Monday, September 30, 2013

Plus four

Chloe
Natalie
For a while, the Great Female Shepherd in the Sky went along with my plan to only take one or two fosters at a time.  I didn't get too many calls from my local shelters and I was able to outsource a few to other foster homes and fend off the myriad other requests that I get to take in a dog.  I had all the kennels taken down and just two re-built:  one nice big one for Sparky and one 10x20' covered kennel for a foster.  Currently we have 8 dogs that have to be considered permanent residents, 1 boarder (Toquima), and 2 fosters (Max and Maddie).  That was been a pretty light and manageable load.  Today we added 4 more fosters and I'm getting daily emails, messages, and phone calls about other dogs.  I hate to say "no" but I just have to.

The good news is that the new dogs seem to get along, with each other and with all the current residents.  The bad news is that we are back up to 6 fosters and I only have one kennel.  Fortunately, the weather is cooling off so everyone can share the dog yard and the big shed at night.  Two of the new ones are housetrained, kid- and cat-friendly.  One of the new shepherds is not quite a purebred, but he's good looking, playful, and gets along with everyone.  He should have some good adoption prospects relatively soon I would think.  The other new shepherd is a hot damn mess medically speaking, but he's very sweet. 

Natalie and Chloe making the rounds,
with Maddie following closely.




Natalie and Chloe are kind of joined at the hip.
 

Patch

He was wormed and treated for a skin infection
at the shelter and he's better now than he was,
but he has a long way to go.

Patch is emaciated, he's got bare, thickened skin,
a messed up ear, a hairless tail, growths on his belly,
and one lone testicle hanging in a furless scrotum.


That look is what saved him, and
he's a sweet boy.
Toquima, Patch, and Max
Usually when  you have three shepherds together you are lucky if they share a collective brain.
Toquima is pretty solid, and I think Patch is too.  Max got the short end of the stick.

Ochie appears to be a shepherd/Elkhound mix.

Ochie is a handsome boy, friendly, playful.



Ochie is a party on four legs.

Chloe discovered the water tank and
laid right down in it.  Typical lab.

Natalie and Choloe together in the tank

Maddie and Ochie

Gathering at the watering hole:
Back to front: Ochie, Max, Toquima,
Natalie and Chloe

Front to back:
Toquima, Max, and Ochie

Toquima meeting Patch
Maddie in front, Ochie in rear

Trooper meeting Chloe

Maddie was happy to welcome
all the new dogs.

Patch and Maya
Patch was the first of the fosters to jump up onto the platforms.
He may look older than he actually is.  He was pretty active today and seemed to enjoy himself.
He's finally free of the fleas that have infested him forever, so I'm sure he's feeling pretty good.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for taking all these beloved babies in. I started to cry when I saw poor Patch's emaciated body. The only thing that stopped my tears, was knowing that he is safe with you and will be fed well. God bless you.

Julie Garrou said...

It won't be long before Patch gets his smile on. Poor little buddy. You do great work with the dogs.