Tyson got adopted last week by an awesome family with 2 kids, and despite the fact that we said we were going to take a break from fostering, we have a new foster. She's a 10-month-old pit bull mix named Dixie. She's super sweet.

Blog-a-thon coming soon!

I'm very excited to announce that on July 28 I will be participating in a Blogathon to raise money for Second Chance for Pets, the rescue group I volunteer and foster for. I will be staying up for 24 hours straight and updating this blog every 30 minutes. The address to the blog is http://2ndchance4pets.livejournal.com

Please consider sponsoring me. Every donation - no matter how large or how small - will help provide vet care (spaying/neutering, vaccinations, heartworm prevention, microchips, flea and tick prevention), food, toys, bedding, etc. for homeless pets that desperately need our help. Since I work directly with the rescue group, I will know exactly where donations are going and I will get to meet many of the pets that they are benefiting.

Click here to sponsor me!!!

Tyson

He's such a special dog!

Tyson update

Well, Tyson the wonderdog is still with us. It's been almost 2 months now. We've had a few interested potential adopters, but nothing has worked out so far. It stinks that a dog with such a flawless temperament hasn't been adopted yet. Oh well....the right family will come along! Until then, we're blessed to have Tyson in our home. Bella and Remy get along with him beautifully, and I'm sure they'll be sad to see him go. We'll all be sad to see him go. When Tyson leaves, Brent and I will probably take a month-long (maybe longer) break from fostering. I hate forsaking dogs in need, but we really do need a break every once in a while to maintain our sanity!








Quick Norris update: He had surgery on his front leg a couple of months ago. He was on total bed rest for 6 whole weeks. Poor guy. He just got a clean bill of health, so he came over yesterday for a play date. Look how big he's gotten! He weighs 52 lbs., but he has a lot of 6-weeks-of-inactivity fat to shed.

I'm officially attached.

It's going to be VERY hard to let this one go!



Don't get me wrong - all of our fosters are great, and I've loved them all. I just don't get attached to all of them to the point where I want to keep them. I think it's better that way. Tyson is really pulling on my heartstrings, though. He's an incredibly special boy. I miss him already, and he's not even gone yet.

Breeders...ugh!

I hate trying to talk people I know out of buying from breeders. It seems like such a circular argument, and I rarely ever "win."

Them: "But I want a purebred dog! Nothing but a purebred!"
Me: "There are thousands of purebred dogs in shelters all over the country. Petfinder.com is a great resource for finding the perfect dog for your family."

Them: "But I want a dog that is registered, so that I know for sure it's purebred!"
Me: "Registration papers do not make a dog more lovable, more trainable, or inherently more valuable than a dog (purebred or mutt) without registration papers."

Them: "But I want to know where my dog came from!"
Me: "Unless you're buying from a breeder who temperament tests, health tests (for genetic disorders, not just an ordinary yearly vet check-up), and who works and shows their dogs, you really have no idea 'where they came from' because their breeding is nothing more than a crapshoot, a 'cross our fingers and hope this turns out well' deal."

Them: "But there is a reason why the dogs are in shelters or rescue groups!"
Me: "And those reasons rarely have anything to do with the dog. People give up their pets for all kinds of stupid reasons: allergies, couldn't be bothered to train them, moved somewhere were dogs weren't allowed, didn't have time for the dog when they had a baby, etc."

Them: "But I want to be sure that my dog has never been abused, so it won't 'snap' on me someday!"
Me: "A stable dog will not just 'snap,' no matter what it's gone through in its life. Look at my Remy. He was neglected and abused for the first 13 months of his life, and I've never know a dog more trusting and sweet than he is. Reputable rescue groups thoroughly temperament test their dogs and only adopt out the best of the best. I'd be happy to help you find such a rescue group."

Them: "BUT BUT BUT! I WANT A PUPPY FROM A BREEDER, AND I WANT IT NOW! *WHINE WHINE WHINE*"
Me: *sad*

Tyson's potential adopter is coming to look at him tomorrow. If all goes well, Tyson will be adopted by the middle of next week! The sooner the better, because I'm getting pretty attached to him!

New foster - Tyson

This is Tyson. He's about 10 months old or so, and he was rescued from a neglectful home by a sweet elderly lady. She knew she couldn't keep Tyson, so I was contacted as a potential foster home. Brent and I totally fell in love with him when we met him on Monday, and it didn't take long to decide that he would be coming home with us. We have a potential home lined up for him, but I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch. ;)






Bella and Remy are doing really well. They both turned two recently (Remy in February and Bella in March.) They've been so patient and sweet about sharing their home with our plethora of fosters recently. We're so lucky to have such good dogs that get along with any dog we bring into the house. I hope they continue to enjoy sharing their home with foster buddies because Brent and I really do love fostering and want to continue it for as long as we're able to.

In not-so-good news, Norris (a former foster and favorite of ours) is going to have to have surgery on his ankle to repair an old injury that never healed correctly. Poor guy! His owner is going to be moving to Arizona soon, so we're not going to be able to visit Norris much longer. We're going to miss him like crazy! He's turning out to be such an amazing dog. He's 7 1/2 months old now, and he weighs about 40-45 lbs. He's going to get bigger than everyone thought he would!

