In a previous blog I wrote about animal controls and shelters being forced to reduce their census before holidays to cut down on overtime and holiday pay.
To do our part, we went to two shelters and picked up four new dogs to share the holiday with.
We now have Tia, an Aussie merle puppy about 7 weeks old. She could use a little socialization, but she's adorable and we just couldn't leave her behind.
We have Joey, one of 11 puppies that were dumped in a ditch and left. Joey is probably a shepherd mix, 8 weeks old, and already doing pretty well at crate training. He was the only pup that didn't have a foster home, so he's with us now till he gets adopted.
We have Guppy, supposed to be a senior chi/pom mix (?). I seriously don't think he's that old, but he has some lighter hairs on his face and back that give the impression of an elder. We'll have the vet take a look at him after the holiday and see what she thinks.
We have Harry. Harry was taken into foster by someone who specializes in agility dogs, but said he was more of the couch potato variety. Harry wants to hunt something. He reminds me of a beagle, but he isn't a beagle. He has whisker stubble on his face, much like that of a wirehair or schnauzer, the spots of a pointer, and a wonderful friendly personality. He needs to gain some weight, which is is doing, and learn to walk on a leash a bit better.
Tia, Guppy, Joey, and Harry have joined us for Thanksgiving, and we are so thankful that we can give them a chance at a new life!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Special Adoption Event
On Saturday, November 27, 2010, P.A.W.S. is participating in a nationwide event to place more cats and kittens in homes for the holidays. P.A.W.S. is holding a special "CATS ONLY" adoption that day from 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM at the Tractor Supply Store, 1645 N. State St., Greenfield, IN. At that event, the adoption fee for kittens and cats that are 5 months and older will be only $5.00!!!
Please take advantage of this special adoption fee even if you can't come to the adoption event. Adopt one of our 5 month or older kittens or cats between November 26-28, 2010, and the adoption fee will be only $5.00!!!
The P.A.W.S. website is www.pawshancock.org
Please take advantage of this special adoption fee even if you can't come to the adoption event. Adopt one of our 5 month or older kittens or cats between November 26-28, 2010, and the adoption fee will be only $5.00!!!
The P.A.W.S. website is www.pawshancock.org
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Holidays - Please help!
There are several animal shelters and controls in this area with many great employees and volunteers who work hard to find homes for the adoptable animals that come through their doors. However, when holidays come around, especially Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, they are forced to euthanize to cut numbers and thereby reduce the amount of holiday pay. Volunteers and employees alike have places to go, family and friends to see, and it's hard to staff long holiday weekends. They deserve their time off, believe me!!!
If you, or someone you know, are thinking about adopting, or maybe fostering, a dog or cat, now is the time to take a look and see if there is an animal that might fit for you. Sure, it can be a hassle, but we have to clean the house, cook, etc. anyway. What's one more family member? You should put a new dog or cat in a "safe" place anyway while the house is full of people they haven't met. Animals that have been at shelters are used to a lot of activity and different people, but having a large crowd and lots of children all in one day might be too much, not to mention that turkey smells a whole lot better than dry kibble.
Put your new dog or cat in a place where they can smell and hear all the new noises, but aren't actually in the thick of things. Tell your family and friends to please leave them alone while they adjust to their new surroundings, and meet them at a later date or when things quiet down and you have time to put the new dog on a leash so you can properly socialize.
Once the company is gone, the dishes are done, and you sit down to put your feet up and relax, then get your new pet out and let them snuggle up and bring down your blood pressure!
Have a great Thanksgiving.
If you, or someone you know, are thinking about adopting, or maybe fostering, a dog or cat, now is the time to take a look and see if there is an animal that might fit for you. Sure, it can be a hassle, but we have to clean the house, cook, etc. anyway. What's one more family member? You should put a new dog or cat in a "safe" place anyway while the house is full of people they haven't met. Animals that have been at shelters are used to a lot of activity and different people, but having a large crowd and lots of children all in one day might be too much, not to mention that turkey smells a whole lot better than dry kibble.
Put your new dog or cat in a place where they can smell and hear all the new noises, but aren't actually in the thick of things. Tell your family and friends to please leave them alone while they adjust to their new surroundings, and meet them at a later date or when things quiet down and you have time to put the new dog on a leash so you can properly socialize.
Once the company is gone, the dishes are done, and you sit down to put your feet up and relax, then get your new pet out and let them snuggle up and bring down your blood pressure!
