Saturday, December 31, 2011

Arrival at Home Base -the Island Dogz Commeth

First fosters for a new year and a new house. I'll be celebrating midnight tonight with --well, I'm darn well hoping I'll just be in bed!

Although they drove me absolutely bonkers doing walk-on on the ferry ----I don't think EITHER of them have seen a leash in their life!---, now that they're home, they've fit in rather well.

Allie the Spaniel, "Allie Baba", is shy, but she's also very curious. Everything is new to her, but she isn't shut down and she's keen to explore. These are all great signs that she's going to come around quickly. I also very quickly discovered she is a dog's dog. She loves Alphie, met Beckett and Lemon, and its as if a big sigh of relief went through her. "Thank dog, I'm among my own kind!"

It might take a few weeks, but she's going to figure out how to be a house pet and not a breeding momma. She's zonked out now on a cushion close to all the dogs, but is keeping her distance from us. On the ferry she came up for some attention here and there, and I saw glimpses of a wagging tail. She'll come around. I've done worse, so I know she'll be fine. She'll be coming to daycare with me, going out on group walks and get leash skills and learn to enjoy being pet. I'm not worried about it. I'd rather have a clean slate and work from scratch than have to address a lot of bigger issues.

Allie hanging in the crate. I'll be monitoring her crate use over
the next day or two. If she's using it as an escape from the rest
of the world, she'll have no crate access. For now, she's exhausted,
so she might as well get some rest.

You could feel her relief once she 'came home'. Soft bed, dog friends. It'll be okay.

Out for an explore. Lemon has already become a role model for her.

Foster #2 Alphie is a cutey, but is not photogenic in the least. Maybe its the black-dog thing. He was recently neutered, so he's still wanting to get the girls. Doesn't help that Allie was recently spayed -looks to be healing very nicely!- and Lemon is still intact. She goes in for her spay in January.

On the bright side Lemon told him off really well! One snipe and bam, Alphie hasn't humped anyone else today. He's a darn quick learner. Am I'm still surprised how the heck Lemon has managed to acquire great tell-off skills. I didn't even know a good tell off was in her arsenal.

Anyway Alphie was initially petrified of Beckett -fear aggression on leash, nothing bad-, but has warmed up. He postures quite a bit, but I'm pretty sure he's full of it. Put it this way, I know who'd win that one.

He's friendly with everyone he's met people wise, a little reserved, but friendly. At one point, I'm pretty sure he must have been somebody's dog. He's too cuddly and seemingly housetrained not to be.

The only thing so far with Alphie, and to be fair its not such a 'little' thing, is that he's got the worse leash skills I've ever seen. I'll take a puller, overeagerness can be dealt with. But Alphie throws himself into temper tantrum after temper tantrum, screaming and biting (at the leash), and choking himself until he's a tangled mess of leash and dog and you don't quite know how the hell the collar managed to stay on. So for Alphie, after the inital day or two of settling in, his 'life skills' include, most importantly, figuring out the leash ---who the heck wants to adopt a dog they can't even take on a simple walk!---, and socializing him around bigger dogs. Beckett will help him. I think he's fine once there's a calm environment, meetings need the work, and it certainly doesn't help that he's a three year old guy who was only just neutered. Ahh little dog syndrome. It's mild for now. We'll see if that holds true down the line. Once we master the leash -or at least get to a point where he's not a extreme bucking bronco-, he'll be a good fit for most any family.
 
Passed out after travels.

Cold in Canada



Oh, and somehow I got shanghaied into taking #3.
Alvin is a 2 year old Chi (I'm pretty sure he's a purebred chi, but he doesn't have papers so it doesn't really matter.) Anyway, he's the complete package. Outgoing, adventurous, good on a leash, quite likes the big dog, okay with a bunch of girls in his face, backs away from a challenge. He has odd way of carrying himself that is EXTREMELY confident, (not dominant!) that might put off some other males, but I think that's mainly a Chi thing. He's definately a chi! He's got confidence out the wazoo.
6 Pounds of Confidence
I Like to Play with Toys :)
The next couple of days will be a bit of trial and error, as the first 4-7 days can be very trying, but expect things to get to normal shortly.