Brody got adopted!

Brent and I now have three (four, if you count Remy) adoptions successes under our belts! We're getting our next foster - a white-with-chocolate-patches red nose male pit bull - tomorrow or Wednesday. We would have really liked a break from fostering, but as long as there are dogs in need, our home will be open to them.

Play date!

Look who we went to see today!! The boys had lots of fun playing, and they burnt off a TON of puppy energy! Gotta love it.

Our new foster pup!

Meet Brody, our new foster pup. He's about 7 months old (just a few weeks older than Norris) and weighs about 40 lbs., I'm guessing. He's a total cutie but is shrieking his head off in his crate right now. I hope he gets used to it soon!!

Our very temporary foster

I picked this little girl up from the shelter on Saturday. She will be staying with us until this Saturday when I will transport her to her "real" foster home.

Her name is Rylie, and she's about 4 months old. She's a pit bull mix of some kind! She was picked up by Animal Control when she was wandering the streets alone. No one reclaimed her, so she spent the last 3 weeks at the shelter. It wouldn't surprise me if whoever was caring for her just got sick of her and let her out of the house one day.





I am in the process of designing a website for our rescue group. It will be secondchanceforpets.com I can't wait to launch it!

New foster

We introduced Bella and Remy to our soon-to-be foster dog today. Introductions went extremely well. We introduced them outside in neutral territory, and they all got along very well! Our new foster's name is Chaos, but we've decided to change it to Brody. He's about 6-7 months old and is the same size that Bella was at that age. His owner is going into the army and has no one to care for her dog while she is away. She decided it would be best to give him to a rescue group than just give him away through the classifieds. He's getting neutered next Tuesday, and we're going to get him next weekend. Keep your paws crossed for us that we find a great forever home for him!!

Our first anniversary!

Today is Brent's and my first wedding anniversary! One year ago today we were married on the beach in Clearwater Beach, Florida in the most beautiful wedding I could have imagined. We were engaged for 16 months, planning on getting married in Montego Bay, Jamaica at the same resort my mom and step-dad got married at in 2002. When money issues forced us to re-consider our wedding location, we decided on Clearwater Beach. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful wedding, and we were so lucky that we had so many family members and friends there supporting us!

I'm looking forward to many more happy years with my husband and doggies. :)

Update on Norris

Norris is doing really well in his home. I can't believe he's been gone for 2 months already! I miss him a lot and sometimes wish we had kept him, but I'm glad that Brent and I will be able to continue fostering dogs in need. Norris is such a special little dog. He's definitely a dominant and confident little guy. I hear he keeps all the other dogs in check at doggy day care. :) Here is a new picture of him:



Hard to believe he's grown up so much in just a few months!

Well....

We didn't get Champ. The people who were going to give him up to the rescue group ended up giving him away for free (before he was neutered) to a 16-year-old kid. :(

I went to the animal shelter on Saturday and snapped a few pictures. It is so depressing there. I'm almost glad that the dogs there aren't given much time to find a home, because living in those conditions just has to be torture for all of the dogs.

A sweet little pit bull puppy that was found running loose. She may be our next foster if she isn't reclaimed within the next week.




A very sweet Boxer/pit bull/Great Dane(?) mix named Sophie. She was a stray.



How can you say no to that face?



A handsome Golden Retriever whose time is almost up. He's about 5-7 years old.






This girl broke my heart. She was the only dog not barking and carrying on. She would be a wonderful pet for an elderly person and would probably make an excellent therapy dog. She was left outside of the shelter on a freezing day inside of a metal crate. How could anyone be so heartless?





I wish I had room for them all.

Bella and Norris play date

Bella and Norris had a play date tonight. Norris will be 5 months old in a couple of days. Can you believe it?? He weighs about 30 lbs now. He's a feisty little guy. I'm glad we get to see him often and watch him grow up.

New foster

Since our rescue group didn't get those puppies, we have another potential foster lined up. He's a 9-month-old pit bull mix named Champ. We're going to introduce him to Bella next week after he gets neutered. I hope the introductions go well. We tried to re-introduce Bella yesterday to a young female that she used to play with this summer, but that did not go well at all. I think Bella is selectively dog aggressive, at least towards female dogs. Ah well...she's a pit bull! Can't blame her for not liking every dog.

Here is Champ:


I'll update next week on whether or not we get Champ!

Remy and Norris play date

Remy had a play date with Norris a couple of days ago. Norris is getting so big! He weighs 26 lbs. now. Puppies grow up way too quickly!







Well, our rescue group is not going to be getting those puppies. The kid who owned them gave them to someone he knows. I really hope they get spayed and neutered. :(

Myspace!

Bella and Remy are on Myspace. Check 'em out and add 'em if you have a profile!

http://www.myspace.com/bella_remy

Lazy pants Bella

Bella is usually hell on wheels, but she has an occasional lazy moment. :)

Rescue pups

Here are the pups I mentioned in the previous post: