GRAELEE - PICTURE UPDATE

Graelee is now called Zumba (for all her energy).   Here are a few pictures of her - two at the office and one in the car:

I think she looks pretty content with her new life!!

SPOT HAS BEEN ADOPTED

A really nice family came to meet Spot last week and there was instant chemistry.  The kids are 8 and 3 and they threw a ball for Spot and he continued to fetch it back to them.   They walked him outside for a bit and he was very well behaved on the leash.   And so...he went home yesterday just in time for Christmas.  He was not a Christmas present for anyone, just a great addition to a young family.   I called them today and they report he is doing really well.  Spots new name is Jack (very funny don't you think considering his best friend was Jack at Turtle Gardens?).  I think the name suits Spot quite well and its a secret tribute to his good friend that he was rescued with.   Apparently he has been for a couple of walks already and does all his business outside and slept through the night really well.   The perfect new roommate.

Since I'm dogless now, I won't have as much to blog about, but will try to add something occassionally until I get another foster dog, possibly at the end of January.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!

SPOT GOES TO SCHOOL

Is it a magical time of year?  Or is it a big drain on your time that has you wishing the time away and getting it over with?   I think Christmas is great, if only it could be just one day of the year and not the 1 month, packed malls, more traffic, more eating and drinking than anyone should do kind of 1 month holiday.  I find it funny that for a holiday that everyone loves, people are sometimes cranky and mean spirited with each other over that same event.   That is until you take a cute little dog like Spot and walk into shopping central in Richmond (aka No. 3 Road) and then you see the serious shoppers who are rushing around take a moment to smile.  People melt and light up when they see a dog, a bright Spot in their day they weren't expecting.   Dogs are the true magic of any season!!  (...especially TG dogs right?)  Spot has the cutest look that people are drawn to...if someone looks directly at him his ears either press back or perk up inquisitively and that tail starts going.   He looks right at you with his gorgeous hazel/amber eyes.

So, the reason for my lead in to this blog is a way of getting to why I haven't blogged much. I have been busy.   Dinners with TG friends, a Christmas party, Christmas lunch, last night of curling with Christmas dinner, etc etc.   Lots of outtings with little time on the computer.   And now, 5 days later I can post my pictures from my visit to MacNeill School with Spot.  We went last Wednesday to see Yvette make her presentation and for the rescue club to have one more TG dog to meet.  An adoptable one at that.  

To open up the presentation Wayne, who runs the group, got on the microphone and barked into it to catch everyones attention.   There was a speaker overhead and Spot kept looking up at it for quite a while afterwards, maybe trying to figure out if the dog was in that large black box suspended from the ceiling.  


Spot - watching the speaker on the ceiling

Spot did really well in the school and during the presentation.  He was a little stressed at the beginning - panting a bit, but he soon settled.  He was very well behaved the entire time.  He is good with the kids, especially since they had just finished a hot dog lunch and there were pieces of bun to be found between the auditorium seats.   I passed his leash a few times to some of the students so he could visit a little while Yvette talked and then he went to see this guy at the front of the stage area.  Here he is giving that soulful stare...the one he gives to people he is comfortable with.  

Jim's adopted TG dog Lola was also a bit of a stage hound during the presentation.  Going to the end of the leash to get in on the action. 


Prior to that Lola had a special moment when she went over to visit with Yvette before her speech.


Lola remembers her TG momma Yvette



Spot watching Yvette.




A quick glance back to check in with me.



In the hallway - Lola, Belle, Mya, Lacy, Misty...oh ya and
their people at the ends of the leashes. 



Mya's mom Jude tells me that taking the camera out of my pocket
and holding it up may as well be a juicy dog bone...and Mya jumps up
in excitement to demonstrate, just as I went to take her picture.

 

On further investigation she looks a little disappointed
 to confirm it is just a camera afterall.



Jim's dogs Lola and Misty with a big stress relieving yawn.

The presentation was great!  A good experience for little Spot, giving me a chance to see how great he is with kids of varying energy levels.   It is also alot of fun taking a dog into a school as you get alot of attention from the kids who are surprised and excited to see dogs in their hallways. 

On another note, the picture that I posted at the top of this blog was used on Spot's Petfinder profile and the stats jumped up with double the visits to his profile.  It also prompted about 6 or more applications and inquiries.   What a popular little dude and what a difference a new picture can make!

"Ain't I cute?'

FINALLY...THE BEACH



"Okay...I'm ready for my close-up now"

Last weekend we finally made it to the beach.  Spot was great off leash.  He would come right back to me whenever I called him.   He is friendly with other dogs, although he can sometimes be a little hesitant with some of the more excited-in-your-face dogs.  He found a few dogs to run around with but mostly just explored the beach and stuck nearby.  

