So I will admit, I have been lazy and haven't done many updates. Today the hubby and I went to pick up our newest foster. I have been doing the fostering a few times now, and its so hard when you have to pick up a dog that is a victim of circumstances beyond anyone's control. Sometimes I think it is easier to get a dog from the shelter with little to no information, but no emotional ties. I have a hard time with goodbyes and watching someone say goodbye to their friend of the last 4 years, is very emotional for everyone. My husband and I have done this a few times, and it really is the worst part of being involved in rescue. Its at least comforting to know I am part of rescue groups that will ALWAYS take a dog in or back, and that they will find new loving homes.
Anyway, on to the introductions!
Meet Shadow.
He is almost 5 years old (his birthday is January first) and is just WONDERFUL! I can say its a pleasure to have him in my house. He is super playful, very vocal (which is different than my dogs) and just an all around cool dude. He rode home in the car like a pro, and walked in my house like he had been here a hundred times before. He is a little confused but soon took to playing with Beans. He did have to wear a belly band after marking a few times, but after a couple hours, he is either empty or done marking!
So today was the day that we were taking our dogs to pets with Santa, and were going to get to see my foster kittens (they stayed at the rescue since being spayed). Since he was doing so well, and was such an easy going dude, we took Shadow with us. I figure you can never underestimate the power of a picture and really who can resist a pic of a dog wearing doodly bops. This boy needs to find a forever home soon, so we all piled in the car (my blog could be renamed how many dogs can you fit in a small station wagon) and off we went.
There were TONS of people and other dogs at the event, which was put on at a local vet and benefited the newly formed No Kill rescue that helped with my kittens. Shadow took it all in stride. He is very vocal barking and such, but never aggressive, and was super friendly. He got lots of pets, and treats and complements.
On to the pictures!
We tried getting some pics with Beans and Shadow, because really who can resist 2 Bostons wearing antlers... This is what happened... Let me tell you, I know one dog is getting COAL for Christmas in his stocking (and its not Shadow)
Beans is a Rotten Little Dog!
Here is my favorite though
Please will someone adopt me for Christmas?
Find out how... www.odbtr.org
Oh on other big news. My kittens stayed at the rescue, my fostering duties are over. A volunteer may be adopting one of them, and they figured it was easier to just keep them. Makes me happy to know the babies will have nice warm homes for the holiday!
While this blog has been thus far focused on the canine inhabitants, we also have been invaded by felines
I know I mentioned my Faux Feral momma cat who had disappeared leaving us to care for her two babies outside. Well when the hurricane was on its way, the husband rigged up one of the dog kennels outside and we trapped ourselves two cute babies! They were a little confused and not really happy about being in the cage. We put them in the basement powder room, and they quickly warmed up. We were planning on trying to Trap, Neuter and Return them, or find them a barn home, but they seem to be very happy being inside.
So the babies quickly graduated from the kennel to having freedom in the powder room! I have forgotten how funny and WILD kittens are, there are paw prints ON MY CEILING! They are doing OK, but are getting a little big and need to find a home! I have them scheduled for spay/neuter the weekend of 14 December. I will have them tested for FeLV and FIV as well as their rabies/distemper shots, so please share them with anyone who may be interested
So, if you know someone who NEEDS some cute kittens PLEASE let me know, these guys really need a new home outside of my powder room, and for anyone who needs some convincing, here is a cute video when I first brought them in!
My favorite foster girls (Notice I said girls because Ben is my favorite foster boy, I promise some pics and his story soon) got ADOPTED yesterday.
And I must admit, I am a pretty awesome foster mom because I found them an amazing home with really good friends of mine who had been thinking of a Boston for a while. Really how can you resist their little squishy faces.
Now normally ODBTR does not adopt out dogs after only a week in foster, but these girls were pretty perfect. They were not broken as many of our dogs that we receive are, these girls were very well cared for and knew nothing but love their whole lives. That being said, we noticed a lot of bonding behaviors already with the girls and us, and we didn't want to confuse them them even more by allowing them to get comfortable here to be moved to another home.
So anyway, I had been telling my friend Jen about these girls and I saw that spark of interest. I immediately saw that spark, and the lightbulb went off, this was the girls PERFECT home and I needed to make this happen. I went all out, I sent pictures, the blog links, and lots of updates on how wonderful they are. Soon the application was sent in, and the deal was sealed. Now I just needed to get the girlies to the vet to make sure they were 100% healthy. After a 24 hour wait for their bloodwork, it was official.
