Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

In this post I am featuring three small dogs who have been waiting a long time for special homes. They aren’t the right dogs for every family but, for the right ones, they all will be wonderful companions. All three have issues with resource-guarding. This means they do not like to have their toys taken away from them, and they may guard their food, as well. Such behavior needs to be well-managed and reward-based training is a must. But wait until you meet these three terrific dogs. We are hoping that soon some “just-right” adopters will fall for these quirky characters and become their new best friends.

 

I love people but I don’t like to share my toys.

Little Joe is a nine-year-old Chihuahua mix who arrived at WHS in January, having been transferred from another shelter after being found as a stray.

He was adopted once, but returned. Joe is adorable, likes hanging out with his peeps, and LOVES all toys! In fact, he loves them so much that he guards them; so no families with children for Joe. He’ll need a home with adults only or older teenagers who will manage Joe’s behavior safely. He also will guard his food, so he’ll need to be the only pet. But oh, what a fun little character he will be and such a delight to have around for the right person. One of his favorite activities is to bury himself under blankets. For the right people, who will give him the space that he needs, Joe will be a wonderful companion. He bonds quickly and would do very well in a one-person home. His former adopter reported that he was fine when crated for several hours at a time and is house-trained. We spent some quality time with Little Joe on Sunday and he was happy, affectionate, and endearing. He enjoyed posing for my camera with Marianne and Caroline.

Megan is another one of his fans.

Little Joe’s adoption includes a consultation with a member of our Behavior Team who will explain exactly how to help Joe with his resource-guarding issues. While this little guy will need some management, he is absolutely worth the effort. Little Joe been waiting a long time. We’re hoping his new just-right person will find him soon.

 

 

 

 

They say I’m a “hoot,” whatever THAT means!

Benny has been waiting for his special family since December. He was adopted once, but returned. Benny is a six-year-old Chihuahua/Dachshund mix who is the life of any party. He absolutely LOVES  Nylabones! He loves them so much, in fact, that we’ve promised him we will send one home with him when he’s adopted.

 

 

Benny is house-trained, walks beautifully on leash, and loves any toy! He, like Little Joe, sometimes likes his toys a little too much and can be a resource-guarder, also. He will need a home with older children who will respect his space. We have been surprised that this happy-go-lucky dog has not found his forever home yet. Then we decided that because he is so calm and quiet in his kennel, potential adopters pass him by. We hope the solution is to make a movie and show what a joyful and fun dog Benny really is. So on Sunday we took him into Mary’s Place and we were in stitches as we watched Benny entertain himself.

We can’t wait for this hilarious boy and his Nylabone to find his perfect family.

 

 

 

Yep, I’m still here. I know, it’s hard to believe!

I have written about Ziggy before, but he is still at the shelter waiting. So I’ve decided to write about him again in hopes that a new person will see this post and realize they want to adopt him. Ziggy is almost a year old and is a mixed breed. He has only three working legs. His left front leg was probably deformed from birth and because he’s never known anything else, Ziggy doesn’t realize he’s any different from other dogs. He has been working with our Behavior Team and is looking for a special home.

 

Ziggy is affectionate and very treat-motivated. He LOVES cheese and people! Marianne is one of his favorite volunteers.

Ziggy is house-trained, attentive, a quick learner and he does well in our playgroups. He needs to go to a home with older teens or just adults, and it must be cat-free. Ziggy’s issue is that he, too, will guard food and toys. He was adopted once and was returned because of his resource-guarding. He will need a home where people will leave him alone when he eats and when he is chewing on a toy. Granted, this boy will take some management, but oh, what rewards he will give you in return! He attended a WHS training class while he was with his last family and excelled. The trainer hopes Ziggy’s new family will continue the class where he was learning cues like “leave it,” “Go to bed,” and “Look!” (eye contact). Ziggy walks beautifully on leash and is a happy, enthusiastic young dog. What is his FAVORITE thing to do? Play fetch! Having only three legs does not slow him down for a nanosecond. He even drops the ball when he returns it for you to throw again.

 

If you have the right home for this exuberant, fun-loving dog, fill out an on-line application at https://whs4pets.org/adopt-a-pet/adoption-process/adoption-application/ and the Behavior and Training team will contact you for an appointment to meet Ziggy.

 

 

 

 

Bo is an enthusiastic two-year-old Lab mix, here with Megan.

 

 

 

Our sweet Cybil is in a foster home, still waiting for her new family. She is an eight-year-old Shepherd mix. She has many fans.

 

 

 

Terry is a three-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix. This is his second time at WHS; he was adopted a year ago, but came back when his family could not take care of him any longer. Here are a couple of pictures I took of this happy, goofy boy in 2018.

 

And here he was on Sunday, with Ayla—still the same sweet, silly dog as ever.

 

 

 

Dodo has been pre-adopted, which is a very good thing, since getting a calm, posed picture of him and the human was quite challenging!

 

 

 

 

Montegro/Monty

Remember our sweet Hawaiian transfer, Montegro, who had been attacked by a wild animal, losing part of his mouth? We all fell head-over-heels in love with this gentle giant and we worried about who would adopt him, but we didn’t have to.

 

 

Monty has landed in a jackpot of a home, and I got this latest update last week:

“We love Monty sooo much! He keeps us laughing and loving all day and night! He loves everyone he meets. Thank you so much to everyone at the Willamette Humane Society for making our new family possible!”

Could this boy BE any more relaxed?!

 

 

Lulu — Pre-adopted

This last entry isn’t a usual update, but I want to tell you about Lulu and our wonderful volunteer, Ayla. This little dog arrived at WHS badly in need of a bath and grooming. When such a dog comes to us, our volunteer groomer, Ayla, gets right to work. Ayla spends countless hours bathing and grooming dogs who are so much happier and more adoptable after she’s done. And as often happens, shortly after Ayla performed her magic, Lulu was pre-adopted, ready to go home after she is spayed.

Lulu before:

 

Lulu now!

Ayla is an amazing and greatly appreciated volunteer.

 

 

On that very happy update, that’s it for this week!

 

All of the dogs I have featured today, along with other terrific dogs waiting to be adopted, can be found at Willamette Humane Society. Here is the link to the adoptable-dog page:

https://whs4pets.org/adopt-a-pet/dogs-2/

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