Meet and greets

Lots of foster dogs meeting and greeting yesterday:

Gatsby met the guys who have applied to adopt him and he really took to them, which is a big deal for shy, nervous Gatsby. It looks like this may be a good match for him.

Elvis met the other half of the couple who has applied to adopt him. I think that Elvis will really enjoy life with their active fur-girl, Roxy who loves to play just as much as Elvis does.

Emma came to work with me for the last few hours of the day to greet people with her permanent underbite grin. She was a big hit and a couple people have expressed interest in her.

And last but not least, Miss Prairie's adopter picked her up and she left for a home loaded with toys, soft beds, treats and love. Have a great life our sweet little Prairie Dog.

The pack is thinning a bit and I am breathing easier - 4 fosters is definitely overload at our house.

Lots goin' on

So we are starting July off with a bang (no fireworks pun intended) and there will be 5 new dogs flying into our 3 WA foster homes this weekend. Thanks to the WA foster parents who are going into overload to make room for these great dogs. Summer is what rescue people call the dumping season. All those Christmas puppies that seemed such a good idea end up at shelters and then you have the people who are planning a long vacation and decide they don't want to bother paying the money for boarding (trust me, this is very common) - whatever the excuses, the animals come into the shelters in droves. I am so impressed as I see the New Rattitude volunteers and other groups working together, sharing transports, networking, doing all they can to rescue as many of these forgotten dogs as possible.

Tomorrow evening the first three fosters will be flying into WA from Chicago. These one of the little guys I've already told you about - Gatsby from IN who was a stray, half starved from his time on the streets. Then we have Munch, a 1 year old pure bred rat terrier who has been in a Southern IL shelter since April. They held him longer than the usually hold since he was so young but due to lack of interest in him he was out of time. Thankfully the shelter works hard to find rescue groups to take their dogs. The other dog is Emma, a very mixy and hairy and adorable terrier who was also in a Southern IL shelter and was scheduled to be put to sleep earlier this week when the IL New Rattitude State Coordinator begged them to wait while she worked her magic. Munch will be heading to a foster home in Yakima where he will hang out with their pack and NR foster girl, Tellie. Gatsby and Emma will be staying here with me. Yep, we have an overly full house right now. However, Prairie has a very good application and I believe she will be heading to her forever home very quickly. She'll meet her new dad on Saturday morning.

Then, on Sunday a flight from Austin TX will bring 2 more dogs to WA. Hirf is an 8 week old rattie mix puppy who has a touch of demodex mange that we will treat. He'll be healthy in no time and ready for a new home then. The other dog I don't know as much about but her name is Bambi and she is under 2 years old, and is a terrier-Chihuahua mix (heavy on the Chihuahua as is the norm in TX.)

So welcome the new crowd to Washington. Hopefully they'll find great homes quickly and we'll be able to save a few more this summer.

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.