MAIZY AND BJ THOMAS

BJ Thomas and Maizy (formerly Miss Zoomer) are currently being fostered at Denise's home in Vancouver.   It is a real mystery why all of Maizy's sibblings were adopted so quickly but Maizy hasn't had any applications yet.  I went to Denise's place tonight with the intention of fostering Maizy and blogging her to help her find a home, but when I got there I could see how well Maizy and BJ Thomas were getting along and Denise and Alessandro were quite happy for me to leave her there to continue fostering.  Why change her location more than necessary especially when she has such a great big brother where she is.  Maizy is quite the little adventurer.  She is fearless and curious and so absolutely adorable.  She is quick and smart and her recall is quite good too.  She is learning to be housebroken and is an all around very cute and entertaining pup.   BJ Thomas warmed up to me quite well and by the end of my hour with them in the back yard was playing with me and bringing me his chew toy for show and tell.  He is such a nice boy!  I've met quite a few of the 'northern black dogs' now and he has a sweet nature, just like the rest of them.  

So I came home empty handed...which is fine with me.  After seeing the chemistry between the two dogs I didn't really want to break that up either.  I do however want to see both dogs find good homes so I took some pictures to share.

BJ THOMAS

MAIZY - "I'm cute and I know it"

BJ THOMAS PLAYS GENTLY WITH HIS FOSTER SISTER

BJ THOMAS RUNS AWAY WITH THE TOY ONLY TO
BRING IT BACK TO MAIZY

JUNE 15, 2012 FUNDRAISER - $20 FOR BURGER AND BEER

To see the same post on the Turtle Gardens blog .... CLICK HERE

IF only fundraising were as easy as going out for a burger and a beer with friends, family, or co-workers...

Well it is!!   Turtle Gardens is holding a fundraiser at Schanks in the perfectly central location of Queensborough (where Richmond meets New Westminster).   Schanks is a large venue where we are welcome to play host to as little as 100 people and as many as 1000.    People who buy a ticket to support Turtle Gardens will be given a burger* with fries and a beer/or pop. The cost of a ticket is $20.00 and $10.00 of every ticket goes directly to Turtle Gardens.  The more people we can get out on June 15, 2012 the more we support Turtle Gardens.  We are also hoping that Yvette will be in town for this date.  

This is a casual pub night and there will be a 50/50 draw and a small raffle.  There may also be some mini golf, virtual golf and pool table contests, depending on interest.

Kibbles – and his burger and beer

WHEN:  Friday, June 15, 2012, 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM

WHERE:  Schanks Sports Grill, 350 Gifford Street, New Westminster  604-777-8008

Schanks is conveniently located in the triangle between New Westminster, Surrey, Delta, Richmond and Vancouver.  So this should be a short drive for so many people in the Lower Mainland.  It is part of the same building as the Casino so if you want to go and bet $2.00 on a machine, with your winnings going to Turtle Gardens, you can just walk right next door.   There is ample free parking too.

MAP:  http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=350+Gifford+Street+BC&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=33.906867,57.65625&ie=UTF8&z=16

TICKETS:  $20.00 each, with $10.00 going to Turtle Gardens.  Please email me (Lisa B.) with your request for tickets at tgfundraiser@hotmail.com.   The earlier you buy your tickets the more successful our event will be.  (If you buy a ticket and find out later you are unable to attend, $10.00 from your ticket purchase will still go to TG but if you return your ticket a week before the event your full $20.00 will go to Turtle Gardens.)

For payment by cheque I will scan and email you a copy of your ticket (tickets are numbered) with your name on it and it will be at the venue for pick up on the night of the event.  This will cut down on costs for mailing each ticket and means an extra dollar per ticket to TG.  For payment by cash I can arrange to meet at various locations each weekend and on weeknights.   If TG has a Tisol event you can be sure tickets will be sold there as well.  If you want 10 tickets to sell on behalf of TG please email me. 

For people who sell 10 tickets your name will be entered into a special draw (1 entry for every batch of 10).  Imagine if 100 people could sell 10 tickets each!  We could fill the bar and that would mean an instant $10,000 for Turtle Gardens.    We currently have 200 tickets printed but as sales increase we can order more.  So please help us sell tickets!  10 tickets = $100 donation, plus you get a burger and beer too.

I’m not sure what sporting event(s) may be happening that night but sports enthusiasts have no excuse not to come out because you can’t find a better bar to hang out at to watch any games. 

