Sweetest good-bye, rest and revamp...and a couple pup updates

Wanda got adopted a couple weeks ago by an absolutely delightful woman. She is going to be treated like a queen for the rest of her life and might even get to bring some cheer to patients in hospitals. She retained all her tricks, and house training that I gave her which is wonderful. She has lots of dog friends that visit so she will get to play all the time. It really is one of the best forever homes I have ever seen for an adult mutt from the streets, what a lucky gal! Nevertheless saying good bye to her was heart breaking, I don't know if its because we worked out all the kinks and she was so delightful to have around or just because she was so damn cute but it has been a little bit of a rough adjustment.

I decided to take a foster break and I planned on doing so till I get back from New York January 7th. I am going to New York to do an internship for running playgroups for rescue dogs! Very Exciting. So I took the last two weeks off from the foster scene. The first week was a relief, and the second week was some nice bonding time between Nikki and I, but by the third week...I was bored.

Tonight Nikki and I are having a playdate with one of the dogs that is social from the shelter, Dora. She is wonderful and I knew she was friendly, and housetrained so I brought her home so Nik had a playmate. It turned out pretty well.

I have been working now at Chicago Canine Rescue (Yes I got a for real paying job in the dog field!) for 3 weeks now and I love it! I get to help people find their match dogwise and increase the quality of life for the pups. (I'm even getting to do a little dog-to-dog socialization, which will hopefully turn into playgroups: Huzzah!).

 I have also been doing some behavioral work for Alive rescue. Its been very exciting, although sometimes nail biting, to try and brainstorm solutions for dogs with difficult emotional/behavioral problems, but I am surprised at how much I have learned in a year. I guess the millions of books, millions of hours observing and a years worth of running playgroups at Animal Care and Control will do that to you. I'm stuffed with doggie knowledge.

Anyways I will try to be better about updating...but I like to write when the mood strikes me, and of course when I actually have something to say....Happy holidays everyone....

Here's our sleep over buddy....and a couple other puppy updates.
Although the puppies have turned out to be quite large, they are all still at their adopted homes and their parents have nothing but great things to say about them.

                                                  Darling Dora

                                        Henry Jones

                                          Bandita now Bailey

A fish called...Wait...a Dog called Wanda (Needs a home)

I think I got excited about all the page views when I had the puppies. I understand that it was exciting to check out my weekly pics, and now I am puppiless and back to my primary focus research and experience. I'm hoping I can keep a couple of you around to read my continued fun in the rescue world.

Of course all the puppies got adopted the instant they hit adoptable age, but poor Wanda hasn't had any luck. Its rough for me because at the end of the day Wanda is my best work and the easiest dog I've ever dealt with. She is now fully house trained and has wonderful people/dog skills, but still no applications.
I understand she is 2 years old and a black dog, but I think its insane that this awesome dog has no interest. I heard everyone wants a puppy near the holidays but Wanda is just as cute as a puppy and SO MUCH less work. I am going to keep her here till she gets adopted or as long as I can because I don't want her to lose all the skills she's learned, and I know she was very sad at the shelter she really likes having companions human and otherwise (she even likes the cats!).

The question begs at my mind and springs out of the mouths of others "Why don't you keep her?" Believe me with a dog this low maintenance it is tempting but I don't think my foster journey is over. First of all, I am hoping to own a pit bull as my second dog. Second of all as my wonderful vet let told me, there aren't a lot of fosters like me out there and losing my home will be a determent to the community, so for now Wanda is going to be a long-term foster project (even thought there's not much to work on).

In other fun news my dog, Nikki, caught Giardia, which is another lovely parasite dogs can get. So many wonderful things come from dogs and their love of butts and each others poo. I thought after worms with the pups I was in the clear but the adventure never ends. Luckily dogs can have the infection but not the disease which is the cause so its just seven days of pills. None of this stopped me from the initial freak out of "Is my dog okay?" and "Am I going to catch this."

Nevertheless all is well and being medicated, including Wanda just in case. (I heart my new vet Tammy Schmidt at Broadway animal hospital  she is another dog rescuer and she donates tons of time to help homeless pets, finally a vet on my side!). Wanda takes the pills no problem but Nikki will pick them out of anything! So sometimes I get creative, cheese worked this morning but tonight I had to just hold her mouth shut which I hate. Sometimes she's too smart for her own good.

