Spoiled Rotten

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For those of you who don’t know, Joanie’s full name is Joanie Rotten. In the words of Jasmine’s House, this is how her name came to be:

“Johnny Rotten was the lead singer of The Sex Pistols, a 70’s UK punk rock band responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. They are regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music. Joanie Rotten got her name because she reminded us of the kind of perseverance, leadership and influence this band had on music history. She’s a tough, beautiful lady. She’s got swagger, she’s cool under pressure, and she’s wagging her tail in the face of all the opposition she’s faced. She’s gonna make a difference, be an inspiration and change perceptions, just like Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols did.”

She fits the name pretty well, wouldn’t you say? While I LOVE this description, I’d venture to say she ended up with “Rotten” in her name for another reason too: because she’s got a way of making her humans SPOIL her rotten!

We have a pretty strict ‘no animals on the furniture’ rule. We bend the rule for some dogs – like Zabora and Otis – but only on one specific couch and only if that couch has protective covering. Well, as you can imagine, Joanie made her way on to the couch the first night. No surprise there. What I didn’t expect to happen is that she’d win both me and my Mom over to make it up on our beds too! I came home from work the other day to this sight:

Yes, that is Joanie taking a nap with my Mama, ON the bed. Naturally I couldn’t be the mean one and not let her on mine, so later that night, this is where Joanie ended up. . .

For the sake of not having her foster parents hate me for spoiling all the manners out of her, Joanie still spends the nights in her crate. During the day, though, you can probably find her on either a bed or the couch, snoozing away (or just looking really cute).

Can’t say I mind having this snuggle bug accessible for nap time cuddles!

If you’re interested in learning more about adopting Joanie, email me at peacelovefoster@gmail.com or fill out an application on the Jasmine’s House website.

Otis at the Lake

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During the summer here at the PLF house we are lucky to find two things: an entirely free evening and a day with weather under ninety degrees. So when we came across a BOTH of those, it meant one thing: a trip to our local state park.

The adventure came with zero expectations except to enjoy the evening and get our feet (or paws) wet. There were a few too many humans – especially small, shrieking, quick moving ones – for Otis’ liking, but we found quiet nooks to take some pictures and slip into the water.

The best part about going to parks or trails with Otis is that he ignores most other people or dogs around him. I got so many compliments this evening saying he was so well behaved (and of course remarks about how handsome he is). He follows me anywhere I go, so if I step off the trail for bikers or hikers, he steps off the trail too. I had a serious face-to-palm moment after the third person told me how great he was and I realized I had forgotten to bring Adopt Me vest .

So he might not have gotten any adoption bites, but he certainly got some socialization. Even if he doesn’t interact with anyone, going to popular places where we can expose him to new things while staying within his comfort zone is very valuable in helping him become a more confident dog.

He enjoyed the water and the park surrounding it – though he only stuck to his paws in the wet category. Here is Otis demonstrating his appreciation for cool water, a good patch of grass, and a nice spot to relax.

(And here he is showing you his best puppy face:)

Aside from just his good looks, Otis will be a spectacular hiking/walking/relaxing partner for someone looking for a trail buddy. He’s up for pretty much anything if it involves water, grass, or dirt!

For more information on adopting Honey Bunches of Otis, go to his Adopt Me page to learn more about him and how to get in touch.

Pittie Trails First Walk!

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You all had some really great guesses about what the two pictures in yesterday’s post had in common. The answer? They were both from the first ever Pittie Trails hike!

We had a great, great time! There were nine dogs total who came out to Rachel Carson Conservation Park last weekend. From the top left: Baxter, Lily, Athena, Reese (with the backpack), Cotton (gray & white), Nelly, Penny (pink collar), Stella, and McMuffin (who is for adoption!).

All of them were extremely well behaved, even while working on different manners.

Seeing all the dogs walking together really demonstrated how valuable things like this can be. It exposes the dogs to other dogs in a safe and controlled group, while also adding in distractions. Sometimes the distractions are far from anything they’d ever come across otherwise, like:

A horse! We came across very few other people on the trail, but one of which was this pair.

The poor horse “doesn’t like dogs” according to the rider, and you can imagine what we expected the dogs to think about the horse. Luckily, though, we were on a spot on the trail that everyone could get far off the path (which they did quickly and quietly because everyone was so awesome!). The horse snorted and pranced by us, visibly unhappy but tolerant. The dogs all did great, except I think for Athena who sent out a few barks expressing the way she felt – understandably!

Other than that, it was nothing but woods, creeks, and fields. The weather was perfect, and I think a good time was had by all! The trail was a little short, so I think a few dogs ended up energy to spare – but we are really excited to start branching out to new locations after we get the group going. Hopefully we can get to an area by everyone who wants to join.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for the first hike!

We don’t have the next one scheduled yet, but stay tuned to the Pittie Trails Facebook page for the coming schedule. Also, check out the Facebook page in the next few days to see the photo album of all the pictures from this trip. Email pittietrails@gmail.com if you have any questions about coming on hikes with us – we’d love to have you.

What a great afternoon!

For more information on adopting Comeback Kid Baxter, click here or email peacelovefoster@gmail.com.