So please buy tickets for you and your friends and family, or even you and your co-workers.  Put your thinking caps on and find groups you can sell tickets to.   Come out and meet TG volunteers and other dog lovers or just come as your own group as an excuse for a Friday night out.   There is no reserved seating, so try to come at 7:00 as we only have our section reserved until 10:00.  

Please note:  no minors allowed

* veggie and chicken burger substitutions can be requested on the night of the event but on a first come first serve basis only. 

CUBBY WENT HOME ON SUNDAY

I was prepared to foster Cubby as long as it took for him to be ready.  When he willingly started approaching people (with good energy and an easy approach) and allowing himself to be petted I knew he was ready for his home.   The right application came along too.  They had a dog similar to Cubby in shyness and with the long and low factor too and they knew how to help him become a more confident dog.  I know they will do the same with Cubby and continue on with his journey to being the happy-go-lucky dog I know he can be.  

His new family is a really nice young couple from the Island and our concern was that doing an adoption in Tsawwassen with them as walk on passengers would mean they would have to walk Cubby onto the ferry for his maiden, foot passenger voyage.  So, I took him across instead and was quite happy with how well he handled all of the noises and people and cars.  He was happy and enjoyed the journey.  I even picked him up a few times and held him high enough to look out the car deck windows to see the view.  He is getting used to being picked up but still is a little uncertain at the get-go.   He relaxed while I was holding him and looked around, and when I put him back on the ground he was wagging his tail and smiling....like he had enjoyed the new challenge. 

Cubby in the dog room on the Ferry.



A little relaxing once the whole room had been thoroughly sniffed.



Smiling on the car deck in the sunshine.

 When Cubby met his adopters they were very good with him.  They both have good, calm energy and they brought treats which certainly helped.   When they walked Cubby on the leash he was relaxed and walked very nicely for them.  When they walked away for a few minutes alone with him, he surprised me by not even looking back.   Interesting for a shy dog hey....maybe not as shy as he'd have us believe.

He came a long way in the two weeks he was with me and I really look forward to the updates from Sean and Nadine about how Cubby continues to grow with their nurturing and all the new experiences they will show him.  

And so, an empty home again...but lots to do until the next dog run.   I'm organizing a fundraiser so please watch the Turtle Gardens Blog in the next few days for the details.  


Waiting to see if I'm coming up or if he should come down.



CUBBY AT THE BEACH

Cubby has had a couple of trips down to the beach now, and like all the foster dogs before him, he loved it!  Something about the sand, the grass with new smells, water and other dogs makes it the perfect place to be happy.  I'm just sharing pictures and video in this blog.  Cubby has a potential home - a great couple from the Island who have been approved to adopt him and just need to get together on the weekend and meet him.  I promised them some more visuals to tide them over ...so here it goes...

Cubby running beside me...checking in

I love sideways glances and smiles...



'Are ya comin?'

 



A proud and happy pose!

 

So much to see....so little time.



Sawing logs in the back of the truck after the beach.



ONE WEEK UPDATE FOR CUBBY

I asked Cubby to pose for his one week photos....


ready....set....



smile!

 

or how about this look?



'is this my good side?'

 I have had Cubby with me for one week now, and when I looked at writing a blog I realized I've been a little slack on sharing.   Cubby has come a long way and is doing really well!   He rides well in the vehicle.  He lays down and barely budges.  He jumps in and out of the truck (floor level) with no prompting and he has learned to wait at the door and not dart out.  I think he has only barked once since he's been here...so a very quiet boy so far.  I left him in the back of the truck last Thursday night while I curled and not a peep when I left him and he was layed down and sleeping when I returned.   I wanted to stay a while longer so he came into the club with me and layed at my feet.  My curling friends are quite used to respecting what each dog needs so they all admired him but did not reach out to pet him right away.  Cubby settled in and eventually I let the person sitting next to me reach down and pet him and he was really good about it.  In the morning he walks up to the daycare building with a spring in his step and he allows himself to be walked away from me much better than the beginning of last week.   He is good at playing with the pups on the small dog side and I had asked daycare to allow him to drag his leash and the pups have been playing with Cubby by pulling the leash.  The staff at daycare say he is good with the other dogs.   He has warmed up to the staff too and has started to solicit attention.   He is still shy with strangers but is more willing to go up and sniff a pantleg if someone doesn't crouch down too fast and reach for him.   He allows himself to be petted if given a bit of time to figure out there isn't any danger and I also feel that he is starting to trust me to keep him safe.  

