Monday, June 16, 2008

Meet Our New Foster Rocky!

This is little Rocky. He's a terrier mix (Yorkie/Cairn perhaps?), or as I like to say, "He's a little scruffy dog!" He's has cute little round brown eyes that just stare up at you, giving him a sad little face. And his hair sticks up all over, much like Einstein's did. Its quite endearing really.

Rocky was sprung from the joint on Friday, June 13th. Being the day that he was rescued from the kill list, and given a second chance at life, it should have been a pretty lucky day for the little guy. But ended up being a pretty rough one instead. That evening we went to a fundraiser event, "Yappy Hour" at a resort in Scottsdale. The first hour went well, he got lots of attention from folks. But then I put him down to get a drink of water. The water bowls were near a door to the patio. One of the guests came in with her dog. The dog sniffed at Rocky and then turned to walk away. Suddenly it turned back and chomped down on little Rocky, picked him up and started off with him, shaking him and all that, as if Rocky were a toy (and maybe that's what the dog thought he was....). I was of course yelling and screaming. When you're in a situation like that, you're not always thinking, you're just reacting. Luckily, someone else did have their wits about them and dumped a large pitcher of cold water on the dog's head. It let Rocky go and I scooped him up and backed off quick. Rocky let out the scream that little dogs scream when they're frightened out their tiny little skulls, which of course scared everyone present, even more so than we already were. We rushed him out of that room into a quiet office to look him over. He has a little sore on one of his front legs, but its minor and should heal up quick. No other punctures, though he did bite his tongue, but it only bled a little bit.

He's come out of it sore, and a little nervous of everything in general, but I don't think there's any lasting physical damage. He was a rather happy-go-lucky pup when I picked him up, but not so much right now. I'm hoping that after a week or two in quiet, stress-free, safe and loving environment, that he'll perk up and be back to normal. I came out of it with rug burn on the top of one foot, bruises on my knees, and nasty sore on the inside of one knuckle (I think the leash ripped the skin when he was pulled from me).

But now its time to tell you a little about Rocky. He's a quiet little guy who loves some lap time. He's a bit of a circus dog in that he'll get up on his hind legs and walk a bit if he thinks there's something up high of interest. He has jumped up onto our dining room chairs in order to get high enough for me to pay attention to him (hey, it worked didn't it?). He enjoys looking out the front window, and even more so if the office chair is pushed up close to it so he can sit rather than stand as he watched the street. Rocky also enjoys the large dog bed we have. All the little guys love it. He spent about an hour yesterday passed out on his back, head to the side, legs up in the air. Here's a picture that I took of the little guy. (**Note: This photo has been censored, as this is a family friendly blog. ;D)



So far, he has not shown much interest in toys or playing, but new fosters often don't until they have been with us for a bit and are more comfortable. He does not try to get Marie to play with him, but he has tried to sniff her a few times. The cats absolutely terrify him and he avoids them at all costs. Even if it means taking the long way around the dining room table.

Rocky enjoys being picked up and held. He likes to be close. He also likes to curl up for his naps in safe little spots such as under the dining room chairs, between the bar stools at our kitchen island, in the little space between the recliner/end table/sofa, under my worktable, etc. He actually briefly went into his crate when I was working in that room yesterday.

He does okay in the crate when we leave or at night. He'll bark for a while, but then quiets down.
Overall, so far he's been a good little guy. He's only had a few accidents in the house, but they were really "marking" more than anything. He's not yet neutered, so its to be expected. There are plenty of other fosters that marked those same places, so he's just letting future fosters know he was there. Think of it as doggie graffiti.

Well, that's about all I can tell you about this sweet little guy for now. As we get to know him better, I'll be sure to post some updates and of course some great new photos.

Thanks for reading. See you at the dog park!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Thursday Thirteen!


I've never tried the whole "Thursday Thirteen" type of post, but I want to try to post more often here, figured I'd take advantage of this. So here it is, my first attempt at a Random Doggie Thursday 13! (And I'll throw in some cat stuff too)

1. If you have a peach tree in your backyard, birds will indeed flock to it. And proceed to feast on the peaches you have not yet picked. And make a big mess, in more ways than one. The ground beneath said tree will soon be sporting many sticky peach-pits. Your dog will discover these long before you do and is likely to pick them up and carry them around the yard, and attempt to chew them. Bad, very bad. Lesson to be learned, do a daily peach-pit check BEFORE you let the dogs out.

2. When you take a brief break from fostering, your own dog will love you more, and then become bored because she has no one to steal toys from or snap at. And you will once again see the elusive scaredy cat on a more regular basis, outside of her feline sanctuary. But you will find you miss having another little four-legged one around.

3. My cat spends way to much time near the water bowl. Chest and neck mats are a real pain to comb out. Much comb-biting is involved.

4. When you have so many leashes hanging on the leash hooks that they start to fall off if you brush by too close, you have too many leashes. Especially considering there are never more than two dogs in the house at one time.

5. Its can be frightening to find clumps of fur in the back of the coat closet. Especially when that fur is from a dog that you fostered over a year ago.....maybe I need to vacuum out the closets more often.

6. Dog + Moth = Me laughing hysterically through the patio door. Good times were had by all, well except for maybe the moth.

7. There's this great new alarm clock out. Its called the Reggie-Clock. At 6am, every morning, it marches into the bedroom and lets out a LOUD and startling "MUR-ROWR!" Trust me, you'll jump so high you won't be able to go back to sleep. And there's no snooze button. (Who knew a 15 year cat could be so loud and demanding)

8. RESCUE is working one of our biggest fundraisers of the year right now. We have until the beginning of August to raise as much money as we can for the Bowl-a-rama fundraiser. This is an event sponsored by PACC911 and rescue groups and shelters all over the Valley will be joining in. RESCUE has a goal of $45,000 and we need all the help we can get!!! So take a moment to visit the website and maybe even make a small donation. You'll be helping to fund our efforts to give homeless dogs and cats a second chance at life and a new forever home. I will be doing a separate post about this soon (I'm on the Leader of the Pack team).

9. When you own dogs and/or cats, you can take them with you wherever you go. Just take a look down at your shirt or pants. You'll see, they're always with you, whether you want them to be or not. Where's that lint-roller?

10. A dog can make your day. No matter how bad your day at work was, you can't help but smile, laugh, and feel calm when you have a warm, furry friend sitting on your lap loving you unconditionally (though a treat won't be turned away). I love my Min Pin.

11. Cats are not always graceful or sure-footed. Neika, our Siamese, is the poster child for the graceless cat. When she's not catching a foot on the top of the baby-gate as she jumps over, or trying to balance on the bars of the clothes hamper cart only to fall into one of the hamper baskets, she's sitting on the bed in a most unlady-like position. A position that compels us to ask her if she'd like a beer. Use your imagination. I came out of the bathroom this morning only to see her lounging on the bed in one of these lovely positions. Really, its a wonderful way to start the day.

12. Could there be a more sad little face than this?

This little guy is Tad. No, he's not my new foster, but he is new to RESCUE. And he just looks so little and sad and scared. Tad is a chihuahua, about one year old and sweet as can be. He's not quite ready for adoption, but watch for him, he'll be up on the website real soon.

13. "Anyone who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog." -- Franklin P. Jones (And Saturday, I will once again get to taste the sweet elixir of clean, as I give Marie a much-needed bath)

Wow, that was tougher than I thought to come up with 13 things. But, there you have it, 13 random thoughts from yours truly.

Thanks for reading. See you at the dog park!

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