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Friday is for helping puppies

Hi Everyone! Aren't you happy it's Friday? The rain's not going to let us do much this weekend is it ?
But if you're in or around Tallahassee, tomorrow is an exciting day! It's the 12th Annual Tails & Trails 10k/5k /1 mile run. For over a decade, the local Animal Shelter has been 'putting paws in motion'! See you at the race tomorrow!

Oops I forgot the main part! All weekend long, adoptions are just $12! How cool is that ?

Another piece of information I want to bring to your notice is that a newly rescued puppy needs our help! I read this on a lovely blog I follow called And Foster Makes 5.  I don't claim to have half the viewership that they do, but if there is even one person who reads this and helps Nala with even $1, then Victory is Mine!

Please consider reading about Nala's condition and make a small donation today.
Or, to just make a donation anyway (you are so awesome!) use any of the following options that I pasted from the original post to make it oh so easy for you!-

Online donations: http://www.gofundme.com/2o7h4g


Nala’s Veterinary Hospital:
CARES (Center for Animal Referral and Emergency Services)
2010 Cabot Blvd. West Suite D
Langhorne, PA 19047
*You must specify that it is for Nala Wall

 
Kahlua and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! We will be migrating to Wordpress soon and more on that later. Oh also, Kahlua officially earned the title of Canine Good Citizen last weekend, and maybe more on that later too. I just realized how much I've been slacking with all these pupdates I need to give you!

Mom is a slacker! 

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.

Mom says I'm a Road Warrior

Hi Everyone! Mom is busy cleaning. Grandpaw and Grandmeao gave her a well needed reality check on being more organised about everything. So i'm being a good pup and updating this blog so she doesn't feel like she is falling behind.

This morning I was a happy puppy. No, wait, I am always happy except when I need to go on the road for a walk. There are all these really loud big objects that zoom past me and make loud scary sounds. I used to be very freaked out as a puppy, but when I did it a few times I realized that they usually stay on that rough grey part of the road.. and they don't come onto my grey part. But sometimes on my grey part, there is these other strange mobile objects whizzing past, not as loud, but pretty fast. I am pretty sure that there are humans mounted on these too, because they usually exchange pleasantries with Mom. But I am not totally sure, since they are grey too. Everything is grey. It's not like I can see fifty shades of it anyway.

So anywho, we went out. Oh I hated it so much! Why does Mom choose the busiest road! I stuck my behind to my part of the grey road. Did not move, but damn it she made me! We walked and walked. But when we passed that big place that actually sells those awful moving loud objects I saw they have those gi-normous cloth banner things with something written in human .. I had had enough. "I ain't moving, ma and you can't make me" I said. But she did. Although I think she realized I had had enough and that I had met her halfway. You see,we both are stubborn. These things don't skip a generation.

So we found a quieter little street. Now why can they make all of them like this I say! We walked and walked. And I swear we were almost home, but Mom .. she cheated me. We went the other way! She told me she didn't feel like we had exercised enough. Oh what a load of bullocks ! Anyway, I waddled along .. it was a pretty street, not much of them machine monsters. Just one of those other strange ones, but I did not feel as upset as I usually do with those. The human seemed nice enough! You see, there are these two little humans always whizzing around on those where I live, and they really seem to like me. Mom wrote something about the little humans that I think all big humans should read and understand. I think that these two little humans might be helping me understand all the other little ones a little better. Still, we will take it one pawprint at a time.

Finally we reached home. And Mom was so proud of me! She declared me "Road Warrior". Look I even got a Medal. (A hot dog would've been just fine too!)

She says I am brave, and protective, and beautiful and very well behaved and she loves me.
 I know how pawesome I am y'all! And I love her too. I am not sure about this whole "Road Warrior" deal.. I would prefer the title of  "Sleep Warrior".

Happy Weekend Everyone!

The Ultimate Blog Party 2013

I read about UBP13 on a fellow rescue advocate's blog and at first, I was confused. But hey the words blog and party are in the same sentence right? That can only mean good things! I'm a little too late into this and the party ends in two days but here is my stab at it! Cheers :)

My name is Shalini and I'm not fully grown up just yet and I don't think I will ever be. Just like my rescue dog  Kahlua, who I suspect will always be a puppy. I write mostly about what he has taught me and about our journey together. I also try to encourage adoption of shelter dogs through my posts. I try and write about other ways to help animal rescue too.

By profession I'm a technology consultant. I've had a few good years worth of battling with computer programming and been on the verge of kicking my CPU ever so often.. and I love every minute of it! I used to write about those battles too. And I am not sure why I stopped! But this blog revolves around dogs - because I think that they are better people than people. I believe that they are wonderful, amazing, loving and forgiving creatures and often times human beings do not deserve such love in their lives for they way they treat these animals. 

With this blog, I hope to increase our comprehension of doggie dynamics and our perception of their behavior!

So grab your favorite wine or party snack, and read on! I would love to hear from you!