Hobie

This is "Hobie". HERE is his original listing link. As you can see, he looks pretty average for a shelter dog from that picture. However, that's not what I saw in person.

Below are pictures of him taking his ride away from the vet and the hell he was at before it. I am pretty much positive he is deaf, hopefully it's something temporary, but it's hard telling at this point. I'm going to have to freeze rescuing for a while until I can make sure he's OK. I'll be taking him to my vet first thing tomorrow morning.

Here's a pic to wash away the ones you just saw. 

My new buddy Stevie is saying "Hello"

 This is nice!

 Zzzzzz

 I've turned the entertainment center cubbyholes into new beds

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow morning. My foster mom says I'm too thin and lethargic. She will make a new blog for me once I'm home and settled back in!

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Check out Hobie's update and progress HERE!!!

Sunday Funday

We're planning a trip tomorrow 2/26/2012 to the Devore shelter to rescue some dogs. The past two weeks have been very successful with adoptions, so we have a lot of free space cleared up to save some more.

I will post an update once we're back! :)

Send me an email if there's any dogs you're interested in.
FosteredWithLove@gmail.com

Check out: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Freddie/  on Facebook and add them!

Stevie

Meet Stevie

STATUS: I'm *NOT* Leaving!

(Tons of pictures below)

Name: Stevie

Gender: Male

Nicknames: Stewie

Age: Approximately 2 years

Weight: Approximately 8 lbs

Breed: Chihuahua
Training: Fully housetrained to go potty outside, will use potty pads indoors if left alone; afraid of leash, walks well off-leash - Needs further training for basic commands, crate, and doggy door if desired by new owner. 

Health: Excellent: Vaccinated, Dewormed, Neutered, and Microchipped

Maintenance: Low: Very little to no shedding; bi-monthly baths, brush (soft), gently clean teeth & ears weekly. 

Pup-ality: Follower; Calm, Affectionate, Quiet; Eager to please - Timid but warms up quickly

Special Needs or Requirements: After spending time with Stevie, I believe he'd do best in a home with older children only. He loves other dogs, and would be thrilled to have a dog companion, but he does well in either environment. I have tested him several times for separation anxiety and he has done beautifully; he did not whine, scratch the door, destroy anything, or relieve himself anywhere other than on his potty pads. It is very clear that he was abused in addition to being abandoned, he did not do well in a kennel environment and displayed very high stress and anxiety levels. Upon rescuing him, he underwent a transformation overnight.

Stevie does need coercing to eat his meals (in the event he will not be the only dog). He's much like a child who fights their sleep in fear of missing something, he treats feeding time the same. What I do is buy a can of wet food, and I add a teaspoon of that along with enough warm water to mix it well with the dry food (probably 3 tablespoons). That seems to work best for getting him to eat his meals. I store the canned food in a Glad storage container in the fridge. Much like Doshier, he does have a tendency to be a "hoarder". He will take food, treats, toys, etc.. and hide them all under his bed or underneath me when I'm sleeping, lol.

A harness as shown in the picture above is what Stevie will always need when on a leash (I also recommend these for all dogs under 40lbs). They can be found at Petsmart in the clothing section (not with the leashes and harnesses). Alternatively, if you decide to adopt him, you can purchase the one I have for $15 which is less than what I paid for his.

He, along with all dogs I rehome, will only be placed in homes that plan to keep him as an indoor dog only - forever. Under no circumstances should he be kept outdoors for extended periods of time, overnight, or exposed to harsh elements (except to relieve himself). Should you find yourself unable to keep him indoors, he needs to be returned to me so that I can find him a home who is able to. 

Foster Notes: Stevie is an absolute pleasure to be around, and is so very loving. He does well with dogs of all shapes, sizes, and 'pupalities' as long as they're nice to him. Even with not-so-friendly dogs, he's very good at keeping a distance. He's a really sensitive little guy who confuses easily and gets his feelings hurt just the same, you can normally tell how he's feeling based off of his tail wag (which is very distinct). After being socialized and bonded, he competes for attention and will gently nudge his way through, under, or over other dogs to the front of the line for your affection. He is a cheerful little boy who is overly grateful to have a loving home. He may seem distant with males, and out of nowhere, he will run super fast and jump into their laps. He decides when he wants to bond and once he has, good luck getting him off of your lap! Stevie did well with his potty training, and I assume he will do well with all other training in the right hands, too. He is a ham wherever he goes, and I haven't taken him anywhere without someone talking about his "smile" - He literally has several smiles, as I'll likely mention several times. He has a goofy grin, an insecure grin, a "snaggletooth" smirk, a crooked smile, and a huge smile. The corners of his mouth actually form into grins and smiles, it's so adorable. He loves to go for walks, often enjoying stopping to lay down in the sun, he also likes car rides (he prefers to have a blanket wadded up or a pillow to lay on), he loves to visit other people (especially if they have dogs), and enjoys going to the dog park (we like the small breed side). 

