Home for the Holidays!

Percy will be spending her first Christmas in her forever home!  As I expected, there was interest in her right away.  I contacted the person on Friday afternoon and by Friday evening, Percy and I were in his living room doing the meet and greet.  While I was there, I did the home inspection as well, which he passed with flying colors.  She will be getting picked up tomorrow night. 

I have rarely seen two dogs come together so perfectly as quickly as Percy and her new "brother" Heath did.  He is a two year old male who has rarely socialized with other dogs.  Of course that concerned me at first, but the chemistry was instant.  The second they saw each other, the chase was on.  They wrestled and played for an hour.  Although he is at least twice her size, my little tom boy held her own and loved every minute of it. The home is a perfect fit and they are so excited to have her!

Even though I totally expected her to be chosen before he was, I can't help but to feel a little sad for Enzo, who will surely miss his sister terribly.  I'm sad that they will be separated, but trying to find a single home for two large dogs is nearly impossible.  We can't pass on great homes waiting for something that may never come.  They are young and they will move on and be fine. Still, it hurts my heart a little to see them cuddled up on the couch together right now knowing that tomorrow night she will be gone and they will be apart for the first time since birth.  We will give Enzo extra attention for a while and he will be happy and loved here until he finds a forever family of his own

Good luck in your new life my little one! 

Puppy update

Both pups are doing well, have very few issues, and will make great dogs.  As attached as they are to one another, they have proven to be quite different.  As they came out of their shells, their personalities became very distinct. 

The first word that comes to mind for Percy is "sassy."  She loves to run and wrestle and won't hesitate to get into guard dog mode if there is any commotion on the other side of the fence.  As un-boxer like as it seems, she also has a talent at retrieving.  She is certainly the more dominant of the two, but her dominance seems to be limited to her brother.  She is just so bossy with him.  She attacks  him when he tries to play with the other dogs.  It's not a serious attack, it's play, but it's pretty harsh.  She likes all of his attention to be on her.   She is also much more independent than he is and she seems very smart.

Enzo is more like all of the other male boxers that we have had.  Laid back, clumsy, and not quite as bright as the girls, but so very happy and sweet.  He is overly friendly, always wanting to be as close as possible to anyone that will cuddle with him, human or canine.  A big, dopey, love bug.  Of course, he lets Percy bully him, appreciating any attention that he gets. 

The weather has been rainy and cold.  We hadn't even seen frost on the lawn yet and we woke up the other morning to an inch of snow!  This has not been an ideal situation for potty training.  They hate going out.  I have to get to the store and get poor naked Enzo a sweater!  The forecast is looking up though, so I suspect more success and less accidents for me to clean up. 

I have also decided that I need to start getting them some time apart.  I am going to be walking them in pairs, one puppy and one adult at a time.  I am also considering putting the divider in the crate.  It seems harsh, but it's for their own good.  I don't foresee them getting adopted together and it's better that they adapt to it slowly.  I think it will also help her to not be so possessive of him.  It's play now, but as she matures, I could see it escalating.  I want to nip that in the bud early. 

It's funny (and actually really annoying because deaf dogs are unbelievably loud) when Jax plays with them.  When the pups are wrestling with each other, they are totally in the zone.  Jax circles them barking like crazy to get their attention, clearly bothered by being ignored.  He has never really been the third wheel.  If he can get them to acknowledge him, he can usually bring their attention to him.  He'd rather be double teamed than feel like second fiddle. 

When Dixie gets involved in the chaos too (the twins adore her!) it's a real hoot.  I can watch the four of them like I watch TV.  I try to capture the giant ball of fur flying fun on camera, but the pictures just don't do it justice. 

Meet the twins!

