GRAELEE'S WEEKEND

This weekend Graelee and I caught the Ferry over to Sechelt to visit mom and dad.   We'd had a good walk in the morning and she was quite happy to sleep in the truck on the ride over...I had a nap too.  She will do whatever, whenever and she is a good companion. 

When we showed up at my mom and dads house she met their dog Ralph, a large Airedale who gets along with everyone.   She barked her little head off at him.  She stopped if I corrected her and then she'd start again.  I picked her up and turned her around so Ralph could sniff her bum.  She wasn't too impressed with me but after that she was willing to meet him properly.  She was a bit uncertain with him for the first while but about an hour later I let them both back out into the yard and they chased each other around and played like they've always been friends.   Graelee made herself at home, including hovering in the kitchen watching for anything falling to the ground.   She settled next to my chair and slept on and off and was basically zero problem to have around.  She even learned quickly to ask at the door to go outside.   My mom and dad were quite taken with her and she jumped up to sit with them later in the evening...although we're not sure if that was to get attention or to check out the couch for dropped popcorn.  

Today was a trip home on the ferry and we walked around the terminal to pass some time.  We even ran into a friend of TG.  Her and her husband were parked behind me in the line up and she spotted Graelee.   I was surprised when she came up to my truck with a quiet tap on my window.   TG people are everywhere....I love the surprise of running into people in places you're not expecting to see them. 

Graelee and I shared a yoghurt in the Ferry line-up...well I had the yoghurt and she got to clean the container...

When we arrived back in the Lower Mainland we had a few errands to run.  Graelee stays in the truck quite easily.  She stands and watches, very alert, at the window waiting for my return but she does not seem stressed in the slightest and while she is happy to see me come back I don't make a production about seeing her again and she is calm and just waits for us to get going again.   We stopped at MacDonald Beach and gave her a good run.   We ran into Dalia with her crew of three dogs (yes...you see TG people are everywhere!).  We said hello and then carried on our way down the beach.  Graelee went off leash and she ran back and forth so many times I couldn't believe she had that much energy.  She ran with other dogs and on her own.  She leaped over logs and zoomed back and forth.   She is not nervous about being away from me and runs quite far down the beach.  A loud whistle or two and she zips back to me.  

What an awesome fun little dog!! 

THE CHALLENGE OF INDOOR DOG PICS

Quite a while ago I discovered the sport mode on my camera and it's been my best friend ever since.  Usually one in three shots is one of a dog actually looking at the camera, with both eyes open and no tongue licking the nose, etc.  Some of my best shots are ones taken outdoors with a nice backdrop and at sunset.  With the daylight hours getting shorter I have less opportunity to catch a good picture.  I tried sport mode indoors and guess how many frames it takes to get an unblurred shot?

Ah ha!  10 shots later and she sits still enough for an indoor picture : )  I actually like some of the shots I get that are blurred.  You catch the cool colors from the dog in movement and I've been collecting some of these for a while now.  I think one day I will print out some blurred movement shots and create a poster of them. 

I once put together some blurred pictures of Isabelle and think I'm onto a good idea.  Maybe once I've had 30 fosters I will make the poster...I should have a good amount of blurred shots to chose from by then.

GRAELEE'S FIRST WEEK

This week has been busy with alot of new experiences for Graelee.  We have been to the school field with the long leash and she had a blast.   She runs like nobody's business.   I get the impression she would stick nearby and come when called but she hasn't shown me a clear sign yet that she would be a candidate for off leash just yet. 

Monday was her first day of dog daycare and I didn't get the first day report that I was expecting.  I would have thought she would have been play play play all day.   Apparently she was a little bit nervous because the daycare is undergoing some changes and there was some construction going on outside.   Maybe just too many new things at once.  New people, new dogs, new environment and me leaving her after only getting to know each other one day.   She did play for some of the day though and she of course chose TG dogs.  Whether these dogs have been together up North at the same time or not, they seem to just 'know' each other.   So she played with TG alumni Ruedi and with foster dog Freeway.   Here's the couch experience after dog daycare....

