Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

I can’t remember when we’ve had more dog adoptions in a single week! Eight families now include a recent shelter dog. Lucky families, lucky dogs.

Moon

I barely got to meet Moon before she was scooped up by her new family. We were so happy she didn’t have to stay at the shelter long. What a beautiful girl!

Tiger

We were thrilled that our hilarious and goofy Tiger was adopted on Thursday. His family will have so much fun with him!

Boris

Our youngster, Boris, who is such a hoot to watch entertain himself playing ball, was adopted on Friday. He will keep his people active and laughing.

Snoop

Snoop was adopted (again) on Friday. He’s such a great dog. Hoping this will be his perfect family fit!

Mango

Puppy Mango was adopted on Saturday. He is quite a little character who will keep his new family in stitches.

Moose

Also on Saturday, Moose was adopted. He wasn’t at the shelter very long, no surprise!

Tesla and Flash

Drum roll, please! Our bonded pair, Tesla and Flash, were adopted (again) and we’re hoping this time it’s the perfect fit for these two clowns. So happy for them! (Thank you for the pictures, Sasha!)

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, April 27, 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 feeling stressed in my kennel. I’m hoping a family will adopt me very soon!

Buddy is a two-year-old Lab/Poodle mix (Labradoodle) who was surrendered because his family didn’t have enough time to give this very active boy who loves to romp and play fetch.

Buddy has a hard time in his kennel at the shelter, but once outside, he is very happy. He has not had much training, so is looking for a family who will have the patience and time to teach him skills like walking politely on leash and impulse control. Since he is treat-motivated, he will love working for tasty bits while learning new skills.

According to his former family, Buddy is very social and has done well meeting new people. He will bark to alert when someone comes to the door. He has done well with other dogs. His person wrote, “The neighbor has two dogs, he can see them through the fence and they are good friends.” Buddy is house- and crate-trained. He will stand by the door to go out. He slept in his open crate at night in his former house. He has lived with three children and done well. He loves to play fetch and will return the ball, although he does not like to give it up. He enjoys car rides and walks. He was left in the garage with access to a yard when his family was gone. When the family was home, Buddy liked to settle next to one of them and would also bring his toys, asking them to play.

Buddy is hoping for a family with time who will use rewards-based training to help him grow into the loved family dog he wants to be. If you are such a family, 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/.

I’m a little scruffy and my ears don’t match. But if you want a new best friend, I’d like to apply for the job!

Jax is an eight-year-old Terrier mix. This is his second time at the shelter. He was found as a stray in 2016 and was quickly adopted. Here he was then.

Now his family is moving and can’t take him with them. He needed some dental work, and after having eight teeth extracted, he’s doing fine and ready to find his new family.

Jax’s former family had many good things to tell us about him. At home he loves to curl up on the couch or bed. He doesn’t mind being picked up. “He does zoomies once a day.” He doesn’t chew on things, “pretty much just hangs out.” He is friendly with strangers and will bark to get their attention. He is not afraid of big dogs, but hid behind his person if the animal was small, like rabbits or frogs. He is fine with respectful children. He will need a refresher course on house-training, as his former family had him use potty pads. Jax enjoys car rides. So far as toys are concerned, “rope toys last longer—stuffed toys end up unstuffed.” Jax will run up to a cat, but if the cat “stands its ground, he stops and goes noes-to-nose with them.”

Jax has many fans at the shelter. He can be shy at first meeting, but quickly warms up. He walks well on leash. Here he was a couple of weeks ago when I first met him. He was very shy and hid behind Linda.

But then he got a little braver.

He felt safer once on her lap.

By last Sunday, Jax was much more confident. We took him into Mary’s Place and he was very happy and talkative.

If Jax sounds like he’d be the perfect fit for your family, 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/.

I know I look serious at first meeting, but if you take the time to get to know me, I’m quite a clown!

Meet Handsome, a three-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix. He was found as a stray on April 11th, so we know nothing about his past. He has a beautiful sleek black coat, but when I met him two Sundays ago, he had such a worried and serious face. We thought maybe a flower picture would help.

Handsome is quite shy and sensitive. Here he was with Marianne during our first visit with him, still looking worried.

Handsome has made many friends the short time he has been at WHS. One dog walker wrote, “Very shy but sweet dog. Came into kennel well with treats. Gentle, timid personality—very lovely dog!” He walks well on leash except when he gets excited and then he may pull some. He seems to be dog-selective, so will need to meet any that he would be going home with. He knows the cues for “sit” and “down.”

After the outside pictures, we took him into Mary’s Place to see if he might relax more. He did and enjoyed the company and treats. He even showed us his playful side! We weren’t quite sure what game he was playing, but he made us laugh.

After the silliness, he settled down and enjoyed just hanging out with us.

But what a difference a week makes! Last Sunday Handsome was much livelier and no longer looked worried.

He was eager to play.

We decided to see if he’d think a food puzzle was fun. He did.

We have no idea what kind of life Handsome has had so far, but we are hoping that his future will be filled with love from his new family.

If Handsome sounds like the perfect new addition to your family, fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on his picture and then on the link Adopt Me found on this page: https://whs4pets.or/dogs/.

Maggie/Sadie

Maggie was surrendered to WHS in early January. She was extremely under-socialized and afraid of everything. We all felt so sorry for her and knew she would need a very special home with someone experienced in working with shy/fearful dogs. Volunteer Linda spent time with her and Maggie leaned into her for comfort.

We hoped that she’d feel safer in Mary’s Place, but she didn’t. She tried to make herself as small as possible.

But Linda had an idea. Our friend and former WHS volunteer, Jolene, (you’ve seen her picture in my posts many times) was thinking of adopting a dog and is extremely good with shy ones. Soon arrangements were made for Jolene to foster Maggie and the rest is history. On February 26th, Maggie became Sadie and found her forever home. She joined a rescued cat, Buddy.

Here is Jolene’s update:

“Wanted to give you an update on Sadie (formerly Maggie). I fostered her for almost five weeks, and adopted her Feb. 26, 2022. Sadie has made a lot of progress from the shy/fearful dog she was a few short months ago. Fearful dogs require a great deal of time and patience. She trusts me now and I can see so many positive signs of that trust in her behavior. She has become more affectionate and brave as we go on new adventures. While she will probably always startle easily, and seek to avoid noise/crowds, she knows she is in a safe place and I will take care of her while gently encouraging her to engage more, but it’s her choice. It has been a joy to see her personality emerge. So glad we found each other.”

Buddy and Sadie.

On Sunday, Jolene and Sadie stopped in for a visit at the shelter. Although Sadie is still quite shy, she looked so much braver than the first time I met her and so much happier!

On that wonderful update, that’s it for this week.

As always, my thanks to my photo team, Marianne, Linda, and Megan, and to Adoption Specialist Sasha.

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