Mia Adopted!

Despite the fact that it's a little quiet in the house and there's no wiggly butt waiting for us excitedly when we come home, Dave and I are thrilled that we helped Mia find her forever home.  And it couldn't be a more perfect home for her.

Quinn and Carey have a wonderful home with a big fenced in yard and two wonderful daughters, Natalie who is 10 and Melanie who is 7.  The girls are very mature and the family is very dog savvy. They've had 2 other dogs in the past and have lots of experience with training and positive reinforcement techniques.  Carey is a runner and wants to run with Mia (who will LOVE that) and Quinn mostly works from home, so she'll always have someone for belly rubs.  Natalie and Melanie are just the perfect girls to have lots of fun with Mia and give her the play time she needs.

When we arrived, we quickly went to the backyard where Mia had her choice of about 4 or 5 tennis balls to play with and much chasing ensued.  Mia loves her tennis balls and will usually try to bring one into the house.  Which of course she did this time.  She really didn't want to let go of that ball.  She was clearly thirsty and on several occasions went to her water bowl to take a drink, but didn't want to let go of the ball, so she skipped the refreshments.  Finally she just gave up and dropped the ball into the water bowl, took a drink, then pick the ball back up and went on her merry way.  She has a curious little mind.

Dave and I have been lucky to adopt to warm and hospitable people, but this is the first time we were invited to stay for lunch!  It was so sweet.  Quinn grilled us up some fantastic burgers and we enjoyed talking with the family, about their past dogs, what to expect with Mia and what their plans would be. 

When we went to leave, Mia thought she was coming with us (she always did!) but the girls distracted her with toys and peanut butter and we were able to sneak away after a few good bye pets.  It's always bittersweet to see our pups go to another family, especially the sweet ones like Mia who we do develop a special bond with, but we couldn't have asked for a better family and home.  And the next night I got two emails from Natalie.  First she included this picture, which she just titled "Mia chilling"

(Why yes, we think she's on the couch in that picture too!  But really, how do you say no?  Look at that face!)  Then Natalie sent this video (please excuse the sideways nature--she's only 10!)

We love getting updates from families and I hope we get to see more of Mia's happy home.

A Happy Lizzy Update

At Thanksgiving, Dave and I were commenting to his parents how the home we found for Lizzy was absolutely perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better family for her.  And then I got this message and photos.

Dear Colleen and Dave:

We are thinking of you both today because we are so happy to be sharing our first Thanksgiving with Lizzy.  She is such a wonderful presence in our home and we are so lucky to have her with us.  Lizzy has formed a special relationship with each of us in her very democratic style.  She is a real pal to Renee and waits for the school bus every morning and afternoon.  She loves playing with all of the kids in the neighborhood and has even made friends the dogs and cats on our road. She goes for runs every morning with Lee and patiently hangs out with me at home while I work - a real family dog! She goes everywhere with us and we just love her.  Lately she has even started to "find her bark" and is turning out to be a surprisingly good watch dog, for being such a sweet and gentle soul.  Thank you both for taking care of her and helping her to find her way to us. It was such a labor of love and we will always be grateful to  you.  Best wishes to both of you with hopes that you will enjoy a wonderful holiday season. 

In Gratitude,

Stella, Leland, and Renee

This is my favorite because it looks like Lizzy is laughing.

             

Lizzy Adopted!

This was totally worth the wait.

Stella, Leland and Renee are the perfect family with a wonderful home and lots of property for a dog to explore, sniff and call her own. 

On Saturday morning, Dave, Lizzy and I piled into the car and began our trip to Vermont.  For the most part, Lizzy was good in the car.  She got a little talkative when we were stuck behind some slow moving vehicles on the back roads through New Hampshire, and towards the end she was ready to get out of the car.  We'd made two stops to let her walk around, but it was a much longer trip that she was used to.

The drive was pretty good despite the partial clouds and slight drizzling rain.  While the fall leaves weren't quite at their peak, had the sun been shining, the colors would have been beautiful.  We had no trouble finding Lizzy's new home, especially since Renee was sweet enough to be the official welcoming committee and posted a sign on their mailbox.

