I really couldn't wait any longer to share the news. I am just gushing!

 

First off I want to point out how completely rediculous Jeff and I are for naming her Nutella. In total honesty that was the first name we both thought of when we learned that the pound needed a foster. I blame hunger. But whatever, she'll get a new name in about 5 weeks time anyway. That's how long we get this baby. Just old enough to get her spay and be put on the adoption floor.

Secondly, let me point out for all those out there that swear that there are never any puppies in shelters, :-p

Her story is a weird one. A special needs person just brought it home, saying someone outside of a supermarket gave it to her. The mother immediately brought her to the pound. Thankfully, she seems healthy and happy, but normally a puppy should never be separated from her mother at so young an age. I've never had a puppy foster this small before, all she does is squeak, pee, eat, and sleep. And for a few weeks she's all ours. Relay seems intrigued. Smokey seems unsure. I'm sure once Jeff gets home, he'll be in love.

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Introducing... Smokey!

Our latest from Collie and Sheltie Rescue comes to us with a very similar backstory as Harley. An owner surrender, this time at Virginia Beach SPCA, Smokey could not cope with the shelter environment. A very sensitive breed, poor thing cowered in the corner and wouldn't let anyone come near. Thankfully they contacted CSREVA before they put him down. And wouldn't you know it, outside of the SPCA he was just your typical dog.

Although Shetland Sheepdogs do come in black and white, I suspect this kid may have a touch of mystery to his makeup. Possibly border collie? He's still beautiful regardless. (You'll be able to see it better when that cone comes off ;-) And he's very much a young pup, they estimate him to be 1-2 years old, so I'm sure he will draw quite a bit of interest.


Smokey spent some time at the Rescue HQ (and by that I mean the home of the woman who runs Collie Sheltie), so we know that he's cat friendly. He's also dog friendly, doesn't mark, and isn't being territorial with his food, toys, or treats. He's crate trained and knows 'sit' which is always a plus. When it's loving time, he's all about it.

Now for the things we need to work on. This pup is definitely skittish. I'm sure it will take a full two weeks to get him comfortable with us.(The cone never helps this process.) He spends much of his time hanging out by the back door or in the front room. Outside he can bark and recently a fire truck went by sirens blazing and we heard Smokey howl back. (Jeff loves a good howl, so he would not consider this a negative.) Biggest logistics issue is that he has no idea how to go up and down stairs. This is a huge problem for us on the second floor. But overall nothing insurmountable that would limit his placement. We'll give him some time to sort it all out and then start some training.

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Checking up on Trixie

Remember Trixie? When Relay was injured we had to give up this pretty girl to give him a chance to heal. We've been keeping tabs on her over the last few weeks (photo gallery) and wouldn't you know, the change in foster homes turned her into the perfect child. No more chewing for this reformed lady ;-)

 

I attribute all that to one wonderful K9 Justice League volunteer, Emily. In addition to being a dog whisperer, Emily also dabbles in videos for K9JL. It didn't take long for her to come up with a video for Trixie. Half the pictures were actually taken while she was with us. That paired with the song, has me crying each time I watch this.

 I love, love, love this video. In addition to becoming a youtube star, miss Trixie has a whole house of pups to play with, she gets trips to the park, has practiced being a ranch hand, has dabbled in Dock Dogs, and most importantly, spends every weekend trying to find her perfect forever home. We miss Trixie (who still has the softest ears I have ever felt on a poochie) and wish for her the love of a family all her own.


UPDATE: A chance to promote Emily's blogging efforts, here's a recent post on how she hopes to find Trixie a home soon. Love is patient, love is kind.

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Our break

Well, hello! I know, I know, I've been gone too long. When Relay got injured I figured it was a good time to take a break to care for him as best as we could. I want to take a minute and thank everyone who expressed their concern and offered support or kind words, it really meant the world to me, (and I'm sure Relay as well if he could understand such things :-)

I also want to extend my thoughts to my east coast friends. While we live on the Virginia coast, have family in DC and New Jersey, I am very glad to say that all my friends and family are safe and I hope the same for you and yours. Please take a minute to give an extra special hug today. I'm sending one out to all of you.

