THE FOSTER I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR IS HERE

Chief's story is a bit lengthy and I'm kinda short on time tonight.  So I just wanted to be sure to post that he came with the Turtle Gardens van yesterday and he's doing great!  I will write a detailed blog in the next couple of days I promise.  Here are a few pictures that Piper took at the dog run - first of Chief and then some of the other dogs that came to foster:  (thank you Piper for the amazing shots)





CHIEF



CARLIN

DELILAH

EMMETT

GUNNER

LIA

LIAM



LILY



LUCEE

MOJO

NINA

OREO

RUMI

CHARLIE IS ADOPTED

Charlie passed his cat test.  He then went for a few nights stay at his new home before the adoption was finalized.  It was so important to ensure he was ready for his new home and that he was going to continue to build confidence with his new people.  I went on Sunday to meet the couple that have adopted him and Charlie seemed to know they were his people.  They see him for who he is, understand what he needs and are committed to loving him, keeping him safe, and building his confidence.  He is home! 

CHARLIE'S VACATION

I'm on vacation right now so me and Charlie hit the road this past week.  We went to a cabin by the lake, just up past Princeton, with my cousin and his wife and their dog Walker.  Charlie and Walker hit it off really well and Charlie seemed to love having a yard to roam around in.  Being a block away from the beach sure didn't hurt either. 

Charlie rides in the truck so well!  He slept most of the ride.  He was easy to have on vacation too.  He goes with the flow.  After a day at the beach on Tuesday he was so tired but didn't want to miss any action, so he was falling asleep in the living room with his head propped up, continually nodding off.



'....I'm not asleep....just closin my eyes for a second'



Charlie's confidence is building and this includes his time in the water.  After spending alot of time with his nose underwater trying to reach things on the bottom of the lake, he decided swimming for sticks was better and didn't result in as much water up the nose.  I had him on a long leash so I could reel him back in to show him how to fetch the stick back to me.  He will keep going back out as long as you don't throw it further than he's ready to swim just yet.  Here's a video clip of a good swim:

When I play with Charlie now he doesn't get as amped up.  He knows if he gets too excited that the game is over.  He really enjoyed the water and got along well with other dogs at the beach. 

We had a great week away!  Very sad to come home, back to reality but I was just so happy for the time away and won't complain. 

Charlie goes for an overnight visit tomorrow with a potential adopter.  They have four cats so this will be his Cat 101 exam.  If he passes he will still remain with me for at least the rest of the week as we're doing some confidence building exercises and I feel it's important to push through a bit further before an adoption happens.  He needs to be 'ready'. 





...AND THE GOLDEN GLOW AWARD GOES TO...

  



I really love taking pics at sunset.  You get the most
amazing light at that time of day.

I've had Charlie with me for two weeks now.  There are so many wonderful things about this dog.  He is affectionate, cuddly, fun and playful.   He walks well on leash and rides really well in the car.   He rarely barks except in play and he is great off leash.   He sleeps through the night on his own bed, he never jumps up on furniture and he rides really well in the vehicle.  

Charlie's prior family reported that he has had a nervous stomach during the time that they had him and they found that holistic food helped him although I'm not sure if he ever achieved the best results completely.   He still only seems to poop two or three times a day but just not the best formation of poop you'd hope for (sorry I know...not the best subject).   He has been eating good quality kibble while with me and with pumpkin mixed in he seems to be getting better.  I've also been adding in a spoonful of yoghurt with probiotics at some point during the day - thanks for the great suggestion Yvette.  

This blog is a little bit random.  I hadn't really blogged very much about some of Charlie's bio and thought it was about time.  You can't always write just about happy trips down to the beach...can you?

A few months after Charlie's people had adopted him, they discovered he needed surgery on one of the back leg knee caps.  I believe they said the vet had thought it was an old injury from his time prior to TG.  Anyhow, on the vet papers they list the procedure as - Patella Fixation with Grooving.  Charlie does not walk with any difficulty or limp.  The surgery was back in June 2011 and there doesn't seem to have been any problems since. 

Well now that the business is out of the way, I can only add that Charlie and I have had a bunch of fun down at the beach this last week. He was going in and out of the water with me but not to the point of swimming until a couple of days ago.  He fetched a stick to the point where his feet lifted off the bottom and he swam a few strokes.   He was back in the water alot today and was swimming more and more.  He seems to really like the water.  Talk about your skinny little stick legs though...you should see him once all his fluffy fur has been wetted down.   We met up with Paula and Gloria today so between us we had 6 dogs and we were a strong TG representation!  

On Saturday we had a special meeting with Glenn and Glenda from Kamloops.  They are supporters of Turtle Gardens and they were in town for the day and I was so happy to go and meet them at the beach.  I hadn't seen them in over a year and we caught up and talked dog, of course.  They loved Charlie, but what's not to love!   That's one of the great perks of fostering...all the great people you meet that you wouldn't have otherwise known.  

I have a busy week ahead of me, but I'm sure I'll find some time to catch up at the end of the week with some new pictures and will try to get video of Charlie swimming.