Happy Monday: Shelter Dog Updates

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I feel like we all need some good news after the tragic events of last Friday. I’m a firm believer that when things get tough, you have to focus on the positive.  It just so happens that recently the “Happy Tail” (har har) updates have been rolling in from rescue groups who have pulled our shelter dogs, and I thought this would be the perfect time to share them with you.

I’m so lucky to have relationships with some of the rescues who pull dogs from us so that I get the occasional update. There is nothing that compares to seeing your favorite shelter dogs in a home with a family, no matter if it’s a foster family or forever family. The dogs are out of the shelter and finally getting the chance to be a loved family dog. Here are some no-longer-a-shelter-dog updates!

Patrice:

Patrice was at the shelter for about four months. She had so, so much energy and her obsession with tennis balls made it hard for her to make an impression on potential adopters. She literally wanted nothing more than to chase a tennis ball all day, ever day.

Patrice finally made it out through the rescue group Bully Paws. One of their foster homes came forward to pull a dog from us (we LOVE those), and they chose Patrice. They have other dogs and a massive fenced in yard where she will be able to run as much as her little heart desires. I took this photo the day Patrice left. This is her with one of our volunteers, Les, who, along with many others, has worked with her every day for the last four months. The smiles on both of their faces say it all – it was a huge victory for everyone the day she got out of the shelter for good.

Patrice

Bully Paws recently sent me this update from Patrice’s foster family. It’s always so hard to predict how dogs will act once they leave the shelter, and hearing that they’re settling right in makes us do all sorts of happy dances.

“Hello, the last couple of days have been a thrill to both Pablo and myself. Patrice is a REALLY sweet little girl. She is still a bit frightened esp of loud noises and her little tail goes between her legs when she hears a dog barking while on our walks. In the yard she will run and play but the moment she sees me walk away or turn to do something else, she will drop her ball and come follow to ensure she is not left behind. She seems to be MOST interested and really enjoys walking along with one of my others (her tail goes up and wags and she holds her head up high while she tries to stay right by their side). She definitely wants to be a part of the pack and seems eager to please each one of mine and their particular personalities (she was part of a particular play group at montgomery and sure she must be missing them a bit).  We are introducing really slowly using baby gates. Patrice has her own room where we set up her crate. The crate door is left open and she goes in herself and curls up to sleep. We did have two accidents the first day she was here (right in front of the door as if she knew where she was supposed to be going). I soon realized that when we take her out into the yard she is so excited to be outside and to run and play that she doesn’t stop to pee (I have another that does the same and who is also ball crazy).  So now we walk her into the yard on a leash before she plays and then before we go in, and she gets lots of praise for going pee outside. Patrice is a very finicky eater and eats just a teeny bit at a time (its shocking to me bc of the amount my other three eat). Tonight is probably the first good amount of food she’s had since being here. But she also got lots of exercise today so she had a good appetite. Most of all, she LOVES to run of her leash and play ball!”

This is a photo of Patrice, the dog who couldn’t settle down in the shelter, in her foster home. Doesn’t she look content? Hooray Patrice!

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Peanut (now Wilbur):

Peanut was at the shelter this summer. I fell in love with him because he was this adorable little compact pittie with a crooked tail and the cutest little face.

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Bully Paws pulled Peanut from us as well. He is actually now in his FOREVER family, and that is the amazing email update we got:

“Wilbur (formerly Peanut) is awesome. Our obedience instructor loves him. He is so smart that it is hard not to teach him more than what is scheduled for the class each day. We have decided to keep Wilbur in school until he can earn his good citizens certification. The wife and I truly feel lucky to have him. Wilbur gets along great with our elderly basenji (15 years old) and sleeps at night on the foot of the bed with his feline friend (who thinks he is a dog as well). In the morning, when its time to give Tybalt the basenji his daily medicine, all three line up, sitting in a row next to each other. All get something. Wilbur sleeps whenever he is in the car and typically doesn’t get up until the car has stopped. He will jump in the tub for a bath even when it’s not his turn. He loves him some soccer ball. People who know this breed readily come up to us to meet him and talk about their pits. Always a funny story to share. Wilbur has been great to say the least.”

