Elvis and Prairie

Well, we are back from vacation and Elvis and Prairie did great with their dogsitters. Both dogs are super easy, house-trained, etc. and I'm guessing that as soon as they are listed on Petfinder the apps will start rolling in for them.

Elvis loves attention so I'm hoping to find him a spot where he won't have to spend a full 8 hours alone each day. The best home for him will have another dog in it as he loves the company of other small dogs. Not too fond of big dogs, though.

Prairie on the other hand would do fine with or without other dogs in her home. She is a lap dog, through and through, and it would be awesome to find this girl someone who is retired and will be able to spend lots of time with her. She loves Elvis and actually likes to use him as a bench to sit down on so she doesn't have to lay on the cold floor.

Both kiddoes are house-trained which is a lovely break from what we are used to. As much as we love them though the summer dumping season has begun so I hope I'll find good homes for them soon as I have a long list of other dogs who are in urgent need of rescue. As usual we have lots of desperate dogs and no foster spots open. sigh.

If you know of someone who would be willing to foster let me know. Through fundraising and adoption fees New Rattitude is able to pay for the vetting, heartworm preventative, flea treatment, and even a stipend for food. We just need folks who have the time and energy to love these dogs until a spot is found for them.

Franny's happy ending

I am happy to announce that after a year in foster care our sweet girl, Franny, has found a furever home. This short little rattie had a rough start to her life but will now be settling into a wonderful home and the hurt of the past will just be a bad memory.

Her life started about 5 years ago in a southern Indiana puppymill. She lived there as a breeding bitch for about 4 years until the mill was shut down and Franny found her way into rescue. She spent about 3 months in foster care in Indiana at which point she was transferred to WA where she had a better chance at adoption. And she was adopted here - twice. The first adoption never really went through because Franny attacked the lady's dog at our house when she came to pick her up. The second adoption lasted 5 days. Franny was very panicked and it was discovered that she couldn't be around cats due to her high prey drive and she found their large (very sweet and calm) basset hound intimidating. After that it took over a month to get her calmed down and back to how she was before she left.

Franny had reactive aggression. Aggression seems a strong word because she never bit, but just sounded pretty vicious and scary when she was frightened. When we had new fosters in the house her reaction was to kick butt now and ask questions later. Her idea being that they couldn't attack her if she got them first. Eventually with desensitization she would get used to them but it took a couple weeks.

We decided that we needed to find Franny a home with people who were over-the-top dog lovers but didn't have any animals - not easy to find. But finally, 9 months after she came to us, we found the perfect spot for her. No dogs, no cats, no kids - just 2 parents for her that love to go for walks, live in a neighborhood full of squirrels and gardens and trees - great for sniffing. They have experience with dogs that have anxiety issues and are dedicated to helping Franny relax and feel at home with them.

As a foster parent you always want to feel like your foster dogs are going to a place where they will be cared for as well or better than they were with you. In this case I believe that Franny will be even more comfortable and will get plenty of love and more attention than she did with our wild pack. With so many new foster dogs coming through our house it was stressful for Franny to deal with them. Also, our family's schedule is pretty varied and it was tough for her not having the consistency she thrived on. In her new home it will be just her - Queen Franny - and I believe that is exactly what she needs.

Thanks to her new mom and dad for giving her this chance at happiness and thanks to all the New Rattitude people who helped her along that road from puppymill breeder to loved family member.

Finally: new dogs arriving tomorrow

Wow! There is all kinds of exciting things going on. First and most exciting of all is our girl Franny has an application. Not just any old app but a really great app that I think would be an incredible home for our little lowrider foster. They are coming out to the house to meet Franny on Sunday and we are super excited.

But before then there is a TON of rescue work going on. After 3 weeks of planning and organizing we finally have not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 (yep that's right) 4 rat terriers flying into Sea-Tac airport from Chicago. The dogs are actually from all over the Midwest and even one from Tennessee. Two of the dogs will stay with us - I'm crazy but not crazy enough to take 4 new ones!

One girl, Cedar, is actually flying to her forever home. She was fostered in Wisconsin and was driven down to Illinois tonight. Her new parents will meet us at the airport to take their new baby home to Bellingham.

Girl, number 2: Tellie was an owner surrender to a high kill shelter near Sweetwater, TN. She was temped for two weeks by one of our Tennessee foster homes and then hitched a ride on a transport of 5 rescued rat terriers coming north from Louisiana on Tuesday. She is a very sweet 2 year old tri-color girl and weighs 12-13 pounds. We will keep her with us until Sunday when we will drive over the mountains to meet her foster mom who will take her to her home in Yakima.

Girl, number 3: Tiny Prairie (named for both where she came from and the Thomas Pynchon character of the same name) was a stray who ended up in the animal shelter in Joliet, IL on March 31st. Thanks to her being so cute and sweet she was able to make it all this time without getting put to sleep, in spite of the fact that the shelter was overcrowded. However, they couldn't hold off forever and it was getting near the end for her. Thankfully our Illinois foster mom was able to pull Prairie and she will be fostered here with us. Prairie is about 5 years old, weighs about 6-7 pounds and will be needing a dental and possibly knee surgery during her time with us. Can't wait to meet her.

Boy, number 4: Elvis is a short little 1 year old (I think) dog who was found running along a busy highway. After almost hitting him someone was able to catch him and took him to the shelter. This scared little guy and 2 other ratties brought in around the same time almost didn't make it out. They were scheduled to be put down but New Rattitude talked them into stalling for a day so we could get a volunteer out there to pull them. The female was adopted but Elvis and another boy, Simon (now Captain), were pulled for New Rattitude foster care. Simon will head to Ohio soon. Elvis is sweet, quiet and a little timid. He is a teddy rat terrier so he has those short little lowrider legs like Franny does. We'll be fostering him but I'm guessing a cute little youngster like Elvis won't last long. The photo shown above is of Elvis.

So tomorrow the dogs come in, Friday Prairie will be spayed and have a dental, Sunday morning we'll take Tellie to Eastern WA, and then Sunday evening Franny will be meeting her possible adopters. Lots of great stuff!

Oh - another great rescue story - Our foster mom in Yakima had a stray little rat terrier that was found on the Yakama Reservation surrendered to her and she will foster this tiny, young girl for New Rattitude. Her name is Winnie and she is very sweet. She is white with unique brindled spots and face. Look for her soon at www.newrattitude.org in the dog house section of the site.