Lastly... Happy Halloween! I'm already playing around with my witches makeup, and now that the storm is over, I can touch up all the decorations out front, get my candy ready, and prepare to celebrate handing out goodies with Relay dressed in a Vikings jersey. Miss Trixie here got her photo done with her new foster mom Emily.

How is Relay doing? Well, I have no idea as to the condition of his ligament, but as far as I can tell, he's fine. There are still a few more weeks of quiet in store for him, but he's acting like nothing ever happened, so I'll take that as a good sign. He's been very annoyed to have lost all his friends, been crated more, and left home for all the festivities, but I'm sure he'll forgive us in time.

As for Jeff and I, being without foster dogs, does not mean we stopped supporting our friends. We went to a Howl-o-ween event, a picnic, hosted a dinner out at a local mom and pop burger joint that is very dog friendly, and even picked up two very special fosters. One phone call from the pound and we now have two neonatal kittens. Relay was a little suspicious after one of them tried to nurse. lol.

I have some of my favorite blogs to catch up with and I have plenty to catch you all up on, but the break did us some good. Just so grateful to report all is well here and the skies are clear. Enjoy your Halloween, and be sure to share pictures and notes on how you'll celebrate today.

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I need to remember that spoon full of sugar

My better half has left me. Jeff had to fly to the middle east for a week or so and I'm here alone with the three poochies. Or should I say the two dogs and Trixie. She gets a special mention.

I suppose that after a string of great fosters I needed one pup to keep me grounded. Trixie is a sweetheart, but oh my goodness I am tired. Without Jeff it is just me on Trixie watch. The chewing is insane. And worse still is that she eats what she chews which can become pretty dangerous. But there are consequences to being in a constant state of stress: I've become a grouch.

It dawned on me yesterday at the Bea Arthur Park. Everyone was playing and having a great time. Trixie was even interested in jumping into the water after seeing the fun other dogs were having. I tried to call her over to the ramp a few times. And then I tried calling to her to play fetch. And then I tried to just call her to me. I was getting no response and it hit me. I'd spent a few days of just saying, "Trixie, NO!" that she only recognized her name from me in a negative context.

Time to regroup. This compulsive chewing is a big negative that will hamper her from finding the forever home she deserves and I need to correct it. What I need to do first however, is establish and maintain that level of trust, respect, and affection that is the basis of any relationship. Trixie isn't her bad behavior. She is a dog that hasn't had a stable home in no one knows how long and is just looking to love and be loved. She loves me no matter how upset I get, I need to remember to love her just as unconditionally. After that, everything else will fall into place.

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Introducing... Trixie!

Things are still on standby with little Iso, but we got a call from our friends at K9 Justice League. Virginia Beach Animal Control is full, full, full... could we maybe take a foster? Of course!

Trixie is a beautiful girl, with a lot of love to give. She is playful, loving to the max, and lacking a single mean bone in her body, so will be sure to fit into any family. She is just about Relay's size so I imagine about 40 pounds, about 2 years old, spayed, healthy and up to date on shots.

When we picked Trixie up at the pound, she was ready to go! This little lady was just too sweet to be cooped up there any longer, and was excited in the car ride to start her next adventure. We made an immediate stop at the park to work out some of her energy and she did tremendously! Every dog and person there was her instant friend. Trixie learned fetch quickly, chased, and sniffed and sniffed and sniffed, so I imagine she has some hound in her. But she is a mutt, just like I like them.

She has some quirks to her, definitely. Right now she is terrible on a leash, she counter surfs almost as well as Doodle, and she did not like the bath at all! But to me all that is negligible because she is so very eager to love and to be loved. I'm going to have a hard time showcasing her pretty face because of her coloring, and people may overlook her because she doesn't standout in pictures, but I'm here to tell you she is the most lively, loving pup that I have met in a good minute and can recommend her without reservation to any home.

This post is participating in the Saturday Pet Bloggers hop! Be sure to stop on by and visit all the other great pet bloggers, and enjoy your weekend!

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