Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

It was a very stormy winter day in Salem on Sunday so, once again, all of our pictures had to be taken indoors. However, the good news was that we were able to get back into Mary’s Place, which is much more cozy and homelike than the Ed Hall.

This week we decided to feature two “long-termers” who have been waiting, ever hopeful about their forever families finding them. I have written about both of them in past posts, but just maybe new readers will see their stories and come for a visit. We had a great time with them on Sunday.

There has been only one adoption since my last post, but it was a happy one!

Mia

Mia was a newbie and such a nice little dog. She had just gotten spayed last week when I took her pictures, so was wearing a cone. She is going to be a wonderful family dog. Here she was with Linda last week.

We have some very exciting news! I featured Maggie, a three-year-old Lab mix who was found as a stray, in my December 14th post. This active girl is absolutely tennis-ball obsessed. She LIVES for racing after a tennis ball, returning it, and placing it in front of the thrower for another round time after time after time. She would rather “work” than have treats, pets, or anything else. We joked that she could probably be trained to be a great search-and-rescue dog. Well—it turned out not to be a joke!

Our Maggie has just been accepted into the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation program! From their website, “Founded in 1996, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Santa Paula, California. Our mission is to strengthen disaster response in America by rescuing and recruiting dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.” Maggie will become a California girl who will live her BEST life.

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, January 18, 2023. 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 realize I’m not the dog for everyone, but if you are the right family, you will never have a more devoted friend!

Beya is a beautiful four-year-old Shepherd mix who has been a favorite of both staff and volunteers for a long time. Here she was on Sunday, happily posing, hoping that the perfect person will see her and know they want her in their life.

The first time I featured Beya was in my December 15, 2021 post. It was her second time at the shelter and it had been a long stay—three months. Since then, Beya has been adopted four times.

Beya first arrived at the shelter in February of 2020 with a litter of puppies who were quickly adopted when they were old enough. At that time, Beya went back to her human family. However, her people moved and couldn’t take her with them, so she was returned to us to find a new home.

Beya had lived happily with her family, but did not see many other people, so she was quite nervous in new situations and first meetings. But once she got comfortable with someone, she was affectionate and eager for attention. Here she was with two of her best friends, staff members Rachael and Nichole.

With people she knows, Beya is quite the “leaner”—all 94 pounds of her!

Because of her limited socialization, Beya should not go home with young children, cats, or other small animals. She has lived with other dogs in her previous home and gotten along well. She has also done well with other dogs, but would like to meet any she would be living with.

Beya is not a dog for a first-time or casual dog owner. She needs an experienced, patient person who watches for and understands a dog’s body language. Beya loves treats but can become over-stimulated when getting them, which once resulted in a bite to a volunteer the last time Beya was at the shelter. She can also be jumpy when excited, but is getting much better.

Beya was returned because she was simply “too much dog” for the couple who last adopted her, though they loved her and said she is “sweet, good, and thinks she is a lap dog. She has a lot of energy.” She is house-trained and was free in the house when left alone. Because of her history of “stranger danger” (being nervous around new situations and people), a calm and quiet home without a lot of visitors would be perfect. Beya knows several cues, including sit, down, stay, come, and drop.

One staff member recently wrote, “Overall, Beya’s behavior has greatly improved since she was last at the shelter. Her stranger danger is very minimum.” Out in a yard, “she was interested in all the smells and loved free roaming. She had moments of zoomies and playing with a tennis ball. I took her on a walk on the back path. I asked her to sit multiple times and she listened well. Coming into the hallway, she was greeted by many faces. She allowed pets all over!”

We had a wonderful time with Beya on Sunday. We brought her into Mary’s Place and she loved hanging out with us and posing for pictures. She hopped right up on the couch and settled.

She rolled over for belly rubs.

And she had quite a lot to say.

Linda had some treats and Beya was being her “best self” to try to earn them. She was very patient.

Then it was time to play! The Giant Fluff Ball was a hit!

We all love Beya.

To see more pictures and video of Beya, click on my March 2, 2022 post here.

While Beya needs a special kind of home, she will be such a joy for the right person. Because of her specific needs, the shelter would like a potential adopter to meet with her several times to build a trusted bond between them before taking her home. If you are that person, fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on her picture and then on the link Adopt Me found here oregonhumane.org/adopt/salem-shelter-adopt-dogs/

People say I look sad because I don’t smile. But that’s not the case. I’m a happy dog, just watch my tail!

Tucker is a two-year-old Hound mix. He came to us from another shelter where he had been found as a stray. He is a sweet boy and is having a stressful time in the kennels. I was sure he’d be adopted right away. He hasn’t been.

Now that he has been here a while, we know what a good boy Tucker is. Here are a couple of notes from his volunteer fans, “If you like slow, steady walks, Tucker is the one! He loves stopping to smell things.” “Easy to walk and very sweet, as usual.” Due to some skin irritation, Tucker had a bath a few days ago and here is the report: “Tucker was a good boy for his bath. He was lifted easily into the elevated dog bath tub. He was cooperative for the entire bath and enjoyed being dried off.”

Tucker can be reactive to other dogs, so will need to meet any he would be living with. He also will need a fenced yard.

On Sunday we took Tucker into Mary’s Place and his delightful personality blossomed. Watch how happy he is!

We had so much fun with this good boy and are hoping potential adopters will recognize what a special dog he is.

If you’d like to meet Tucker and see if he’s the dog for your family, fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on his picture and then on the link Adopt Me found here oregonhumane.org/adopt/salem-shelter-adopt-dogs/

Hugo got to go on an adventure today! Marianne and Linda took him to Lowe’s and he had a wonderful time meeting the staff and checking out refrigerators. Who knew he is interested in refrigerators?! Here is Marianne’s report.

“It’s been a while since Linda and I did a Dog’s Day Out. Today was Hugo’s turn. We took him to Lowe’s where he did what he does best, which is make new friends. He is such a people dog! He rode beautifully in the car, actually just laid down on the floor by the back seat. He is such a wonderful boy and so loving.”

Hugo is a two-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix who is such a good boy. If you’d like to read all about the home he is hoping for and see if he’d be a good fit for yours, check out my January 4th post here.

If you’d like to meet Hugo, fill out the Adoption Questionnaire by clicking on his picture and then on the link Adopt Me found here oregonhumane.org/adopt/salem-shelter-adopt-dogs/

That’s it for this week!

As always, thanks to my photo team volunteers Marianne, Megan, Linda, and Kate, and staff members Rachael and Nichole.

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: oregonhumane.org/adopt/salem-shelter-adopt-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