Lots and lots of PUP-DATES!

We've been dog-less for over a week. You forget how quiet and lonely (and clean and easy) life is without a dog. Sigh. Regardless, we need to take a break with wedding day less than month away. In the mean time, I have some updates on the dogs to share:

Chloe was adopted by a local couple. They are working on house training her—something we only put a dent in during her time with us.

Jagger's family sent along this photo.
He loves his duck!

Jagger's trial period ended and—drum roll, please—the couple decided to adopt him! During the trial, they both fell in love with him and witnessed some of his bad habits, including drinking from the toilet and guarding the home. They acknowledge he's a great dog, and they want to be the people to help him. They are hiring a trainer to work through the rough spots. Major kudos to them for giving this boy a chance.

Bella's people say she's doing well. I haven't heard much else, but sometimes no news is good news.

Karina/Winnie at work. Working
hard or hardly working?

Karina is settling in to her new life. Initially she had some separation-anxiety issues. This was probably due in part to the fact she goes to work every day with her person, so she is anxious when left alone. She's getting better week by week, so this is good news. Her person just loves her to pieces, as does the office staff where she works. The biggest news, I suppose, is Karina underwent a name change. (For real this time—no April Fool's joke.) She is now Winnie. [Side note: I miss her, but the neighborhood kids miss her more. They're always asking for our big black dog that likes to play soccer.]

Jack is still living with the same foster who did the switcheroo with us. We saw him a few weeks ago when we stopped by her house. He was in the backyard—jumping and running in circles like a hyena. Apparently he spends hours and hours doing this. There has been a fair amount of interest in him, but nothing has panned out so far. (Non-negotiables with Jack's adoption include having A LOT of space for him to run and dog experience so he doesn't take over your household.) I just found out he has a promising adopter who he'll meet next weekend. Please cross your paws that it works out for this handsome boy.

ADOPTED: Ciao, Bella!

Within three hours of posting Bella on Petfinder, I received emails from prospective adopters. The first turned out to be a less-than-serious inquiry. The second had a Lab that Bella did not care for when they met. But the third one was the charm. An animal-loving couple from a neighboring town fell in love with Bella. (How could you not?) And to think, she sat in a shelter for three months, and now she's on her to way to her forever home.

This adoption process was another one that made a strong case for home visits. You see, Bella chases squirrels and birds on walks like it's her full-time job. This made us skeptical of how she might be with the couple's three cats. Would she...

A) chase them and drive them crazy?
B) play too rough with them?
C) eat them for dinner?

D) None of the above, it turns out. When we did the home visit, she got nose to nose with one of the kitties. When the cat jumped, she had no interest in chasing it. She just whined a little bit. If anything, she seemed a bit afraid of the cat! But we're confident they can co-exist (or even become BFFs?) in the house together. Here's Bella's future sister, Button, warming up her crate for her arrival tomorrow evening.

Another part of the adoption process is the vet check. For those of you who don't know, the rescue will call the adopter's vet to see if their current animals are up to date with their medical needs. I'm curious to know—does your rescue have specific requirements for vet checks? Or, if you're not involved with a rescue, what requirements seem reasonable to you?

Friday Nights

What do most twenty-somethings do on Friday nights? I'm not sure I know...

Last Friday night was Karina's home visit/drop off. This Friday, the rescue attended to a local Pet Parade. We got to show off our foster dogs, answer questions from the public, and collect donations. It was great to reach an audience we might not usually reach at our adoption day events.

Bella really hit it off with another foster, Hazel, a beautiful Shar Pei mix puppy.

We found out that she's not a huge fan of larger dogs, like Quinton the lovable Great Dane foster. It gives us something to work on. (That and her fear of stairs!)

Hello, Bella!

Our new foster dog has arrived! She definitely does not respond to Chelsea. (Phew.) Something about this dog screams sweet, gentle, and beautiful, so we decided to go with "Bella" as a name. Thanks for all of your suggestions!

She was labeled a shepherd/husky mix by the shelter, but I'm not sure what she is. Take a look at these pics, and let me know what you think. She's about 35 pounds (fully grown.) I wish Petfinder would let me select "mutt" as a breed or just be happy with "dog" as the species, but that's not the case!