Roscoe starts clicker training

Roscoe had his first clicker training session tonight. He did remarkably well and picked up the sit cue rather easily. He connected the click and treat in the first few minutes of the session and then successfully moved on to connecting his sitting with a click and treat. His first training session was a huge success. Roscoe shared his room with Daisy overnight and spent the whole day with her. They seem to enjoy each others company and attention. He spent the rest of the evening playing with his teenage friend Zach. He should sleep well tonight and be ready to play again in the morning.

Introducing Roscoe to Daisy

Roscoe hasn’t had any opportunity to interact with the other dogs. He behaves himself around the caged animals, he chases cats but we hadn’t given him the chance yet to meet any of the other dogs. Today he was given the opportunity to meet and hang with Daisy. They spent the afternoon together and Daisy decided to continue to hang with him tonight. We wanted Roscoe to have some dog social time. He seems quite interested in meeting Bella. Roscoe, Reese and Daisy went on a walk to the stream. Roscoe on a long line and Reese being walked. Roscoe was very excited and had a good time trying to absorb all the new smells. Reese had a ton of energy walking out but walked very sweet and dainty on the way back. This boy is one sweet bundle of energy and joy.

Bella, Roscoe, Reese and Harley define the word fun

This is one of the best group of dogs we have had. They are so good natured and fun loving. They are happy doing just about anything! Roscoe loves to play, run and spend time with people. He is very cat like and will pounce good naturedly on feet and is always on the lookout of someone to snuggle with and spend time with. Harley is such a good sport that he will play with each and every dog for as long as they want to play. If no one is needing playtime he will settle in for some people time. He loves attention and is quick to learn. Reese is quiet and reserved but if you are gentle with her you can catch her playing a game of hide and seek. She craves people time and will sit statue like near you while you work. Bella is very low maintenance and is content lying in her crate chewing on a bone or chew toy. She likes to go outside for short jaunts. She is great for alerting us when we have fox or coyote heading towards the barn to feast on chicken.

Reese Gallery

Welcome Reese!

Reese is a beautiful white husky mix who looks like she is straight out of the arctic tundra. She has been in county lockup for almost three months. She has charisma and charm. Stay tuned for more on this gal!

Gypsy Heads off to her new home

 
 

We wish Gypsy and her new family many years of happiness.

The Foster Dog Chronicles

Fattening the new kids up

In this day in age we are used to slimming people and animals down but rarely do we have to fatten them up. Harley and Hailey weighed in at 42 lbs a piece. We started their weight gain program yesterday with our monthly deworming. Every day we will gradually increase the amount of food they receive until we see some significant weight gain. Not having a starting point to gauge how much food (or more accurately how little food) they were receiving every day we wanted to start them at a point that wouldn’t tax their system.  And best of all they are happy with the program and cannot seem to stop wagging their tails! 

Gypsy prances into surgery

Gypsy, with her free spirit and happy go lucky ways pranced her way into the vet’s office today. She was excited and happy and ready for the next adventure. Her spay surgery was successful and she was recovering well. Tomorrow we will have the honor of picking her up and spending some time with her before she moves on to her next phase in life. She is being adopted by a wonderful family with two beautiful girls. She has been searching for those girls since she came back. Gypsy has no idea how great a life she will have. Gypsy’s two concerns are “Where are my girls?” and “When is dinnertime?”.  The simple things in life that make all the difference.

New additions

We have three new additions who came to us from kill shelters in the south.  The plight of these dogs is heartbreaking. They have been on death row, forgotten for months on end in boarding facilities, pushed out of loving homes due to breed bans, malnourished and devoid of love. They do all have one thing in common. At every point in their plight, people have stepped forward and tried to help. This help came in many forms. Sometimes it was the rescuer who pulled them from the shelter, the rescuer that opened their home temporarily, the volunteer who took a day to take them for a walk and give them a little love, the list goes on but every person who crossed paths with these dogs has contributed to giving these dogs a chance to find love, give love and make a difference. If you are reading this and you have made a difference in the lives of the dogs that pass through here, we thank you. We take care of these dogs on a daily basis, but our supporters are the backbone of this operation. Let’s introduce our new arrivals:

Roscoe: A pit bull mix (male, neutered) who was rescued from a gas chamber in Georgia. He was living happily in a foster home in Tennessee when he became the latest casualty to a breed ban. Roscoe, faced with death row for a second time, was given up by his foster family to ensure his safety. He is wonderfully polite, sweet and playful. He is hoping after a year in limbo he will finally have a home to call his own, forever. Thank you to Kathy and her family for all their love and care they gave to him while he was entrusted to them. If you know someone who would can give Roscoe the home he deserves, please pass this on to them.

 

Harley is a year old male lab/shepherd mix. He is neutered. Harley was pulled from a kill shelter in Georgia by Coweta Kids. He has been in a boarding facility for most of his life. He is a warm, loving dog. He is great with other dogs, children and people. Harley is a people pleaser. Despite his rough start in life, Harley is everything you could ask for in a dog.

