The Best Christmas Presents

In this morning's email, I received two gifts that warmed my heart. One was an email and photo from Buster's family, wishing us a merry Christmas. We fostered Buster back in May of 2011. How I love that handsome boy.

And the other email was from Kira's family! I haven't heard any news about our previous foster Kira for months, so I was so happy to get an update and see a photo of her. She looks like she has grown a lot, as I thought she probably would. Her new mom says, "Kira is very special and seems to enjoy her new life. She runs every day with the horses, and Rafferty (their shar pei mix) is her best friend."

I'm so touched and grateful that they would think of me today. It really made my Christmas complete. Expensive presents and fancy gadgets--who needs 'em?! A thoughtful gesture and a little kindness goes a long way.

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The Best of Buster

On Friday, we got to take care of Buster, our first foster dog, for an afternoon while his humans were away. He definitely remembered all of us, our car, our house, and of course, our park. Did he and Cabana have fun together? I'll let the photos be the answer.






Of all our fosters, Buster is the one that still pulls most at our heartstrings. Sometimes, we wish we had kept him, but then we wouldn't have been able to help the other fosters we had subsequently. I think we made the right decision. Plus, we get to take care of Buster again for a few days in December. We get to enjoy him and then give him back to his family who adores him. That's the best of both worlds.

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A Visit from Buster

Today, our previous foster dog, Buster (Seamus when we had him) came to play at our dog park. In his usual happy fashion, he jumped all over me in excitement and recognition. I felt the same way about seeing him!

Buster and Cabana also remembered each other. Here they are getting reacquainted.

Kira was intrigued by Buster and seemed a bit less shy than usual. Was it breed recognition or is she coming out of her shell? Or perhaps she was attracted by Buster's handsome charm?

I told Buster's mom that Kira would make a great companion for Buster and they could name her "Posey"! But she said I should keep Kira and rename her "Copa".

Look at Buster and Kira's matching ear flop, albeit on opposite ears. If I can help Kira find a home and family as nice as Buster's--and one that's close enough to come see us at the dog park, I'll be so thrilled.

Actually, I do have an interested couple. Hopefully, I'll have more news to share in the next few days!

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A Full Dog Day

The day started as all good days should--with a trip to the fields for Cabana to run and play with her friends.

After dropping Cabana off at home, I headed over to Buster/Seamus' house! Buster was our previous foster dog, and his new owner asked me to stop by and give a little lesson to her 7-year old twin girls. They love Buster but don't always know how to play with him in ways he likes. I did some research online, mostly using the Liam J. Perk website that I heard about through Martha's blog, as well as the ASPCA site. I put together some photos that show dogs in different postures, to help the girls recognize some cues that Buster is probably giving them. I'm sure it was mostly stuff that their parents had already told them, but sometimes, it has more meaning when it's coming from someone else.

It was so great to see Buster, and he definitely still remembered me. He looked great, his fur was glossy, and he seemed very settled and happy. I told his owners again that I was more than willing to dog sit anytime they needed me.


After that, I drove over to the embroidery place and picked up these sample sew-outs. I think the lab design came out fabulously, and I'm really excited about the polos and hats for Fun Day.

Then, finally with the 10-day quarantine period over for Francie, I drove over to the shelter and brought her home to start her foster period at our house. So far, things are going okay. I wish I could say that Cabana and Francie adore each other, but that's just not the case. I have a hard time understanding Francie's body language, but I think she's being a combination of pushy and playful. Cabana just ignores her or stays very still while Francie makes sudden jerky movements. Mostly, I've been keeping Francie on tie-down or in her crate, while allowing Cabana total freedom. I want Francie to know that this is Cabana's house and that we will decide the rules on what Francie can do and not do. She'd easily take over the place if we gave her an inch. My husband described Francie well, saying that she's a mixture of very sweet with slightly crazy.

Phew, I'm exhausted! Is it time for bed yet?

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Hike at Mount Burdell

Yesterday, Cabana and I met our friend Bucky and his owner for a hike at Mount Burdell. (My camera lens is dirty; can you see the big smudge next to Cabana?) Every time we get together with them, it seems like it's foggy, drizzly, or raining. But that's okay, we still have a good time anyway.

"Cabana, come!" Dogs are allowed off-leash here, and Cabana did a fabulous job of coming when called. Having an extremely food-motivated dog like Cabana can have its downside, but it's definitely a plus in the recall department.

There weren't many other dogs out, but we did meet this foxy little guy.

I said, "Whippet, whippet good."

I think Cabana had a great time, don't you?

Here's a little shelter update. I got an email from Seamus/Buster's new owner, telling me how much they adore him. She sent me this photo, saying that Seamus thinks he's their third child. They put him in the far back seat, but he always climbs into the middle seat, in between the twin girls. We're planning to get together soon. I miss that guy!

Also, Loki was adopted last week. In fact, she had 3 groups of people wanting her! Several people have been interested in Francie. Two of them were crazy people, though, and there was no way we were letting her go home with them. But one very promising couple, who were extremely pitbull experienced and dog savvy, even took her home for a trial run, but it didn't work out. Sigh, she was a bit too much for their current dog, a blue heeler mix. Double sigh. I'll be showing Francie this weekend at the Cuddle Shuttle mobile adoption truck, so I've got big hopes for her. She just needs the right person....

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News from the Cuddle Shuttle

Today, I took Seamus to the Cuddle Shuttle, the shelter's eye-catching mobile adoption unit. The shelter's capacity is stretched to the max right now, so adoption fees were reduced to $25. The glass windows house cats, and the dogs hung out on the sidewalk, ready for passersby to hopefully fall in love.

And what's not to love about this handsome face?!!! Seamus got a lot of interest, but the morning brought no serious applicants.

