Greta the Great

Every week, while I am walking dogs at Maxfund, I fall in love with a dog. This week it was Greta, a blind nine year old brindle mastiff. She is not completely blind, but she does require some help while walking to make sure that she doesn't run into anything. While walking with Greta she will nudge your legs to ensure that her seeing eye human is still there.

However, Greta stole my heart because of her endless love. When we stopped and I took this photo, she was using her paw to tell me to keep petting her chest. She was so happy just to have someone giving her all the affection that she deserves. Not to mention she knows sit, wait, lay down, and walks very gently on the leash (which is a good thing, because this girl comes up to my waist and is a true giant).

I am hopeful that Greta will find her loving, forever home soon. She still has a lot of life to live and would make a great pet for a family that doesn't mind being her eyes during walks.

Watch this video to learn all about the Mastiff breed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4QXSKoARYA

Gracie Update

Yesterday, Dominic and I decided to leave the two dogs, Gracie and Senior Ding-Dong, alone for the first time while we went to get some breakfast. As we were paying for our breakfast I got a call: "Hello, is this Sadie? This is your neighbor from across the street. We found Gracie and she is at our house."

Yep, you've got it—Gracie, our perfect girl, jumped our front fence. Who knew a 70 pound lab with minor hip problems could get over a 5 foot fence. I don't know why she jumped the fence: wither she was scared, lonely, saw a squirrel, saw a cat, or something else encouraged her to take the leap.

When we got to our neighbors house she was there to greet us. We explained to our neighbors that she was our foster dog and that she was staying with us until she found her forever home. And they said, "We'll take her." We thought they were kidding, but it is true they fell in love with her, just as we did.

Grace spent the day at their house, even though our neighbor said that Gracie was looking out the window at our house most of the day. She seemed to get a long well with Tootie, their 12 year old lab/beagle mix. And they are seriously considering giving her her much needed forever home.

That evening our neighbor brought Gracie back, and Senior Ding-Dong and Gracie were very excited to see each other. They played and played while we were talking about Gracie's potential future at the neighbor's house. But, we knew because of the fence issue that she would not be able to stay with us.

This morning we woke up. Gracie was full of love as always. Senior Ding-Dong, Gracie, and I went for a walk around the park, and then it was time to take her back to Maxfund. After talking to the staff at Maxfund, I learned that our neighbor is one of two people who had called about adopting Gracie, so I feel very hopeful that she will find her home soon.

However, when we walked into Maxfund, and the staff came to return her to the large dog area she gave me the saddest eyes. She stood her ground and really did not want to go back. She broke my heart. I am now just another person on the list of many who brought her to Maxfund and left her there. It absolutely breaks my heart that she will have to be there another night. I would much rather having her laying on the floor next to our bed, and getting endless amounts of belly rubs.

The good news is that both people that were interested in Gracie visited Maxfund today; however, they both only filled out foster applications and not adoption applications. I really hope she will be living across the street, and I will have the opportunity to see her all the time. But as of now, she is still without a home and at the shelter.

Gracie- Our House Guest

Today Dominic and I became foster parents to the most wonderful black lab mix from Maxfund, named Gracie. She is loving, kind, sweet, obedient, walks perfectly on a leash, loves belly rubs, is great in the car, enjoys playing with Senior Ding-Dong, gives the most precious kisses, and is simply an all around love bug. According to the wonderful staff at Maxfund, she just doesn't so much care for cats, and her last owner discovered this the hard way after she killed the family cat. It is hard to imagine that she could even harm a fly, but that incident brought her back to Maxfund for the second time. She had been very sad about this transition and that is how she became a foster candidate.

I have now been volunteering at Maxfund for a little over a year, and I absolutely love it. We decided that it was time that we find a playmate for Ding-Dong and the perfect way to do that would be to foster a doggie. Maxfund is a no-kill shelter; any dog that comes to Maxfund has a place there until they find their forever home. But, if all the runs are full they are forced to say no to dogs that really deserve a second chance. Maxfund often takes dogs from high-kill shelters to save them from euthanasia. But, fostering doesn't just help free up a little extra space at the shelter it also helps dogs during transition from the shelter to their forever home.

At the shelter it is loud, scary, and very intimidating to dogs. Dogs that come in from family turnovers often lose their spunk, and their true personality, merely because of the shelter conditions. This makes it hard to impress their potential adopters. At a foster home they get all the benefits of a loved dog: a warm house, a family to walk them, someone to rub their belly, and they are able to maintain, or even gain, good behaviors.

Gracie was certainly depressed at the shelter, and even after one day at our house I have seen the light in her eyes change. Today she got to play as much as she wanted, sleep in a warm and quiet house, get a nice relaxing bath and a good brushing, learn what doggie doors are all about (However, the doggie door is still a bit intimidating to her, but we will keep working on it.), run in the grass, and get not one, but two car rides. I assume it is just a matter of time before this 70 pound girl finds her forever home, but until then she will certainly be a nice addition in our lives.