Our newest additions (Yes. That would be plural.) are  eight month old siblings that were seized from their owners in Fort Smith, AR for reason of neglect.  They were very skinny but have improved after being at the shelter for three weeks.  They also have mange, which is why our rescue pulled them.  Mange dogs rarely get adopted from shelters and are therefore usually euthanized to make space for healthy dogs.  The female, Percy, we named after vikings wide reciever Percy Harvin.  He was having a stellar day today as we were thinking of names while watching the game!  She is a beautiful little flashy (white on boxers is called "flash") brindle.  She actually has very little hair loss, just a few small bald areas, but mostly just thinning.  The male, Enzo, was named by Jonathon, after a favorite "Big Brother" house guest.  He is fawn colored and actually reminds me a lot of our last mange dog, Lincoln, whom I was crazy about!  He has lost about half of the hair on his body and will take longer to fully recover.  They have been getting treated for the mange at the shelter for three weeks now, so they aren't obsessively scratching.   In fact, they seem to feel great.  Luckily, they are young enough that they are both heart worm negative.  Hair loss aside, they are absolutely adorable.   They are also very sweet and love to cuddle.

As you can see, little Enzo has suffered in his short life.

If you have never had the experience of smelling mange...consider yourself lucky.  Twice weekly baths are a must!  Lucky for me, he was a perfect angel for his first bath.

Isn't she a beauty? You can kind of see the hair loss on her face and ears.

These are the worst spots on her body.  Somehow she got luckier than her brother.

They have been together since birth and are extremely attached to one another.  They stick together like glue. It's pretty darn cute.  Plus, they keep each other occupied playing so they aren't pestering the rest of us like puppies often do:-)  It would be awesome if they could get adopted together, but the likelihood of that is slim to none.

Clearly they were used to sleeping outside. After playing for hours, they nested up in the flower bed. 

They seemed pleased to have a soft indoor bed of their own.

But by morning, they had joined the other two on the couch.

The plan is to get to the vet this week for mange medications and rabies shots, and set up a time for a spay and neuter.  This needs to be done asap!  If they really are eight months old, Percy could potentially be pregnant already.  I don't think Enzo is "interested" yet, but they were with another dog when taken away.  If she is closer to six or seven months,which I suspect, she could go into heat any time.  No thank you! 

Dogs this young and cute, especially around the Holidays, should be adopted quickly.  It wouldn't even surprise me if Percy had a forever home for Christmas.  Enzo will probably have to stick around a little bit longer while he heals up.  There isn't much interest in a hairless boxer.

To go ahead and answer the question that I am sure I will get, yes.  We still have a three dog policy in house.  Jonathon made this exception because our rescue is overwhelmed right now and had to pull nine more dogs this weekend.  When it rains, it pours.

Derby's Forever Home.

Wow.  Two weeks since my last post and I missed "Wordless Wednesday" too.  Sheesh.  In my defense, I have been very busy lately.  The highlight of my absence from the blogging world was my trip home to MN.  I spent time with (most of) my favorite people.  Thanksgiving was wonderful this year with the addition of two little ones...for once I mean babies, not dogs!  I am very thankful that I got to make the trip. 

In doggy news, though most of you already know, Derby has found his forever home!  This was in the makings since I first got him.  I broke one of my personal policies and decided to adopt him out to an employee of ours.  I hesitate to do this because as anyone who has ever had employees or even been an employee knows, it doesn't always end well.  George has been a great member of our team so far, but I have seen other good guys go downhill.  I remain in touch on at least some level with the adopters of almost all of my dogs.  I would hate to ever be on bad terms with someone who has something that means so much to me.  I did have this very conversation with George, expressing my concerns. I wouldn't exactly say I "threatened" him, but I definitely got my point across;-)  I put my own paranoia and cynicism aside this time because I know that George's family will take wonderful care of Derby.  Their whole family is full of dog people.  Ironically, George's first dog was a boxer from our rescue, almost 20 years ago.  He grew up with that dog and has wanted a boxer ever since.  He and his wife just closed on their first home.  They have two little girls. 17 months and four years.  Derby makes a great addition.

Derby is a dog that I became extremely attached to.  I love them all, but some just fit so perfectly into our lives that it's hard to imagine them ever leaving.  I thought "oh, what I could do with this dog!"  I was worried that his potential might be wasted somewhere else.  After seeing this picture, my perspective changed.  I know that his job will to be this little girl's best friend.  He will be there for her and her sister as they grow up.  That is the most important job a dog can have. 




