Monday M(C)uteness

It's here again isn't it? That.... Monday. 

So you go to work, why do I need to get out of bed?

Don't we all love Mondays ? No. Well, they will pass like every other bad phase. Good luck to all of you who have Finals this week!

Please see some of Mariah's stunning captures of yesterday's Pittie Party organized by our marvelous Katelyn of Pitbull Worldwide! Remember, most of the pups pictured are up for adoption! Contact Last Hope Rescue FL to adopt them.

Ok, so it wasn't exactly a Mute post. But I had to mention all this adoptable cuteness! So the point is Muoote.

I don't like this dog anymore

I hate that sentence. Yes, I am talking about owner surrender. And this post will be pretty preachy so I apologize in advance.  I do hope that you will not only listen but also help fend off the ignorance.

I am angry, and disappointed in humans who come up with the stupidest of reasons to 'give back' their dogs. This particular bout of anger stems from a recent story a friend told me about how she came in contact with these 'surrenderrers' and what their attitude was like - toward the dog and then toward her for trying to help. I don't wish to shame them in this post but I do want to highlight a few things one must do before they decide that 'the dog is bad'.

1. The dog is never bad. You just need to teach them what to do and what not to do. A simple Internet search on "Positive Reinforcement" is what you need. Dogs never do anything to intentionally anger you. You just need to tell them what does and what doesn't.

2. They need to expend energy. If they chewed up the sofa while you were gone, you should probably have exercised them before you left and left them a stuffed Kong to be busy with while you were away. They were bored, probably even anxious about you leaving, and they had energy to expend. Tiring them out and keeping them distracted discourages this boredom and anxiety.  If they chew in your presence, one firm NO in a low voice like a growl, is enough. No screaming, no shouting, no drama. If you have an explosive temper, learn to control it. It's part of growing up. (Gosh I am angry today, aren't I ? )

3. You need obedience training. Yes, you, not the dog.  It is really more for you. For you to understand how to train them. I learned through my first behavioral training to make my dog take me seriously when I need him to. The biggest problem I faced as a new parent was to not speak to him as a person. "Kahlua.. please could you not chew on the comforter.. i love you .. " .. Wrong! Sharp "NO". Job done. He even comes over to say sorry. The classes will teach you how to use the pup's food or play motivation to teach them commands like "Sit" or "Stay" .. or even "Give me a hug!"

4. Regular checkups - I cannot stress this enough. Annual (atleast) for adults and as and when puppy shots are needed, for the little ones. A stitch in time, does save nine.

5. Heartworm Meds - this is not optional. Heartworms may be treatable but they are the quintessential example for prevention is better than cure. One monthly pill. That is all. It could save his life.

6. Flea and Tick Meds - would you like to be constantly itchy? Would you like the possibility of  having a disease transmitted to you every time you went for a walk in the woods? I thought so. Get the meds.

7. Too many kids & too less time & now a puppy ? This is a tough one, but not impossible. Remember, you chose to bring the puppy into your life. If you did so for your kid, you should have read the fine print that you would need to do all the work. It is true. And it is not anyone's fault. But, you should know what you are walking into when you do this. Anyway, Two year old ? Teach them to put food in the dog's bowl. Eight year old - they can let him out in the yard to conduct business. Twelve and above - short walks can be their responsibility and the Sixteen year old can even drive him to the park and take the Thirteen year old along (please check your local dog park's minimum entry age- yes, they do have them).  I don't claim that this is easy. I admire you for doing this if you do. But all I am saying is the dog is a responsibility too - one that you chose to have. So let him be part of the pack. If you can't, don't dump him at the shelter. He will be put to sleep. Find him a good home, and keep him with you and happy until then. It does not take too much.

8. This dog is much too large and I can't handle him anymore. Really? Did you not know what he was when you got him? No. I adopted him. Not an excuse. The shelter will give you some approximation of what the dog is, and usually a Chiuwawa will not grow into a Great Dane. Yes, 8-10 lbs might fluctuate either way but you know what range of size you are bringing home. Did you look at the paws when he was a puppy? That should give you a clue. So suck it up and treat it like the joy it really is. Further most larger dogs are calmer, less talkative and need less bathroom trips.

