Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

SPECIAL NOTE: Due to a technical glitch for which I still do not have a fix, some photos on some devices (cell phones) may seem stretched. I apologize, and hope to have things back to normal next week.

In my last post I was lamenting that our long-term larger dogs were not getting adopted. Well, have I got some great news! Aside from the gazillion puppies who were adopted last week, we had some bigger dogs finally find their forever homes. I’ll start with the puppies.

Some were gone so fast I never even met them. They were Marley, Salvador, Sonja, Rosa, Georgia, Delilah, Chef, Rosie, Thor, and Sharon. And here are the ones I attempted to take pictures of while they wiggled.


Brain

Watson

Gadget

Bessie

Besides the fourteen puppies who were adopted…some of our longer-termers also went home.

Duke

We loved the smile on this eight-year-old senior who has plenty of spunk and love to give to his new family.

Cowboy

He has waited so long for his perfect family fit and we are thrilled that he finally found it.

Chicken

I was smitten with Chicken the moment I met her. What a great family dog she will be!

Champ

This boy, favorite of many volunteers, has been waiting for his new family a very long time. He finally found them. Look how happy they all are! Thanks to staff member Mackenzie, I have these two wonderful going-home pictures! He looks totally at home in his new car!

He was eager to get going home!

Estelle

Another one of our bigger dogs found her new person on Monday. What a nice, quiet girl Estelle is. She’ll be a wonderful companion. Thanks for the going-home picture, Marianne.

Critter

This newbie sure wasn’t around long! He had a great time playing with Checkers on Sunday and was adopted on Tuesday.

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, July 19, 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 very popular here at the shelter. I know I’m big, but if you have a fenced yard and a couch to share, we could be a perfect match!

Look at this face. Do you blame me for falling for Sophie the minute I met her for her photo shoot?

Sophie is a five-year-old Siberian Husky/Retriever mix. At 78 pounds, she’s a big, but gentle girl. She has everyone at the shelter wrapped around her big paws because she is such a “people dog.” Her first family had her for over four years. She was much loved and had a large area in which to roam. She was mostly an out-door dog. However, the family recently acquired ducks for their pond and discovered that Sophie has a prey drive for birds. In addition, the young children who had adored Sophie are now busy teens and don’t have the time for her that she deserves. So the family decided that Sophie would do better in a different home. However, they had wonderful things to say about her. “We absolutely love this dog, she is beautiful, fun-loving, and playful. She has done well at our property until recently when we added ducks to our pond. She respects fences and does well on a leash. Our kids did dog 4H with her so she has some training and knows basic commands. If she was worked with regularly, I think she would grow even more in this as she is eager to please and loves her people.”

Sophie was adopted once since her arrival at the shelter, but it was not a good match with the other resident dogs. She should meet any dogs she will be living with in the future.

For a family without small animals, Sophie may be the perfect companion. She makes new friends quickly and her many expressions are constant entertainment. She had me hooked when she smiled and then put her foot on mine when I was taking her pictures.

We spent a lot of time with Sophie last Sunday and she thoroughly enjoyed our attention both outside and in Mary’s Place.



Here she is with staff member Clare and volunteer Megan. She is Clare’s current shelter favorite.

She wanted a picture with her fan club, Clare, Linda, Marianne, and Megan.

Even though Sophie has been mostly an outdoor dog, she would love to be a house dog, too. She is house-trained. We took her into Mary’s Place and she felt right at home.

Then it was time to rest.

If your family does not have any small animals, and you’re wishing you had a big, gentle, loving dog, come to the shelter and meet Sophie.

I am looking for an active family who will take me on adventures and then lounge around at home.

Oliver is a two-year-old Retriever mix. He is a big boy at 62 pounds with lots of energy. He was surrendered when his family moved and couldn’t take him with them. He is a stunning dog with a soft white coat.

Oliver’s original family wrote, “He’s very sweet, considerate, and playful. He wants to look after his family. He’s very high energy. He is shy around new people. He loves playing with a tennis ball. He knows the cues for sit, down, come, and wait. He is house-trained. He is protective of his food and toys around other dogs. He loves older children, is afraid of toddlers.”

Oliver has been adopted twice since arriving at the shelter. His first adopter said, “Oliver is a wonderful dog and I wish I could keep him. But he is too strong of a dog for me. Great overall disposition. Very sweet, affectionate, gentle, and well-behaved. Smart and has curious nature. Interested in people and other animals. Has lots of energy, but very good at relaxing after walks or exercise. He adjusted well in the four days I had him. He is a wonderful dog and with the right person/family he will thrive. Walks well on leash, but does pull a little. A fenced-in back yard would be ideal. Oliver would benefit from being able to run off-leash and play. He plays with stuffed toys without ripping them up. He also enjoys looking out windows.”

In his second adopted home the resident dog did not like him, and so he was returned again.

Oliver is becoming stressed at the shelter and we are hoping the right family will find him soon. Here are some pictures from when he first arrived.

On Sunday we first took him into a yard to run. But it was hot, and after a few games of fetch, he was ready to relax.

He he was excited when he thought he had outsmarted Linda and Megan.

In Mary’s Place, he was relaxed and happy to be out of the heat.

It turned out he was not a fan of the GFB (Giant Fluff Ball).

He is a fan of treats, however, and has mastered the sad-puppy-dog eyes.

Just In!!

I’m working hard here at the shelter to learn new stuff and how to be a good boy. Skylar is helping me!

Meet Checkers, an eleven-month-old mixed breed youngster who has the cutest ear formation.

Checkers came to us from another shelter in late May, having been found as a stray. We don’t know how long he’s been in the shelter system or anything about his history. Here he was at our first meeting with Linda.

Checkers has become stressed having been at the shelter for such a long time, so Skylar, OHS-Salem Skills and Training Coordinator, has been working with him teaching him skills so he does not get over-stimulated and become jumpy and mouthy. Skylar also arranges play dates to help Checkers with dog social skills. They have been going really well.

On Sunday, Skylar had taken Checkers and Critter (a newbie who was adopted on Tuesday) out for a romp. They had a great time. I went to get some new pictures of Checkers and he showed off what a good boy he is becoming.

Checkers is not for the first-time dog owner. He will need someone who understands a dog’s body language and will continue his training to help him not get over-excited. After taking a few pictures, we relaxed in the shade with Checkers and Critter.

If you are an experienced dog owner with patience and understanding for a dog who really wants to be a good boy, come and meet Checkers.

Oswaldo/Bingo

Oswaldo arrived at the shelter last February 8th and was adopted only five days later. We were thrilled.  He had been found as a stray and transferred to us from another shelter. When Marianne and I met him, I had so much fun taking pictures. He is one of the most affectionate people dogs we’ve ever met. He actually hugs you!

Oswaldo, now Bingo, was adopted by a mother and daughter who are OHS-Salem volunteers. When I saw them on Sunday, they said they’d send another update and they did!

“A lot has changed since my last update! We adopted Bingo in February, but after a few weeks adjusting to being a dog with a family, he was dog reactive and was still leash-pulling quite a bit. We got him enrolled in a boarding/training facility where he spent six weeks learning skills he now uses to manage his pulling. He knows sit, down, and down-stay for 5-10 minutes until he is let out of that cue. We are still working on his reactivity to other dogs, but we continue working on it each day. Bingo is so gentle when he is with his family, though. He loves to relax on the couch and loves car rides, where he hangs his head out the window to see all the things!“

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

As always, thanks to my photo team volunteers Marianne, Megan, Linda, and staff members Clare, Skylar, and Mackenzie.

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