From Frustration to Fun

I have to admit that I was a little frustrated Monday night. All the dogs seemed extra hyper and the lighting wasn’t bright enough and my camera wasn’t fast enough. But some of that is just par for the course when stopping by after work and trying to photograph monochrome puppies.

It is worth it and there are some real sweeties looking for their furever families.

OMG! I am all about Fender’s (ID: 68195) tail. I need to get a better shot so I can add it to my Doggeh Butts Collection. There was nothing in his jacket so I don’t know how his tail got those crimps, but it reminds me of a corkscrew piggy tail - and when he wags that butt that tail is even more adorable. He was a good boy while I was in his kennel – not pushy like some of these stocky boys can be.

Fender (68195)

Irish Crème (ID: 67962) was another big boy. He didn’t jump at all and was so wonderfully delicate in taking the little pieces of treats from me.

And poor sweet Meea (ID: 68040). She was curled up in a ball at the door of her kennel shaking and giving me the most pitiful look – she saw “sucker” written all over my face! She popped right up when I stepped inside and was happy to get some love and pets. You really need to go to the Center’s Adoption Gallery (click here) and look at the photos from her outdoor photo shoot – they really show how beautiful she is. And as to the scar on her head – I haven’t heard what that’s about, but it’s healed over and doesn’t seem to bother her in the least.

Meea (68040)

And then there were the puppies …

Laverne (ID: 68352) is the oldest of the bunch but I was only able to get this one photo of her. She’d sit for her treat, but before I could get the camera to focus she’d scoot around behind me. She was my last stop that night and I really didn’t spend any time with her, but she seemed sweet.

Laverne (68352)

Is it the look? Is it those eyes? Is it her velvety soft fur, the little pink tongue or that sweet smell of puppy breath? I’m gonna say it’s all of those things and more that will help Sugah Face (ID: 68223) find her furever family. She’s only two months old but she’s a big girl – she stood tall to the middle of my calf.

My friend called Violet (ID: 68462) a little minx after looking at her photo and that fits her perfectly. She is a small silky baby just two months old. She certainly enjoyed nibbling and tugging on my robe – another cutie to wow her way into a furever family.

Remember these and many, many more are at Wake County Animal Center (click here to see them all) looking for their furever family. Drop by any day between noon and 6 p.m. to meet your next great love!

Also, this Saturday, March 17^th from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. is a rabies and microchip clinic at the WCAC (click here fordirections) - $5 rabies shots and $10 microchips – check out the calendar here for this and other Center events.

And finally, don’t forget my current foster, Bubba Rex. He’s looking for his furever family. You can check him out at afureverfamily.wordpress.com.

Well Mannered Puppies – One and Almost All

Finally – I went to the WCAC Monday night and did a little paparazzi work. It was good to be back and know that as much as some things change, others never do – like having someone turn the lights off on you in the middle of a photo shoot. And with my foster, Rex, going in once a week for a “soothing bath” for his skin condition, I think Mondays will become paparazzi night.

So, who’s looking for a new family these days?

Jack O Lantern is a big stocky happy boy. He was a little hard to get a photo of because he was being such a big goof.

Jack O Lantern (ID: 40865)

Klinger is a real ladies’ man – young, soft & fuzzy, polite, and loves to dance. He is very handsome, knew the “sit” command and did a cute little bow for this treat. I really enjoyed hugging that big head and dancing around the kennel with him.

Klinger (ID: 66196)

Jim Bob was the crazy little puppy of the night. He’s a stray so maybe his family will come for him yet. He’s as cute as can be but you’ll be starting from scratch with his training.

Jim Bob (ID: 67125)

And at the other end of the puppy spectrum was Barney. He was a sweetie and wanted to cuddle – he sat very nicely when told and I was able to get a ton of good photos of him. He has that red velvet coat that is my favorite if they’re not a fluffy dog.

Barney (ID: 67126)

This little stubby Pittie-type girl was still full of good puppy energy at around a year old. She has a beautiful brindle coat and lower lip quiver that I found intriguing. My favorite photos of her are the one where she had her head flipped back to look up at me and it made her ears look all silly - maybe that's how she got her name, Fancy Prancy.

Fancy Prancy (ID: 67249)

Isn’t she a beauty! Maxi is about a year old and shouldn’t get much bigger than her current 32 lbs. Her photo shoot was super easy as she sat there just as politely as could be. In fact, it went so quickly we really didn’t spend any cuddle time.

Maxi (ID: 67251)

Finally, do not let this pitiful little look fool you. He was very sweet and little spurts of bouncy puppy came out once I finished getting his photo. He’s solid black (with the white blaze of course) – those are full on wrinkles on his head which is probably why he’s been labeled as part-Shar-pei. Peggle will need potty training but he certainly had a wonderful calm side for being so young.

Peggle (ID: 67332)

So, be sure and check out the WCAC website and pass this on to all your friends and let’s find these guys their forever homes.

