Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

It’s been a great week for Blog Dog adoptions! Eleven total! Here they are:

Two of the adoptions were particularly happy for me because they were senior dogs, both ten years old, Rocky and Princess. And Princess’ adoption was especially moving. WHS discovered she had cancer and told the ladies who were planning to adopt her. After thinking it over, they decided to adopt her anyway and give her a real home, a soft bed, and lots of love for however long she has left. She is a START dog, and when Steve, the founder of START, heard about the adoption he had the perfect words: “There are angels among us.”

Play group was cold! Did the dogs care? Nope! They had a great time playing chase games. However, their hopes of having a family of their own was on their minds. Victor was especially thoughtful.

He and Rosie decided to ask Kim her opinion.

Tundra didn’t seem too worried, she just enjoyed being outside to play.

Since I hadn’t made a play group movie in awhile and since the dogs were in racing moods, I decided it was time.

Rosie!

I’m sure those of you who remember Rosie noticed what a great time she had in the video. I told you last week how much she had improved under the guidance of her foster, Karla. After play group, I asked Karla to show me (and you) some of the things Rosie has learned. I love watching Rosie and Karla in action. I think you will, too.

Getting to see an old friend!

After play group and Rosie on Sunday, I started to take pictures of new arrivals. I had noticed that there was a professional photographer taking pictures of dogs and their families in the ed hall. Suddenly down the corridor came a couple with a very familiar-looking dog, even without her Santa hat. It was Sparkle coming to have her picture taken professionally! Here is how you may remember Sparkle from my early December blog post.

Luckily she didn’t hold that picture against me! I was so impressed with her new family.

I asked if they’d write up a paragraph about how Sparkle (now Akira) is doing and they sent it to me that evening along with this at-home picture of this very lucky girl!

“My wife and I had been wanting to rescue a pit for some time but we were waiting for the right time to do so. Just one week before Christmas we decided to stop in and see who the Willamette Humane Society had available for adoption. We were greeted by the staff at the front desk and immediately a 2-year-old Pit named “Sparkle” was recommended. After a 20 minute play session my wife and I didn’t need to see any other dogs, we knew she was the one for us. Upon entering our home Sparkle was renamed “Akira,” Hebrew for strong and noble. Akira quickly took to her name and has been nothing but a joy to have in our home. Akira was already house, leash, and crate trained, working with her has been stress free and she has quickly become a member of our happy family.”

It is always such a thrill to hear happy adoption stories about our dogs! There will be another one at the end of this post.

I’m cute and I’m available!

When I arrived at WHS this afternoon, the first walker I saw was Kada walking a new dog whom I hadn’t yet met. This is Herman, a nine-month-old Bichon Frise purebred. When I sat down in the grass and waited for them as they came from the walking path, Herman couldn’t get to me fast enough! He was thrilled with the hot dog bits I offered him and didn’t mind posing for the camera at all. Herman let it be known in no uncertain terms that he does not appreciate being left in a kennel in the puppy room. He’ll be very happy when he has a family of his own, which I have a feeling will be quite soon.

I just want to be near my people! Are you my people?

The next dog I saw out was Lexi with volunteer Larry. Lexi is a four-year-old Lab mix. Are you looking for a dog to be a real part of the family? One whom you will let sleep in your room, watch TV with you on the couch (that’s ON the couch) and just hang out with you wherever you are? Well, Lexi may be the girl for you! If you don’t mind a little dog hair on the furniture in exchange for a loyal and loving best friend, please consider this affectionate and happy dog. If you need a diet partner, Lexi would be a great buddy as well, since she needs to lose a few pounds. Lexi is waiting for her new family to find her.

I’m improving being around other dogs!

Remember Diamond from last week? I took her out first today and she was so excited to get to go for a walk with me. Diamond is a seven-year-old Rottweiler who has been at the shelter since last August. While she still needs to be an only pet, Diamond did quite well today when she saw other dogs. Diamond has had a difficult life so far and I am hoping that the right person will come along who will give her the love and care that she needs. She was so cute today as we went around the path. She walked very well on leash, but couldn’t understand why I kept stopping and snapping her picture. Here are a couple of the ones I liked best.

I’m new here. At first I was sad, but now I’m hopeful!

When I met Roxy last Sunday, she had just arrived at WHS and seemed confused and sad. However today, she was much perkier and happily came to the front of her kennel for treats and petting. She’s not thrilled to have to be wearing a cone, having just gotten spayed, but is remarkably tolerant of it. Roxy is gentle, great with kids (she has a PG5 rating) and will make a great dog for the entire family. She is a Bull Mastiff Terrier and is one year old. That’s Kathy behind the cone!

Do my ears make my head look small?

Meet Honey Boo Boo, with Larry. I just call her Honey. She is a very lively three-year-old Hound mix. Do you love Hounds? Do you have a lot of space for her to run? Are you interested in the joy and challenge of a young dog who needs training? Honey is happy and is all about following her nose. Since she is a stray, we don’t know anything about her past, but she is looking for a Hound-savvy family to love.

I’m back. I was here as a puppy and now I’m here again!

I first met Bonnie when she arrived at WHS as a puppy. She lasted one day before being adopted. However, her family had to give her up and she is back with us again. Bonnie has grown quite a bit but is still the happy-go-lucky girl she was before. Here she is today with Kathy. Bonnie is a six-month old Lab mix. She has some training (she knows how to sit) but needs more and would love to come to WHS training classes. She is very treat-motivated, so training will be a fun game for her.

Update! Cleo becomes Tinkerbell.

I was so happy to get the following email last week.

“I doubt you remember me but my husband, our two girls and I came in  about 15 months ago (October, 2011) and adopted a Chiweenie named Cleo, (we changed her name to Tinkerbell.) The girls and I were all crying because we were so happy to have her. You read us her paperwork and she had been previously adopted and returned for many reasons. I will never forget it because you were so honest with us about her downfalls. My heart was set on that sweet little girl from the moment I saw her and I think you knew it.  My husband wasn’t too keen on adopting another dog, (we already had two boys at home). Well, the girls and I softened him up and got to take her home that day and we’ve never regretted it. I’ve probably lived with between 8-12 dogs in my lifetime, and I’ve never had a dog as special as this little angel.  We all absolutely adore her!… especially her daddy. He sleeps with her curled up under his chin every night. He doesn’t even mind her potty accidents. ..yes, she still has them every once in awhile but we love her sooooooo much, she can do no wrong. I just wanted to tell you thank you for helping us find her. She made our family feel complete the day she found us. We are so happy. Not a day goes by that we don’t ask each other who in the world would give up a dog like Tink, but BOY are we happy someone did. She has been such an incredible gift to us. I can’t believe how lucky we are to have her.”

Well, I DO remember Cleo and her wonderful new family. Here is Tinkerbelll when she was Cleo at WHS.

And here she is with her family today. Thank you for writing, Alisha, your email means a lot to me! How we love these stories!

That’s it for this week!

Remember, if you would like an email alert whenever I have published a new post, please sign up on the right side of this entry.

Also, if you see a dog on my blog whom you are interested in meeting, try to make arrangements to get to the Willamette Humane Society soon. Some dogs are adopted more quickly than you might think.