bye bye Sky

Sky got adopted today. He will be with us a few more days until his neutering surgery and he goes to his forever home. I need a transition period before someone has to pry him from my fingers. :(

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He? She? Whatever.

Apparently I don't know the difference between a male and female cat. I have 2 male kittens. To be fair, there's really nothing going on down there...

And Sky's eyes aren't blue anymore so the name is pretty stupid now.

They are getting so big! Their new favorite game is to play with me while I'm asleep. Someone is rubbing against my head or hands all night long. Being wakened in the middle of the night by whiskers tickling the inside of my nose is quite startling. But they purr and lay still finally on my head or neck somewhere and I'm lulled back to sleep. I really am in love.



We are pretty convinced that we need to have a forever cat of our own

Eat. Play. Poop.

So now we have 2 kittens to add to the bunch. Apparently a herd of 13 kittens were anonymously dropped off at the shelter one night, all shoved into 1 cage, cold and hungry for who knows how long. Anyway they are too  young to be adopted but old enough to eat canned kitten food with milk replacer dressing.

I don't know how I get myself into these situations. What do I know about taking care of kittens? It's taken some trial and error to keep these tykes happy and healthy. The fuzzy furballs are going to eat me out of house and home. They can really pack away the food! With that comes a very full litter box. As soon as I clean it, they hop right on in and fill it some more. Finding a litter that will mask their stench has also taken some trial and error. Ick.

But on to other things that make all this worth it. They are so darned CUTE! They play together so adorably, rolling around in a large(r) furball and playing tag up and down the hallway. Their 'meow' is the cutest little squeak to let us know when they want to eat or be snuggled.

This is Sky, named after the color of her eyes.


She is the cuddly one. Her main focus in life is to hang out with her humans and cuddle as much as possible. This has lead her to perfect the art of climbing. If we aren't paying enough attention to her, she will climb into our laps and force us to. The first time she appeared in my lap out of nowhere I was shocked. Later I found out she had climbed my pant legs to get there. Wow, I was really engrossed in my work!

This is Thirteen, named after being in a litter of 13 and to make her a lucky black cat.


She's the independent adventurer. She will go anywhere without fear to check something out. She is also my silent intellectual. She gives wonderful eye contact, like she is trying to have a conversation with you. Although she does prefer to keep her distance, Thirteen has her cuddly moments too, especially at night when she is sleepy.

Here are just a few of the numerous pictures snapped since they have been here. I love them!

The Staring Game

Jenny has made some progress with her people socialization. She seeks me out more and more to be pet. The first time she did, I was sitting at my computer and she jumped up on my lap, scaring the crap out of me. (Seriously, I may have made a stain) She will either sit on my lap with her two front paws over one of my arms or she will walk on my desk and run against me and the computer monitor. My monitor is touchscreen so her little butt makes everything move around. There's no getting any work done. But what can I do? She stole my heart.

She doesn't seem to have any desire to explore the rest of the house. She stays in her safe room and sometimes comes into the bedroom during the night. The only reason I know that is because of the crashing noises.

We've made a couple of attempts to introduce the dogs to her. Eh, that's something we need to work on. The dogs love her but she wants nothing to do with them. The dogs are pretty calm now when they are in the same room with her. Mysty does better than Leo. (I never thought I'd say that in my life) Mysty can actually be in the same room and relax without acknowledging the cat.

Leo, on the other hand, must play the staring game. Jenny and Leo will sit a few feet from each other and just stare and stare. Nobody dares to blink or look away. I've got my very own Wild West showdown! Occasionally Leo will get brave and approach her within inches to sniff. Jenny growls and hisses in disapproval. He snaps at her, she swipes at him and the chase begins. I'm not feeling the love...






Related Links:
Adopting a Cat - Introducing a Cat to a New Home: Adopted Cats May Refuse to Eat, Hiss or Hide in an Unfamiliar House
How to Introduce a New Cat to Dogs: Tips for Bringing Newly Adopted Cats Home to Meet the Dog
Dog Not Getting Along with Cat | Cesar Millan

Reunion

Yay! Lost dog just went home. His owners found the posters and called. Awwww, my heart feels warm and fuzzy :)

Latest Motel Guest

This is our latest guest at the Sands Doggy Motel. 

We found this guy last night creeping around the front yard. Mysty spotted him out the window first and went nuts. When the dog saw me looking out the window it went to the front door to be let in. Of course he didn't have a collar on.

He is the sweetest little guy, so friendly and curious. I think he's still a puppy because of the way he walks and behaves. He's kinda clumsy like his feet are too big. He also will jump up and chew on anything. Mysty and he acted like long lost friends and played tag for the longest time in the backyard. No one got much sleep last night because of his whining and Mysty's sympathy howl.