9. You will not believe I have actually heard this. "He poops too much". Noone said to expect little silver pellets. Grow up. Get a bag and pick it up.

All they need is a little devotion, a little time, a little love and a little training. If you think you cannot financially, emotionally, or mentally provide this, do not get ahead of yourself and bite off more than you can chew.

Cutie Cannoli

Cannoli (singular Cannolo) usually have a creamy sweet center and their outside is a pastry crust. But this little Cannoli is creamy and sweet through and through. Look !

A 10 week old baby puppy (yes, I say 'baby puppy') abandoned along with his two siblings,  is now being fostered by my friend. The universe does work in miraculous ways :) But Cannoli still needs his forever home!

What kind of dog is he, you say? I really don't know! A cute one fore sure. When I cuddled, kissed and hugged met him, he seemed to have a lab face with doxin legs but really I am no expert whatsoever. I actually think he is mixed with a little Yoda. Look at those ears!

To see Cannoli's siblings please see a fellow rescue advocate's account of a Doggie Wash event this past Saturday.

You know what the most remarkable thing about this pup was ? It was literally his first day interacting with other dogs and he was so brave amidst two very energized labradanes!


The one (hyphenated) word that comes to mind when I think of him is "chilled-out". He just wanted to nap on the couch. The other two were not behaving their age playful and kept waking the poor baby. Even then, he didn't care, he just watched,  poised on the couch or on one of our laps. There were moments where he sought solace in one of our warm embraces or hid under the table, but wouldn't you too,  if two unknown someones, the size of Shaquille O'Neal were being very prancy around you? (No offense to him, I actually really like him in the Buick ads :) ) Cannoli was well enroute to being very social among these massive beings is all I am trying to convey.

My friend says from what it looks like he has sort of house trained himself. No accidents in the first two days that she has had him. And he seems to be all bladder inside that cuteness since he doesn't really wake her at the crack of dawn even. (A little after maybe..but for a pup of 10 weeks, that is remarkable!)

So hey, you want him? He would complete your family perfectly don't you think ? To give him the perfect permanent home he deserves, please email Last Hope Rescue at lasthoperescuefl@gmail.com.

Tails of a (Boarded) House Puppy

[(P)update on the two labs featured in this post; They are low HW positive. WCAC is accepting donations to help treat them so a rescue will pull them!  Donations can be taken over the phone at Crawfordville Animal Hospital. (850) 926-2089!]

Kahlua is a house elf  puppy. And there are times I need to board him. *Sigh* Yes, I know you feel my pain. Let's chat about pet boarding now, shall we ? I read a fellow rescue advocate's post about A Sleepover and the consequent light-bulb led to this post. We all have interesting boarding stories. I would love to tell some of mine (because god knows I talk so much) and I would love to hear some of yours (hey.. I can listen too, just not as well as Kahlua can. But I might tilt my head if that makes you smile.)

Special shout out to my close friend and roommate Nadine who was the best co -pet-parent /Sibling/Aunt to Kahlua  in the world (yeah, talk to those two if you want to figure their relationship out!)! Pupzilla and I miss you!

I honestly do not know of many pet boarding facilities out there, but I toured one of them way back when, and loved them. With each separation my faith in them has just been more and more reinforced.

Adoptable 3 year old lab mix - Louise

During the first separation, I called them every couple of hours. Kahlua wasn't eating. I was panicking. But the owner of the facility would entertain my endless worry over the phone with immense patience. She would also remove him from the facility into her own office and have dinner with him so that he would have some peace and quiet to eat. She augmented his dry food with beef bouillon or eggs or rice to make it a more attractive prospect (because, let's face it,  he is a bit of a diva, and he was missing his mother.). I was so grateful for this personal care and love that they showed him. When I saw him again, he had shed a few pounds but was happy and healthy!

