Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,
As I’m sure all of you know, Oregon has been dealing with fast-moving and dangerous wildfires, as have other western states. Thankfully, the shelter has been safe and adoptions have been possible even with the poor air quality. I’m happy to be able to report on two happy dog adoptions this week.
Benjy
Our giant, goofy, eight-month-old Benjy went home with his new family on Saturday.
Theo
Theo, a transfer in March of 2019 from our sister shelter in Hawaii, was surrendered in August and we are so happy that he has been adopted again! Hoping this active boy has found his forever home.
The Adoption Process
WHS is keeping people safe while continuing to match dogs and cats with their perfect fits of families. WHS is open for adoption appointments 10:00 – 3:00 every day.
To find out exactly how the adoption process works, click on the link below:
We’re staying at Jessi’s house for a while! We’re having a blast with her pack! But we really need a home and family of our own! Is it yours?
I have written about this dynamic duo before. They are brothers and also best friends. Jack and Snoop are seven-year-old sibling Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mixes and have been together all their lives. They are extremely bonded and will need to be adopted to the same home. They have won the hearts of everyone at the shelter and we are so hoping they will find a wonderful new home soon. The boys are currently happily spending time with WHS Trainer Jessi and her family, along with Jessi’s pack of three dogs.
The boys were surrendered when their family, with whom they had lived since they were twelve weeks old, moved and couldn’t take them. They are now looking for a special retirement home where together they can feel secure and loved.
That is Snoop on the left and Jack on the right.
When they were six-months old, Jack was attacked at a dog park by a white dog, and Snoop tried to protect him. Since that time they have had little contact with other dogs or other people besides their human family. They are fearful of white clothing (their vet took off his white coat when with them). And they are nervous around strangers.
When they first arrived at WHS, they were put in separate kennels, but soon staff realized that the boys were very uneasy when apart. Since then they have happily shared a double kennel.
That is, they shared a kennel until Sunday! That’s when Jessi picked them up and took them home to foster.
Jessi reported that they were somewhat nervous during the car ride (they were crated) but more relaxed once they arrived at the house. Soon they were meeting Jessi’s family’s pack made up of Kyle (young and goofy), Graceland (small but thinks she’s a big dog) and Cedar, who is the senior in the family, at about 17 years old. It was quite exciting when they first arrived!
Here the boys are shortly after arriving at Jessi’s.
With Jack weighing 73 pounds and Snoop 94 pounds, they are large dogs. They have some of the usual older-dog health issues such as lumps and a little arthritis. Jack has a chronic eye infection that will need to be managed with eye drops. The condition has made his eyes look cloudy and we think it has affected is vision somewhat. Jessi has had no problem with putting the medicated drops in Jack’s eyes. She writes, “As for Jack’s eye drops, he just sits down and lets me put them in, he doesn’t even try to pull away.”
These two best friends were greatly loved by their former family who had some good things to tell us about the boys. They are house-trained, of course, and when left alone in the house, they did fine. Snoop is sensitive and loves to play fetch. Jack is quiet and likes to cuddle.
Jack, especially, has bonded with Jessi’s son, Cash. “Jack seems to follow Cash around a lot. I wonder if there was a young boy in their lives at some point.”
Jack and Snoop are shy and can be fearful in new situations, but as you can see, they warm up quickly. They are really enjoying hanging out with Jessi’s dogs. She reports, “The boys are doing great! They sleep through the night (together of course), get along with my three other dogs, potty outside, and eat all their food when it’s given to them. When they are sitting waiting to eat and I talk to them, they both cock their heads back and forth at the same time!”
Jessi says that they have been “very respectful” of her dogs. She writes, “They are going to be really easy dogs for someone. If I didn’t already have three other dogs I would keep them!” She fixed a nice pen with blankets for them to sleep in the garage. The first night, however, “they got out of the pen, but they didn’t get into anything, and when I went into the garage the next morning, they were just standing by the door wagging their tails. Since the first night, they have settled and are comfortable sleeping on their blankets in their pen. They took a little time to settle in the house, but are fine now. They pull some on leash, but not as much when they are close to each other, as they are very bonded. They are quite affectionate, especially Jack. They both try to lick me in the face when I bend down to give them their bowls!”
Jessi adds that her dog, Graceland is obsessed with the Jack and Snoop and as you can see, Jack is so sweet with her.
Jessi says that Jack is always smiling.
Here are a few pictures of the boys while they were at the shelter. They loved playgroup.
