Think Before You Give

Do you read The Onion? It is a wonderfully satirical human observation "news" e-zine. Charlie forwarded me one of their articles the other day that really rings true when you're someone like me who sees these beautiful little babes each week.

"Last of the 2008 Christmas Puppies Euthanized, Marking Start of Spring"

Read it and hear the truth that is only seen at the darkest hour.

Meet Zoey. She's a beautiful little Border Collie who was returned to the shelter this week because she was jumping on people and running around all crazy-like. Her former owners suggested that she needs a home with a fenced in back yard … Ya Think!?!

She's a Border Collie; she's made of pure energy. She needs more than a back yard. She needs someone who's going to take her on lots of walks, take her to Agility class, and find a Herding class. She needs lots of work to do for you to please you.

Suzie (ID: 49576)

Here's my bully of the week, Suzie. She got me with those adorable polka dot ears! She is a very sweet girl who doesn't seem to be one of those "crazy" bullies. She was a very good girl during her whole photo shoot. She was quite the little cuddler.

Sadie (ID: 2678)

Sadie here has a mouth on her. She couldn't stop barking to get my attention. She was very sweet and by her number she's from the "way back" days of the shelter. She is a lucky girl as she is going home. I didn't see the note 'til after our photo shoot – "hold for owner."

Shaude (ID: 49693)

Shaude's (pronounced "shadow" – she told me) story isn't as happy. Her owners had to take a second job and couldn't care for her. How horrible is it to have to hand your 12-year-old dog over to the shelter? We can be angry that such an awful thing has been done, but with a little faith in humankind we can thank God that we have never been in a situation where our only, ONLY, option we could see was to turn our companion of a lifetime over to the county animal shelter.

If you know of someone who's looking for a nice, mellow, older dog to spend some quality couch time with, please pass Shaude's information along.

Stella (ID: 49484)

Isn't Stella a beauty? For being in the kennel next to Sadie she had a wonderful calm energy about her. I think she would make a good snuggler.

Fifi (ID: 44854)

Fifi was in need of a photo shoot. I mean, why else wasn't this small cute puppy being adopted? I found out that she is a HOOT! Pure spastic energy – most of my shots were just a blur of nose and ears. She couldn't sit still for more than a second. She so wanted my love and especially my attention. I spent a little time with her after I got a few good shots. I wanted to see if I could get her to calm down some. She needs Fido Fitness to get rid of some of that excess energy, but she's too young. I used the "I'm not going to pay attention to you if you're acting like a spaz and jumping on me" technique. I had to stand up and turn my back on her quite a few times, but she's a smart little girl and it only took a minute or two for her to learn that to get my touch she needed to remain on all four paws.

Well, that's it for this session. Remember, pets are not good impulse buys or presents. Get a shelter gift certificate instead. It can be used to adopt a pet or to sponsor a pet that needs additional vet care, such as heartworm treatment.

We're Back!

Funny how those two words can cause two very different emotions. I'm happy to be back from vacation using my camera to help make some dog's life just a little better. But I'm saddened that in the last couple of weeks the Center has had a lot of returns.

Three that are part of my paparazzi posse are Sable, Marko, and Cameron. I didn't get a chance to see Sable as she went in to foster care before I got back from vacation. I vaguely recognized Marko Tuesday night; he has really grown – I guess that shows that the family was feeding him well. And then there is Cameron. He was a volunteer and staff favorite and everyone worked so hard to get him adopted. There isn't any return info in the database but one of the volunteers I talked to said she heard that his owner's wife never gave Cameron a chance because of his breed.



Sable (ID: 37300)



Marko (ID: 34677)



Cameron (ID: 31506)

Yes, the bully breeds require more special handling, but all of the ones I've met at the Center have been very sweet. In fact, there were four last night alone. Blondie and Bobbi are just little bitty things still full of puppy energy but looking for love and giving out kisses.

Blondie (ID: 48938)

Bobbi (ID: 48932)

Phillip is beautiful. The chocolate brown of his coat is just so luscious. He was a good boy but will need to learn some manners about accepting treats and not taking off fingertips.

Phillip (ID: 49197)

It was Chloe's first day at the Center. She wasn't too sure about me coming in to her kennel to start with, but once she realized I just wanted to give her a little love and treats her tail started wagging. Still, it took me a while to get a good "ears up" photo of her. I must say that I am partial to the close-up shots I am able to get now and again.
 

Chloe (ID: 49454)

Chloe's Close-up

It was tough to get a good photo of the two fluffy dogs I photographed last Tuesday night. There wasn't a lot of contrast in the coat and eye colors, and they were moving too fast.

With Trey, it was his first night there. – He was an owner surrender. – He wasn't frightened like Chloe; he was just more interested in watching the door for someone to come get him. He was somewhat strange for a dog as he had no interest in the Pup-Peroni® I had. He shouldn't have to wait too long to find a new home – he's cute, calm, fluffy, small, and a cuddler.

Trey (ADOPTED 3/16/11)

Little Bear is a puppy … ALL puppy. He is small. He is just 3 months old. And he is fuzzy. All these things put him first on my list and the intention to sit and cuddle with him for a little while. We didn't get much cuddling done. He was full of energy and play. He was pretty adorable in the way that he jumped up to give me kisses and tugged at my gown.

Little Bear (ID: 49036)

Don't forget to sit down and have a cuddle with your own little pup (no matter what age) this week.

My Trio of Heroes

You've heard of Batman.
You've heard of Robin.
And how could we forget Bat Girl?

I certainly can't, because tonight I was able to capture Bat Girl on film!

Bat Girl (ID: 48629)

 Okay, okay, my camera is digital, but it just doesn't sound as cool in print.

Rule #1: Never mess with Bat Girl – she don't play dat! 

She is really a very nice dog. She was barking at me when I got that crazy shot of her. She is full of energy but a sweetie all the same. She really wanted to play – a bouncy happy girl. Lots of walks, a yard to run in, and Canine Good Citizen classes would be a perfect home life for her.

Jillian (ID: 48566)

Jillian is one of those sweet bullies that is so very gentle when she takes the treats. I love the photos I got of her. She's still a puppy and has lots of energy. She cuddled with me for a little bit, but she had too much energy to sit still for very long.

Bruer (ID: 47038)

Bruer is back. I knew his name was familiar and I thought we had some good photos of him. Still his kennel card said otherwise so I got in the kennel. He had lots of energy and was camera shy. I got one good shot out of the gate and that was it.

After processing Tuesday night's photos I went looking through my archives and found the first photos I had taken of Bruer in January. He was camera shy that time as well – I think I got three mediocre shots – but his personality was much more skittish and frightened of things back then.

Cookie (ID: 47295)

Cookie was visiting with a potential new family member – how cute is this look! It's in the running for cutest puppy photo EVER.

Chloe (ID: 48524)

Chloe is a sweet lady who has lots of love left to give. She hadn't been at the WCAC long enough to go for a walk and no one had marked her card that she'd been cuddled so I took a little extra time with her. I took my photos and then sat down to love on her some. She has one of those beautifully soft heads. She really liked it when I scratched/massaged under her chin.

Don't forget to visit my Flickr WCAC Paparazzi set to see if there is someone there you just can't live without. They're looking for the family THEY can't live without.

Suze's WCAC Paparazzi Set 
WCAC Adoption Gallery