Ultimately what Gracie needs is a loving home and a good family. If you are interested in adopting Gracie please don't hesitate to contact me or Maxfund. Her bio is linked to her name at the beginning of this post.

Dog Meets Cows

Check out this great MSN video: Dog Meets Cows

Kanab, Utah - Visiting Best Friends Animal Sactuary

Every summer, during the month of July, my mom and I make our annual trip to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. We stay for a few days, volunteer in Dogtown, laugh until our stomachs hurt, have sleepovers with dogs from Dogtown, hike in the beautiful southern Utah terrain, love on as many dogs as we can, and then leave Kanab while uncontrollably sobbing knowing how much we will miss all of our new friends. It is such a wonderful experience. It seems only fitting that my dog blog starts with Best Friends, truly my home away from home.

It all began in 2009, our very first trip to Best Friends.

My Mom and I had become hooked to the TV show Dogtown, and the two of us decided that we had to see Best Friends for ourselves, and were inspired to become volunteers at the sanctuary. Best Friends animal sanctuary is a no-kill shelter that "is home on any given day to about 2,000 dogs, cats, and other animals, who come from shelters and rescue groups around the country for special care they can only receive at Best Friends" (bestfriends.org). We had learned from the show of all the amazing efforts that Best Friends makes on a daily basis to save and rescue dogs. Best Friends sent a crew to help save animals after Hurricane Katrina, they were the ones that saved the Michael Vick dogs while acknowledging that all dogs deserve a fair chance, they continuously are fighting to end puppy mills, and their number one mission is to create a world where there are "no more homeless pets."

From the first day I was there I learned truly how dedicated they are to their mission, and how many dogs at the sanctuary would not have had a second chance on life without them.

This is Mickey, a special needs dog with the heart and integrity of a puppy. Since our visit in 2009 he has found his forever home.

Cabby one of the most precious yellow labs that you will ever meet. She enjoyed the night with us as our sleepover pal. She was excited just to have a comfy bed to lay on right next to the air conditioning. When you walk into Cabby's octagon at the shelter there is no doubt that everyone that has ever met her has absolutely fallen in love. They told us she had a barking problem, but we only saw the peaceful quiet side of Cabby. She is now becoming an old girl, 10 years old, and she is still awaiting her forever home.

Momma Theresa is a dog that on any other day would be found with her ball in her mouth, but not on this day. Momma T came to best friends with a horrible skin condition, and Best Friends was able to rehabilitate her. However, after enduring the long recovery she found that her ball was her security blanket. She was the sweetest girl ever, and I am happy to say, and with tears in my eyes, that Momma T finally found her forever home.

Debo came to best friends after being hit by two diesel trucks near town. His owner brought him in with a broken back and a broken jaw and then never returned for him again. But, the Debo that I met was full of love and perfect on the leash. He was a true lover and a dog that will always be in my heart. Debo is now living comfortably in his forever home.

Pinky Bear- "There's no way I am going to let you just fill up my bath. I want to play. Spray me. Please." Pinky Bear was an absolute love bug, and what she really wanted on that hot summer day was some fun in the cool water. We didn't get the chance to have Pinky Bear as a sleepover buddy on this trip but the news on the streets was that she is a fantastic sleepover friend. I hope that she will find her forever home soon, but until then maybe some more volunteers will come by with the hose for some afternoon fun.

Best Friends, along with many other no-kill shelters, has helped reduce the number of animals that are killed each year in shelters by euthanasia across the United States. According the Best Friends' website in the 1980's nearly 17 million animals were being killed in shelters by euthanasia, today that number has dropped to "3 to 4 million." Best Friends was founded on the belief that "kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us."

The Facts:

• Approximately 5 million to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 3 million to 4 million are euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). Shelter intakes are about evenly divided between those animals relinquished by owners and those picked up by animal control. These are national estimates; the percentage of euthanasia may vary from state to state.
• According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2 percent of cats and only 15 to 20 percent of dogs are returned to their owners. Most of these were identified with tags, tattoos or microchips.
• Twenty-five percent of dogs who enter local shelters are purebred. (Source: NCPPSP)
• Only 10 percent of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. About 75 percent of owned pets are neutered.
• The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. About 15 to 20 percent of dogs are purchased from breeders, and 10 to 20 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues. (Source: Ralston Purina and NCPPSP)
• More than 20 percent of people who leave dogs in shelters adopted them from a shelter. (Source: NCPPSP)
• Five out of ten dogs in shelters and seven out of ten cats in shelters are destroyed simply because there is no one to adopt them.

(ASPCA.org)

Please adopt and never buy, and always spay or neuter your pets. Your best friend is just awaiting their forever home.

Senior Ding-Dong Napping in the Sun