Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

The first week of the new year was a great one for adoptions! Here are the latest lucky dogs who are now enjoying their new families.

The WHS staff sent me some more pictures to post of some of the adoptions!

Here is Quincy and his new family member.

Here is little Eric going home.

Layla looks very excited to start her new life!

Coltrane is now Ollie.

And here is shy Sienna about to go home. I happened to see her meeting her new brother, a Husky/Hound mix. They were instant best friends and were frolicking around like I’d never seen Sienna act before. It was such a happy meet.

Lastly, I want to write a note about Skipper’s adoption. First, his back story. Skipper was found as a stray. He was missing a back leg and was greatly overweight. It was extra hard for him to walk due to his weight. But what a happy guy he was! Always eager, always grinning, and such a lovebug. A staff member took him home to foster to lose some weight before he could be put up for adoption. After just a couple of weeks Skipper had lost TEN pounds and was walking better. (It would have been an even greater loss, except for the potato chip bag incident…don’t ask.) He got to come to play group and had a wonderful time with the little dogs. Well… the staff member adopted this wonderful boy! He’s going to have a great life and we’ll get to see him! Oh, and his name is now Diesel and he’s lost 15 pounds!

Chatter

All the rain lately means that the yards are pretty muddy. Think that would be a problem for the dogs? Are you kidding? Here are some comments I overheard.

First, to appreciate the following cartoon series fully, you need to see Sully as he usually is, a beautiful white dog.

Sully and Stella turned out to have the exact same play style–rough and rowdy. They had an absolute blast romping together.

Meanwhile, Tag, a Border Collie mix (who was adopted later Sunday afternoon) couldn’t believe there weren’t any tennis balls in play group and decided he needed to check the supply box.

When play group was over, I took Sully back to his kennel. He had one question.

I’m an 11 pound Parson Russell Terrier mix looking for a person to love. You?

One of the first new dogs that Sarah and I met on Sunday was Beggin, a one-year-old from California. He is extremely shy and a little nervous around new people, but as we found out, he quickly warms up when given gentle attention. He knows how to sit on command and took my treats politely. Both Sarah and I fell in love with this little guy. We’re hoping he’ll soon be curled up on a lap in a new home.

I’m still here, still waiting for the right family to adopt me! Will you come soon?

I happened to see Jacob walking Candie on Sunday afternoon. Candie has been at the shelter since December 6. She came from California as a S.T.A.R.T. dog. She is a five-year-old Pit Bull Terrier mix. Candie needs someone willing to put in some training time with her so that she learns to walk on leash politely. She is so excited to be out, she pulls and she is a strong girl. She also would do best as an only pet. She loves people, is affectionate and really a sweet girl who doesn’t mind being handled. I’m hoping the right family will adopt this beauty soon.

I love this picture of her.

Yep, I’m really a Greyhound mix!

Meet four-year-old Sable. It’s not often we get a Greyhound mix at the shelter. Sable is very smart and knows several commands. She is house-trained and walks on leash politely. She is timid and sensitive to sudden movement and noise. She would do best in a calm home with older children. She would like a patient, understanding owner who will help her build confidence. She is a beauty, and as you can see, Sarah adores this girl!

I just arrived here Sunday afternoon and felt very nervous.

It often is very confusing and overwhelming for a dog when they first enter the shelter environment. I met Kerby for the first time when Diane brought him out to walk very soon after he had been surrendered. Kerby is a six-year-old purebred Havanese. He needs a calm, loving home, as he does not do well with sudden change. Not knowing much about this breed, I looked it up and found the following information:

Havanese are natural companion dogs, gentle and responsive. They become very attached to their human families and are excellent with children. Very affectionate and playful with a high degree of intelligence, these cheerful dogs are very sociable and will get along with everyone including people, dogs, cats and other pets. They are easy to obedience train. (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com)

Kerby has lived with two cats and gets along with other dogs and does, indeed, love people. I’m hoping he’ll soon be in a new home with his new family.

