Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

This week I’m going to start out with a fun visit. If you are a longtime reader of my posts, you’ll remember Popcorn, a happy, spirited, clown of a dog. I first wrote about him on October 27, 2021. He had all of us wrapped around his paw. This is what I wrote after meeting him: “I don’t think I’ve ever met a dog who had so many different expressions that make it so easy to know what he is thinking.”

Volunteer Megan was absolutely smitten with Popcorn.

Popcorn became one of our long-termers and we wondered if he’d ever get adopted. One day I was talking with a friend, Carol, who had recently lost her beloved WHS-adopted dog. I was concerned it might be too soon, but told her about Popcorn anyway. She agreed to meet him and it was love at first lick. His name became Hopkin and away they went to start a new life together.

Last week Carol and Hopkin came to visit me. I was amazed at how wonderful Hopkin looked. At the shelter he definitely needed to shed a few pounds and under Carol’s watchful eye, he has. We sat and visited for a while, then took a walk in a nearby glen. We had a great time.

There couldn’t be a better match of a dog and his person.

There were some terrific adoptions during the past week. First, here are the ones I didn’t get a chance to meet: Yoshi, Baby Girl, Toad, Roly Poly, Kona, Aspen, Liberty, Aurora, and Cargo.


Jason Bean

He was a newbie whom I just met before he was gone! He is still a puppy at eight months old.

Hazel

At one year old, she will be so much fun for her new family!

Hudson

Drum roll, happy dance! Our long-termer Hudson (on the left) got adopted! Marianne was there and took this going-home picture. And he has a new brother named Theo. We already got a quick update the first night. All was going well.

Yoda
Yoda was adopted. Such a nice boy! Thanks, Mackenzie, for the going-home picture!

Buster

We knew he’d be gone soon when we met him last Sunday. He was such fun posing for his pictures.

Suzie

At eight years old, Suzie is a senior. Volunteer Linda was her biggest fan at the shelter. Thanks for the going-home picture, Customer Care Manager Hobie!

Tootsie

Puppy Tootsie went home with her new family. I was amazed at how calm she was and she already knows the cue for sit!

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, August 9, 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.”

They thought I’d be adopted very quickly. But that hasn’t happened. So here’s another feature about me. Could you adopt me?

When Sophie arrived at the shelter, I was sure she would be adopted quickly. Yes, she is a big girl, and yes, she sheds. But what an engaging personality she has.

I featured Sophie in my July 19th post, sure she’d be adopted very soon. She was, but it was not a good match with the resident dog. In the future, Sophie will need to meet any resident dog to make sure their play styles are compatible.

Sophie is a five-year-old Siberian Husky/Retriever mix. At 78 pounds, she’s a big, but gentle girl and 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 outdoor 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 regularly, I think she would grow even more in this [training] as she is eager to please and loves her people.”

On Sunday, we spent a long time with Sophie in Mary’s Place. As always, she was her affectionate, entertaining self. Staff member Clare is one of her biggest fans.

Staff member Kyra stopped in to say hi and Sophie did this:

Sophie likes to keep up with all of her friends. She remembered that Megan was working at a new job.

Yes, Sophie considers herself a lap dog and Kate didn’t mind.

Breaking News!!!

I haven’t been here long, but I’m getting the drift of how things work. I must say, the people have treated me like a king!

Grover, an American Pit Bull terrier mix, arrived at the shelter as a stray with some health issues. He appeared to have lived through some rough times. He had a swollen left front paw, his mouth seemed painful and he was underweight. But even with not feeling good, he was friendly and amazingly cooperative for his first pictures with Kate.

Grover was quickly examined by our shelter vet. After two teeth were pulled, an embedded stick removed from his mouth, and his paw cleaned and drained, he felt so much better! We think he is about six years old.

Grover is not a smiler. But his tail now wags and there is a spring in his step. Marianne was instantly smitten with him.

Volunteers have also fallen for Grover. One wrote, “Sweet boy—loves to go at his own pace and stop frequently to smell the weeds.” He once again was cooperative for pictures, though he still didn’t smile.

After a while, Grover got tired of posing. Marianne tried to talk him into just one more shot.

So then we went into Mary’s Place. And yes, I took more pictures.

Even in Mary’s Place, I couldn’t convince him to smile.

Breaking News!!!

Well, I’m still here. But my peeps and I will have fun until you come and adopt me! Will you be coming soon?

I first featured Buddy in my July 5th post. He came to us from another local shelter and we don’t know how long he’s been in the shelter system. He is about a year old and is thought to be a Pointer/American Staffordshire Terrier mix. He has been waiting for his perfect fit of a family since June 15th.

Buddy has been adopted twice, but returned a few days later. The first adopter loved him but didn’t have the space that an energetic dog needs. They wrote, “Buddy needs room to play, a house with a yard. He has been so kind and gentle with me during our time together. Has responded well to dog-training walks. Did well with cue-training such as stay, sit, shake, lie down, come, wait. He is potty-trained, no accidents and did not jump on me.” His second adopter wrote this when returning him: “Buddy is amazing but he has a high prey drive. He is a wonderfully sweet dog, eager to please, house-trained and knows a few commands.”

Buddy will need to meet any dog he will be going home with to make sure their play styles match. He will also need a home with no small animals. A fenced yard is also a must, as he loves to romp.

On Sunday we took Buddy out to the big yard to play fetch. He loved it. He is an extremely athletic dog.

Here he is in action both outside and back in Mary’s Place.

While Buddy loves to race around, he will settle and relax after a few minutes of playing with squeaky toys.

Linda and Marianne are part of his fan club.

If you have a fenced back yard and no small animals, Buddy will be a fun and eager new family member. He’s been waiting a long time for just the right home.

Duck is a youngster at seven months old. He was found as a stray and is an American Pit Bull Terrier mix. Duck has not had much training in his young life, but is eager to learn and since he is treat-motivated, he will thrive with positive training. If you are up to the joys and challenges of raising a young dog who is full of enthusiasm, come and meet Duck. He can’t wait to find a real home.

That’s it for this week. I will be out of town and will not be posting again until August 30th. I’m hoping all of our featured dogs will have found their forever homes by then!

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