Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

It’s the middle of July already and summer is bringing warm days and pool time for our shelter dogs. Volunteer Lori sent this cute video of Smoke (who is currently not available while some minor medical issues are resolved) having a great cooling off.

Panzer

Panzer arrived at the shelter very shy and with bad ear infections. But he is much better now and we are thrilled he is settling in with his new family.

Rumour

We are so excited that our sweet Rumour was adopted on Monday! Lucky family—she is a very special girl.

Boris

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will recognize this boy as being adopted several times before this. Yep, Boris was adopted once again on Tuesday. We have all fingers and toes crossed that THIS time will be his perfect fit of a family!

 Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, July 13, 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.

Everyone thought I’d be adopted very quickly because I’m a great dog. But truth be told, my kennel presentation is the pits. I just forget my manners and bark, so people pass me by. Will you stop and meet me?

I first wrote about Max in my June 22nd post. I was so sure he’d be adopted quickly, I didn’t worry about him. But he is still waiting for his new family, so I decided to feature him again, hoping that this time he will be scooped up and taken home.

Max is a three-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier/Shar-Pei mix with drooping ears, big brown eyes, and a huge grin.

Max was surrendered because the other dog in the home has serious health issues, and Max has not gotten the attention he deserves. His family reported that he is “sweet, very content and docile when he is getting attention.” He has gotten along very well with other dogs but is afraid of cats. He is “very patient with children and their rowdiness, but is not spatially aware” and can accidentally knock little ones over.

Max is not a fan of car rides. He is easily startled by loud noises and a bit shy at first meeting strangers. His favorite thing to do is play fetch and he loves big tennis balls and chew toys. Max is crate-trained and slept in one at night. He does need some fine-tuning in house-training. And in the spirit of full disclosure, he is a bit of an escape artist and has gotten out of his yard, so a secure fence will be important. We think that the reason Max hasn’t gotten adopted yet is his less-than-stellar kennel presentation. He is so excited to see people, he forgets himself and barks, causing people to walk on by. But once out of his kennel, Max is pure delight. He’s become a favorite of volunteers. Here are a couple of their comments: “If I didn’t have three dogs already, I’d adopt Max on the spot. Absolutely a wonderful, energetic dog. Does amazing in the turnout.” “Really sweet boy! Was wiggly in his kennel. Great outside. Really likes the turnout. Good at playing ball and likes lots of petting.”

On Sunday Marianne, Kate, Linda, and I took Max out in a yard to play. He was so happy! He LOVES playing fetch, though he doesn’t actually bring the ball directly to you.

Max in action!

While Max is a very energetic dog, he also settles nicely.

Kate loves him.

After our outside romp, we went into Mary’s Place. First he played.

And then we all relaxed.

Max in training.

Max had a very exciting time last week during Camp Paw Paw, an OHS day camp for elementary children. The kids loved him and he was wonderful with them.

And here are a two pictures with a couple of camp kids and OHS Trainer Skylar, taken by Volunteer Team staff member Rachel.

Max will be such a great dog for an active family with kids who will play fetch with him in the back yard, then let him curl up next to them for some quiet petting time. So when you get to Max’s kennel, ignore his excited barking and take him out to spend some time getting to know this wonderful boy. To see more pictures of Max in action, read his feature on my June 22nd post here. If you’d like to find out more about Max and see if he might be 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/.

Are you an experienced “puppy raiser”? I know I’m a bit of a challenge, but I promise to try really, really hard to learn stuff.

Kenobi is a five-month-old hound mix. He was found as a stray, so we don’t know his story, but he is adorable with his huge ears with tips that sometimes flop forward, sometimes backward, and sometimes stand straight up.

Kenobi is a BIG puppy at 33 pounds. To say he is not shy would be an understatement. When he arrived at the shelter, the Intake team wrote, “tail wagging, licking, and ready to play!” That pretty much sums up his personality. He was quite cooperative for his first photoshoot with Megan.

Kenobi has A LOT of energy; after all, he is a puppy. We took him into Mary’s Place on Sunday to see if he could settle as Kate and Marianne sat quietly on the couch. It took a while.