Here's hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew already!
Emily Out

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Fosters for the New Year

Well, I suppose BEFORE the New Year. Allie and her new accomplice are making their way to Canada today, and will arrive tomorrow.

Allie was one day away from being euthanized. I saved her without really realizing I'd saved her (my contacts are SNEAKY!) Her temp boarding mum in CA has said that Allie is shy/fearful towards people, but is much more comfortable around other dogs. It's most likely she was a puppy mill dog :(. She's had litters -thankfully she is only 2, so she should, at most, have 3 litters. Her 'brothers' that were euthanized were most likely her sons :( (Things you find out afterwards right!). Still, I'm glad I saved her. Funnily enough, I'm considered 'good'/'great' working with the shy guys, so maybe it was fate that pulled some strings. "Emily, this one NEEDS you." ---don't they all!


I'm both excited and a little bit terrified to see how this pretty little dog really is. Whether she'll come around quickly, or whether she'll take quite awhile to warm up. She has potential home(s) in the wings, but I won't place her until I have at the very least a few days to gauge what she needs in a home, and how experienced they should be. On the brighter side, she's small-ish (22 pounds), pretty, and apparently fairly easy going. If she has chips stacked against her, at least she has a lot going in her favour!

Tagging along with Miss Allie, is a Chi (I'm turning into a softie). I got a message from one of my contacts when she was at the shelter saying: "There's a lovely little Chi mix they're taking into the back (to euthanize) now. If I pay for him, will you take him? I need an answer ASAP."

So... I did what all soft people do. I said. "Okay, save the bugger." I was just crossing my fingers I wasn't taking on an old, injured, grouchy, idiot dog. There are A LOT of Chis coming from pretty much everywhere now, so they aren't as easy to adopt as a year or so ago (not that it matters, as they still get adopted, but I do like to choose CA dogs that I KNOW will find great homes fast. Dogs that don't really compete with many local dogs.Its my small way to avoid the brunt of rescue politics.) That said, Chihuahuas are easy to foster! Having an idiot Chi is manageable. (Hey, I have one already don't I :P).

So, this is "Alphie". I don't really like the name, so will be changing it when he gets here. He is a three year old male. This is the only picture he would have ever gotten at Devore.

Yeah, okay... Mr. Free won't be 'free' for long I'm sure, (they NEVER are) but being the only lifeline to a dog gets to you! Depending on his energy levels, I might have a possible home in the wings, but we'll see. I'm not sure if there's some pug in there (the slightly bug eyes), or some doxie, so he'll be a mystery when he gets here. Thankfully almost all of them end up looking better than their crappy pics, which helps!  

Quick update: both Allie and Alphie are going to become Island Dogz, so that they get better exposure and so I don't have to bear the brunt of any possible medical issues. Hopefully there aren't any, but I admit, I make a better foster mum than 'rescuer'. I don't handle the 'unknown' well.

Well, today is 'finish off the fencing' day :) By tonight, we should have at last 90% complete! Better be, because we're going to be a full house soon!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Gio Update

I love updates, especially over the holidays. Here's one from Gio, who is living it up in Vancouver!

Hi Emily,

Gio is great, still a lovebug/attention hog.  We can't sit down for a
moment in front of the tv without his giant head getting in the way.  He is
still a bit timid around new people/situations, but has improved so much.
He has even been approaching and sniffing strangers at parks (as long as
their backs are turned anyway or are not paying attention to him).  Even my
colleagues have been commenting that he's been gaining confidence on a
daily basis.

I really appreciate how calm (read: lazy) he is.  We've met some less than
friendly dogs on the road and he just doesn't engage with them.  He'll give
them a wide berth and continue on his way, sniffing things.  He seems to be
quite indifferent to most of the dogs we've met, friendly or not.  He'll
give them a quick hello and a quick sniff of the rear, and then walk off...
BUT he seems to LOVE any dogs that are of a husky/malamute breed.  There is
one husky that we've seen a couple of times in the off-leash area right
behind where I work, and I've never seen Gio get so excited about another
dog.  This lazy guy actually runs! And frolics! We met another husky around
my parents' neighbourhood last week, who was behind a fence, but Gio's tag
would not stop wagging...  (My guess is that he misses Beckett and sees a
bit of Beckett in these dogs he encounters!)

