Jilly's Beautiful Manicure

Most black dogs have impossible to trim black toe nails. Jilly has the most unusual nails. Each one of her nails is pink with a thin black pin stripe.

She may look like a plain black dog at first glance, but there is nothing plain about this pretty girl.

A dog of many talents - by Willy

I'm a modest and quiet kinda guy but Aunty says I should be proud of my many talents and had me make a list. 

You may have read about some of them so you already know I can do magic (I can appear to disappear right in front of you), and you know that I'm a good boyfriend to Nina and a great dog-friend to the Kikster.  Aunty says I have LOTS more talents but I don't want to brag, so here's just some of them:

• Aunty says that I'm the best back-seat driver ever because I daydream and don't say a word.

•  I  am a polite office-dog and I listen well (though I have no idea WHO the Giants are!)

•  I'm an excellent trash can inspector  (hmmm, is that shrimp fried rice?  Yum!)

• I'm a dog for-all-seasons.  Here I am styling in my fall bandana. (Aunty thinks I'm quite the male model )

• I'm a jogger and an excellent exercise companion

And one of my favorite talents that I like to demonstrate whenever I can...

•  I'm a great lap dog!

Ken Foster Slept Here

Celebrated author Ken Foster will be here in less than two weeks for the hoedown. But even MORE exciting than Ken (we love him, but really) is his book. His BOOK - I'm a Good Dog - will be hot off the press and in his hot little hands and then in our hands and then in everyone's hands. At the hoedown. Not ho-down, mind you.

Rumor has it that he'll be sharing our humble guest cabin with celebrated dog diva Clara Yori and HECTOR and good god can you stand it WALLACE (if he's feeling up for the drive) and pimping their own milestone book: Wallace. 

So then, do we post a 'Ken Foster Slept Here' plague on the cabin wall or do Hector and Wallace trump Ken? Dueling books, dueling pit bull celebs. Our brains are exploding.

Not to end on a commercial, but our guest list has climbed over our original mark and we're considering closing the ticket sales so we can order this food we need to order already and call it a day. So if you're considering whether to join us, please do it now while we're still mulling. We would so love to see you in the glow of the party lights and everyone's bigger than life smiles. Event Link

highlights from Olive's recovery

We like to packrat video clips during dog intros and other key moments in hopes that they can help somebody someday. Here are some highlights of those beginning days in the barn with Olive, and her gradual acknowledgement that dogs are not only safe -- but fun! Enjoy.

(A wee warning: this one is nine minutes long and could've gone much longer if my iMovie didn't keep crashing on me!)

Olive's transition

After a rough start in her new home "Oh my dog? What's happened to me and why am I in a brand new place?" Olive decided maybe her brother dog Zoo (who was once frightfully insecure himself) was right when he whispered, "Don't sweat it Olive. This place is great."

First report:
I thought I would drop you a line to let you know how Olive is handling the kidnapping!

I am just sure this is what she thinks happened. She was a nervous wreck when we first got her out of the car. We had to leave the leash on her for several hours so we could get her to move around with us. When she was in the yard she kept running to the gate or the car. Finally around 6 she started to get hungry, so I made the pet crew dinner. She ate about 1/2 her food and then claimed her space on a couch. After she had this space, she started to calm down. 

We had dinner guest, so Olive got to meet our friend Peggy. It was good that Peggy came over because we were focused on talking and eating dinner, which gave Olive time to calm down. She did come over to meet Peggy and even let Peg pet her. After Peg left, Olive ate the rest of her dinner and I took her outside for a walk. At bedtime, she chose to sleep on the couch (with one eye open). 

Oh, as I was cleaning up after dinner, I asked her to twirl. She did a very slow circle, but she twirled.

Karen's most recent update:
Olive found her play mode, and we had lots of fun with her toys. She was grinning and being silly. This morning after our walk she was being goofy, and it was very hard for me to walk out the door. I wanted to stay home and play. I just check-in with Larry and all is well for everyone.

Sorry I forget to mention that Zoo changed as soon as be put Olive in the car with us. He really likes her. Last night's walk was with the three of us, and he volunteered to go. What a difference.

Willy's got a girl friend

Well, actually handsome Willy has TWO girl friends - one older gal and a very young one.  I'm talking about the sassy furry Nina, and the two legged curly haired kid, Kiki.  I'll show ya what I mean.