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These are two dogs you haven’t met (though hopefully you still loved their stories). Tomorrow I’m going to update you on the story of a dog I introduced a few weeks ago that Jasmine’s House pulled: Kobe. He has come a long way in the few short weeks he’s been out of the shelter, and it’s all thanks to his foster family and Jasmine’s House. Check back tomorrow for another happy tail!

Patrice and her tennis ball-loving smile are available through Bully Paws!

He’s Baaaaaack!

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Otis is back at the PLF household – BUT only for two weeks while his dad is out of the country! Yep, it’s only temporary. Did I scare you!? Sorry. It’s nothing but happy reminiscing and catching up here for the next week and a half until R comes back from Thailand (I know, right). My parents and I love it! It’s like we picked up right where we left off in August. He’s already fallen victim to dressing up in my festive costumes. . . :-)

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So he’ll pop into our posts every once in a while for the next few weeks. We’re hope you’re as happy to see him back as we are!

I Am Thankful

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It’s Thanksgiving again, which means taking a minute to make note of what we’re thankful for. The feeling of obligation to do something like this is quickly being replaced every year by a feeling of wanting so badly to acknowledge the things in my life that make it possible for me to do what I do.

Last year at Thanksgiving I did a run down of the people in my life that I am thankful for. Those people haven’t really changed, so I don’t want to be redundant with a post about them again (though I love you all and I am still extremely thankful for you!). Which leaves me here thinking about what to give thanks for in this post.

Rather than material things or specific people, I am going to write about experiences from the past year that I am thankful for.  I’m so early in my career that every new situation for me is a valuable learning experience. So much of what I know and what I stand for has been shaped in the last year. To think that just over fifteen months ago I was dogless, blogless, and somewhat clueless shows me how much I have to be thankful since then.

Fostering Baxter

Yes, I know this is an extremely broad experience – but I can’t leave it out. Fostering Baxter was a crash course in learning about training, behavior, dog-dog interactions, boundaries, teaching, compromises, responsibility, patience and love. Baxter was all mine to help grow and then adopt out. The amount that he taught me is immeasurable, really.  He helped me realize that there is a difference between just liking dogs and having the knowledge to really help them, and for that I am very grateful.

Buying a 50mm camera lens

I know I said I would stay away from thanking materialistic things, but this little lens changed my photography life as I know it.  The 50mm lens is affordable and can give you the most amazing photos if you’re used to the standard issue lens that came with your camera. After buying this lens I was inspired to take a photography course and invest in Photoshop, so my skills set has grown immensely. I have also since invested in a 30 mm lens (thanks to this gal’s growing skills as a photographer!).  Of course I still have tons and TONS to learn, but I feel so much more confident about my photography after all I learned this past year.  I am really falling in love with photography, and I am thankful I discovered this passion.

One of the first photos I took with my 50mm. I was in love with the shallow depth of field, but still didn’t quite know how to fully utilize it.

Taking Otis back

Yes, fostering Otis was an amazing learning experience as I navigated the waters of having a nervous, confidence-lacking dog. But the actual act of accepting Otis back as my foster was a big lesson learned as well. There is a lot to be said for the realization that adopting a dog out should not be where your journey ends with that dog. Every foster/adopter relationship is different after an adoption, but I feel like it is our responsibility as the foster or rescue group to step up and help a former foster dog who is losing their home. I wanted to help so many different dogs after Baxter, but I ultimately knew I had to take Otis back for his well being. I felt guilty taking him in over a dog whose future was uncertain, but it took me accepting him back as a foster to realize that his future wasn’t certain either, and I owed it to him to find him the life he deserved.  I am thankful that Otis taught me the full responsibility of having a foster dog.

