Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

I’m going to start this post with a happy shelter dog “aww” moment. Last week one of our features, Sadie, a volunteer favorite, was adopted the same afternoon as I published my blog, so I barely got her adoption announced in the post. Later that evening, I got some wonderful pictures from Sadie’s new family, and they wrote, “She is the sweetest girl and is settling in beautifully at her new home this evening.” We were thrilled and not surprised that she had already won her new family’s hearts.

Here she was about to leave the shelter to go home with her very own boy. Thank you, Amanda, for sending me the picture.

And here Sadie is that evening. Being at the shelter is stressful for any dog, and Sadie can now take some relaxing naps.

We’ve been promised an update in a couple of weeks. What a wonderful happily-ever-after story for our sweet shelter dog, Sadie!

Besides Sadie and a newbie, Pete (whom I didn’t get a chance to meet), here are the happy adoptions since my last post.

Fudge

Fudge, our six-month-old puppy, is such an engaging character with lots to learn. He’ll keep his new family entertained.

Benji

Our all-ears Benji went home with his new family. Thanks for the cute picture of him, Marianne!

Hermes

Hermes was a young shepherd who was very stressed at the shelter. Glad he didn’t have to stay long.

Bucky

He’s still a youngster at eleven months old. He will keep his new family laughing and busy! Thanks for the going-home picture, Amanda!

Maximus

Maximus had been waiting a long time for his perfect family fit. He was a volunteer favorite, but had terrible kennel presentation and we worried that potential adopters wouldn’t see what a terrific dog he is. So you can imagine our glee when this couple came to meet him and were smitten. Max was SUCH a happy boy going home. The first picture is from staff member Daniela. Then I found the family just as they were loading up to head home and took the rest of the pictures. They were all over the moon! Have you ever SEEN a happier going-home?

Please Note: The dogs I feature in this section are available for adoption as of today, July 5, 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 don’t smile a lot, but if you watch my tail, you’ll see how happy I am when I’m with my peeps!

The first time I met Buddy, I tried my best to get him to relax and smile, but I failed. He seemed sad.

Buddy 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 Vizsla/American Staffordshire Terrier mix. I had never heard of the Vizsla breed, so looked it up. He certainly looks and acts like one. Here’s what I found about them: “Smart, active, and super loyal, Vizslas are a friendly breed that enjoys burning their energy outdoors jogging with their owner.  Also a devoted companion. They become very attached to their owners and are very loving.” (https://www.dailypaws.com/dogs-puppies/dog-breeds/vizsla)

Buddy was adopted once, but returned a few days later. The 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.”

Marianne and I decided to get to know this active boy better on Sunday and were glad we did. What a good boy he is! He does need to continue working on his leash manners, but he was happy to pose in the yard and hang out with us in the grass. He was much more relaxed than a week ago.

He takes treats gently.

Buddy would like an active, outdoor-loving family. He really needs a yard to romp in and would prefer to be the only pet in the home. While relaxing outside, Buddy started to think about important things.

Later, we took Buddy into Mary’s Place and he loved it there, too. He’s not picky about his toys, though he seems to like plush ones the best, as you’ll see in his movie. He also enjoys food puzzles.

Buddy is going to make a wonderful companion for the right family. If you think it might be yours, come to the shelter and meet our Buddy.

I’m waiting for just the right home. My friends here at the shelter say I’ve come a LONG way since I got here. That makes me happy. I’ve been working very hard.

Lotus arrived at the shelter June 1st—frightened, shy, and extremely nervous. She had been found by a kind person and brought to us. Initially, she was terrified of everyone, and staff knew she would need time to settle and slowly learn that shelter people were her friends. After a couple of weeks, I was invited to take pictures of her with Hannah, a staff member she trusted. Lotus is an Australian Cattle Dog mix, and is about two years old.

After posing with Hannah, Lotus enjoyed racing around the yard.

By the time I left them, I felt I was on the road to being a Lotus friend.

Fast forward to last Sunday. Marianne brought Lotus into Mary’s place. We weren’t sure how she would be, but she totally relaxed and had a great time.

She got to see staff member Jayce, who stopped in to say hi.

She enjoyed sprawling on the cool floor.

She played.

Then we went out to a yard for a little while.

Marianne sent me this fun video of Lotus from a few days ago.

And in case you’ve ever wondered what shelter staff members do during their breaks, here’s one thing. And how many people does it take to brush a dog? One to brush and one to occupy the dog with treats! Thanks for the video, Marianne!