Some fun tips:
-Bully sticks are not worth the money they do not last long and cost so much more than regular rawhide. By the way these things are Steer pizzle that's exactly what it sounds like.
-Bones are cheapest in bulk at Menards. (I like to give my dogs, especially new ones a bone a day and it can   get quite expensive so I am always on the search to find the best price.)
-The Kong Genius is even cooler than the Kong I suggest buying one for any active dog that has figure out the Kong.
- The Kong Frisbee Extreme is still the longest lasting Frisbee I have found for my dog, even though it only lasts 3 months.

Here's a picture of Wanda to inspire you to spread the word for me and find this classy lady a home!

Final Countdown-Hostile take over of bouncy puppies

As I write this Diamond is perched on my shoulder like a parent. It is bittersweet approaching the beginning of the end of my puppy experience. I go back and forth from: "I love these dogs and they are my children how can I say good bye?" and "If I step in poo/pee one more time I will have a total melt down, get them out of here!"

Nevertheless, on Monday they will be 8 weeks old and on Tuesday they will get their final vet check up. Then starting Wednesday I start taking them to their new homes.

So far Bandita and Stanley are confirmed and approved to be adopted ad I have 2-3 people coming over this weekend to check out the rest. That still leaves some for you the public to adopt so I you have been hesitating its now or never. I have started paper training, encouraging them to go on the newspaper and not cover the entire room in gross, its slow moving but we've actually seen some progress.

I'm hoping I can get 4 or 5 out of my house by the end of next week and things will settle down around. It is a full time job cleaning up and keeping up with seven pups and its harder than I imagined sometimes, but I want to see it through till the end. I can't write a longer post because I am absolutely exhausted and have a lit bit of a cold, but here's some puppy magic for you:

                                              Captain- soon to be kicking it in boystown

Bandita- Soon to live in the burbs

Henry Jones- Still super mellow

Diamond- now nicknamed Dee, loves to sleep next to people and on laps

Samson- Sammy bear still a high energy goofball.

Stanley- Smartest/loudest/proudest

Terese- still a cuddle monster and very quiet compared to the others

5 week old puppy parade

I am really starting to see clear personalities and character in each of the puppies. The amount of pee and poo everywhere is intense and they have started chewing on everything including my hands and toes ouch!, sometimes overwhelming but totally worth it.

 Wanda and the pups hit another bout of to be expected sickness this week as they were given de-wormer. Its all passed now and nothing life-threatening just horror movie icky.

Now that they have all stabilized once again, I can finally say we are in the clear. Seven perfectly healthy puppies will need seven healthy rescue homes in 3 weeks. It looks like our friends that wanted one of the crew have chosen Captain, so only six homes left to find.

Everyday we bring out the puppies for an hour in the living room so they can socialize with us play with more toys/Nikki. It is adorable to watch them drag stuffed animals bigger than them around, and try to pick up tennis balls. I have to be on constant watch though because they have found a true love with cords and sticking their heads in places where they get stuck.

They all recognize me when I come to the door and a lot of them want out of the puppy room all the time. They also lick faces and noses which is neat cause they want to bite everywhere else but some how they know to be gentle with my face :). They can start being trained next week I'm sure that will be a fun thing to attempt.

Wanda can go on walks now, I can tell she is so happy to get out of the house and she does surprising well on the leash. I call her a magic dog because when dogs are aggressive at fences with her she walks over to them and does what seems to be nothing but somehow it makes them stop barking and either retreat or turn friendly. She's a bomb diffusing dog! I've never seen anything like it, very cool.

I got to lead playgroups this week at CACC it was really exiciting to be in charge and decide what kind of dogs to play together, all-in-all 21 dogs got out to play in just 2 hours. I heard recently a half hour playgroup is equivalent to a one and a half hour walk so it was a good day.

Here's the most recent shots of the crew, it is getting much harder to take pics because they are either really active or asleep...

