Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

We have quite an exciting post this week. First, we have SEVENTEEN adoptions to report. Then I’m going to tell you about a dog we are hoping will soon be with his new family. The other two dogs I was going to feature have been adopted! So I’ll give you some Quick Looks of some others. Finally, we have two terrific updates on two very special former shelter dogs. Let’s get started!

First there were three puppies I didn’t get a chance to meet before they went home. They were Bessie, Ethel, Bernadette. Also adopted were the following:

Rocky

When I first met Rocky, he was so nervous at the shelter. He snuggled with volunteer Linda and felt better. So glad he’s now in his new family!

Eva

We had so much fun with Eva. Here she was with three of her shelter volunteer fans two Sundays ago.

Clive

Clive was so excited about his adoption that he insisted on telling you himself.

Sancho

Sancho (12 years old) came in with his brother, Lefty (11 years old), and we were sure they would be adopted quickly, even though they were seniors. They had been so well taken care of in their former home. They didn’t need to stay together and each got a new family to love them.

Lefty

Fancy

We fell in love with this sweetheart instantly. Lucky family!

Pancho

Our sweet ten-year-old senior, Pancho, is now in his loving retirement home.

Queenie

The looks on her adopters’ faces say it all. Thanks for the picture, Celeste!

Pearl

Pearl is absolutely adorable. Such a good puppy. We had so much fun with her on Sunday.

Terach

This four-month-old youngster with his giant ears is a happy, exuberant pup. He will keep his new family happy and busy!

Woody

Woody is such a good youngster at eight months. We were going to feature him this week, but we hope he’ll be very happy in his new home. Here he was on Sunday with Megan.

Mina

Mina was adopted and her family will be quite amazed to realize she can read. Here she was with Linda on Sunday.

Rocky

I only met this youngster (5 months old) last Sunday, but I sure did like him. What a great pup!

Cooper

Our wonderful senior character Cooper got adopted today! He will always be one of our favorites. We are so happy for him. He even has a new canine sister.

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, April 12, 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 not the right dog for everyone, but for an experienced family who can read my body language—you don’t have to speak it—I will keep you laughing!

Are you looking for a young, active, and eager partner who will keep up with you on your adventures? Can you read a dog’s body language and know when he is uncomfortable and how to help him? Shiloh is looking for such a family.

Shiloh is a two-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix who was found as a stray. Although we don’t know anything about his past history, we have learned some basic things about him during his stay at the shelter. Shiloh loves spending time with people. He knows the cues for sit and down. He is highly treat-motivated, which is very helpful when he needs distractions. He has a lot of energy and is playful, enjoying many different kinds of toys. He is not picky about his treats, though he does really like cheese. Shiloh is not a smiler. His expression rarely changes, he lets his tail show he is happy.

The first time I met Shiloh was shortly after he arrived on March 30th. He was very cooperative for his initial photo shoot with Kate, though we couldn’t get him to smile and realized he is who he is.

On Sunday we took him into Mary’s Place (yes, it was another rainy day) and we all laughed a lot.

Staff member Kyra stopped in to say hi to one of her current favorites.

And then this happened. We had no idea what it was all about.

And if YOU were a dog, how would YOU do it?

But it wasn’t all action. Shiloh also settled and pondered.

Shiloh will need to be the only pet in the family. He can be reactive toward other dogs, so is not a dog-park kind of boy. He can get over stimulated in play, so his people will need to be well-versed in dog body language to know when it’s time to let him settle. In short, Shiloh would not be a good fit for a first-time dog owner. However, for a family with experience with exuberant canines, Shiloh could be a perfect fit. He is loving, affectionate, and wants to please his peeps.

Here he is in action.

Besides playing, Shiloh worked on the cue “leave it” with Linda.

He practiced sitting politely for Marianne.

Shiloh knows that he’s not the right dog for every family. But he hopes that his perfect family will see this feature and realize he is the dog for them.

If that family is yours, come to the shelter and spend some time with Shiloh.

