Possible new foster

Well, Norris' owner picked him up today. It's always hard to say goodbye to the little guy. :)

We might be getting another foster puppy soon. A guy contacted our rescue group about his son's three dogs. His son (Andrew) has a 3-year-old intact male pit bull that he bred to his friend's pit bull. She had three puppies four months ago, and Andrew kept one of them. Andrew also has another 4-month-old puppy (a beautiful blue girl that looks like a combination of Bella and Norris) at his house that belongs to his friend. His friend was supposed to be looking for a house to move into that will allow him to have a dog, but that doesn't seem like it's going to happen. Andrew's dad has been the primary caretaker of these dogs (even though Andrew doesn't even live with him), and he wants to find new homes for them. Our rescue group agreed that if Andrew got his adult male dog neutered, we would take the two puppies and find new homes for them. I really hope we get these puppies. The blue girl is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sure she will be bred if we don't get her. Cleaning up other peoples' messes gets so frustrating and heartbreaking sometimes...

A few new pics of the dogs

Norris is here!

Brent and I are doggysitting Norris for the next week and a half while his owner is out east visiting family. I hadn't seen Norris since the night he got adopted, so I was really excited to see him tonight. He's such a cute, sweet, energetic little guy. He's 16 weeks old now, and he only weighs 21 lbs. Bella was already that big by the time she was 12 weeks old! Here's a picture I took of him tonight:

We almost lost Remy last night. :(

I was at Norris' new owner's house doing the hand off last night, and Brent was at home getting ready to go back to work. Bella and Remy were playing in the kitchen, and Bella got her bottom jaw stuck in Remy's collar. Brent thought they were fighting and threw a baby gate at them and tried to separate them, but quickly realized what was going on. Remy was literally 2 seconds away from being choked to death. Brent said he thought he was watching our dog die when he couldn't get the collar off (he was using a knife to try to cut it off.) Remy deficated and vomited all over the kitchen, but at the last second, his collar popped off. Brent called me and was so completely in shock that he was screaming and trembling, and I couldn't understand a word he was saying. He took Remy to the emergency vet, and I met them over there. Remy has bite wounds on his neck from Bella's struggle to get free of him, and Brent had a few knife cuts on his hands that he had to go to the hospital to get checked out, but everything is okay here now.

I've never seen my husband crying and trembling so much in the three years we've been together. He said he will never forget the look on Remy's face as he was at the edge of death. Part of me is really glad that I wasn't home to see that. I knew Brent loved our dogs, but I discovered his devotion to them last night.

We still have Norris. He had his first experience with snow this week. He absolutely loves it, even though he shivers the entire time he's outside. :)

Vicious pit bull attack caught on film!



My new favorite picture of Norris:

Norris is doing well. He's getting bigger every day!! We've been kind of lazy about advertising him for adoption. I have a friend in Massachusetts who is interested in adopting him, and I'd absolutely love for him to go to her, but it might be difficult to physically get him out there. We'll see! Here are a few new pictures.

Norris is back

Well, Norris is back in our care. (He still responds to the name Norris, and he'll always be Norris to us, so that's what we're calling him now.) His adoption just didn't work out. I'm kind of glad to have him back in our home, though. He's such an amazing little pup!



He's grown up so much in the last two weeks!! Now we have to figure out how the heck we're going to let him go a second time. That's going to be hard.

Happy Halloween!

B & R

I'm really glad that Bella and Remy get along so well. Bella is a dominant female, and Remy is a very effeminate, submissive male. Bella can just throw him an evil eye, and he slinks down and licks her face. He worships the ground she walks on, and I love it that way! I don't think their relationship would be as harmonious as it is if Remy ever tried to challenge her. They're best buds right now, but I know their dynamics could change at any time (especially since they're coming into their maturity.) We just take it one day at a time, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.















I love these two knuckleheads!

My angeldog, Remy

Bella will always be my spoiled rotten baby girl, but Remy has a very special place in my heart, too. I don't know if it's because he came from a neglectful home and appreciates the good life now or if it's just how he was born, but he is the sweetest, gentlest, most trusting and loving dog I've ever met. He wants nothing more than to love on anyone who will let him. When Brent and I have friends over, he climbs up into their laps and rests his head on their shoulders. He is a true lover! He has certainly given Brent and me a lot to be grateful for in our lives. I count my lucky stars every day that he came into our lives.

They grow up too quickly

I'm always amazed by Bella's growth. We brought her home when she was six weeks old (too early, I know!) and weighing only about 9 lbs. She's now 19 months old and about 60 lbs. She hasn't gotten as big as we thought she would - both of her parents are 75+ lbs - but she did grow up way too quickly! Here is a little photo timeline of her growth.

3 weeks old:


4 weeks old:



6 weeks old (first day home):


8 weeks old:


11 weeks old:


15 weeks old:


4 1/2 months old:


6 months old:


8 months old:


12 months old:


14/15 months old:


18 months old:


Where did my little baby go???

Doggy tales

People always ask me how Brent and I got into fostering dogs. I guess this blog is as good of a place as any to tell our story.

When our puppy Bella was about 6 months old, Brent and I began looking for a second dog to add to our family. We passed application and home check processes with flying colors, but every dog we tried to adopt just didn't work out. One dog's foster dad sold him without telling the rescue group, one dog was adopted before we got a chance to drive 7 hours to meet him, one dog developed dog aggression while we were waiting to adopt him. Needless to say, we were pretty dismayed and decided to just give up our search for the time being.

Giving up the search for a second dog allowed us to consider the possibility of fostering. We contacted a local rescue group to see if they had anything available, and they did! A sweet 1-year-old male pit bull/lab mix needed a new home because his owners were getting divorced and moved out of their house into separate apartments that didn't allow pets. Enter Remy. Remy stole our hearts from his very first day in our house. He was so sweet, gentle, and absolutely lovey-dovey that we knew we'd never be able to let him go. When the rescue group told us they had a potential home lined up, we told them that Remy was no longer available for adoption because we were keeping him!

After deciding to keep Remy in March, we took a little break from fostering until August. Since August, we've had two fosters, both of which were placed in excellent, loving homes. Although it is extremely hard not to get attached (I fell really hard for our most recent foster), knowing these dogs are going to great homes where they will be loved until the end of their days makes it a little easier to say goodbye (or rather "see you later!")

Remy's first day at our home (very skinny, stinky, and dandruffy)


Remy today (happy, healthy, and gorgeous!):



Our second foster, Jazzie (9-month-old pit bull mix):





Our third foster, Norris (APBT) - now named Lincoln: