February 2022
This marks the four-year anniversary of Tessa and Sophie being here. They were nearly feral when they arrived, and began living in our garage with Sophie’s sister Fena. The three girls eventually moved into the house, and got used to having us around, though they were still fearful. Fena improved the most, and we were able to find her a terrific home. We believe Sophie and Tessa would each do much better if separated, because they feed on each other’s fear. Two months ago, they stopped coming back into the house from the yard, so a few days ago we cross-fenced it and gave them a much smaller area, with an entrance only in our laundry room. While they are still slow to return, it’s a small enough yard we can go out and herd them toward the door.
We are actively searching for a qualified trainer who can take a dog into their home and work with her. We would like to place either Tessa or Sophie into that kind of training, and switch dogs after a period of time. We think we would be able to work with a single fearful dog much more successfully. Otherwise, these dogs will live out their lives here in fear. It’s certainly not what we expected four years ago when we agreed to take puppy mill dogs.
Back in November, we placed Laddie in a home as a trial adoption. They have a cat, and Laddie has a strong prey drive. We didn’t think it would work well, but they wanted to try. They tried many ways to train him not to chase, but none were successful. They eventuallly called in a trainer, who said he could work with Laddie to get him to accept the cat, but it would cost $3,000. They told us we should take him back, and as we began lining up alternatives the husband decided Laddie had to go immediately. On short notice, Darlene said she would pick up Laddie and take him to Ellensburg to meet his new adopters, who said they would take him home. We think this will be a much better place for him. They have a pre-planned trip next week, so Laddie will come to live with us for several days. If they decide he is the right dog for them they will pick him up at the end of their trip, and if not we’ll find a different home, but we’re not worried about it. They are previous adopters who gave their boy a wonderful home. After they got Laddie they stopped at the pass to play in the snow, and the pic they sent looks like everybody is happy. As you can see from this photo, the people who had him took him to a groomer who gave him a lion cut. We were unhappy, but it was done before we knew so we couldn’t do anything about it. Our foster agreement will be adjusted accordingly.
We were contacted about a seven year old girl named Elune, who is with a breeder in Alaska. She was purchased five years ago as a retired show dog who had some aggression issues, partly because she was attacked as a puppy. This breeder says Elune has recovered completely and is a wonderful dog now, although she can’t be trusted around cats (a familiar story). We contacted Terry, who is waiting for an older female, and she is planning to fly to Alaska to visit this girl for a few days in March. If this works out, it’s going to be perfect for both Elune and Terry.
The people who have Laddie now were looking at Kona, one of the girls Melissa has been fostering. They originally wanted a male, but agreed to look at Kona when no males were available. We talked to Melissa when Laddie became available and we decided to tell them about him. We think it was a good move, even though it means a little longer that Kona will be where she is. Melissa says that is fine since Kona is doing so well with her.
Shadah has a skin problem that was diagnosed as a food allergy, so Melissa found an alternative kibble that Shadah is on now. It looks like her skin is improving. She fits in well with Melissa’s pack.
Bella is on a strong dose of thyroid meds to keep her thyroid cancer from growing. We thought at first it might be reducing in size, but it is still growing, so we have transferred her care back from the oncologist to our regular vet. Bella is one of the sweetest old girls we have fostered, and that’s saying something. Fortunately, this kind of tumor doesn’t seem to cause pain, so we plan to keep her comfortable and happy as long as possible.