Stevie would need to have a home with a secured yard. I believe he'd be very happy in just about any environment, with the exception of being around younger, loud, and/or rambunctious children (loud noises tend to stress him out/scare him). 

If you feel like Stevie may be a good fit for you, please send me an email and leave your name and phone number. :)

I am adding a special message below that I hope readers will take the time to review. 

This was in his notes from the shelter (from an employee); it is also why I rescued him. "Tried to take this dog out on an interact. Dog would not come to me at all. I put a leash on him and he began to scream. He was targeting my hand when I tried to pick him up. He became very stiff, trembling. The potential adopter declined. Dog is showing high kennel stress and is starting to eat bedding."

Stevie in the shelter

I am adding those notes because I want to use Stevie as a perfect example of dogs who are unfairly euthanized, not adopted, etc.. Stevie had no good reason to trust humans, and was then picked up from the streets and put in a kennel for week after week after week. It also stated in his notes that someone was going to adopt him and once they saw that he wasn't immediately social and friendly, they declined. Upon picking Stevie up, I had him in a carrier in my car and spoke to him all the way home. I kept my hand on the side of the cage. It took me about 20 minutes to get him to come out of the carrier. I spoke to him constantly, trying to gently bring him out. Suddenly he rushed out of the carrier, onto my lap and curled up into a ball. I knew there was hope at that moment. It then took another 20 minutes to get his harness on (unbeknownst to me, he was terrified of velcro) to take him for his first walk (more like a drag, but whatever). 

Next, I introduced him to his first meal which he promptly inhaled, staring at the bowl when finished - he got a refill since it was a special day (I hand-fed him that, as I didn't want him to end up gassy from eating too fast). I made sure the entire time to take the bowl and sit it back down, place my hand in the bowl as he ate, etc.. - I was testing for any food aggression, he didn't mind at all, but did look at me like I was weird. :) 

After allowing time for his food to settle, I took him to the home of my ex where I spend a great deal of time (we have shared custody of our dogs, and are also best-friends). Much like myself, my ex is a dog lover to the core and happens to be a natural at turning antisocial pups into belly rub beggars. I noticed a difference in his behavior, and from there I feel confident to say that he is intimidated by men and it is quite possible it was a man who abused him. I was outside playing with the other dogs when I heard yelping and Alex (my ex) apologizing to Stevie. I forgot to warn him about velcro, and he wanted to take Stevie's harness off, scared him and he snapped at Alex (he did not bite; he snapped, yelped, and hid). We got him calmed down and after 45 minutes, began introducing him to the other dogs (we have 3; a 14 year old male Shih-tzu and Poodle mix, a 9 year olf female Maltese, and a 2 year old male Maltese and Poodle mix). 

His tail went from being tucked between his legs to wagging at hyper-speed. He warmed up immediately to the Maltipoo, "Puddles" and it was beautiful to watch his confidence raise so quickly. Within minutes they were chasing one another around the yard and having a blast. They came inside and when they did, Stevie came in a brand new boy. He ran around, tail wagging, a huge smile on his face and a goal to get as many pets and hugs as he could. He actually did not sleep at all the first 24 hours, as if he were afraid he'd miss something. He would nudge our hands and faces to wake us up, and there he'd be inches from my face, with a big smile - proud he woke me up. 

The following day I kept two strips of velcro which I'd randomly tear apart, each time he did not react he got a cat treat (they're tiny, which is why I use them for training purposes - they're also only 97 cents at Walmart for a decent sized bag). Stevie now loves to have his harness put on and has no reaction when it's taken off. He also has a rain coat that is closed by velcro, and has no issues with that. 

My point of sharing all of this is that if you ever go to a shelter to adopt a dog, or know of someone else who's going to. Maybe you'll remember this story. Stevie was simply terrified, stressed out, and sad. Many dogs put in that type of environment are not going to behave as they would when they're in a home around humans that they trust. Stevie ended up not being antisocial, he ended up being overly-social and the most loving foster I've ever had. 

One Dog, Many Facial Expressions!!