Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

What an amazing week it has been! It started out normally, with several excellent dog adoptions. Then on Saturday and Sunday, in honor of Valentine’s Day, a number of sponsors donated enough funds so that ALL of our cats and dogs could be adopted with no adoption fee! It was called the Full Hearts, Empty Kennels Adoptions Event. The outpouring of love from so many families who wanted to find a new best friend was a site to behold. Here’s what it looked like when I arrived at 3:00 on Saturday.

By the end of the day, almost all of the dogs and cats available had been adopted! There were a few more adoptables on Sunday, and they went home very quickly. Here are the Blog Dogs who went home with their new families this last week!

While there were many, many wonderful first meetings with instant love, I was personally involved in two of them and took pictures so I could share their stories.

Eartha

As you know from last week’s post, Eartha was very special to Marianne and me. We so badly wanted her to have a wonderful home. I’m happy to be able to tell you that she does. We got to spend a lot of time with Eartha and her new family in the Real Room and it was clear from the beginning that not only did they choose her, but she chose them. Here are a few pictures from their first meeting.

Of course, I was so anxious to hear how the adjustment is going and was thrilled when I got this email today. Eartha is now Amisi (an Egyptian girl’s name meaning Flower).

“When I first heard about the free adoption I knew I wanted a dog. As I was online looking through the available adoptions I came across a face I fell instantly in love with. With her stocky build, beautiful brown eyes, and slightly droopy lips I knew I had to have her in my life. After waiting all week to finally meet her, she didn’t disappoint. As soon as she came through the door she let out a burst of energy. After that I knew she had found a home, my home, our home, her home. Since then she has shown such sweet loving tenderness. She’s always on my lap or at my side. She is the perfect piece to my puzzle and I will love her forever.

“I know it’s only been a couple days, but I have some lovely pictures of Amisi. I think she likes it at her new home. We just started to introduce the cat to her today and I was able to get my cat within three feet of her before he started to get nervous. We gave her treats every time she showed good behavior. She’s also learned her name already. She truly is a wonderful dog (and the biggest bed hog.)”

 

 

 

 

Missy

Missy was another one of our favorite girls. She had been adopted and returned when she showed some separation anxiety. We think she was used to being with her person all the time. She needed someone who would be patient and who could spend a lot of time with her. Meanwhile, Mark, who struggles with depression, saw her picture online, felt bad that someone had cropped her ears, and decided they needed each other. It was love at first sight for both. While Mark waited his turn to complete the adoption paperwork, Marianne and I hung out with him and Missy. And the best news is that Missy will be able to go to work with Mark.

The picture below shows Missy coming out after getting her collar fitted and ready to head home with Mark. I’m not sure who was more excited!

 

 

 

It was another extremely rainy day today, so my dedicated Wednesday afternoon walkers brought the new dogs into the Real Room for pictures after their wet outings. Here are some of our newbies who just arrived from California. Since I just met them today, I won’t be able to tell you much about them, but I wanted to show you a few of the delightful new dogs we have!

Meet Sheba, a one-year-old German Shepherd mix, here with Jolene.

 

 

This is Alana, a very sweet nine-year-old Boxer mix, here with Kim.

 

 

Meet Bruce, a very happy two-year-old Boxer mix, here with Jolene.

 

 

This is Pebbles, a very playful five-month-old Miniature Dachshund mix, here with Wen.

 

 

Duke is a one-year-old very handsome mixed breed, here with Jolene.

 

 

After taking all of the indoor pictures of new dogs, I wanted to get a few of Marianne’s current favorite, Niner, who because he has a cold, is in the ISO kennels. Niner is a one-year-old Bull Dog Mix. I found the two of them outside playing fetch. Niner had happily managed to get himself covered with mud, but what a happy boy!

 

 

We have THREE happy updates this week!

Buddy

Buddy came to us extremely shy and sensitive to handling. But he seemed to want human contact. Here he was at WHS. Buddy needed a patient, understanding family who would earn his trust. He found them.

Here’s the update from his new parents:

“My childhood dog was a lab, and my husband’s was a white Samoyed. On the drive home, my husband Cody said, “Don’t you think it’s funny how he kinda looks like our two beloved childhood pets fused together. He is perfect.” I have volunteered with shelters in the past, and I know how hard it is. Thank you for all of your love and compassion and sacrifice. I do plan on continuing to send pictures for you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

And the next day: “We went back roads in the sunshine today. Cody stayed with him in the back. We went for a walk in downtown Portland, and when we got back we put him inside the cab on his bed in the backseat and he slept and cuddled in our arms on the way home.”

 

 

Bruce/Bernie

Bruce was one of our Oklahoma transfer youngsters. He came to Oregon hoping for a happy life with a new family and did he ever get one! Here he was at WHS just after he had arrived.

Here is what his new mom wrote about him:

“We have had Bernie, formerly Bruce, for a week now and the transition has been amazing. The boy loves his people! He is always by my side and even shares my pillow at night! I am happy to report that Bernie and the cat are adjusting well…we just had our first family nap the other day and he even let the cat knead his back. We start classes next week to get some help working on those tricky manners and look forward to him learning loose leash walking and down. Bernie is one of the dogs from Oklahoma and isn’t a huge fan of the wet Oregon weather. We took him to the river front yesterday and he LOVED the sunshine. Thank you to the ladies at WHS who spent so much time getting to know my husband and me and helping us find the perfect addition to our family.”

 

 

Orie/Nala

Orie also arrived from Oklahoma and at only four months old, was whisked away to her foster home before I met her. So I was thrilled when I got this update from her new family…which happened to also be her foster family!

“Nala is doing great! We feel so lucky to have such a good puppy. She already does great on a leash and in her crate. On walks, she prefers to carry her own leash (all gathered up in her mouth). She’ll chase a ball at the park until she wears herself out – then she quietly walks to the car and sits by the door to let us know she is ready to go home and rest. We are excited to take her hiking this summer! Thank you Willamette Humane Society! We were not planning on keeping her. We already had three dogs! She absolutely crawled into our hearts! It was almost magical how everything happened. Our other dogs are older and can sometimes be a bit cranky but they took right to her! They all are getting along and it’s like she was meant to be with us. This has been a super easy transition :)”

 

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