2016 Northwest Rattiefest Meetup

It was the 6th annual Rattiefest on July 24th and this year Seuss attended as my terrier date for the event.

Seuss (photo by Isabel Herbruger)

Rattiefest happens each year on a Sunday in July and give adopters and foster parents a chance to chat and more importantly - to see dogs that we fostered after they've blossomed into beloved family members.

our former foster girl Hartley (photo by Isabel Herbruger)

Some that attended are quite elderly and some are newly adopted but all of them are clearly the pride and joy of their families.

our former foster boy Rigby (photo by Isabel Herbruger)

This year Seuss, now nearly 30 pounds, was the largest Rat Terrier attending. He probably was at least 10 pounds bigger than the next largest. At times it was comical to see him hanging out with a pack of 10 pound dogs begging for treats, towering above them and looking more hound than terrier.

Seuss hoping for a treat with a crowd of little Ratties

Many of the little dogs were nervous around him and he did get snapped at a lot but he was always a gentleman about it and just wandered off to see if someone else wanted to hang out with him and play.

Seuss smooches New Rattitude volunteer Diane who was visiting from California

Seuss and me - he was leashed for bit when he was getting a little excited about the two Labs in the fenced area next to our area

Because we get there early to hang up signs and are the last to leave Seuss was there nearly 4 hours and by the drive home he was exhausted and ready for a nap.

Snoozing on the drive home

If you  are interested in attending a future Rattiefest be sure to follow our New Rattitude - Washington State Facebook page since we announce the event there.

To see more photo of the event go to the 2016 Rattiefest Album. This year Isabel Herbruger was our photographer and she got some great shots! All but the last photo in this post are by Isabel.

Lizzy Does Rattiefest

Lizzy attended Rattiefest on Sunday and for the first time since we've had her she actually wore herself out. I guess two hours straight of running will do that to a dog.

A rare photo of Lizzy standing still

Lizzy (R) running

and running some more

and running some more

Here she is on the left hanging out with the crowd and seeing if treats are being handed out

There were about 35 Rat Terriers attending and at the end of the event we called up adoptees and talked about their new lives together with their adoptive families. At the end current New Rattitude fosters Sparrow, Lizzy and Cody took a turn as well.

Dexter, formerly New Rattitude's Royal, and his dad Bruce during the "Rat Walk"

Two of our 3 past fosters for 2015 were there as well. Remember Magill? His name is now Loki and he and his brother Frodo came over from central Washington to attend. He was as happy and friendly as ever!

Loki-Magill

And our sweet Rigby boy was there as well! His mom did a great job at keeping him from scoring treats that he might be allergic to. He sure tried to get some though. He knew where all the people with treat bags were and kept his eye on them.

Rigby getting the sniffdown from Pippa after just arriving

3rd Annual Northwest Rattiefest: Huge Success!

Wow! What an amazing event. From doing head counts on the different panoramic photos we know there were close to 90 humans and 50 dogs who joined the festivities.

From all the smiling facing and wagging tails, we're pretty sure that attendees had a great time. The humans bought tickets and could spend those tickets on trying their luck at the raffle where there were 28 great raffle items to try for, or they could spend tickets on the new games we had this year. A big thanks to my husband Troy who had the idea to add games! Dogs got to bob for hot dogs at the Dog Eat Dog booth, or they could try out a large variety of puzzle toys with their parents at the Puzzle Plaza. Humans could guess the number of kibble pieces in a jar in attempts to win a very nice soft sided crate full of Evanger dog food and treats. There was also the Rattie Rollin' dice game where you could roll the dice and depending on your roll, could win from three different groups of prizes - everyone won something in this game.

Bobbing for hot dog pieces

Some kids try their luck at the Rattie Rollin' game

The end result of this fantastic event (other than exhausted dogs) was that over $1,600 was raised in just 2 hours. That money will be used to pay for medical care and transport costs of the Northwest New Rattitude foster dogs. I want to extend a great big thank you to all of you who attended and purchased tickets. Not only have you guys made a difference by adopted a homeless Rat Terrier, you are continuing to make a difference by helping more rat terriers.

Inigo (former NR foster dog) tests out the Buster Maze at the Puzzle Plaza

And just as important, I want to thank the New Rattitude Northwest team of volunteers. You gave money for supplies, gifts for the raffle, begged and borrowed banquet tables from around the region, and brought all kinds of things from home so that this event could run so smoothly.

