Emma has a Forever Home

Emma found her forever family this past week. While I do not know them, they must be very special people to see the quiet love and devotion that this sweet, timid creature will give them every day.  The staff person I spoke with did not think she was going to be used as a hunting dog, more of a family pet.  Good luck Emma.

Emma

If you are expecting an action-packed doggy story, you might consider skipping this one.  At around 3:00 on Friday only Emma had not yet had a volunteer walk, she is currently considered under socialized and her log sheet suggests that volunteers use lots of treats.  I could handle this; what could be so bad?  I confidently loaded up with treats and went off to meet Emma.  She offered a happy face and happy tail as I greeted her from the front of her kennel; so far so good.  I opened her back door  to get her harnessed; she was flattened against the front trying to disappear.  She is a big, beautiful black and tan, seven month,  Coon Hound puppy, way too big to hide under her blanket. Emma and her three brothers were found wandering on a road and brought in as strays; who knows what they have been through in their short lives.  After much coaxing, treats, etc; I gave up and went for help from the staff.  The staff person crawled in from one direction, I stayed in the other and the staff person got her harnessed.  Emma froze and would not budge more than a foot from her kennel.  After continued coaxing from both of us, the staff person suggested  that she carry her to a private adjacent staff hallway and we would just see where things went from there.  She also put a large comforter in the hall so that Emma had a place to hide.

Emma stood in the hall and trembled; I sat next to her talking and petting.  As the staff went about their normal duties, they all acknowledged her.  One staff person was very encouraged that she was brave enough to stand there and not hide in the comforter - socialization one step at a time.  After about 15 minutes, I asked a staff person to help me carry her just outside the door.  It is a fairly quiet grassy spot with a view of the exercise yard and used only by the staff.

I sat on the walkway, she lay next to me as close as possible, but soon her nose began telling her that there are lots of interesting things in the world. After just a few minutes she got brave enough to stand up and walk around sniffing, but only within a few feet of me.  At one point, the staff led two big dogs  fairly close to us. They were taking them into another yard and we were in their path.    Though they barked at Emma, she was not at all afraid; she actually walked toward them wagging; but the minute she realized what she was doing she turned around and quickly and  buried her head in my lap.  Another staff member came out to see how she was doing and was really impressed that Emma approached  her independently.  I was about to get another surprise when Emma spotted her brother, Mason in the exercise yard.  She stood up bravely and barked at him, her shoulder ruff standing straight up.  It's against  the rules for the dogs to be in contact with each other, so she could not go visit, but she was certainly not at all timid concerning her brother.  

Once the exercise yard was free, I thought I'd see if I could get Emma to walk toward it.  She picked up her brother's scent, bravely walked over to the yard and through the gate for some serious sniffing.  At last Emma was behaving like a real Coon Hound!   When it was time to return, we went through the Shelter's main door but unfortunately much of the shyness returned.   She had to be carried most of the way.  I still think she made a lot of progress today, though there is still work to be done.  I think she will make a very good pet for the owner who likes Coon Hounds since, unlike some of them, she seems very dependent on human comforting.  Hunting dogs are sometimes type cast as being too independent, this is definitely not the case with Emma.  If anything, she leans toward the "needy" side.  

Ruby has a Forever Home

Ruby has found her forever family. I would imagine she will make the thought of "winter in a month or two", a brighter prospect for them.

Ruby

No shortage of dogs today.  The shelter received 27 from an overcrowded California shelter this past weekend and all but Ruby are small.  She is just so beautiful, a Siberian Husky with stunning pale blue eyes; I  had to get to know her better.  The notes on her log sheet requested that volunteers work with her on calmly leaving and returning to her kennel.  Trepidation starts to creep in!  No problem; my right brain assured me that having just completed Meredith's (Pawsitive Experience)  training, I could handle this.  I made up my plastic lid coated with peanut butter (to distract her while harnessing up) and headed for her kennel.  There she was happily howling and jumping up on her hind legs - "Stay calm and ignore her until she stands quietly", (Meredith).

 It worked; so far so good.   I'm now in her kennel; peanut butter lid is on the floor; she is sniffing it, I'm getting her harnessed and she does not even like peanut butter!  Wow; we calmly leave the dog area, walk down the hall and go outside.  I know she is just seething with energy so a stop in the exercise yard is a must.  She goes racing around, half run, half jump; you can see she is not used to wearing a training harness.  She jumped up at me one time, but by just turning away and ignoring her (thank you Meredith), no more jumping.  She still raced around then raced at me when I called her, but her brakes slammed on as soon as she got to me.  I was somewhat surprised that she sits on command IMMEDIATELY;  she does not even require a treat.

Once out on our walk, she was pretty good, taking my lead in direction, but lunging for every chipmunk and bird.  Fortunately the training harness prevents pulling so her lunging did not cause problems.   About one third into our walk I reversed to avoid another dog/volunteer team; Ruby let me know clearly by whimpering loudly, that she was not ready to turn around and go back.  As soon as it was apparent  that her walk was continuing, she wagged and trotted along.  She is so responsive.  As our walk was winding down, I found a bench and she was happy to sit and lean on me.  She is very affectionate and eager to please.  Back in the dog area, she seemed a little afraid of the other dogs barking but  stayed calm and easily walked into her kennel.  I finally read her profile. She is just a year old.  For a dog not much beyond puppy-hood and in her circumstances,  she is  amazing.  She is going to make someone a wonderful companion for a long time.

Slow Doggy Day at the Shelter

 The Sun Salon:

Biggy

At about 11:30 on Tuesday morning just two dogs were eligible for a volunteer walk. One, Charles, was already out walking and number two, Biggy had been out for a walk, had a shampoo and fluff and just needed brushed out.  I picked up the still damp little Pomeranian and we headed out to a sunny bench for his brush-out.  He loved it.  Just a note for all of you knitters;  I have never felt anything as soft as the Pomeranian undercoat; what a wonderful yarn it would make, and there is lots of it.  I'm sure Biggy would be happy to oblige. 



Update on Good Dog Alum, Janelle:
Some of you may remember Janelle, I know I do!  Janelle is now living the good life, about half her time in the Sunriver area and half on a 400 acre farm in Idaho.  Besides her loving human family she lives with her best buddy Sage, a Golden Retriever.

Jannelle and Sage

Kongs:
Dogs just seem to love these.  You pack them with a small amount of peanut butter frozen in a larger amount of ice and the dog is entertained for hours!  It reminds me of watching a kid with a Smartphone.  The Shelter keeps the freezer full so we always have them available as special treats.

Sugar Finds Her Forever Home

Sugar found her forever family on Saturday.  Apparently rooming with Biggy gave her more confidence so that she was becoming less timid every day.  On Saturday she won the heart of the right person and the rest is history.

Biggy

Biggy is a happy well adjusted eleven year old Pomeranian; they are a long lived breed so he likely has quite a few more good years. As I was reaching in to get his roommate Sugar, he made it clear that he was going to go for the first walk, strutting over (as only a Pom can) and waiting to make sure I got the point. As I picked him up, he settled in and I quickly observed he is rock solid and not at all rattled by the barking all around as we walked through the main kennel area. Once outside he enjoyed some sniffing in the exercise yard but was happy to begin our walk into the bigger world. Though I usually let the dog determine the route, Biggy was more inclined to want me to make the decisions. You can tell he has spent his life in close communication with people. He is a nice comfortable little dog who will make someone a sweet companion. Once our walk was over and he went to his corner of the shared kennel, I figured he might want a nap - wrong. Within just a few minutes, when I returned with Sugar's harness, etc. for another walk "attempt"; Biggy came trotting out ready to go again.