Category Archives: This Week’s Featured WHS Dogs

Today’s Featured Available Dogs at Oregon Humane Society Salem Campus—September 27, 2023

27 Wednesday Sep 2023

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Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

I’m home from last week’s visit to the coast, and although they are not dogs, these guys always make me laugh—and they bark! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many sea lions crammed on the Newport dock.


I have lots of dog adoptions to catch you up on. There are too many to list (a total of 33!), but here are the ones with great going-home pictures.


Mimi

Mimi had become such a volunteer favorite. Thanks for the going-home picture, Mackenzie.



Connor

Connor is going to be stunning once he’s groomed! Thanks for the going-home picture, Marianne!



Howdy

Our long-termer, Howdy, was adopted! We are always so excited when one of our dogs who has been with us the longest is found by their new peeps. Thanks for the going-home picture, Customer Care Manager, Hobie!




Baby

Another one of our seniors, ten-year-old Baby, went to her new home! So happy for this wonderful girl! Thank you for the going-home picture, Hobie!




Churro

Churro wasn’t at the shelter long, which is wonderful, as he was very anxious there. He’s a big boy who is affectionate and quite slobbery. So glad he’s got a new person to love. Thank you for the going-home picture, Marianne.







Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, September 27, 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.”


Nobody can understand why I’m still here. They call me an affectionate clown and tell me I make them laugh. I’m thinking you should come and meet me.

His name is Dug. He is a three-year-old Labradoodle mix, and he is one of the most delightful dogs we’ve met. Along with Dug, we can’t figure out why he hasn’t found his forever home.


Dug was adopted once, but it was not the right fit and he came back to us. He and we are hoping his stay at the shelter will not be much longer. Dug is a big boy at 81 pounds, and can be a bit clumsy, but he’s a happy-go-lucky dog who loves all toys and people and is not picky about treats. In the spirit of full disclosure, Dug needs work on his leash-walking skills. He’s not proud of it, but it’s true. He can pull quite hard when he gets excited. Dog walkers are working on loose-leash walking with him. He has lived well with small dogs in his former home.

The fall rains started on Sunday, so we took Dug into Mary’s Place to play. He loved the attention and all the toys. Often dogs will not pose for a picture holding a toy, but Dug had no hesitation. Here he was with staff member Clare, one of his top fans.




He loved the GFB (Giant Fluff Ball) and enjoyed sitting with it along with Clare and Megan.



And here he was with Marianne, again posing with his new favorite toy.








While Dug can be full of energy to play, he can also settle nicely, which he did on Sunday.





Dug has become one of our current favorites at the shelter. He kept us laughing and we enjoyed spending time with him as much as he enjoyed being with us. Maybe the perfect family will see this feature and come and adopt him.

Is it because I am big that I haven’t gotten adopted? Everyone here at the shelter likes me. I think you will, too.

I first met Jackson soon after he arrived at the shelter from another shelter on August 27th. He was very serious and seemed sad.


Jackson is a five-year-old Great Dane/Lab mix. Since he has been at the shelter for almost a month, Marianne suggested we spend time with him on Sunday and feature him in this week’s post. We were so glad we did. He is such a gentle boy who absolutely LOVES tennis balls. Knowing he liked to play fetch, we were hoping to be able to take him out to a yard, but the rain caused us to stay in Mary’s Place where he discovered a new toy.


However, his first love remained a tennis ball which he carried around most of the time.



Jackson was such a changed dog from the first time I met him. He is eager to play and loves being with people. Part of his tail had to be amputated, but his short, stubby one wags just as fast as his old one.



Notice the blur of the tail wagging?




Jackson also likes our little library in Mary’s Place.


We had so much fun with Jackson. He’s going to make a terrific family dog. One thing his new family will need to be aware of, because this boy is so smart. One volunteer dog walker wrote, “Jackson is a very smart boy. He knows how to open the doors to exit the kennels. He will jump up and hook his armpit on the handle then pushed the door. So very sweet and a lot of character.” We could not agree more, though he may need a little work on recognizing personal space.


Jackson is simply a terrific dog and we hope he will be discovered by a family who will love him as much as we do.


Special Portland OHS Feature

As you know, our shelter has merged with Oregon Humane Society in Portland and now OHS has two campuses. I have become friends with Julie, a volunteer at the Portland campus. She has kept me informed of dogs we have transferred to them for special training or medical issues. Last week she asked if I would feature one of their dogs who came with a fascinating history, and has become one of her favorites. I said I’d love to. Biji is in Portland’s Behavior Modification program, and Charlie, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer at the Behavior and Rescue Center, was happy to share Biji’s story.

