ZOMG KITTENS!!!1!!!

Awesome foster parents Jonit and Scott sent us some pictures of their foster-kittens. These two were found in the woods with their sister, Colita who has already been adopted. Here is Beta:


And Electra (formerly known as Agent Orange Stripe.)


We don't expect to have these guys too long, because they are so super cute! And of course because babies get adopted quickly.

The Joys of Fostering...

Sometimes, fostering can be hectic.

Just this past week we went from 7 cats (only 1 permanent- my baby, Tidbit) to 5 (2 adoptions!), then two days later up to 6 (an owner relinquishment), the next day back up to 7 (a friend found a stray), two days later down to 6 (the guardian was found!) and the next day back down to 5 (another foster home took the relinquishment). Granted, since I'm on the board of the rescue, I deal with a lot more then our general foster homes.

But right now, I'm laying in bed typing while Handsome lays on my chest, purring his little heart out, looking completely blissed out. This poor guy was living on the streets just a month ago and already has an introduction tomorrow with a potential family. I'm already imagining this sweetheart playing and cuddling with the little girl who's coming to visit him, and my heart swells at the potential. I'm grateful for this moment of peace and bonding with him, as he may be leaving soon.

I know a lot of people focus on the perceived negative of fostering- the animal is (hopefully!) eventually adopted and you may be sad. Which happens.

But there's so much everyday joy and there's always another needy animal who would love to hang out with you.

Cleopatra, Queen of... your home?

Cleo has been with the rescue about 6 months. She almost had an adoption go through, but the family had some personal issues come up right before they finalized it.

We selected Cleopatra to be part of our Home for the Holidays campaign, which is focusing on the animals who have been in our care longest. As part of the campaign, her adoption fee is $40 for anyone who contacts us about her until the new year. Here's a little more about Cleo!

Ms. Queen Cleopatra is much better suited to being worshiped as the divine ruler of Egypt than laying with cats. She'd prefer to be the only animal in the house but has gotten along with some dogs and even a rabbit.

Her heighness represents all that is cat-like. She is independent yet social, and is pleased to make your lap her throne for hours! She dotes on her people and she'd much prefer to sleep on your bed at night. In fact, she insists on it. Slim and graceful, Cleo's silhouette is striking. She has quite the knack for silently moving and showing up suddenly in unexpected places. She'll follow you around and carefully investigate your every move, especially where food or running water is involved. Though affectionate, Cleo makes it very clear that she prefers to be top cat. She has just enough brattiness for a true cat-lover to cherish. Very playful, she acts half her age of 3 years!

This independent lady set sail and left her family in the dust. Too regal for the streets, she is auditioning families once again. She'll hold her family to the highest of standards and we suggest you meet them. But isn't divine love worth it?

Unfortunately, black animals are adopted at a lesser rate then non-black animals (this happens in the cases of dogs, cats and rabbits). This is attributed to many things: how they might "fade into the background" of a cage at a traditional shelter, how hard it can be for an inexperienced photographer to snap a good picture for an online listing, how a few white/gray hairs can age them far more then the same hairs on a differently colored face and more. Black cats often face a double bind with the silly superstitions and connotations that surround them because of their alleged historical crimes and their common use as "scary cat" in movies, ads and more.

If you can, please spread the word about Cleo! You may not be able to adopt her, but maybe she'd fit perfectly into a household of someone you know.

Meet Augusta!

Augusta came from the streets with her kittens. She is a lady, loves everyone, is happy to eat last and mews quietly.

She weighs only 6 pounds making her a perma-kitten!!

If you want an easy dog DON'T get a puppy!!!

Puppies are cute, but puppies aren't puppies forever. People see puppies as 'blank slates' and assume that if they raise their puppy with love he or she will grow up to be an easy dog. Sadly, it takes much more than love. And puppies aren't blank slates. In fact, behavior problems are normal! Many people simply don't know what they are getting into - and sadly many of the millions of puppies adopted yearly will soon end up in shelters because of behavior problems and many could easily have been prevented. Some of these problems are easily treatable, but some will need to be managed for life.

Behavioral problems can occur even if the guardian does everything right. Dogs, like humans, have complex brains. Like humans, not all problems have an obvious source - or even any source at all. Some problems won't show until adolescence. That's a risk you take when you adopt a puppy.

People are quick to assume an aggressive or reactive dog has been abused, but this is most often not the case. Most reactivity and fear is the result of insufficient socialization or poor training methods. Here are opinions by veterinary behaviorists on the importance of puppy socialization. Dogs are detail oriented and many naturally respond to new stimuli fearfully. That means if you adopt a puppy you need to introduce him to people of all shapes and sizes, races and manner of dressing. (100 people a month!) Commonly dogs react to men, beards, hats, children, umbrellas, loud noises, humans who don't look or act like humans they've met before and to other dogs. Dogs who have not been properly socialized with children are likely to show fear - often aggression towards children. Even if they have been raised with nothing but love. Other dogs develop aggression because well intentioned humans use popular - but flawed training methods. Note that some people who break all the best training advice get lucky - but don't count on it.