Their house was great.  They have a beautiful home, and since Stella works at home most days of the week, they converted the space above their garage to an office/loft, which Lizzy thought was awesome.  With big windows on one side and a sliding glass door on the other, she'll have her choice of where to sit to watch the squirrels and other critters passing by.

Lizzy got acclimated right away and Renee even took her on a short walk of the property while Stella and I handled the paperwork.  Clearly Lizzy and Renee are going to be the best of pals.  We can see them doing just about everything together.

It's been almost a full year (next weekend) since Dave and I started opening our home to wayward dogs (as one of Dave's family friends put it).  Five dogs saved and placed in perfect homes.  We learned an awful lot from each of these dogs and they will always hold a special place in our hearts.  Maybe the next year will bring us more dogs, or maybe soon we'll be able to call one our own.  Who knows, but it's definitely been fun and I like to think we've been stockpiling karma points for something really good.

Taco Adopted!

This was a tough one for me.  Taco is such an awesome dog.  And I worked very hard asking Dave if we could keep him.  While I understand it would be unrealistic given Dave's job prospects I still didn't like it.  I also worked on my in-laws because they loved Taco and going to their house was literally like going to Grandma's with all the treats and related spoiling he got there.  Taco even came with us to Pittsburgh when my grandfather passed away and I'm pretty sure if my brother's girlfriend had come, Taco would be living in Chicago right now.

But alas, he was adopted in the traditional sense.

Taco probably got over two dozen applications and inquiries.  Some of them were great.  I had great phone calls with them, but there was some issue that made the situation just not right whether timing (one applicant was planning to be out of the country for a month this summer) or not everyone in the family on board (another applicant had just put down their family dog after battling cancer for 4 years and the husband wasn't ready to get a new dog yet).  Plus there were a lot of applications that just weren't right, such as the woman who balked at his adoption fee (even though it was less than the max that we state on the application) and the college girl who wanted a purse dog (which Taco doesn't like anyway--I tried).  We even had a meet and greet with one family which went really well except Dave and I could tell the father was not interested in Taco.  I wasn't surprised when I got an email the next day stating they were going to pursue a "slightly larger" dog.

But finally we got an application for a family with a little Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix and a cat that seemed just perfect.  And they lived in our town.

I'd called Jen and had a great conversation with her, reviewing her application and going through the process with her.  On Memorial Day, she brought her boyfriend Jose, her daughter Alyssa and Alyssa's boyfriend, Giovannie, to meet Taco.  Alyssa just graduated high school and her boyfriend works nights and serves as their dog walker and sitter during the day.  They all immediately fell in love. Jose, who is Mexican, was very excited to meet Taco.  Right away he called him Taquito, which is my nickname for Taco, and said, "Taco, you're so cool. You're Mexican and little, like me!"  (Jose is a pretty short guy--barely taller than my 5'5". )  It was a wonderful visit and made me feel really good that we could adopt Taco to a great family. 

Sparky doesn't like papparazzi

We set up a time to meet their dog Sparky and their cat, Fifi.  Sparky was very excited to meet Taco.  Maybe a little too much--he tried to hump Taco a few times.  But he learned to take Taco's hints and Taco wasn't mean about telling him to stop.  Sparky is a cutie and super soft. He's very timid though and pretty much let Taco be top dog.  They played and Taco was super excited about the huge basket of toys.  He remembered meeting everyone and pretty much only barked when Sparky got him roweled up.  He left the cat alone, which is what she prefers. Apparently she doesn't really interact with anyone.  Sparky is always trying to play with her and Fifi won't have that.  Hopefully Taco can help redirect Sparky's energy away from Fifi. 

Alyssa works at the local animal hospital and will be going to school in the fall to start a degree in veterinary science.  So when I called to do the reference check at the vet, they only had wonderful things to say about the family. This put my mind at ease, since I love Taco so much and really want to make sure he's with the best family possible. 