Seriously how cute is this pic? I think the girls knew they were at "home". The dog on the left is Ella, their new sister, my stupid cell phone flash gave her laser eyes, In person, she really cannot shoot lasers out of her eyes. I swear!
Anyway, Another success story, and another happy foster adoption!
So the girls are starting to really show their personality. They are getting to be a lot more playful and spunky. Penny really loves sitting on the back of the couch in between Adam and I. Bobby has really started to play a LOT with Beans. They both seem to enjoy having the Boston "crazies" first thing in the morning on my bed, Beans and even Fiona joins in now! I can now say for sure, that while 4 dogs can fit in my townhouse, 4 dogs cannot fit with the hubby and I in a queen size bed!
The girls went tonight for their wellness checks at the vets. Everyone loved the girls. They were very well behaved, and were just good little girls, like they usually are.
Here are the girls at the vet tonight!
And here are a few pics of them being adorable the other night snuggling in bed!
On other zoo notes, my faux feral momma cat has disappeared. Not sure whats going on we have been feeding her and her babies. The babies are still here, but no sign of momma! Maybe she heard me mention that we were going to trap them and spay them monday. Anyway here is a pic of her, I am hoping she is OK and turns up soon!
So after a couple months off of fostering, ODBTR asked if we could take a foster in that was in VA. After seeing his sad little pics from the shelter we were sold. Well after some awesome GEGR volunteers offered to help transport the little guy closer to me (did I mention how awesome the groups are that I work with, the greyhound people are ALWAYS willing to help), we got word that the shelter was able to adopt him out to a home that was perfect for him. We were sad to not meet him, but that opened a spot for another sad looking shelter Boston in foster home, again GEGR folks offered to help, and we had transport all lined up, when ODBTR got another call, two little sisters (from different litters, 6 months apart) needed to come in ASAP. They were a lot closer to us, so we offered to take them in.
I admit, I was a little scared taking in 2 new dogs, but hey, its a great experiment... lets see if we can get 4 dogs in the house without going crazy (plus I have a potential new dog coming permanently from far away,... I will tell everyone more about it once I know for sure its going to happen... don't want to jinx it). I was pretty confident that it would all work out. Off I went to get another kennel, and I had to kick the faux ferals out of the other kennel (more on them later), and with a little rearranging of the living room we were ready to go.
I got in contact with the girls' owner, who was truly wonderful and really cared about their dogs. I know a lot of people judge people negatively about giving their dogs up, and most of the time they blame irresponsible and careless people, in this case, that is 100% not true. This owner truly cared about their dogs and made the correct decision to turn them over to ODBTR who will find them another perfect and loving home.
So lets get on to the intros, Meet Bobby and Penny
Bobby is on the left, and Penny is on the right. Penny is the older one They are tiny, adorable perfect little girls. They rode home with me in the car great, and met everyone in the house. Beans was happy to have little girlfriends and Fiona was tired after walking outside to meet them, so she came in and took a nap.
The girls were a little confused, and after a few minutes, they decided that Zoe was a super fun toy, and took to chasing and barking her around. Lucky Zoe is pretty smart, and the girls are mostly talk so no one has gotten hurt. I think they will probably prefer a cat free home, but they are getting better, so they may be workable.
The girls settled in pretty well, Bobby is a lot more laid back and easy going, and Penny is a little more reserved and dominant. They are 100% housetrained (no accidents), they are good about going out in the yard and doing their business and coming right back in. Feeding time they were a little confused (they are used to free feeding, and we cannot do that with my two food pigs). They did like the spoon of yogurt that everyone gets at our house on their food, and they ate enough that I was not too worried about them.
They slept through the night, on our bed. Actually on our beds, because they hubby was up late playing video games and when he tried to come to bed in the dark he could not get an accurate head count and location on the dogs on the bed, so he went to the spare room so he did not wake me up. I woke up with 2 dogs in my room and 2 were with him. Penny definitely loves men, she gravitates toward the hubby
Here she is trying to convince him that she is way more interesting than his computer. They also enjoy snuggling on the couch together.
I am a big fan of naps, and I enjoy a nap or two on my weekends, well yesterday I went to take a nap and took all 4 dogs upstairs with me since the hubby was going to the grocery store. Penny and Bobby went right under the covers with me, and went to sleep. Beans laid across my legs, and Fiona was on her bed on the floor (she usually does not like to share the bed). Everyone slept for a couple hours till the neighbors dog barked and everyone woke up. Well all the sudden it was everyone on the bed and it was play time! Here are a few videos of them, including Fiona on the bed.