Each day since Monday I'm hearing that she has been playing more but she's also getting a few nicknames.  One of the staff at Playful Paws now calls her 'Spider Girl' for her ability to get up onto one of the temporary half walls and tight-rope walk along it.   Graelee is not escape-from artist.  She will however go to some lengths to escape-to.  She wants to be with you so if you leave her behind and she sees a way to follow she will go for it.   For such a little thing she's so gutsy.   We were actually taking our last walk of the night a couple of nights ago and we got to the edge of a garden filled with some kind of ivy ground cover.  It's probably 1 1/2 feet deep in some parts and she wanted to know what was going on in there so she jumped up and out and landed right in the middle of it all.  She made half of her body disappear in there.  I laughed out loud because the whole thing looked so funny and also because she didn't even take a tentative step forward to test it out first.  

We went for a walk at the beach on Tuesday and she was however very hesitant about the waves.   Not sure what to think about them just yet.  We love the sand though and that triggered some funny zoomies.   She is good with other dogs but when she sees a bigger dog approach from down the beach she barks ahead of time just in case they might notice she's little.   Once the dog gets up to her she's all bluff and she will meet them quite nicely.   She stops barking when you ask her to and it doesn't hurt that when she barks at a dog I for sure make her go up and meet them.  She seems to be learning that I'll look out for her and she is learning that new dogs approaching are okay and I'll keep her safe.  

Graelee has no limits with her back right leg.  This doesn't slow her down at all.  Sometimes she lifts the back leg for a bit and sometimes she runs on all four.  She does not appear to be in any pain and she can jump up and down on to anything you ask her to.   She is smart as a whip and is learning new things so quickly.   She will sit, lay down and stay on command.  I suspect she was learning the basics at TG already...because she already seemed to know what to do.   She waits at open doors for me to give her the sign to go through.   She is also learning to jump up high enough for me to catch her and hold her.   At the end of the night, after a good walk and sleeping on the couch we head out for her last P and then she gets a second wind, jumps on the bed and wants to play.   So we now spend a few minutes playing fetch.  We can use just about any toy for this...she loves almost everything!   She loves the stuffies, tug toys, balls, and one of her standbys is the few bones that all of the other TG fosters have knawed on.

Tonight was curling night and she had to be alone for a couple of hours.  I left her in the truck with bed and blanket and she was absolutely quiet when I walked away.   When I came back after my game she was standing up watching for me, but still silent.  I certainly hope that at some point she layed down and slept a bit.   I took her into the curling club with me and everyone oohed and awed over her.   She likes people and some of them she runs and jumps up to and others she is a little tentative.  I can only imagine when you're as little as her how intimidating people can be since we all tower over her.   She layed on my lap and fell asleep and caused no trouble.   She's very easy to have around.  She jumps into the truck and rides along side you like she has been riding in the truck all her life.  I'm sure Dave at TG has taken her on many trips and it shows by how much she loves coming along.  

We have an interesting weekend coming up with many more new experiences and hopefully we'll have some good weather so I can get some great pictures of her.  I'm not sure though if any photo will show just how much personality there is in her little furry body.  

DOG RUN DAY - GRAELEE ARRIVES

The TG Bus came to town today and there were 14 dogs in total.   The dog runs are alway quite hectic, but an exciting rush at the same time.  The van shows up, we unload the dogs, and most of the adopters show up at one time.  We process paperwork, hand over vet papers, find leashes and collars and watch excited families meet their dogs for the first time.   It wasn't until after all the dogs were adopted and we had loaded up the van and sent Brian and Richard on their way with the Island dogs that I finally got to say hi to Graelee.  I had met her before when she came to town in August but she seemed even smaller than I remembered.   She's such a character.   She really seems to have big dog attitude and also has an air of confidence in her cuteness.  We got in the truck to come home and she hopped in and went right to 'her seat'.  She has been travelling in the van with Dave and it shows that she knows the ropes.   She rolled around on the bed I gave her and kept stopping to look at me to be sure I was paying attention to how entertaining she is.  

