Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

I recently received an email from The National Canine Research Council concerning shelter dogs. I was happy to read the following:

“Research shows that some of the most common beliefs about shelter dogs and evaluations are actually just myths. There is a prevailing myth that shelter dogs are ‘damaged’ or ‘have something wrong with them.’ According to two decades of research, there is simply nothing different about dogs who live in a shelter from dogs who have a cozy couch. They are just dogs who are living in a shelter environment while they are between homes. There is nothing that sets them apart, behavior-wise, from dogs acquired from a breeder or a friend or a next door neighbor.”

On that positive note, here are the adoptions since my last post:

There were three dogs who were adopted before I got their pictures. They were Izzy, Poppy, and Popcorn.


Keisha

Keisha was a new arrival when I took her pictures. She is a very sweet girl. We were thrilled she got adopted so quickly!

Leah

This beauty was scooped up very shortly after her arrival at the shelter. Lucky family!

Oreo

We knew this big boy wouldn’t be around long! Here he is with his new person who is crazy about him! Thanks for the going-home picture, Amanda!!

Tori

I only met her once, but what a fun character she was. She even posed in an adorable way! No surprise she was adopted quickly!

Odysseus

We love this boy so much and are happy he’s now in his new home. He’s been waiting for a while. He was sure that posing with flowers would get him a new family and maybe it did!

Marley

Our delightful puppy, Marley, was adopted yet again. We’re hoping with fingers crossed that this will be the right fit for this good pup!

Bologna

Our sweet Bologna went home to another young dog. Hoping they will become great friends.

Aston

Newbie Aston is a wonderful three-legged boy with a happy outlook on life and youthful enthusiasm. He’ll keep his new family smiling!

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, May 31, 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 know I don’t stand out much, I’m kinda shy. Got kids? I love kids!

Chloe is a ten-month-old Great Dane mix, but don’t worry, she’s not huge! She is 65 pounds, she is medium-sized with a beautiful sleek black and white coat.

The first time I met Chloe, she was extremely shy and didn’t smile, but was cooperative posing for her first pictures with Marianne.

Chloe was surrendered by her family because they could not take care of her anymore, but they had some very nice things to say about this youngster. First of all, she loves children and lived with five of them ranging in age from two to twelve. Her family reported, “She was raised around my five children, she’s very gentle and sweet.” They described her as “playful, friendly with visitors and active.” She lived with a large dog with whom she got along well. However, she will need a home without cats, chickens, or other small animals, and livestock. Chloe is house- and crate-trained. She has chewed on things when left free in the house. Chloe was with her family most of the time and has not had a lot of experience outside her home. She is working on how to walk politely on leash—still has a ways to go— and not to be scared of the outside world. She has been nervous and somewhat stressed in the shelter. Once out of the shelter, with some time, and positive reward-based training, Chloe will grow up into a wonderful family dog.

On Sunday, we decided to take Chloe out to a yard and see if she’d like to play some fetch. She did, and she has the cutest way of playing with a tennis ball in between throws.

After several fetch games, we headed to Mary’s Place to relax. Chloe continued to come out of her shell and enjoyed just being with people. She even posed on the bench with Kate on our way inside.

Chloe quickly noticed that while Linda appeared to be on the Internet, she also had a treat bag.

We so enjoyed our time with Chloe. She will be such a great family dog for a home in town without small animals. She will be a delightful companion for the family’s kids. And while she still needs work on her leash manners, she is a quick learner and with a little time and some treats, she’ll be a champ. If you’d like to meet Chloe and see if she’ll be a good fit for your family, come to the shelter to visit with her. She’s always eager to make new friends.

So I was a Quick Look in the last post. But I explained to the team that I needed to be featured. So here I am. I may be the perfect dog for you!

When you meet Lula, be prepared to laugh. This girl is a hoot. She is a three-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix. She was found as a stray. It’s obvious she has been loved, as she is happiest when she is with people. Here she is with Linda, Kate, and Marianne, some of her fan club on Sunday. Can you tell she’s in her element? (Notice how she is sitting ON Linda. Yes, she considers herself a lap dog!)

Lula arrived on May 11 as a transfer from another shelter. She became an instant favorite due to her happy-go-lucky personality.

Here she was for her first photoshoot with Kate. As you’ll see, Lula is NOT a shy dog.

Lula has the volunteers and staff wrapped around her paw. Here are some comments written about her: “Gentle dog, enjoys playing with squeaky toys.”; “Sweet girl, will tell you when she’s excited with a loud bark!”; “Loves belly rubs! Likes cheese.”;
“Lula plays fetch nicely! Sweet dog.”

It was such a lovely day on Sunday, we took Lula out to a yard and she was happy. She sprints after a tennis ball, but prefers a slow trot and sometimes a short rest when returning it, as you’ll see.