I apologized to the owner for my incessant calls.  Her answer was what makes me keep going back to them:  "Shalini, it's the parents who don't call I sort of worry about." This is not to say that she thinks that those who don't call, don't care. But the fact that she saw that I needed her reassurance at that point, showed me she understands the value of the babies she and her crew are watching over.

I don't know what Kahlua was thinking because when we got home he pranced around the entire apartment and sometimes appeared to be checking if all of it was still..there. He jumped from couch to couch, checked for his toys and then went and settled in for a good long sleep.
 
Subsequent  separations got easier and my phonecalls less frequent. He took about three visits to actually befriend the doggie pool and when he did, they promptly called me to check the doggie cam if I could. And sure enough the lab in him had come out to play!

The best phonecall I've received so far was to ask me this: "Shalini - you do know your dog has a little bit of a wild child in him ?" I cracked up. He had been playing in the pool like crazy and refused to be kenneled at the end of playtime. Every time one of  the playgroup humans came to get him, he'd jump in the pool to escape them. They would eventually need to wade in to grab him.

So he has a blast when he is boarded. But it's still rough for me. I feel guilty for leaving him, even if it's just for two days. The last time I dropped him off  there, I left but watched through the window. (Don't ever do this, it's stupid.) He was refusing to go into the facility from the reception area.  He just sat there, looking lost. Finally one of the crew  gently picked him up and took him in. I was crying as I drove away feeling like the worst mother in the world. But hey, two hours later I got the wild child phonecall!

Adoptable 4 year old Lab mix - Thelma

What do you feel when you leave your fur kid behind ? Do you have any fun boarding stories ? Do you prefer that someone house-sits for you ? Please share your thoughts with me via comments! They will undergo moderation so don't be disappointed if you don't see your comment immediately :)

Both dogs in this post are adoptable through Wakulla County Animal Control. There is a special place in my heart for black dogs because they're often not adopted or often treated poorly due to their color. There is also a special place in hell for the humans who do that to these beauties. Please email FriendsOfWCAC@gmail.com to adopt either one. If you can't adopt, email anyway to see how you can help. Please share this information with your friends and family too. Visit their FB page  to see more adoptable dogs and cats.  You may just save a life!

Serene Sunday- Kahlua says Happy St. Pa(w)trick's Day!

 

Alright everyone, Mom is a little busy today so I'm doing the responsible thing and updating you all on her behalf. Tell me - why is everyday not Sunday? 

Mom and I went on the most wonderful hike today. It was not very long, but look how lovely!

 

 

  Today is St. Pa(w)trick's day and I would like to wish you a happy one! Be green, enjoy yourself but also be safe, ok ? Many happy tails depend on you.

I am SO pretty in green! I'm all set to go out and celebrate, but hey look at the beautiful guy below! Don't you want him to find a safe home on this special day ? Did you know, the animal shelter is waiving all adoption fees for Pitbulls today ? Mom says Pitbulls have the most beautiful smiles. I feel a little green when she says that, but you know what? I secretly agree.  Some of my closest friends are Pits! Go get yourself one, and complete your family today!

Friday Fleatles: How can I help ?

Today's title is based on one of the Text From Dog jokes. Here it is -

Thank God it's the Fleatles!

Anyway, let's ignore my poor sense of humor for the better of all mankind, and get to talking about today's topic: What are the different ways to help the cause of Rescue ? What can I do ?

The first and most obvious thing is - adopt! But I won't go into detail about this because there are lots avenues where you can get this information. The local animal shelter, rescues in your area, your local radio station are just a few.

The second thing that you probably already know of,  is to foster. I have a lot of acquaintances who do foster and who write about their experiences too. Fostering is great and really means you're saving lives, making space at the shelter, rejuvenating a dog's life (and yours). It is a very selfless deed. Another advantage to fostering, specially for novice pet parents like myself is that it actually allows you to experience the joy of having an animal, and also the responsibility associated with it, without actually making a lifelong commitment. Before some heckles are raised let me make my statement crystal clear - I am not saying fostering is not a commitment. It is a means to allow yourself to actually find out if you are a good pet parent, and if this is what is really good for you and the dog; without there being a case of owner surrender, and all the negative implications it has. In the event that you do actually figure out, that it's not for you, the responsible and adult thing to do is dedicate yourself to finding that forever home (a great one) or a better foster home, and accept gracefully that the time is not right for you.