He went for two nights with Larna from Playful Paws Daycare because she boards dogs at home and Cubby already knows her.  I was in a bonspiel this weekend and didn't want him spending too much time on his own yet in my truck so he went from Friday to Sunday.  Larna reported that on the first day he panicked a bit in her backyard when all the other dogs had gone inside and it was his turn.  In new and uncertain situations Cubby panicks a bit until he works out how to approach.  He is getting past that and dragging his leash definitely helps avoid those moments but with a new surrounding with a new person it took a few minutes for him to come around and go back in the house.  Larna is super dog savvy which is why I chose her for boarding.  She said hand feeding him his meals helped him relax more and bond with her..and this may be something an adopter would want to start out doing with him too.   She said he warmed up pretty well and by Sunday she had a family dinner and he was walking around sniffing legs and did so well considering it was a houseful of strangers.   When I picked him up he was so excited to see me, it was so cute.  It almost seems like the absences during daycare and then boarding him for a couple of days shows him I'm returning to him and pushes him to bond a little more with me.

He is walking quite well on the leash, although occassionally he runs a bit ahead and likes to cut in front. He does not appear to be afraid of too many things although he can be uncertain about some new noises, like lawnmowers, etc.   When I walk him on the long leash he runs alongside me and waits for me to reach down and acknowledge him and then he looks happy and darts ahead again.  When he falls behind because he's found a good smell in the grass, I rarely get to the end of the leash before he runs to catch up.  He does run like Corgis that I have seen and he's quite agile for his height. 

He loves getting face scratches and will lay there and fall asleep while you brush him, wish sheer enjoyment.  I use the soft brush on him and brush his face and chin and he closes his eyes.  He is now so much more comfortable with me that I get exposed belly for brushing too.   He had his first bath last week and stood like a statute in the tub, breathing heavy through his nose.  He was quite scared, but there really aren't any half measures for easing them into the bath routine.  So he eventually worked through his fear and by the end of the bath he was almost enjoying having the soap worked through his coat.   He did however enjoy the towel dry afterwards, and I managed to get a good amount of water out of him before he shook all over my walls.

He is a good walking buddy, he likes other dogs, I'm confident he will learn to like strangers too once he has enough good experiences, he has a beautiful shiny coat, he is very relaxed at home, is quiet and clean and an all around really great dog!   He will need a home where his owner(s) will continue to socialize him with people.   Whoever adopts him will be so lucky to have this loyal companion.



Cubby on his Kuranda bed.  On his first day if I had approached him on there
he would have gotten up...now he relaxes and waits to be petted.



DAY 2 WITH CUBBY

On Sunday, Cubby came out of the van a frightened dog. 

Fresh from the bus...not sure whats happening yet

 A year ago when I had wanted to foster him he was so stressed about loading into the van they held him back to give him more time.   I truly admire Turtle Gardens for the respect they show for each and every dog.   Some dogs need the push and some are better waiting, and TG truly has the skill to know the difference.  Cubby was good with all the dogs at Turtle Gardens and he was good with the people too, but he only had so many people to solicit attention from and it was his time this dog run, whether he knew it or not.   Once out of the van, he sat back and watched the whole dog run, snugged up alongside the barn with Denise K. holding onto his leash for me (thank you so much Denise for helping in a special way).  I didn’t want Cubby going into the stall in the barn in a rush and me having to corner him to get him out later, so this really was a big help for me and Cubby.  Denise handed me the leash once a lot of the dogs were in the hands of their fosters and adopters and Cubby didn’t want to budge.  I sat alongside him with the side of my leg touching his side and he didn’t move.  I petted his shoulder and he relaxed a bit.  After a while I moved a few steps away and crouched and with a slight amount of pressure on the leash he moved forward. 

Bit by bit he was moving forward.  Within about 15 minutes he was moving around with me walking very bravely.  

After the last of the cars left foster mom Gloria and her pups Cricket and Lolly went for a walk with me and Cubby in Ladner.  I was happy to take advantage of the sunshine and give Cubby a chance to stretch his legs before going home.   He is so comfortable with other dogs.  The pups getting in his face the way pups do and he never bothered about it.  He was walking very easily on the leash by that point.

Lolly

Cubby checking out the new smells

...the start of a smile

a beautiful gentle face

Lolly...'are you my foster mom?'

