Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

This week we are featuring three very different dogs, each with her own special appeal. But first, here are the adoptions during the past week.

There were two puppies I didn’t get a chance to meet before they were adopted. They were Jasmine and Copper.

Panini

On the Sunday before last, I happened to see a young couple sitting in front of Panini’s kennel talking with her. I mentioned what a sweet girl she was and that I had just taken pictures of her. They said they had been coming to spend time with her each day since her arrival, waiting for her to become available. The day after she was spayed, the young couple took her home. Such a happy new life for a wonderful dog. Oh, and her new name is Kyllo! There will be an update at the end of this post.

Freya

Our very shy Freya was a newbie and was so uneasy in the shelter. We are overjoyed that she is now in her new home.

Maya

We could not believe that Maya wasn’t scooped up right away, she is such an affectionate dog. But I’m thrilled to report that she was adopted last week by a staff member who couldn’t resist her charm.

Pinto

This young, seven-month-old pup won our hearts instantly, especially Linda’s. He was also a newbie who didn’t stay long at the shelter.

Rusty

I didn’t get a chance to meet Rusty, either, but I got this going-home picture from staff member Riley.

Reba

Reba was a sweet girl who happily was not at the shelter for very long. We had fun with her the Sunday we met her.

Oswaldo

Oswaldo, a one-year-old Australian Shepherd mix, who had been found as a stray and recently transferred to us from another shelter, found his new home on Monday. Marianne and I met him for the first time Sunday and had so much fun taking pictures of him. He is one of the most affectionate, people dogs we’ve ever met. Such a good boy! Thanks to staff member Riley for his going-home picture.

Elsa

This newbie, a seven-month-old pup, was adopted today! She was very shy and nervous on Sunday. We’re glad she’s in her new home tonight. She will keep her new family active!

Noodle

Puppy Noodle (five months) was adopted today, too! He has some challenges, as he is deaf. He was adopted once, but it wasn’t the right fit. We’re hoping this time will be!

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, February 15, 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.

Do you like Shepherds? Do you have experience with us? I love people and could be your very best friend!

I was sure that beautiful Shasta would be adopted soon after she arrived at the shelter on January 14th, so I have not featured her. However, she is still waiting for her perfect family fit, so I’m starting this post telling you about this special girl.

Shasta is a one-year-old Shepherd mix who was found as a stray. Someone loved her, as she has been well taken care of. She also LOVES people. When I stopped at her kennel on Sunday to tell her we were going to spend time with her and feature her, she leaned against the kennel door for me to pet her.

We had spent some time with her a few of weeks ago in Mary’s Place. That’s when we realized what a “people dog” she is—she thoroughly enjoyed every minute with us.

She isn’t always calm—she can be quite goofy.

Shasta is not a dog for the casual dog owner. As much as she loves people, she does not care for other dogs. She will need to be the only pet in the home and she’ll need a securely fenced yard. At 96 pounds, she can pull hard when on a walk if she sees another dog. Otherwise, she walks very well on leash.

Since she has been at the shelter, Shasta has made many human friends. When the Intake staff met her, they wrote, “Sweet girl. Solicited pets and gave a tail wag to everyone. Very big dog but a gentle giant. Wanted to be petted the entire time, tail wagging. Loved being brushed. Good for medical handling. Very treat motivated. Preferred peanut butter and cream cheese! Quiet in the kennel and laid down. Easily went in and stayed as I exited.”

Volunteers have written nice things about Shasta, too. She seems to be improving some in her dog reactivity. Kate wrote, “Walked beautifully on leash! Saw the neighbor’s small dog who barked at her and she didn’t react. Just looked at the dog and was easy to redirect. VERY treat-motivated! VERY SWEET girl!”

On Sunday we took Shasta outside (it wasn’t raining this week!) and she had fun romping in the yard.

Then it was time for more attention from Megan. Shasta seems to love to pose for pictures.

Notice the head tilt of both the canine AND the human!

On our way back to her kennel, we stopped for a moment for a few bench shots. Did I mention that Shasta likes to pose?

Shasta is a lovely girl whose favorite place to be is with her people. If you could be 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/

Do you like to vacuum but don’t have dog hair to keep you busy? I’m the answer! Come meet me!

Whiskey is another people dog and very affectionate. She likes nothing more than hanging out with her human friends.

Whiskey is a six-year-old Alaskan Malamute mix and, at 85 pounds, she’s a big girl and a favorite of Marianne’s.

