dogs dogs dogs

Wow I've realized this blogging thing has to become a routine but I didn't realize I'd gone this long without updating. It's not like I don't have time exactly. I am online a lot. It's more a matter of what I do with it when I have it, like choosing to read a book rather than mop the floor then complaining my house is never clean.
Anyhow, I haven't stopped rescuing dogs. It's been crazy at the pound for a while now but I've been pretty lucky (or many of the dogs have) and a lot of nice dogs have gotten a second chance.
This puppy was there this week and available to go so rather than leave her in a scary pound to sleep on concrete, I brought her here until I could find someplace for her. Oh man, puppies are way more work than I'm used to and this one seems to be a littermate to some I got from there a few months ago, which means her mom was a Jack Russell terror....er, terrier. And now that she's older I suspect she's mixed with bassett hound too. She's a bundle of cuteness and energy. Her favorite thing seems to be taking flying leaps into my lap when I'm on the computer. She's leaving tomorrow, thank god.

sponsor a snowflake!

I want to take a minute here to promote this, partly because it's for a great rescue and partly because it was my idea and I'm the one who is designing the page!
For as little as $10, you can dedicate one of our gorgeous snowflakes to your pets, friends or family members! The donations go entirely to supporting our low cost spay/neuter programs and for helping the at-risk dogs and cats in Northwest Ohio find great new homes!

Sponsor a Snowflake

On our virtual adoption page, for $25 you can "adopt" a dog or cat for someone too. You can even name the pet or we'll name them for you. What a great gift idea! (I do this page, too!) :)


Virtual Adoptions

new Planned Pethood website!

This is how I've been spending most of my time over the past few months. We had the website professionally designed with a software program that the volunteers can use to create and maintain the pages. As it turned out, being an art major years ago finally paid off (LOL) and I designed many of the pages on here. It was a lot of fun and we're all very excited by the final product!

Planned Pethood

More cute pictures

I have to post these. I was getting pictures for the (coming soon!!!) new Planned Pethood website.

This is Cody, our grouchy old man rescue dog, meeting Calypso the Jack Russell terrier mix puppy. Remind me to blog about Cody next.



Calypso and Emory, the stray kitten who never left (and who thinks he's a dog.)


And last but not least, one where my daughter, who ends up helping with most of the pictures around here, isn't chopped off.
(Emory is the sweetest kitten, really. He's not as demonic as he looks in these pictures!)

November Dogs

On any given day, I think "I'm going to blog about this!" and before I know it, another week has gone by, and then another. Sometimes just keeping up with the dogs is as much as I can manage. Keeping track of the dogs is another story entirely. Every year I start a list, and usually I lose track before the year is out on that project too.

(This year's list ends on June 20, with the 90th dog. I don't know how many more since then. I'll have to figure it out when I get time. That's a lot of dogs. I take some credit, sure, but most of it goes to the rescues who save them. Planned Pethood has taken most of them but other rescues have helped many times as well. Everyone plays a part.)

I try to get pictures of the dogs I pick up, before they're on their way to somewhere else. Here are the dogs from November.

How Many Dogs Do You Have? Julio

When we first started fostering, my son informed us that chihuahuas were his favorite dogs. I've never been a little dog person, so he had to deal with some abuse over that, but we let him foster an occasional chihuahua as they came along.

Julio originally came from the pound I get dogs from, over four years ago. Back then I was still naming dogs after every friend I've ever had, as well as every friend's dog I could think of, and so Julio got his name from someone I knew a long time ago.

We all enjoyed having him here. My son always took "his" fosters for walks and they slept in his room. Julio was soon adopted by an older woman. When we did the adoption she managed to leave with him before my kids got the chance to say goodbye. I think I was more heartbroken over that small omission than my son was, but we all agreed, he was a very nice dog. For a chihuahua.

Fast forward a few months and we find out that Julio is being returned. Apparently he is door dashing, and taking off on romps through the neighborhood, with his senior citizen owner running behind. His return to our home was a joyful reunion for all. We joked he kept taking off so he could come back, since my kids didn't get the chance to say goodbye.

My kids have always been pretty stoic about the dogs that come and go here. They understand the idea of fostering is saving more dogs and if we kept them, then we wouldn't be able to continue to help. Still, I couldn't make my son give that little dog up twice, and so I told him we would adopt Julio.

I have to admit, I love that dog. He's all chihuahua. When we go on walks in the park, he always has to play tough guy, barking and snarling at whoever crosses our path. He knows better. I say "Julio, knock it off!" and he gives one more little snarl, just to let them know he could take 'em if he had to. It's embarassing; everyone laughs. When I pick him up outside, he growls and then I growl back and then he gives me a kiss. He has to sleep under the covers.

We didn't have any problems with him trying to run away from here, except twice a few months ago, when he escaped from the yard. The first time, the gate wasn't shut all the way and he squeezed his body through and took off, with us in hot pursuit. We ran through a couple of neighbors' yards and then across the road, and then something must have clicked with him because he stopped and let us get him. On the way home, I lectured him in no uncertain terms about trucks and little dogs and how sad we would be if something happened to him. A few days later, he shoved his fat little body through again. This time he made it as far as the neighbor's driveway when I yelled JULIO and he stopped in his tracks and sheepishly came back. I do believe that part about missing him hit home!

With as many dogs as he's helped save over the years, it's only fair that my son have a dog of his own, and Julio is a great dog. I can't imagine what it would be like here without him. And I think I'll always have a chihuahua. Just for my son, of course!

Good Week/ Bad Week

It really makes up for a lot of bad weeks and a lot of left behind dogs when a couple of "ordinary" dogs like these 2 get out of the pound and get another chance. I can't even imagine what rescue was like before widespread use of the internet but a whole lot of dogs are saved now because of email networking, as well as increased adoptions from websites like petfinder and others.

That these 2 dogs are alive is an example of all of that in action. I sent an email out to one of many rescue mailing lists, asking for help on their behalf. Dozens of emails like mine make the rounds every day and are passed on from person to person, rescue to rescue, in the hopes somehow it will find its way to the person who can help. From there, someone else might donate money or act as a contact, and then once the details are squared away, a few more people step up to help transport them to where they need to go. Before the week is over 2 dogs who were within hours of being put down because no one wanted them and they had nowhere to go are on their way to becoming someone's much loved pets, either again or for the first time in their lives.

The bad part of the week is Haven is still missing. Tuesday and Wednesday I had a dozen calls from people who spotted her in the same general location. On Thursday, my daughter and I took 2 dogs out and combed the area for hours, and never caught even a glimpse of her or got a single call. Today a couple of people called because they saw her again. I can't stand it. It's impossible not to worry about her almost constantly. I can't stand the thought she could die out there simply because we weren't able to get her in time. I've gone from confused and dismayed over the lack of assistance from the county dog wardens to out and out angry. I'm not sure what is going on, but next week it's going to change. She has been out there long enough and I have done what I can. She needs to come home now, and I will do whatever it takes to get the help I need for that to happen.