WHITESPOT IS GONE....to a great home that is.

He has been with his new family since this past Monday and all reports are sounding amazing.  I couldn't be happier for him and will be finalizing the adoption on Saturday.  I will be sure to let them know that so many people came to care about Whitespot while he was at Turtle Gardens and in foster care and hopefully they will provide an update for the blog sometime soon. 



Taken on our last walk at our favorite beach.

 Click HERE to see my fairwell blog to Whitespot on turtlegardens.org

DONATION AND A FERRY RIDE

Until I started fostering I never thought about donating time or money or supplies.   Turtle Gardens has inspired me to do so and I see on their blog there is no end of people who are happy to donate too.  And, aren't we all thankful that there are people like that in the world....that love dogs so much that if they can't adopt that they will still find financial ways and creative ways to help.   A comment came on my blog in the last week from Alexia who wanted to sponsor Whitespot.  Even once I told her that he might have found his furever family she still wanted to help him.  I went downtown to meet with her and she was happy to meet Whitespot in person and she donated premium dog food, an awesome toy and some treats which Whitespot could smell through three layers of plastic bagging right away.   Such a good nose for pepperoni!  Alexia is a 'concept' person for a game company and she tells me that she was inspired by Whitespot for one of her drawings.  I hope she will send me a copy to share when she's done with it.   How cool would that be if a character was based on a TG dog?   Thanks for your generosity Alexia!

Another piece of news in Whitespot's world was his first trip on the Ferry.   A TG dog, Kenobi was proving to be too much for his adoptive family.   He is a beagle/heeler cross and was too busy and would chew or eat just about anything even if you just turned your back for 5 minutes.  Power cords, socks, etc....everything was too tempting.  He came from Kelowna with his family to Merritt where a friend of TG (thank you Charlie) drove him to the Lower Mainland.  That's where Whitespot and I came in and took him on the Ferry to Swartz Bay.  Foster mom Emily has a friend who is now fostering him and I can't think of a better opportunity for a super active dog than to go to work with her at dog daycare, and she also teaches agility so Kenobi will be her 'demo dog' as he learns the ropes.   He will be kept busy! 

Kenobi

The dog room on the Ferry over to the Island was packed and there were about 10 dogs.  Whitespot sure knows how to pass some time...he flaked out and slept for part of the trip and Kenobi played with the dog sitting next to us.   Travelling walk-on with dogs is always an adventure.  You meet great people and great dogs.  On the way back with Whitespot one of the Ferry staff kept coming in to pet him.  Despite having to de-shed her work outfit each time she came back 3 times and before we docked she offered to help transport dogs back and forth from Victoria to the Lower Mainland when she has days off and travel to visit her sister.  What a great offer!

Whitespot catching some ZZZZ's in the dog room on the Ferry



GOOD CHIN RESTS

Whitespot likes riding in the truck.  He either stands up and watches out the window or lays down and sleeps.   Sometimes when I take a quick look back to see what he's doing I get a good laugh at the face that's much closer than I was expecting.  He will ride for quite a while this way...chin rested and eyes open.  It doesn't look very comfortable but comfort is in the chin of the beholder.

ARE WE THERE YET?

WHAT ABOUT NOW?

Our destintion today was the beach and Whitespot loves running into the water to cool down.  He'll go in the water two or three times on our walks.

ON THE RIDE HOME - CHIN ON THE CUP HOLDER

ANOTHER WEEKEND AND MORE FUN WITH WHITESPOT

I found a picture from a couple of weekends ago when Whitespot was on my friend's sailboat with me....

 

This past weekend was a good one.  I went to my friend’s house on Friday night to sit around a fire.  Whitespot ran around the back yard and peed on everything he could, at least 5 times each spot and then he laid down on the dog bed next to my chair.  He’s very well behaved and is quickly learning that food left at the edge of a table is a no-no.  He still has to be watched carefully.  I try not to take things out of reach, but prefer to teach him not to touch or grab food off tables our out of hands.   I love the way dogs will pass by and turn their heads in the direction of the food like it was an accident.  “OH…is that food there….I didn’t hardly notice”…yeah right!

