Meet puppy Oak
Oak is a gentle giant of a pup, spunky but a big lover. His mama, Willow, looks to be part Golden Retriever/Labrador mixed with a setter or hound and is a mellow, playful, cuddly and patient dog and her pups really take after her. She is also up for adoption. Oak is a beautiful dog, with a longer, cream colored coat and the most beautiful soft blue eyes, the color of denim. He loves to be cuddled and has a lower energy level than some of his siblings. Oak is nearly house trained, having had the luxury of spending lots of time outside. He has had his first set of puppy shots, has been microchipped, and is on flea and heartworm preventative.
Meet puppy Red Bud
Red Bud is a big and beautiful girl, born to a mama who looks to be part Golden Retriever/Labrador mixed with a setter or hound. Her mama, Willow is also up for adoption and is a mellow, playful, cuddly and patient dog. Her pups really take after her. Red Bud, who I just call “Red”, really is a lover. She has a red coat, lots of wrinkles, and green eyes! What a stunner. Her energy level is lower than some of her sisters which simply means that she will stop for a second to let you pet her! She is a beauty. Red is nearly house trained, having had the luxury of spending lots of time outside. She has had her first set of puppy shots, has been microchipped, and is on flea and heartworm preventative.
Meet puppy Sugar Maple
Sugar Maple is a sweet, energetic little girl, born to a mama who looks to be part Golden Retriever/Labrador mixed with a setter or hound. Her mama, Willow is also up for adoption and is a mellow, playful, cuddly and patient dog. Her pups really take after her. Sugar Maple, who I just call “Sugar”, has a longer coat that is nearly white. She has a dainty look with a lot of spunk. Sugar is nearly house trained, having had the luxury of spending lots of time outside. She has had her first set of puppy shots, has been microchipped, and is on flea and heartworm preventative.
Chloe is ready for adoption
Chloe is a sweet, gentle dog we had while she nursed her puppies. She is a small dog, about 45 pounds with a beautiful reddish coat. She looks like a Golden mix, maybe with some Sheltie or Border Collie..She was adopted out but her adoptive family did not meet her needs and she was very unhappy. Fortunately they released her to my house again and in just two days she is back to her sweet self.
Chloe is a dog who is very smart and she is used to getting what she wants. Therefore, an experienced dog owner would be best. She would really benefit from obedience training as a way for her to learn to use her smarts in productive ways. She has climbed my 5 foot chain link fence (once) and regularly jumps the 3 foot chicken wire fence we use to separate the yard. However, she usually just stays in the fenced yard with our other foster dog and her puppies. She is not difficult to handle and responds well to mild verbal corrections. She walks well on a leash and used to only need a buckle collar, now a prong is helpful in the beginning. She needs a daily walk of at least a half an hour, more would be best. She is fine with other dogs but sometimes shows some fear at first.
Chloe is not fond of her crate and will protest with barking and clawing at it. I have found that if I ignore this and use an electric no-bark collar she settles within five minutes of my crating her and is fine on my return. I have left her no more than 3 hours at a time during the day and crate her the entire night (8+ hours). She is crated in a room with another dog and that may help her. Her adoptive family claimed she had “severe separation anxiety” but I don’t see that. She spends most of the day with other dogs in my yard and very little one on one time with me. I do think she would like more people time but she isn’t the most cuddly dog. Likely she will be more cuddly when she trusts you. She has been through a lot.
She would do best in a home with another dog and a home where people are around most of the time. She would not do well with someone who works full or even part time regularly. A stay at home parent would be best. She loves my son (6 years old) and his friends but they tend to say hello and ignore her. When she was at my home previously I categorized her as the easiest and sweetest dog I have ever had. I felt then that she could go to any sort of home and she’d be fine. Now, however, she has some baggage so trust will have to be earned by her next owner. But do not get me wrong, this dog has a ton of potential and is very sweet.
If you are interested in giving Chole a forever home, apply through H.E.L.P.