Derby stayed with them while we were in MN.  Although the adoption is yet to be "official," we didn't want him to come back into our home for the completion of the process.  He is slowly adjusting and I don't want him to have to start over.  George had Derby at the office when we got back to town (of course, our first stop was work). He and Dixie and Jax had a joyous and rambunctious reunion.  I'm glad that he will still be in our lives.  I for see many play dates in the future.

Happy note!

I was thrilled to find this in my inbox last night! 

Message body

Hi Leslie!

Ezra is doing Wonderfully! she goes to work with me everyday, she is one spoiled little girl. All the animals here adjusted well to her and her to them. She makes me laugh everyday with her silliness. I took pictures last night of her lying on her back with a schnauzer on each side of her and it looked like she was smiling. I will post them later- you will smile. I want you to know that I love that girl very much and she is a true blessing and I am proud to be her foster mom. Thanks, Phoebe

Wordless Wednesday!

Ezra's next step.

Early Wednesday morning I sat in traffic with tears streaming down my face.  The day that I feared may never come was here.  I was heading out to Mississippi to take Ezra to her new home, a "long term" foster home!

I worked hard to make this happen and I didn't even want to write this post until I knew that it was really going to stick.  Although I felt in my heart that she was ready for this step, I didn't want to get my hopes up.  I have now been given confirmation that things are going very well.  Ezra is learning to be a house dog!

Ezra still has plenty of issues, but the progress she has made is incredible.  That is what I was thinking about as I sat in my car crying as the sun came up.  I looked back at her curled up on the back seat, perfectly content, and remembered that it took three of us to force her into my car when I first got her this summer.  She flailed back and forth smashing her body and head against the windows.  It was like I had captured a feral animal.  This dog that ferociously guarded her food, now allowed me to take even a yummy bone out of her mouth.  (I'm not claiming that she would let anyone else do that yet, but she will get there.) This dog with absolutely no bowel or bladder control now potties each time she is walked.  No accidents in the office for over a month.   It's hard to believe that I ever worried that she might be beyond help.

When I first acquired Ezzy, she wasn't ready for a home environment.  It was just too big of a change for a dog like her.  She needed a middle step.  A place that she could start to trust and interact with people, yet not be over stimulated with the constant activity of a household.  She could come with me on day trips to spend time in real life situations and have an isolated, quiet, stable, place to go back to.  I owe much of Ezra's success to the management and staff at the Pet Resort who helped me with her this whole time.  They helped give her the structure that she needed to make the transition.  They helped her to trust that most humans and other dogs were good.  They spoiled her.  I am forever grateful to them. 

She will never be a "pretty" dog.  She has a face that only a mother could love, so to speak.  She is covered in scars.  Being so high strung makes it hard for her to keep weight on, so she is boney.  To top it off, she is also quite bow-legged.  But I don't see any of that anymore.  Her beauty, (cliche, I know) is on the inside.  To know Ezzy is to love her.  She has won the hearts of all who have cared for her.  Despite her issues, she is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met.  She greets everyone she meets so enthusiastically, as though they were her very best friend.  She loves to be held tight and hugged. She has surrendered completely to human love and affection. 

I was tempted to take Ezra back into our home.  Jonathon and I discussed that possibility.   We know and trust her now and she does us.  We didn't feel that she would be a threat to the other dogs anymore.  The advantage that she will have in this other home is that someone will always be there with her.  She can't get that luxury here.  Her separation and crate anxiety is the one thing that she still really struggles with.  It won't be an issue for her in the new home.  It really is an ideal situation.

I will really miss Ezra, and I will still be keeping up with her closely.  I wish I could have completed her rehabilitation myself, but I know that she has graduated on to her next step in life.  Her new foster mom is committed to her 100 percent.  Here, she will hopefully achieve her highest potential.  And who knows.  Often times, long term fosters even turn into forevers!