Elvis has left the building...again

As many of you know, sweet Elvis, a boy we first fostered back in June, was returned to us about a month ago. Honestly, he was the last guy that I thought would be returned but I was glad they didn't keep him if he was as afraid of them and their home as they said.

None of the fear aggressive issues were seen here but I did see problems with leash aggression due to high levels of anxiety when he was near a street.

Tonight he went to his new home and I'm crossing my fingers that all will go well. He got pretty stressy during goodbyes and was being somewhat alpha with Pearl and tried to start a fight a couple times. It's not behaviour that I've ever witnessed with him but I can tell he was ramped up and the best bet will be for him to be kept separate for awhile until he settles and feels safe enough to just be himself in the home and then there won't be an issue. His doggy sis, Pearl (was called McMuffin with New Rattitude so you may remember her), is as easy going a rat terrier as you'll ever meet so I think she'll forgive and forget his bad manners tonight.

In this photo you see Pearl watching as Elvis desecrates her beloved Skinneeez squirrel. He then went onto growl at her when she tried to take the squirrel back. She really was quite tolerant of him but a girl does have limits. So send calming thoughts to Elvis and Pearl and their parents as they work on integrating this nervous little guy into their household.

Need your help

As many of you know, our 3 Washington foster homes are stuffed full of dogs right now and unable to take anymore but there are so many dogs that I see daily, with very little time before they are put to sleep. Pictured is Oso, a five year old goofball rat terrier who was dumped at a shelter in California. He's labeled as a beagle-Chihuahua but looks pretty rattie to me. Whatever he is I've got nowhere to put him and will try to cross my fingers and hope he makes it out.

The most common excuse for not fostering is that people think that it will break their heart to care for a dog and then have to give it away to someone else. It will. But each time it gets easier and with each new foster dog you will realize that there are so many more out there that need you more that just one dog. Each one is deserving of love and care and the chance for a loving home. By making the sacrifice of letting your heart break a little, you will save lives. If I had kept Smudge, my first tiny little foster in December 2007, the other 50 dogs that I fostered after him would not be alive.

The second excuse/myth that I'd like to debunk is that you can't afford the vet care of a foster dog. The fact is that New Rattitude will cover the vetting of your foster (some limits and pre-approval of non-core vet care), they will reimburse for flea treatment, pay a food stipend... There will be some expenses but they are minor and also can be written off of your taxes since New Rattitude is a non-profit organization.

Final excuse is not knowing what to do. New Rattitude has a team of people to help mentor new volunteers, a state coordinator to answer any questions that might come up, and all kinds of great people willing to help you with any questions you have and to support you when that sweet dog that you save is able to go home.

If you'd like to learn more about fostering for New Rattitude check out our fostering page.

Photo of Oso is by Mia Anelli Photography - a lady who takes portraits of dogs in desperate need of rescue at the East Valley shelter in Van Nuys, California. Photos are then shared on Facebook and other spots in hopes of finding rescue spots/homes for them.

Still crazy...

We've now reached a new level of craziness here with 8 dogs at the house. Last winter when we fostered Star's litter of pups we had 9 in the house but at least with the pups the mess was contained to as far as they could toss their poo through the wires of their ex-pen. The 2 extras aren't fosters - we're dogsitting some friends' dogs and to give them credit they are easy dogs compared to any of the other 6 in the house. Actually, individually none of the dogs are difficult dogs but when you put them together in this big of a pack it makes life difficult.

Nimh and Elvis both have possible adopters so at least there is hope for a calmer household in the future. After they go home we are going to try to keep it to 2 fosters at a time for awhile to give ourselves a break after the crazy summer of foster overload at our house.

Kanga is a month past her surgery now and although she still lifts her leg to walk, she uses it fully when playing with Elvis. I'm thinking she'll be ready for surgery number 2 in another 4 weeks.

