Just kidding. All things considered the new puppy has joined his pack *fairly* smoothly…though there are some bumps that we need to work through.

First of all, he has not eaten since he got here. We’ve figured out (we think) that he doesn’t know what dog food is and was probably fed table scraps. I tested this theory by seeing if he’d take a *SMALL* piece of Dorito and sure enough he gobbled it up. Then we tested him last night with a piece of hotdog (we were trying to get him in his crate…another issue) and he ate that too. So I think our theory is right.

However this morning as the other dogs were gobbling down their food I had tried a little bit of Kodiak’s food in a bowl (Kodiak and Quinn get Solid Gold Holistique for lower activity dogs) and he ate some of it. It was funny though - he’d take a few pieces in his mouth and spit them out. And then try again. And spit them out. hahaha I was cracking up and Trooper was loving the scraps. Finally he ate about 1/4 of a cup or less. *sigh* I won’t get worried yet. I know that he’s gone through a lot and is still getting his bearings.

Another issue is his absolute total OBSESSION with poor Kodiak. He will NOT leave him alone. He’s been trying to establish his dominance since he arrived and found quickly that he could not do so with Quinn or Trooper. So Kodiak has been trying to show his dominance but he has a very hard time with his poor back legs. There have been several scuffles and some crying but no blood so far. Honestly we don’t break them up unless they are pretty serious and so far so good. There was ONE serious fight over a toy with Trooper but I broke that one up.

So do I let the new dog try to dominate Kodiak? And let Kodiak deal with it himself? Or do I try to stop him from establishing that dominance? I’m not sure which is the best option. Because right now we are trying to keep him from humping but it’s CONSTANT. It would be funny if Kodiak weren’t in such a delicate state.

Third issue is the name…for over 24 hours we just made kissy noises and said ‘new doggy’. LOL

*** drumroll please ***

His new name is … TIMBER.

Hubby, mother in law, and I were sitting around throwing out names and all of a sudden hubby said “what about Timber?” And we all just knew. That was it! We went through SO many names but none of them felt right until Timber. With his coloring and his long legs and his personality it just felt perfect.

We have a lot of work to do with our new boy. He can’t walk on a leash to save his life and that’s one of those areas that I’m really bad at training. Trooper now seems a little more cuddly so I think it’s a little bit of jealousy. He never likes to snuggle on the bed but he was doing that last night. LOL

I think that Timber will calm down eventually. Right now he seems like a crazy out of control animal. =) But we know that this is all so foreign to him…the freedom, the kindness, the doggy companions. It’s all new.

Oh…and the panting. Boy he has a bigger tongue than Trooper does!!! And he has been panting like a fiend. I’m not sure if it’s partly stress or from all his excitement but I hope it’s a temporary thing because the super heavy breathing kind of worries me.

Right now he’s laying at my feet and earlier he finally took an interest in a bone. =) Normal doggy here we come!

I fought for him yesterday. I called the pound at 9:05 a.m. I got there at 11:30. Apparently at 9:35 a.m. another couple adopted him.

Oh boy. I was floored. However the lady said she tried her best to talk them out of it. They have never had a Malamute before and they didn’t have any other dogs. I was so concerned. Then I mentioned the abuse and the lady said she was going to call the couple and try to again convince them to adopt a different dog.

She asked me to go visit with the dog again because it had to be done in private. So I was back in the kennels, tears streaming down my face, not able to imagine him with someone else. He was meant to be part of our pack!

I went back to the main counter and she was just finishing up the call…and they agreed to look at a different dog!!! I was SOOOO happy.

He gets neutered today and I pick him up after work tomorrow. I’m excited but a little nervous. He was a total marshmallow at the pound, but he was also very stressed. He was with another dog in the kennel and totally ignored it (an adorable little puppy jumping all over him) so that’s a good sign to me that he is okay with other dogs. We’ll see how he reacts when Quinnie barks at him (as I know she will).

He is most likely not potty trained. He did not have shelter outside and I think that is where he slept. It’s going to be a whole new life for him…he has no idea how spoiled he will be. His old life will hopefully seem like a bad dream.

He’s going to have a playmate in Trooper, a “mama” in Quinn, a big brother in Kodiak, and of course his new “hooman” parents. He’s going to have soft cushy beds (or our bed if he wants to cuddle). He’s going to have enough food so he grows big and strong (he looks pretty thin). And bones to chew on. He’ll never be beat with a rake or shot with a BB gun again. And he’ll get proper training…proving that he is not “untrainable” as the a-hole former owner said.

I love all my dogs, obviously. But he already has a special place in my heart. I believe that adopted dogs appreciate (in their own doggy way) their new lives … especially when they’ve been abused … so much. He was so eager to get love and attention. I can’t wait to bring him home!

Oh…and we have no name for him yet. Feel free to offer your suggestions. Though it is up to hubby this time (I named Trooper so it’s his turn) so I’ll have to pass on the suggestions. lol

WOOHOOOOO!!!

So now I’m itching for the humane society to open so I can call and find out if they brought him in and if he’s available to visit.

He’s one year old and a Husky / Alaskan Malamute mix named Rambo. He’d fit into our pack perfectly!!! The animal control lady told my coworker that he was very friendly and just wanted to play. Well, DUH.

Apparently the A-hole neighbor told animal control that the dog was untrainable.

UNTRAINABLE!!!