Saturday looked quite misty/rainy outside when we headed out the door so I gave one of the foster jackets a try on Spot. I have tried the jacket out on many a foster in the hopes of keeping them dry in the rain, but either a dog likes a jacket or they don't.   Sometimes they act like their in an alter-universe where dogs can't walk with jackets on.   But, not Spot, he seemed to hardly notice the jacket.  And, it looked good on him too!   (I hope Maureen, who shared her pack's jacket photos on the TG blog, reads this blog and sees my little guy dressed up - room for another one Maureen?)

On Monday and Tuesday nights this week, I had dinner plans and Spot won himself front cab priviledges in the truck.  He has shown no signs of chewing anything inappropriately and no sign of any separation anxiety.  Which actually surprises me a bit for such a cuddly sometimes clingly little dog.  It was cold out and I piled up the dog beds and blankets in the front seat.  He has a good thick coat of fur and really seems unphased by our Lower Mainland climate so he was quite content being snuggled up while I was inside having dinner.

He is such an easy dog to have around in any and every situation, and that especially includes how he did at McNeil School today.   I have some good pictures of the event and will share those in my next blog.  

BIG CITY : LITTLE DOG

Since our daylight hours end so early Spot won't get to my favorite beach with me until the weekend.   So we walked the city streets.  He is not afraid of anything and if anyone makes eye contact they are rewarded with a tail wag.  Spot likes everyone and everything pretty much.  The feedback from daycare is good too.  He plays with some dogs if they ask him to play, but doesn't prompt much yet.  He can get a little carried away with the barking but they figure that was part of his settling in.   He also seems to be enjoying cuddles from the staff.  He is a good travel buddy in the truck and walks well on the leash.  What more can you ask for in a dog really.   He is clean and quiet indoors and sleeps through the night (on the bed of course).  He fetches toys and is very playful.

Here are a few pics of Spot out-and-about.

Check out Spot's adorable ears...little tufts of hair at the end : )

DAY 1 - FEELING GOOFY AFTER THE BATH

Spot - picture taken by Turtle Gardens (good pic Yvette!)

So, in my last blog I said I was worried about mentioning my foster dog before the TG bus hit the road, because of the supposed JINX.   Well, I didn't jink which foster but then the whole dog run had to be called off.  So maybe jinxed, maybe not.  But, notice that I didn't blog anything else after the last blog...why risk it.  Well never mind, the weather was great today.  Rain on a dog run day is not the end of the world but it's so much nicer to work with the dogs and with the adopters and paperwork on a dry day.  We are outdoors for most of what needs to be done.  

Things ran pretty smoothly today.   Most of the adopters were there before the TG van so the paperwork could be mostly out of the way before the dogs showed up.   With adopters there ahead of time that means that the dogs can go directly to their new family without a stop in the horse stall.   After all of the dogs were adopted and the van hit the road again, I ran to the ferry with Panda, Miika and Spot.   Walking three dogs that are all probably new to leashes is pretty amusing.  After a couple of minutes they got with the program and we made it up to normal walking speed without so much criss-crossing. While we were waiting for the ferry this guy came along with a new bike he had just bought in the Lower Mainland.  He spent his spare time waiting for the ferry talking about the dogs and petting Panda.   I noticed he didn't have any gloves and thought his hands would freeze riding that bike home.   He said he had been give a ride to the ferry so hadn't had to worry about that yet.  I ended up giving him my 99 cent stretchy gloves and he seemed happy to take them.  Women's stretchy gloves look funny on guys when they're too small for them!  I met up with Mike and handed over Miika and Panda and then back home with Spot.  

A quick walk outside for any last minute business and then we came inside for food, water and then a bath.  Spot was a pretty good sport about the bath.  He only tried to escape a couple of times.   After he was out of the bath he ran around drying himself off the rest of the way on the carpet.  He was absolutely goofy.

Spot is a very loving dog.  The kind of dog that gazes into your eyes and wants affection.  He has had a couple of naps and then we went for a walk around the city streets.  He is having a little trouble settling in.  Maybe he is missing his buddy Jack who was adopted today.   He is quiet so far, walked super well on the leash for our first walk and was happy to cuddle on the couch for a nap this afternoon.   He is going to be a good buddy to some lucky adopter.  

I'm used to the dog runs being on a Sunday so I spent today feeling like I should be going back to work tomorrow.  So Sunday is a bonus - to be able to spend a full day with Spot and venture out somewhere fun.  He can have good run at whatever park we end up at.  I'll try him on the 80' leash to ensure he gets a good run, without worrying about his recall just yet.