Victor

Since Victor's profile said he might be timid, I opted for a pocket full of hot dogs - the great persuaders - and went off to meet him.  I looked down through his back door to see a black and tan bundle of energy wagging, squirming and whimpering; approximately 10 to12 pounds of unbridled joy.  Once again the volunteers have clearly brought him out of his shell.  Victor is just about a year old and mostly Manchester Terrier, a very handsome little guy.   Since at 3:00 this was his first volunteer outing of the day, he was more than eager to get going; we raced down the hall and out the door.

He just loved tearing around the exercise yard, chasing balls, chasing me, happily running and jumping, barking at the other dogs passing by; he has typical terrier energy plus he is still very much a puppy.  After about 20 minutes I realized Victor was not going to run out of energy any time soon, so we started our walk.  Like any puppy he is thrilled with everything, fortunately he is small so his darting around on the leash is not really a problem.  I think that once he has a home and matures this will solve itself.

Our second stop in the exercise yard was a little more fruitful.  He happily comes when he is called because he is very affectionate and loves cuddles and pets.  This crosses over  making him reasonably promising at fetch.  He loves running after the ball, and naturally wants to come when called - result - Fetch.  He is such a sweet little guy, let's hope he finds his new family soon.

Dog park information, plus Brandi finds her forever home

I attended last night's meeting of the Sunriver Amenities workshop which included a discussion of the proposed dog park.  I walked into the room thinking "How wonderful, we are at last going to get our own dog park. Yes, it appears to be somewhat small, no shade, no where to sit, and ugh double ugh, bark or wood chips, but, at least it's down on paper and SROA (Sunriver Owners Association) wants our input." 

I left the meeting feeling not so up.  The dog park ANY DOG PARK, is not a slam dunk.  The meeting focused 99.999999999999999999999% on  boat launch issues, excepting my measly comment on a dog park and my mention of my preference  for the surface being either planted with a tough native grass or left natural.  Dog lovers, SROA needs to hear you.

A bright note, the Sunriver volunteers who have spent countless hours working on this project are very open to your ideas and seem to really want to implement what Sunriver residents want.  Their main objective seems to be to get the residents to specifically tell them what they would like to have.  While it would be great if you could make it to the discussion at SHARC following the annual meeting Saturday.  I think it would be  even better if you would just send them an email at infosroa@srowners.org  letting them know your thoughts about having a dog park as well as any specifics you would like.  Make sure you include your name and Sunriver local address.  Please let anyone else who may be interested know that their input is very important. 

It took beautiful little Brandi no time at all to find her forever home.  No surprise, one lucky family. 

Brandi

At 1:00 just Brandi had not yet had a volunteer walk, her notes said she could be shy but loved hot dogs. With a pocket full of hot dogs I and headed for kennel number eight. I got there and looked down to see a gorgeous red Miniature Dachshund happily squirming and not at all timid.    The volunteers have obviously done a great job of bringing her out of her shell.  I typically give every dog the opportunity to walk on the leash out of their kennel, through the enclosures, etc. But, most of the time, the small dogs are afraid of all the surrounding barking so I usually pick them up quickly and carry them out of the noisy kennel area.  Brandi was absolutely unafraid of the barking.  She calmly trotted along beside me with, at most, a haughty glance at some of her noisier tenants. I was not surprised by this behavior since, I had the privilege of being owned by a Dachshund from the time I was 10 through 24. 

We began our outing in the exercise yard, Brandi enjoyed sniffing and barking at other dogs passing by.  I tried a few commands with her but she was more interested in sniffing and still getting used to me.  When she sat at the gate I knew she was telling me it was time to begin our walk.  She is wonderful on the leash,  just happy to trot beside me and enjoy all the new smells. 

By our return stop at the exercise yard, I had passed her friend test.  She came when I called her, walked beside me on command, as well as ran beside me on command.  She did all of these commands freely without treats.  She is such a wonderful little dog and is going to make someone such a great friend.

New information

This is the image from the Sunriver Scene that includes the proposed Dog Park (orange arrows) to be located near the Marina in Sunriver.  Those of us who live in the area will have two very good opportunites to give our input next week:  August 13 from 6:00PM to 8:00 PM at SHARC and August 17 immediately following the annual owner's meeting (likely around 3:00 PM), also at SHARC. 

Next a happy correction regarding Pollyanna.  She was transferred to the Oregon Humane Society (not foster care) and adopted her first day there!!!!!!!!!

Scrappy

Another late afternoon visit to the shelter for me, this summer is just too busy.  All of the dogs had been out for at least one volunteer walk but Scrappy's had been earlier in the day.  I must admit, I've seen some odd looking dogs at the shelter but Scrappy is near the top of the list!  Cute though.  He is supposedly a combination of dachshund and wirehaired terrier and about five years old.   He was all wags at the front of his kennel, but when I came in his back door, he was soooo timid (video).  It took over 10 minutes of coaxing to get him in a harness.  I should have guessed this since he was wearing a Thunder Shirt.  I was about to give up and get help from the staff  however when he saw that I was going to leave, he bounced over, happy to let me harness him - #*#*# !  Off we went.

Our first stop, the exercise yard.  Scrappy just loved running around sniffing, taking care of business and chasing tennis balls,  they were almost as big as his head!  He is a little dog with a big attitude.  He was also very tuned in to other dogs walking by, I could tell he considered them all potential buddies, giving them his full attention and practically wagging his hip out of joint.  What a sweet little guy.  According to  volunteer comments he sits on command but I did not have much luck with this one.  He does however come when he is called, stays close when walking and is  close to learning  fetch.  He was brought to the shelter because his owners did not have time for him; it is apparent that he is responsive to training, just has not had much.  Most of the small dogs I walk seem to  happy just playing in the exercise yard.  Scrappy let me know clearly that he wanted a regular "big dog" walk.   We headed out into the open desert, Scrappy leading the way.  He is good on the leash and thoroughly enjoys exploring everything new.   

On our return a woman got out of her car and approached us quickly.  She  said she had a dog at home who looked exactly like Scrappy;  it's a strange world!  She plans to bring him in for a meet and greet and, who knows, maybe Scrappy will find his long lost twin.  Let's hope he finds some caring person so he can know what it is like to have a truly forever home.

Pollyanna has a Transition

Pollyanna will wait for her forever family in a foster home.  She has so much energy, this will be a much better situation for her to be at her best.

Clyde has found his Forever Home

Sweet little Clyde was adopted last week.  I'm sure he is settled in and enjoying this beautiful summer with his new family.