Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

“We’re having a Brindle Day!” laughed Marianne on Sunday during Blanket Time after playing with Arnold, Lady, and Girlie. I had never really thought much about the term brindle, so looked it up when I got home. Here’s what I found:

“The dogs that come in tricolor tiger-stripe or patchy pattern, mostly in gold, brown or earth tones range, are called brindled dog breeds. The brindled colored coat is generally reserved for short coated dogs, but sizes may vary. The Brindled dogs are most alluring, captivating and beloved of their owners. Not only wonderful in appearance but the Brindle Dog Breeds are also very courageous, intelligent and tolerant companions.” (http://www.itsdogbreeds.info/brindle-dog-breeds)

I decided the source was right-on. Take a close look at pictures of these three, plus, I’ll throw in a picture of another one of our favorites, Rosco, all taken on Sunday and all very special dogs. In this post, I’m going to feature two of these characters, Arnold and Girlie.

Arnold

Lady

Girlie

Rosco

 

 

Do I love people? Am I goofy around them? You bet! I love making my peeps laugh! And believe me, they laugh!

Arnold, or Arnie, as we call him, is a seven-year-old Boxer mix. While we’ve laughed at many dogs’ antics, Arnie is in a class of his own. Since he came to us as a stray, we don’t know how he became such a comedian, and he isn’t saying. Arnie is looking for an active family with older kids and no cats. He promises to keep everyone entertained and he’d love to take some of the WHS training classes to fine-tune his skills. Arnie is a quick study and an affectionate goofball. He has won a loyal fan club. Here are some pictures to prove it. He’s going to make some family a wonderful new best friend.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Caroline and Marianne laugh so hard.

Or Caitlin, for that matter.

Nor Ayla.

 

Blanket Time with Arnie

 

 

 

 

It’s true. I’m back again. I’m a little discouraged, but I know my person is out there.

Our sweet Girlie has now been adopted and returned three times. Through these trials and errors, we have discovered that she cannot live with cats and that she will need a patient and understanding person who will give her the time she needs to settle into a new home. But she will be so worth the effort it will take. Each of her adopters has written about her gentle, affectionate personality and her love to be with her people. Girlie wants nothing more than to be close to her person.  She is smart and treat-motivated which makes her easy to train—she has learned basic commands quickly. She would love a family of her own and could live with older kids.  Girlie does need to be the only pet, but she will be all that you need. Volunteer Susan took her home for a few days as a respite from the shelter and writes this: “I love, love, love this dog and can’t understand why she has had adoption returns. She is house-trained and asks to go out. This girl just wants to hang with her peeps and get regular walks and lots of affection. A fenced yard would be perfect and rides in the car are her favorite thing. She just wants to be wherever you are.” Girlie is a seven-year-old mixed breed. We are sure the perfect person is out there for this wonderful, happy girl. We just have to find them. On Sunday Marianne, Caroline, and I spent some relaxing Blanket Time with our sweet Girlie. We all loved it. Especially Girlie.

 

 

 

Caroline’s Pick of the Week!

You know those YouTube videos of horrific natural disasters where suddenly a superbly trained search and rescue dog, often a beautiful black Lab, finds and saves a small child, a cat, and her litter of kittens? Well, Ty is not one of those dogs. While it’s true, Ty was chosen to attend search and rescue school, and he is a beautiful black Lab, he decided the training was an awful lot of work and that he’d really rather just hang out playing fetch, taking dips in a pool, and being someone’s best friend. So here he is at WHS waiting for his forever family. I was not surprised when Caroline couldn’t wait for me to meet this two-year-old happy-go-lucky boy.If you’ve met young Labs, then you know this boy has a TON of energy and while he has a lot of commands and house-training totally under his paws, he will need to go to a home with older (13+) kids and he wants to be the only pet. But believe him, you won’t need any other pets with this clown around. He does need to work on polite leash-walking. So if you’re looking for a partner in an active lifestyle and enjoy positive training an eager, smart dog, Ty may be your perfect fit.

 

 

 

I happened to see Jolene out with Bogart, a five-year-old American Staffordshire mix, playing out in the big yard. He was having a great time!

 

 

 

We decided to let Rosco take his beloved Giant Fluff Ball out to play in the big yard. He happily carried it all the way out and back in. He had a blast. Rosco is a four-year-old Shepherd mix in need of a special home.

 

 

Lady loved her Blanket Time with Marianne. Lady is an eight-year-old Retriever mix.

 

 

Fredrick is a nine-year-old Retriever mix who is such a gentle old soul. Here he is with Diane on Sunday.

 

 

Caroline fell in love with goofy Gonzo, a six-month-old Basset Hound/Retriever mix.

 

 

Newbie Tilly, a two-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix, won many hearts on Sunday, including Caitlin and Marianne’s.

 

 

Dixie, a three-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix, also was a huge hit with her endearing personality, here with Marianne.

 

On those 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

Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

Spring is in full bloom in the Northwest and both dogs and volunteers are enjoying the sun and warm temperatures. One dog who especially loves his outside exercise time is Bogart!

I can’t wait to meet my forever family! Is it yours? I’ll be here at the shelter waiting for you!

Bogart is a five-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix who arrived at WHS in March. He has been patiently waiting and hoping that a new family will adopt him since his first family moved and couldn’t take him with them. Bogart is a big boy at 90 pounds and will need a family with older kids 13+, as he can get very excited about treats, birds, playing fetch, birds, tennis balls, and did I mention birds? Bogart is house-trained and has been around children and done well, but needs to learn to walk more politely on leash. Using a Halti (a head harness) is helping to teach him more polite walking. Bogart will need to be the only pet. He is highly treat-motivated and very smart, which means he would love to learn new skills as long as cheese bits were involved. We’re hoping Bogart’s perfect family will find him soon; he’s been waiting for them a long time. Here he was on Sunday with Jolene. He wanted me to make a movie showing his love of life, hoping that will help him find his forever home.