Hailey will be two years old in March. She is a spayed black lab mix. She is charming and sweet. Hailey tested positive for heartworm, underwent treatment and retested negative. She has been in boarding for the better part of a year. She is great with dogs, kids and people. Hailey has the sweetest disposition and tons of love to share.

 

 

Gypsy returns from her travels

Gypsy is back with us for the short term. She came back from her preadoptive home for her spay scheduled for next week. She is looking great! She is one happy go lucky dog. She reunited with Molly and played in the snow for a little while before settling in for a quiet afternoon of bone chewing.

Some Snow fun

Today was a day of fun in the snow. We broke out the skis and kick sled to see if we could teach the dogs to pull and work off some energy.

Here are some videos of the fun we had.

They are all still learning...so far we are more than happy with our results.

Adoptees find love and happiness in their new homes

Obo (now Winchester) is doing great in his new home. His new owners say “Thank you for everything.  Winchester fits into our family like a glove.  WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

With out you though we would've missed out on Winnie.

Thanks again, “

Heidi Jo 

 

             

 

Bella’s new

owner says she is very quiet inside and sleeps on her pillow but outside she runs around, comes back to the house when

she is called, and is working on her hunting skills!

 

And Gypsy is doing well in her preadoptive home. The girls are in love with her and I am sure she is equally in love with them!

Gypsy goes for an extended visit

Gypsy left yesterday for a preadoptive home. She has got two kids to love and play with and two very attentive adults. We are very excited for her! She will come back here for her surgery in the middle of December and then she will be able to go to her new home.

She is getting one on one attention plus. She is an awesome dog and she will blossom in her new environment. We will update her progress as we hear.

Murphy's law

Gypsy was scheduled for her spay this morning. We were fortunate this time in being able to get an appointment quickly. As Murphy would have it though, Gypsy went into heat this week. Because of the added risks this poses in surgery, she will have to wait until her heat cycle is completed and they have another opening. The new date is scheduled for Dec 16, 2008. We will not be actively advertising Gypsy until after that date. If you are interested in Gypsy, she is available for visitations. Although we cannot let her go to a new home until she is spayed, this provides anyone who is interested in her a chance to get to know her and have first preference on her when she is ready. This dog is an all around good dog.

A tribute to Sissy

Our hearts go out to Bill and Jill on the passing of their faithful and loving dog. Sissy. Sissy had an inoperable brain tumor which was causing her great pain, and affecting her ability to breath. After consulting with their vet, and coming to the realization that there were no other medical options for improving the quality of Sissy's life or easing her pain, they made the decision to end her suffering. She will be missed!

Bella's Big Day

Bella found her forever home today! She has the best of both worlds. She is going to be an inside dog but get to go out in the woods and hunt with her new owner. We are excited for her and wish her the best. She is one great dog!

Bella, happy, healthy and waiting patiently

Happy, bouncy, sleepy, lovable Bella waiting patiently for a home she can call her own. She is back on track with loving life. She loves to go out and run around the yard with the other dogs. She is a gift we treasure every day.

Good friends

The girls have been playing hard this last week and nothing makes them happier! It is amazing the difference in Bella since her surgeries. She is feeling better and is so full of life. She loves running around with the other pups. Gypsy has been well behaved with a little bit of mischief thrown in. She loves to jump and try to reach the laundry on the line. Bella is looking for a quiet, calm household. She loves to watch tv and go for walks on the leash. Gypsy likes to interact with people. It doesn't really matter to her what the person is doing as long as she is part of it.

Gypsy's adventures

 

 

  Gypsy has had quite the adventures in the last two days . She went to get her microchip yesterday. She didn't make a peep. She spent the afternoon playing with other dogs and snuggling up to a kid she found there.

Today she had her first vet appointment. She got a clean bill of health. Her heartworm/lyme test was negative. On November 12th she is due to be spayed. After all that she came home and met one of the team huskies... the every playful Skyy and they played together for a little while before falling asleep.

Gypsy and Bella become friends

Bella is such a sweetheart with the younger dogs. She really looks out for them and is patient and loving with them even when they are persistently annoying with her. Bella does not have that same patience for older dogs.

Gypsy is adjusting well to home life. She appears to be housebroken. Gypsy plays well with the other dogs. She is shy but very loving.

Bella back on track and ready to run

Bella is feeling young again. She is feeling much better after her surgeries and will be ready for a new home in two weeks. She loves to walk, can navigate stairs now and loves to watch tv. She is great with younger dogs and still maintains her mothering instinct. She needs a fenced yard or to be on a leash as she is a hound and loves to follow her nose.

 

Lights, Camera...Action

Here she is Bella on Video for your viewing pleasure.

Click to view

Bella bouncing back and happy again

Bella is feeling social and happy once again. She enjoys the company of younger puppy like dogs and is very tolerant of their antics. She is pictured here with the feral dog Molly.

The Saga of D2/Daisy/Shelia/Spades

Here is Daisy when she was living here.
