The Raffle Table

New Rattitude Information Table

Looking down the hill at some of the different Rattiefest booths

Thanks to all of you who worked booths and brought items. We couldn't have done it without your help and generosity. But a special shout out to Cindy Tokar for managing the food table and making all the signs for that, bagging up goodies, and talking her mom into once again making her epic homemade whoopie pies and shortbread to sell. Also a big thanks to Bruce and Karyn Fleming. Bruce helped us out by making beautiful signs for each of the different areas and Karyn managed the raffle, pulling together all the donated items into gift sets and making them look pretty and festive. Thanks to Carol Giberson for doing all the things that I was dropping the ball on thanks to the unexpected and happy event of Langley's adoption being processed.  She wrote up directions for the different games and the supply lists for each of them, managed the Biggest Loser: Northwest Rattie Edition and tallied up all the dogs weight loss stats so I'd have that info to announce the winners at the event, and then finally brought the 1/2 car load full of boxes that I couldn't fit into my Honda so that Troy and I didn't have to drive 2 cars to the event.

Pearl, a former NR foster dog, looking pretty

Elvis was one of our former foster dogs for NR. Such a sweet guy.

One of the best part of the events for the foster parents is getting a chance to see former fosters again, happy and enjoying their life as beloved family dogs. There were so many former New Rattitude fosters attending - I know I missed several - but it was great to see a few of my former kiddos. Elvis was a boy who was returned because he was fearful of the crawling baby in the home and the husband didn't like him. We found him a wonderful home with a former adopter and he and his sister Pearl alternate time between living in the city of Seattle and hanging out at their cabin that they hike into up in the mountains. Also attending was a foster dog from back in January of this year. Zia was one of the Rat Terrier-Jack Russell mix pups who we fostered back in January. She's 9 months old now and a tall, long legged beauty, full of energy and ready for fun. She had a blast tearing around with all the dogs and was fast, fast, FAST! Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of her but we just did a pupdate post on Zia so you saw how pretty she grew up to be. And Huckleberry also came and said hi to me. He looked great and was so much braver than he used to be. He clearly has blossomed in his home.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the photos and if you didn't make it we hope you'll be able to join us next year.

One Week until the Northwest Rattiefest!

We've been busy getting ready for New Rattitude's 3rd Annual Northwest Rattiefest that will run on Sunday July 28th  from 1 to 3 pm in the east dog area at Robinswood Park in Bellevue, Washington. More than just another Rat Terrier meetup, this is a time when we as New Rattitude volunteers celebrate our supporters - both the fans and the adopters. 

Foster parents celebrate as they see former foster dogs, now settled into loving homes and doing well. We socialize, and play and talk about how blessed we feel to have spent another year with our beloved Rat Terriers. But it's not just about the socializing. 

"Dude! What happened to your fur?!"

Lots of sweet dogs to hang out with

You wouldn't think it could get much more exciting than having 50 plus terriers corralled together, but it does. Of course we will have our annual raffle which raises funds for our Northwest foster dogs who end up needing medical care beyond what the adoption fees can cover. This year we have some spectacular items being raffled off - a years supply of By Nature kibble, puzzle games, a private training session at University Canine Learning Academy in Seattle, Eagle Creek luggage.... Let me tell you folks, that raffle table will be loaded this year.

The 2012 Raffle Table

There will be a Green slow feeder in the raffle

This year though, your tickets can be used for more than just the raffle - we'll have 4 different "game" areas including a double ex-pen area called the Puzzle Plaza where your Rat Terrier can test out the latest puzzle toys and the "Dog Eat Dog" pen where your dog gets to bob for hot dog pieces. 

The Nina Ottosson "Twister": one of the many puzzle games to try out in the Puzzle Plaza

Tickets cost $1 for 1, $10 for 12 or the best deal, $20 for an arm span of tickets (which if you get someone with long arms can be close to 40 tickets.)  We'll also be accepting credit cards this year making it easier to make purchases. 

Snacks, soda, and water will be available for sale as well. 

So we hope we'll see you there! We love the chance to spend an afternoon talking about Rat Terriers to a group of folks who love them as much as we do. And if your dog wouldn't be happy at such a wild and active event, please join us anyhow - let them relax and stay happy and you can come enjoy the event without worrying about their stress level.

To get the details, a map, and to RSVP, check out the event page on the New Rattitude Northwest Region's Facebook Page.