Friday, June 29, 2007

Adoption Appointment!

Miss Jade has an adoption appointment this coming weekend, on Sunday. She did an informal meet and greet with the human family member last weekend. Of course, she won him over instantly with her sweet personality and gorgeous looks. Now she needs to meet the four-legged family member, to be sure the two will get along.

Keep your fingers (and toes) crossed for her. I will post another update early next week to let you know!

See you at the dog park!

Monday, June 18, 2007

RESCUE Bowl-a-rama Fundraising Event

August 4, 2007 is the date for the 5th Annual Bowl-a-rama. This event is huge fundraiser for RESCUE. We have a goal of $50,000 this year for this event.
To quote our website:

"Organized by local animal-loving businesswoman Eileen Proctor, top dog of It's A Ruff Life!, in conjunction with Pets911, this event is part of their continued mission to lend a paw to animals that are currently living a "rough" life. The Bowl-A-Rama brings together over 60 animal organizations to participate in this fifth annual fun-filled day to help the animals.
All pledges raised by RESCUE will go directly to our mission of providing a second chance at life for dogs and cats who through no fault of their own are spending their final days at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control."


Basically, we try to raise as much money as we can between now and August 4th. On the 4th, all the animal rescue organizations come together and take over a local bowling alley and bowl, cheer each other on, parade around in crazy costumes, and all around have fun. The organization with the best costumes wins a prize as does the organization that raises the most funds. RESCUE wants to be the latter in that. We did it last year and we want to do it again this year.

So how can you help? Easy! You can make a pledge to one of our teams. Its a secure online transaction which is tax deductible (you'll receive a receipt in the mail), and only takes a minute!

I'm on the "Hot Doggies" team this year. We're the dog team. There is also a cat team. But of course, you want to support the dog team. Its all about the dog team. Don't forget, its the dog team you want to support. Got that? D-O-G T-E-A-M. So when you head on over to the website to make your donation, you'll want to be sure to indicate the "Hot Doggies" team. We have a little internal competition amongst the RESCUE volunteers: Cat Team vs Dog Team. The dog teams have always raised more than the cat teams, and we want to keep it that way. ;D (But the Cat Team is determined to make it a close second.) When the form asks for a referrer, you can just put this blog or my blog name (AZ Dog Mom).
So scoot on over there before you head out to the dog park and make that donation! We need all the funds we can get, every little bit helps.

Jade Updates

Well, Jade is making herself quite at home in our household. She's adjusted to the household schedule quite nicely. She now crates up when we tell her to (with a little cookie motivation of course) and she knows how to tell us she needs to go outside to go potty. So she's finally housebroken, which is so nice.

Jade still needs some work on the leash, she pulls and meanders, but she'll learn. She's gets regular walks and will continue to need that in her new home. Dog park visits would be a good thing for her too, to continue to keep her socialized.

She's eating great and has put on some weight. She'll be going to the vet on Wednesday to be spayed, and I'll ask them to weigh her then so we can see how much she's gained.

She got a bath last weekend and boy is her coat shiny. I took her picture using the Sepia-tone setting on the camera:

Isn't she gorgeous? I call her our sexy super-model. She's tall, leggy, thin, has great teeth, and she's gorgeous!


Here's another shot of her just hanging out on the couch:


Jade loves to play, but she's still a puppy for the most part, so she's a little rough and rude in her play. She needs a doggie mentor in her adoptive home, another dog who can show her the ropes and teach her how to be a little more polite in her play. She is fine with our Min Pin and she's getting better with our cats. Again, she just tries to play with them (and they don't want to play) and she can be a little rough with them as well. She is cat safe, but the cat will need to be a confident cat that can put her in her place and let her know what the boundaries are.

We think Jade would be good with children. Granted, they'll need to be "sturdy" children, big enough that she won't be able to easily knock them over if she were jump on them or whack them with that crazy Lab tail. ;D She has a great temperament though. We can lay our head on her like a pillow, play with those ears and tail, finger her soft velvety jowls, dance with her, hold her paws, rub her belly, and more. And she just eats up the love. She does mouth a little if you waggle fingers in front of her mouth, but she does not bite down with any pressure, just lots of Lab spit.

She loves to carry around tennis balls and enjoys a good chew toy. She also loves treats.

She is learning a number of new commands. She came to us already knowing how to "hi-five". If you put your hand in front of her, palm towards her, she'll put her paw up to your palm. We have taught her to sit (using an up-turned palm signal) and we're working on stay and lay down. She'll come when called, sort of. She also responds well to "No" and will redirect easily if she's doing something she's not supposed to.

Jade loves her people and loves to be near them. She's always at our feet or right up next to us on the couch. And when she gets too warm, she'll roll over onto her back, legs stretched out to the limits, head turned to the side, belly to the sky. Crazy girl.

She'll be available for adoption by the end of this week. If you know of anyone interested in a sweet female lab mix, send them over to the RESCUE website later this week and check her out!!

See you at the dog park!