On Saturday we went to the off leash dog park in Surrey.  It’s a large space with lots of bushes and it’s fully fenced and gated.  I walked Whitespot around the whole park and then let him off leash.  He ran to smell clumps of grass and some bushes and he came when I waved him over.   Of course I had to wait until he was looking but he came right away.   He did this twice.  On the third time he looked up, saw me wave him over and opted to turn back towards the bush and walk a bit further away.  I went and got him and back on the leash he went.  He needs to pay attention or off-leash is revoked : )  He went onto the 20 foot leash and still had fun roaming and sniffing.   He’s good with the other dogs, except when the other dog is one displaying poor manners and trying to mount and dominate.   Dog parks can be a lot of fun but can also be very frustrating sometimes.  Some owners are there but not present, not watching their dogs, not correcting bad behaviour and some are downright proud when their dogs dominate other dogs or start fights.  So important to check out all other dogs before entering the dog park and once there are too many there to cause trouble it’s time for me to leave.  I bite my tongue…and it’s not always easy.  I had to back one dog, who kept trying to mount Whitespot, away 3 times and the owner was oblivious.  Whitespot is no push-over and will defend himself.   I watched the same two dogs that Whitespot had troubles with go around the park and bully a puppy and try to mount 2 other dogs and almost start a dog fight.  So we went to our good old standby location in Richmond.  The soccer field for a good off leash run and then MacDonald Beach. 

Saturday was such a nice warm day out and when we got to the water Whitespot waded in and swam for a bit.  He doesn’t seem interested in fetching anything and needs no coaxing to get in the water.  I think he goes in to get cooled down. 

On Sunday we hung out with Paula and Silky.  First, a walk at Watershed Park.  It was my first time in there….WOW!  What a great place to go walking. You feel so far from the city with only a few steps into the woods.   We then went to the Waterworkz Paw Spa for their open house.  What a great set up and a very relaxing environment for the dogs.  http://www.waterworkzpawspa.com/   They had a barbeque going for their open house which was a bonus ….thanks for the hot dog guys! 

Silky graciously shares
'her' car with Whitespot

We then travelled out to Chilliwack for a home visit.  It amazes me when you can sit on your butt for most of the day driving around and still feel exhausted by the end of it.   Even Whitespot agrees with that…he slept most of the evening away on his bed. 

 

WHITESPOT GOES TO THE OCEAN

I went over to the Sunshine Coast on the weekend and took my Nana with me to visit my Mom and Dad for Mother’s Day.  Whitespot usually rides behind the seats in the cab of the truck.  I slide the passenger seat as far forward as it goes and he has enough room to turn around, lie down, stand up, etc.  Well, with my black-slacks-wearing Nana I really wanted her to have a hair free ride.   I vacuumed the front of the truck out and my new handy-dandy cordless vacuum with a pet attachment works awesome at picking up all of the hair.   That is the best investment I have made in a while (Black and Decker in case you’re wondering).  Anyhow, I took all of the dog beds available and stacked them up in the back of the truck and Whitespot was happy as a clam.  He could lay down, looking very comfortable, and could still see out the windows of the canopy.  He was such a good boy.  He always rides well on trips.

My Mom and Dad have an Airedale (Ralph) and he and Whitespot played well together.   They wrestled in the back yard and were both completely wiped afterwards.   I had also walked Whitespot after dinner, down the hill to the beach, and I would assume this would be his first trip to the ocean.  The first thing he did when we got to the beach was to go and try to drink from it.  He quickly realized it’s not the same as drinking from the river.  That night Whitespot flopped down like he never wanted to get up again.   

On Saturday night I saw a side of Whitespot that I hadn’t seen that much of yet.  He knew my bag and jacket, etc were in the front bedroom and he started guarding that room so Ralph couldn’t go in there.  I put an end to that quickly but he still kept trying.  By the end of the night he practically had himself wrapped around the side of me while I walked towards the bedroom.   I corrected him again and then he was okay – he learns quickly.   He really wants to keep his person for himself.   I originally thought maybe he’d like a home without other dogs, but still have interaction at dog parks, etc.   I think he could go to a home with either/or and maybe it wouldn’t hurt him to continue to learn to share.  He had to learn to share up at Turtle Gardens and he also has to share the people at dog daycare….I know he could learn to share his adopters with another dog too, and learn to like it I’ll bet.   