I decided to split up Frisby and Nimh because although they are bonded, it is more a co-dependent bond that tends to bring out the worst in both of them. Nimh likely has a home but Frisby will still be looking. He's a cute little 11 pound guy who is a bit anxious so should probably not be in a home with kids or large dogs. He loves to snuggle and is great with people as long as they aren't wild, crazy and loud.

Well, that's the latest. Happy October to you all!

The latest from the hound house

Sweet Lucas found a great home and was handed off to his new family on Sunday. I just E-mailed them to see how the transition was going. This sweet little guy can be a bit growly in new situations but he found a hardcore dog family who will happily give him the time and space to get used to his new family. His 12 year old Jack Russell Terrier sister should keep him in line if his new mom and dad are too soft with him though. :)

Since Lucas went home we had room finally for Elvis to join us. He had been staying with an adopter after being returned because of being overly fearful in his new home. He's doing great here and has been acting as a physical therapy assistant for Kanga. When she plays she forgets to hold her leg up and Elvis always wants to play. Kanga is happy to join in and gets regular sessions of using her leg. It is really speeding up recovery.

Frisby and Nimh are continuing to work on housetraining so they do spend a lot of time crated which is kind of a bummer. They went to work with me one day last week but Nimh wanted to be held all day so it didn't work very well. Even though she is 8 pounds she thinks she's a pocket dog. They are hilarious together and so cute and tiny. If you know of anyone who might be willing to offer this dynamic duo a loving home, point them my way. Their image event album can be found at http://imageevent.com/newrattitude/frisbyandnimh I can't take any new fosters until I find a home for at least 2 of my fosters because we are so full right now.

Oh - don't forget to enter your photos in the New Rattitude Rat Terrier Calendar contest! They are accepting entries until 9/30 over at http://www.newrattitude.org/

New Rattitude's Rat Terrier Calendar Contest!!!

Starting on September 15th entries will be accepted for New Rattitude's 2nd annual calendar contest. Last year's calendar was incredible and I'm guessing that there are some more stunning photos out there waiting to be entered in this year's contest. Here's how it works:

Winning photos will be featured in New Rattitude's second annual calendar, which will be on sale in early November. 100% of the proceeds from the photo contest and calendar sales will go toward the rescue and care of needy rat terriers.

Entries for our 2011 New Rattitude Rat Terrier Rescue Calendar are being accepted September 15-30th. Entries must be purebred rat terriers or close mixes. They don't have to be rescue dogs, but let us know if they are! Submissions must include at least one rat terrier, but may include other rat terriers too. No humans may be in the photograph. Other animals may be in the photograph, but preference will be given to photos that are primarily focused on rat terriers.

The entry fee is $2.00 per submission, or $5.00 for three photo submissions, $10.00 for six photo submission, etc. Only entries of digital photos submitted electronically will be accepted.

Photos will be judged by the New Rattitude Rat Terrier Rescue Calendar Committee panel of judges. Winners will be announced no later than October 15, 2010. All winners will be featured in New Rattitude's 2011 calendar and receive a free calendar! The top prize-winning photo will also win a $25 Petsmart Gift Card! Calendars will be available for sale by early November.

For more information on how to submit your photo and the contest rules and guidelines check out the contest Webpage at http://www.newrattitude.org/fundraising.htm

The Great Butter Debaucle of 2010

Troy had prepared a delicious dinner of corn on the cob, and an Asian sesame chicken salad. I was in the living room and he just stepped out of the kitchen for a minute. When he came back into the kitchen there was Lucas, standing in the middle of the table looking at him. Well, at first all we could think of was "ick! dog on the dinner table!" Then Troy said, "wait a minute, where did the butter go?"

Now, one would think that a dog would make a mess of eating off the table, throwing around food and leaving tell-tale traces they had been diggin' in. Not Lucas. He quickly went about his work with precision skill. The stick of real butter was missing but there was not a trace of butter on the table or floor. The dinner plates looked untouched, and yet, he's a dog! There's no way he sat up there with that food and didn't eat something.