But after a while, he did settle down and seemed to enjoy posing for pictures.

Linda worked on a little training and Kenobi did very well learning to listen.

Then we let him play and play he did!

Kenobi is hoping for an active family who will continue to help him to grow up into the good family dog he wants to be. Happily, he is very treat-motivated, so rewards-based training will be fun for both him and his person. He is smart and seems to be a quick learner. If you are up for a big, enthusiastic puppy who will think you make the sun rise, Kenobi may be the right pup for you. He’s hoping you will come soon.

To learn more about Kenobi and the kind of home he needs, 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/.

Some people like little dogs and some people like big dogs. If you are a big-dog person, I hope you will come and meet me!

Rusty, a youngster about a year old, is a Great Dane/hound mix. At 89 pounds, this boy is huge, but oh, what a nice dog he is!

Rusty was found as a stray by a kind lady who took him home for a few days. She had only good things to tell the officer who picked him up to bring him to the shelter. Rusty got along very well with the finder’s two dogs, never had an accident in the house, and slept on her bed at night. He was fearful of meeting new people at first, but would warm up slowly. I saw that happen in real time with Linda when she brought him out for pictures.

At first, he was closed-mouth and tense, though he was willing to pose.

Then gradually, and carefully, he began to check Linda out. That’s when we discovered he loves treats.

It didn’t take long for Rusty to decide Linda was a friend who could be trusted.

I love tender moments between a person and a dog. Then there are those other moments when the photographer completely loses the subjects.

Because Rusty is a stray, we do not know how he is with cats or children. He has done well with other dogs at the shelter and walks nicely on leash. Intake staff wrote, “Rusty was shy and nervous at first, but started to warm up after some time and hot dogs. Leaning on people, allowing pets if slow, does not like loud noises or fast movements. Very sweet boy.”

We decided to take Rusty into Mary’s Place and see how he’d like it. Although a little nervous in a new place, he did well.

When stretched out fully, we realized how tall he is!

For a family with enough space for a very large dog, and the time and patience to let him settle in, Rusty will be a wonderful family companion. We’re hoping he won’t be at the shelter for very long. To learn more about Rusty and see if your home would be the right one for 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/.

Caleb

Caleb, our sweet boy who is a hospice adoption, is still waiting for a loving family to give him the best life for as long as he has. Caleb is a ten-year-old American Staffordshire mix who was surrendered because his person was moving into a retirement home and couldn’t take him. Caleb is looking for his own quiet retirement home where he can take short walks and spend the rest of the day relaxing with his peeps. Because of weakness in his back legs, he is on a supplement for joint mobility which he will need to be on for the rest of his life. He also finds stairs a challenge, so a one-level house would be ideal. But don’t think for a minute that Caleb isn’t a happy, eager dog. It is obvious he has been much loved. On Sunday we spent some quality time with him which we all enjoyed.

Caleb loves getting all the toys out of the toy box.

For someone who is wishing for a no-drama, easy-going senior who will be happy just spending quiet time with you, consider adopting sweet Caleb. See more pictures of him in my May 18th post here and my June 1st post here.

If you’d like to meet Caleb, 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/.

Onyx and Luxe

There is one very happy update this week. Last March a bonded pair of Doberman Pinschers—Luxe and her brother Onyx— arrived at the shelter. They became instant favorites of everyone. Here they were, Onyx with Marianne, and Luxe with Megan.

We were worried. Adopting one large dog can be a challenge, let alone two. But in April a couple came who had Doberman experience and took the siblings home.

Recently the shelter got this video of the two dogs playing in their yard. What a joy to see them so happy.

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

As always, my thanks to my photo team volunteers Marianne, Megan, Linda, and Kate. Also special thanks to volunteer Lori, Adoption Specialist Sasha, Volunteer Team members Rachel and Harmonie, and Communications Specialist Becca for their behind-the-scenes contributions.

All of the dogs I have featured today, along with other terrific dogs waiting to be adopted, can be found at Oregon Humane Society Salem Campus. 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 shelter soon. Some dogs are adopted more quickly than you might think.

You can reach me at  adoptanoregondog14@yahoo.com