Cubby rode really well in the truck.  I had to lift him in and he would jump out on his own.  At home he drank some water and ate a full dinner then napped a bit.   When I would reach down to pet him he would duck a bit, as he seemed uncertain of what my intent was, but he seemed to start enjoying being petted and his eyes would squint in happiness.  

Our first night was pretty uneventful. He slept all through the night on a dog bed next to my bed.  

Monday rolled around and it was time for dog daycare.  He was quite tentative going in the door and being led away but still went without too much fuss.  I wasn’t entirely surprised to hear that while he was completely fine with all the dogs he was fearful of the staff.  They change their staff over during the day and he spent most of his time under the big dog bed trying to avoid the people.   When I picked him up he came to me and was quite happy to walk out with me.  We went to the park and I put him on the 80’ leash to give him some freedom to roam.   He started to run around me, not with full zoomies but bouncing, wagging his tail and then letting me play with him.  Usually with the shy dogs if you raise your arms to your side and stomp in their direction they get scared and don’t know you’re trying to play with them but Cubby was more than happy to run back from me and then come back for more.  I have never seen a dog drop his shyness so quickly.   He was so fun to watch.  He continued to bounce alongside me as I walked and kept raising his head up wanting me to put my hand down to nudge his chin.   He was so in the moment and having fun it was great!   When he eventually wandered to the end of the leash I whistled and that stocky little body came running right back to me.   For shorty little legs he can move pretty fast.  He sure reminded me of a Corgi when he was running.  

using the full 80'

surveying the field

love the 'show stance'

'oh...are you looking at me?'

Once we got back to the truck I opened both doors and he surprised me by just hopping in.  My reward for a fun field trip I suppose.

After that brief amount of time in the field he has been way more open with me.  Coming right up to me and giving me kisses.  Nudging my hand for attention and he sure enjoyed being brushed later that night.  He was standing up while I brushed him and his eyes were closing and he was swaying a bit trying to stay standing. 

I asked dog daycare to allow him to drag a leash on him today and that seemed to help.   Without the leash he seems to feel hesitation about whether to approach or not, but the leash takes that decision away from him and he is quite comfortable with that.   He roamed more openly around the daycare and the staff were able to pet him better today.   So, all in all quite the fast transformation is taking place.  I will spend more time this week finding people to introduce him to and I suspect within a week or two his whole world will be opened up and he will have very little fears left.     

He is currently learning not to dart out of the truck when the door is opened and he already has good manners at the house door.  He is a great walker and really doesn’t pull much on the leash. 

I have yet to give Cubby a bath and think tomorrow night will be the night.  Some things are just more important than a bath.   I wanted to build a bit more trust with him first and I’m sure we’re at the point where he will be okay with it.  I suspect he won’t like it but he’ll still talk to me after.
_______________________

** DOG RUN PICS taken by my good friend Kathy M. who attended her first dog run.   It was so nice to have pictures from the day.  I always take my camera but rarely have the time to pick it up.  Thank you to Kathy for the great shots. 

A SNEAK PEEK OF TODAY

I spent my blogging time this evening writing for Turtle Gardens to capture a bit of the dog run...so I will be blogging my day one experience with Cubby tomorrow.  To read the dog run blog on the Turtle Garden's website CLICK HERE

Here are a couple of pictures in the meantime.   Can you say HANDSOME?



A sunny walk after the dog run and Cubby learns the leash is okay afterall.



Comfortable enough to stretch out on the grass....he is settling in well.



YAHOO...IT'S CUBBY'S TURN

CUBBY (in the background)...When he first
arrived at Turtle Gardens

I took a look back through old emails and blogs and found that Cubby has been at Turtle Gardens since June of 2010.  For much of that time he was shy and just not entirely ready for the big city.  From what Yvette has told me about him I wouldn't say he has any issues at all, it just wasn't his time to come down yet.  Well, yesterday all of that changed.  He was loaded into the van and he should be here this afternoon.  

I also found in my emails, that I had marked him as my potential 18th foster dog and that was one year ago at the beginning of March.   I'm so happy and can't wait to meet the handsome little dude.  

On the June 24, 2010 blog Cheryl commented:  OMG that little long and low behind Shayda looks exactly like the little bear cub that is running around the neighborhood here…the face…Should he be called Cubby?

...and so, he is Cubby.   I will post some pictures of him later today or tomorrow.