“Biji was found at 6 weeks old in a temple in Cambodia and was brought to the States when he was six months old. Biji is the name given to him. It means “little seed.” His middle name is Cazimi which translates to “in the heart.” He is “little seed in the heart.” And boy is he ever! With his sweet snaggle-toothed underbite, big brown eyes, and curly-whirly tail, he makes the hearts of all who meet him grow! He loves long sniffing walks, going on runs (he just became a member of OHS’s Running Team) and is the best home office buddy. He will find a doggie bed to curl up on while you work. Biji would make a great outdoor adventure buddy! Long hikes, yes please! Camping on a lake and watching the wildlife go by, he’s all about it! Outings to the coast, you bet! He is a vocal pup, and likes to sing the howling song of his Cambodian Temple street dog family whenever he is feeling his feelings.  

Biji has some anxiety that he’s working through (but don’t we all?), and will need time to settle into his new home and appropriate outlets for his energy. When he’s feeling very uncomfortable, Biji has been known to look for an escape route out and over fences if given the opportunity. Future adopters will need to be ready to help him settle into the new digs and have appropriate management set in place to keep Biji nice and safe. The BMod trainers will be ready to walk you through best practice to get your home all set up for him!

BMod adoptions, for dogs like Biji, always start with a phone consult. From there, clients will meet with Biji several times, usually over the course of a few days to a week, before bringing him home. This allows the clients to see the full range of Biji’s behaviors, for Biji’s trainers to transfer all his training skills to his new owners, and develop a successful home introduction plan. We really want our dogs and clients to be successful in the home, so we will give you the skills to succeed, but it is up to his owner(s) to continue the work in the home.”





If you are interested in meeting Biji, here is the OHS-Portland link: Biji

We hope Biji will soon be with his new family. Thanks, Julie and Charlie, for all the information!


It’s a small world. Before my yoga class began last week, one of the participants, Kat, happened to mention she had adopted a dog from the Humane Society last July. My ears perked up and I asked her who it was. Yep, I remembered taking pictures of Toby when he first arrived at the shelter. He was adorable. A senior at eight years old, he had been transferred to us from another shelter. We were so happy when he was adopted four days after he came to us.



I asked Kat if she would send me an update and she did that very day.

“We adopted Toby through the Senior adopting Seniors program, although he has more energy than any three seniors (canine or human) we know! He has a very terrier appearance. That, coupled with his absolute craziness about squirrels, lead to us telling people that’s he’s a squirrel terrier when asked. In addition, he’s quite an acrobat, so we’ve decided he must have run away from the circus! Part of the fun of having a new/old dog in a new home is imaging his history, as well as looking forward to the new stories together!”


Toby is a very lucky boy! On that happy note, that’s it for this week.

As always, thanks to my photo team volunteers Marianne, Megan, and Linda, and staff members Clare, Mackenzie and Customer Care Manager, Hobie. Also a big thank you to Charlie and Julie, from our Portland campus. Two 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

Today’s Featured Available Dogs at Oregon Humane Society Salem Campus—September 13, 2023

13 Wednesday Sep 2023

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Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

It is always a joy when I can start a post with a wonderful story. But this week I have TWO fantastic tales to tell! So sit back and have a box of tissues nearby!

Pickles’ Story

Pickles, a five-year-old Jack Russell Terrier mix, arrived at our campus on July 6th. He came from another shelter, so we had no idea of his history. He was nervous and shy, but also a delightful little dog.


Here he was with Megan soon after he arrived at our campus.



On July 11th, Pickles was adopted and moved to Jefferson, Oregon. Later that day, we received the news that he had jumped a 4-foot fence and was lost. Here was the post on Jefferson Oregon Lost and Found Pets: “Lost dog. Just picked him up from the shelter. Jumped 4ft fence and ran. Headed south towards Adams Ln when last seen. His name is Pickles.”

Pickles may have been small, but he was extremely street-savvy. There were multiple sightings, including one near the interstate. Many dog lovers tried to find him, but he eluded capture. As days, then weeks passed, we began to give up hope. Then, in late August, he showed up in Shedd, Oregon, at a seed store. The owner left food out for him and Pickles stayed close for a week, enabling a trap to be set and on September 8th, he was secured. The woman who trapped him reported, “For almost two months he has been on the go. Thank goodness he was being fed for the last week, he stayed put and was easy to trap. He looked great.” Pickles’ adventure lasted 59 days and he had traveled about 23 miles. If only he could talk!




Winter’s Story

Winter, a seven-year-old Siberian Husky mix, first arrived at our shelter in 2018 as a transfer. She was soon adopted. Then on August 5th, she was surrendered when her family could no longer take care of her. She was very sad in her kennel, but perked up as soon as we had her outside. She enjoyed slow-motion fetch. She became an instant volunteer favorite and I featured her in last week’s post.