Participating in Project Mickey

Project Mickey is a program started by Jasmine’s House to teach humane education to elementary school children in an under-served part of Baltimore. If that sentence right there doesn’t make it obvious why this experience was so impactful, then I’m not sure I can explain what would.  I only helped for two sessions in the program, but I still got to know some of the kids, how bright they are, and their stories. It is like an entirely different world than my own – one that I can really benefit from spending a little more time in. I am thankful for the opportunity to teach these kids about caring for animals, while learning so much more myself.

Adopting Otis to his new home

In the past year I’ve learned a lot about restrictions for adopters that make it difficult to adopt animals out.  When I was searching for a home for Otis, I had almost the exact mold in my mind of what I wanted for him in a forever family.  The person who ended up adopting him was the opposite of many things I thought I wanted for Otis, but they are perfect for each other now.  This was a blatant example to me that I should always be open minded when talking to potential adopters, even if they’re not what I originally envisioned for my dog. I am thankful that I learned this first hand.

Going to Animal Farm Foundation

Another one that should be pretty self-explanatory is my week-long stay at AFF (read all about it in its own post).  The amount of not only knowledge, but also passion and motivation, that I soaked up during that week truly solidified the path I am on to help animals. I learned lots about the basics of training and canine behavior, again building on the bits of knowledge I already had. AFF was fun, exciting, extremely educational, and eye-opening. I’d consider it one of my most influential experiences of 2012. I am very thankful for the opportunity to learn and interact with such a wonderful organization.

Me and Julep during our week together at AFF.  Photo credit to AFF.

Participating in B-More Dog’s Community Pit Bull Day

Another example of a world I need to spend more time in. I recently heard a speaker talk about how animal advocates spend too much time thinking they’re their own audience. B-More Dog’s CPBD really opened my eyes to the whole group of people that I can reach with spay/neuter advocacy, etc. I am thankful that I got the opportunity to see all the families who love their dogs and are trying their hardest to provide for them, and I look forward to helping as much as I can in the future.

The second year at my job

Again, another broad one. But I can’t pick out specifically one part of it that I am thankful for more than another.  You learn so much about planning events on the job as opposed to in the classroom (especially when you’re an Animal Sciences major…), so my first year was spent soaking up as much information I could. I learned best practices, I learned things to avoid, I learned what would make me the best events manager I could be, and I learned how to learn from my mistakes. Entering into my second year, I feel like I’ve taken these skills and ran with them. My confidence in my abilities has skyrocketed, and all of a sudden I feel more capable than ever.  I am thankful for all the experiences I’ve had thus far in my career that have set me up to be the best I can be.

A photo from our annual gala, The Love Ball, courtesy of Virgil Ocampo Photography. This was the second year I managed the event, and it felt 100x smoother.

I’m sure I forgot even the most major milestones of this past year – it’s hard to believe I can write so much about the ones above and still have more blessings.

I’m also extremely thankful for all of you who stop by every morning and show your support. I so appreciate you reading, commenting, following and sharing.

Happy Thanksgiving week (or day or month) of gratitude to you and yours – furry friends included of course :-) I hope you have a lovely Holiday among family and friends!

The Lows and Highs of Dog Rescue

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It’s pretty obvious what the biggest highs and lows are in dog rescue: life and death.

Now that all the major time-consuming projects of my year are behind me, I’m slowly looking into fostering again (I know what you’re thinking.. “Finally! We’re bored!”). I’ve had my eye on this one dog in our shelter for months now. She came in as a stray with her sister, and immediately became a staff and volunteer favorite. She was the little grey one featured on our FOX5 Morning News segment.

