Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

It was a pretty dark and dismal Sunday in Salem on December 1st, so we decided we needed some Christmas spirit to brighten things up. What to do? What to do? Angelina had an idea! Dress up!

 

 

I’m not a youngster anymore, but I still have spunk!

Angelina is a ten-year-old Alaskan Husky/Shepherd mix. This is not her first time at WHS. She arrived in July of 2010, having been found as a stray. She was adopted later that month. Then in January of 2011, she was again found as a stray. She was adopted that February. Her family surrendered her a couple of weeks ago because they couldn’t take care of her anymore. She was having some skin issues and had lost patches of hair. However, with treatment, she looks and feels much better since her arrival. She has some of the usual old-lady lumps, but don’t think that because she is ten, Angelina just lies around. Nope! Marianne, Megan and I took her out to a yard on Sunday and she had a great time playing fetch. She’ll even drops the ball for you to throw again.

 

 

After a spirited game, she was ready to relax in Mary’s Place with Ayla and Megan.

 

Angelina’s family reported that she loves people and is very friendly. She knows basic commands and is both house- and crate-trained. She isn’t afraid of strangers and solicits attention from them. She has been mostly an indoor dog and sleeps when left alone. She has not been with children in recent years and because of her age she is rated for kids 13 and older. Angelina has lived with cats, but can be picky about her dog friends. She can be possessive of toys and her food, so will need a family who will give her space and patience. She also could use some loose-leash training, as she tends to pull. But Angelina has a delightful personality and, when asked if she’d be willing to dress up for some pictures, she was eager to please. So if you are drawn to senior dogs who still have much love to give, Angelina may be your perfect new best friend.

 

We are hoping that Angelina gets her wish.

 

 

 

Are you looking for an affectionate, eager, and happy-go-lucky guy? I am just the ticket!

Marianne could hardly wait for me to meet Doc, a one-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix who is such a fun and entertaining youngster. Doc was found as a stray and so we don’t know anything about his history, but oh, what a sweet boy he is, though he doesn’t smile.

 

 

To see if he’d like to play, Megan took him to a yard. This boy has energy to burn! And who knew he could fly?

 

 

So what have we learned about Doc since he’s been at the shelter besides that he loves to race outside? We know that he loves people and is very treat-motivated, so training will be both fun and easy. He will sit when asked. The deputy who brought him to WHS reported that although he was shy at first, he was well-behaved and was good in the car. From what we can tell, he seems to be house-trained. Because of his age and energy, he is rated for older kids. After playing, we brought him into Mary’s Place to see if he would settle and he did, even tried on a Santa hat, though he had his own style of wearing it.

 

Doc was very interested in my camera and I realized he’d never seen a photo of himself, so showed him one that I’d just taken.

 

Doc is a young, exuberant, terrific young dog. Some family is going to be very lucky to adopt him.

 

 

 

I’m a little shy and I’m not young. But give me time and love and watch me blossom!

Shadow is a Chinese Shar-Pei mix who is ten years old. At only 28 pounds, he is a delightful little guy.

 

Shadow was surrendered when his person, who had him since puppyhood, could no longer take care of him. He has been well cared for and is in good condition for a senior, with only mild issues. He immediately became Megan’s current favorite when she brought him out for pictures last week.

 

 

He loved my cheese bits and took them gently.

Megan was eager to feature Shadow this week, and so we spent time with him in Mary’s Place. What a quiet, nice boy he is! Since he’s been in the same home his whole life, we know a lot about him and it’s all good! His former family reports that he is “very sweet, well behaved, knows commands, walks on leash, can take food from him, likes attention, loves to go for walks.” While he’s not fond of cats, he keeps his distance and doesn’t chase them. He will bark at strangers, but stops when asked to by his owner. He gets along with other dogs and has done fine in our playgroups. He’s not a rowdy player and prefers to be in a yard with calm dogs. He has done fine with the former family’s grandchildren and is rated for kids about ten and older. When he is left alone, he gets on the couch and sleeps, never “getting into stuff.” Shadow is crate- and house-trained. He will stand by the door when he needs to go out. Could this dog be any more perfect? For a family who wants a non-complicated, easy-going, gentle new companion, Shadow may be the perfect fit.

He settled happily in Mary’s Place with Megan and posed nicely for pictures.

 

Shadow was even willing to pose in a Santa hat.

 

This quiet, calm, and shy senior is hoping for a loving family to share his retirement years.

 

 

 

Swayze Dayze Adventures Continued! (#5)

Swayze went on yet another adventure last week. This time Marianne and Ayla took him on a field trip to Lowe’s to do some Christmas window shopping. They had a great time.

 

Here is their report:

“This dog never ceases to amaze me. The minute he leaves the shelter he becomes calm. It was cold at Cascade Gateway Park today, so we didn’t stay long. Decided to go to Lowe’s instead. He helped us pick out lots of holiday decorations and found a barbecue he wants someone to buy him. He was so well behaved. He practiced polite greetings and sitting and being incredibly patient while we talked to people.”

 

In case you are a first-time reader of my blog, here is a little background on our boy.

Swayze is an eleven-month-old pup, looking for a puppy-savvy family who has the time, energy and patience, using positive reward-based training, to continue to teach him the skills he needs.

Swayze came to us on June 3rd, a transfer from an over-crowded California shelter, where he had not received any training. After being returned several times, Swayze is now enrolled in our behavior training program. With some time and effort, Swayze will grow up to be a wonderful family companion. He is being shown by our training department. Please submit your adoption questionnaire and allow them to contact you for an appointment to meet him. You can fill out an application here.

Starting last week, WHS has a Giving Tree in the lobby with ornaments displaying wishes for our shelter dogs and cats. Swayze decided he’d like to pose in front of it, hoping to attract more donors. He did very well, although he does have his own opinion about hat positioning which we respected.

 

 

Swayze will continue to go on outings, hoping to lessen his shelter stress while he waits for his perfect fit of a family.

 

 

 

 

Grace

We love all the dogs who come through our doors searching for new homes. But every now and then one touches some of our hearts in some special way. Grace was such a dog. She was a transfer from our sister shelter in Maui and arrived in October 2018. She had skin issues, was missing a lot of hair, and we worried about who would adopt her. The weeks went by.

 

Then one day last December, her perfect person found her at last.

 

We gave her quite a sendoff.

 

Soon after Grace went home, I got a happy update. This week I got another one.

“Hi! just wanted to give you an update on Grace…on December 2, I will have had her for a year and I absolutely adore her! She is feeling great and has so much hair!” 

Oh my goodness! Look at her beautiful, shiny coat!

 

 

Sometimes a dog finds the perfect person to love. Grace did.

On that happy note, 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