Talullah's new horse

how very nice of Tula to take her new mom and her new horse and her new bodyfriend out for a walk in those golden California hills.

thatta girl!

sign this

Having a deaf dog in the program has made us all so much better about using hand signals when we train. You can't really get lazy and repeat 'Sit Sit Sit Sit Sit Sit Sit' with a hand sign ... Well, I guess you can, but you'd look like a spazz and you might incite excitable jumping in a young dog if you did.

Here's Barn Crew trainee Yomai trying out her sign for 'Wait' and working to convince the dogs that complying brings good stuff -- like that treat that's sitting just inches from their little paws.

It's looking like all the hearing dogs are enjoying the hand signs too. A score for everyone.

Boom News

Aw, shucks. We were worried when Jibboom first showed off her Mae West swagger. She walks with a the telltale Chick-a-BOOM-Chick-a-BOOM wriggle that looks flippin' cute, but you know it just ain't right.

X-rays confirmed that our special girl is now a girl with special needs. Her hips are pretty darn dysplastic and arthritis has started creeping in.

Thank goodness for pit bull beef, though! Her muscles are doing quite an impressive job holding all the pieces together, so Boom can keep on throwing herself into the play sessions she loves so much as long as she feels up to it. Our job will be to keep her well lubed and monitor her weight while we look for her just-as-special-as-she-is home.

I about melted from the faces she gave me on the way home from the vet. In case you didn't know, Boom-Boom is a bit of a Drama Queen and very quick to point out when something's not quite right in her world. The vet exam hurt and she whined and complained the whole way home, "Don't do that to me again!"

Okay, little girl. Let's go home and have us a little cuddle to forget about all that.

I just love me some Boom-Boom.

The Brindle Dogs

They may look alike, but thats about all they have in common.

Even though she's deaf Gurdy is a party girl. She is a tiny barrel of laughs coming up with some new silly antic every day. She keeps close tabs on the people so they don't disappear on her again and bumps her little blocky body into knees demanding butt scratches and belly rubs.

Willy may look like a big tough guy, but he is as soft and gentle as they come. He happily rolls on his back when the barn girls want to wrestle. On walks he is a perfect gentleman, only gently suggesting a route if there is a spot that MUST be peed on. When exercise and play time is over he softly nuzzles his human friends asking for a gentle massage while he stares deeply into your eyes.

Two perfect brindle dogs.

Say WHAT?

Yes, she might be totally deef - but Gurdy hears the hand sign for "Cookie!" loud and clear.

Here's a link to her PHOTO ALBUM in case you're thinking, "Hmmm. Gurdy!"

the rain makers

The foster crew has been doing a rain dance to help cool this summer down a bit for all of you.

All the faces shown here are looking to be adopted ... Except for Catfish Jones, who is rumored to be dusting off his suitcase, that lucky boy.

Jibboom's Adventure

Jibboom turned up missing during pm shift today. Where'd she run off to?
Oh...

She went up to the loft in the cabin to have a little look-see, but she couldn't get back down. Ohhh Nooooo.

The stairs are still open and it's such a looooong way down. What to do? "Oh woe is me," whimpered Jibboom.

The ever-optimistic Gurdy jumped in to help. "Watch me Boom-Boom. It's easy! Just one step at a time, ya see?"

"Nooooooooo!" yawned Jibboom.

Jibboom was not convinced. That is one SCARY set of stairs. STOOPID cabin!

So she settled onto one of the beds and resigned herself to live in the loft forever. "I'm fine here. Don't worry about me. It's all good. Whimpeeeerrr!"

There was only one way to save the day. Elliot ran for top dog Tim to make it all better.

Oh how awkward!

Don't worry Jibboom. We won't tell anyone. 

Gurdy and her new friend the flower

hello.

the midnight hour

There's one shift that few barn-crew members work - the midnight shift so usually, Tim mans it alone. After all, someone's gotta let the dogs out to stretch and potty before settling in for the night. Since my grandie's on summer break, we took the midnight shift last night. The barn pooches did a little obedience training, helped us do chores, played, and took turns cuddling on the couch.

But young girls do get weary - and that's when Jibboom learned that if you try a little tenderness, here's what kids are REALLY good for.....



Best pillow ever!

Olive's new smelly boy

Olive met Willy the other day, which was soooper exciting. Mostly, it was exciting because Willy still has his b-b-balls for the moment. Oh sweet geesuz!

She was enthralled with his manly scent, which made for some shameless flaunting and popcorn dance flirting. Willy was a gentleman about it all, not wanting to take advantage of the amorous young vixen, and they sorted out an awkward but excitable tour of the barn yard together.

Olive: "Oh baby. Oh baby, baby! You are so fine."


Willy: "Uh .. Okay. Thanks for letting me know."

Finally, Olive plopped down on the ground in a fit of happiness.  Surrounded by some of her first people ... at her first home...with her brand new boyfriend. It was almost too much.