This look at Diane grabbed me.

Here Kerby was today with Joan. I was anxious to see if he was less nervous than on Sunday. He did seem to have gained a little more confidence, though he has a way to go. He loved Joan’s attention.

I’ve got a little cold, so am in the ISO kennels, but I’m still very adoptable!

Looking for a youngster full of life who will love any adventure you want to take? Then six-month-old Spanky might just be the one for you! At the moment this fun guy is recovering from a cold. Sometimes dogs who are located in the separate ISO kennels are overlooked by visitors to the shelter, so I especially wanted to feature him in this week’s post. Spanky is another California dog and is a Pit Bull Terrier mix. He is smart and eager to please. He loves to chase tennis balls, though he needs a little practice on remembering to return them. Sarah and I had a lot of fun playing with this boy on Sunday. He’ll make a terrific family dog.

Does this sincere look go to your heart? I hope so, I really want to be adopted!

Since I was already in the ISO kennels visiting Spanky, I decided to spend some time with Destiny, who was recovering from a cold, too. Happily, she is all well now and back in the Adoption kennels. Destiny is a three-year-old S.T.A.R.T. Pit Bull Terrier mix who is simply delightful. She LOVES people and followed me all around the yard. She sits when asked and took my hot dog treats politely. She’s a happy girl with extremely sincere eyes.

Here’s her happy look.

Did someone say PUPPIES?!

The rumor is true. A wonderful mother and her nine puppies arrived at the shelter last week. They are now in a foster home for a few weeks until they are weaned. Then they will be separated into nine foster homes until they are old enough to be adoptable. (We’ll be needing nine foster homes; if anyone is interested, please call our Foster Coordinator, Alix at: (503) 585-5900 ext. 303, or e-mail Foster@whs4pets.org.)

I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of these adorable little guys, so here is your puppy fix for the week!

Emelynn’s Pick of the Week!

When I arrived at the shelter today, the first dog I walked was Sully. Happily someone had given him a bath after his Sunday mud play, and he was back to his beautiful white coat. Sully is an eight-month-old Pit Bull Terrier mix who needs a little help with house training, but otherwise is such a delight. He walks extremely nicely on leash, matching his pace with yours. He takes treats politely and loves attention.

Later, Emelynn and I took him out again and she decided that he would be her pick. Here they are in the big yard. Sully’s adoption package includes a WHS class called Check In and Chill Out which will be excellent for this big pup!

My name’s Brody. Need a new friend?

A new arrival to the shelter is Brody, a four-year-old Golden Retriever. He’s a little sad at the moment, but I’m sure will cheer up when he has a new family. Brody is good with kids and other dogs and is house trained. He took my treats gently and loved having Carol spend time with him. I know he will be happily in a new home very soon.

I’m back from a foster home and ready for a family of my own!

This is Mixy, a very sweet one-year-old Bulldog mix. Mixy is a bit shy, but has lived with kids well and gets along with other dogs. She was an outdoor dog before being surrendered and has loved living inside at her foster home. She’s a little nervous about being back at the shelter, so I’m hoping she’ll be adopted very quickly. She’ll make a wonderful family dog. Today she spent some quality time with Joan and loved it.

  Mixy has an endearing way of picking up her paw when asked to sit for a treat.

I’m back!

Yep, Pancho is back at the shelter. It seems he needs some additional work on house training, so will need a patient new family. This guy is such a clown and so much fun to be around! He is an eight-year-old Pointer/Collie mix, but you’d never know it by his energy! Need to be around someone who is always happy? Pancho is your boy! He LOVES to play fetch, and fully intends to bring the ball back to you, but oh my, there’s a stick over there that needs to be sniffed right now! Today Emelynn and I took Pancho out for some fun play time.

He knows several commands like “sit” and “shake.”

He doesn’t have “lie down” quite yet. Pancho kept us laughing the whole time we were with him. He is such a goofy guy!

My name is Mia and the person who fostered me says I’m special!