Willy and Nina
Nina may be an elder-bull, but she sure likes young Willy.  Here's a little peek at the two hanging out:

... here they are sitting pretty and giving me their best "PLEASE give us a treat" faces











  

... the pooches practice 'leave it'








  

 
...and together they inspect something interesting in the back yard












Willy and the Kikster

From the time the kid arrived, these two were virtually inseparable:

 

... early in the morning, while still half asleep

... taking walks together

















 

... at the playground together










... even when pooped out after a busy day

Oh yeah, foster-life is pretty darn good right now for gentle hunky Willy.

What Jilly Wants

Um, excuse me, lady

You know how that guy behind me has a nice chew toy?

Do you think there's any way a little girl dog could get one of those?

YES! Thank you nice lady!

Loni says...

...Well. Now what? This smart street urchin thinks being tossed full tilt out of the van was by far the very best thing that ever happened to her. It's clear she wasn't home. And with swinging teats and bleeding bite marks, she would not have been popular at the shelter.

We don't understand how the cosmic bingo game works or why it spits out a certain dog's number in our direction when it does, but we don't fight the game. One man's trash is going to be another man's treasure and we get to holler 'JACKPOT!' when her playing card finally fills up. Welcome to our world, little Loni.

where's Willy?

While Willy is learning about being a house-dog at my house, I've discovered that Willy has learned how to 'appear to disappear'.

For a few moments early this morning, before I'd had my coffee, I thought Willy had disappeared somewhere in my room. 

Can YOU see him?

And then he looked up, and I saw him....

- and a refrain of "do you think I'm sexy" started playing in my head.  Meanwhile, Nina (my brindle-spotted girl) is smitten with Willy - she thinks this handsome boy is the.best.present.ever!

rejection

Farnam was just told off by Loni for getting too close to her kennel. Oh the horror. All he wanted was a little bit of that kibble she was eating. Girls are so mean.

stray day

An email Sunday morning: "I am desperately looking for a foster parent for a sweet female pit that my daughter and I found yesterday on a busy road. She was covered in blood, emaciated, and clearly a new mom. A neighbor told us that she saw a car throw her out on the street and then speed off. Please let me know if you can foster, or know of anyone who can. Thank you so much."

Lucky girl to have friends. Thanks to Jibboom, who saw fit to get a home and especially to Aunt Anita, who kindly took Willy home to open precious kennel space - this stray found a safe spot. In two weeks, once her stray hold is completed, she'll be ours to place.

'Til then, she eats, she smiles, she sleeps, she wonders what in the world just happened to her. Life is what happened, lil girl.

We'll name you Loni. "People with this name have a deep inner desire for a stable, loving family or community, and a need to work with others and to be appreciated."

rumor has it

Olive met a very nice man named Larry this weekend and his wife Karen. They said they were looking for a friend for their cute elderbull boy Zoolander. Zoo came to them from BR waaay back in 2004, back when he was very shy and needed extra special love to help him enjoy the world. It seems Larry and Karen have a fondness for tender hearted dogs with stories and an extra talent for helping them along, because Zoo is about as happy as any dog can be today.

Gosh. I wonder if we have any girls with special stories that need a home? Who could we possible introduce them to? While we're racking our brain thinking up possible matches, we thought you'd enjoy this photo of Olive having a little get-to-know you moment with Larry and Zoo.

Tula sends her love

Tallulah (now Tula!) stopped by the other day with her new mom and her new boyfriend Shiner to say hello and to let us know how very happy she is with her new life and her new friends and her new yard with squirrels to chase and even the horses that she gets to see almost every day are nice too, and by the way mom got rid of one of the dog beds since she and Shiner would rather just share one together anyway and gosh darn everything worked out just like you all said it would so thank you very much for the love and good vibes!

the latest victim of .... the STAIRS

"Help! I've fallen up the stairs and I can't get dowwwwwwn."

"No I can't. Really - I can't. Too far."

"WHA! You're leaving me? NOOOO!"

"...I think I can. I think I can. I think I can..."

"Wait! Wait for MEEEEEEEEEE!!"

Willy sez...

I tug, and you smile at me tugging, and I am best-ever happy.

Farnam's friend

Farnam decided that he really liked Lisa during her visit to the barn. Especially her feet.

