Monday, November 29, 2010

Pics galore and a plea for help.








I have spent the past 2 Sundays at the local no kill animal shelter torturing the animals with my camera. I have taken over 2,000 photos for their use on their website, Petango, and special Animal Angel Tree. I have knees that look as if I have been working the corner if you know what I mean. My back is sore, my eyes are windburn, and I'm exhausted. But it is all so very worth it. Here are just a few sample pics of the babies waiting for their forever homes.

Now that you have seen the pics of some of the lucky adoptables at the no kill shelter I volunteer for, I respectfully ask for donations for Miss Shelby's struggling rescue group. With no shelter, no vets on staff, and no large private donors they are hurting for funds after a few medical emergencies and large unexpected vet bills. If you could all possibly spare even just $1 today to their ChipIn it would be immensely appreciated. Until we raise some funds and adopt out a few dogs we are on an in take freeze which means adoptable dogs such as Shelby will be euthanized in your local city shelter for lack of space in rescue. Sorry to be such a downer, but that's the sad reality of rescue. So few bullies ever make it out alive...

Here is the Texas American Bulldog Rescue ChipIn. I did donate as well- $25. I promise I talk the talk and walk the walk!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Mean foster mommy




Dear Target,

Thank you for the cheap entertainment. The $1 bin headbands fit perfectly on the pups for fun photo ops.

Sincerely,
PittieBoo

*************************************************************************************

Dear Target,

We hate you.

Not a fan of yours,
Bellona and Shelby

Monday, November 15, 2010

What is this red staining?



Hi there blogger friends. Despite having 2 mostly white dogs, I have never dealt with red staining on their fur. Seeing how Shelby was in a kennel for some time, she has red stained white paws and the white on her head is stained as well. We have not yet braved a bath but will later this week- any ideas on getting this staining out safely? I have been feeding her a high qaulity diet that is helping immensely, supplementing with fish oil, and applying a Resicort lotion to help clear the minor staph infection she had on her head. She's definately looking better, I would just love to speed up the process if I can... I'm impatient like that!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Becks and Shelby




By the time we are done with her, Shelby is going to be the perfect addition to a family with small kids. At this point, she wants love, love, and more love. I am turning her raised paw for attention into a high five so it doesn't morph into pawing at you incessantly. I think once she gets comfy enough, she might even be a lap snuggler! I know she's too big for most to consider a lap dog, but compared to mine it works.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Need tips for a timid dog / dog intros

Ok, so I've been all pictures and no talk. Today I am all talk, no pictures. Miss Shelby is settling in as best as a scared dog possibly can. That's where I need YOUR help.

I don't know if Shelby has lived inside a home, but she is potty trained. On night #1 there were no treats interesting enough to get her to venture outside with. She held it all night long. The next morning, I physically had to drag her every few feet, praise and love her, repeat, until we moved past our big bad pool to get to the yard (which was out of sight due to the layout of our yard). Once she saw the grass, she was thrilled and got down to business. Once done, she darted past the big bad pool, shaking, tail tucked, to the back door waiting to get back to the safety of our master bedroom. Last night and this morning it was easier to get her to the yard, but probably because the hard food switch and treats gave her the big D. Amazing that she held it like she did all day and most of the evening.

She likes to lay under my desk or in the safety of the ex pen we set up when we realized that asking her to climb up stairs to a plastic airline crate just wasn't a good choice for her right now. She will explore parts of the house with me, but shakes and tail tucks quite a bit. She and Bellona have met through the ex pen and have shared the same room while awake and sleeping while safely seperated by the ex pen. I have been praising and rewarding them both for good behavior. Bellona however likes to talk a lot and her talking is very growly. I try to redirect her and or have her move when she does that because I can't tell if it is further stressing Shelby out.

Last night, the babysitter who comes over so that I can study 2x a week opened the baby gate I had up keeping Shelby in the room with me and Bellona in the rest of the house. I didn't hear her do this (on the phone with the rescue) and turned around to see Bellona investiagating the contents of the ex pen. Shelby was under my chair and didn't move an inch and made no sounds which is a good thing- I think. I ushered Bellona out just to be cautious. I like dog intros slow and steady. Which gets me to thinking, if I can't get Shelby out of the bedroom, let alone the house, how can I intro them on neutral turf like I typically would after a long walk together? Add to that Shelby is HW+ and I don't want to over extert her or stress her out.

I'd love any tips you have for easing a soft and timid dog into a home. I am being patient with her but would love any insight on bringing her out of her shell and integrating her into our home so we can make her a wonderful family pet for someone. I am so used to pushy, dominant, stubborn dogs that I feel a bit lost with this sweet soul. I really appreciate the help my blogger friends.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Meet Shelby, our foster


Details to follow later. That sore you see if from her rubbing her kennel while stressed. Ouch!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Shelby- our potential foster


Meet Shelby. She is an American Bully like Max and is currently in rescue but housed in a boarding facility for lack of an available foster home. This is where we come in. I will be taking Bellona to meet Shelby tomorrow. If all goes well, I will pick her up on Monday to begin fostering her. I don't anticipate problems, but never having properly socialized my dogs with a large variety, I need to make sure Bellona will be accepting of another dog and that Shelby won't care that Bellona is queen bee. Beckett and I will then pick her up on Monday to make sure a little person doesn't scare the beejesus out of her. Thankfully, with as crabby as Bellona can be, Becks is dog savvy enough to know that Shelby will require special and supervised only handling.

Shelby is understandably experiencing the stress of long term boarding. It's really not an ideal situation for her and as result she is sad, scared, and lonely. We hope to shower her with TLC and help her re-adjust to life in a family situation which will make her more adoptable. Lucky for her I love to take photographs so I can pimp her out properly; it's a fact that great photographs get dogs adopted.

Please shower us (and Shelby) with lots of good luck vibes!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

4 weeks today


To celebrate Maximus' life and not our loss, today I signed up to foster for Texas American Bulldog Rescue. I'm sure we will do some sort of a homevisit/reference check and all that jazz, but I know soon enough we will help save a life.

Dear Maximus, send us a nice dog who reminds us a little of you in all the right ways.

Love always,
Your mommy

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Want to foster / Scared to foster


Princess was my lone foster dog and one I did all on my own. Her integration into my pack was slow and steady- many weeks of baby gates, and even then Princess escaped the gates to make her own hellos. I get nervous introducing strange dogs and thus my dogs have had select friends to play with. Bellona played well with Princess post her adoption after a long walk on neutral turf. I didn't let Maximus play with Princess for a long time because it was so stressful on me; Maximus was so enthusiastic that he often missed another dog's warning that he was simply too much for them and I was worried he would start a fight on accident. Bellona and Maximus do/did great with Sidney who is a regular guest in our home though playing for my old gal is really pretty minimal these days. She gets the odd zoomies, but mainly prefers to lounge and observe.

But my house seems lonely without the force of nature Max was and I know I could help save a life. We always said if we were ever a 1 dog house, we would foster. But now I'm scared. How do I take on an unfamiliar dog with a crabby resident dog who is all alpha, a 3 1/2 year old, working FT, and school. Am I insane? How could I successfully find a foster that would work well in our home? Could it be a puppy? A pregnant or nursing mom? A male? Not to mention that Beckett has told daddy he misses Max and wants another dog (sniffle). Could Becks be ok with taking care of a dog only to let it go? Ack. I feel so lost. I keep hoping Max will send the right dog to us, but at this point, I'm not sure I'd recognize it.

I'd love any thoughts you all might have on the topic- pros and cons welcome.

ps- that's Carlos the Wonderdog, a friend's foster through Broken Hearts Mended Souls Rescue