Rabbit Run

Monday was rainy although we didn't really get a lot of moisture. We didn't walk or get anyone out to run. Tuesday wasn't a pretty day, but the temperature wasn't bad and it wasn't raining so I took two Danes and three shepherds out to the pasture to run.

The sky was cloudy and dreary so the colors aren't really pretty in these shots. The dogs didn't care about that though. The highlight of the afternoon happened when a rabbit decided to make a run for it from the grove of trees to the fence line. He was smart about it, waiting until most of the dogs were out of sight, and then he sprinted to the fence. Max was the closest to the action and he took off running. The other dogs caught on that something was up but I think the rabbit was through the fence before they were on the scene so he was never really in danger. It would be best if he stayed out of our pasture, however.

Sweet Serena

Della and Serena

Theo with his Jolly ball.

Max's ball is history. The rope is gone and he
began tearing it apart today. That means I need
to trash so Serena doesn't eat the remains.

Kaiser, Theo, Della, and Serena on the far right.

This is the rabbit run. The bunny is already through the fence at the far left. He had run out
of the clump of trees at the right. Della was late to the party, but you can see her flying toward
the scene. I'm sure she was pissed that she had missed it.

Della and Kaiser scouting the fence line.

White Dane Updates

It wasn't too long after the puppies were adopted that we took in four of the Great Danes from the hoarder/breeder who was busted for neglect over in King and Queen County. The first four were Diamond, Karma, Disney, and Cinderella. We subsequently took in Chrome as well, and then Galaxy too, for a total of six, although the most we ever had at one time was four.

We have heard more from some adopters than others, which is always the case, but they all landed well with a substantial upgrade in their standard of living, and more importantly, a HUGE upgrade in their standard of care. I've stolen many of these pics from adopters' email, messages, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. I don't usually do that and if anyone objects, let me know, but all the pictures are wonderful and deserve to be seen and shared.




Disney

Disney went to a home somewhere down in Tidewater area, I believe, a home on the water. She is pictured here on a sofa, which is, of course, the standard furniture of choice for a Great Dane.





















Cinderella

Cinderella went to a colder clime with her move to Minnesota, but she has a new wardrobe that will keep her warm all winter. Her name is now Aisling, which just sounds like a model's name. Look for her on the runways at the next Fashion Week.




























































Chrome

I don't have any post-adoption pictures of Chrome so these are from the day he got adopted. His adopters drove down here from New Jersey with their other two dogs. Everyone met and got along, which was good because they had a long drive home in close quarters.

Karma

Karma now lives in Connecticut. She has both dog and cat friends and is reportedly getting along with them all. I was also very happy to hear that she's playing ball and playing with toys, something I don't think she ever had the chance to do in her former home and I never saw her do around here. Karma was always a bit suspicious of strangers and took a while to warm up, but she's been meeting new people with nary a grumble. That tells me that she's happy and comfortable in her new home.

Galaxy

Galaxy had the quickest trip to his new home and he had even visited there once before. Galaxy is living with one of Della's pups, Mo-Dean. He's a few months older and bigger, but they play together very well. The play will only get bigger as they grow.

Galaxy and Mo-Dean, resting up to do it again.

Diamond

Diamond came to us looking the most haggard of them all. She just looked like she'd had a rough life, and indeed she had. That's why it's so nice to hear that Diamond is enjoying some of the finer things in life now. The pictures show her lounging in the lap of luxury and apparently she has a real penchant for down bedding.

Diamond is loving and appreciative of it all too. The adopter told me this: "[W]hen I sat down on my couch with my morning coffee to watch the news, she jumped up next to me, put her left front leg behind me and the right front leg around the front and cuddled her head around my neck!"

I can't think of a better way for a dog to say, I'm happy, thank you, and I love you, all at once.

That's it for the white Danes that we fostered, but Green Dogs still has one more, Daisy, who is still available.

Weekend Wrap Up

Karma left here at 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning. I tried to go back to bed for a while but I got up after another hour or so. I called the vet at 8:00 a.m. because I needed to get Della in for a rabies vaccine. Everything else had been done on her but somehow that was still missing and I had been forgetting about it. They had an opening at 9:30 a.m. so it wasn't long before we were heading to town.

Della is always ready to go and will hop into any open vehicle at any time even if she doesn't know where it's going. She got her rabies vaccine, which was quick and easy, and I got a chance to weigh her. She was 115 pounds when she finally stood still on the scale. I think that weight is perfect for her. She looks good, slim but solid, no extra weight. I think we'll try to hold onto that number.

Kaiser came along with us because I had been talking to someone who was interested in him, but I needed to know how he was with cats. We went to Clay's mother's house to meet her cat, Portia. I think we took her by surprise and she reacted with the arched back and then disappeared. I don't think Kaiser knew what to make of her. He wasn't overtly aggressive, but he was zeroed in on the cat, very focused attention. I could re-direct his attention, but if I wasn't there to do so, it would have been all focused on the cat. I think a cat-free home would be best for him. If the cat and owner knew how to handle a dog it might work, but I had the impression if the cat ran he would have ran after it. Once that sets in, it's easy for it to escalate to snatch and grab. Better safe than sorry.

Della doesn't know what's happening when
we go to the vet, but she's always been good.
She seems to trust me to make everything ok.

After we got back home it was time for Galaxy to go off to his new home. He spent the afternoon playing with Mo-Dean until they were both tired out. Karma made it home to Connecticut and was introduced to her dog and cat family. It all went well and everyone played together nicely. I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking, mostly beginning to prepare things that I'll take for Thanksgiving.

I got up pretty early Sunday morning and baked about eight dozen cookies and grilled a couple steaks for breakfast. Then Maya and Della and I went for a hike. It was chilly but I dressed appropriately and we had a good three mile walk in the woods.

Look where the shepherd nose is pointing
and you can see a black cat perched on top
of a wing chair.

He didn't make any real serious effort to get
to the cat, but only because I had him on a
short leash.

I don't think he knew what the cat was, but he was
definitely interested.

Sometimes I think Della would rather share a bed than have one to herself.

Maya definitely prefers to have her bed to herself. Serena tolerates the sharing very well.

My first round of cookie baking for the season.

Maya knows the trails, Della is learning and she's learning from the best.

Serena is not really a cold weather fan.