Mid-week madness

This was the first time that Maya approached me on her own.

The new girl, Maya, is slowly improving.  Very slowly.  Yesterday she came out of the shed in the morning on her own accord without me going in to leash her.  She did it again this morning.  Last night she finally went into the shed at night on her own.  I've been sending Riley, Herc, and Barack into her kennel when I want her to come out.  They chase her around and then she gives me this look that says that she'd rather let me touch her than be chased by the rottweiler any more.  At that point I can go into the kennel and slip a leash over her head, but last night she dashed into the shed on her own for the first time. 

She even went for her food while I was still
inside the kennel with her.


She got a little barky yesterday afternoon so I gave her a boxer for company and she liked that.  Today she's got both Lana and Augie with her.  When I went by the kennel earlier today, the boxers came up to greet me, of course, and she did the same!  That surprised me, but when I put my fingers through the chainlink fence, she came up and touched them with her nose.  This evening I went into her kennel to feed and she came up to me on her own.  Trust comes slowly with this one, but it comes.

I'll be going to Gainesville on Sunday to
deliver Barack to his new life.

Barack will be heading to a new home this weekend!  A young man drove down here yesterday from northern Virginia.  He thought Barack was just what he was looking for.  He is a fun dog, he's just very active and has a short attention span.  He's a teenager.  I'll be taking him up to Gainesville on Sunday and we'll do the adoption then.



New guy, coming on Friday



This is a new shepherd coming my way on Friday.  Found as a stray in Greene County.  He's shy, shelter-shocked, but not nearly as freaked out as Maya from what I'm told.  The shelter vaccinated him yesterday, which was great, I can take him out this weekend.  I assume he's not neutered, but the bigger issue is that he tested positive for heartworms.












Riley, paws up on the counter at the vet's office

Hercules on the scale


 









I think that Herc is finally beginning to put on some weight.  Whether it's the pancreatic enzyme supplement he's been getting on his dry food, or the chicken backs he's getting twice a day, I'm not sure.   He sure does love those raw chicken backs.  The rottie, Riley, is getting the enzyme but not the chicken backs and she doesn't seem to be gaining as much.  Of course, I'm not sure that they have the same digestive problem anyway.  Both dogs are pooping like champs now, and they are both just eating my ordinary foster mix dog food, not anything special.   I ran them into town for a weight check to be sure.  Both dogs were 66.4 pounds about two weeks ago.  Herc was up to 69+ and Riley was at 68+.  They are moving in the right direction anyway.

Herc, as of 02/07/13

Riley, as of 02/07/13

As I was leaving the vet's office, I saw this dog standing out front with his owner.  The man looked somewhat familiar, but I recognized the dog, or thought I did, and asked if his name was Jackson.  I had adopted Jackson to this man 10 years ago.  We weren't sure how old the dog was when first adopted, but he's 10 years older now.  I've got three seniors around here now so I know what he's going through.  When I asked how things were going, the first thing he said was that Jackson had been the joy of his life.  That told me all I needed to know.  I could see that they had been dealing with senior dog issues, but I knew that the dog had been well-loved and well-cared for his whole life.  He's a very lucky dog. 

Gigi got a package in the mail yesterday from one of her admirers.  It was from an old friend of mine and she makes these things, calling them Rufflers.  There were several in the package and of course they all look good on Gigi.  I've never been one for dressing up my dogs, but she's tall, slender, and basic black--everything looks good on her.  The dog was born to accessorize.    Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  I'm thinking she might like diamonds.