Above is a picture of Faith from Curtis. Doesn�t see look much prettier and happier?! �Faith is thriving. She does have a severe ear infection, so the vet gave us a round of antibiotics. She is having a wonderful time ripping and running up and down our protected yard and going for long walks. We threw away the choke collar and she has a halter now which helps with her pretty bad pulling on the leash. Most of the time she follows me about the house and snuggles up to my knee for some good petting every time I sit down. She only warms up to my husband if I am out of the room, but we'll work on that. Most of all we have to work on not jumping up on people.
She is billed as a bench bred dog but she moves and ranges just like a field dog, plus she responds wonderfully to field voice commands! I cannot imagine she has ever had any field training so it must be natural. I have had no experience with field Springers, but grew up with bird dogs. I don't hunt now, but I may let my brother take her out sometime and see how she handles.
She seems to be a really good little dog and she surely did mighty well by your help.�
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Bruce and Renee in Huntsville emailed and said they are willing to foster either Faith or Glory. They would prefer Glory since they never had a black and white Springer before. Also, Heather emailed and said Liana�s working on a new applicant to foster-to-adopt Faith.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Liana called this morning and said a potential adopter in northern Alabama is interested in Tara, Faith, or Glory. She said the husband�s name is Curtis, but she couldn�t remember the wife�s name, but they�ve adopted an older male Springer about four years ago from a foster home in Huntsville, while Millie was still the Alabama coordinator. The dog had special needs at the time of the adoption and died a few months ago. Liana gave me their phone number to call them and said she would email me their adoption application when she gets home.
I just called and talked to Curtis, the wife. We talked about Tara's reason for relinquishment, medical history (mild arthritis controlled by glucosamine, cataracts, slightly hard of hearing, no allergy, no special diet), and that Tara is great on leash. Curtis asked how would Tara do if dogs on walk are loose. I told her I would never let Tara off leash around other dogs in public, she said she meant if the other dog is off leash. I told her that if just sniff for five seconds then it's okay, but if the other dog acts puppyish, then Tara would growl, thus the reason for not letting her off leash.
Then we talked about Faith and Glory. She was confused about the two, but I told her Faith is the liver and white and bigger and supposedly the dominant one of the two. She said somebody told them that only one is available and the other one is already spoken for. But I told her that the other foster home is willing to take either. She asked about how the two dogs are on leash, as she walks daily to keep her joints lubricated, and I said I only saw the dogs in the house, so I don't know how they do on leash. She thought the dogs were 5-6 years old, I told her no, they are four. She doesn't want a dog who pulls too much as they are older. I told her that the dogs were excited and jumped around when I visited, but that would probably get better if they get more exercise and more attention on regular basis, but that the dogs are small for Springers and that should help. She said she's interested in seeing the dogs, so I told her I will send her pictures of Faith and Glory (which I just did). She said tomorrow she's going to Eufaula to take care of some family business, and she will talk to her husband in the next couple hours about which dog they would take. I told her she's welcome to call me if they are interested in Tara, and to contact Liana if they are interested in Faith or Glory. I think she might be willing to drive down to Enterprise if she's interested in Faith or Glory.
Curtis also asked about Faith and Glory's reason for relinquishment (fighting because not enough stimulation and exercise, Glory got puncture wound, Chihuahua getting special treatment, the husband does not have time to take care of the girls; I also told her that Glory growls if Faith gets near her food bowl, but is okay if the Chihuahua gets near her food, but no aggression towards humans). And she asked about how Tara does at home alone during the day (I told her seven or eight hours with my cat, no crate needed, but I did crate her the first two weeks) and at night (no need to take out potty during middle of the night). I told her Faith and Glory are crated at night and kept in the yard during the day. At first she thought Faith and Glory are in foster home, but I told her no they are still with their current owners.
I read Curtis and Alan�s application from Liana. It says that Curtis and Alan had lived in the same house for about 40 years, and they have hogwire fence surround their yard. They had a female Elkhound and a male Springer before, then the older rescued male Springer adopted from ESRA. They don�t have any pets currently. They are home most of the time, so the dog won�t be left alone for more than 2-3 hours. Plus, Curtis walks about an hour a day with the dog. They would prefer a dog who�s 3-8 years old, but would consider a senior, and would consider a special needs dog if it�s manageable, since they are older now (I think they are in their 60�s?). There�s no home visit done, since they are reliable second-time adopters. They sounded really good, just that it�s hard for me to imagine anybody wanting to adopt a senior dog with advanced cataracts and mild arthritis and dog-dog aggression, when they have younger �healthy� dogs to choose from. It�s good that they are considering Tara, but if they pick Faith or Glory, I think that would be wonderful too.