This morning we walked around to different houses to try and find who he belonged to. No one had ever seen him before. This afternoon I made posters and put them up around the neighborhood. Hopefully someone will claim him by Wednesday. Vacation starts and the motel is closed!

Look at me!

Guest Blogger! Jenny the Cat

Hello all! My name is Jenny. I was bored today and decided to test out this "computer" that's in my room. I see my foster mom on it all the time and wondered what the fuss was about. It's quite fascinating, especially after I found the pictures of me! What a gorgeous specimen I am. Meeeow >^..^<

Sock drawer, mmm, laundry fresh

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was at this shelter, minding my own business for almost a year when a nice lady came and brought me home. That's my foster mom! I was a little shy at first, being in a new environment and all, but quickly felt very comfortable. There's so much cushion here! I have my very own bed in my very own room. I let my foster mom come in and use her computer. It's no problem, I like her. Sometimes we even take naps on her bed while she pets me for hours and hours. I definitely can get used to this life...




My foster mom says she loves how affectionate I am and I'm the best cat she's ever had. I'll take that as a compliment even though I'm pretty sure I'm the ONLY cat she's ever had. I rub against her and tell her it would be OK if she kept me for herself.




She lets me nap all day and explore the house at my own pace without those 2 smelly dogs around. Seriously, what is with those two? Take a chill pill, I say, and back off! I think she should get rid of those ridiculous canines and keep me. Then I would be in total heaven.

Discovery Channel

Whoa! I just saw Jenny use the litter box for the first time. It was fascinating! There's so much scratching and digging and burying involved. I had no idea. Makes quite a mess too. It's like watching my very own Discovery Channel in my house.

The New Kid

Meet the newest foster kid! This is Jenny Cat.



Surprised it's a cat? Me too! Reasons why I never thought I'd have a foster cat:
1) I don't know anything about cats.
2) I've never had or lived with a cat.
3) I am very allergic to cats

But this little Siamese needed me. The shelter director suggested I take this cat to "make it people friendly". Whaaaat? Apparently she didn't like being touched and protested loudly when picked up. According to her paperwork she was found as a stray and she is 1 1/2 yrs old.

She's only been in our home for a day so far but we've made some progress. Jenny has her own 'safe' room with a bed and scratching post. After some petting she can't seem to get enough! It feels so good! After her initial shyness wore off, she became such a little cuddler. She would sit on my lap in my office while I'm on the computer for a long time.

She definitely still doesn't like being picked up. And she doesn't like being in the rest of the house. I brought her to the kitchen (sans dogs) and set her down. She ran away and hid. That's OK, Jenny. We have plenty of time to take it slow.

Hiking Hounds

Today I went to the shelter for Hiking Hounds. That's when volunteers get together and go hiking with some of the shelter dogs. I and 3 other volunteers randomly picked dogs out of their cages and took them on a hike across the scenic acres of the farm the shelter resides on. We picked 1 or 2 dogs, depending on what we could handle, and walked them for a mile. Then we put them away dog-tired (pun intended) and picked new ones, doing this a total of 4 times. We ended up walking 16 dogs before exhausting ourselves.

These dogs were so wonderful and grateful to get out of their cages! Once we got started on the hike most of them were great on the leash. Along the way we would stop in the shade and give them some love and much needed attention. Every single one of the dogs were so sweet. They got along with us and each other.

A 3-legged dog even got to go on a hike. He prefers to be called "handi-capable" and insisted on being the leader in the front.

Do you see your forever friend? If not, there's 500 more dogs to choose from!

Raven's been adopted!

Raven was just adopted by a family at PetSmart. Good luck, Raven. You deserve it.

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Leash Training

Raven is not that great walking on a leash. To be fair, the only time I ever had her on a leash was to go in and out of PetSmart on the weekends. There's lots of excitement for her in that. If the leash was attached to the collar then she could yank me around, crossing in front of me and making me trip. It was a mess. I switched her to a harness so that I could maintain more physical control but she was still pulling with all her might so that really wasn't a solution.

Recently I was watching some Dog Whisperer episodes and in one of them something Cesar said struck me. He was training an owner to walk 3 excitable and strong Huskies properly. He told her not to pull tensely on the leash.

Cesar, are you telling me that if I don't pull on the leash, the dog won't pull either? Shut up, it's not that simple. Is it?

To test his theory we went on a family bonding walk this morning. I reconfigured Raven's leash as a slip loop and placed it high around her neck by the head. Away we went.

At first I held the leash high by pulling up so it was perpendicular to her. She couldn't pull me that way. Once she realized she wasn't getting anywhere, I loosened my grip on the leash and let my arm hang loosely by my side, giving her about 2-3 ft of leash space. If she started to pull I gave a quick, gentle tug as a correction.