Franklin is very good at hide and seek
Tuesday night, after Chloe returned I went into my room to put Frank Frank to bed and he was NO WHERE TO BE FOUND! I panicked and immediately jumped to the thought, “Bella (our dog who is a firmly dedicated critter hunter) ate him” We started looking everywhere, deciding he must have gotten out under the 1.25 inch space under the door. But so much didn’t make sense…HOW did he get under the door and if Bella ate him, why wasn’t there a “crime scene?”
We looked for an hour and then cried and cried. Ryan was distraught, he said, “I wish magic were real so we could wish Frank Frank back” So sweet and so sad. Finally, at 9:40 Ryan said, “will someone please put me to bed?” and we did. I finally got to bed at midnight and as I was trying to calm down I heard the unmistakable sound of wings fluttering!! I opened the closet door and FOUND him standing in my laundry basket! He must have climbed up my pant legs and was hanging out in my clothes the whole time! What is amazing is that we were all crying and calling out to him and all the lights were on and we were literally tearing the room apart! He never made a sound! That stinker…he seemed very happy for all the attention in the middle of the night…I of course woke everyone up and we all celebrated. Franklin was warm and happy and just sat there chirruping and preening. What a night! Here’s a link to another post of a similar thing – apparently Quakers do this sort of disappearing act regularly if they get the chance.
Chloe returns unexpectedly
Chloe returns
Our early summer foster Chloe (recently called Amber) is back…it didn’t work out with her adoptive family so she is back here with me. Sometimes this happens. Apparently she was acting very anxious when left alone and actually destroying parts of the house and her crates (yes crates). And I posted about her escape from the second story window, right? Anyway she wasn’t doing well and her adoptive family decided they could do no more for her. I have to respect that decision.
SO…things just got extra crazy over here. But the good news is that the dog I saw coming out of the car – ears flat against her head, teeth bared, growling and barking a warning not to get close, tail tucked hard under her, crouched down low – is not the dog lying here calmly as I write. She was VERY fearful in our first minutes together and didn’t stop barking. I just sat there and eventually she came up and sniffed me, backed away and then sniffed again and looked at me. I said, “yes, it’s me.” She then began sniffing the entire driveway, 
every inch of it. For once, I let her lead me and she sniffed her way to the puppy pen. Mike brought Willow out and we walked them together for a few minutes and everyone did fine. Then I put the two mamas into the pen with the pups and watched. Chloe’s tail, which was still tucked but less so by this time, sprang right up and began to wag happily…she remembered! You could see her sniffing the pups, remembering puppies but not these puppies…but it didn’t seem to matter to her after a bit. She licked them, sniffed them all over and lay down and rolled around as they crawled all over her – just like she used to with her group. It was wonderful to see. Meanwhile, Willow took advantage of my stationary position and the lack of puppy attention and jumped up on a chair next to me and let me pet and pet and pet her. Everyone was happy. I just sat there feeling happy for Chloe who has had a hell of a 6 weeks…she deserves this happiness.
The difficult thing for me was that I had second guessed my decision to let this family adopt her in the first place. It is hard not to think “what if I had honored my instincts and said “no” – then none of this would have happened.” I don’t think most people realize the position us “rescue folk” are in – we get these dogs in terrible shape…we clean them up, get them healthy, teach them how to live in a house and give them some manners and just when they are good members of our families we have to let them go…to perfect strangers. We try to screen, interview and I know for a fact that this process of trying to determine a good match really pisses some people off…believe me, I’ve been yelled at a lot more than I’d like to be lately. But we do this to try to prevent the heartbreak that happens when we are wrong…I know that Chloe’s adoptive family is feeling terrible right now. I don’t think there is any easy way to let a dog go, not one that you’ve spent time loving and getting to know. But I just wish there was a way to know for sure if they and the dog will be a good match. I do know that I learn more and more each time I place a dog. And I really do learn more from my failures than my successes…still, I hate to see the suffering.
So, if any of you have to deal with us rescue people, and our annoying applications and redundant questions, please have a bit of patience. We are just trying to do our job well. And if any of you want to give Chloe a second chance at happiness please let H.E.L.P. know…she’ll need a family with a lot of dog experience, one where the main “pack leader” is home full time, and preferably a home with another dog, a high fence, and lots of love.