I emailed Curtis pictures of Faith and Glory, and she emailed back, �My husband and I have talked and we think that as appealing as Tara sounds that in our present situation we may be up for a younger dog. We are getting old too and are still a bit weary from the special needs of our beloved Pelly whom we lost recently and in truth still grieving a bit so a dog with different needs seems better just now.� Well, they did sound too good to be true for Tara, so I�m not surprised they decided not to adopt her, but I think either Faith or Glory would work out great for them, since they are smaller Springers (easier to handle, especially for Curtis� husband, who had knee surgery recently) and very sweet (would enjoy the constant attention from the semi-retired couple). Curtis also asked if I think Faith and Glory would be good on leash, and I told her that since they haven�t been walked much by their current family, I think at first they would pull on leash. But since they are smaller Springers, it should not be a hard pull, and if Curtis or her husband has trouble walking them, I would recommend them getting a non-pull harness. Eventually, when the girls get enough regular exercise, I would think their pulling should diminish. Curtis also mentioned that they are considering adopting two Springer, one male and one female, and I told her that maybe a submissive smaller male would work out with either one of the girls. It�s worth a try, but the girls� current owners did say they would not recommend the girls go into homes with another dog. And also the girls might be food possessive with other dogs, so they need to be fed separately, and if they fight with another dog, Curtis and her husband have to be able to separate the dogs.
I emailed Heather and Liana and Kathleen and Curtis and asked maybe Curtis would be willing to help out extra with rescue by taking both dogs with her when she goes down to meet the girls, so that she can take the one she wants with her back to her home, and then meet Bruce and Renee somewhere off the interstate to give them the other girl (both Curtis and Bruce and Renee live in northern Alabama, about 40 miles apart on opposite sides of the interstate). Curtis emailed back and said that she�s willing to drive down to get both Faith and Glory and transport them up north, and right now she�s more interested in Faith, but will make the final decision when she sees the girls. She will also get both girls� crate and leashes and collars and whatever their current owners want to offer with her. And she said the male dog she�s interested right now is Harper, who�s being fostered in Birmingham, but they will think more about adding the male dog later when the female dog has settled into her new home. Later Curtis emailed and said Kathleen had put her in touch with Faith and Glory�s owners for her to pick them up on Friday.
I think Anastasia has finally realized that Tara�s going blind, so the cat�s bolder with her interaction with the dog. Before Anastasia would pretty much stay out of Tara�s way. But now, there had been a couple incidents in the past month or so, that Anastasia would swipe her paws at Tara�s face, as the dog walked into her. And before, Anastasia would never go up to Tara. But today, Tara was lying on the floor getting ready to go to sleep, and Anastasia came up to sniff her side. Anastasia had done this a couple days ago when Tara was sleeping, and the dog did not move, so I guess the cat figured it was safe to sniff the dog again. This time, after a few seconds, I think Tara was able to sense Anastasia sniffing her, and the dog growled. I did not want to admonish either animal, so I just put my hand between them and shooed the cat away.
January 26, 2007
I gave Tara a "puppy cut" today, because her fur was growing so long that she started to look like a wooly bear, and I had to brush her twice a day. She was so good during grooming as always. Even when I accidentally cut into the quick on one of her back toes, she flinched her leg, but stayed still while I put antiseptic powder on her toe to stop the bleeding, and she did not flinch at all when I clipped the rest of her nails.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Well, today marks the end of sixth month since Tara came to live with me. I had promised her, just like I did with all my fosters, that I would adopt her myself if we couldn�t find a suitable home in six months. Plus, I did the three home tests suggested by the blind dog list, and Tara failed all three. So I think she�s pretty much blind now, but I will ask the vet to check when we go in for her blood test checkup in two weeks. Because of her vision issue, I think it�s best that she stays where she�s familiar with. So, today I sent an email to Heather, Liana, and Millie, telling them that I would like to go ahead and adopt Tara. Heather emailed back and said yes and that she will ask ESRA to waive the adoption fee for me.
