Chew Chew And Chew

Oh my will this dog ever stop chewing?

We have wormed him, given him toys and chews, he gets loads of exercise and at the moment I am home with him until he settles.

He is a chewer, not the furniture or electrical goods~thank goodness but shoes and blankets and us ~ it`s like he is in puppy mode!

Buddy is 1 years old, a hound mix I think he is mixed with a shark 😉

 

Understanding, he has come from a difficult back ground, he probably was not taught or disciplined properly as a puppy, probably due to ignorant past owner and then when he became a bad chewer they shipped him off to the shelter!

The shelters do not have the time to correct all behaviour problems, nor do they have the funds, they can only concentrate on the boarding and medical of the dogs.

So a puppy comes into the shelter with problems, that are still there when they get adopted and in some cases worse as the stress of being taken away from what they know(even an abusive home) it is what they know and dogs like routine! and it is scary all those noisy big boys there all wanting attention and getting used to these surroundings and wondering if the next face at their cage is their old owners coming back to take them home?

The only solace they have is at night, the lights are off and all is a bit calm and they may have a toy to comfort them or a blanket. so what does the tired scared puppy do, they chew and they suck and get a little comfort from it in the darkness.

So what do you do?

You just adopted a puppy/dog and he does not fit in straight away with your life style or expectations on how you want him to behave, you have the wrong dog, this one is broken and will not work out, so do you take him back?

NO NO NO you absolutely do not and you do not start hitting them either because they are misbehaving!!! They are not misbehaving, they just do not know any different.

He is scared, he is unsure of where he fits in here, all he knows is what he used to do, that was and is familiar with him!

So this is where you come in as responsible owners, you have to take a little time to care and understand your new dog, a little training and a firm voice and repetition will give you the dog that you want him to be.

Sending him back for another one is not the answer and all you will do is confuse and make that poor dog worse as he does not understand~but you do, you are human, you were given a brain with reason and knowledge and understanding and it is up to us to use that!

We will take our `Buddy` to the vet just to get checked out and make sure he has no underlying problems with health and teeth and we will take our time with his training, slow but sure.

We owe him that much, he deserves that much and all it is going to cost us is a little time and patience.

marlow Is Now Known As Buddy

Saying good bye to his past life, Marlow is now known as Buddy

It suits him well because well he is now our Buddy 🙂

He has settled in nicely, completely took over the place! he smells better after having his first bath, phew that boy was smelly 🙂

The boys are getting to have some boy bonding time

The apartment is scattered with toys and is no longer resembling a show home – but you know what I would not have it any other way, it warms my heart to know this little dog will have a nice life, one that up until Friday was uncertain, where could he have ended up?

Beaten, miss treated, tied for hours outside in the cold or left for more months in the shelter?

All I know now is that he will have a good life and that is all he deserves!

He will have love, shelter, protection, fun and a full tummy!

I wish I could wave a magic wand and give all the animals at the shelter a charmed life, all I can do is walk them sometimes and give them some love and raise awareness of their existence.

Please if you have some time or some money donate something to an animal shelter near you will and can make a difference 🙂

At our apartment complex they have a dog park that is fenced in, we we are able to let him off the leash and run around the grass, that dog took his first run of freedom and ran like a whippet around that park, it was awesome to watch, really awesome 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Introducing Marlow

Say hello to Marlow also known by us as Buddy 🙂

 

he has taken over already LOL

I have to share this story with you, now see that patterned chair in the picture , whilst I was still in the UK we furnished the apartment here by Robert going around the shops taking pictures of furniture and me saying yes or no to them, they only time we had a difference in opinion was sofa/couch but I insisted I still got my chair and Robert get the sofa he wanted, he was to be fair the one doing the test drives and seeing if they were and I am quoting him here “Cushy on the Tushy”, it was agreed I get my chair for looks and his sofa for comfort 🙂 – good compromise!

It was a private joke(not anymore ;)) that he could not sit in that chair as it was for looks only 😉 and every time he accidently on purpose sat in it I would shout “get your stinking butt out of my chair”

Marlow arrives has a sniff about,  went over to the “The Chair” and marked his territory!

As you can imagine Robert thought this was hilarious and claimed Karma!

I was not amused to say the least but at least now it smells to Marlow like home 😉

 

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

On arrival to the shelter yesterday Marlow was still there phew so I put a hold on him.

We get straight into the walks, now taking A dog out for a walk is like running the gauntlet, you have to walk the dog passed all the other dogs who are a: desperate to go out themselves and b: territorial this is part of the job I hate!

on return with a dog I had a (intact) male and another (intact) male decide to go at each other through the bars so I put up my knee to seperate them and get bit in the process, not badly and when he knew it was my leg he stopped, just a graze and a bruise – no major drama except my pants were ripped grrrr!

Later in the day I hear my friend screaming and when I go to her she had been attacked by a dog that should not have been on the walkers list! Unfortunately she had to go to hospital for stitches 😦

Its unfortunate but these are animals and some have been badly treated, its very unusual for this to happen, but it can happen, today we both made  silly mistakes but neither of us will stop going there, as I said its very rare!

Once bitten twice shy, we both wont make our mistakes again!

 

 

Marlow We Are Coming To Get You!

As I sit here and type this right now, right this very moment Robert has agreed to get Marlow on a promise from me that for now it will be just him 🙂

So roll on 12 and I can go see him and put a hold on him until tonight!