So last night, Dave picked me up from the train and we took Taco to his forever home.  He remembered having been there and walked in like he owned the place, going straight for the toys.  He was very happy and playful.  He and Sparky got along great (less humping attempts) and played well together.  They had a cute romping session, that I missed with the video, but I did capture the following:

I am so glad that we had the chance to have Taco in our lives and experience a small dog.  He has such a personality and made everyone he met happy.  Just thinking about him makes me smile.  We were very lucky and searched very hard for the perfect home and he definitely has that now.

Taco and his buddy Giovannie

Panda Adopted!

We are pleased to announce that our loving little (big) furball has gone to her forever home!  We couldn't be happier with her new family and are thrilled that we were able to save this sweet pup from ending up in the shelter systems where she probably wouldn't have thrived long enough to find a great home.

After lots of interest and several disappointing applications, we received an application from Kim and were excited to see that both Kim and her husband are police officers who work opposite shifts, so Panda wouldn't be left alone.  Better still, Kim used to be part of the canine unit, so she has lots of experience with training and understanding dogs.  She's had two dog-partners while she's been with the force.  The first was injured on the job and was retired after he went blind from being kicked by a suspect.  And she recently had to put her second partner down after 9 years when he could no longer battle his cancer.  When Dave first spoke with her, she said she was too old to be jumping over fences and just wanted a dog to be her pet for once.

Kim came to visit Panda with her 25 year old daughter, Whitney, and they fell in love.  Panda was a little barky when they first came in the house, but she settled down and allowed the to love on her and play together.  Kim was so excited, that she wanted to come back the very next day with her husband, Tim, and 9 year old son, Tommy, so they could meet Panda.  When they arrived, Panda was a little more barky and slightly concerned about Tommy.  She wasn't aggressive toward him, but she barked when he made any sort of sudden movements and then she would shy away, back toward Dave.  Kim, Dave and I tried to coach Tommy on how to act around her, but like a typical kid, he grew impatient.  When the family left, we were unsure that they would want to pursue adopting Panda since there would be a lot of work for Kim training both Panda and Tommy.

Imagine our surprise when Kim called Dave and announced they were definitely interested in adopting Panda!  They were concerned that given the behavior during the meet and greet, we would think they weren't the right family.  On the contrary, we thought they'd be amazing given the high level of experience training dogs.  As Akitas are known to be dogs with a high alert level and incredibly loyal and protective of their people, a novice dog owner probably wouldn't be prepared to deal with her issues. 

The night before she left, we spent some quality time with Panda, taking pictures and generally playing.  I have to say, she's been so much fun because she loves to play with her toys and we haven't had a dog like that.  We made sure she had a chance to play more inside fetch before bed.

Yesterday Dave drove Panda to her new home in western Massachusetts where she'll be able to run free on 3 acres of land that abutts a conservation area. 

Kim told us that they've already determined that Tommy will be responsible for feeding Panda to help strengthen their bond.  They were well prepared with squeak toys for Panda, which she found right away.  And Panda will have a cousin to play with since Whitney has an Akita of her own, Axel, who comes over often.

With three pups saved and in great homes, we again have the warm fuzzies knowing that we helped them find the right home.

Rondo Adopted!

We are thrilled to announce that on Friday we took Rondo to his forever home.

He'd met Tyson a week before and after some misunderstandings with another All Dog Rescue volunteer, Tyson's had his home visit and completed the approval process for adopting Rondo.  We'd told him he was going to his new home on Thursday, and we think he understood. He looked a little sad going to bed on Thursday night, like he knew we wouldn't be tucking him in the next night.

Yes, we tucked him in at night.  It was the only way we could get him to stay on his bed whenever we would walk toward the door to leave.  He loves being around people so much that he didn't understand that he sleeps his room and we sleep in ours.  Big deal, we spoiled yet another dog.  There are worse things we could have taught him.

