Meet Lucky!

Say hello to the newest foster pup, Lucky!

Lucky is the fifth foster that I've taken on and he is a big sweetheart! Jake, foster number four, was here for a couple if days and when he left I knew I wanted to get another puppy as soon as possible. Paws in the City was great about finding another foster pup and we're all looking forward to learn more about this little guy the longer we have him! Lucky is a great dog and he might be one of my favorite fosters we've had so far. He's incredibly sweet and loves to cuddle.

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. 

Foster number three: Mack!

Meet Mack! On Saturday, he's going to be our new foster. 

Austin and I are excited to be welcoming in our next foster with Paws in the City. Since we started volunteering with PITC a year ago, we've really enjoyed being able to go to the adoption events (although we haven't been able to make it to one recently...). Eight months ago we opened up our home to Sheba and she stayed with us for almost three months before she found her forever home. A month ago we decided it was time to foster again (really I just told Austin I was bringing home a dog the next day for us to foster). We had Parker with us for about three weeks, two of which he wasn't even up for adoption because he was recovering from getting fixed, before he found his new home. And now, after actually asking Austin's opinion, we're ready for the next foster. 

Mack is about a year and a half old and a retreiver/lab mix... and that's about all we know about him. We're looking forward to working with him to help him find a new home. 

If you're interested in Mack or Paws in the City, visit their website here for more information. 

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!

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.

Meet Sheba!

Austin and I have been volunteering with Paws in the City a lot lately. For those that don't know much about PITC, they're an organization that works with kill-shelters to save dogs that are getting ready to be euthanized. They've only been around for 7 years, but they've been able to do a lot of work. Unlike a lot of pet rescue organizations, they don't have a "home" shelter. They work with boarding facilities in the DFW area until one of the volunteers lets them know they have room for a dog in their life. PITC relies heavily on fosters because the longer a pet is in a boarding facility, the more likely they are to pick up bad habits and become less adoptable. Not to mention funds going to boarding facilities could easily be going to pay for vet bills and saving more animals. When a pet is out of the boarding facility, they (generally) open up due to not being surrounded by other animals and getting more individual love and attention. Basically, fostering is much better for the pet.

One of the first things I wanted to do after buying a house was to start fostering a dog. Sunday, I got my first foster pup, Sheba. Sheba is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known, even if she is a pit-mix. Spending time with her the past few days has really opened up my eyes as to how mis-labeled pits are. I'll be honest and say that I really didn't want to get a pit to foster due to their reputation, but this girl really knows how to change your mind. In the three days we've had her, she's not once so much as barked, let alone shown any aggression (something I was very worried about since we do already have two cats). Knowing the 9 times out of 10 a pit and a cat wont mix, I've expected a little bit of aggression, even from this docile dog. I think she just might be that 1 in 10 dog that doesn't mind cats, though.

The kitties really aren't pleased with having a new member of the family, even if it is temporary. But cats don't like change at all so I'm taking it with a grain of salt. They've been staying in the master bedroom when we have Sheba out, so in the evenings until she goes to her crate to sleep around 10:00. Next week we're going to try leaving them out in the evenings when we have Sheba out, so that's when I'm thinking the real work with her is going to come. Until then, Austin and I are just going to have such a sweet, docile animal.

I feel fairly certain that if she isn't adopted by someone soon, Austin may want to keep her. I never would have thought I would say this, but I love this little pit and I wouldn't mind if she did become a permanent member of the family.