Yoda

Yoda is a five-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog. He is looking for a home without small animals such as chickens or rabbits. He has lived with cats in his last home happily. He likes to play with other dogs, but would need to meet any he would be living with. He is house-trained and knows basic commands. He’s affectionate and loves to be groomed and “blown dry.” He’s very active and will bark some. He’s hoping for an active family with lots of opportunities to romp.

I have not spent much time with Yoda, but liked him immediately. Here are some pictures the day we met. Staff member Kyra brought him out to meet me.

We brought him into Mary’s Place briefly and he felt right at home.

Fiona

Fiona is a one-year-old German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix. She came to us from another shelter where she was found as a stray. She was in a foster home at the other shelter and they loved her. She lived with other dogs there, but will need to meet any she would live with. She is a high-energy sweet girl. Here are some pictures of our first meeting. Megan loved her immediately.

Cooper

As you saw in the adoption list, Cooper went home with his new family today! But, of course, we had to spend some time with him on Sunday. Here he was snuggling with Linda.

We have TWO updates this week!

Molly

If you are a regular reader of my posts, you will remember one of our all-time favorite dogs, Molly.

I had written about Molly many times during her stay at WHS. She was surrendered in mid-July 2019. She was eight years old and quickly became a volunteer and staff favorite. We all knew she was just about perfect. She loved everyone, got along with other dogs, and had thought her former family’s kittens were her own. She soon had everyone, including me, wrapped around her paw.

A young couple in Portland saw her before she was available and had contacted me, hoping to adopt her. But someone else scooped Molly up as soon as she was on the website. However, their home did not prove to be the right fit, and Molly was returned. The next day the Portland couple drove to Salem and took Molly home for good.

Molly’s human mom, Samantha, has sent in several updates over the years, and last week I was thrilled to get this one. It has been a bit of a rocky road for Molly and her family, but I’m so glad she is doing well now.

“Molly is still the best and doing great! She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in August 2021, and the best course suggested by her surgeon and oncologist was amputation of her right front leg and chemo. It was a difficult decision but an easy one at the same time, since they said it would increase her quality of life to do it. She was such a trooper and the clinic said she was the poster child for it, she wanted to get up and get going right away. The prognosis was 8-12 months and we’re at 20 months now, so she’s beating the odds and doing great 🙂 

More recently, as a bit of an older lady, she has arthritis and some mobility issues so she has her very own chariot (stroller) that she can climb into when she’s not up for any more walking. She also goes swimming once a week and absolutely loves it!

She has travelled internationally, too, when we drove to Canada for my sister’s wedding. She got love from everyone there and took turns sleeping with family members as she pleased. She was welcome on all the beds. She also got to spend time with her cousin! I’m so grateful to have her still happy and alert. She’s the best, I love her so much! Thanks for helping her come into my life.”

Molly will always be one of our special shelter dogs who landed in a jackpot of a home, for which we will always be grateful.

Hank/Brick

When people find out we volunteer at a shelter, their first question is always, “How can you not take one home?” The answer is, often we do.

Such was the case with volunteer Kate (yes, you know her well as a member of our photo team) and Hank. Here is their going-home picture.

Last week Kate sent this happy update.

“This April marks one year since we adopted Hank (formerly Brick).

Hank’s personality is typical of a bulldog mix, but he’s still a one-in-a-million kind of dog. He is best friends with everyone he meets, including dogs, chickens, kids, toddlers, and even an infant. He is also incredibly in-tune with people and dogs’ emotions. However, he’s still working on winning the cats over. 

When we first brought Hank home, his skin was bright pink and he was missing hair in quite a few places. After medication and a few trips to the dermatologist, we’ve been able to get his skin back to normal.

Hank is the most affectionate, clumsy, patient, and outgoing dog I’ve ever met. Ever since we brought him home, he attached himself to my hip and has never left. He has changed our lives completely, and I couldn’t imagine life without him.”

Hank is quite the character. He certainly found his perfect home and family. We are so happy for him.

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

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

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