WHITESPOT - 7 WEEK UPDATE

CLICK HERE TO READ IT

THE RIGHT HOME FOR WHITESPOT

Finding the perfect home is not always such an easy task for Turtle Gardens.   For Whitespot it needs to be decided what the ideal home is and then find the people that offer that. 

Decisions have to be made about....
House vs. Apartment
Other dogs vs. Only dog
Lots of dog experience vs. No dog experience
Adopters home all day vs. Working away from home
Dog left at home vs. Dog daycare
...and so on, and so on....

So many factors to consider and its not like the dogs can talk and tell you what they want.   There have been a couple of applications for him and still no decision.   Not only do you have to figure out what the dog needs the most but you also have to figure out if the people are adopting based on looks or on personality, rational vs. emotional decision making, and figuring out what they're willing to do and not do to keep a specific dog.

Take me for example, my ideal dog is a border collie personality but only if I also had my ideal lifestyle too.  Reality is that I work all week and have other activities that I do and dog daycare all day every day is not financially feasible.   The dog that probably best suits my ACTUAL current lifestyle is a couch potato that wants to be left at home when I go to work and is happy with some toys, etc., one good walk in the evening and a trip to the beach on the weekend.  I haven't met this dog yet....so I foster.  I can give each dog alot more by fostering than I can by adopting.  I am doing what I think I can do the best. 

Turtle Gardens makes the decision on who each dog is adopted to, but I do have input into what type of home I think they might be happiest with.  Whitespot will not be adopted until we all feel satisfied that he is going to the right home for him, with no doubts.  Like all the other dogs before him, and after him, he deserves no less. 

Aren't you glad its not you deciding?   Thank goodness TG has so much experience with this. 

Maybe it's better that they can't talk afterall?

WONDER WHAT WHITESPOT LOOKED LIKE AS A PUPPY?

Out of all of the dogs I've fostered, Whitespot is the first dog that I've really wondered what he looked like as a puppy.  I'll bet he was really cute.  I went looking on-line trying to find a picture of a pup that might have looked like him.  Here's what I found....



If this little guy just had pink around the eyes....I think
this is what he might have looked like



PETNERSHIP

TG'S PETNERSHIP BOOTH (good work Paula)

This weekend had me and Whitespot travelling to Vancouver to go to the Petnership event at the Hellenic Community Centre on Arbutus.  We went for walks at the dog beach both days before heading indoors to represent Turtle Gardens.   A good walk ensured a relaxed/mellow Whitespot for which he received alot of compliments.  He was well-behaved, got lots of treats and lots of pats.  There were a few inquiries about adopting him but Whitespot is going for an overnight visit in Vancouver tonight so other applications may be a mute point.   I will write more later about how his overnighter goes.  

The TG table had alot of volunteers and I got to put some faces to names which was nice and see some TG alumni dogs.   The event was a success especially from a networking stand point and from the dog's view, lots of tasty, healthy treats were to be had.  Whitespot especially loved Brownie's for Dogs  (http://browniesfordogs.com/), where he was fed many salmon treats.  I was also given a salmon treat and can agree that it was good...and I didn't have to sit for mine. He also really liked Kaliwags (http://www.kaliwags.com/) which apparently is very tasty as well as good for dental care.  I dare you to find a dog that would turn down treats from either of these tables!

On Saturday I picked up Gus who is currently in Vancouver and will be fostered by me once Whitespot finds his perfect home.   You can read more about Gus in the coming week(s).  Both dogs did awesome with people and their leashed friends.  

Paula with Silky, Me, Whitespot and Gus

  

Gus and Whitespot enjoying a water break outside

Whitespot in front of the TG Table (with an Adopt Me vest)

  

Gus checking to see if a treat is forthcoming