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Five and More
Our Mighty Five (see previous post) have advanced from bottle babies to active, curious puppies. They are pretty well paper trained and are currently being weaned off formula and on to dry puppy chow and water - and handling that just fine. We gave them a Progard Puppy vaccination yesterday to protect them from distemper and parvo, and they have been wormed. I bought them some toys, and they are discovering those right now.
Meanwhile, we got another call, or two, from animal control. So, road trip. We picked up a male silky/Yorkie terrier with a matted coat, but house broken. He had obviously never seen a horse before, and he will chase a cat, but he absolutely loves the play yard where he runs like a rabbit. We call him Elf
We found a tiny female Brussels Griffon - she can't weigh 5 pounds dripping wet. She is also house broken, or at least crate trained, and loves being held, but also going out to the play yard. She's been a bit intimidated, so we are working on making her more brave. We call her Holly.
We found two husky/yellow lab mix puppies, one male, one female, six weeks old. The female has one blue eye, one brown, and has the coat of the husky. The male looks like the lab side of the family. They need a bit of socialization, and we gave them a good deworming. I don't know what our rescue coordinator has named them. Maybe Jingle and Bell???
We picked out a 3 1/2 month old collie/black lab mix male pup, and he got adopted the next day. He had a super nice personality.
Then there's our yellow lab/lemon beagle mix male. We call him Clancy. He had just come in to animal control on our previous visit and could not be released as there was a stray hold. Three weeks later, he was still there and had contracted kennel cough - and sick dogs are put on the euth. list - they often have to euth. for space, and sick or aggressive animals are the first to go.
He had such a nice personality, big liquid brown eyes like a deer, so we asked them to hold him for us when we talked to them earlier in the week. We are treating him for kennel cough. He knows sit, shake, and down and has obviously been someone's house dog. He appears to be house broken, and likes to play fetch.
It won't be long and these dogs, except for Clancy, will move out of quarantine and then we can disinfect and start looking for the next wave. Please don't shop ----ADOPT!!!!!!!!
Meanwhile, we got another call, or two, from animal control. So, road trip. We picked up a male silky/Yorkie terrier with a matted coat, but house broken. He had obviously never seen a horse before, and he will chase a cat, but he absolutely loves the play yard where he runs like a rabbit. We call him Elf
We found a tiny female Brussels Griffon - she can't weigh 5 pounds dripping wet. She is also house broken, or at least crate trained, and loves being held, but also going out to the play yard. She's been a bit intimidated, so we are working on making her more brave. We call her Holly.
We found two husky/yellow lab mix puppies, one male, one female, six weeks old. The female has one blue eye, one brown, and has the coat of the husky. The male looks like the lab side of the family. They need a bit of socialization, and we gave them a good deworming. I don't know what our rescue coordinator has named them. Maybe Jingle and Bell???
We picked out a 3 1/2 month old collie/black lab mix male pup, and he got adopted the next day. He had a super nice personality.
Then there's our yellow lab/lemon beagle mix male. We call him Clancy. He had just come in to animal control on our previous visit and could not be released as there was a stray hold. Three weeks later, he was still there and had contracted kennel cough - and sick dogs are put on the euth. list - they often have to euth. for space, and sick or aggressive animals are the first to go.
He had such a nice personality, big liquid brown eyes like a deer, so we asked them to hold him for us when we talked to them earlier in the week. We are treating him for kennel cough. He knows sit, shake, and down and has obviously been someone's house dog. He appears to be house broken, and likes to play fetch.
It won't be long and these dogs, except for Clancy, will move out of quarantine and then we can disinfect and start looking for the next wave. Please don't shop ----ADOPT!!!!!!!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The Mighty Five - Abandoned without Mom
"We have 5 two week old puppies, and we couldn't find the mom anywhere." Animal control called late last Saturday pleading for help. They had made several calls but had no takers. One of our foster moms went to pick them up. Five boys, no mom, and no one knew how long they had been without food. Someone had taken them home the night before and given them human baby formula with less than satisfactory results. Yes, it filled their tummies, but it caused some pretty substantial diarrhea in already dehydrated babies.
They brought me Esbilac, bottles, nipples, bottle brushes, and newspapers, not to mention a really fine big cardboard box to put them in. So, approximately 30 years after I thought I had finished making formula, changing diapers, and getting up every 4 hours for a feeding, I was back at it.
