Foster sheltie Claire hanging out with the big guy, our resident greyhound. The angle of the photo is deceptive. Claire weighs 27 lbs. to Cassius’ 72.
Cassius is a gentle giant. He is by far the most mellow greyhound we have had. Even when Claire takes toys from right beside his mouth, he just gives a loud woof. He is so good natured. She on the other hand has no sense of personal boundaries.
The one who is teaching her to back off and respect his space is our 8 lb. cat Morty. If he hisses or growls, she backs up. Though he is tiny, his attitude is fierce.
I love this photo. It is of Lacey and Merlin sharing couch time. Both are gone now, but their spirit of peace lives on. Both were strays of a sort.
Lacey came from my family/friends. She was born to an Amish cat that gave birth in their barn. I asked if I could have her because she reminded me of my beloved Grey Cat who had recently passed. Lacey turned out to be nothing like Grey Cat, but she was a great Cat in her own right.
Merlin came running down our dirt road one day and stopped near our driveway. I had recently gone to a large greyhound event and wanted a greyhound. Wish granted! Merlin was probably a greyhound-lurcher. He may have had a bit of hunting dog in his background but he looked like a greyhound that wasn’t quite long enough.
Both were wonderful additions to the family and provided many years of love.
In addition to banana time, we also occasionally have orange time at our house. Our dogs love fruit. Well, except for Baxter, which is why he is not in the photo.
Even Claire, the foster girl on the far right, is getting into the act. Dogs cannot manufacture their own vitamin C, so I suppose this is not a bad thing. They only get a slice or two so as not to get upset tummies.
Claire has been with us two weeks today. It has passed quickly, mostly because she keeps us so busy. You must keep your eyes on her at all times when she is not crated. She spent some time in her crate because she is in heat and some of the time just because we were not able to watch her every minute.
She hasn’t had a potty accident in about a week. Before that I think it was mostly marking due to being in heat and not actually accidents. Claire also wanders around the house. A lot. I don’t know if this is a trait of bitches in heat or just because everything is new to her.
And I mean everything seems like a new experience to her. Walking on a leash, people eating food, cats, things on coffee tables. You need to constantly watch her or she will take things and then be puzzled about why you are upset.
Claire is learning though. When I say no, she stops what she is doing to look at me which gives me a chance to praise her. She is getting along with the cats better, although she still reacts sometimes. Luckily she thinks the cats are great fun rather than viewing them as snack items.
And occasionally she will lay down. This makes me happy. A few minutes for me to relax is appreciated. She improves a little bit each day. We’ll get there.
A new foster dog has arrived! We have been without a foster dog for over two years. That is an eternity for us. We had not been without a foster dog before this since 2003. When Zeke came, he was such a handful that we could not deal with any other new dogs. So when I decided to adopt Zeke, we had to take a break from fostering.
Zeke is still a handful. I would say that his behavior gets marginally better all the time. At this rate he will be a normal level of crazy in several more years. Well, either Zeke is a bit better or our tolerance for trouble has increased. Because in the late fall, we decided that we were ready to foster again. Turn-ins to our group Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue slowed down and we have some other great foster homes available so it didn’t work out for a dog to come to us until yesterday. This girl’s name is Topanga. We will be renaming her soon as that is quite a mouthful and she doesn’t seem very responsive to it.
Topanga was turned over to our Rescue group along with four other dogs. All of the dogs are female Shetland Sheepdogs and about 4-5 years old. Two are sables, two are tricolors, and there is one blue merle. The owner is apparently beginning to suffer from dementia and is no longer able to care for the dogs. I applaud the owner for realizing her limitations and doing what is best for these girls no matter how hard it is. Many of us could end up in a similar situation and I can only imagine the grief it would bring. The other dogs are going from their initial intake home to long term foster homes too. They will all get any updates to their care that is needed along with love. Love is what our foster homes do best.
I would like to point out that as with all Rescue groups, we have a protocol that we follow before placing dogs in adoptive homes. We require applications and then we conduct vet checks, followed by home checks. Then we place each dog into the approved home that is the best fit for him or her. We have enough approved homes on our waiting list to provide an adoptive home for all of these dogs. If you are interested in a dog, it is wise to get an application in early so you will be ready when we have more dogs come along.
I have to thank Cheryl, who picked up the dogs from the owner for us. And a big thanks also to Kathi who met Cheryl at the local pet store and both ladies spent their evening bathing, trimming, and transporting these dogs. These are two ladies from the local Shetland Sheepdog breed club as well as members of our Rescue. It is great and always a help when these two parts of the dog world can work together. Bravo ladies!
