Forever Family Found for Fuzzy!

Well in a day or two Fuzzy should be formally adopted. He spent today cheering on Team Canada with another family and seemed to fit right in. There's time for a few more walks and then he'll be off to his forever family. We're so happy for him (and his new family!). BTW, does anyone else find it entertaining that Fuzzy Dunlop found two tennis balls in the dog park yesterday? The irony cracks me up.

Our new "assignment" will arrive soon so stay tuned for details! The suspense is killing me!

(So the website update is a little premature - but the papers should be signed tonight or Tuesday. I have a feeling the new forever home won't be able to wait one more day for the new addition to their family!)

"Shake a paw!"

Little Fuzzy Dunlop had a visitor the other night, and a day visit tomorrow (fingers crossed). While the family was here, I demonstrated how I was trying to get Fuzz to shake a paw (but hadn't made much progress) - but he was clearly starting to get it and I knew it was just a matter of time (and quiet practice away from our own dog!) I made it my mission to get this pup shaking a paw before his day visit - it's useful to have a repertoire of basic commands that a pup understands, so when you catch them doing something you'd prefer they weren't doing, you can "substitute" that behavior with a good one that they know. Dogs love to please, so this makes you happy (that they aren't barking out the window or chasing the cat) and makes the dog happy because he gets a treat and feels like he's done a good job. Fuzzy's forever home will continue to work on what he's learned already, and learn a whole lot more through Dogma's puppy classes.

Little Fuzzy Fetches!

Surprise, surprise. We went for an awesome off leash walk before work today. Our own dog got distracted while playing fetch, and suddenly little Fuzzy Dunlop was chasing the ball down the hill. I really didn't expect him to bring it back, but surprise surprise, when called and called, he did. I gave him a treat and he gave me the ball. I though, okay, that's a fluke, there's no way he'll do it again. Well, wrong again! Fuzzy suddenly seems very interested in chasing a ball, especially one that rolls and bounces down a hill - and he'll bring it back if you give him a delicious duck meat treat (or other variety of delicious goodness). Amazing.

Fuzzy!

Fuzzy has been in foster care for a few weeks now and has just moved to our place while another family is out of town. He's about 4.5 months old and weighs just over 30lbs. Fuzzy is very Fuzzy indeed. He loves to have his thick coat brushed. He also loves walks, both on and off leash. He gets a long well with other dogs although can be a little timid around new dogs and new people. He warms up quickly though. Fuzzy lives with cats; he finds them very interesting, but rarely chases them - he just wants to play. Fuzzy sleeps through the night and is very quiet in his crate. He also goes into the crate during the day for little naps. Fuzzy was house trained very quickly, hardly any accidents in his previous foster home, and not a single one here. He even 'holds it' when he is at home alone during the day in his dog room.

Edge is Adopted!

Well, it's now official because the papers have been signed and the ARF website has been updated. Beadie is still looking out the window wondering if Edge is coming back any time soon. She'll have to wait for about a week (at least) for the next pup to arrive. Until then, we'll enjoy the peace and quiet and the clean floors:)

Happy, happy ending for Edge

Things are quiet in the house but we're all glowing with happiness for Edge and her forever family. I think we meet some of the nicest people through ARF adoptions - Edge is one lucky girl going to such a loving family. We can't wait for photo updates! Thanks again E.S., A.S., L.S., and B.S., for opening your home to this awesome puppy! We wish you all the best!!!

Forever Family Found!

Still unofficial until the papers are signed tomorrow, but little Edgers has found her forever family, and what a wonderful family they are. Little E.S. and A.S. will grow up with a wonderful puppy at their side. I bet they're picking out puppy toys and thinking of puppy names right about now. New puppy Mama and Papa are probably just as excited:) We're so happy for little Edge, she's been so patient in finding just the right forever family. (Again, photo credit to L.S.)

Finding Forever

Well, Edge is one lucky girl. She's met a great forever family - paperwork hasn't been signed yet, but it looks like a GREAT match. Here's a picture of Edge at her potential forever home:) I can't take credit for the great pic - thanks to LS for the super picture of a smiling Edge.

Resident Puppy = Sad:(

Poor Beadie - she's always a little melancholic when the foster puppies disappear. It's been quite a while since she's had the house to herself. After dropping Edge off for a day visit, I let Beadie out of her dog room and watched her roam around the house in search of little Edgers. She looked inside, then looked outside, sniffed here and there, and let out a little whimper. "It's happening again!!!" Don't worry, I told her. There will be more foster friends in your future. Then she gave me a big puppy kiss.

