Mack might already be leaving

Saturday, we picked up Mack from a trainer and took him to a Paws in the City event at Lee Harvey's. it was great to be able to spend time with Mack and his trainer. Not only just to get some time to get to know Mack, but also to learn about some of his difficulties and how to help him. 

And now, after only a couple of days, someone is already looking to adopt him. I think it's a good thing that it has happened so fast because otherwise I would have had a hard time letting go of him. 

I don't know why it is harder for me to let him go than our other fosters. Maybe it's because we spent so much time with him from Day 1. Maybe it's because he reminds me of a dog I had growing up. Maybe it's because he's such a big teddy bear. Maybe it's because I've actually been home lately. Whatever it is, I guess I just have to get over it if he really is going to a new home. I need to remember that if he goes to another home, we can help another dog, another wonderful animal that we're giving a second chance. 

And that's why I foster. Not for other people. Not for recognition. But to give an animal a second chance at life. I foster in order to give dogs like Sheba and Parker and Mack the chance to find a home where they will be loved. Because they deserve it. It is a terrible fact that if we hadn't been able to foster, any of these three dogs would have been euthanized because there wouldn't have been a place for PITC to place them after pulling them from a shelter. Austin and I have thought about just getting a second permanent dog for Sam, but we've decided that we would rather foster. 

Sam is such a versatile dog that gets along with everyone and every dog he meets. He enjoys meeting new people. And he actually helps shy, reserved dog come out of their shell. Just by simply being Sam he helps them to remember that they can play and have fun. he helps them in ways that no person ever could simply by being such a happy dog. While we were fostering Sheba, we didn't have Sam and I didn't realize how much of a help having a second dog would be. But now, after fostering a few dogs, I'm beginning to realize that dogs don't just need love and attention from people, they need to learn how to be a dog in a happy home. 

I am a bit sad to see Mack go, but I'm looking forward to the next dog we can take in, the next dog we can save. 

Lifescouts Friday: Animals!

Happy Friday all! This week's Lifescouts is all about animals. I hope you've all had a bearable week and have a great weekend!



Milk a Cow

I took French while I was in high school. Along with all sorts of French type things we did like eat French candy, bake yule logs, we also would take an annual field trip to Heifer International in Little Rock. I'm really not sure what this has to do with learning French or anything about French culture (really, why did we go every year?) but one of the interesting things we did there was actually milk a cow.

Horse Riding

I've ridden a horse many times. I've also owned a horse. And when I lived in DC, there was a stable just off of the military base where I lived. I would occasionally go on weekends to ride the horses and just enjoy the feeling of being in a stable, even though I was in the middle of the capital of the US. I'm also trying to set up a time to go horseback riding with one of my friends, Mel, for her birthday in a few weeks. She loves horses and I'm not sure if she's actually gone or not. But I know she'd like to go and it will be a lot of fun.

Own a Pet

As absolutely shocking as this is, I've owned many pets throughout my life. I got my first cat when I was in kindergarten and had him until I moved to DC. My parents always had at least two dogs and two cats at any given time. And now, as an adult, I have two cats and a dog. I've had Gatinha since she was a tiny kitten and we've been together for about seven years. I've had Sox since she was about two and has been with me for about three years. Samwise is the newest, he's now about 11 months old.

Rainforest
When I was growing up, I couldn't just pack up and go for a weekend at grandma and grandpa's. It was a trip that we had to plan for several months in order to get a visa in order to stay in the country for six weeks. why? Because my grandparents lived in Brazil, in Porto Velho, the capital of Rondônia. Porto Velho is in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. It really was a beautiful place. I was really wishing I could make it to Brazil for the World Cup, but I don't think that's a possibility. But hopefully I can go back soon... I do love Brazil.

Hold a Snake

A lot of my friends love reptiles. While I've mostly had the more "traditional" pets, some of my friends prefer less fluffy creatures. And I really don't have a problem with reptiles, so I've held many a lizard, snake, spider, gecko, whatever. I like animals and I don't see why people get so freaked out by them. The first time I held a snake I was expecting something slimy but I was surprised that they're not (I was like six, okay). And the big boas are heavy. Also, as a Slytherine, I kinda have to like snakes.

Samwise the Stubborn

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Austin and I adopted Sam. At the shelter, he was labeled as a Norwegian Elkhoud Mix, which we took to mean "pure-bred mutt." After a couple weeks, we thought he looked like he had more Whippet/Terrier in him than Elkhound. It really wasn't anything that we really cared about, he's a sweet enough little guy, so we never really looked into it anymore.

Then we started actually taking him to obedience training a couple weeks ago. During his first class, our instructor told us something we really didn't want to hear: Sam is probably a Basenji mix. Now, there's nothing necessarily wrong about having a Basenji, but they are incredibly stubborn. In fact, The Intelligence of Dogs has called the Basenji "the second least trainable dog." This isn't due to the fact that Basenjis are dumb, they're actually a highly intelligent breed, but they are stubborn. And dear lord is Sam stubborn. This just means that we have to be more stubborn than him.