Yesterday, Mark and I headed into the shelter to meet with her. She won us over, but her very low weight was a red flag for Mark. After talking it over with our medical staff, I learned that they were concerned as well and had already planned to send her out for blood tests.  Mark and I decided to wait for the results of the tests to make any decisions.  We never got that chance though, because the results immediately concluded she was in renal failure. The vet said there was nothing we could do.  They ended her suffering only a few hours after we played with her in the yard. It broke everyone’s hearts, especially those who spent so many hours loving her over the last few months.

There was nothing we could have done to help her, but that news ruined my whole day.  I needed a pick-me-up, and stat.  I knew just who to turn to:

After getting the news about the pretty pittie girl, I almost immediately called up Otie’s owner.  I needed to see the big slobbery smile that was Otis.  We’d been sort of trying to set up a visit in the last couple weeks anyway, but it had never worked out. R, being the awesome adopter that he is, said to come right over.

Last time I went to visit Otis, only three weeks after he was adopted, I was pleasantly surprised at how excited he was to see me. But just like last time, my expectations of the same type of happy reunion were not too high this time around. It’s been about three months since I’d seen him last, and three months is a plenty long time for him to forget who I am.  I was just excited to see his happy face, recognition or not.

Otis was waiting for me in the garage and as soon as I got out of my car I had a whirlwind of fur, tongue, and tail flying around me like tornado.  Otis acted like every other time he’s seen me after five minutes a long time: like it was the best day ever.  For a solid ten minutes, we had an exuberant reunion.  I felt like a little kid bouncing around getting kisses and avoiding his over-eager advances to give me a big bear-hug style Otis greeting.

It was exactly what I needed. Any happy dog would have helped cheer me up, but knowing that I’m still someone special to Otie really felt good.  R and I caught up, and I heard all about how spoiled Otis is.  It was so, so nice.

The key to dog rescue is to make sure the victories and happy times outweigh the tough times. You owe it to yourself to seek out moments that make you smile, especially after moments that make you cry.

Thank you, Otis (and R!) for reminding me of all the things I have to smile about.

Finally Happy

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The exciting moment came. I woke up one morning and had the exciting realization: Otis is a totally different dog now than he was when I took him back four months ago. This is always a victory for foster families, often one that sneaks up on you out of the blue just like it did to me. It happened with Baxter as well, and it was just as gratifying.

My home is the first one for Otis where he can be completely comfortable. In his entire 1.5+ years of existence, he had always been living with something to be scared or anxious about. Because he is now able to be himself and do things he wants to do without worrying, he is opening up enormous amounts with every day that goes on.

It’s the type of thing you don’t notice because it’s happening right before your eyes. The thought hit me last week when I brought Otis into a meeting with me at work (yes, I can bring my dog to work and into meetings with me – I’m lucky!) and he spent the first ten minutes happily greeting everyone by going around the circle delivering sniffs and tail wags. He wasn’t staying right by my side, he wasn’t drooling uncontrollably, and he wasn’t miserable being surrounded by people other than me. He was happy.

I noticed it again later that week when he was in my house and spending an alarmingly large amount of time, get this… out of my sight! Instead of needing the security of me, “his person,” to be comfortable, he was out wandering the house, hanging out with my brother or checking in with my mom and dad. He was embracing his free space and expanding his limits. He was happy.

I notice things every day now that show how much Otis has grown. He wags his tail more when we’re out in public, he is more open to greeting strangers, he doesn’t cower at the site or sound of new things, he enjoys being home without me, he is relaxed, he is partaking in normal dog things like using his nose, he is extremely food motivated, he investigates more on walks, he will try new things like running up the slide at a playground… the list goes on. Even two months into his stay with me, much of that list was nowhere near do-able for Otis.

These small victories mean so much more than just a testament to his progress. They mean Otis is truly ready for a forever family of his own. He has made it clear that he will not always be the shy, withdrawn dog that he once was when I met him. He still has a ways to go, I think living with a stable family for years to come will bring out the best, happiest side of this pooch. Hopefully this is the end to his worries. “God bless the broken road,” right?