We were worried about her, and how long it might take for her to be adopted.

******

Now we need to travel back in time to April, 2016. Milo, a senior Border Collie mix, arrived at the shelter as a transfer. He was shy and we called him a senior statesman. As always, we worried about who would adopt a senior.



It turned out we didn’t need to worry about Milo. He was adopted on April 24th. In that week’s post, I wrote, “It was so obvious, just watching, that he will be loved to the moon and back!” And he was for six-and-a-half years.

******
Back to the present…

Last week I got an email from Milo’s person, Kim. She said that they had lost her “Marvelous Milo” a year ago. After reading last week’s blog post, she and her parents were coming to meet Winter on Saturday. She was hoping Marianne and I would be at the shelter and that I would bring my camera. She wrote, “With any luck, there will be some more Gotcha Day pics to take!! Fingers crossed.” We were thrilled! And so, here is the rest of the story in pictures.






And in case you are wondering how Winter is settling in with her new peeps in her forever home…





So there you have it—two amazing stories about two very special shelter dogs! And one more thing…Winter’s new family does not use the term “senior dogs.” Instead, they use “frosted dogs.”


And the happy news continues! There were 18 dog adoptions last week! Seven of them were puppies whom I didn’t meet. Here are the others besides Winter:

Pearl


Athena


Lily


Eris


Frank


Frankie

He looks so happy! Thanks for the going-home picture, Mackenzie.


Sadie


Goose

Our long-termer, smart Goose was adopted on Monday. We are hoping this will be his perfect forever home.


Harley



Nova

She’s the one on the left of the picture. Thanks for the going-home picture, Mackenzie.





Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, September 13, 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 a pup and I’m looking for a family I can call my own. We could go on adventures together!

We are amazed that Koko is still waiting for her new home. She is a nine-month-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix who is an absolutely delightful youngster.


Koko is an eager learner and loves people. She can become overly excited at times, which can result in jumpy and mouthy behavior, but since she is very treat-motivated, she will be easy to train with positive reinforcement. She also loves to romp with dogs who have a rough and tumble play style like her own. She has had two excellent canine playmates since she has been at the shelter, but both of them have been adopted.

We took Koko out to a yard to play. While she loves to play fetch, she is still working on the concept of returning the ball to the thrower.




After a little fetch, Koko just wanted to hang out with us.




Then we went into Mary’s Place and she had us laughing with her antics. If you are wishing for a lap dog, you’ve found her.



We weren’t quite sure what this was, but it made us laugh.






We had a great time with Koko and when it was time to go back to her kennel, she wanted to say one more thing.


We’re hoping that a family looking for a fun, playful, loving young dog will come and meet Koko and take her home.


If the challenge of adopting a puppy is too daunting, how about adopting me?

Need a slower paced loyal companion? Meet Baby, a ten-year-old Lab mix. Baby was transferred to us and we don’t know much about her history. We do know that she can be a bit handling-sensitive, perhaps due to her age. She was very shy the first time I met her, but since that time, she has relaxed and her personality has shown through.



Baby loves to play fetch which we found out when we took her to a yard. She had a blast.




After a rousing game, we went into Mary’s Place to relax.



It didn’t take Baby long to settle.



Marvelous Milo

You read a little about Milo at the beginning of this post. I asked Kim to write about his life with them. Here is his story.

“On 09/20/2022, we said So Long to this 2016 OHS-Salem alum, our precious goofy goofball, resident lovebug, protector, entertainer and shadow—the Marvelous Milo. He was 15.5 years old. 

Milo lived for rambunctious indoor fetch with his red ball, Dad’s (volunteered) slipper, veggie drawer snackies, walkies regardless the weather, endless car rides, announcing walkers on our hill, and under-the-covers sleeptime snugglies. But RV-ing with his Mom & Dad to summer drag races may have been his very fav (even stamped his passport twice to Canada!). He generally fancied himself the captain, and had to be coaxed from the driver’s seat to actually go anywhere. 

In his final year, when walkies were no longer, we spent countless hours sharing deck-time and yard-time, where he could take in the world and continue to make himself known to any passersby. He garnered an impressive neighborhood fan club, a number who remain close friends thanks to him, and many stopped to share a tear when he no longer appeared at his post. 

Milo was widely loved and his devotion and giant personality left a memory-filled, though cavernous, vacancy. We could not be more grateful for the privilege of being his fur-family or ever miss him less.









Fast forward one year, when we were again chosen….enter Winter.“



Milo, a “frosted” shelter dog, could not have found a better home. I’m sure he would approve of Winter.

On a personal note, I have a dear friend coming to visit and we’re heading to the coast, so I won’t be writing a blog post next week.

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