Bandita with a stuffless

Captain near his favorite object

diamond relaxing for three whole seconds

Samson being hilarious he is the class clown for sure

Henry Jones so Wiggly I had to keep one hand on him

Stanley, very cuddly, my personal fav right now

Terese doesn't know she is about to be tussled

Week Four of Puppy Kingdom, the dog beat goes on...

I have a house full of happy/healthy puppies. There are some sniffles here and there but no one is sick and everyone is growing,  even if its at very different rates. I still have some puppies that are twice the size as others but as long as they are eating and growing I'm happy!

The puppies can see now, and are playing with each other Nikki, their mom and people. They are all eating a mixture of warm water and dry food along with Wanda's milk. They have become more active and more friendly. Their little personalities are getting bigger and bigger, every day is some sort of surprise. The only downside is the constant poo and pee clean up and I mean constant. We had some friends over to look at the puppies for possible adoption. They fell in love with all of them and I am overjoyed that one of these wonderful darlings will end up with someone I know!

Although the puppies have taken up much of my time, I still have been doing some other rescue dog work at on the side. One friend had a foster dog who was attacking the dogs she owned and I went to her house to brainstorm some options to get her house back in order. It was great to spend some time with a fellow dog lover. I also continue to take photos of dogs to help out a rescue and consulted on another foster dog who has extreme fearful anxiety.

 I have been working with Wanda our "teen mom" on her listening skills and tricks. She also has decided digging up rose bushes sounds good so I'm on that like white on rice. I feel bad that she has to stay limited to the house and front yard I think the extra energy is causing some digging and extra chewing behavior I try to take it easy on her most of the time.

I had two days of playgroup training last week  and it really helped me work on my skills. Not only do I understand dog communication better, but I feel more confident that I can handle dog fights and altercations that might occur doing play groups. Mostly we should let dogs work out their differences and teach each other how to play and act appropriately. We only need to step in when the dogs are unable to correct each other or are in danger of injuring each other. I know by now I am boring family and friends to death with this stuff but I find it sooooo interesting and exciting!!!

I love helping as much as I can and sharing all the tricks of the trade I've learned. I realize that someday these skills will have to culminate to something but for now I like feeling like a minor doggie superhero.

And now for the pics....we did some fun stuff with the pups this week, some were up to the challenge of a photo shoot some said no way jose!

Captain- 

Finally not the runt has gained weight and caught up to the activity level of his brothers and sisters.

Bandita

The most chill pup of the group mostly sleeps/eats/licks noses.

Diamond

The newest runt but totally healthy, this little girl is definitely a scrapper.

Samson

A bundle of energy, has all his teeth and is not afraid to try them out, such a rough and rowdy buddy! 

Henry Jones

Is long haired and full of life, absolutely loves dry food/water mush, has bunny soft fur.

Stanley

Loves to play, always walks right up to me whenever I'm in the room smart and friendly.

Terese

Once super bouncy, now more mellow and cuddly. Once awkward looking now ADORABLE.

Wanda (black) Nikki (brown)

Taking the smallest of play breaks.

The good the bad and the doggie...more puppy pics

The puppies continue to grow, which is the most educational experience I have ever had with dogs. All the books I read don't tell you anything on the first couple weeks of life for the dogs...

The terrible cough/cold Wanda (the mom) came to us with got to the puppies. I had high hopes when she was all the way better that they weren't gonna get it and a day later runny noses and little coughs were every where.

Some of the puppies were obviously sick and some started losing weight. We feed some of them formula now to help keep them stable along with medicine twice a day. Unfortunately Rott Pott, was the sickest and stopped eating entirely, even feeding him bits at a time made him throw up. He added away last Tuesday. Another shot to the heart. I was getting worried every morning to go downstairs to the puppy room.

I try to think about the healthy pups and how fantastic it will be to watch them find forever homes. Regardless this week was a terrible one. I was in a slump but yesterday I went to a mutt strut to support the rescue and saw some of Ruby's (the pregnant dog we saved off the street) puppies 6 months old chubby and happy. It reminded me how amazing rescuing these dogs is and how I am doing the right thing even if its impossibly difficult at times.