She actually responded! She would slow down a little after the corrections. The leash was always taut but my arm was never tense. A few times the loop slipped down her neck. Then she put her head down and went into pulling mode. We stopped so I could slide the loop back up her neck and we were back in business. When passing barking neighborhood dogs, her ears perked up and she got a bounce in her step. But otherwise she was good. If she tried crossing in front of me I gave her a nudge with my leg. That solved that.

It was such a pleasant walk and I'm so proud of my girl. I'm so proud of ME! Heck, I was the one walking her wrong obviously. Sorry about that, Raven. I'll do better from now on.

Here's an excerpt from the episode I watched. Full episode is below. It is one of the best episodes that I've seen and definitely worth a look.


episodes expire periodically so watch while you can!

PetSmart Hard Ball

Raven hasn't been adopted yet this weekend at PetSmart. A woman was very interested in Raven and left to "go get money". She never returned. Oh well, her loss. Tomorrow I think we need to change tactics. It's time to play hard ball. Raven needs to stick out from the crowd.

What do you think?

Princess Raven



Party Girl Raven



Cool Raven



Pathetic Raven

Raven loves the Blue Moon Cafe

In the spirit of socialization, Raven went to her first outdoor cafe, the Blue Moon.



After a couple minutes of excitement she calmed down and started to people watch.



The live acoustic music must have been very soothing to her because she fell fast asleep.



All in all we had a relaxing dinner. Good food, good company.

Stuck

My graphical demonstration of how 2 dogs went into a cage and got stuck. 'Nuff said

Cuddle Bug

Raven is such a little cuddle bug. Who couldn't love her?

Counter Surfer

"HEY, where's my steak!" is what I hear from the kitchen one night last week. "Oops..", I think to myself. I answer, "I forgot to tell you that Raven is a counter surfer. My bad!"

You can't turn your back on your food for a second! I guess we didn't learn our lesson because last night Raven also snagged 2 homemade veggie burgers. At least the plates were licked clean as not to leave any evidence. 

Oh Raven, it's a good thing you are so cute and act apologetic. 

Pathetic face

PetSmart #2

No takers for Raven last weekend at PetSmart but there is a family that is interested. Stay tuned!

Ain't nothin but a hound dog ...

Every shelter dog is bound to have some issues. They just can't help it. If they didn't have issues before they were surrendered, then they developed them in their caged dog-eat-dog world.

Raven is no exception. Raven is part hound. For those of you who don't know, hounds are very vocal. It's in their breeding to alert their hunters that they're onto something.

That being said, Raven also has separation anxiety. UGH... I don't blame her. Her former family of grown-ups, little kids, and other dogs abandoned her because they were "moving to Germany". She wasn't going to let that happen again! Her unsettled hound mind gets very upset when a human leaves her sight. It's so bad that I can't even leave the room. I can't even pee in peace! She frantically starts whining and pacing. If you've ever heard a nervous hound whine, you know it's relentless and annoying. So begins our training...

I blocked off access to the hallway and bedrooms with a baby gate so she couldn't follow me everywhere. We started slow with me going to a bedroom for a couple minutes at a time. I would supervise her at potty time and then leave her outside for a few extra minutes to ween her off me. Of course she whined and cried but I remained strong. At bedtime, we have a routine. The dogs go outside one last time and when they come in they can have a treat after laying down. For Raven, she had to go in her crate and sit. (baby steps) The first couple of nights she whined and shook her cage. Luckily, after being told to lay down and be quiet, she did. I heard random whining through the night but nothing too concerning.

Fast forward to day 7. Raven has settled in and her spirit is calm. I can walk around the house without her getting upset. She looks forward to her bed time snack and goes into her crate automatically. I didn't hear a peep out of her last night. She goes outside to take care of business on her own now and stays to play instead of jumping and whining at the door. She stills whines in her crate when I leave the house but it's getting better every day. Such a good girl!

Now let's work on that jumping on people...

Related links:

5 Tips for Separation Anxiety | Cesar Millan

Walky Dog Bike Leash is made in Heaven

On Raven's paperwork it said "high energy". Boy, they weren't kidding! Throwing a ball in the backyard does nothing to wear her out. I want to see collapsing! Gasping for breath! Well it looks like I'm going to have to take it up a notch. I'm not really an energetic person myself so what am I to do? Take her for a run? Work on getting myself in shape? NO! I like to think of myself as working smarter, not harder. That's where the Walky Dog Bike Leash comes into play. I attach this baby to my bike then attach said doggie to the contraption from heaven. We cruise down the street at 6 - 8 mph. While I barely break a sweat, Raven is at a full trot with her tongue flopping out the side of her mouth.

MISSION COMPLETE!

Try to keep up!

Meet Miss Raven

When Kitty was adopted at PetSmart after only 2 weeks living with me, I was devastated. So I did what any dog lover with a hole in her heart would do; I picked another dog on the spot! Raven caught my eye because she seemed like a PetSmart regular. She was a favorite among the Haven volunteers but just couldn't seem to get adopted. That just won't do!