Things you should know if you think you want a puppy:

• Some people who fail to follow all the best advice get lucky. Some people who do everything right, don't. Some dogs are born with "frayed wires". Just like some humans sometimes have serious issues despite caring families, careful training almost always creates well behaved dogs, but it is no guarantee - even from dogs who are "carefully bred". (For instance though you can make them less likely storm phobia, noise phobia and food guarding seem to be innate or at least they don't have clear causes.) What's more is that one bad experience during your puppies critical learning (8-16 weeks) period can last a lifetime. Maybe an off-leash dog attacks, maybe a child runs up and is too rough, maybe a stranger trips over or steps on or kicks your puppy, maybe your puppy walks over a wasp nest (and blames whatever he is looking at at the time for the pain.) When you adopt a puppy you are accepting the risk that even if you do everything right you may not end up with an easy adult.
• Training isn't intuitive. If you haven't studied advice from someone with credentials you aren't prepared. Make sure you are getting advice from someone who uses methods sanctioned by the veterinary and behaviorist communities. Not just a TV celebrity. To prevent aggression you need to learn modern methods and learn them well. Any dog can develop aggression because of outdated (but common) methods - but a puppy is especially prone.
• To be housetrained baby dogs need to be walked every hour. Yes, during the night too.
• To be socialized with people your puppy needs to be having positive exeriences with new people multiple times a day.All different shapes, types, smells, hairstyles. People carrying things, people moving in different ways and people of different ages. At least 100 a month in different situations for the first three months in the home!
• To be socialized with other dogs, they need to meet dogs of different shapes and sizes. Don't count on the dog park - there may be puppy-reactive dogs there. Puppies are often rude, and too anxious to play to properly communicate with other dogs. This can cause some dogs to react poorly to them. One bad experience early on may last a lifetime.
• To prevent them from destroying your house pups need constant supervision when they are free in the house.and ample chew toys. Dogs as good as they are at "looking guilty" don't actually understand punishment after the fact. To teach good habits you need to be there.
• To teach bite inhibition you need to be vigilant about stopping play when they bite too hard. Puppies need to bite when they are young in order to learn their own jaw strength but this should stop by four months. If it doesn't, it may be much harder to train away.
• To teach appropriate greetings you should work on polite behaviors at a young age. Teach your puppy to sit when he greets new people, reward him for not barking. Don't allow your pup to reward himself by jumping, make sure your guests turn their backs when he jumps. Make sure meeting new people is always a positive experience to prevent fear!
  
• To teach appropriate on-leash behavior you need you to be consistent about not letting dogs pull. Make sure you teach your dog patience, have him sit and look at you before greeting other dogs. Some leash aggression is the result of frustration. You will need to make the leash not stressful, and certainly there is no better way to stress a dog out than an inappropriate collar. Choke, prong and shock collars are likely to cause aggression. As is letting the dog choke himself by excessive pulling on a normal collar. You need to be consistent because learning shouldn't hurt.
• To teach appropriate off leash behavior you should start young teaching reliable recalls even when there are distraction. Even with neutered animals, expect some re-education to be necessary when your dog becomes an adolescent.
  
• To teach appropriate behavior around small animals, you need you to teach incompatible behaviors and introduce the pup to animals while he is still young.
  
• To prevent food guarding you need you to teach them that touching their food leads to good things. Once food guarding sets in, you can work with it to a point - but the most common recommendation is to give the dog distance while he eats.
• To prevent owner-directed aggression it's recommended that you are consistent with a "nothing in life is free" regimen. Signs that your pup is prone to this behavior may be visible from a young age, but you can never be too careful.

There are no guarantees!! Some dogs may do relatively well with faulty socialization, and some may develop major problems for no obvious reason.

The dogs we get are lucky. They are the ones who (kill) shelters have pointed us to - they rarely show us the dogs who (through no fault of their own) developed serious problems due to lack of socialization. It's still true that many dogs come to us who already have problems, most often from well meaning guardians who just were not prepared for a puppy. Other times we have dogs (like my Arlo) who have in fact been abused. Sometimes these problems may be very difficult to cure - once fear has set in it may be a long treatment process. That's true even if there was no trauma behind it. However, most dogs who are lucky enough to make it to us don't have serious behavior problems. Some are little angels, others may need to review basic manners, like walking on a leash or sitting to greet new people - but these are a snap to teach next to raising a puppy! (It's tragic that some humans abandon their companions because of behavior habits that a competent trainer could easily address!)

We (like many other rescues) keep our dogs in foster homes. We keep them long enough to get a good idea of what problems a new guardian is likely to encounter. Depending on the problem we may hold off listing a dog while we are working on behavior issues. When you come to look at a dog we will tell you what that dog will need to become a good citizen. We are honest - we do not want our dogs to be returned because they have behavior problems their new families were not ready for!! Most often the needs of our adults are far less than what raising a new puppy would require. Never underestimate what rescue dogs can learn!!

Getting a baby dog is like having a human baby. They grow up faster but if you can't make the commitment to educate and socialize them then be prepared for behavior problems later on. This post was painfully long, but that's exactly the point. If you are not looking for another full time job, then a puppy probably isn't for you.


And if you need a better reason to adopt an adult - think of the millions who die each year because they are "over the hill" and hard to adopt out by the time they are a year old.