Olive's fans may want to know that, all hurdles jumped, Miss Olive is now available for adoption. When she finally finds her person, we've all agreed that we may fall into a heap of happy on the ground too. Share the news!

Creature Comforts

Jibboom's kennel, otherwise known as the Ji-Boom Boom Room. That's right, baby cakes.

Tallulah at Home

Her very own family, her very own boyfriend, her very own dog bed. Life is good!

A big happy news catch up

... for you non-facebookers ... (shakes fist in the air) ... here's some really good news you may have missed.

There's Danny's new mom Anne - right after earning their Canine Good Citizen certificate this weekend! WOOT!

And it's Miss Possum and new mom Meredith. They're CGC Stars too. Woof!

It wouldn't be a party without news of Star's CGC. Shown with her new parents, Rob and Janet.

Wait! Is that OLIVE with her foster mom after earning her CGC, too? Why yes, it is. Somebody pinch me silly!

Finally - the news gets better with Miss Tallulah and her brand new mom Dana. Oh happy days!

a little work, a little play

While Diva and Oscar were off at Pit Ed Class learning about good manners when out in public, the rest of the barn dogs did their thing.

A little work......



here's Willy concentrating really hard on "leaving-the-treat"

Disclaimer: As his reward for "leaving-it" as asked, Willy got to eat the treats so no dog was tortured or mistreated in the taking of this picture or in this training activity.





A little play......



rockin' and a rollin', reelin' and a rockin', Gurdy and Jibboom are havin' fun










Whether you're working or playing, the pooches hope you enjoy your weekend too.

watch how our garden grows

it's a little bit messy and a whole lotta happy. just like the rest of the barn.

Gurdy, Still

A happy discovery: Gurdy can indeed stop moving while perfectly awake.

We hold our breath and count .."ONE-one thousand...TWO-one thousand...THR ---"

ZOOM! She's off and running.

Staffy Bull much?

Jibboom's July

So far, summer's working out real well for new girl Jibboom (Boom-Boom if you're tight).

Except for that part where they make you stare and wait ... stare and wait ... stare and wait for that cookie.

That's soooo wrong.

fresh meat!

We tried to get photos of new girls Jibboom and Hurdy Gurdy this morning, but there was so much spaz makin' and wriggling goin' on that we gave in to video.

Jibboom (red coated panda faced girl) comes from Shasta County, where a hoarding case overcrowded her straight down to Oakland, thanks to the fast work of a dedicated shelter staff and volunteers. We're so happy to have both of these girlies in da house.

Stay tuned as the Girl Power brings more fun to this barn full of blockheads.

America's Birthday Re-Cap

1. Play fetch with an American dog.

Diva loves her multi-colored tennis ball.

2. Take your American puppy for a nice stroll around the neighborhood.

Oscar is learning about begin a big boy and enjoying his walk.

3. Help a new American dog get her bearings.

Jiboom is learning the barn routine.

 4. Give an American dog a long ear rub.

Willy enjoys an nice massage in the sun.

5. Take your American dog camping.

Miss. Louisiana, Tallulah, finally got to spend the night in the tiny cabin with her friends.

Elliot's Vacation

Elliot's bosses gave him a couple of days off from barn duty. Such nice bosses. His friends on the team stayed at the cabin and took care of all the shifts so he didn't have to feel bad about leaving. Such nice teammates.

So Elliot went up to the mountains and made believe that he was a wolf. Here he is pretending to be a wild wolf super model for Ansel Adams.

While he was in the forest, he discovered a steam train so decided to hop on board to see all the sights a wolf should know about. The shaking and clackettey clack of the train car was worrisome at first, but soon Elliot got the hang of things and starting to enjoy the ride, even when the train whistle blew. Toooooot!

The conductor took his ticket and seemed just fine with having a wolf onboard ... yes!

Two little girls wanted to talk with Elliot, so he had to pretend he wasn't a wild animal for a minute. Good thing, because the man behind them wanted to pick his nose and Elliot knew that a true wolf would howl with laughter about that, which wouldn't be very polite.

His new friends the girls stared into his eyes and told him how wonderful he was. Elliot decided he likes vacations very much.

After a big day prowling the mountains and riding on the steam train, Elliot was happy to learn that the wild place had all the comforts of home.

He feel asleep with Mr. Tim and thought ever so briefly about his friends at the barn.

Then, he ran off to the woods in his dreams and howled at the almost full moon and decided that he was the luckiest dog on the whole earth.

Oscar's morning to-do list

• 7am wake up (what kind of volunteers show up THAT early, good grief!!) - Check & ugh!
• Potty time - Check
• Breakfast (oooh, my favorite - love it!!) - Check
• Obedience School - Check
• Recess - Check
• Exercise Program - Check
• Play dates - Check
• Sunbathing - Check
• Chillaxing - ..........zzzzzzzz

The barn dogs wish y'all a Happy 4th of July!