Finding a loving home that will take two dogs is often a challenge. Add that Jack and Snoop are two big dogs, and seniors to boot, makes the challenge even more difficult. But there could not be two more cooperative, happy dogs and we are hoping that the right family will read about these two sweet brothers and know they are just the right fit. Once they know they have a new home, Jack and Snoop will settle in and be delightful new family additions.
If you have a soft heart for senior, bonded dogs who are a little on the large side, fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on the links “Ask About Jack” and “Ask About Snoop” under their pictures on the WHS adoptable dog page found here: https://whs4pets.org/adopt-a-pet/dogs-2/
We have three wonderful updates for this post!
River/Maverick
River arrived at WHS as a very active ten-month-old puppy in July. He was only at the shelter a week before he was scooped up, so I never got any pictures of him. But oh, what a happy life he is having!
Maverick’s new family sent the following note to WHS.
“Our family just wanted to send a big thank you to your team! We adopted a dog from you a few months ago and he is absolutely perfect. You guys made the whole process seamless and were very accommodating. We really appreciated the time and care you put in to making sure he was going to a good home and we had all the tools we needed to incorporate him into our lives. His name was River when we adopted him, and we decided to rename him Maverick. He has enjoyed lots of hikes with the family and runs on the beach with mom so far! He loves our other dogs and they have been getting along really well. His fur is growing back and our vet loves him! He’s got a huge personality and is very vocal about everything. We have not had an adoption experience quite like this one before and we were just blown away by the care and effort you all put in to running the shelter.”
Shroeder
I wrote this in my June 10, 2015 blog post:
“I met Shroeder, a two-year-old Boxer/Pit Bull Terrier mix, for the first time this afternoon when Jolene brought him out for his walk and pictures. She couldn’t say enough good things about him! He walks well on leash, knows some commands (sit, down), took my treats gently and is simply a fabulous boy. He is house-trained, playful and affectionate. This guy is a keeper for sure! I love his grin!”
Now, five years later, we were thrilled to get this update last week!
“I adopted Shroeder July 19th, 2015 from WHS, and he’s been the best adventure buddy ever! After 5 years, he’s finally feeling secure enough to welcome another dog into the home! Now, he’s a big brother. Shroeder is the absolute best dog ever, and I appreciate WHS for allowing him into my home.”
Molly
You’ll remember our sweet Molly, who happily performs her duties as an office dog and enjoys her car rides.
Recently her peeps sent me these videos where she got to show off her swimming skills.
“Molly’s favorite thing to do! I got her a lifejacket and toys that float and she swims too! She loves it so much! She’s a total water dog!!”
Destiny
I first met Destiny in January of 2014 and fell instantly in love with her blocky head, her trusting eyes, and her big grin. I knew she would always be one of my favorite shelter dogs.
I spent a lot of time with her at the shelter. She was adopted twice and returned. This is what I wrote after her second return on Aug. 6, 2014.
“One of my all-time favorites, Destiny, is back at the shelter. Her family couldn’t keep her anymore. When I found out she’d been returned, I made a special trip to WHS so I could spend some time with her. We went out to the big yard and she loved the smells and just hanging out together.”
Volunteer Emelynn and I gave her a bath. She didn’t love it.
I wrote about Destiny in my blog many, many times. And finally, I was over the moon when one of the staff members at the shelter, Aubree, adopted Destiny in October 2014. I knew she would be much loved for the rest of her life. And she was.
This week I got the sad news that Aubree had to let Destiny go. Here is her tribute to her.
“Destiny was my first ‘foster failure’ when I worked at the shelter years ago. She was there for a while, adopted and then returned a couple of times. Regardless of everything she went through and all the changes, she had so much love to give to anyone! It was reported by her families that she couldn’t live with other dogs or young children. I brought Des home to my other two dogs and they bonded quickly. Although I had thought I would only foster her, I soon realized that she was home, and I adopted her. She became part of my little rescue pack that welcomed the many rescue dogs I brought in over the years!
When I moved to Washington, I had to leave her with my good friends in Oregon (visited her often, of course). They had a baby and Destiny became that child’s nanny, best friend and biggest protector. Destiny touched anyone’s heart whom she met. She will always be one of the best dogs I ever had.
It was very hard for us to let her go, but it was her time and we know she got to live the best life. She will always be in my heart and I’ll always thank her for making me fall more in love with the rescuing life and the breed. If you foster dogs and end up adopting them, you’ll get to enjoy one of the best life experiences. Many of us will miss Destiny and she will always be remembered.”
There are many of us who will always remember Destiny and hold her in our hearts.
On that note, that’s it for this week.
As always, I want to thank WHS staff, especially WHS Trainer Jessi, for the wonderful pictures that I have used in this post.
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