Graelee at Turtle Gardens

We got home and walked around outside for a bit.  It really amazes me that some of these dogs go through such a big adventure and they really seem unphased by the new person, new surrounding etc.   Graelee was happy to check out the new smells.   She hasn't learned to walk on a leash yet without pulling.  She's not bad but she needs to learn and that will start tonight on a short walk.   We came inside and she had a bath and then a quick towel dry.  She ran to the toy basket afterwards and picked out the biggest bone!  There are smaller ones, but she had to have the biggest one.  She even tossed it up and then jumped on it.   

Dog run days are an early start for me so we had a little nap on the couch and then went down to the school field with the long leash.  She seemed to have some energy to burn off and boy did she run.   She ran with great joy!   She'd run away, loop around and then flash past me.   We ran into a family with 4 kids and 2 of the little girls came over to pet Graelee.  She was very good about it and they thought she was super soft.

Back to home base and she has turned her little nose up at the kibble, opted to chew on the bone again for a little while, watched me eat my dinner which she would have much preferred to have been fed, play-wrestled with me for a bit and is now laying on the couch asleep again.   I can't wait to take her to dog daycare and hear about how she wows everyone with her cuteness and I'd bet she'll find no end of play partners.  

More to come later.  And, yes, she will sleep on the bed tonight...I'm under her spell already.

ENOUGH TO MAKE A DOG TIRED

Sunday will bring me a new foster dog.  The short-list was narrowed down to one dog but I won't jinx things by commenting on who SHE is.  In the meantime, I have been busy getting things together in my non-dog life.  When I have foster dogs I put alot of energy into them, so some other things naturally fall off to the side (unfortunately like laundry sometimes).   I have had a good break and I'm excited for the next dog run.   Not just because I have a new foster coming, but also because we have some new people coming to the dog run. Dog trainer, Shannon Coppin, who has volunteered some of her time to TG adopted dogs, is going to try to come out and provide adopters with some pointers to get them started on their way.  Also, TG volunteer Denise of See Spot Run will be coming out to see what the dog runs are all about and help with the paperwork, etc.  In the short amount of time that Denise has come on board she has raised funds, added foster homes to the network, provided dog food for foster homes, leashes, collars, etc and on top of that has taken in a couple of TG dogs that had nowhere else to go.   I'm hoping Denise will bring foster mom Michelle with her...as I believe she will be taking another foster this weekend as well.  

Thank heavens Gloria is going to take another foster pup because that means she has to come help too ; ).   Dave will be staying up North this trip - Yvette's back on two feet but that doesn't mean she can handle all the chores for two people just yet.  So, that means that Brian will make the trip solo.  Between me, Brian, Gloria, Rob and Linda, we make a good team for these dog runs, but the extra hands will make it that much easier.  Sometimes we even find adopters pitching in and helping to load the van.

During my 'down' time I've been trying to organize my foster dog photos.   I went with a theme and pulled out some of the cutest sleepy pics:

Betty Davis, fostered with me very briefly.  She went back up
to TG and still awaits her forever home.

Queenie (now Maki), enjoying the comforts of the couch.
Not all dogs end up with this privilege.

Abby who came to me almost a year ago.
Curled up into a 'husky' ball.

Whitespot (now Mercutio).  I guess us humans will never
understand the comfort of hanging your head off the Kuranda,
and mashing your nose into the ground, until we give it a try.

Spot (now Tilly) - asleep on the Ferry ride over to the Island.
Maureen was awaiting her arrival on the other end.

Riley living the life of luxury on 'his' side of the couch.

Isabelle on the Ferry...making the most of a sunny day's ride.

Little Nash, from TG, who I dog sat for a few days.

Sail, camping in the truck.  Her bed almost looked more comfy
than mine.   Sail is coming down on this dog run to be fostered
in Vancouver.   Fingers crossed for a failed foster.

SOMETHING WORTH SHARING

Without a foster dog I don't have very much to write but that should be fixed fairly soon as the TG bus is planning another trip for next weekend.   I'm not sure who I'll be fostering yet.  There is a short list, but things change so I'll announce who is coming at the end of next week.