I have a ton of photos of Gio- some blurry, most silly.  I will get them to
you when I can figure out how to upload them from my phone.

Happy holidays!

Lori

Haha, I think its kind of funny he likes the huskies, considering Gio was the only foster (minus Sail) that Beckett didn't particularly care for. The boys were fine together, but I think Beckett was a bit jealous! (Not that he wants his people very often, but that they are still 'his' people :P). I also find it interesting, because I would have thought he'd like Pitties, considering he came in with friend Chica. Either way, Gio is a mush puppy, and I'm SO happy he's landed in a great home.

Here are some pics of him in his new home:








Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Cheer

Peter and Cheryl, Suhki's (previously Dayo the pup) people came and visited me at the daycare on Wednesday. Cookies for us, the dogs, and a lovely picture of Beckett and Lemon for us to frame. What I didn't catch in the care package until I got home and dug into it, was this:

Our first real Christmas ornament, and its of my dogs! SO AWESOME.

Thanks Suhki and family. What more could a foster mum ask for!!! I'm also lucky because I get to visit little Mr Suhki pants, who isn't so little anymore every few weeks or every month or two. So cool to see him grow up. Sometime in June or July I'll get to see him full grown too. And that'll be another cool update.

Careful Cheryl, you might get a lot of requests for ornaments ;)


Looking forward to being a foster mum again soon!
Emily out

Thursday, December 22, 2011

House Tour

Okay, what's pictures when you can have a tour :)

Video here: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?v=10150444127248671

I have a few updates to blog about, but I think the house deserves its own post right ;)

Post #100 -All Moved in, and Another Saved (#20?)

Pictures of the new place will be up when the chaos of unpacking is complete!. But, I just wanted to let everyone know I'm officially moved in, and come the new year will be primed for fostering :) I've got my first Ocean Dog Rescue Foster in the works (fanaggled by my boss ;) ). Won't post him until he's on his way, but that will most likely be Jan 8th. Whether anyone will come before then, I'm not 100%. But that's okay, as much as its kind of lonely without the extra furry bodies -and do I have room to stash more-, its probably best to take it slow.

We still have to get the fence up, which will hopefully be done before Christmas, but besides that, we're good to go :). I'm looking for a 'monthly dog' (IE: daycare services from me) to compensate for not having a roommate, but we might have to resort to a roommate anyway. The price for our place is amazing, but its still four bedrooms, so it isn't cheap.

But, in all the chaos, I somehow found my way back to California dogs (accidentally this time). This little girl (below) was brought in with 4 other dogs confiscated from a person who had too many. Ironically, and sadistcally, 3 of the 5 were euthanized almost instantly for being 'shy' or showing disinterest in people. I followed their thread and by-now famous words of "I could have found him a home so easily!" turned into someone asking if I'd take this girl, and being out of touch, Jen went ahead and said 'okay' as her other option was to be euthanized. She's right, I would have said okay. When another rescue can take them, or when I know they have a few days, or when I know there's a plan, I don't worry, I don't step in and run my yap. But for the ones where its me or nothing, its SO hard. I just try to stay out of the way for as many as possible. But this girl... I would have said yes.

Out of five, only her and one of her brothers (who looked like he should be on the cover of a Disney movie) made it out alive. How very sad that they were taken away from an owner that wanted them, only to be euthanized. Although I do think there should be limits, I think its utterly barbaric to take a dog away basically just to kill it.

Anyway, I could blab on and on. But this is Allie. (I didn't know her name was Allie before I saved her, which is kind of funny because I have a good friend named Allie. Maybe fate played a hand.)

Allie's Intake Picture at Devore -one of the highest kill shelters in Cali. They have 5 days to find a reprieve in adoption/rescue or else that's it. No matter how cute, personable, or purebred. 5 days is 5 days. You get less if you're shy, scared, sick, sneezing, or trembling.

Luckily, Allie seems to have cleaned up amazingly well. This is a picture from where she is being boarded until she can come to Canada. She looks like Adam and Lemon combined! CUTE!!!!
I have a couple of applications left over from Adam that I'll hit up, and I have a funny feeling she won't stay with me long -if at all, she might be adopted before she even gets to Canada-. Unfortunately, she will probably be the last from Cali for quite some time. Money is tight -a little too tight-. Thank goodness for free chocolate. :) I love the holidays.