All things considered, Sam really is a great dog. When you look at the fact that he lived on the streets for the first four months or so of his life and then in a shelter for three, he's really a very well behaved loving dog. I just wish the little brat would stop being so hard headed sometimes. The obedience training has helped, but I'm fairly certain that this is more for our benefit than his seeing as we learn new ways to help him learn. He just sees it as time to get out of the house and be somewhere new. He's already got basics like "sit" and "down" and "stay" so we're trying to work on a few more difficult things for him. He's also pretty awful on a leash so that's what I think we're going to have to really work with for the next week with him. He's constantly pulling and is more ADD than he is any other given time.

For those of you out there that has a dog that pulls like Sam, don't get them a regular harness. I know that you might want to get a harness but really that only increases a dogs desire to pull. Think about sled dogs, they have a harness on them so they can pull a sled. A harness that attaches to a leash on the back doesn't get your dog to stop pulling. Our trainer recommended this Easy Walk because it connects in the front, therefor the dog simply can't pull otherwise they get turned in a circle. There are also Easy Walk harness that connect like a bit of a muzlzle that really work the best (if your dog doesn't mind having it on and doesn't try to claw their face off like Sam did). I'll be sure to let you know if the easy-walk harness we got for him actually does help and if it really does help him stop pulling. Because for such a small dog that dog can pull.

Fingers crossed this weeks' walks go better than last week!

It Snowed!

This morning, I woke up to find out that Dallas had received its first snowfall of the season. And by "snowfall" I mean a very light dusting of powder that barely covered the ground. It was nice to be able to wake up and have it actually feel like its Christmas time with the snow and not the 70's that we've had for the past couple of weeks.

I could understand Sam's confusion about this cold white stuff that covered his lawn, he was absolutely baffled by it. Since this is the first winter he's been through, snow was obviously a new and different experience. Sam kept trying to play in it then he would bark at it. Like I said, he was baffled by the snow. I'm curious to see how he would react if there was a real snowfall in Dallas... I'm sure that would be fun for both him and me both.

Sadly, my amusement with this light dusting of snow ended there simply for the fact that people in Dallas forget how to drive when you even throw around the"s" word. Even though there wasn't snow on the roads and there was no fear about ice on the streets, people feel the need to try and drive 10-15 MPH below the speed limit. Why?? Do people here just not realize that just because its cold outside they are allowed to drive the speed limit? I'm all for being a cautious driver, but it is just ridiculous trying to get anywhere. My usual 15 minute morning commute took a whole 25 minutes!

I know, I should be used to dealing with these drivers since I have been in Texas for a little over four years. But I'm not. It still drives me up the wall. I hate slow drivers on a good day so when there's anything but sunshine and Dallas forgets how to drive, it really makes me question how these people get anywhere on time. I'm also baffled by the reaction to the snow because I lived in DC and New York for several years. A dusting of snow there is barely even thought about. You would get several inches of snow and still have to go to work and school. A friend of mine from Buffalo is equally annoyed by the Texas reaction to the cold. He made the comment this morning that if you don't need a shovel, it doesn't count as snow. And I'm inclined to agree. So unless you're a dog that has never experienced snow before, in which case you wouldn't be driving anyways, learn that you can go the speed limit if there's a light dusting of powder.

Enjoy the cold weather, I'm sure Dallas will be back to the 70's and 80's in no time!!

Meet Sam!

We've been looking for a dog since we bought a house. When we started fostering Sheba, we thought we might have found the dog for us until we realized that Sheba just wasn't going to get along with our cats.  Sheba was adopted by a young couple a little over a month ago and Austin and I have been looking for a dog (and one that would get along with our cats).

On Sunday, we went to the Dallas Animal Services to see if we could find a dog that would fit in out home. This little guy is Sam (Samwise, really) and he's a seven month old Norwegian Elkhound. Although, I'm really not seeing that in him at all... Last night he came to realize that he absolutely loves jumping from the ottoman to the couch to the ottoman to the chair. Since he is still a puppy, I think he'll be pretty easy to train. We will have to work around the fact that I don't think he's had to deal with being in a kennel all day. Sam does seem to be a very smart dog, so he shouldn't be too difficult to train.

There will be many more (better quality) pictures of little Sam posted along with all of his status updates on how he's adjusting to living in a home.

Also, I wanted to make note that the Dallas Animal Services is one of the nicest shelters I've seen. The dogs are all in fairly large rooms and kennels. The staff do a pretty good job of keeping everything clean (as clean as possible when you have that many dogs to take care of) and the dogs are taken care of. I was also amazed at how many of their dogs are listed as "Very Special Pets" and the already low adoption fee is waived. So, if you're looking for a pet in the DFW area, I would highly suggest taking a look there. Maybe you could end up saving a dog or cat's life.