Miranda

Glancing through the volunteer's log I noticed that Miranda seemed to be on everyone's A list; very sweet, great on the leash, just wonderful,etc. She had not yet had a volunteer walk, and I could not resist her face! As I met her at the back of her kennel she was jumping up and down completely thrilled. She is a beautiful brown Rottweiler mix, about six years old and quite a few pounds overweight, so she packs a lot of momentum. I crossed my fingers that she was as well behaved as her reputation suggested and opened her door. She was wildly excited and squirming all over but sat immediately on command, no treat required! Once outside our first stop was the exercise yard where fetch and general racing around made up for her sedentary morning. She is good at fetch, sit, and come but needs more work on down and shake hands.

She is great on the leash, no pulling at all and so happy, her tail just flops back and forth all the time. She is very affectionate, responding to pets plus nuzzling and pushing you with her head when you are sitting beside her. According to her profile she also gets along with other dogs and cats. She is a total sweetie, it is easy to see why she is such a volunteer favorite. Since she will do well in so many types of families let's hope she finds her's soon.

Geronimo

Geronimo was the other dog who, at just after one, had not yet had a volunteer walk. A cute one year old Chihuahua mix with big hazel eyes and a little tan wiggly body; I was kind of surprised that he had not yet been out with a volunteer. As I opened his back door he was squirming all over with happiness but backed away when I approached him. After a few tries, I put a treat in one hand and petting him with the other, managed to loop my finger under his plastic ID collar eventually getting his walking collar and leash attached. Though shy, he is so sweet he just kept wagging in a crouched position, scared but still cooperating.

We started in the exercise yard and, except for a potty stop, he did not seem to want to there. Ball chasing and toys were just not his thing, getting petted and talked to are what he loves. We had several paws up for pets stops early in our walk. As we continued, he seemed to gain confidence, putting up his ears and prancing along. When we came within sight of other dogs, he showed interest, not fear. After about a half an hour, he seemed to want to find shady spots for little rests. The day was warm, but he is such a young dog, I was a little surprised. On our return I read his profile more carefully and it says that he is quite the couch potato. My best guess is that, though young, he was with someone who was unable to give him exercise and that he is just out of shape. Let's hope he finds his forever person to get him back in shape and let him know he is really home.

Lola has a forever home

Sweet little Lola has found her forever person. As usual, I have no specifics but as I returned her to her kennel there were already three adoption holds listed for her so I'm not surprised that she had just a short wait.

Lola

Lots of people activity at the shelter this afternoon; visitors, electricians (working on an alarm system) and of course volunteers, stimulating lots of barking. Of course I notice one little blond rump curled on her bed, quietly attempting to disappear. There was no I've had a volunteer walk sign on her kennel, so I went to get a collar and leash, all the while expecting that she would likely be too timid to leave her kennel. When I returned she was waiting at her back door squirming happily and ready to go.

Lola is a beautiful five year old blond Cocker Spaniel from an over crowded California shelter, thus her official resume is pretty scant. We began our outing by racing down the hall having been warned that a test alarm would be set off at any minute! Once outside she "found a shrub" and I had my first surprise - she lifted her leg. Was Lola really a Larry? This happened two more times on our walk. My resident vet had no answer. When we had gone just a little further, Lola began jumping straight up, kind of like a circus dog; I stretched out my arm to keep the collar from pulling on her neck and she jumped toward my hand. What was going on here? I leaned down, she put her paws up and I gave her a hug and pets. That was what she wanted; she wanted that hug to last and last. After a few minutes of this she was ready to walk and behave much more normally. During our walk she demonstrated that she can both sit for treats and come. She is reluctant to go out of sight of the shelter, but on our return, when I saw how much she loved the staff, it could be that she just wants to be within "scent" of them. She is such a sweet little dog and so in need of human bonding, let's hope she finds her new forever person very soon.

Phoenix has had a transition

Phoenix is now waiting to be adopted in a foster home. All for Dogs, a wonderful rescue organization is helping him find his way.

Phoenix

At just 10:30 on a Thursday morning all but two dogs had been out for volunteer walks. A sweet and timid little Pomeranian named Stacey; though nothing would budge her from her kennel she was adopted later that day and,... energy, enthusiasm, and excitement in a black coat - Phoenix. She is a six month old, lab/shepherd mix puppy who is more than a handful at this early stage in her life. At her back door I was greeted by a wildly happy bouncing puppy who promptly broke out of her plastic collar and made a dash for the exit. I really must start getting here earlier. When I told her to sit she slowed down enough for me to get her collar on. I quickly learned that one of her favorite things is to bark at the other dogs; she is big and has a "big dog" bark thus, this is not well received. In a less regulated setting, this pup would get some very harsh lessons in manners from some of these adult dogs.

We made it through doggy gauntlet and careened down the hallway. The Volunteer Coordinator saw/heard us coming and met us with a "no pull" harness. The magic of doggy treats got Phoenix past other dogs near the entry area and we were finally outside. The exercise yard visit was our mandatory first stop, I was intent on burning off as much of her energy as possible before beginning our walk. Fortunately Phoenix likes to fetch. For a puppy she is pretty good at it, she stayed interested for about 15 minutes. I was also happy to find that she sits for treats very consistently. She seems to understand a little of the 'down' command but definitely needs work. "Come" is also a little inconsistent since, as a puppy she is so easily distracted, though she does it about 80% of the time. Interesting note, the shelter was out of soft treats, just thick hard Milkbones were available. Even though Phoenix did not like them (spit them out) she still performed all I asked of her for Milkbone rewards.

I'm not sure how Phoenix would have been without a special harness but on our walk she was just fine. No pulling, very cooperative, and happy to go whichever way I wanted to go. About midway through our walk I made her sit while I struggled to remove a really cumbersome wind breaker. It got caught on my hat, etc and Phoenix sat patiently beside me the whole time. On our return she once again got excited seeing other dogs so we stopped at the front desk to pick some really good treats and staff belly rubs for Phoenix. I used the treats to keep her distracted from the other dogs as I got her back into her kennel. She is a big boisterous puppy but considering her age and surroundings doing remarkably well. Her future family will probably need to give her obedience training but she is smart and learns quickly.

Taki has a forever home

At long last Taki has found her forever family. A couple adopted her earlier this week, and I know she will appreciate them forever.