Picture and update from Glory�s foster parents, �Glory has some of the same qualities. She snuggles on my knee and if she could walk with her nose on my leg, I think she would. She also wants lots of petting but will settle down if you stop. She doesn't know how to play with a ball but LOVES to have her belly rubbed. She seems to take to either Bruce or myself equally but if she has a choice, prefers me. She's finally comfortable enough to walk around our huge yard and go into our "woods" alone. She is kind of a loner and doesn't snuggle up to our dogs although she finally let our youngest Papillon sniff her butt without protest this afternoon. She growls at our females which is something we need to watch as she gets more comfortable. At first she kept to herself but now she follows us from room to room along with our other companion dogs, another Springer and 2 Papillons. We also think Glory is a field breed, not bench because of her looks. She also has filthy ears but I'm going to work on cleaning them thoroughly before I declare it an infection. We've got plenty of ear ointment because our Cocker Spaniel has a constant ear infection. She is sure well behaved. I think tonight I'm going to leave the door open on her crate to see how she behaves. She'll have the run of the kitchen, bath and laundry room but from what I see, she'll be happy to sleep in her crate all night and leave only for a drink and an occasional curious sniff.�
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Today I received an enigmatic email from Heather. The only person I recognized from the email right away was Curtis, and I did not recognize the other person mentioned in the email or either of the two dogs� names. Curtis wrote, �Bo is a sweet dog, just as you had said. Kate, however, lost it when I brought him in and we have kept them separated so far. This afternoon when my husband and I are both home we'll begin a guarded introduction and work on calming everybody down. I think the watchwords are slowly and carefully.� Heather emailed back about doing CC&D with the two dogs and crating the male dog. Then the more I thought about it, I figured that Kate is probably Faith�s new name, and probably Bo is Harper�s new name. Heather confirmed about Kate being Faith�s new name, and said that Bo is Harper�s call name, but they listed him as Harper because there were two Bo�s up for adoption. Anyways, I wrote back several emails, recommending CC&D also, and to keep the dogs separated by baby gate or be kept in separate rooms until Curtis can re-introduce them outside in neutral territory (it had been raining nonstop for the past two days).
Curtis emailed back, �We have kept them in separate parts of the house when we are at home, but in side by side crates when we leave. Bo does not go willingly into the crate, but when pushed in rear first does quickly settle down, relax and often snooze. It has been raining since he came so except for brief excursions out, we have not walked. I am the only walker, Alan has just had knee replacement and until today has been hobbling with 2 walking canes. Since today he needed to hold on to one leash he's accelerating his rehab! We took them out during a lull in the rain, both on leashes and let them approach, but under control. Kate went nuts again so we were back on the separation routine which after reading your advice, we'll continue for the present.
However when I came down to the computer a minute ago, I had taken Bo out to feed him on the deck and brought Kate down with me. Alan thought he could safely sneak Bo back into the bedroom without Kate knowing. Wrong. She rushed out and I heard Alan hollering the warning. The two dogs passed on the stairs, Bo coming down and Kate going up, until she realized she was leaving Bo alone with me and back down she came. Alan was certain I was about to be in the middle of a dog fight and called a louder warning. They both turned around and ran past one another again...a ridiculous circus. Neither one of them threatened or bothered the other in the least, we were all too busy running about waving our arms and paws! I explained to Alan after we sorted them out again that your advice stressed calm and quiet. Oh, well. We'll get there.�
Monday, January 22, 2007
Kate and Bo�s update, �Much progress. I sensed after last night that these two were not serious fighters so this morning I took Bo outside and then brought Kate downstairs so they were eying each other through the glass door. Kate has been the aggressor. But when I let her out too and she rushed Bo, he held his own and snarled back; she increased and he increased and there was brief set to with Bo coming out ahead. Kate retreated briefly and came at him again. Same deal. She then retreated completely; there was no blood shed, no punctures, just wounded feelings and Bo established as alpha. He is much bigger than she and although he appeared more submissive, would not yield in the crunch. We have had a quiet last 3 hours and I have rewarded both for this. We can walk today and I will for now take them separately.�
�Late afternoon report from the Flowers house re Kate and Bo:
We may not be the Peaceable Kingdom quite yet, but at the moment I have 2 reasonably contented Springers sleeping at my feet. I decided my watchwords of slowly and carefully might only be half right. We have an abandoned golf course near us where dogs can run safely. I harnessed Kate in the very back of car and put Bo in backseat; he immediately hopped in front and had to be pushed back, but then he stayed. Drove to golf course and let Kate out 1st. She'd been there before and loves it. Then Bo. We all raced and romped for about an hour, Bo with some reluctance at first but then clearly enjoying himself. This human does not do hills too well, but of course I can see how to wind my way about in order to stay pretty level and dogs do not looking for this so they went up and down and up and down, Kate ran 4 times the distance Bo did, but he did run a lot and quite happily until two of us were flagging, not Kate. I am not going to tell you they bonded, but they were accepting of one another in the field and ran more or less in same range pattern, twice encountering another dog they could bark at and run off together which was a bonus. On way home I harnessed both in back with only a case of bottled water between them, but they were both flopping down and panting away by then and the drive is barely 2 minutes so they did just fine. Life improves.