Dear Dog Lovers,

As you know from an earlier post, on July 1st, WHS merges with Oregon Humane Society. So next week’s title will no longer be “Willamette Humane Society,” but instead will be “Oregon Humane Society—Salem Campus.” I will still be writing about our shelter dogs here in Salem, though.

We had five adoptions during the past week. We are hoping now that school is out, even more families will be looking for a new dog to join their pack.

Caleb

Our senior Caleb was adopted on Saturday. This sweet boy won everyone’s heart while he was at the shelter. We hope he’ll have a wonderful retirement for the rest of his life.

Taquito

Little Taquito went to his new home today! Such a cute little guy. He wasn’t at the shelter long!

Everest

Everest was adopted! He is such a wonderful boy. We are happy he wasn’t at the shelter for long! Lucky family!

Carbon

Drum roll! Our sweet Carbon was adopted! He’s been waiting a long time and we are thrilled that he is now settling into his new home. He is such a great dog! Lucky family!

Dutch

Dutch, a ten-year-old senior, has been in a foster home for a while and today he got adopted! Very happy for this sweet old boy! Megan and Linda loved him while he was at the shelter.

 Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, June 29, 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 some members of your family want a small lap dog, while others long for a bigger one? Do we have an answer for you!

Meet Reno and Kona.

Reno and Kona were surrendered together due to the death of their owner. Kona was adopted from WHS in 2011, Reno from another shelter two years before Kona. They have lived with each other for nine years and are quite bonded. Kona looks to Reno for reassurance and is happiest when they are together.

Reno and Kona are both twelve years old. Reno is a Chihuahua mix and Kona is a Shepherd mix. When I first met Kona for her profile pictures, she seemed so sad, was unsure, and very shy.

She wanted to be friends with Megan, but it took a little time.

She was much more relaxed when Marianne brought out Reno.

Reno, on the other hand, was confident and happy to be near someone’s lap.

Both Reno and Kona have gotten along well with other dogs. They are okay with cats if the cat stands its ground. If it runs, they will chase. They have not had experience with children. They spent time traveling with their family in an RV. Their former family wrote, “Kona can be nervous, panicky around loud noises but otherwise sweet and a bit shy. She’s otherwise pretty laid back.” Reno, on the other hand, “believes everyone should adore him, he’s unflappable, confident, fearless. Reno needs a slow feeder because he inhales his food, but takes treats gently.” Both dogs are house-trained and never have had accidents. “Kona loves toys that squeak, Reno is a ball player.”

At twelve years old, both dogs have the usual senior conditions and Reno has chronic renal failure, meaning he needs to be on a special diet. But what a joy they will be to a new family.

We decided to take them into Mary’s Place and boy, did we all have a good time! Reno was his usual clownish self and Kona actually relaxed and we saw a whole new happy side of her because Reno was there.

We had such a fun time with these two. We so hope they won’t have to wait much longer for their new family to give them a loving retirement home. If that family might be yours, fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on their pictures and then on the link Adopt Me found on this page: https://whs4pets.org/dogs/.

I’m new here and quite uneasy. But if you are patient and give me some time to get to know you, I’ll be such a good friend for you.

Banjo arrived at WHS as a stray and was frightened when he was brought to the shelter. He is a beautiful Shepherd mix, about two years old.

I met Banjo for the first time last week and was amazed what patience and time did to help him to feel safe. He was very tense, closed-mouth, and stiff when I first took his picture with Linda. He looked worried and didn’t want to be touched.

But Linda slowly began to earn his trust with her calm demeanor, giving him space, and a few treats.

When he was feeling more relaxed, we took him into a yard to see if he’d like to play. That’s when his personality started to blossom. He loves to romp.

And posing for my camera wasn’t scary anymore.

After some playtime, we returned to the bench and it was like he was a different dog, and it was such a joy to see the difference.

Banjo is still uneasy with the noise and activity in the shelter, and he can be shy at first meetings. We know nothing about his history. But oh, what a wonderful companion he will be for a family who has the patience to give him the space and time he needs to trust. We’re hoping that family comes soon and takes him home. If you think you might be that 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/.

Rocky

If you are a regular reader of my posts, you know all about our shy Rocky who is afraid of my camera. Each week I try to sneak a few pictures of him before he realizes I’m taking them. Last Sunday I got a few of him with one of his favorite volunteers, Kate. While he is shy at first meetings, he quickly warms up and is such a delightful, goofy character. Potential adopters seem to only see his shyness. We’re hoping a family will spend some time getting to know him. They will be smitten just as we are.

To read all about this adorable but timid boy, read my June 8th feature about him here. And if you decide you’d like to meet him, 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/.

Roscoe

Roscoe arrived at WHS on October 20, 2016. He was nervous and shy, a transfer from a partnership with ASPCA. We didn’t know how long he had been in a shelter environment. Roscoe liked some people, was fearful of others. He liked some dogs, not all. He had high anxiety around new things. With the volunteers and staff whom he trusted, he became a favorite. He was great about posing for my camera.

Finally in February 2017, he was adopted—then returned the next day. Those of us who loved him worried about him ever finding his forever home. Volunteer dog-walker, Laura, was one of Roscoe’s favorite people. Every Wednesday evening Laura took Roscoe for his walk and their bond grew. Finally Laura decided that if Roscoe was ever going to have a home, it would have to be hers. On August 17, 2017, we had a going-away party for Roscoe and Laura took him home.

Over the years, I’ve gotten updates from Laura about her adventures with Roscoe. Last week I was thrilled to receive a new one. Here’s what she wrote:

“For long-standing fans of this blog and of WHS here is an update on “Roscoe” (with an ‘e’) who was adopted nearly five years ago. He had been at the shelter for ten months after being flown in from Texas. He was, and still is, a kind of ‘high strung’ sort of guy, but the combination of finding a loving home and having had consistent behavior training at the shelter made a huge difference! He can handle meeting new dogs with near indifference now (and plenty of treats) and is friendly with absolutely every human he meets. Even though he was adopted and returned at least once because he could not get along with cats, in our house he lives with two young cats. He is still particular about who takes care of him when I am not here, but he definitely has some favorite humans and enjoys going to ‘Grandma’s.’ As you can see by the pictures he loves lying in the sun in his yard, plays in the snow when we have it, and gets to go on plenty of trips to the park. He also gets very disappointed when Petco is closed and he can’t shop for treats! If you look closely, you will notice the grey on his face as he is about ten years old now. Thank you WHS for sticking with this dog for the long haul so he could find his forever home.”

For those of us who loved Roscoe, we will be forever grateful that Laura decided to take him home. Such a lucky dog!

On that happy note, that’s it for this week.

As always, my thanks to my photo team volunteers Marianne, Megan, Linda, and Kate.

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