So now what ? You still want to help the cause, your heart is in the right place - what do you do ? Lots ! Here goes -

Take your time... and give it to them.
Visit your local animal shelter's website and fill out their volunteer application. There is a need for all types of people with all kinds of callings. If you are not really experienced with animals, but are a people's person, you can be a 'greeter'. Are you a great event organizer ? You're needed at adoption events. There is a plethora of options on the website. Usually, the shelter interviews you and takes you through an orientation process. If you factor  even a few hours each week into your routine, you are helping the cause. You're helping the animals find homes.  Time is essential and the clock is ticking, specially for shelter animals. Donating your time, is helping save lives.

Sit Happens
Are you experienced with animals ? Did you do a behavioral training class with your own pup? Can you teach basics like "Sit", "Down", Stay, "Heel" ? Use that knowledge to train a shelter dog. Knowing basic commands will help the dog become more adoptable and find it's home. Show off the dog's skills at adoption events you take it to.You might just be able to find that forever home!

Love that Lens?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. It is not unheard of, that a great picture has resulted in an adoption. My inspiration behind writing this is Betsy Sasnett. Betsy is a talented photographer who donates huge amounts of time and effort to the cause. She goes out to shelters in the area to photograph adoptable animals and showcases them on her website. You will see Betsy at adoption events, tirelessly taking pictures of people and their pups and donating her proceeds to rescues in need. You can do the same. Check with your local shelter if they need their animals photographed. With today's World Wide Wildfire and the power of the FB Share, you may just save a life!

Do you dabble ?
In web programming? Know a little http ? You can help maintain your shelter's website.

Is your pen mightier than your sword ?
Do you have a way with words? Help write up descriptions of the dogs you help train or simply  those that catch your eye at the shelter. Did they do anything particularly cute?(they always do!) .. write it up with a couple of catchy sentences and unleash it on Facebook.


"Girls I'm going to Harvard!"
"You mean like on vacay ?? Let's all go..ROADTRIP!!"
[I originally just wanted to title this "Roadtrip", but it's my third coffee of the day and a scene from one of my favorite movies "Legally Blonde" popped into my head.. so you had to bear the brunt of the combination. Also, I ain't going to Harvard just yet. *sigh*]
I'm talking about transport. Today, geographical separation is no deterrent (The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman). Rescues can pull urgent dogs from across the country and adoptions can cross state boundaries. You can help get pups from shelter to safety. It's easy! Each trip is divided into multiple legs and each leg is on an average 80 miles long each way. Take a couple of friends (depending on how much four legged cuteness you need to transport).. make a day of it! You get to meet some really nice people.
One place to start is the Compassionate Animal Rescue Team.
Here is some of my precious cargo from some of my trips with my bestie Nandita who shares my craze for canines!

Money for something, and your tax for free
I should stop with the bad titles and the coffee. But hey - donate! All shelters will give you a receipt for that time of year. Itemize it under tax free donations. Most rescues and shelters have wishlists on Amazon or on their website. Put a smile on someone's face and make a few tails wag by shipping a bag of dog food or flea and tick meds. Spring time is puppy time - so keep this in mind. Many shelters will be having some sort of "stuff the crib" type donation now. Contribute!

Confessions of a Shopaholic
Shop to help! Can it get any better than this ? Look for websites that donate part of their proceeds to animal rescue. One such website is the Animal Rescue Website. They have stuff from all over the world. Trust me, if I had a dollar for the number of times something "Made in India" turned up at my doorstep and I laughed (because hey.. i'm Indian.. I don't just laugh at a whole country.), some rescue would be getting a few bags of food today!
Order checks and address labels from the ASPCA. Looking for a Car ? Get a Subaru! They donate part of their proceeds to the ASPCA. All the dogs on their advertisements are adoptables/rescues.

