Cricket and more

Wow. Things are crazy here in WA as we try to find spots for the dogs we learn of who are urgently awaiting rescue. The coolest story lately is about Cricket. I was notified by the Tacoma Humane Society about a 14 year old rat terrier at the shelter who was deemed not adoptable due to her grade 4 heart murmur and old age. She had been turned down by a couple local rescues and if they couldn't find a rescue spot for her soon she would be put to sleep. Her owner of 14 years had surrendered her because she was moving into a new apartment that didn't allow pets. Poor girl was so scared.

At first I didn't think there was a spot for her in our WA foster homes but our foster parent in Yakima stepped in and volunteered to foster her until she found a home or even just to provide hospice care for her if it came to that.

So Friday Cricket was sprung from the shelter. She was a spry little thing and liked to talk to people with the most hilarious sounds. Yesterday she was transported up to North Bend where her foster parent picked her up to take her over the mountain. Now she will be loved and cared for and hang with the rest of their family pack.

We had spoken up for 2 puppies out of a litter of 4 who were originally in Louisiana. Unfortunately they ended up with diarrhea and can't fly. So they have been ground transported to a foster home in Wisconsin and instead we will be getting a 2 year old male who was scheduled to be euthanized on the 1st. Transport is still being arranged but the hope is that he'll be here by next weekend. He seems like a nice boy and should get along well with the pack. Poor guy has a luxating patella on one of his rear legs and will need surgery soon after he arrives.

That's the latest. The photo above is of little Cricket, taken at the Tacoma Humane Society Shelter.

2010 Name theme

Last year we tried something different and picked a space theme for the names of all our fosters for 2009. Well, there were a few exceptions - like when a dog came with a name they had had for awhile or when we let the person who rescued them name a dog (Abby, Poppy and Kewpie, Franny). We had Rocket and Stella, Laika, Star and her trekkie puppies, Armstrong and Sally Ride, Spock, Aurora, and many more.

Since Katie was a returned dog and already had a name we didn't change it but watch for our next fosters to have names chosen based on our 2010 theme: literary characters. If Katie's current application works out we may have some little "characters" to name sooner than expected.

Katie and Franny

Well, it was discovered that Franny does not mix well with cats and big dogs so she was returned and is back here at home with us. Unfortunately, Katie is a big dog. Well, big as far as 12 pound Franny is concerned. So life has been a bit complicated trying to keep these two completely separate. Franny is gated in the kitchen with a bed and toys and Katie is out in the living room and comes to work with me. Franny is settling down now that she sees Katie isn't a threat but still not enough where I trust her off leash around her.

This may not be a problem much longer, however, because Katie already has an application that looks good. They are coming out to meet her tomorrow and hopefully this big lug of a rat terrier will have found someone who will love and care for her forever. She's such a good girl - so loving - and I know that whoever ends up with her will be very lucky indeed.

Claire - help us win the money to help Claire!

This is the sad, horrible before photo but you need to click on the link below to see Claire after her foster mom in Wisconsin nursed her back to health.

The story of New Rattitude's precious foster dog Claire has been entered in a contest at InspiringRescueStories.com. The contest winner receives $1,000 worth of dog-related prizes, plus the author of "New Lives" (a book of inspiring rescue stories) will donate 15% of the proceeds from the sale of her book between now and April 30 to the winning organization.

You can view Claire's story here:
http://www.inspiringrescuestories.com/2009/02/01/claires-story/

What does it take to win? Comments! You only need to fill in your name, email address, and a short reply at the bottom of the webpage containing Claire's story. The more comments we get on Claire's story, the better are our chances of winning.

Please spread the message of hope, and the power of a second chance to everyone you know and ask them to comment on Claire's story also!

Here are a few ways to tell others:
-Email friends and family
-Facebook status updates
-Myspace posts
-Phone friends and family
-If you have a blog, write about it there

Thanks so much for your help with this. Claire is truly an inspiring girl and we want to raise the money for her cataract surgery.

Dog juggling

Boy, I thought things were crazy when the puppies were getting ready to go home! Once again it's busy because of all the dogs coming and going.

Happily, Franny has finally found a home to call her own and will be moving there this Friday. There she will be welcomed by her new mom, a son, and a new furry basset hound sister. I really think that Franny will be happy here and I KNOW that she will be well loved.

Star has also struck gold and will likely be going home next week. All that's left is the home visit before the family is approved. They came out to the Pet Market to meet her and it was love at first site (when Star wasn't trying to shoplift bison bullies). She will be an only child, but who knows. Maybe awhile down the road we can talk them into finding her a sister or brother. ;)

That takes us down to zero fosters so Saturday we will be welcoming Samantha back into the New Rattitude fold (seen in the photo above.) Sam is a returned dog. Some of you may remember way back a year ago that one of our foster parents here in Washington fostered New Rattitude's first litter of puppies. Allie the rat terrier gave birth to 2 humongous puppies and as they grew we figured out they were probably boxer/rattie mixes. The pups' names where Benny and Katie. Well poor Katie has been returned twice - not her fault - but she's had bad luck. In November 2009 she was returned because her owner was having financial difficulties and also didn't have time for her. She was adopted almost immediately but her new home has an elderly person living there and with Katie being an active 32 pound puppy, you can see how problems might arise. So as of Saturday Katie, now called Samantha or Sam, will be fostered at our home. We will work on basic training with her and hopefully find a home that could use a loveable, energetic medium sized dog.

Two other Washington fosters look like they will be heading home soon. Mila will be moving from Yakima to her home in Issaquah and Fisher has a good application in Federal Way. Congratulations to all these great rescued dogs who have found a permanent home.

Rattie Idol: Season 2 - accepting entries now!

It's that time of year again, folks! Rattie Idol Season 2 has begun and you only have until February 10th to get your entries in. This year there are three categories to compete in: Rattie Cutie-pie, Rattie Performer, and Rattie Style. In the rattie performer section we are looking for photos of ratties doing what they do best: agility, hunting squirrels, flyball, dog shows.... For rattie style we are looking for well-dressed dogs, either just dressed to go out for a walk, or in costume.

It only costs $5 to enter a photo and all proceeds will go towards caring for rescued rat terriers so hurry and get your entries in today! Go to the Rattie Idol page on http://www.newrattitude.org/ for more info.

The photo above is of one of Star's puppies - Hurley/Rom. I'm thinking of entering it in the cutie pie section. Can't get much cuter than that!

Puppyless in Seattle

All the pups have headed to their forever homes and are settled in and doing well. The office is clean and empty of puppy paraphernalia and I no longer have to get up an hour early to be able to get all the morning dog chores out of the way. As much as a relief as it is, we really miss the little fuzzheads. What a sweet little bunch.

So now we are down to Franny and Star. Franny has a good application and assuming all the interview go well she will finally be on her way to her home as well. She has been in foster care nearly a year now - in Indiana from March 2009 to September and here from September 2009 'til now - and is very deserving of a home of her own. Such a little character - we always say she's a bit like that character on the Hallmark cards? Maxine?

Star has had several apps but they always seemed to be folks who had already applied for another dog elsewhere and had Star as a backup dog. Odd because she has a wonderful, loving temperament and I would have thought that she would find a home before all the puppies were ready to go home. Hopefully soon.

The photo above shows Star and Hurley (original name was Rom) wrestling on their last morning together. Star was a great mommy until the end, always taking time to play with the puppies and keep them busy.