Instead of describing Raven to you, I think a video montage is in order.



Raven is a 2 year old lab / hound mix.

Pookie Bear

This is my neighbor's dog. She gets out of her yard every day to come visit me and give me a tail wag and puppy dog eyes to come in. I said "No, dog, regardless of what you hear I am not running a doggie hotel in here." So she sleeps under my truck all day and guards me from the occasional delivery man. I thank her with a belly rub and bowl of ice water. I've named her Pookie Bear.

How Mya Saved Jacob

Dogs are so incredible. Here's an article about a service dog who helps a veteran with PTSD.

After the war, Jacob thought he had put the worst behind him. Then the panic attacks and depression began. Just when he had nearly given up hope, he found an extraordinary soul who ended the nightmares.

Mya senses something wrong. Sitting in the back of the SUV as they barrel down a back road, she detects a change in the air. Jacob is driving, on their way to camp in the Grand Canyon. Though Mya met Jacob only a month ago, she knows him better in some ways than he knows himself. With his ‘yes ma’am’ Southern twang and lanky, broad-shouldered, 6-foot-3-inch frame, he can seem like a big, easygoing guy. But there are times, urgent times, when Jacob needs Mya.

Outside the window, the desert hills that stretch as far as the eye can see might as well be in the Middle East. A car comes up behind their SUV-the first car they have seen for many miles-and it passes them, kicking up a whirlwind of dust. Mya doesn’t even look to see Jacob’s shoulders tighten. She leaps into the front seat just before Jacob slams on the brakes. They skid to a stop, and in an instant Mya is on top of Jacob, licking his convulsing body so hard she almost seems to smother him.

read the rest of the article here

Kitty is adopted!

Kitty found her forever home after 2 weekends of being at PetSmart. Good luck with your new family, Kitty. I'll miss you :(

The UN-welcoming committee

Don't they look sweet and innocent?

This is my UN-welcoming committee, Mysty and Leo. When I brought home my first foster dog, Kitty, they were not pleased to say the least. My sweet babies turned into ugly, snarling monsters going for blood. My Dr. Jekylls turn into Mr. Hydes

I couldn't have this civil unrest in my house. This is MY house and I'M the Alpha here! (she says trying to convince herself) With a calm, assertive manner I started my training. The 3 monsters were supervised at all times. If I couldn't pay attention to them even for 1 minute, Kitty went in her crate for protection. Here are some tips from what I figured out:

• ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO yelling! - It only escalates the situation and does nothing to calm anyone.
• Stop the madness before it starts - Figure out the signs just before the attack. In my dogs' case they froze in each other's face, head down, and their tails stopped wagging. Butt sniffing OK, eye staring BAD.
• Snap out of it - When you see the signs, intervene. Put your entire body in between them to back them away and show "dominance" while making an abrupt noise to get their attention on you, like clapping your hands once or snapping your fingers. Once I had their attention their tails starting wagging again and crisis averted.
• Exercise, exercise, exercise - In the morning I would exercise my dogs vigorously using the Walky Dog Bike Leash. At night we would all go for a family bonding walk. All the dogs walked peacefully side-by-side, with determination on the road ahead. 

That's basically it. I had low expectations for them. I was going for co-existing by ignoring. Much to my surprise on day 3 they actually played together for a couple minutes! It ended in a fight but still... so proud! Each day got progressively better until by the 2nd week there were no more fights. 

One big happy family!

Sharing a bed!

Meet Miss Kitty

Kitty with her new pal, Sofi

This is Kitty. She is my first foster dog. She is a 1 year old Pointer mix from the Haven - Friends for Life shelter. Sofi and I were at the shelter putting in some volunteer time by going around to dog cages and feeding them medicine, checking for boo-boos, and giving general love and affection. For me, by the 100th dog, they all blended in together and I was in love with them all. Hey, I don't discriminate. Three hours later we were pooped (no pun intended) and ready to go home. I asked Sofi if there was any dog that stuck out to her that we could take home to foster. She led me to Unnamed Dog, remembering that she had seemed very friendly to me and gave me kisses when I was in her cage. Sold!

Sofi named her Kitty. Don't ask me...

In honor of Kitty and our momentous occasion, we made it on the local news! A reporter, Maggie Alexander from NBC17 Raleigh, was at the Haven doing a story on the Haven's deadline for meeting the Dept of Ag demands. What a special way to start our friendship!

Up to no good

Welcome to my Foster family!

This is a blog about my adventures with foster dogs. They come with their hang-ups but boy they can love. I can't believe I didn't foster sooner.

As a welcome, the fosters wear their very own collar and tag, complete with phone numbers on the back.

When we go out in public, they wear this cape. It's too adorable!

Stay tuned for the doggie adventures!