And don’t forget my foster, Rex. He’s healing nicely but looking for his forever family too.

WCAC Puparazzi Update

I know it’s been a while since I posted here. It’s a two-fold thing. One, I really didn’t make it to the shelter that much in December and two, I’ve started fostering dogs from the WCAC and trying to be their advocate. I have started a separate blog for them – afureverfamily.wordpress.com

I do have one photo to share with you. Cheerful Charlie came in as a stray and they’re trying to find his family. He may have been burned in a house fire or on the engine block of a vehicle (why do cats like crawling under our cars so much?). Anyway, they are sure he does belong to someone as he’s been neutered and had a Soft Paw® cover on one of his claws.

I talked to one of the vets Thursday and she said that he was improving and had even put up with getting a bath earlier that day. Well, as much as most any cat puts up with getting a bath. J emailed me a little bit ago and said that he’s in a foster home and doing great.

Please pass this info around and hopefully Charlie can finish his recovery at home with his own family.

Charlie's Contact Info:
Wake County Animal Center919-212-PETS (7387)

Just give me one thing that I can hold on to* …

I had a little scare this weekend where Lucy is concerned.

She was adopted by a very nice couple early Saturday afternoon. Volunteers and staff told them about Lucy’s “top dog” issues and even though they had a 13-year-old German Shepherd at home they decided Lucy was the dog for them. Miss S stressed to the couple that they needed to properly introduce Lucy to their German Shepherd.

Just a few hours later Lucy was back at the shelter. The adopting couple said she had done really well in PetsMart and on the ride home. They conducted introductions outside the house and everything seemed to be going well. Then Lucy snapped at the Shepherd’s ear and a short while later she went after his hind legs with no provocation. So they were returning her. They used the phrase “she attacked,” which meant that Lucy went immediately into quarantine until a behavior assessment could be administered. You might even say she was on “death row.”

Miss J let me know what all had happened and made arrangements for me to visit with Lucy and give her a little pep talk about getting it right during her test, which was probably going to be Monday.

Yea! She passed with (mostly) flying colors. She got top scores in everything but interacting with other dogs – no surprises for me there. To sum up the behaviorist: Lucy is rude and inappropriate in her interaction with other dogs. Her actions will most likely be misunderstood by humans and other dogs. However, she should NOT be labeled as dog aggressive.

Woo Hoo! Lucy-Licks-a-Lot has been pardoned. Charlie agreed to let me start fostering her immediately. So, as of Monday afternoon we are a full-time foster family with a foster blog, afureverfamily.wordpress.com. Stop by soon and see what Miss Lucy is up to.

Lucy (ID: 46491)

And yes, Lucy is available for adoption. She's looking for lots of love and affection, but needs to be the only dog. If interested, contact me or the Wake County Animal Center for more information.

*taken from the lyrics of “Angel from Montgomery” by JustinePrine and sung by many including The Muses out of Asheville, NC.

12 Days of Christmas

Or should I say, 12 Days of Lucy

Can you believe it? Can you? Today began the 12 days of Christmas. I have nothing done – no tree, no lights on the house, no presents, no cards. But that’s not nearly as important as trying to find forever homes for the cats, dogs, and critters of the Wake County Animal Center.

Wake County Animal Center
820 Beacon Lake Drive in Raleigh
Open Daily from Noon to 6:00 PM  

Near and dear to my heart this season is getting Lucy her very own home by Christmas. She deserves a soft place to lay her head and to wake up on Christmas morning to all the excitement that it brings. But quite frankly – I can tell you in all confidence that Lucy has no real religious affiliations. She’s just looking for lots of love, some good food and a soft bed to take long snoozes on.

Lucy is around 50 lbs. and somewhere between six and seven years old. She looks like all the other Pittie-mixes that fill the shelter except that she’s a wonderful fawn brindle color. She can seem a little crazy when you visit her in her kennel, but I didn’t see that side of her when she spent the weekend. Yeah, she would bounce and play tug or go for a long walk at the drop of a hat, but it also took her only a moment to settle down with me on the couch and spend as much time there as possible, too. A couple of times she wouldn’t even budge to go outside for a potty break. Even so, she had no accidents in the house (it’s a wonderful thing to bring home a dog that is already housetrained). She also did well in her crate while I was out of the house. She needed a little coaxing to get in, but was fine once inside.

I was also impressed with how well she did in the car. After that first weekend I never bothered with the crate; I just had her hop up in the back of my little SUV and we took off. She’d stand and look out the windows some before she sat down for the rest of the ride. And if she was worn out, she’d just curl up and go to sleep. You know, for such an enthusiastic licker she didn’t bother me at all while I was driving.

So, if you’ve been thinking of growing your family now is the time to head over to the WCAC and see all the great possibilities – and be sure to spend a little extra time with Lucy. I just know you’ll fall in love and take her home with you today.

