Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

Last week, I reported on the adoptions of six little Shih Tzu mix puppies. This week I get to tell you about the adoption of three more puppies, this time “giant” seven-month-old Anatolian Shepherd mixes. During their short stay at WHS, these calm, happy youngsters won the hearts of everyone. It was great fun to take their photos.

Simba

Timon

Mufasa

Phoebe

Also adopted last week was our very timid, but sweet, Phoebe. She will need time to settle and learn that the world doesn’t have to be scary, but what a wonderful family dog she will be!

Spencer

Our thirteen-year-old Spencer was also adopted. As always, we are grateful for adopters of our seniors. Spencer still has a spring in his step and we are so happy that he now has a forever home.

Macaroni

Sometimes when you wait a long time, the wait is worth it. Macaroni needed a special home since he’s a working dog and needed a job. His stress level had been increasing as he became discouraged about finding a person. Yesterday his person found HIM. By the look on Mac’s face, he is smitten. And the best news? He’ll be living on a farm! A perfect place for a working dog! We who love him are over the moon.

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, January 19, 2022. 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 featured dogs are still available and to see other available dogs, click on the link to the currently available dogs here.

I’m pretty new here and I’m still very nervous. I’m not sure what’s going on, but if you adopt me, I’ll do my best to be brave.

Bing arrived at WHS on December 30, having been found with another dog, Phoebe, running near an intersection. The finder kept them overnight before bringing them to the shelter and reported that they were both extremely timid. The other dog, Phoebe, was adopted (see my announcement above) but Bing is still waiting.

I first met Bing two weeks ago and I felt so sorry for him because he was extremely uneasy. He is about two years old and is an American Pit Bull Terrier mix. I wondered what had happened in his young life to make him so fearful of new places and people. As I took his profile pictures, he found comfort being close to WHS Trainer Nichole, but remained highly vigilant about his surroundings.

We then took him into Mary’s Place, and again, he wanted to be nestled close to Nichole.

Since I had decided to feature him this week, we spent extra time with him last Sunday. While he was a little braver than the week before, he still trembled when we brought him into Mary’s Place. However, gradually he began to relax and the trembling stopped. He was interested in going from person to person for pets, first Marianne, then Linda and finally, Megan.

Megan sat on the floor and he went over to talk.

Then he whispered…

Bing is looking for a patient, understanding family who will slowly introduce him to new places and people. He’ll need time to settle in his new home to feel safe. He seems to like other dogs and he might like to have a dog brother or sister to help him gain confidence. One WHS staff member wrote, “Bing is a sweet boy. He is easily startled by noises (scared of wind, planes, trees moving, deer). He needs some play time and some nice calm one-on-one time.”

We took him out to a yard, but he was nervous outside and didn’t feel like playing.

Once again he chose to lean against Megan for reassurance.

If your lifestyle is quiet and calm, if you have a heart for helping shy dogs become confident, and you enjoy having an affectionate, loyal dog by your side, consider adopting our timid friend, Bing. 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/.

Rosie’s most EXCELLENT adventure!

If you are one of my regular readers, you know Rosie very well. She has been a volunteer favorite since she first arrived at WHS in early December and has been waiting for her just-right family. She is a three-year-old Australian Cattle Dog/American Staffordshire Terrier mix who is smart, loving, eager to learn, and active. She and all of us who love her are hoping that the next home will be her last.

One of Rosie’s biggest fans is Lori, a fellow volunteer and friend of mine. Last week Lori took Rosie on a respite to a park near her home. Here is her report: “On Saturday I was privileged to take Rosie on a ‘Dog’s Day Out’ adventure to give her a respite from shelter life. We went to Battle Creek Park. The park was empty other than birds. So much to sniff and explore. At one point Rosie and I turned the corner to find a blue heron just feet from her; she was curious but remained calm. Very proud of her.”

“During the entire adventure, Rosie was active, curious and had good manners. She does pull a little on leash, but stops when asked.”

Lori is not only a WHS volunteer dog handler, she is also a professional photographer—with a studio! She continues:

“After spending 1-1/2 hours out at the park in the dreary cold weather, I decided to take Rosie on a second adventure to my home studio to see what we might create together. Wow, she loved being the center of attention and was quite the star! After sniffing out the room, rolling around on the dog bed, getting some water, she was ready for photos. She never hesitated and was a joy to work with the entire time.”

Here is Rosie getting her wiggles out before her photo session.

And here are the stunning photos that Lori took of her. She wrote, “Rosie never hesitated and was a joy to work with the entire time. She knows sit, down, and stay (for a while).”

Looks like Rosie was really getting the hang of posing!

What an incredible afternoon Rosie had. Here is how Lori closed : “My wish, and the goal of the shelter team, is to find Rosie her forever home. She has been at the shelter now for more than 35 days entertaining and loving on all the staff and volunteers. It is her turn to find her forever loving and active home.”

To read more about Rosie and see if you might be her perfect family fit, read my feature about her last week here. You can fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on her picture and then on the link Adopt Me found on this page: https://whs4pets.org/dogs/. She is hoping she’ll be with her family very soon.

Here is one last beautiful photo by Lori.

We look forward to future photo contributions from Lori.

We have two happy updates today.

Vanilla/Damien

Remember ultra-shy little Vanilla who was adopted by Jean, a WHS staff member?

Here is the latest update on Damien’s amazing progress.

“Damien had his first official vet visit today, and he did so well. He walked right into the office (with just one moment of hesitation at the threshold—which we overcame with “Let’s go!”). He went through a complete exam, including a mouth and eye check, without muss or fuss. And he walked *ahead of me* out of the exam room and into the car. 

He also went to McMenamin’s for lunch last week, and while he was a little afraid of the server, he settled down for a nap within about 10 minutes and we had to wake him up to go home. 

He’s come so far! Thank you, Nichole and Skylar, for all of your training support. It’s working!”

Just as I was leaving WHS on Sunday, Damien was arriving for puppy class. Later Jean sent me this picture, saying, “Turns out that a snuffle mat makes a good bed, too!” ( A snuffle mat is used to slow down a dog’s eating by putting kibble in it so the dog has to search for it.)

Thor

Thor is one of our all-time favorites. He was just such a goofy guy with a crooked smile. Here he was with Marianne in Mary’s Place in 2019.

We were so happy when Thor was adopted and went home with a WHS alumnus, Gunner, who had been adopted in 2014.

Over the years, the family has sent me updates and I wrote a memorial when Gunner died.

Last week I got an email from the family saying they were bringing some donations to WHS on Sunday, were bringing Thor, and hoped to see us. We were excited to see him again. He is now a senior, at eight, and he is slowing down. Here’s what his mom, Kim, wrote: “We’ve had Thor for about two-and-a-half years now. He is a great dog! He loves his walks and to go for rides. Most of the time you can find him lying on the couch, though! Which is fine because we feel like he deserves it. We can’t imagine him not being part of our family!” 

Here are a few pictures I took during their visit.

And then I got this…Thor in his pajamas.

With those happy updates, that’s it for this week!

My thanks to volunteers Marianne, Megan, Linda, and Lori for making this post possible, and to WHS Trainer Nichole.

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/dogs/

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