Whiskey was found as a stray and came to the shelter in early January. She was adopted twice, but returned when she showed resource-guarding of food, beds, and toys from the other dogs in the families. So we now know that Whiskey must go to a home as the only dog. Happily, this does not mean that she cannot interact with other dogs outside of her home. She enjoys playing rough and tumble with dogs with a similar play style in neutral territory. She walks past other dogs with no issues.

Her two former families had many good things to say about this girl. “She is a great dog with amazing human social interactions. She is very cuddly. Overall, she was lovely and has great potential, but will need dedicated time, resources, and effort to give her a good chance as the only pet in the home.” The other family wrote, “Whiskey is the sweetest girl and genuinely loves her people. She loves cuddles and always wants attention. She has a lot of love to give and would make the perfect dog for the right person.”

According to her former families, Whiskey knows many cues, including “sit, leave it, wait, stay, down, come, and shake paw.” Both families said she does well with children. “She is very playful and gentle, but can be overwhelming due to her size and strength.” “She is friendly towards all people and loves kids.”

Whiskey does pull when on walks and she is very strong. She will need consistent reward-based training to help her learn to walk politely. She has a lot of energy and will also need a family who can let her romp. We took her out to play fetch in a yard on Sunday and had a wonderful time. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, while she enthusiastically runs AFTER the ball, but returning it, not so much. And she’s more of a loper than a sprinter, as you’ll see.

After her lopes, Whiskey settled in for some affection with Marianne and Megan.

This brings us back to the vacuum. On a previous Sunday, we spent time in the Ed Hall with Whiskey and someone suggested brushing her. It turned out she LOVES to be brushed.

If you have a fenced yard and no other pets, and have fallen in love with our sweet Whiskey, 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/

I know I was featured last week, but why am I still here? Maybe THIS week will be the one where I go home.

Last week we featured Meringue, hoping that her new family would see it and come and adopt this sweetheart. But that didn’t happen. Since she has become a favorite of ours, we wanted to spend more time with her on Sunday and decided we’d just feature her again with new pictures.

Meringue is a three-year-old Pit Bull Terrier mix. She loves people, cheese, and stuffed toys. The GFB (Giant Fluff Ball) was a hit on Sunday. She wanted to pose with it for pictures.

And then she wanted a video.

Like so many of our dogs lately, Meringue was found as a stray. She has won the hearts of many volunteers at the shelter even though she doesn’t smile. She lets her tail speak for her—it is constantly in motion. She is not proud of her kennel presentation. She hopes potential adopters won’t judge her too badly because she barks in excitement to meet new people. She loves to play fetch outside and one volunteer wrote, “Very sweet girl! Played fetch well (used 2 balls to trade!). Can be jumpy but fairly easy to redirect with toys.”

After romping in Mary’s Place, it was time to settle. Linda worked with her on “leave it.”

She wasn’t above using the pleading puppy eyes, hoping for some cheese bits.

Meringue is not shy about showing how she feels about people.

We weren’t quite sure what this was about, but we laughed.

Asking her to smile did not compute.

Posing for pictures is very exhausting.

After a short nap, Meringue was concerned she might miss her new people, so she decided to go back to her kennel.

But on the way, we stopped for a couple of last pictures.

And a thank you.

To read more about Meringue and to see more pictures and another video of her, click here.

If you think Meringue is your new best friend, 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/

We are thrilled to be back in Mary’s Place with fresh paint and Marianne’s new curtains. The next project will be putting up new pictures. Our last task on Sunday was painting a large canvass created by our shelter dogs to be hung in Mary’s Place. All three of the featured dogs agreed to help and they did a great job. I’ll show the completed masterpiece in next week’s post. (The painting process is putting globs of paint on the canvass, covering it with plastic, spreading peanut butter and spray-cheese on top of the plastic, and letting the dogs lick.)

Shasta

Meringue

Whiskey

Panini/Kyllo

I don’t usually get an update the first day after the dog has gone to a new home, but I did get a very happy one about Panini.

Here it is.

“She is doing so well thus far! She’s already taken a long nap, has played with toys, and has even eaten a bit! She needed the beauty rest!  She is about to go shopping now for a new bed, toys, and accessories! If you want to follow along on her adventures and have an Instagram, you can find us at @wagsnfloof “

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

Thanks to my photo team volunteers Marianne, Megan, Linda, and Kate, and staff member Riley.

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