Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

It was another banner week at WHS! Since my last post there have been SEVEN dog adoptions! One was puppy Mirabel, whom I didn’t get a chance to meet. Here are the other six.

Henry

This sweet boy arrived badly in need of a grooming. A family scooped him up quickly and took him to the groomers the next day. Here are the before and after pictures. So happy Henry has a brand-new start in life.

At the shelter…

…after arriving home, about to head to the groomer…

…and—drum roll—after the groomer appointment!

Jojo

Our eleven-year-old senior, Jojo, was adopted. She was quite nervous at the shelter, we were so glad she found her new family quickly.

Jax

We loved this scruffy little boy with his one-ear-up and one-ear-down look!

Disco

Disco had everyone at the shelter wrapped around his paw, especially Megan. Such a great dog!

Turner

Happy dance! Our long-termer (since early February) Turner went to his new home! We’re happy for this big boy, he’s been waiting for his new family a long time. Thank you for the going-home photo, Sasha! She said Turner loved his new people instantly.

Thor

We are especially happy about puppy Thor’s adoption on Tuesday. At four months and not fully vaccinated, he couldn’t be around other dogs and was quite lonely after his brother, Mango, got adopted. He is very shy, so we spent some quality time with him on Sunday. We are thrilled he now has his own family.

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, May 4, 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.

Do you like to watch birds? My hobby is watching birds and squirrels during leisurely strolls. We could stroll together!

Rosie is a ten-year-old German Shepherd mix who is looking for a quiet home in which to spend her retirement years. If you are looking for a no-drama nature lover as a new family member, Rosie might be just what you have been waiting for. She won our hearts the moment we met her.

Rosie was surrendered because her family wanted her to have a better living situation. They moved from a home where there was room for their three big dogs to wander, to a home with no fence.

Rosie loves to go for walks. Her family wrote, “Rosie is very observant. On a walk, she will sit and watch squirrels and birds.” Walkers have found this to be true on shelter walks, as well. One of Marianne’s interests is watching and photographing birds. Rosie was delighted to find someone with the same hobby.

Rosie won over the intake staff at the shelter, too. They wrote, “Rosie is friendly and gentle. Relaxed body language, soft eyes. Takes treats gently, knows basic commands.”

Rosie’s family had many good things to say about her. She has lived happily with two other big dogs. She loves to go for rides. She has been mainly an outdoor dog, so may need a little brush-up on house-training. She is crate-trained. She is fine with strangers and is very gentle with children. She isn’t really interested in toys and has no experience with cats.

Rosie is looking for a calm home where she can hang out with her family and take walks around the neighborhood. She was very cooperative for my pictures and enjoyed the cheese bits I offered her.

We took her into Mary’s Place and she happily jumped up on the couch for snuggles.

Rosie is hoping she won’t be at the shelter for long. She’s eager to meet her new family.

If you are partial to senior dogs, Rosie would like to talk. We’re hoping she’ll go home soon with a lucky family. If you are that family, 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/.

Do you like to share your couch with a rather large dog? If so, I may be your new family member!

Bescha is not shy about letting her peeps know what she likes. Her former family wrote, “She’s a cuddler. At home she goes straight for the couch.” Bescha is a seven-year-old Belgian Sheepdog mix.

It didn’t take her long to warm up to Megan during her photo shoot.

Bescha and Rosie had the same family and, while they lived happily together, they are not bonded. The Intake staff wrote this about their first meeting with Bescha: “She is sweet and polite. Takes treats gently. No reactivity or signs of fear. Relaxed, came up to greet, treat-motivated, good eye contact.” Bescha walks well on leash. One dog walker noted, “Super sweet girl! Easy walker. Took to play yard. Stayed by my side most of the time, looking for reassurance. Took treats gently.”

Bescha is crate-trained. She will need some understanding and patience about house-training, having been mostly an outdoor dog. Her family wrote, “Bescha likes to be at your side. Shes a cuddler. Coming home, she goes straight to the couch, queen of everything.” She has no history with cats, but lived with Rosie and Henry (adopted last week). Because she hasn’t had a lot of experience with other dogs, she will need to meet any she will be living with. She is good with strangers and children. She is hesitant getting in and out of cars, but once settled, she is fine. She took my cheese bits very gently.

She seemed to enjoy posing for pictures with Megan, and hopped right up on the bench beside her.