I took Seamus home for an hour to give him a break, then brought him back for the final hour of the adoption event. To keep him comfortable, I took Cabana's car couch out for him to relax in. The very first time we brought him home in the car, he was a panting, nervous mess--but after he realized car rides lead to good things (nice home, green grass, dogs to play with), he got a lot better. And I think Cabana's comfy car couch helped a lot, too, both physically and mentally.

During that last hour, a woman stopped on her way into the grocery store and showed great interest in Seamus. She took a picture of him with her phone and sent it to her husband. He called back immediately and said he would come over, bringing their 7-year old twin daughters to meet Seamus, too. They all fell in love with him and adopted him on the spot.

The woman is a stay-at-home mom, and the dad works from home two days a week and will run with Seamus every morning. The kids were very gentle and used to dogs, since their golden retriever died just several months ago. Best of all for me, they live in town, will let me puppysit when they go on vacation, and meet for park playdates with Cabana. They also plan to come back to the shelter for a few basic obedience sessions, so I'll definitely get to see him again.

Here's a photo of them all, disguised to protect their privacy--but I think you can still tell what a cute family they are!

I lent them Cabana's car couch so Seamus could lay in it for the ride to his new home. They have already emailed me with an update, saying he is doing really well, settling in nicely, and that they plan to buy a dog bed just like Cabana's. They sent me this photo of him. It gives me so much comfort to see him laying in Cabana's car couch--it's the perfect transitional love object for him. And the perfect new family.

Seamus' new name is Buster, named after some baseball guy, Buster Posey. Better Buster than Posey, I say.

It's a happy ending...and a happier beginning.

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A Final Decision

Here's Cabana, hanging out in Seamus' crate this morning. I wonder if she's laying in there because it's comfortable or because she hopes he's coming back.

Longtime blog readers may remember how hard and long I agonized over the decision to adopt Cabana after she was career changed (flunked out as a guide dog). Sitting on the fence without leaning in either direction is a terribly difficult and uncomfortable position to be in. A year and a half ago, I felt the full weight of making a 10+ year commitment to adding a canine member of the family to our household, and I didn't want to make the wrong decision. Now, everyday, I feel so blessed to have kept Cabana, and I can't imagine life without her. In the words of the witches in the musical Wicked, "I have been changed for good."

After sitting on the fence for the past week regarding Seamus, we have decided that we will definitely not adopt him. As you all have noticed, I adore that dog, and according to my husband, Seamus has "glommed" onto me. But I didn't get into fostering in order to adopt a second dog. After all, I'm not a crazy multiple dog person like many of you all are (wink wink, blink blink blink). If we adopt him, my life, house and heart will be too full of dogginess to continue to volunteer at the shelter. My goal is to help as many dogs as possible, not just one, and I'm fortunate to be in a position where I can do that.

There's also our 16-year old cat to consider, as well as the one-year old baby that I babysit fairly often. In two short years, both my daughters will likely be off at college, and we will have more room and wherewithall to consider another dog.

In the meantime, I'm going to do everything I can to help Seamus find an AWESOME home. I made a poster for him yesterday, with photos and a detailed description of his attributes. Today, I'll bring him back home with me for another mini-foster. And tomorrow, I'll show him at the Cuddle Shuttle, a mobile adoption unit, that will be parked in front of our local Petco. I'm going to exercise Seamus in the morning, brush him until he shines, and tell everyone who comes to the Cuddle Shuttle about how wonderful he is.

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No, No, No, We're NOT Adopting Him

Today, I dropped Seamus off at the shelter so he could be there for people to see and meet. If no one adopts him this week, we'll probably do another mini-foster next weekend. I was afraid that Seamus would be really unhappy to go back to the shelter, but when we got out of the car, he seemed fine, like, "Okay, I know this place. Whatever." I told the shelter director what I had observed about Seamus--he's housebroken, very teachable, extremely social, doesn't beg, doesn't bark, doesn't dig, no real bad habits at all that I could see. However, he was VERY stressed in the car, panting and breathing heavily, but we took him on a number of short car rides, and by this morning, he had already improved greatly. Anyway, I was really happy to have so much positive information to give, and the director thanked me profusely.

But I miss Seamus a LOT. This morning, my husband went for a 2-3 mile run with him and said he was a great running buddy, was awesome on leash and kept stride with him the whole way with barely a pant. There are so many things to love about Seamus, like how fascinated he was with squeaky toys. It seemed like he hadn't played with one before, the way he cocked his head at the sound and threw them in the air like a puppy.

Cabana will miss Seamus' huge crate, provided by the shelter. I would put a frozen Kong in his crate at night so he wouldn't be too unhappy in there. The first night, he whined for about 5 minutes. By the third night, he didn't need the Kong anymore--he went to sleep without a peep. Here, Cabana tries out the crate and checks to see if there's anything left in his Kong. She probably thinks, "That lucky guy, how come HE gets to sleep in a crate with a Kong and I don't?!" Freedom is so overrated, especially where peanut butter is concerned.

Seamus got along so well with all of Cabana's doggy pals. He rivals Cabana in his good social skills.

In this photo, Seamus is the little one! Big Leo makes him look like a dwarf.

Could two dogs get along any better? Cabana loved running and playing with Seamus...

...even when he was biting her on the butt.

Here's a full minute of them playing bitey face, which is probably more entertaining to me than to all of you. But it's sweet the way Seamus always lets Cabana have the upper hand.


Arrrgghhh, I KNOW he's a great dog, a perfect fit for us, and handsome, too. But please refer to the title of this post! We don't need a second dog, we don't need the expense, we don't need the dog hair, no, no, no!

Let's change the subject. The winner of the treat pouch giveaway is RAISER ERIN! Thank you again for all your wonderful feedback. I will post photos of the updated treat pouch with new and improved features soon!

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