 

 

 

 

Are you retired? Do you need another retiree who won’t be much trouble, but be a quiet best friend? If so, you need to come and meet me!

Spike is a Rat Terrier mix and is about ten years old. He was found as a stray and taken to another Oregon shelter where he was not adopted. Now he is hoping that he’ll find a retirement home through us. Spike is a bit shy at first meeting, but warms up given a little time. Our vet has determined Spike has a somewhat enlarged heart, but reports that he is doing very well and may have a long, happy life. Spike is looking for an adult home, or one with children over thirteen. He gets along well with small dogs, but is frightened by large ones, is startled by loud noises, and can be fearful of strangers. Although he loves to be next to his person, he isn’t comfortable being picked up. What a delightful little dog Spike is! He is eager, lively and attentive. He loves cheese treats and hanging out with people. This little guy deserves to have a loving home to spend as long as life is good for him. We are always amazed and thankful for the special adopters who happily accept a dog like Spike, uncertain how long they will have to enjoy him, but anxious to shower him with love. He has become one of Marianne’s and my current favorites. Here he was on Sunday. We’re hoping he’ll soon be relaxing with his new peeps.

 

 

 

If you adopt me, I’ll be your best friend forever!

Our sweet Lady arrived at WHS in May, when her family could no longer take care of her. She is one of the gentlest, happiest, most affectionate dogs we’ve had in a long time. Lady is an eight-year-old Retriever mix who has been an outdoor dog her whole life. She really hopes to be an indoor dog now that she’s a bit older, but she’ll need a little patience and help in becoming house-trained. As smart and people-motivated as she is, it should be a snap. Lady needs to be the only pet, as she likes to chase cats and prefers to play with people rather than other dogs. On Sunday we brought Lady out for some Blanket Time and she was in heaven. We quickly discovered that having her tummy rubbed is one of her favorite things in the world. Lady really will be a wonderful best friend for a family with children ten and older. What a gem.

 

 

 

 

Jasmin loves me to the moon and back!

This week I’m happy to post a “guest editorial” written by high school volunteer, Jasmin, about about her favorite shelter dog Feona.

“I started volunteering at WHS in March and the times I’ve spent at the shelter have been the best days of my life. The biggest reason is because of my four-legged best friend, Feona, a three-year-old Staffordshire/Bull Terrier mix. Each day that I volunteer is a day full of Feona kisses and love! Feona is intelligent, affectionate, and outgoing. She is the first and last dog I visit each day. She enjoys playgroup with her dog friends and, afterward, I go in her kennel and rub her neck. She eventually falls asleep in my lap and sometimes I’ll catch her snoring! Although Feona loves her naps, she also loves her squeaky toys. Feona has many squeaky toys because I can’t help but spoil her. When she hears their squeal, she looks at me playfully and jumps around with happiness. Her body wiggles all over, and her face breaks into a huge grin. Feona also enjoys long walks and stops to sniff every smell. After her walk, we usually go sit in the shade so she can cool down and have some quiet time before she goes back to her kennel. After a couple of minutes, she starts rolling around in the grass being silly. Feona is loving to anyone who shows her affection. In April I was in an accident and couldn’t go to WHS for a week. The moment I could, I drove straight to WHS, itching to see my beautiful Feona girl. I walked in and she was lying on her bed. The minute she saw me, she began wiggling all over with excitement, and I got a lump in my throat. Feona is not just any dog. She has so much love to give a new family. I so hope Feona will be found by her forever people very soon and that they will love her as much as I do.”

To show you how well Feona does on leash, here is a clip from last week when I took her out for her afternoon walk.

 

 

Feona got to go swimming with volunteer Joan last Friday. Joan reported that while she wasn’t very graceful, by the third swim, she was doing much better. “When I picked her up at WHS, she didn’t want to or couldn’t jump up in the car. However, when we were finished swimming and went back out to the car, she just hopped in. I bought her a beautiful new martingale collar as a reward when we returned to the shelter.❤️ I, of course, am smitten. She kissed me!”

 

 

 

Speaking of guest editorials…here’s another one from one of our foster moms, Jolene.

“Hey everyone, do you like apples? How about pears, well pairs! The spelling is different but these two little dogs are just as sweet!  Eddie, a two-year-old Chihuahua/Pug mix and Sugar, a four-year-old Chihuahua, are my foster dogs. I have been fostering them because they were scared and stressed in the shelter. They have learned that life is good and as sweet as they are. They are ready to show their forever family how much they have grown. Both of them are house-trained, love going for walks, get along with my large dogs, seem dog- and people-social and do well riding in cars. I do not have cats so I am not sure if that would be a good situation. Considering their personality and size, small children may make them feel uncomfortable. They would enjoy the love and attention of older respectful kids. They are quite the pair and love playing and napping with each other. So much so, that you may want to turn off the TV and watch them!  🙂 So if you want to add to your family, are a retired couple, or you are a single/retired person and just want some wonderful company, these two may be for you”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if these two best friends went to their new home together?

 

 

Speaking of pairs that would be so happy to go home together, here are my latest pictures of Angus and Audrey from Sunday. How great it would be if someone fell in love watching these two characters. Both are American Staffordshire Terrier mixes. Angus is one and Audrey is three.

 

 

 

Rosco is still waiting for his perfect person fit. He adores his Giant Fluff Ball! Rosco is a four-year-old Shepherd mix in need of a special home.

 

 

Meet Bubba, a six-year-old Dachshund mix, here with Diane.

 

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