Pardon my laundry hamper but thought everyone would like the cuteness.
Anyway, they are doing really well, and I think will be ready for a new home soon, since they are so good and easy. Thus far having 4 in the house has not been hard, and everyone is getting along. We are getting a lot more silliness out of the girls, and a little bit more playing! I am sure I am going to have lots of updates on the cuteness, I cant seem to stop taking pictures of them! And really who could blame me
So... The name of this blog is "How Many Dogs Can I Fit in a Townhouse" and as my introduction post shows, we only have 2, well that's not too many dogs, considering we have nearly 1800 square feet of dog fill-able living space. After a couple years here in the house, I started realizing there was too much carpet visible and not enough crates and dog beds! Plus my facebook feed is filled with other crazy greyhound people with way more dogs than me, and they all seem to be able to function "normally" so I figured why not add some more!
Since greyhound people are a little different, we don't normally board our dogs, but rather can usually find awesome friends through our group to watch each others dogs. We have had several house-guests including Dakota Jones and Chance!
House-guests are fun, usually only here for a weekend or two or occasionally a week. They also give Fiona some big-dog, greyhound time which she likes! But I wanted to help the rescues more. I look at the house-guests as a gateway into longer term "guests"
ODBTR needed help with fostering dogs in the DC area, so we decided we could help! We are also on the short list with GEGR for temporary fosters (some dogs that are fresh off the track need a little extra work, like more outs, and learning steps etc that may not always fit in our busy work schedules). Plus I had to warm the hubby up on the idea of fostering (I may have had to promise MANY times that it was a FOSTER not forever dog) But after our first, he was drank the kool-aid and is fully on board with fostering.
Fostering with them has been really fantastic, we are now on our third time fostering, this time two sisters that are 6 months apart. More on them and each dog in their own posts soon!!!!
Fostering has really been an awesome experience. Many people ask how can you give the dog up at the end? Honestly, it has not been that hard, mostly because I am so confident in the rescues I work with, that they are finding these dogs truly the best forever home ever. So far I have had one foster that I think both my hubby and I were tempted to keep,but we found him a SUPER home conveniently with another greyhound person, so I get lots of updates and pictures often.
Anyway, I hope to be able to have lots of posts about my fosters. I already have a hard scrapbook that I am keeping with my fosters, but I wanted to share the experiences here too!!
and really, who wouldn't want to see pics like these.
So where to begin? We are a 30-something (wow that feels weird saying I am that old!) recently married couple.
Thanks to Lisie at Caught by a Flash Photography for letting me use this amazing wedding pic
We started our dog family with our first rescue greyhound from the fantastic Greyt Expectations Greyhound Rescue (GEGR) almost 5 years ago. Our first Greyhound is Fiona (race name Mrs O'Brien).
We loved her so much (really, how could you resist that face) that a year to the day after we brought Fiona home, we went back the Greyhound Central (what we call the house that hosts all the GEGR activities and adoptathon) We came home that day with Fannie (race name PW's Freedom) a senior (a few days short of her 10th birthday) who had never had a real home. I promise to tell more of her story another time, but here is her adoption picture!
We soon bought a house, a townhouse, with a postage stamp sized fenced yard, and enough DIY projects to keep us busy till we are retired.
We spent our time going to greyhound meet and greets, working (it really stinks not being independently wealthy) and fixing the house (there may be a blog coming up about my husbands DIY hell)
We unfortunately lost Fannie at 12 years old last year. It was emotional, hard, and I still miss that wild woman. After a few months, Fiona was really lonely. I was not ready for another greyhound, so we thought about adding another dog. I grew up with a Boston Terrier named Chloe, who was an awesome little dog so we thought about adding a Boston. Fiona loves little dogs, so we figured this would be a good plan. I did a lot of searching, and soon found a listing for a young (a year old) male Boston name Kevin who had been hit by a car, and a wonderful group, Old Dominion Boston Terrier Rescue had taken him in and he had surgery and was up for adoption. I sent my application in, and we were approved
Seriously who could resist that face!
Kevin (who was quickly renamed Beans) adjusted well, and became quite the character, and life continued, working, house projects etc.
Oh and how can I forget the feline member of the family. Zoe! Zoe is my elder cat, I have had her forever, she has been through a lot with me! She also only has about 3 teeth left, and still steals my pizza!
I also have an eight year old step-son, I would include a pic of him here, but he is too busy playing football to stop for a pic right now!
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