Here is Daisy now, after she was adopted out by Fort Drum. She was at her new home just under one month before escaping. There she sits unclaimed. This makes for her 3rd Shelter. This is hard to see such a sweet loving dog go from shelter to shelter with no one being able to accomodate her needs. She does love to run and play, but she also needs a dig proof, climb proof enviroment. We worked hard on her seperation anxiety and gain our trust.

She has now taken several steps backwards and needs those methods put back in place.
Daisy will love you unconditionally, you also need to set her boundries to allow it to happen.

Most importantly she needs a safe enclosure to be in other wise one day she will not make it to another shelter and end up dead.

Now how can you help this wonderful escape artist? Simple This Sunday head on in to Jefferson County Dog Control between 10am and 5pm and Check Daisy/D2/Shelia/Spades out and if you see she may not be the dog for you that is fine as they have 20 others to choose from. Just remember her sweet loving side comes with a brain and one strong hunting instinct.

Hope to see you there Sunday.

The Life and Times Of Bella

Here she sits, waiting...waiting for you! She is such a bliss to have. I am glad that we were able to bring her into our home. She is recovering well from her spay surgery and regaining her energy. We have found out however, she is not so fond of the snow LOL. Bella told us that she wanted to go right back to her couch. So there she sits, waiting, for you to take her in to your arms and the forever home she always wanted and dreamed of.

Bella makes a slow recovery

Bella had her spay surgery as well as her surgery to remove her growth. She is having a hard time bouncing back. She is exhausted and is content to sleep. Her surgery ended up running $162 rather than the quoted $186 so we were happy about that. We are hoping she will be feeling better in the morning.

 

Bella, our sweet little angel

Monday is Bella's surgery date. She will have her growth removed and be spayed. While we are excited for her to be taking a step closer to being adopted, we are also sad as she has grown on us. She likes to lie on the couch and watch  tv, she loves to be petted and put her nose on your nose, she doesn't make a peep unless she has to go out to use the bathroom or sees a cat. She spends about 15 min running around in the morning. She has started playing with some of the other dogs and  is hilarious to watch.

 

As of yet we have not gotten any inquiries on her which is sad as she is such a good dog. We will advertise her after she is healed from her surgeries. It would be great to have a family interested in her, who would take the time to get to know her and vice versa so that she is not traumatized by another move.

Obo's lucky day

Obo didn't find his old home but he did find a great new home.

Despite being advertised and being logged in at Dog Control as a found dog, nobody claimed poor Obo. As luck would have it, another family who was interested in Kelly (already adopted) saw Obo and fell in love. After waiting the required time to give his owners time to find him and claim him, Obo's new people came and picked him up.

 

 

Obo hit it off with their son and gets along great with the other dogs in the household. They are committed to meeting Obo's needs and are going to follow through on his medical care he so desperately needs. They will also microchip him so he should never find himself in the predicament he was in last week.

 

While we would have liked to hold onto him longer, Obo needs to have his routine shots and be tested for Lyme disease as he had close to a hundred ticks embedded in his skin. The condition he arrived in suggested he had been on the run for quite some time. At his new home he has a fenced in yard, three other dog playmates and a kid. He has found his forever home.

Bella and Patrick at the Animal Doctor's

 

Bella and Patrick listening to instructions regarding Bella's upcoming spay surgery.

Obo feeling his oats

Obo had a visitor yesterday Ms. Tundra. Beautiful shep/husky mix. They had a blast racing around being crazy young puppies. Then it was rainy day blues today.

Obo seems to be feeling better with some real food in his stomach. He has a ways to go to get back to where his normal weight and coat condition should be but he will get there. He was bored inside and chock full of mischief. He went outside and got himself in trouble tipping over anything he could find that wasn't nailed down. Then he pleaded at the window with puppy dog eyes to come back in.

 

 

Obo did a rain dance once inside.

 

And finally settled down to some quiet time 

Bella on the road to life

Bella continues to make progress daily. Today, being a rainy day and a day for all of the dogs to be bored and needing attention. Bella finally put her foot down and said "hey, what about me?" She snuggled for the first time and was soaking up attention like it was sunshine. Content and happy she fell asleep with her snuggle monkey toy. This is not your typical dog but she is going to make the right person very happy!

The stray Obo remains unclaimed

 

 

Tomorrow we will take Obo in to see if he is microchipped. He is very skinny and judging from what came out of him yesterday it appears as if he has been living on dry grass and dried weeds. He is lovable and sweet and very much reminds us of Kelly.

 

 

 

 

Bella meanwhile says wow way too much activity going on here. I'll just hang out in here

 

 

Picture perfect puppies!

Bella finds a friend

The stars were shining favorably on Bella today.

She was wishing for a playmate to call her own

and out of nowhere came this little golden stray.

We put his picture in the lost and found column.

Nicknamed Obo, he came loaded with ticks.

After a morning being deticked and Advantix (ed)

and playing with Bella he became quite tired.

If you are looking for a new dog or looking for

your lost dog both of these are looking for their homes.

The one on the left is looking for someone with a lot

of love to give.

The one on the right is looking for his owner.

For now they have each other.