Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

I’ve spent the past week in Florida visiting family, but took my computer and have kept up on adoptions. Here are the lucky Blog Dogs who went to their new homes.

I was especially excited about two of the adoptions: Grommet and Beatrice. Grommet has been waiting since January for his forever family, and had become such a favorite of both staff and volunteers that there were tears of happiness from many. Beatrice, at 87 pounds, was so big for her kennel that I was also thrilled when her new family found her. Here is a staff picture sent to me just before she went home.

While I missed Sunday’s play group, a couple of staff members sent me some cute pictures of what they reported was a terrific time. Although I didn’t get to hear the chatter, the pictures speak for themselves.

This little character, Dini, is a one-year-old Chihuahua mix.

  Dini enjoyed hanging out with Kim.

Another newbie is Lindi, an eight-year-old Pug/Beagle mix.

Looks like the two of them had a great time Sunday morning!

One of my current favorites, Thelma, was quite the jokester! Kim said, “She just quietly walked up to the bench and stuck her head under the arm rest and grabbed the bottle! She walked away nonchalantly and took it under the platform, then decided on top was better.” Thelma is a delightful three-year-old Pit Bull Terrier mix who has been at the shelter since March 5. Let’s find her new family soon!

 Need a hound in your family? Well, you found me!

Meet Nana, a one-year-old purebred Plott Hound. Nana’s former owners say she is great with kids and very loving. She has been an outside dog only, so will need some house training with her new family. As a young hound, she will require plenty of exercise and room to follow her nose. I haven’t gotten to know her well yet, but here she was with Bruce last week. I’m hoping a hound-savvy family will find this sweet girl soon!

Dog Flash! — Emma here…

Well, that’s as far into this blog post that Martha got before she and her husband headed to Florida to visit family last week. She fully expected to be back at WHS for her regular dog-walking-and-picture-taking shift so she could finish it. However, a staff member just brought an urgent message from her to me in my kennel. It seems she and John got stranded in Salt Lake City last night due to weather conditions in the southeast and won’t be back in Salem until late today. She asked me to finish writing this post and I’m happy to help! If you are a regular reader of Martha’s blog, you know me well! But if you are a new reader, let me introduce myself.

My name is Emma. I was rescued in California by a very kind lady who found me on her street after I was abandoned. She wanted to keep me, but she couldn’t, and she tried really hard to find me a home. After I was in a shelter in California for four months, the kind lady told S.T.A.R.T. (Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team) about me and they decided I’d have a much better chance at getting adopted in Oregon. So I became an Oregon dog. After several months here at WHS, I was finally adopted in December by a family with a wonderful little boy who called me “My Sweet Emma.” I took good care of him (I love children) and his parents loved me and said I was a perfectly behaved house dog. However, because of my former life in California, I have chronic ear and skin allergies that were very annoying for both me and my family. They tried to stay on top of my condition, but they were very busy and just couldn’t manage it. Finally they decided it wasn’t fair to me that they couldn’t give me the care I need, so they brought me back to the shelter.

Now I’m waiting for a new family that I hope will be my forever people. Maybe it’s one of you who are reading this post! I am a three-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix.  I need a family who can keep ahead of my ear and skin allergies with special meds and food. (I really like my food!) I love people, especially children! I am picky about my dog friends, however, so I should be my family’s only pet. I walk very well on leash, I’m gentle, I love to chase a tennis ball (though I do get distracted and don’t return it to you), and I know several commands.  A couple of weeks ago, I was chosen to represent shelter dogs at our Humaneitarian Awards reception. Everyone said I was a star! Here’s a picture of me from it.

  
Anyway, that’s my story. I’ve been waiting to meet you for several weeks now. The staff and volunteers take very good care of me and my ears and skin have really cleared up since being back at WHS and I feel great! I can’t wait to finally have my forever family. I promise to be the best dog you ever had!

We’re new here, looking for new homes!

Now I’d like to tell you about two other dogs who are also waiting for their new homes. I saw Debbie and Emelynn out with these two when I was on my walk last week. Meet Mater (left) and Koda. They are both eleven years old and are Miniature Poodles. They are happy little characters and I couldn’t believe they are eleven! They certainly don’t act like it! They don’t have to be adopted together, they are just looking for forever homes. They could use a haircut, but I didn’t say anything, I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. I hope they get adopted soon, too.

Thanks, Emma, for filling in for me! I’m back tonight, just in time to add this note from Emelynn who walked dogs this afternoon.

Emelynn’s Pick of the Week!

“I decided to bring Cheeseburger home for a respite to stay the night with my sister, Annestelle, it’s her birthday. They absolutely love each other! It’s the cutest thing! She’s already fed him and taken him for a walk, and he loves having his own little girl almost as much as she loves having her own puppy, even if it’s just for a night. He’s doing great with the dogs (even though they’re overwhelming him a bit) and just loves kissing, cuddling, and playing with everyone.”

Cheeseburger is a five-month-old Chhuahua mix pup who is looking for a family who will help him grow into the good adult boy he wants to become. His adoption package even includes a WHS class called “Surviving Puppyhood.” He’s been waiting for his new family for over a month, so we’re hoping he’ll find his perfect match very soon! Maybe these pictures will help!

Updates!

Joseph

I have two updates about two very special dogs. First, here are the latest pictures from Joseph’s family. I’m sure you’ll remember that Joseph was rescued in California after spending his first five years on a chain. He is living such a wonderful life now with a terrific family of boys who love him. Lucky Joseph, lucky family!

Precious/Jinni

Some of you may remember Precious who arrived as a S.T.A.R.T. dog from California last November. Here is what I wrote about her then.

The first time I met Precious, she was trembling in her kennel, afraid at first to even take a treat from me. It took some coaxing to get her to go outside where I took this picture.

Here’s the latest from her adopter, Alicia.

“Jinni is doing great. In the last month, she has actually started acting more like a dog, rather than a very shy, scared, tired and traumatized little girl. It has been delightful to see her run and play flirt pole and lie in the sun on the back deck. She is clearly a California Girl. I call her that, as she does not like the rain, at all. Her little personality continues to emerge and she is increasingly expressive. My heart laughs in delight at all the little sounds her body makes. She snores like a logger, burps, has occasional gas sounds, yawns loudly, and snorts, but rarely barks. She is an absolute joy and we adore her, as does our Sterling. As the weather improves, I will try my best to get a couple photos of her in the yard, but as I have mentioned, it is very difficult to photograph her, even still. If she sees what I am doing she moves or comes right up next to me. That still seems to scare her. Her coat is so beautiful and she has filled out in her chest and face. I love looking at her.”

 

Next week will be back to a normal post! In the meantime, I hope there will be many new adoptions!

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