So we have our runt captain who is hard to keep healthy and stable but besides that the other six puppies are doing wonderfully so I'm getting high hopes again that we are in the clear...the puppies all have their eyes open and have started to play and show personalities its really just amazing...here's some pics....

Fragile lives adorable pups

So I was totally excited to blog about the millions of insane things that happened since the puppies arrived but it has been hard for me to muster the guts to do it.

We brought home Wanda and nine absolutely itty bitty puppies on Saturday and we did everything we could to make their lives more comfortable. Wanda was pretty sickly, my primary goal has been keeping her fed and giving her all her medicine and TLC.

Unfortunately all the good intentions cannot prevent accidents, one of the puppies had a nose bleed from an accidental bump. We took her to the emergency room but when they are that small, and young there's nothing to be done. She was keep alive by machines and once she was taken off she passed away. Definitely one of the worst moments of my life. It was tragic and made me question everything I've been doing trying to save the dogs...Even though I was told this is common and there's nothing I could have done that would have  changed it I felt devastated.

But after some words of encouragement and understanding, from vets, shelter managers and close friends/family I realized I have eight more puppies that need a safe place to stay, and a mom that needs a nurse :). So I'm back on the case. Wanda is mostly house trained, but she keeps sneaking the occasional poo or pee in the most unlikely of places so that's fun. The good news is she is great with my dog and my cats and children A+++.

She's getting much better, her recovery from what ever doggie flu she had has been slow going but it's finally on its last legs. We have a designated puppy room (heater included) that needs clean up very often. But sitting in there among the little bundles makes me so happy (even if they are smelly as can be). I can't wait till they open their eyes should be just a couple days. Pic below:

 We have temporarily named the pups.

Rott Pott- looks like a mini rott.
Samson- My fav.
Captain- started out the runt of the litter but he's gotten much bigger.
Stanley- formerly Dot because of his one white dot but dot was a girly name.
Terese- Tri colored female.
Diamond- Shes got a diamond on her chest.
Bandita- She has a bit of a zorro mask going.
Speckles- Whines a whole bunch.

Newest Adventure

Hello all!

The summer was not dog less but it was doggy lite for sure. Working a full-time job and performing in the Circus on the weekends makes it hard to keep up with my "gotta save them all" spirit.

 A quick update

Carter ( my jumpy black lab foster ) although initially returned by owners who weren't quite ready for him has found a happy home with a man and his son and a big backyard huzzah!

Ruby's (The dog I found pregnant on the street) puppies have all been adopted. That's 11 happy healthy abnormally large pups finding rescue homes. Ruby is still at the shelter but is actually one of the only dogs I've ever met that seems to like the shelter so she's ok waiting for her forever home.

Harley- an eight month old Black Lab mix. He was a local stray I didn't get to blog much about, by much I mean at all. He had spent multiple days on the street, had fleas (fun adventure for all the animals and people in the house) as well as scars and some sort of skin condition. Regardless we took him in got him in decent help and fell in love with him but before we could decide whether to just keep him we found him a home that really/needed and want him.
I actually cried he was impossibly hard to give away and if the home hadn't been so wonderful I don't think I could of, but he's in a great place. Wow he was a fantastic animal, already house trained and he knew lots of tricks. We put signs up everywhere and posted him on lost dog websites, I can't imagine the terrible people that didn't wan this dog back but I'm glad he got away from them. He was my first independent rescue and it was very exciting.

Bizmark- My pekingese formal puppy mill resident. We worked on clearing up some of his extreme fears, He had spent all 5 years of his life in a puppy mill crate used as a breeding stud. Although he marked everything in sight the first couple of days, we definitely made amazing progress. He learned that not all people are horrible AND how to walk on a leash and climb stairs for the first time.






Any ways- what inspired me to blog is my newest doggie adventure. Wanda a mixed breed with 9 itty bitty puppies. The shelter was crowded and having a hard time keeping Wanda and her pups healthy, they needed a stress free, illness free environment to level out in. So now I have a total of 11 dogs in the house. The pups will be here at least a couple weeks so hopefully I will have some fun stories to tell their eyes haven't even opened yet....for now I'll post pics of all the pups in this update. I'm sure I'll have more to share soon....