Then we took her into Mary’s Place and just as her family said, she jumped right up on the couch.

If Bescha sounds like the dog for you, 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/.

Do you like your personal space? Not a fan of “velcro dogs?” Neither am I. I think we could be good friends.

Bear is a five-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix. He was surrendered because his person was moving where he could not have a dog. Bear is not a cuddly kind of boy. While he enjoys the company of people, he also is independent.

Bear’s person, who had him from puppyhood, loved him and told us a lot about his personality. Bear has been mostly an indoor dog and behaves very well when left alone. He has no problem with strangers. He has not been around cats. He seems to be selective about his dog friends, but has gotten along with other dogs in the past. He has been around children and done well, but due to his size and exuberance, he would do better with older children.

Here are a few pictures from our first meeting with Linda a couple of weeks ago. Bear was cooperative and eager to earn some cheese bits.

Bear can be handling-sensitive, and his family will need to read his body language. He isn’t fond of medical procedures, especially if they involve needles.

His family said, “Bear likes to have his toys but doesn’t really want his humans to play with his toys. He likes balls and stuffies but will take the stuffing out of them.” His family also reported that Bear is “a very good dog. Very sweet. Will moo like a cow if he is scared or lonely.”

Bear does need to work on walking politely on leash, as he tends to pull when excited. He is afraid of small spaces, sudden movements, and loud noises like fireworks. He is house-trained and does fine in the car on short trips, though may get sick if it is a long trip.

Bear is somewhat stressed at the shelter, but has tried hard to please his handlers. One dog walker noted, “Beautiful boy! He has a big fun personality. He was a strong puller at the beginning of the walk. There were other dogs around that made him excited. Did great in turnout and great coming back inside.”

We decided to take Bear into Mary’s Place and got to see a new side of his personality—his playful side.

And then THIS happened—his goofy side.

But falling off the couch didn’t phase Bear a bit. He was right back up, ready to pose for my camera.

After all the silliness, Bear got serious. He really wants to be part of a new family.

If you are looking for a dog who will delight in going on adventures with you, enjoy being near you, but will like having his own space, too, you need to meet Bear. If you’re interested in meeting Bear to see if he’s a good 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/.

Harmony/Hera

If you are a regular reader of my posts, you have read about many hospice adopters. These adopters are very special people. They knowingly give their hearts to a dog, not sure how long they will have it. Sometimes it’s a matter of weeks or a few months. But once in a while, it’s years. Here is a story about one such adoption.

This is what I wrote in my August 28, 2019 post: “Harmony was surrendered to WHS last February, and sadly she had several cancerous masses. Our vet surgically removed the tumors, but the chance of the cancer returning was great. It was decided to make Harmony a hospice adoption. As always happens with our hospice dogs, a wonderful family decided to adopt her on March 30, 2019, not knowing how long they would have her.”

Here she was with Marianne at the shelter. (Thanks to volunteer Wayne for the picture.)

I was both thrilled and amazed when last week I received this happy update.

“Well, it has been three years since we adopted Hera (formerly Harmony). She has become such an important and loved member of our family. Our grandson was one when we adopted her, he is now four and they are inseparable. She has watched over him from the day she became part of our family. She has absolutely loved going to our house at Detroit Lake. She loves nature and the lake. She thinks all the sticks/pieces of wood belong to her. She will literally steal the firewood sitting next to the firepit. We lost the Detroit house in the Labor Day 2020 wildfires. You could tell she was sad about this and really missed going there. The first time we took her back to see the property (few months after the fire), she just stood there looking at the empty lot and burned fir trees—like, ‘Where is my house?’ The rebuilding process has been slower than we would have liked. We didn‘t want her to cross the Rainbow Bridge without being able to go back to Detroit, so we purchased a Travel Trailer in Sept 2021 and have it in Detroit while our house is rebuilt. We take her up every weekend and she loves it. While the cancer continues to be present, with new tumors occurring, she is a tough girl and continues to live her Best Life! We are beyond happy that she is still here with us after three years, when we thought it might only be weeks or months. We think that our grandson and Detroit Lake play a big role in her still being here with us. We are so blessed to have adopted her, and want to thank the Humane Society again for performing the initial surgery in 2019 for her that kept her alive for us!!”

On that uplifting update, that’s it for this week!

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

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