I got a very touching email from the woman who fostered Mia, a four-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, one of our recent S.T.A.R.T. dogs from California. I promised I would feature Mia in today’s blog post. Here’s what her foster wrote:

“I brought Mia back to the shelter a week ago. She was pretty shy in the shelter when I picked her up, but is 100% the sweetest, most mellow girl ever. It broke my heart to take her back, but we just don’t have the room for another pup right now. Anyway, love what you do and would love to see a bio on her! Any family would be lucky to get her.”

So, of course, I had to spend some time with Mia today. What a happy girl even though she was wearing a cone.

I told her I’d take the cone off for a few minutes for pictures and she was ecstatic! Just then volunteer Chelsea happened by, so I asked her to pose with Mia. Such a happy dog!

I’m young, I’m active, I’m just a huge pup! Will you adopt me and teach me stuff?

Shadow is a one-year-old, 82-pound Weimaraner/Shepherd mix who is looking for a dog-savvy home with lots of space to run. Emelynn and I took him out to the big yard to play and did he play! He has not learned much about manners, but is smart and treat motivated, so will be fun to train. Today we worked on sitting when asked and taking treats gently. At 82 pounds, this boy can pull and needs to learn to walk without stressing the leash. But he has a good heart, is full of fun, and will make the right family a terrific new addition.

Here Emelynn tells him he must sit before she’ll throw the ball.

“Yep, I’ve got that, Emelynn!”

He’s pretty good about returning the ball, though sometimes forgets mid-run.

He’s a happy boy waiting for the right family. Is it yours?

Updates!

We have two super updates this post!

Playa/Layla

Playa, now Layla, has quite a story. I met Playa last August when I took this picture of her. She was a new S.T.A.R.T. puppy and oh, so cute! She was adopted and returned three times before she found her forever home in October. She will be the first to tell you it was well worth the wait!

Here she is today. Think she is loved?

This is what her family says:

 “I thought I would send you an update on how Layla (Playa) is doing.  She’s great!  Spoiled rotten and loving her forever home.  She gets walked 1 – 2 times daily, we are trying to get her out early every morning to the school across the street as it’s fenced in so we can let her run free, chasing the tennis ball and burning her energy for the day! She loves her new family, sometimes driving our older Staffordshire Terrier, Bogie,, crazy!  She climbs on him, sits on him and snuggles with him.  They play tug of war sometimes, too. I am working with her on walking slower, without pulling, and it seems to be working pretty well, though it is a slow process. We have taken her into the mountains a couple times, once camping, and she loved the freedom to run! She’s 51 pounds now!  But of course, a lap dog forever!”

Tad

Remember Tad? He was adopted by his foster family.

Here is their update:

“We adopted Tad about a month ago and couldn’t be happier with the progress he’s made. Expecting a very hyper and wild young pointer—but it turns out he is a huge bedbug, and loves to cuddle! We’ve mastered the commands sit, lie down, stay, whoa and shake. He’s also doing very well on the leash, and we’re working on the long lead for the command of come. We’ve been crating him when he’s left home alone, and at night, but for the first time today (1/8) we left him out unsupervised for about an hour and we got the pleasure of coming home to a house in one piece! He was quietly and calmly napping on the couch. We were very happily surprised.

He loves to play ball and fetch… We took him for a little fishing trip, and he spent the whole day trying to chase the fishing lures. It was quite the show!

He also loves birds quite a bit, or anything that slightly resembles a bird… like leaves blowing in the wind. Once he has the basic obedience down, we do plan to do a little bird-dog training with him, if nothing else to give him a job and exercise him. Plus, he’ll love it!

He’s super silly, and we love him a whole bunch. He is the most easy-going, and happy boy we’ve ever taken home. He was the best Christmas present, and just the addition our family needed.

We thank everyone at Willamette Humane.”

On these happy notes, that’s it for this week!

Remember, 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.

You can reach me at adoptanoregondog14@yahoo.com