Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

I have wonderful news! Our somewhat challenged and goofy boy, Neptune, got adopted! His new person has experience with deaf dogs and we have high hopes that Neptune has finally found his forever home! But I get ahead of myself. He wanted to tell you himself!

 

 

Carly and Brinx are still waiting for their perfect matches, read about them in last week’s blog post!

 

 

I’m very timid. You’ll need to take a little time to get to know me, but I’m worth it!

Luna is a seven-year-old, seven-pound Chihuahua mix. Being at the shelter is an overwhelming experience for this little girl. She has been in the same home since she was a puppy. She is fearful of new people and things. BUT! She LOVES cheese!

 

Luna is house-trained and has done very well in our shelter playgroups. She doesn’t really play, but she mingles with the other dogs, both big and small and doesn’t seem fearful when with them. We decided to bring her into Mary’s Place on Sunday to see if we could get her to relax a little and not be so nervous around people. She did not want to be handled and was very cautious around us—until we got out the cheese.

We’re hoping that a family with older, dog-savvy kids and cheese will soon find Luna and take her home where she can learn to trust and relax again.

 

 

 

 

 

No, I don’t smile. But I wag my stubby tail to let you know I’m happy!

Ranger arrived at WHS on the August 23 transport from San Antonio, Texas, along with ten other dogs seeking a second chance for a forever home in Oregon. Very quickly nine of the newbies were adopted and were whisked off for their new beginnings. Ranger was not and we don’t know why.

Ranger is a four-year-old Boxer mix. He is timid at first meeting, but quickly warms up. No, he doesn’t smile, but his nubbin of a tail quivers with excitement. Ranger is gentle and calm and walks well on leash. He is rated for children around ten and older. He has done well in our playgroups, comfortable with calmer, more mellow players; he is overwhelmed by the rough and rowdy gang. He loves to play fetch and is a quick learner. He also is treat-motivated, so will be fun to work with in teaching him new skills. We took him into Mary’s Place where he enjoyed some time with The Giant Fluff Ball.

 

And then he was very happy to settle down and just hang out with us. He always has a worried look on his face, but he really is happy!

 

Here he posed with Jenna and Caroline. Sunday was Jenna’s last day of volunteering at WHS. She is off to begin college. You have seen her a lot in my blog posts and we will certainly miss her. She has been a terrific help to me every Sunday.

Marianne did her best to try to get the boy to smile, too. Nope.

 

However, to show you that you don’t need to smile to have a sense of humor…

 

Look at this face. We’re hoping Ranger’s turn to go home will happen soon.

 

 

 

 

I’m not pretty. I’ve had challenges in my short life. But I’m still hoping for a family.

Not all shelter dogs are cute and cuddly with shiny coats. Some have not had an easy life and so they are a little rough around the edges. But that doesn’t mean that the dog inside is any less of a good dog than the beauty in the next kennel. Tita is a five-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix, one of our transfers from our sister shelter in Hawaii.

 

We have no idea what kind of life Tita had for five years before coming to WHS, but it must have been difficult. She obviously has had puppies, lots of puppies. She has some patches of missing hair. She has calluses on her elbows, indicating many nights sleeping on concrete, and she is underweight. She is also black. “Black dogs sitting in animal shelters are often overlooked by prospective pet owners, according to animal rescue organizations who have dubbed the problem the ‘black dog syndrome.’ What we’ve learned is that large black dogs tend to be the last ones to get adopted from shelters,” writes Kim Saunders, the head of shelter outreach for Petfinder.com.(https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AmazingAnimals/pet-owners-overlook-black-dogs-cats-animal-shelters/story?id=8785177)

Tita isn’t a pretty dog and she’s black. But don’t assume that Tita is depressed or has given up her dream of an Oregon home. She hasn’t. Here she is with Jenna and Marianne.

 

What kind of home does Tita need? She will have to be the only pet in a family with older kids. She likes to go for walks and playing with toys. And she loves spending time with her peeps.

 

Life hasn’t been easy for our Tita in her five years and we are hoping that a family will stop at her kennel and see beyond the rough exterior into her inner dog. Once they do that, they will surely take her home.

 

 

 

Buddy!

For all of Buddy’s fans, here’s another update, and no doubt the funniest one EVER. And for those who are new to my posts, here’s Buddy’s story in brief.

Background: Atom arrived at WHS as a stray and a medical mess on September 13, 2017. Because of his age, about nine, and multiple health issues, it would have been easy to decide that he was too old for the needed treatments. But Atom had such a sweet, gentle personality despite all of his problems, and WHS put the time and effort into making him healthy again. So you can imagine how thrilled we all were when a delightful young couple fell in love with this giant teddy bear and decided to take him home. They have been wonderful about keeping in touch and love Buddy (his new name) with all their hearts.

Now the Buddy Fan Club knew that Buddy has many talents. But not one of us…not ONE…had a clue that our boy could SING! So you can imagine our surprise when this video arrived last week! Oh, and you need to know that Buddy does EVERYTHING with a tennis ball stuffed in his mouth!

 

And here’s the latest picture of a much loved dog and his pal.

 

Next week I’ll be on a fun trip which will include a whale watching boat tour! Wish me luck! I’ll post again on September 19th.

That’s all 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