Sunday, October 20, 2013

Danica



Looking at the dog board in the Volunteer Room, only Danica had not yet been out with a volunteer.   Looking a little closer...............she is described as VERY energetic, loves being in your face and  likely deaf.  I get to her kennel and see one of the oddest but cutest puppies (10 months) ever.  Danica is mostly Kelpie, Australian Cattle Dog, all ears and a happy face.

One Kelpie trait is high intelligence.   Though she has been at the shelter just a short time, as soon as I got inside of her kennel and she saw the harness, all the squirming stopped; she popped her head through the harness then flipped to her back so it was easy for me to clip it. 

At our first exercise yard stop I was convinced she has some Greyhound DNA, she is incredibly fast.  I tried to get a video of her racing around but it was impossible.  After about ten minutes of dashing around  playing with balls and getting belly rubs at every opportunity, we started our walk.  Danica is not  great on the leash  but she is small so it is not really an issue.  As we were walking by the county utility buildings on the next lot, a generator noise came on and startled her - she must be able to hear some sounds.  We continued along and I realized that while she was going where I wanted to go without pulling when she could see me, she could not hear me when I talked to her and she was facing forward.  

On our return we had another stop in the exercise yard.  Since dogs are so good at reading our visual cues, maybe Danica would be able to carry out commands whether or not she could hear them.  At one point during this exercise yard stop, I heard a shrill bark from a dog inside of a car in the parking lot.  I was surprised to see Danica run to the fence and begin barking back at it.  At least she can hear some frequencies.  I was happily surprised to see that Danica's hearing issue is not a problem when it comes to obedience.  For  a young dog in a stressful environment, she did very well with come, fetch and sit.   Let's hope she finds her new and active family soon.






Reese Finds His Forever Home


Not surprisingly Reese was adopted quickly.  Such a sweet little guy, happily he found his own lap in record time.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Reese



Late on Thursday afternoon all of the dogs had been out for at least one volunteer walk.  The staff person  in the dog area said that Reese would  really appreciate more people time.  What an understatement!

Reese is a five year old Chihuahua who arrived as a stray.  It was a cool day and Reese had squirmed out of his jacket so the staff person found him another one, helped me get him into it and harnessed.  We were off.   Reese trotted along, quickly found a tree; next stop the exercise yard, business taken care off; and after a few minutes of sniffing and playing  went to the gate ready  to start our walk.  This little guy is very good at communicating what he wants.

As we were crossing the road toward the open area, the first ear splitting shriek stopped me cold.  I knew I had not stepped on him.  It quickly became a loud continuous wail.  I was hoping that visitors seeing my volunteer badge were not getting the wrong idea about me!  I looked around and saw one of the staff going toward her car then Reese tugging to join her.  He is so bonded with the staff that even when she picked him up for hugs he could not stop squealing  and whimpering.  This sweet little guy needs people more than just about any dog I've ever met.  I made up my mind right there, if it was okay with the staff our "outing" was going to be inside near  them.

They said it would be fine for me to  let him wander in the central staff area while I kept him on the leash and stayed out of their way.  Reese thought it was wonderful  since he loves all of them. We were there about 20 minutes when Reese came over and curled up on my lap.  It seemed a good time to take him back to his kennel for a snooze.   I feel sure that Reese will get adopted very quickly since he is so extremely affectionate.  What a perfect companion he will make.


G
Glad to be back volunteering.  Al had a back surgery that went very well, except for a complication of pneumonia resulting in a week's hospitalization.  As of Thursday he's been OKed to drive so life is getting back to normal.