Tippy the tripod pup was here for the day on the eve of going home with her new adopters. (Don't worry - She's been properly renamed to Betty)

Bye Bye Boom Boom

Tim's saying his goodbyes to Jibboom after class today in this photo, but what's she looking at? Check it out. She's staring right up at her very own little boy, named Elliot.

Boom will be living with Joe and Megan -- and best of ALL -- their two kids. She was destined to be with kids (thank for helping us know that, Kiki!) and it certainly showed when she met this family at our Open House last weekend. We couldn't be happier.

Enjoy your new life, Jibboom. It was a joy and a pleasure to spend Summer '12 with you.
For old time sake, here's a replay of her first play session with Gurdy...

does she look sad?

Just maybe, she's thinking about all the times she had in this yard: Zooming through the tunnel with a toy in her mouth, taunting on the pause table, jumping at the hose, snuggling into her kennel with a fresh bully stick.

Miss Diva is set to go home today - a real live home. I didn't realize how much I'd miss her 'til Tim told me the home visit was completed and she was good to go. This little vixen really got under my skin when she first came to us, then with time she got right into my heart.

She was red hot reactive and horribly socialized to dogs when we first met her -- it was the key reason we took her in. While we were evaluating her at her shelter back in May, as luck would have it, she showed her worst side right when the shelter director walked into the room. We saw it in her face - Diva had just screamed her way onto the short list the next time they needed space. Tim and I looked at each other and sighed -- we had no choice but to take her.

When she came to the barn she was horrible with her mentor Elliot - stabbing at his face like an anti-social speed freak. He held steady. Play sessions were short and heavily monitored and every bit of training included rile/recovery work. We managed, shaped, scolded and praised - day and after day. Progress was slow. One day Elliot finally had enough and took her by the head and shook her, giving her a permanent scar. She screamed bloody murder. It was a turning point - "Ah ha! Dogs get mad when I do stupid stuff." Since then, she's started using her brain when she plays and has built smooth and solid relationships with all of the boys and most of the girls. She's now the 'dependable one' - she listens closely when we give her direction. She's a flirt pole show off. She calls right out of exciting play and backs off when dogs tell her to back off. She earned a roommate and has been kenneled with Farnam - good practice for her new dog brother who she'll be sharing her new home with.

What a difference a summer makes.

Goodbye little girl. I knew I'd be happy when you finally found your family, but I never knew how choked up I'd be.

I think he's starting to bloom

I'm not talking about the flowers in the garden that the dogs love to sniff and "water". I'm talking about our Texas elderbull who you read about in an earlier blog I'm worried about Jimmy.

At last Saturday's Open House event, I noticed Jimmy enjoying the attention of the folks he met and he was very interested in the children he saw there. It also helped that Lisa, Olive's first friend from the OC was handling him and apparently had an over-nighter with Jimmy at the guest cabin (that Lisa was quite the busy lady during her recent visit!). Then during my next shift at the barn, I noticed a definite twinkle in his eye and when Jimmy hit the yard, I swear his inner puppy came out, and the leggy elderbull romped and ran in the greatest of spirits. There was most definitely a smile on that horsey face of his! And periodically, Jimmy would return to check in on his new friend, Lisa.




Here he is taking a quick play break AND getting in a quick chin scratch - you can practically see the twinkle in his eyes.

















And before bed-time, Jimmy picked a couple of toys to keep him company. He chewed on that blue bone toy with the enthusiasm of a young pup then flopped exhausted to wait for the lights to go out.










So am I imagining it? Could it be true? That like a tender flower, our Jimmy is starting to bloom?

Olive's first friend

This is the first person who ever allowed Olive into her heart, back when she was twisted around from nearly two years of solitary confinement in a SoCA animal shelter.

We know for a fact that Lisa's got a good eye for seeing to the core of a stressed dog's funk, because Olive was a mess of PTSD-like behaviors back then. But of course Lisa saw the real Olive and decided to try and convince anyone who would listen that she was still alive, just slightly buried underneath that stress.

Olive adores Lisa - as you would guess. Even back in the shelter, when she couldn't muster the courage to lift her head or kiss her on the check or accept her toys, she loved her.

So much has changed. The girls had a reunion this past weekend that included a pajama party in the guest cabin and major zoomies in the yard. Fun! Lisa remarked on how bold and pushy Olive is now and how smoothly she navigates the drills at training class. And Olive was more than happy to show off her stuff.

Thatta girl Olive!