More pics from the homefront soon! For now, I have my eyes on a TGer. But I've been around the block long enough to know nothing is for sure until they're in my hot little foster home.

Night,
Emily

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Yuletide Pictures

Scooped up some Yuletide pics from some of my old foster dogs :)
First: Chula and Netty sporting their Christmas Get-Ups.
These girls were born to shop!

It wouldn't be Canada without an Eskimo suit right!

 And I also caught Tye (previously Tine) looking very festive. His mum is pregnant, so soon he'll be a BIG BROTHER. Three cats, two people, what's a baby right!

And a Few Pics from Around Here.

Lemon Gets Cozy with Jerrad's Jacket
 Random photoshoot. We decided to go up to Port Renfrew. I found this little tree that had grown on a log in the middle of a river. So, I tested my camera. Eventually I'll be an okay-photographer.







Friday, December 9, 2011

I Hate Moving -And Thinking About Adding a New Question to our Adoption Applications

Okay, the fact that we're moving finally hit when I purged our bedrooms. We have a small place, but somehow there were 4 full garbage full with stuff to donate, and one bag of garbage in our room alone -which is probably the least troublesome room in the house-. And I didn't get to under the bed! Oh boy. Here we go...

I've also been wondering lately if we should add a new question on our application forms:

Are you considering adopting any other dogs (from another rescue, or SPCA) at this time? Although we love for any dog to be rescued, by letting us know if you are pursuing any other dogs, it will let us know whether we should consider more applications for your pooch.

Or something like that. There has been more than once (actually, it seems to happen much too often) that there's an application, and if you don't get to it within oh say 48 hours, people decide to go adopt a different dog instead. What it leads to is loss of time and focus. Not that people shouldn't shop around, but that if a homechecker/rescue knows going in there are other options, we aren't surprised to find out about it after the fact.

Xena for example was adopted at one point only to find out that just before she was to go over, another dog was adopted instead (not the fault of that dog, and I'm glad they found their home!). But that left TG, Xena, and me (the foster mum) in the lurch, and since we figured she was 'adopted' we didn't accept anymore applications for her.

Of course she got a great home on a farm in the end, but what do you guys think? Fair question to ask potential adopters?

Oh, and because I'm still getting used to the camera, a few pics over the last few days. Beckett's the smart one: his mum is in a foul mood and he is smart enough to stay out of the warpath. Lemon hasn't quite figured out that I really don't like needy dogs when I'm trying to figure life out. But hey, she does make a good cuddle partner, and its really just oncoming chaos that is making me annoyed and I'm taking it out on the fuzz-pot.

Anyway, some pics:
I've Got a Comfy Butt

Jerrad gets his kisses from another woman!!!

All kinds of cute/All kinds of trouble.

If She Can't Cuddle with Us, she cuddles with Beckett
Glamour Shot

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Another Happy Update: Kane (Now Hugo)

When I first saw Kane's picture, and read his bio, I knew I had to save him. He curled up tight in a ball in the corner, and being black, shy, and curled up so no one can see you (there are usually 5-10 little dogs per kennel), he had little hope. So, when we pulled our second batch, I knew he had to be one of the three to come to Canada.

Kane's Close-Up

Well, Kane, now Hugo Lawrence Yazici -Huge for short- is all settled in. For the first several days we weren't sure if he would stay, as his big brother Leroy wasn't too happy about sharing his home! But, by the end of the week progress had been made and Kane became a permenant member. Now, only a few short weeks later, we have a happy update.

We'll let the pictures speak for themselves:




Apparently the boys are almost inseperable and Kane/Hugo has lessened Leroy's seperation anxiety so much he hardly barks when his parents are away. I'm so happy Mr. Shy Black Ball in a corner not only found an amazing forever home, but can give balance and happiness to his canine brother too.

Talk about your great matches! I'm just lucky I get to be part of it all.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Update from Adam (Now Kona)

From death-row California, to living it up in Brentwood Bay.

