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 ;)
Fostering dogs in Victoria, BC. Giving them lifeskills, cushy pillows, structure, confidence and copious snuggles. From chihuahuas to Rottis, to huskies and anything in between, amusing stories, mostly useless dog tips, and cute dog pictures abound.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
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.)
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!!!!
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
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 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.
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 :)
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:
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 :)
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