On Friday I worked from home and then we took Rondo to Tyson's house, which is perfect for him.  Tyson was very prepared, having set up water, a blanket, and lining up all kinds of toys for Rondo to have.  We'd brought all of Rondo's toys with us too, since he'd managed to tear into each of them, making them no fun for any other dog that comes along.  Well, he didn't rip into his fluffy man, but that was from Santa, so of course he got to keep that.

One toy was this stuffed lobster squeak toy with ropes for legs that neither Chiquita or Rondo had shown any compelling interest.  It lived in Rondo's room and rarely was sniffed or touched.  I'd mentioned to Dave that I guess it would be available for the next foster dog, since there was no sense sending it with Rondo since he didn't like it.  While I was working in the office/Rondo's room  on Friday, Rondo picked it up and took it to his blanket.  I said to Dave, "Watch--he didn't touch that thing for 5 weeks and I bet he rips it apart just so he can take it with him."  Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, I look over and the poor  lobster was missing an eye, crying fluffy white stuffing from where his eye used to be.

Apparently this dog understands more than we thought.

He wasn't great in the car--insisting on riding in the back seat instead of the tailgate of the Jeep.  But since Tyson drives a two-seater BMW, it was futile to fight it. 

We are positive that Rondo will be well taken care of in his new home. He has a fenced in yard to play in, a room of his very own again, and a person to look after him and continue teaching him how to be a good dog.  We're so glad to have gotten a chance to save him, since without us he probably wouldn't have been around for Thanksgiving, and now he's starting a new year with a wonderful life ahead of him.

Chiquita Adopted!

So I took a  little hiatus for Thanksgiving.  I was very busy doing things and creating stories for you.  I promise I'll be better.

But the first story is a good one--Chiquita found her forever home!  We're so happy for her, and her new family.  From the first time we talked to her new owner, Steven, we knew she was going to a great home.  He was immediately smitten with her and kept asking us for more photos.  He asked all the right questions and made us feel very comfortable putting her in his care. We were really excited about him as a potential adopter. His application was great.  Steven is a police officer, has a regular work schedule so he gets home early and can walk her each day.  And he's just such a nice guy.

He had come to the house to meet her, and brought Jodie, his girlfriend, who despite not living with him will absolutely be Chiquita's new mom.  They stayed a hour with her and were positively in love.

Knowing this was a great match, we asked another volunteer, Cat, who lived near his home to do the home visit.  When she got there, they had bought the exact dog bed we had for her, made her treats and cookies, bought her toys.  Clearly, they were prepared.  Cat called us from their home and when she told Steven he would get her that day, he picked her up and gave her a big bear hug.

We drove Chiquita to her knew home, and although it was a little sad to know we wouldn't have her anymore, it was exciting to know that we were giving her to a great guy who would give her an amazing life.  We stayed about an hour with Steven, Jodie, and Chiquita, making sure everyone felt comfortable.  She immediately took to one of the toys they bought her--a pink fluffy stuffed puppy.  She dragged it around the house and tossed it in the air, trying to catch it.  But mostly, she spent her time licking Steven and Jodie.  A lot.  She's a licker and boy did she let them have it.  It was to the point that she was jumping on them, completely in their laps, licking their faces.  Eventually Steven commented that he would work on training the next day, she could lick away as much as she wanted, he was so happy to have her.

When we left, it was a little sad and Chiquita did try to follow us.  I told Jodie to get a cookie and she would completely ignore us.  (True story--we are not as valuable as the ones with the cookies.) but mostly we were thrilled to have saved and adopted out our first foster dog.

Later in the week, Steven checked in with us and told her she was doing wonderfully.  They did rename her--her new name is Fiona and I think it's perfect.  She's settled in quite nicely and they even made her a special Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, rice and vegetables, which she loved, of course.  they've had a lot of success on walks and everyone stops to say how beautiful she is.  Steven's aiming to get her trained so she can pass her Canine Good Citizen test and possible be a therapy dog.  I can't think of anything more fitting since having her in my life was such a wonderful experience.

We miss her a little bit, but are looking forward to our next foster dog, Rondo, who I'm sure will have his own personality and unique challenges.  Dave is picking him up today, so I guess I'll find out more when I get home.