Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

It’s remarkable how much fun our photo team can have with shelter dogs even on a rainy day. Sunday was cold and wet, but inside Mary’s Place we had a blast and so did the dogs. But first, here are the adoptions that happened over the last week.

We had some wonderful adoptions, but there were four that I didn’t get a chance to meet who went home with their new families. They were Zoe, Beef Cake, Piper, and Alma.

Pig

What a cutie this pup is! And his brother was adopted a few days later!

Teddy Bear

Teddy was a bit lonesome after his brother’s adoption, so we are glad that he, too, is now in his new home.

Jubilee

This cutie seemed sad, so we were especially happy when she was adopted.

Hubert

This little guy was adorable and we knew he’d be scooped up quickly, and he was.

Mac Daddy

Mac is a special needs boy and a favorite of Marianne and Linda, who spent a lot of time with him. And yes, that is his happy face. Thanks to staff member Mackenzie for sending me his going-home picture!

Brutus

He was a newbie I met on Sunday. He is such an amazing dog. We had planned to feature him this week, but he went home Sunday afternoon. We were all smitten with this affectionate, eager, gentle boy. Lucky family!

Lemon

We were so surprised that puppy Lemon was not adopted instantly. She is such a character. She had pawed her way into Kate and Linda’s hearts. The first thing they wanted to do on Sunday morning was to put her in a wagon and wheel her around the shelter, since she was too young to go out for walks. She had a great time and kept us laughing.

Lemon can be quite melodramatic.

When it was time to return to her kennel, Lemon was sure she’d be adopted soon. She was right.

Shakira

This beautiful girl was adopted yesterday.

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

“The shelter is open for walk-through viewing and meet-and-greets 10 AM – 7 PM seven days per week. Meet-and-greets are done on a first-come/first-served basis. The shelter address is 4246 Turner Rd. SE, Salem.

When you come to the shelter and see a pet you are interested in meeting, please take note of the pet’s name and visit the front desk in the lobby. Our Customer Care team will be happy to assist you with the next steps.”

I’m on the large side, but don’t think I won’t like to cuddle with my family after an active day of play!

Donnie is a two-year-old German Shepherd mix. Because he came to us as a stray, we do not know his history, but he has become a favorite of volunteers with his interesting ears.

We have learned some things about Donnie since his arrival on March 2nd. He must have had someone who cared about him, as he LOVES people and attention. He is affectionate and eager to please. He knows several cues like sit, down, and shake. He did well when meeting another shelter dog, but did not care for a potential adopter’s Rottweiler. He will need to meet any dog he might be living with.

Donnie was well-behaved during his initial evaluation. One staff member wrote, “he had loose body language, smelled lots of smells, did not interact much but accepted pets.” He walks on leash politely, but does pull toward other dogs if near them. He is also very treat-motivated, so training with him will be fun.

We took him into Mary’s Place on Sunday to get to know him better, and he was very happy and posed so well for pictures!

Then it was time for some training. Marianne worked on the cue, “look.”

That was when we discovered he knew how to shake.

Donnie loved being on the couch with Kate.

If you are partial to German Shepherds with interesting ear formations, and have room for a big dog, come to the shelter and meet Donnie. You might discover he’s the perfect fit for your family.

I am quite timid when I first meet you, but give me a little time and I’ll be your best cuddle buddy. And by the way, I love cats!

I fell in love with Athena almost as soon as I met her on Sunday. She is a one-year-old Siberian Husky mix and had to be surrendered because her family did not have enough time for her.

Her former family wrote, “She is sweet and playful, an affectionate lap dog.” She loves to go for walks. Her family reported that she does well on leash. She has been a puller at the shelter, but that could be a result of her feeling uneasy in such a new environment. She has lived with another dog, children, and a cat (!) happily and has done very well. She loves to play with other dogs as well as kids. Athena cannot be left for long periods of time without having house-training accidents. So a family who is not gone a lot would be perfect for her.

The first couple of days that Athena was at the shelter, she was very fearful and nervous, afraid of the new people she was meeting. But now she is slowly beginning to trust. When we brought her into Mary’s Place on Sunday, she was quite anxious, standing beside the couch for “protection.”

Then she jumped up on the couch and hid behind Linda.

Linda talked with her and coaxed her with some cheese.

I sat down on the other end of the couch and this happened. I was instantly smitten.

Next it was Marianne’s turn.

Over time, she relaxed more and more and stopped looking so worried.

Megan asked Athena if she’d like to paint. When she found out that cheese was involved, she was eager.

Who would have thought she was such a talented artist?!

Then it was time to go back to her kennel. But wait—there’s more!

During Marianne’s Monday afternoon walking shift, it wasn’t raining, so she took Athena to a yard. Marianne wasn’t sure what Athena would do, but she certainly didn’t expect this! Thanks for the video, Marianne!

Wait! Athena has BIG NEWS!

My former family says I’m “friendly, affectionate, good with dogs and cats and children.” What more could you want?

Do you have space in your home and life for a rather large four-year-old German Shepherd who will be some lucky family’s new best friend? If so, you need to come to the shelter and meet Jill.

Jill’s family had to surrender her because they don’t have enough time for her and feel she will be happier with a family who can give her more attention. They have a lot of good things to say about her. “She is a very affectionate, sweet dog. She is playful, thinks she’s a lap dog, is friendly with visitors, independent, and not very active. Her favorite toys are tennis balls.” Jill is house-trained and could be left free in the house with no issues. She also enjoys the company of other dogs, and has lived with four children and a cat happily. She does pull when on leash, so will need to work on polite walking.

Her family members aren’t the only people who sing her praises. The Intake staff wrote, “She was loose, wiggly, solicited attention, did awesome for medical handling.” And later, the vet said, “She was easy to restrain for a nail trim and held still the whole time. She shook after the restrain and sat for treats. She was an excellent patient for her vet check.”

In the spirit of full disclosure, she does need to work on her loose-leash walking skills. She is a strong girl and can pull hard.

We had a lot of fun with Jill in Mary’s Place. She was so cooperative and affectionate. She immediately jumped up on the couch with Marianne And she had a lot to say.

She also enjoyed hanging out with Kate and Megan.

Jill is going to make a wonderful, though big, new family member. Could it be yours? If you’d like to meet Jill, come to the shelter!

That’s it for this week! Next week I have family coming to visit, so will not be writing a blog post.

As always, 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 Oregon Humane Society Salem Campus at this link.

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