Lucy *Featured*

ID #: 46491 Type: Female Dog Breed: American Staffy Color: Brindle- Fawn / White In Shelter: 49 days Age: 6yrs 10mths 2wks Weight: 52 pound(s)

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Lucy	*Featured*

Lucy

*Featured*

ID #:	46491
Type:	Female Dog
Breed:	American Staffy
Color:	Brindle- Fawn / White
In Shelter:	49 days
Age:	6yrs 10mths 2wks
Weight:	52 pound(s)

ID #:

46491

Type:

Female Dog

Breed:

American Staffy

Color:

Brindle- Fawn / White

In Shelter:

49 days

Age:

6yrs 10mths 2wks

Weight:

52 pound(s)

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Pittie Ambassador

When I started volunteering at the WCAC in the spring of 2010, Pittie-type dogs scared me. Well, “scared” may be too harsh of a word, but I had heard all the news stories and they definitely made me nervous. It was a couple of weeks before I actually did my first Pittie photo shoot. Domingo was a big boy, but he seemed calm, quiet and gentle. And he was. I stood at the back of the kennel. He stood – no, just sat – between me and the door. So gentle, so sweet. Each Pittie I met showed me what kind of dog they could really be.

I began following blogs like “Two Pitties in the City” and “Love and a Six FootLeash.” When Thanksgiving rolled around, it was easy for me to choose a Pittie named Lucy to spend the weekend with me, despite her bouncy nature in the kennel at the Center. Charlie wasn’t so sure, though.

Lucy went with me Saturday evening to pick Charlie up from the airport. She did very well in holding her “licker” – a key issue with any dog as far as Charlie is concerned. Her quiet demeanor and well mannered behavior impressed Charlie. He could really appreciate how cuddly she was and even gave up his spot next to me on the couch.

She won him over to the point that when I went to take her back to the WCAC on Sunday he was fine with me having them make a note in the database that if she gets sick or the shelter runs out of room they should call us before they do anything drastic. Lucy, despite her licker and cat issues had softened his views about what a Pittie was.

Along with his experience with Lucy, he read the article “Licked to Death by a Pitbull,” and has decided to do some of his own research about dog bite statistics and Pittie personality as a breed issue. Maybe he’ll do a guest blog on his thoughts once he does that research.

Lucy showed me that she has the personality to be a good Pittie ambassador and with proper training maybe even a therapy dog.

Lucy *Featured*

ID #: 46491 Type: Female Dog Breed: American Staffy Color: Brindle- Fawn / White In Shelter: 45 days Age: 6yrs 10mths 2wks Weight: 52 pound(s)

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Lucy	*Featured*

Lucy

*Featured*

ID #:	46491
Type:	Female Dog
Breed:	American Staffy
Color:	Brindle- Fawn / White
In Shelter:	45 days
Age:	6yrs 10mths 2wks
Weight:	52 pound(s)

ID #:

46491

Type:

Female Dog

Breed:

American Staffy

Color:

Brindle- Fawn / White

In Shelter:

45 days

Age:

6yrs 10mths 2wks

Weight:

52 pound(s)

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Don't forget to stop by the Center and visit with Lucy today. I just know you'll fall in love with her. Her adoption fee is only $45.00. She's already spayed and can go home with you today. http://services.wakegov.com/adoptiongallery/

Thanksgiving with Lucy

It’s silly that I’m just getting around to this – you and Lucy could already be snuggling up on the couch living the rest of your lives together.

Charlie and I have agreed to wait until the first of the year before bringing another dog into our home. It’s hard for me; it’s been 20 years since there hasn’t been at least one dog living with me. When Charlie decided to visit his dad for Thanksgiving, I decided that it would be nice to foster a dog for that weekend.

Miss J had asked me to take Lucy to a couple of adoption events in early November. She seemed like such a nice dog and rode so well in the car that I thought she’d be good to come home with me, and we could work on her “licker problem.”

I picked her up Wednesday after work and I will admit we worked very little on her “licker problem” ‘cause although she’s always ready to go for a walk or a car ride, she is a total couch potato. I’ve put in several photos and a video, but they just don’t show what a true and wonderful snuggler she is. I confess to actually sleeping on the couch a couple of nights just so I could cuddle with her and feel that most wonderful thing - the human-to-canine bond.

Lucy *Featured*

ID #: 46491 Type: Female Dog Breed: American Staffy Color: Brindle- Fawn / White In Shelter: 43 days Age: 6yrs 10mths 1wks Weight: 52 pound(s)

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Lucy	*Featured*

Lucy

*Featured*

ID #:	46491
Type:	Female Dog
Breed:	American Staffy
Color:	Brindle- Fawn / White
In Shelter:	43 days
Age:	6yrs 10mths 1wks
Weight:	52 pound(s)

ID #:

46491

Type:

Female Dog

Breed:

American Staffy

Color:

Brindle- Fawn / White

In Shelter:

43 days

Age:

6yrs 10mths 1wks

Weight:

52 pound(s)

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;

Other Information: No Cats; House Trained;