Before returning her to her kennel, we took her into Mary’s Place for some laughs.

Then she really WAS tired and decided to let us carry on.

Before she left to return to her kennel, she had something she wanted to say to our readers.

Lula is simply a terrific girl and we’re really hoping that her forever family will discover her soon. If you think it could be your family, come to the shelter and meet her.

This is my second time here at the shelter, and while I’m happy to see my old friends, I’m really hoping that I will find my perfect family fit very soon. Could it be yours?

Pumba (formerly Rufus) first arrived at our shelter in December of 2022. He was a stray and while he didn’t smile, he wormed his way into our hearts very quickly. Here he was at that time.

Rufus was finally adopted and became Pumba. But last week Pumba came back to us. His person wrote, “He’s a wonderful dog, just not a fit for our family.” So Pumba is looking for a new home. This time he smiled for my pictures!

Because he can be anxious in stressful situations, he’s hoping for a calm home. He would like to be the only pet. He would do fine with older children who are calm and did fine with the kids in his last home. Pumba is frightened when there is yelling, loud noise such as fireworks, and sudden, erratic movements.

After he was adopted, Pumba was a great success taking an OHS-Salem training class called Life Skills 1 with our trainer, Nichole. She wrote, “He will sit, down, stay, come, wait, and look, on verbal cue and with a hand signal. I saw a well-mannered dog in class.” He walks well on leash and is an overall delightful boy. He loves chewy toys and squeakers. He has been doing very well since coming back to the shelter.

We decided to go into Mary’s Place for some relaxation. We relaxed while Pumba played.

After playing, Pumba wanted to visit.

If you would like to spend some time with Pumba and see if he’s your perfect fit, come to the shelter soon!

Rosie and Bescha/Sierra

We have the most wonderful update this week! I wrote about Rosie and Bescha in my May 4, 2022 post. We were head-over-heels in love with these two sisters, but worried about them getting adopted. First, they were big girls, they were seniors, and they wanted to go home together.

Here were Rosie and Marianne.

Here were Bescha and Megan. Her name was about to become Sierra.

It turned out, we didn’t need to worry. One day a woman and her mother stopped into the shelter and left with both girls. Here is their story.

“On Friday, we celebrated our one-year anniversary as a family! And what a year it has been! We celebrated Sierra’s 7th birthday in September and Rosie’s 10th birthday in March. We have gone on so many walks and adventures as a family.

We love them so completely. They were the perfect additions to our family. The week they were brought to the shelter is the same week that our two girls crossed the Rainbow Bridge together. When we brought Rosie and Sierra home, it was like we were all a little sad and missing a family that just couldn’t be anymore. It took Rosie a month to wag her tail and it took Sierra about a month and a half. As someone who is home the majority of the time, I needed two new girls to love and give some life to our quiet home.

I showed Rosie’s shelter profile to my mom on a Friday and by Sunday, neither of us could stop thinking of her. We fell in love during our meet and greet. She was so silly and fun. She wanted kisses and cuddles and scritches but mostly she wanted to play. Next door in the next kennel was her sister, Bescha. We fell in love right there. Then we visited again and asked to see them together and to see if they would fit in our little car together. We thought it would be hard to get them in and for them to fit but as soon as our car door was opened, they both jumped right in and sat down together like they did it every day. I sleep in late and that first morning, they weren’t quite sure what to do. I woke up to both of them quietly curled up on my floor, just waiting. They were SO excited when I woke up.

Rosie was a little nervous about snuggles but now has no problem shoving Sierra out of the way to get some extra love. She likes to sleep in a rocking chair in the living room but will often sneak into my room and even my bed after she thinks I have fallen asleep (which I love!).

Sierra is a velcro dog. She wants all the snuggles all the time. She snuggles with me throughout the day, or at the very least is wherever I am so she can be near me. She goes between me and my mom all evening and then sleeps with mom. Absolute cuddle bug.

They are both happy and healthy seniors who are so very loved. We go on daily walks as the weather allows. We go on at least one family adventure a month. This month, we have had two so far! A cherry blossom photoshoot in Washington with a trip to Fort Vancouver for our walk, and just this week we took them to the beach for the first time! We think it might have been their first time seeing the ocean! 

At least one of us remarks at least once a week how thankful we are that we found them first. Not only because they complete our family and bring us so much love and joy but because they are so obviously bonded. They follow each other. If one takes off to chase a squirrel or to sniff something, the other must, too. 

I don’t think I could say how much we love them. And cuddles. Lots and lots of cuddles!”

The girls’ “Gotcha Day!”

We are so grateful to Rosie and Sierra’s family for giving these deserving senior sisters such a wonderful life. And we are thrilled that they sent this update!

That’s it for this week!

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

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