Three of the boys had pretty much given up the idea of sucking, so we went to the eye dropper and stimulated them to suck on my finger, meanwhile sneaking the formula into them. After about four days, they were sucking like pros, so we switched them to regular baby bottles, the human kind. These are going to be good sized dogs some day!
They are now approximately three weeks old, have doubled in size, are starting to play a little, eat like a high school football team, starting to cut teeth, are already going to the potty on newspaper away from their bed, and they don't know it yet, but they can crawl out of their box if they want to. Today I'll have to move them to a more spacious open plan condo so they can develop their motor skills and can't crawl out when I'm working out in the kennel and can't monitor them.
We don't know what breed they are. We don't really care. They shouldn't have been abandoned without a mommy. As a matter of fact, the same animal control called yesterday with 11 six week old pups that were found abandoned in a ditch.
My little football players have been fed, cleaned up, and are snoozing right next to me. As for me, think I'll enjoy that first cup of morning coffee and then start mixing formula for the day.
They brought me Esbilac, bottles, nipples, bottle brushes, and newspapers, not to mention a really fine big cardboard box to put them in. So, approximately 30 years after I thought I had finished making formula, changing diapers, and getting up every 4 hours for a feeding, I was back at it.
Three of the boys had pretty much given up the idea of sucking, so we went to the eye dropper and stimulated them to suck on my finger, meanwhile sneaking the formula into them. After about four days, they were sucking like pros, so we switched them to regular baby bottles, the human kind. These are going to be good sized dogs some day!
They are now approximately three weeks old, have doubled in size, are starting to play a little, eat like a high school football team, starting to cut teeth, are already going to the potty on newspaper away from their bed, and they don't know it yet, but they can crawl out of their box if they want to. Today I'll have to move them to a more spacious open plan condo so they can develop their motor skills and can't crawl out when I'm working out in the kennel and can't monitor them.
We don't know what breed they are. We don't really care. They shouldn't have been abandoned without a mommy. As a matter of fact, the same animal control called yesterday with 11 six week old pups that were found abandoned in a ditch.
My little football players have been fed, cleaned up, and are snoozing right next to me. As for me, think I'll enjoy that first cup of morning coffee and then start mixing formula for the day.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Delilah - Long Distance Rescue
Delilah is about a 20 pound black female chi/pug (?) mix that was in a high volume kill shelter in Georgia. One of the employees, also deeply involved in rescue, had taken her home as a foster, but Delilah was shy and worried about people and wasn't improving. She would play and enjoy the company of the other foster dogs, but would not come within a foot of a human. Her foster mom was up to her ears and posted her on Facebook, hoping that she would not have to send her on to the local humane society to keep her alive.
I have a soft spot for the shy, non-aggressive dogs that have little chance of being adopted. Not to mention the fact that Delilah was black, and black dogs are at the bottom of the adoption list. I made a comment that I wished we were closer as I would consider taking her into our rescue. The people at Hazelhurst responded, and soon we were on our way to a transport and rescue.
Our rescue coordinator gave them the information they needed, and we exchanged lengthy phone calls with a couple of people, during which I commented that when I usually find a dog out of state and agree to take it in to our rescue, the dog usually gets adopted before that happens. Not a problem for me - a forever home always trumps a foster!
The day was getting close for transport, expected it on the weekend. I got a call that Delilah was making progress. I am bottle feeding puppies and came to the house late in the day. While waiting on formula to warm up, cranked on the computer and checked email. There was an email notification from Facebook that someone was interested in Delilah and lived in Georgia. I checked it out and figured that I would soon be notified that she had been adopted and would not be heading to Indiana.
About 10 minutes later, I got a call from the foster mom in Georgia saying the she was putting Delilah on a transport later that evening, and wanting to confirm my address. I stopped her and asked if she knew she had someone wanting to adopt locally. She, at that time, was unaware of it. She said she would get back to me. I told her I would always defer to a forever home.
Delillah goes to her new home on Saturday - in Georgia. As part of His plan, it was probably my job to give her more time, not only to keep her from going to the humane society, but to give her time to improve and her new family time to find her.
I have a soft spot for the shy, non-aggressive dogs that have little chance of being adopted. Not to mention the fact that Delilah was black, and black dogs are at the bottom of the adoption list. I made a comment that I wished we were closer as I would consider taking her into our rescue. The people at Hazelhurst responded, and soon we were on our way to a transport and rescue.