Lotus is not a dog for a first-time owner. She needs a family who understands canine body language and will continue to help her gain confidence in new situations. Also, it will help if they don’t mind a little shedding. But if you are that family, Lotus could be a wonderful addition. Come to the shelter and meet her.

I know I’ve been featured before, but my future new family must have missed seeing it. So here I am again!

Hudson arrived at our shelter from another one on May 4th. He is a Boxer/Retriever mix and is still a youngster at about a year old. As with all strays, we don’t know his history, but he has won many friends since he came to us. I was sure he would be adopted quickly, as he is smart, eager, and handsome.

Volunteers quickly fell in love with him. Some written comments have been, “Great on leash, polite, no issues”; “Got the zoomies, but once we played fetch in the play areas, he calmed down again. Looked at other dogs and wanted to play with others but got his attention back with treats”; ”Easy walker, will pull toward what he wants to smell but corrects easily when called. Knows sit and shake.”

But while Hudson is much loved by staff and volunteers, he still has not been adopted. The reason seems to be that he needs to spend time with people before he feels comfortable with them. When potential adopters come to meet him, they don’t see the goofy, fun boy whom we know and love. They see an aloof, shy, nervous dog, and so they pass him by.

Hudson is still a youngster with lots of energy. If he becomes overstimulated and too excited, it can result in mouthy behavior. His new family will need to watch his body language and give him some calming time when needed.

We always have so much fun with him whether out in a yard or in Mary’s Place.

As we all know, it’s important to stay hydrated in hot weather.

He loves being with his peeps.

In Mary’s Place, he chooses the plush toys and enjoys collecting them on the couch.

He especially likes the GFBs (Giant Fluff Balls), as you’ll see in his movie.

One of Hudson’s favorite people is Marianne, who has spent a lot of time with him. She has noticed that he can be a tad dramatic.

Staff member Clare spent some time with us in Mary’s Place, too.

Hudson is a favorite of Kate’s, too.

We were discussing possible ideas as to why Hudson hasn’t been adopted yet, and he stopped playing for a moment to comment.

Hudson had one last thing to say to our readers.

Hudson is a terrific dog. We are all hoping that this week will be his lucky one. If you’d like to spend some time to get to know our boy, come to the shelter and ask to meet him.

We have two wonderful updates this week.

Juicy/Rosie, Raider/Radar

If you are a regular reader of my posts, you may remember the memorial I wrote for Thor. He and Gunner had been adopted from WHS. The family was heartbroken when Gunner and Thor died within a year of each other.

Last June, Kim (Gunner and Thor’s human mom) contacted me after reading about two senior dogs in my blog, Juicy and Raider, who had been waiting a long time for their new families.

I had been thinking of asking Kim if she might be interested in either of them, but thought it might be too soon after losing Thor. Kim asked if the two dogs got along. We decided to find out. They did.

That was it! On July 1st, Kim and her family came and took them home. Juicy had been waiting since May 10th, and Raider since May 22nd. Both were about eight years old. Their new names became Rosie and Radar. We were so grateful that once again a family was willing to take not only one, but two, long-term seniors home and give them the best rest of their lives.

Last week I got this terrific update from Kim.

“Well, it’s been a year since we adopted these two fabulous dogs!! Radar, formally Raider, is one of the best dogs ever!! He’s very calm and obedient. Loves his walks, car rides and just lying in the back yard. Rosie, formerly Juicy, is another story! She’s a little spicy!! But in a good way. Her personality is so cute!! She loves her walks and rides as well, and food!! You’d think we were starving her. We were a little ‘worried’ when we adopted them together, after seeing how much they played, as I’m sure you remember. But that didn’t last too long, thank God!! They still play with each other, but I think they now realize they’ll both be here tomorrow, so it doesn’t have to go on and on and on. They are such amazing dogs. We feel so lucky to have met them and have them part of our family.”

Radar

Rosie

Rockstar/Beau

This six-month-old puppy quickly won all of us over with his delightful personality. Here he was with Megan for pictures. He was adopted within a week and we were sure his family would be thrilled with him. They have been.

I just got this happy update.

“I wanted to share a cute photo with you of Beau (formerly Rockstar) enjoying the 4th of July!! After being adopted almost three weeks ago, he is settling in nicely and enjoying his big backyard. 

We love him and he is such a sweetheart!!! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.”

On those happy notes, that’s it for this week!

As always, thanks to my photo team volunteers Marianne, Megan, Linda, Kate, and staff members Daniela, Hannah, Jayce, Clare, Rachel, and Mack.

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