Topanga will be here for a few weeks at least while we update her veterinary needs and get her spayed. We can already tell she is quite a character. She was jumping and trying to play with me when I was grooming her yesterday. She keeps running around and trying to get the other dogs to play. She is also trying to get the cats to play but so far that results in hissing and a swat or two. I’m sure it’s only a matter of a few days before she is outside playing with the other dogs in our fenced pasture.
I was in the process of organizing old photos today and came across some of a few of the dogs, but by no means all, that we have fostered over the years for Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue. I thought you would like to see them too.
Bear
Booberry
Buttons aka Winston
Geri
Gracie and Zoey
Zoey aka Selah
Mack
More pictures of foster dogs will be shared in a future post. They all went on to wonderful homes.
How many dogs does it to shower? This is my view as I get into the shower.
For me, the answer is three. Three of our five dogs must be present. Baxter and Nikki do not participate. Baxter keeps an eye on the house and trusts that I can handle it. Nikki just doesn’t care what I’m doing as long as it doesn’t involve her.
Shelby, on the right, must be present to bite the bathtub faucet when the water is turned on. She started doing this back when the faucet squeaked every time we turned it on. You can’t have that faucet thinking it can squeak without repercussions. The faucet has long been fixed but Shelby stands by her tradition.
Zekie and Cassius, left and middle respectively, must accompany me because, hey, you can’t be that far away from mom. You never know when she might sneak out the bathroom window, never to be seen again. Or so their thoughts seem to go.
This face. This boy loves me so much that I can forgive him nearly anything. Zeke is what we in Rescue call “a handful “.
He has chewed his way out of multiple crates. The guaranteed one made of aircraft steel is still holding up. He has chewed up multiple metal bowls. He chased a jogger. He is not a dog for the uninitiated. And so of course I adopted him after a few months of fostering.
This has meant a two year hiatus on our fostering. It was worth it to save his life.
Zekie has shown improvement in his nearly two years with us. His leash reactivity is much better (although not 100%) with walkers and bicyclists. He is still reactive with other dogs when out walking. Oddly enough, he is ok with dogs that come to our home when he is not on leash.
His obedience skills continue to improve. In fact, he is very obedient. You just have to give commands all the time to keep him out of trouble.
Zekie is a loyal dog and one affectionate boy. He follows me everywhere. He waits for me at the door if I go outside. If he is not crated because someone else is home, he sits on the back of the couch looking out the window at the driveway awaiting my return.
This dog does everything in a big way. His excitement for walks is over the top. His desire for treats is intense. His drive for attention is beyond his control. And his ability to love is endless.
Think Dog Rescues provide only one service, to re-home a dog and move on to the next? Think again.
Our Rescue adopted this dog out a couple years ago. Her owner contacted us several months back, thinking he would have to turn her back in. The owner was in poor health and scheduled to undergo a major organ transplant. See where this is going yet?
One of our members has been fostering this cutie in her home until the owner is well enough that this dog can return home. Just another instance of why I often say that Dog Rescue is about helping people as well as dogs. Not too mention, Rescue folks are some of the best people I know.
Oh, by the way, this little girl will be returning home within the next few weeks!
This is a tribute to Maizie who we fostered for Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue. She arrived in 2013 and passed on to the Rainbow Bridge about a year and a half later, while laying on a dog bed in our living room, with me by her side. She now lies buried in our woods with our others who have passed.
The letter below is one I wrote in 2013, right after we discovered she had kidney failure. We are blessed to have known her. She enriched our lives.
Dear Person Who Abandoned this Senior Dog,
Maizie was found by the pound and when they sent you a letter to come and get her, you did not come. She spent 30 days in the pound kennel waiting for you before the efforts of two rescue groups brought her to our house as a foster dog. Today we discovered that she has kidney failure and will live out the rest of her life with us however long that may be. What lesson am I supposed to learn from this? Perhaps to have compassion for you and not be judgemental? I will work on that.
I know that I have been blessed to know this dog who is sweet, loving, and grateful for every bit of attention. She smiles at us constantly and is one of the happiest dogs I have seen. Occassionally she will try to play and has a small, joyful hop to her step. Our lives have been enriched by knowing this kind dog.
My dreams will be sweeter knowing that I have helped and loved this girl. May you be able to sleep at all.
Sanctuary Acres 