October 2021
We had a busy month. First came eleven year old Bella, who was given to us because her humans had a baby and no longer had time for her. Bella is staying with us, and because of her age she will live out her life here. Bella is not only one of the neatest and sweetest old seniors we have had, she is still fairly active. It took a couple weeks for her to get used to the routine here, but now she gets along great with the other dogs and absolutely loves attention. She even likes to be brushed and groomed, and her tail is often wagging. We don’t know how her previous family could let this old dog get away.
Next came Kona, a 3 year old from northern Idaho. She lived in a puppy mill and produced puppies until they decided to get a different dog and turned her in to the shelter. When we called to ask if we could work with them they said no, but we were welcome to send in people to see her. So we did. In fact we sent someone who adopted Kona and brought her to us. She is unsocialized and quite timid, though she is happy to let humans prove they can be nice to her. Melissa is fostering her, and Kona may be there for a while. She is making fairly quick progress, plays with the other dogs now, and has started holding her tail up and wagging happily.
A day before this report’s deadline we heard from a man stationed at Fairchild AFB. His ex-wife’s grandfather died and he got his dog. He realizes his life is not a good fit for the dog and has asked us to take him and find a new home. Darlene volunteered to do an assessment, and we will see how it goes from there. The info we got from him says he was imported from Russia, but there are no papers showing that, and because of the divorce it’s unlikely we will learn more.
Sophie and Tessa went through a spell where they were afraid to come inside except at dinnertime and bedtime, so we went back to hooking cords to their collars when they went out. It’s funny how they are so willing to come back inside when we do that. Because Sophie chews her cords, we have a wire with a clip on it and that works. We would like to find a foster home for one of these girls so they would be separated. Fena has done very well outside their influence, and we’re sure we could make progress on them individually. The problem is that they are extreme flight risks, and security is paramount. We have the yard fenced so if they escape, they are in a larger fenced area. If you have something like that and want an adventure, please let us know.