Our rescue coordinator gave them the information they needed, and we exchanged lengthy phone calls with a couple of people, during which I commented that when I usually find a dog out of state and agree to take it in to our rescue, the dog usually gets adopted before that happens. Not a problem for me - a forever home always trumps a foster!
The day was getting close for transport, expected it on the weekend. I got a call that Delilah was making progress. I am bottle feeding puppies and came to the house late in the day. While waiting on formula to warm up, cranked on the computer and checked email. There was an email notification from Facebook that someone was interested in Delilah and lived in Georgia. I checked it out and figured that I would soon be notified that she had been adopted and would not be heading to Indiana.
About 10 minutes later, I got a call from the foster mom in Georgia saying the she was putting Delilah on a transport later that evening, and wanting to confirm my address. I stopped her and asked if she knew she had someone wanting to adopt locally. She, at that time, was unaware of it. She said she would get back to me. I told her I would always defer to a forever home.
Delillah goes to her new home on Saturday - in Georgia. As part of His plan, it was probably my job to give her more time, not only to keep her from going to the humane society, but to give her time to improve and her new family time to find her.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Pixie, aka Batwoman
She was in a crate in the intake room at animal control, had been there for nearly three weeks. She had all but given up. She hadn't eaten any food for a couple of days. When we walked by, she didn't budge, nor did she look at us. I was drawn to her for some reason, so I kept walking back and forth near her crate as we looked at the other dogs in the intake room. She finally looked at me, and the sorrow in her eyes told the whole story.
Pixie is a petite, small boned, wirehair mix with huge ears, and when she smiles, which she now does, she resembles a fruit bat. Thus the nickname "Batwoman". She is housebroken, knows sit, and has no aggressive tendencies at all.
We had a family come to meet one of the dogs she is turned out to play with. They liked her personality, but deemed her "so ugly she's cute".
She went to a couple of adoption events, but no one gave her a second look. Yesterd
ay a family came to meet a dog and wanted a kind, friendly, non-aggressive dog that would be good with kids, was housebroken, would sleep with family members, and get along with the other family dogs. One of the childen had the duty of picking the new dog. It would be "his" dog. He had chosen a beagle pup, but the pup had way too much energy for the family, wasn't too good with men, and failed in the house trained department. They returned the beagle.
They looked at several dogs and at Pixie. Everyone in the family liked her, except the young man who was to make the decision. His reason - she's ugly and he would have to walk her in the neighborhood. He had his heart set on a dachshund puppy, which we don't have. I told him quite frankly not to take her if he couldn't find it in his heart to overlook the fact that he thought she was ugly.
The younger boy asked to take Pixie home for the night - a sleepover - to see if there was a chance. They returned her today, but we now know for certain that she is definitely housebroken, slept with various family members, did nothing wrong.
Sometimes we forget that beauty is only skin deep. Pixie is a wonderful little dog, and we will find someone who doesn't mind having a dog that looks like a fruit bat when she smiles.
Pixie is a petite, small boned, wirehair mix with huge ears, and when she smiles, which she now does, she resembles a fruit bat. Thus the nickname "Batwoman". She is housebroken, knows sit, and has no aggressive tendencies at all.
We had a family come to meet one of the dogs she is turned out to play with. They liked her personality, but deemed her "so ugly she's cute".
She went to a couple of adoption events, but no one gave her a second look. Yesterd
ay a family came to meet a dog and wanted a kind, friendly, non-aggressive dog that would be good with kids, was housebroken, would sleep with family members, and get along with the other family dogs. One of the childen had the duty of picking the new dog. It would be "his" dog. He had chosen a beagle pup, but the pup had way too much energy for the family, wasn't too good with men, and failed in the house trained department. They returned the beagle.They looked at several dogs and at Pixie. Everyone in the family liked her, except the young man who was to make the decision. His reason - she's ugly and he would have to walk her in the neighborhood. He had his heart set on a dachshund puppy, which we don't have. I told him quite frankly not to take her if he couldn't find it in his heart to overlook the fact that he thought she was ugly.
The younger boy asked to take Pixie home for the night - a sleepover - to see if there was a chance. They returned her today, but we now know for certain that she is definitely housebroken, slept with various family members, did nothing wrong.
Sometimes we forget that beauty is only skin deep. Pixie is a wonderful little dog, and we will find someone who doesn't mind having a dog that looks like a fruit bat when she smiles.
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