Back when I was fostering Whitespot I went and met a woman who contacted me and wanted to donate some items specifically for Whitespot as she was quite taken with him.   What's not to love about Whitespot though.  During his time at Turtle Gardens and then his trip to the Lower Mainland he gained a bit of star status.  People recognized him when we were out walking!  Either from Turtle Gardens, his time on the run in White Rock, or from my blog, he was well known and with such an interesting look people gravitated towards him, wanting to know more.  

When I met up with Alexia she donated a bag of dog food, a really cool toy, and some extra little treats.   The best surprise was yet to come in an email though and when I opened the attachment the image brought tears to my eyes!   Here's why...

Alexia captured Whitespot in such a amazing way!

LOOK ALIKES

I received a comment on my last blog asking where I got the birthday dog picture.  I took it off of the internet.  I saw it and couldn't resist using it, because I just loved the dogs expression.   The dog really reminded me of someone and I finally realized who....Danny Bonaduce

Quite often I find myself thinking certain dogs look like certain people.  Sometimes its just too hard to figure out exactly who, and others come to me a little quicker.  Like my foster dog Rosie....

Well...I thought she looked a bit like her name-sake...

Oh... the things that get posted when I don't have a foster dog : )

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY "FOSTER FOR TG"

I have been fostering for just over 2 years now but it was one year ago on October 5th that I started this blog.   It has been alot of fun for me to write about my experiences with each of the dogs.  I would have never thought that I would like blogging so much.   When I call applicants about any of the dogs fostered with me there are very few questions as the blog shows them who they are.   Thank you to everyone who submitted comments...its nice to know for sure someone is listening.   And, of course, thank you to Turtle Gardens for providing me with an endless supply of amazing foster dogs so that I would have something to write about.

Rosie was my first foster blog.  What a character she is!

Rosie - just after she came from up North



Rosie....now Molly - after her first grooming

Molly is happily living in Delta and is now celebrating her 1 year anniversary of being adopted into her forever home.  She is a good cuddler and snorer and I miss her cute little face.

At this point in time two years ago I still had my first foster dog with me.  Bella Noel was on the last Turtle Gardens blog of 2008.

December 31st, 2008

2008 will finish the same as it started with a couple of new arrivals. Snowmobilers well out in the backcountry found a skinny female dog! She looked like she had recently given birth – she had loads of hanging teats on an extremely emaciated body. They spent an hour and half looking for her litter but could find no sign of them though they did see a lot of wolf sign. Were they eaten? It was also -35. It may have been too cold for the babies to survive – this is a young mother with a very short coat. They brought the little girl home for Christmas. Yesterday they called me and asked for a safe haven for the girl. Turtle Gardens welcomes Bella-Noelle who is a teenager shepherd mix – lovely temperament, playful, beautiful and friendly – what an awesome forgiving dog! Someone will be very lucky to adopt this little girl. I will take pictures soon!

Bella Noel was adopted to a couple in Richmond and was a failed adoption as she was too much for the couple with a quiet lifestyle and they felt Bella really wanted a more active home.   I met Yvette at the Turtle Gardens dog walk in August in Vancouver and I agreed to take Bella until the next dog run.  Well, the bus came and left and I had decided to continue fostering her until she was adopted. 

A beautiful picture of a beautiful Bella.  This
picture prompted multiple applications as soon
as Yvette posted it on Petfinder.

Bella was adopted to an active couple in North Vancouver.  She now goes by the name Kaia and has been an awesome companion.

Kaia on one of her first North Van hikes

Kaia meeting one of her new family members.

After Bella's adoption I decided not to adopt right away.  I continued to foster one dog after another and I think my total is up to 23 dogs??  Fostering has become quite addictive and I'm not really sure what it will actually take for me to stop fostering and adopt. Maybe the dog that nobody else wants to adopt?   Letting a foster dog go can be very hard but the rewards well outweigh any guilt and sorrow.    They go to great homes - always!