Tags
adoptable dogs, adoption dogs, deserving dogs, dogs, fellow dog lovers, humane society, shelter dogs, WHS, willamette humane society
Last week I wrote that adoptions seemed to be slowing down as potential adopters got busy with fall activities. But—I was wrong! Happily, I have FOUR wonderful new adoptions to report.
Sally
Our energetic Sally, who had been waiting since August 11th, found her new people last week. She went home with a new Lab sibling.
Bailey
Bailey was adopted once again (the third time) on Saturday. We’re hoping that this irrepressible youngster has finally found his perfect match!
Rayana
Our very sweet and very shy Rayanna went to her new home on Sunday. It takes Rayanna takes some time to feel comfortable with a new person, and she looks a little nervous in her going-home photo, but once she gets to know you, she’s a hoot. Volunteer Linda has spent extra time with her, and Sunday morning we had great fun playing in a yard before her new person arrived. It won’t take her long to be devoted to her new “dad.”
Chatter
Our VERY affectionate Chatter found her new family on Monday. She will give them so much love. Lucky family.
Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, September 15, 2021. But things change fast and our goal is always to find wonderful homes for our dogs as quickly as possible. To see if today’s dogs are still available and to see other available dogs, visit https://whs4pets.org/dogs/ .
I am only featuring one dog in this post, but he is a special one.
I’m back once again. Since 2019, I’ve been here three times. My people always loved me, but had to give me up. I’m hoping that my next family will be my forever one.
Maxwell (just Max to his friends) is a four-year-old German Shepherd mix who first arrived at WHS in September of 2019, having been an outdoor dog his whole life. Here’s the first picture I took of this sweet boy at that time.
His soulful eyes and sweet nature made him an immediate favorite. Max was surrendered because he has chronic allergic dermatitis, which means he has allergies that cause hair loss.
Max’s skin was looking much better by November due to medication and a special diet at the shelter. Here he was with volunteer Jolene and me.
Max was adopted later in November of 2019, and we were so excited. However, his new person lived in an apartment and Max was surrendered again in February because his person decided it was not fair for Max to be in an apartment all day while the owner worked.
We welcomed him back and I wrote about him in my blog in early March. Here is part of what I said: “Max is a delightful, playful dog who will entertain himself romping outside and then enjoy coming in and cuddling on the couch. He will need a family who can keep up with his skin medications, as he can quickly develop hair loss when not monitored. Max is rated for older kids due to his size, but he is quite gentle. He will need a cat-free home and he should meet any dogs he will be living with.” And here are some pictures from that time with Marianne and Megan.
Max was adopted again in April of 2020 and was very happy, but his person’s health issues forced him to surrender Max once more.
Sunday was the first time I saw Max again and we all had a great time. He is still the sweet boy he has always been. And yes, he still has chronic allergic dermatitis, a condition that will be ongoing and his new family will need to continue his special diet and allergy medications for life to reduce skin and ear infections. But Max is unaware that he has any problem and it has not dampened his energy or love of life. We took him out to a yard to play and he loved it. He still loves to play fetch with tennis balls.
After a vigorous game, we went into Mary’s Place to relax…at least we thought we’d relax.
Max’s person had many good things to say about him. He reports that Max is “very happy” and “a lover.” He especially enjoys baths and rides in the car, he sits in the back seat. He is house-trained and stands at the door when he needs to go out. He is not a fan of nail trims, the vacuum, or loud and sudden noises. Max will bark at strangers until he gets to know them. When left alone, Max does fine in the house, but will dig some in the yard. He loves to be with his people and can be protective of them. He is very “laid back” when at home with his family. He loved going to the vet and the staff loved him.
Max knows several cues including “sit” and “down.” He also knows how to smile for a camera.
He loves attention and petting.
Max is hoping that his next family will be his forever one. Yes, his new peeps will have to continue to monitor and treat his allergies, but he will give them his devotion in exchange. We’re hoping that family will come and take him home soon.
If Max sounds like the right new family member for you, fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on his picture and then on the link Adopt Me found on this page: https://whs4pets.org/dogs/.
Nico
Remember Nico, our wonderful Lab mix who had a large tumor removed from his face by our WHS vet? He was such a good boy and much loved by Megan, Marianne, and me.
We were ecstatic when his new family came and took him home.
This week I got this wonderful update.
“We love Nico and he is getting along great! He is the sweetest boy! He loves my husband the most, but what’s great is he loves my daughters and me as well and wants lots of pets and belly rubs from us, too.
We moved to a small four-acre farm near Scio about four months ago. He loves to run around in the pasture. He’s got 2.5 acres of fenced area and it’s his favorite thing to trot around. We got him a Kong Frisbee and he loves that. He also loves to play with a rope toy. He keeps finding bones around the property (I think from deer the prior owners hunted) and he’s so happy and proud and brings them right over to us. I say “trade” and give him a treat so he doesn’t chew on old dry bones. He is great about exchanging them.
It took him over two weeks to use the bed we got him. He would only sleep next to it on the floor on a blanket. Now he seems to like it and curls up in it and sleeps next to our bed. He does get bad dreams and growls and whines in his sleep. Poor boy. He has the happiest disposition during the day and never growls so it’s a little sad hearing him growl in his sleep. Hopefully this gets better with time.
He hasn’t barked yet! We think maybe he can’t bark either as a side effect from the surgery he had to remove a tumor from his face or a result of having the tumor. He has “talked” a few times and sounds hoarse. Even if he can’t bark he alerts us when someone comes over to our house. He is friendly with guests which is nice.
It was hard to get him to eat at first. I had to sit next to him for him to eat. We tried different food and he only seemed to want to eat with some type of topping on it. Now that he is consistently eating two meals a day, we’ve tried to back off on toppings. It was pretty sweet that he wouldn’t eat unless I sat next to him because our prior dog had food guarding issues. It’s so nice that he’s more relaxed about food.
The other great news is he ignores our cats! That’s been wonderful as we are a big happy family with our cats and dog. We have two former foster fails that are four years old, Lexi and Morgan. They weren’t sure at first but now they are able to walk freely around. We also have a pair of feral cats that hang around every day (Mist and Mr. Pibb). We tamed their kittens and kept one, adorable little Mugsy. Every once in awhile Nico will get a wild hair and think it might be fun to chase a cat but if we say “No Kitty,” he stops and comes right back.
He really is a sweet boy and we are so happy he joined our family!“
Oh that very happy note, that’s it for this week!
Thanks to WHS Adoption Specialists Sasha and Kristina and volunteers Megan, Linda, and Marianne for their help with this post.
Remember, if you see a dog on my blog whom you are interested in meeting, fill out the Adoption form at whs4pets.org, and wait to be contacted by the staff. And please remember that sometimes dogs are adopted quickly, so might have already found a great home by the time you ask about them.
You can reach me at adoptanoregondog14@yahoo.com