Because a stick of butter isn't healthy for anyone but especially not when you are a 13 pound little dog we had to get Lucas to vomit up his prize or risk the possibility of a bout of pancreatitis. A teaspoon of peroxide was administered (NO IPECAC for DOGS! It is dangerous) soaked into a bagel and then we waited 15 minutes. Then a second piece with a 2nd tsp of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Then we waited another 20 minutes and realized the peroxide was old and it doesn't work unless the bottle is really fresh. As soon as Troy left for the store though, up the butter started to come, leaving the kitchen smelling a bit like a movie theater lobby.

Anyhow, the next day all is well and Lucas is back to 100%. But just a tip for all you dog folks out there, especially those with chow hounds like mine. A fresh, unopened bottle of hydrogen peroxide is a must have for your doggy emergency kit. Replace it 2 times a year to make sure you always have this on hand.

A crazy couple days of rescue

I really need to post to the blog more often so I don't have these huge posts to keep things up to date. Since I last reported we have had 5 new dogs arrive in WA and the big news is that 2 of them already have possible homes! Two arrived on Sunday and then 3 more flew in yesterday during one of the busiest rescue days I've ever experienced.

So here's a bit of info about our new crew in WA and I'll follow that with updates on the dogs who were already here.

Kanga: Kanga came from a Milwaukee shelter that is very low kill, however because of her luxating patella she was deemed unadoptable and scheduled to be euthanized. In stepped our WI state coordinator who pulled Ms. Kanga and fostered her for a week or so until we could get her transported down to Chicago for the flight. She had her first surgery yesterday and it ends up she had no groove for the patella to sit in at all! Not even a shallow one. That problem is now fixed and in 4 to 6 weeks she'll be ready for the other leg to be fixed. Special thanks to Edgewood Veterinary who always does such a great job on these surgeries and who are incredibly rescue friendly. We love you guys!! Kanga is shown in the picture above.

RJ/McLovin: This little 10 pound boy came from a rural IL shelter and is a little heart-throb. SOOOO cute! Poor boy had been in awful conditions at the shelter and had urine burns on his paws and worst of all, his testicles were like one big open sore. The shelter had reported that he didn't like to be held. Well would you like it if a person was holding you and squeezing your bloody McNuggets? The sores are already starting to heal and he will soon be neutered. This morning I drove him to his Eastern WA foster home where he'll get some TLC. It looks like one of Jett's overflow apps is interested in him so he should be able to go home in about 2 weeks when all the paperwork is done and his vetting is current.

Doc: Doc is a young, excited, big goofball of a boy. Although he can be wild, he does settle and will look at you with his big brown eyes and give a kiss. He came from South Bend IN and had been listed on New Rattitude's urgent list for a couple weeks. He also was shown to one of the apps who had been interested in Jett and may have a home with them.

Frisby and Nimh aka "The Dynamic Duo": Frisby and Nimh are rat terrier/chihuahua mixes who were surrendered together and have been together their whole life. This 4 year old pair does everything together, often in unison, and are very well behaved. Mr. Frisby is 10 pounds and is tan and white and Ms. Nimh is 8 pounds and is tan. Because they are so bonded our goal is to adopt these two out together. They came from a shelter in rural southern IL.

Okay so that's the new crew. Here's news on the old crew. Quimby has a great application and if the home visit goes as well as the interviews have will be going home this weekend sometime. She was spayed yesterday and came home in the evening. Today she has all her gumption back so we are having to keep her crated so she won't overdo it. McMuffin was adopted by a couple who had originally applied for Jett. I brought her back to the west side from her Yakima foster home and she will go home this evening. Lucas is meeting up with a possible adopter this evening. If all goes well he'll go home when they are back from vacation in a week and a half or so. Little Fleck, the 5 mo. old puppy from Stockton CA is available for adoption still.