Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Meet EMMA

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Hubby refuses to have a facebook page.  It’s all good, facebook isn’t for everyone.   Except he has a tendency to look over my shoulder and ask, “What’s that?”

The other day someone had posted a photo of their dog and he asked, “What happened to that dog?”

I said, “He’s missing an eye, that’s what our next dog is going to be.”

“A dog with one eye?”

“Not necessarily a dog with one eye, but the dog will be black and will either be a Senior or a Special Needs dog; or a Beagle rescued from lab testing.”

“I don’t want a Beagle.”

(I’ll tell you what Hubby always told the kids about “want” but I’ll save that for Friday’s post.)

I tell you all this because today I’m once again participating with Dogs N Pawz for the Tuesday’s Tails Blog Hop and I’m once again focusing my efforts on a Senior.

EMMA 5-14-13 This photo is courtesy of Petfinder.

Meet Emma.  Emma is a ten- to twelve- year-old, fifty pound black Labrador Retriever looking for her forever home.  She’s a very laid back, yet sweet and loving girl who loves the company of people and other dogs. She’s house- and crate-trained, walks well on leash, loves to go for rides in the car, and generally does anything she can to please her people.  She’s looking for a loving home where a senior dog that walks a little slower, and enjoys her naps can have the love and companionship she desires.

Emma is currently being fostered in CT and is one of the Labs being sponsored by Labs 4 Rescue. All Labs 4 Rescue pups are altered, up to date on their shots and have been temperament tested.

For additional information about Emma #22 please email Susan Ekaireb at susanekaireb@gmail.com.

I’m not normally one for asking people to share my posts (of course if you love them and want to that’s totally your choice) BUT when it comes to helping dogs find a loving home to spend the rest of their days.  Well let’s just say, I’m not above begging.

Please share where you can.  Together we really can make a difference!!  This is Tuesday’s Tails Blog Hop.

Dogs N Pawz

 

Lab Adoption Event

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Today I was so very privileged to assist at a Labs 4 Rescue Adoption event, held at our very own training center, The Mellow Mutt.

Labs 4 Rescue and The Mellow Mutt did an incredible job of advertising the event and we had a HUGE turnout.

Sara had set up some of the agility equipment just in case anyone wanted to work with a dog.  I found that most of the foster parents really hung onto their dogs though. 🙂  I mentioned to Ann after that I would have liked to see the dogs off leash running around and checking people out.  The room is a great size for it and with the gates and fencing I think we could keep the dogs safe.

Having never participated in an adoption event before I guess I really didn’t give much thought to how it would work.

A couple of people looking for companions for their dogs actually brought their own dogs.  This is not usually advised, but we figured out a way to work with it.   The Mellow Mutt has two rooms, so we were able to keep the potential adoptees in one room, and used the other room to introduce a couple of dogs.

It didn’t dawn on me that people wouldn’t actually be able to take dogs home with them today.  I completely forgot about the application process and the required home visit.

We had one lady that tried really hard to take a dog home today.  She ended up turning a lot of people off with her pushiness.  So much so that I volunteered to do her home visit. 🙂 I’ll just let you guess how that one would turn out.

Since I’m not officially with the rescue, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do, but I did chat up people and try to encourage them towards certain dogs.

I was really worried about one little labbie in particular, she was a little chocolate girl named Hazel.

Hazel, photo courtesy of Petfinder.com

They say Hazel is four, but she already has some white around her chin.  She gets along with some dogs, but not all.  She does not like cats and they do not recommend she go to a home with small children. Hazel was in a house with small children that were not taught the proper way to behave with a dog.

One of the Labs 4 Rescue volunteers had Hazel in the front room away from the other dogs.   She is such a beautiful girl and so wonderfully sweet, but I could see the worry in her eyes.  My heart was heavy because I thought, “They’re never going to be able to place a reactive dog.”  I spent time with Hazel and could tell what a sweetheart she was and towards the end of the event, a family came in looking for a dog.  As they exited the large room I asked the teenage daughter which dogs she was interested in, she mentioned two and one of them was Hazel.  I got super excited and the Labs 4 Rescue volunteer asked if they wanted to take her for a walk and they did!  I have such hope in my heart that Hazel has found her forever home.

Hubby and I had discussed the event before hand and we were both on the same page about me bringing another dog into the pack.  We agreed it is not the right time for us, but if could have, Hazel would have been the one. 🙂

I did take some pictures but there were so many dogs I can’t remember all their names, so I’ll just put up the ones I do remember!

Sara really fell in love with Cozie.

Cozie is a yellow lab about 5 years old.  Ann said she is having a hard time finding a home for Cozie.  About a half hour before the event ended a couple of kids in their late teens or early twenties came in.  Cozie was the first one they saw and Cozie fell hard for the girl.  As they were leaving the girl said just last night her mom had mentioned they needed a dog and they just happened to be driving by and saw the sign.  They thought Cozie would be perfect.  I told them to go home and fill out the paperwork. 😉

I don’t think there was a dog there today that someone didn’t express an interest in, even the black ones. 🙂  I’ve asked Ann to let me know how many applications they received for the dogs that were at the adoption event today and I will let you know.

This is Maurice, he was one of the dogs the pushy lady was interested in. He is about 2 years old and an awesome dog.

 

Trina, the only puppy there. I’m not sure how old she is. The pushy lady was interested in Trina too.

 

Missy, about 6 years old. Her foster mom says she’s awesome and easy-going.

 

Mea, what a sweet girl. I think she was between two and three years old. She is being fostered with a snarky GSD and she is holding her own.

Can you imagine if all the dogs at the event found their forever homes today?

Delilah Stone…Role Model (Day One Hundred and Sixteen)

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Today after agility class I was chatting with Ann (who does all  the intakes for  Labs 4 Rescue organization).  Ann is very complimentary about Delilah and what a good dog she is.  Today Ann said, “Delilah would be a good role model for any rescue organization.”  I take that on behalf of Delilah and our entire family as one of the highest compliments I could ever receive about Delilah.

I am all for encouraging people to rescue animals, but as I was discussing with Ann, rescuing is not always easy.  When you look at Delilah and see the amazing dog she has become, you are looking many hours of blood, sweat and tears (mostly my tears!) 🙂

You don’t always get their history, the dog may have behavioral issues that are very steeply set in their past life.   Some dogs will be able to put their pasts behind them and move on, while others may always carry their issues with them.  The best we can do is to try to work around those issues so the dog “wins.”  For instance, if you have a counter surfer (someone who likes to take food off the counter) you may never break them of this habit, the trick is to not leave anything out on the counter that the great Kahuna can reach.  When you leave something reachable out on the counter; you are setting your dog up to fail. 

When we are running agility, even if we haven’t done as well as I think we can, I need to end my run with a task that Delilah performs well.  Then I reward her.  She ends her session on a positive note and feels like she has won.

Delilah on the See Saw

 Delilah isn’t the only one who has won, we have a wonderful dog that would be an awesome role model for any rescue group.

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