Santa comes early

Rufus, handsome boy

[Bear with me on the xmas theme; there's just a couple more days to go.]

Rufus is just over a year old.

Santa came in the form of a VGSR volunteer who rescued a shelter dog today and brought him to me to foster, effectively giving the dog a new home and a new life.  Rufus came to a shelter when his former owner got arrested for, among other things, assaulting a police officer (with a butcher knife).  It is likely that Rufus' former owner won't be free to be looking for his dog for quite a while, but just to be safe, we gave him a new name upon his entry to our canine witness relocation program.  He is just over a year old, very tall, handsome, and friendly.  He has been living in an apartment so I would say that he's housetrained.  He's paired up with Thora for now and they seem to be fine together, although he's doing a bit of howling out there this evening. 

Santa came last weekend as well, bringing a lot of dog food, blankets, and a gift that I turned into bales of straw today to keep the kennels and sheds dry, comfortable, and cozy if it should ever turn cold around here. 

Rufus is a tall drink of water.

Clay's brother, Hugh, with Woody

Clay's mother, Berta, with Woody

Santa is a shape-shifter and appeared again today in the form of Clay's mother and brother, who came out bearing toys for the puppies.  Woody had a great time with the toys, but he enjoyed even more meeting, playing with, and being held by new people. 

Laila may have received the greatest gift of all.  After several days at the clinic, with surgery and loving care from the staff, she went home for a couple days of recuperative care with the mother of one of the hospital's staff.  I know she's in good hands and she's getting more intensive and individualized care and attention than she would get here.  And the woman has sort of been looking for a dog after losing one a few months ago, so this will give her a chance to see if she's ready and to determine what she's ready for.

Woody, loving his new toys, but keeping an eye on me at the same time.