And last but probably the most important
Are you resourceful? Can you network? Can you recognize that someone's need is someone else's superpower? Connect the people. Your strongest resource is the people you know, their strengths and their abilities - you never know when someone can help your cause. Talk to people at events, network, tell them about rescues you've touched upon, share contacts, introduce people to people. Never rule out a person or a possibility. The grapevine is more powerful than you know.


Let me zip it now, but not before I bring to your notice a business, with wonderful people who have several times  helped the cause:

Out U Go
Need a professional and trust worthy pet sitting service ? Reach out to the Elizabeths at Out u Go!  Yes there are two of them, and I'd trust Kahlua's life with them.

Tick-Free Tuesday - End Dog Fighting.

I received this in an email from the ASPCA. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am a strong supporter of the ASPCA. Please help end dog fighting by reading below, donating if you will, and spreading the word.

 

Young puppies bred for fighting are often forced into lives of abuse and neglect. Tethered to short, heavy chains or locked away in tiny cages, they often receive inadequate care and little socialization. They can go for days without food or clean water. They never experience unconditional love. When dog fighting dogs are old enough to fight, many die of blood loss, shock and exhaustion. Others are unceremoniously killed for losing a fight. Even when they’re lucky enough to be rescued, dog fighting victims face a difficult path to recovery. Despite the best efforts of expert rehabilitators, not all dogs rescued from fighting make it. From the very beginning, these dogs are fighting for their lives.

But with your support, we can put an end to dog fighting. The entire ASPCA is deeply committed to saving dogs from fighting. The Blood Sports Unit of our Field Investigations and Response Team helps carry out criminal investigations, providing expertise in large-scale rescues and raids including the Michael Vick case and a Bronx bust less than a year ago.

Our experts provide critical training to animal control officers, police officers and veterinarians across the country to empower them to take action against dog fighters. Behind the scenes, our legal team works to ensure dog fighters face tough consequences, and our government relations staff is pushing hard for tougher dog fighting laws. With your help, the ASPCA can remain a leader in the battle against dog fighting, working to rescue animal victims and prosecute offenders. Help us in our fight to stop this barbaric form of cruelty and all others. Together we can save countless animals from lives of abuse.

Weekend Wags: Another pup? I guess not.

First off let me thank you for reading my posts and humoring my thoughts and all that good stuff. I am elated because Google Analytics shows me I have 250 page views already.

Next, allow me to clarify the title of this post. I want another pup. I want many another pups. But today my Kahlua put his paw down.

We had the most wonderful afternoon at my friend Sheila's house. Sheila is a wonderful human being and a rather brave one, because she is fostering an 11 week old puppy. Her personal dog is a beautiful, wonderful, calm and very affectionate Great Dane named Shadow.

Beautiful, shadow all puppied out!

I say she is brave because an 11 week old puppy is a LOT of work and it's no mean feat fostering one.


Meet Esme, a bundle of love and happiness who was found abandoned alone, and now is being fostered by my lovely friend. She is up for adoption through Last Hope Rescue Florida.

Gosh Kahlua, go home already so I can sleep!

She is one lucky pup to have found such a great foster family, but remember, she wants her forever family. Do you want to be her forever home?

Loving foster mom Sheila, and sweet Esme.

Kahlua & Esme. Esme is great with other dogs, of all shapes and sizes!

Auntie Sheila, I love you!

Esme goes outside to do her business. She is very play motivated. Food and play motivation automatically makes a pup very trainable.

Can you see anything, Shadow? Is she having more fun than us ?

Puppies are addictive. Puppies are little love bundles. So ofcourse I was all over Esme. Now I feel like I was cheating on Kahlua, but come on.. he is affectionate toward other humans too! Sometimes he even forgets about me .. and that is (not) ok.

Look Kahlua, your mom loves ME now! muhahahah!