Adam's Intake Picture makes him look kind of weird, but those eyes shone through anyway!


Here's what Adam (Now Kona's) people have to say!

Hi Emily! Adam is now.......Kona!

He is a wonderful dog and we all love him very much. Even our cat is getting used to him. He doesn't care about our cat at all.

Kona is usually quiet around the house until we put him to bed. Then he barks 5 or six times but we ignore him and he falls asleep. I guess he just wants to keep playing and giving us his affection. He is very cuddly.

He doesn't like being crated in the van but he sure likes riding in the front seat. He likes other dogs and always wants to play with them. If a mean dog growls at him, he growls back which Al likes! He has 2 or 3 good friends now and is very tolerant of little Scamp across the street who
continually jumps up on him.

He is starting to chew stuff so we are keeping an eye on him. Especially after he chewed the ends of Al's prescription sunglasses and one of our Christmas decorations.

He has lots of toys, two sweaters (one grey and one Canuck colours), a rain coat and other accessories. He went to the doggy wash the first week he was home but we cleaned him in the wash tub last week. He doesn't like that too much.

He is very fast. When he was playing with our friends dogs we were amazed at how fast he can run, change directions and how much energy he has. He is really curious about birds, squirrels, our guinea pigs and leaves that are blowing around.

He is starting to eat and we think he is putting on some weight. He used to just inhale his food and water so we got a stand for his bowls and now that he is settled in he is having 2 full meals a day.

He loves watching what other dogs are doing when we are out for walks. He gets up for his first walk at 5:30, then goes again at 8, 12, 3, 6 and 8 pm every day. On the weekends he gets out even more and never gets tired.

Well, that's our update for now Emily. Thanks so much for bringing him in to our lives.

We're up for a reunion party any time. I think Kona would like to see Lemon again sometime.
Bye for now,

Al, Cathy and  Colleen

And they sent me some awesome pictures too :)

Now, doesn't he just look like a prep-school boy! Very handsome!


Kona and his new Dad

 Kona and his girl -who waited a long time for her pooch!



I'm very glad I ate the beans and weiners for a week or two so that Adam/Kona could get such a wonderful home. Well worth the crappy diet!

I've sent an e-mail to almost all the adopters of my foster dogs, so am hoping for a bunch of updates in December :) I'm most looking forward to hearing something from Toast(now Cree) and Honey(now Daisy) as I scooped up the most adorable baby pictures of the two of them!

And, cause I can't keep my nose out of the pictures (I'm going through foster withdrawal I think!), I found Adam's darn look-alike!

Get ADOPTED look-alike, before I have to save you too!
(Not that there wouldn't be a line up for you though!)

Move to house countdown: 8 days. Just 8 days!


Sunday, December 4, 2011

Found the Sports Mode.

I was hoping to have a foster to figure out the camera with, but in hindsight, its probably best she was adopted super fast. It hasn't quite sunk in yet, but we're moving!! (Although I don't think Panda would have cared at all).

Anyway, I was fiddling with the camera and wasn't very impressed with its blurriness. My 4 year old camera does better. Usually I get about 1/5 shots worth keeping. About 50% have to leave because they're just ugly or dogs aren't in the frame, or no one is looking at the camera. The others leave because even though everything else might be right they're blurry, or have red-eye, or numerous other camera-related problems.

But I found the sports mode! And I played Tuggie with Lemon to see how much it could handle. She's really a darting blur of a dog when the tuggie comes out (but don't bother throwing it, she's not a Retriever!)

Pics from the new camera:

I don't think my old cam could do this one :)




Marking: Just like her BIG BROTHER!


The littliest husky ball


I'm still figuring out how to adjust the settings for daytime/nighttime sports shots, as well as inside/outside ones. Unlike the old camera that did a good job on just about everything in sports mode, this one is picky. When you get it right, they pictures are quite stunning, but I have to refine my button-pushing skills. TECHNOLOGY!

11 days until the move. It hasn't sunk in yet. I'm still procrastinating against doing 'the purge'. My tuggie pile is growing instead. I have a habit of procrastinating on one thing to get another thing done, and then procrastinating against the procrastination and going back to what I was originally doing.

Hey, it can't be bad procrastination if its for the dogs right? Never :)