I just hope he is still there, he has been there a while so if its meant to be then he will be, but if not then another little dog will be coming home tonight to have a good loving home 🙂

Watch this space I will post pictures………

Excuse me while I go walk some dogs

Mum`s The Word

So Robert comes home last night from visiting his mum or mom if American 😉 and says his (mom) is willing to look after a dog in the day when he is at work and I am out of the country!!

 

Holy cat flap batman I nearly jumped out of my seat with joy!

 

Then I blurt out “great there is another dog Phantom there too” I can see Roberts face put on the mental breaks and I wish I had not said anything and he wished he had not said anything”

So we were back to square one, me sad and sulking and him thinking……..

 

Second Mental Adoption~good day/Bad Night

getting into the swing of it now I thought!

Walk the dogs, love the dogs come home forget about it, go back walk the dogs etc etc etc….

A little puppy named Phantom is there, he had a sign on his cage “please walk me 3 times a day as I have no muscle strength and a bad heart”

We discovered that he had a tape worm infection that affected his heart and lack of exercise was the cause of his muscle weakness, he had a notice to say that due to this he probably will only live for 3 to 5 years.

My friend nearly lost it, I saw the tears in her eyes and she was chocked, so I grabbed her said ” come on lets get started” ~she walked Phantom and I started on the others

Luckily there was a man there who was walking the dogs, he was doing it as something to do with his studies, its only temporary but who cares more help the better as again there were more dogs from out of state, some had been adopted though, there is a fast turn over there but I will go into that very soon!

Between the 3 of us we got all the dogs walked, it took longer than usual as there were so many.

Before we left I walked Phantom, such a sweet thing full of life and loved to be out walking and playing, he was excited and his sharp claws managed to scratch me but I did not care it was so lovely to see him enjoying himself, but I walked him on the pavement to get them claws worn down  LOL

I thought who is going to adopt this poor wee thing with a life span of only maybe 3 years~yep you guessed it mental adoption number 2 popped up!

We left again exhausted but pleased we got everyone done 🙂

I had to go out to dinner this night so no time to reflect, straight in the shower and out, at the end of the evening and a glass of wine or 2 the flood gates opened…..

 

 

I cried all night for the plight of these dogs, where did they come from, where once adopted were they going to, there are no home checks before adoption and no checks after adoption, it`s as though I felt the plight and sorry of every abused and neglected dog in the world.

 

I was devastated, completely and utterly a mess!!!!

The next day I thought my tears are not going to help these animals, but what more could I do?? this is where this blog comes into mind a friend of mine suggested I blogged my experience whilst in America and I just could not get my head around that one but this I could, maybe just maybe someone reading this blog might volunteer or even adopt from a shelter, so if it helps just one animal I am going to give it a shot!!

I am also going to do some fund raising and in the future going to do some education in the schools, so I am glad the flood gates opened as this has born my plan of action, no longer will I bury my head in the sand and pretend this is not going on or walk away as its too heavy on my heart ~ no I will stand and fight and give these animals a voice

 

I can adopt 1 or 2 of them but that is just a drop in the ocean, I want/need to do more for them so I will blog, the good stories and the bad as this is reality its not all bad but its not all good either

Wow Where did All These Come From?????

On arrival on Friday there were dogs and cages everywhere and I mean everywhere! I have never seen so many puppies!

On asking questions these dogs were from different states, because it`s a No Kill shelter other shelters move there unwanted dogs there ~ ahh that explains it!

My friend and I work like the wind to try and get them all walked, when there are so many we have to take them on slightly smaller walks just to make sure all is walked before we leave.

At the end of the day both of us were exhausted and could hardly move LOL but we laughed at each others moans and groans!

I came home and fell straight asleep on the sofa this was me ….

ps Marlow is still there 😉

Adopted!!

No not Marlow but the brother Mastiffs were adopted together 🙂 this made us smile 🙂

Also the 2 cat brothers were adopted.

 

Avoiding Eye Contact

So it`s Wednesday my lift arrives Yay no buses!! my new volunteer friend is pleased that someone else can help at the shelter, she has been there since march and sometimes is the only volunteer who walks the dogs! (please all shelters need volunteers, even if you can only donate half an hour of your time it will make the difference to someone)

We talk and realize we are of the same when it comes to animal welfare, Don`t much care for humans 🙂 especially the ones who neglect or abuse animals.. I am being polite here!

I see Marlow in his cage and I try to avoid eye contact with him ` the guilt I am feeling at not being able to adopt him is almost unbearable! I just keep saying to myself just walk the dogs, do what you can for them, make a difference in their lives just for today, this is all you can do for the moment!

Me and my friend get a routine going and walk alternate dogs, 2 mastiff brothers were in the shelter and we asked if we could walk them together, we did, well they walked us actually LOL, they were gentle giants, we hoped they get adopted together.

Walking the dogs alternate, great I thought, that means she has to walk Marlow, not me I have to detach myself now, but it didn`t work like that as somehow we got out of routine I had to take Marlow` how hard was this you can only imagine but I gave him a good walk and lots of kisses and cuddles~who could not?

Between us we walked  7 dogs each as some were going for surgery, a policy with most shelters to avoid more unwanted dogs!! (good policy in my view)

On return home I mention to Robert that I walked Marlow, he was still there and I left it at that, great I though I can do this!