So, Kahlua's reaction to this puppy love phase of mine, was a loud whine and a very puppy puppy-face. My boy was actually, well I don't really like the word 'jealous' .. let's say.. possessive.

I do honestly believe that pups go through all these emotions just like we do. And how do you explain to them that you love them, unconditionally, even if you can love another pup?  I am not sure you can! Which is why I've reached the conclusion that I probably cannot adopt another pup. (I had an inkling about this when I briefly fostered a dog, but that's a story for another post.) Maybe in the future there can be a family dog, but another dog who is solely mine, like Kahlua is, is probably a ship that has sailed.

And I am ok with that! Why shouldn't he feel this way ? I am the only family he has ever known! I'm the only thing he has to call his own.

Ma, you are obnoxiously embarrasing.

His happiness is way more important to me than my desire to adopt again anytime soon. And who knows, maybe will grow out of it ? (Do they ever grow up?)

Adios Comatose

It's been well over three years since I last did this, so I'm sure I've gotten from bad to worse :)
The biggest highlight of my existence in this hiatus has been the adoption of a Lab-something, absolutely mischievous, absolutely sweet, absolutely intelligent and very loving canine child named Kahlua. I recently decided he is a Labradane, if there is something of the sort.

The heart of this blog is our joyride of a life together, and what I learn, everyday from him.
Since blogs are supposed to be the place where one is entirely honest, let me begin by cheating. This first post is from an old Facebook Note. It describes how Kahlua and I found each other, and how I fell in love. It's from a different time in my life, so please bear with the indiscretions in grammar and the like.

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It starts by looking at the local online kennel everyday. It builds into looking at Petfinder everyday, maybe even twice ;) You make notes of the IDs on your iPhone. You decide later that evening that you're not ready. You do this everyday.
Until one day you see a litter of little back lab puppies on the website. Noone adopts the little black ones they say. They are the first to be euthanized at the Animal Shelter.
Little black puppy makes you curious. You drive all the way to Cairo Georgia to meet him. He comes and sits in your lap, cuddling while his sisters are prancing around. Jumping all over you.
"I'll be back Friday to sign the papers", you say. Inside, you're still on the fence. Will I really?
Then he makes the puppy face.
You spend all of next week buying puppy things and making your room safe for the new baby. A crate, a soft bed, loads of chew toys, many many squeaky toys, puppy training pads, flea and tick collar, puppy chow, puppy harness, leash and puppy treats!
You don't sleep all week in anticipation. Puppy comes home on Friday, a little scared, very exhausted and curls up into the warm puppy bed. Puppy snores. You should have slept last week!
The next 2 days are a haze. This puppy is special! He tries not to dirty the house - likes going outside. He escapes his playpen which you had locked securely, scared that he might hurt himself in your absence. He escapes, twice. You say, okay puppy if you are smart enough to escape you deserve to be free - you don't dirty the place and you mostly only chew whats yours :) so mum just needs to be careful that she doesn't leave anything harmful where you might find it!
Puppy is very intelligent! He has also now graduated to making mum scoot over so he can sleep next to her. He is also very sweet - will not disturb his sleeping mother unless absolutely necessary :) Except ofcourse when he is bored, which is when mother has 23 pounds of happy puppy standing on her stomach wagging his tail!
Puppy has the sweetest yawn, and the sweetest puppy eyes. Puppy is a couch potato too, which suits his mom perfectly. Our best time together is watching TV after a hard days work!
Puppy walks his mother too :) He is strong! He discovered a Paw Park where he almost learned 'fetch'. He has some puppy friends. He is shy, yet curious. So does not approach until approached. Sometimes puppy just hides behind his mother.
I love little Pupzilla!

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This was written a couple of days after he came home. I would like to point out, that I have graduated from an iPhone to a real phone. (This debate is for another time ;) and I have another note to paste about it) .
Also, I still call him "Puppy".  I always will.

I hope my first post wasn't too disappointing! Here is a puppy picture of Kahlua to make it better.