A Forever Family?

Edge is snoozing (again) and dreaming about a forever family. She may be closer to finding her forever home than she knows. Tomorrow she goes for a day visit with a dog-loving family. We'll keep you posted. Until then, "paws crossed."

Silly Edge

As you may have gathered (if you read our blog), Edge and her now adopted brother, Levi, love to crawl under the bed. This happened from day 1 and we thought as they got bigger, they surely would grow out of it/not fit anymore. Well, Edge has got to be over 35 pounds now, and it's still where she runs to hide with a bone (our own dog can't get under the bed). A few nights ago she started up on the bed (give us a break, we were missing Levi and wanted to show Edgers how much we love her!) - she stayed on the bed most of the night, but hopped down at some point. We thought she'd gone into her crate to sleep; nope, just went into the crate to get a drink, and then moved elsewhere. When Mark woke up in the morning, he saw a little Edge claw her way out from under the bed. Silly Edge.

Wowsers! ARF is adoption central!

Edge has been checking out the ARF site and was happy to see that so many of her sibblings have been adopted... Buster, then Razz, then in quick succession, Levi (her personal favorite), Kiwi and her twin Zeus! Does that mean Edge's forever home is next?

We've noticed remarkable changes with Edge. She's much calmer without her brother around. She also seems to have stretched up overnight. She looks tall and lean, and is turning more into a doggy than a puppy (she is still a puppy, no more than 4 1/2 months old:) And, to cap things off, for two days in a row, she's held her business all day while we're at work. This is remarkable!! She is really, really, really well on her way to being completely trained. We're so proud.

Levi's adopted!!

Well, after several weeks in our care, Levi is adopted. We took him for his last off-leash walk with the pack and gave him extra cuddles. He's gone to an awesome little family of people who just love big dogs! He spent his day visit meeting just about everyone, including a little baby - who he showered with Levi kisses:) Congrats Levi on finding your forever home!!!

Edge's Adventure

With Levi on a day visit we packed the snowshoes and headed to the mountains. Knowing that Edge loves the snow, we figured she'd have a great time with our dog, and a friend's 4 month old Bernese. Edge held her own, and LOVED it, and then slept in my lap the whole way home.

A forever home?

We've got our fingers crossed for Levi - at the same time we're really gonna miss this little guy if the adoption goes through! Levi and Edge have been with us since before Christmas, so they've definitely become part of the fam! These two get lots of cuddles and kisses, and have special big-bed privileges in the morning. This is our most cherished cuddle time. Levi got some extra cuddles today before his day visit, and we took some extra pictures just in case. If the adoption works out this weekend, we're gonna miss everything about him: his tree trunk legs and mammoth paws, his droopy jowls and sad puppy eyes... we agreed this morning that Levi is the best behaved pup we've had yet, by a long shot. He's pretty much perfect. We've asked ourselves (okay, I've asked myself, Mark is more logical) why we don't adopt him? But, we're not ready for two dogs, and two dogs would mean no more fostering, so we keep going!! This time there's consolation in seeing an awesome pup find a forever home, because little Edgers is still here! She's also very well behaved and is becoming a nice little mature puppy. The pair of them are under our bed at the moment, one under one side, one under the other, meeting in the middle chatting it up. Maybe they're saying their goodbyes:)

ARF Dog Coordinator in the News: Calgary Herald (Feb. 4/10)

In addition to rescuing dogs from native reserves and rural Alberta, ARF is involved in educational programs and spay/neuter programs on first nations reserve to reduce the population of unwanted animals. ARF's dog coordinator and a local veterinarian are in the news for a new pilot project to reduce the population of stray and unwanted dogs. Much more than just a rescue organization!

http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Birth+control+tested+reduce+stray+dogs/2521117/story.html

New Toys!

Foster Mama invested in some new puppy toys - mostly for our own master chewer, but the foster pups are certainly enjoying them. Levi is wondering why she only bought one of these ones...

A tired dog is a good dog...

We went for an off-leash walk tonight, like most nights. Our own dog chases the ball, but the fosters are really into that yet. We tried something new, chasing the laser pointer in the snow instead of in the living room... Edge in particular thought this was simply fantastic. The result, dogs that are quiet and sleep through the night:) (and who may even sleep in unless awoken by the alarm clock).

Off-Leash!

The pups have an off leash walk almost every day, and spend a longer period at the dog park each weekend. They're great with recall and although they wrestle with each other they socialize with other dogs too. But so far, their preference is for all the neat people at dog parks.