Saved 12 dogs in one rescue

So I don't want to blog when I have nothing to write. But for the last couple of days I have had so much to write I have been too excited to touch a key board...

This is how I spent my Friday the 13th:

Let me try to make a long story short. My Husband and I were about to go roller/blading/skating with the dog (Me on my Skates, Dan on his blades, and Nik on her feet), then I see this golden retriever type in the middle of the side walk a block away from the house. I tell my husband who has Nik's leash to stop, a dog on the street is not always friendly and can easily feel cornered so I wanted to keep Nik far away. (She want's to play with anything that moves!)  I have some treats which I try to entice the stray with, but although she hesitates, she ends up scampering away.

Now, I have tried to catch a stray dog before, and it ending in me falling flat on my face on concrete. You cannot catch a dog if it is sprinting away, so I sadly tell Dan (my husband) "We can't catch her lets get reorganized and move on."

Then the stray in question pops her head around the corner and I realize, this dog needs help, something about her super tucked tail and her body being pancaked to the ground, touched my heart and I said "We have to save this dog."

So Dan stayed out on the block slowly roller-blading and keeping tabs on the dog, while I change out my skates (I am not a fantastic Street skater yet!), put our dog away, and get some supplies: Treats, slip lead and mental composition.

I get out the door and there is no Dan in sight so I just start sprinting in the direction I last saw him, and I find him and our lady stray in a front yard (not ours). Dan heads back to get shoes on and I spend a long time observing our new friend and throwing her treats. I realize at this point she is pregnant for sure!!! Then after many failed gentle attempts I get a leash on her, no luck with the slip lead because she cowered intensely if anything was over her head. Dan and I decide no matter what we will see this dog through her pregnancy to a good home. She seems to be extremely scared of people especially men, and had an old chain around her neck. Not a choke chain just an ace hardware chain all dingy and dark. There were no posters and no owners looking for her and there continues not to be.

We decide to take her to one of my favorite rescues to see if she had a micro-chip. She jumped in the car with us and Nik, and off we went. On the way she ate a couple hot dogs out of my hands, I was very proud of her! At the rescue of course there was no chip, but there were some amazing caring people. The rescue decided straight-up to take her in, they looked her over and decided she was gonna give birth any minute so she was definitely needed a safe place to have her pups. I offered my home, but they were happy to have her and I was happy to know she was in a safe place, so everyone was happy. I named her Ruby and said I would be by soon to visit her. They thanked me for saving her and agreed to text me when the she gave birth. It was hard to leave her there but I knew they were much better prepared for an extremely pregnant dog that has been on the street with questionable health.

So fast forward to Monday, I got the text that the puppies were coming and I headed over as soon as I could. By the time I got there around 2pm Ruby had been in labor since 11am and given birth to 6 healthy puppies. They were beautiful. I observed the next two being birthed which was amazing and then the worker that was helping out, thought Ruby might be finished and went to have a well deserved break. As he walked out my moment appeared.

I was about to suit up, with booties and gloves to help get Ruby more comfortable when I saw her lay on one of her pups. So I called for a buddy, suited up fast and got in to the room. I got the puppy out and safe, but within seconds there were two more pups on their way out. The first one (#9) came out fine, only needed a little tug to help Ruby out, but the next one (#10) was a moment I'll never forget.

 The pup was obviously struggling and not breathing right, I remembered the worker saying he had to help a couple of the dogs to breath so I knew it was time for action. I realized it was my time to shine, the pup was struggling less and going limp. I pressed gently on the pups chest and it coughed and then started breathing and moving again...I was there at the moment it gained life and almost lost it.....WOW....just wow. Puppy eleven appeared about 30 minutes later, healthy and whiny. What a big litter, I am so happy for Ruby, and so pleased Dan and I saved her from giving birth or dying pregnant on the streets. We saved 12 dogs that day. I'll attach some puppy photos for those interested:

Just when I feel lost and directionless in my whole "helping dogs in need" quest, the dogs in need find me. I am truly blessed to have been part of the birth and nothing is better than hands on experience.  Stay tuned. My dog adventures seem to be getting much more exciting!