That seriously made me curse. NO dog is untrainable with enough patience, time, and love. As the owner (wait…maybe they own me) of two Siberian Huskies and a Malamute I can attest that these dogs are very much trainable. Are they stubborn? Oh heck yes. Are they incredibly smart? Absolutely. That is a dangerous combination.

Apparently this loser was trying to keep the dog in a small corner of the yard with gravel and NO shelter! What the freaking hell? (excuse my language…but I’m actually editing what I’d LIKE to say.) My coworker said that she told another neighbor to keep an eye out on the guy while they were on vacation. This neighbor saw the guy squirting the dog with a water pistol. Not the biggest deal of course - except the dog was trapped and could not get away from the spray and he wasn’t even being punished for anything. The guy was just spraying the dog for NO REASON!!!

I’ll be headed to the shelter soon. I have to meet Rambo, take some photos, and talk to hubby about whether he can join our pack. Trooper would love to have a new puppy to play with now that Bullet is gone.

I think that Huskies and Malamutes are like potato chips. You can never have just one!

Whether the authorities have actually come out they don’t know. But at this point she has said they’ve done all they can and they are going to ignore it.

Which makes me angry and sad. A dog is being abused. There is no excuse for shooting a dog with a BB Gun or hitting it with a rake (plastic or not). Dogs deserve to be loved - they are companions, helpers, and workers. They are not punching bags.

How much is enough? I understand her concerns. They have to live near this guy and if they try to contact him directly he could turn his abuse toward their home, or even worse, their dog. But can’t more be done to help this poor abused animal?

Why haven’t the police or animal control taken the dog? Isn’t it a bad sign that a person tortures a dog? Doesn’t it speak to his capacity to harm other animals … that he could one day (if he hasn’t already) hurt a person?

How far would you go to save an animal from abuse and torture? What if it was a neighbor doing the abuse? You have to live there still … would that matter to you?

I honestly can’t say how I would react but if I saw a neighbor shooting his dog I would not be able to help myself. I’d be yelling, hollering, and calling the police. Not to mention video recording it. Would that be the wisest move? Perhaps not, but sometimes acting with courage isn’t always the wisest thing but it is the right thing.

Apparently some monster started beating his dog with a rake Friday evening and did it again on Saturday. Then Sunday they saw this piece of filth shooting at his dog with a BB gun.

Is there anything more repugnant?

I wish that our laws dealt with such abuse more harshly. There is a direct link between the abusing of animals and the prevalence of criminal behavior.

Apparently the dog is a Husky or Husky mix which makes my blood boil even more … Huskies are working dogs and need to be kept active and stimulated. When they become bored they become destructive. As a puppy, Kodiak ate all of our wedding candy! Not only that, he chewed the corners of our coffee table and kept trying to steal our socks and bury them in the back yard. We never once beat him for his adorable (though often destructive) puppy behavior.

My coworker thinks that the dog is doing something destructive in the yard but it sounds like he’s locked in the yard at all times. And I don’t care what a dog does to misbehave - there is NO excuse for taking a rake to him or shooting him with a gun. Even a BB gun! The dog doesn’t know why he is being mistreated. All the dog wants is to give love…and all his owner is doing is sowing fear and creating a potentially dangerous dog.

It breaks my heart. And what can be done? Thankfully my coworker called the non emergency police number and the sheriff’s department said they were sending someone out. She didn’t see the dog this morning but is going to check again tonight. If she see’s it happening again she plans to call again and if worse comes to worse will go over and try to rescue the dog herself.

This dog will need serious help from a rescue organization. I pray that he (or she) is rescued soon and one day finds the proper loving home that he deserves. The “person” abusing this dog needs to have charges brought up and a severe punishment (nothing short of hitting him with a rake and shooting him with a BB gun would really be enough) including monetary fines.

The sweet little girl is really excited and didn’t seem too shaken up when Bullet knocked her over. It was so cute. Bullet is just so rambunctious and gets a little too excited when people come over. They had plans to stop at PetSmart on the way home to get her some food and treats.

Bullet seemed a little hesitant when we walked passed my car to get theirs. Like she knew. She jumped right up into their vehicle but immediately started jumping over the seats to try to get back to me and then up to me when I walked toward the front.

Do you think she’ll remember us? I don’t want her to be sad in her new home and I know that I’m just assigning her human emotions - which is ridiculous. I know that she will get used to a new routine very quickly and be so happy with a new doggy and kids. She’ll have a nice big property to run and hunt on.

I now know that I am not meant to be a foster parent. I miss her so much right now it hurts. Although all three dogs are sleeping right now - something they wouldn’t have been able to do if Bullet were still here. She is just a mass of pure energy!

I’m glad that her new ‘mom’ works with me and can keep me updated with her antics. She will be missed and remembered…

TOWARDS THE FREEWAY!!!

Complete and total panic with no rational thought is the first reaction when this happens. I don’t even know what we did with the other two dogs while we both ran after Trooper. Finally I had a coherent thought and realized that chasing him was the exact opposite thing I needed to do so I started calling his name and running the other way. Thank GOD he followed … we grabbed him by the neck scruff and got his leash on and that has never happened again.

Until yesterday.

I pull into the driveway at agility (it’s a very rocky, pot holed driveway) and start looking for a place to park. As I glance back in my side mirror I see this blur of fur outside the car.

Yeah…Trooper JUMPED OUT OF THE f*&()&() CAR!!!

At first I thought that I’d hit him but he kept going to I threw the car into a space, rolled up the windows (I had Bullet with me too and she’d have followed), got out of the car and started screaming like a banshee.

I was so flippin’ scared and angry. I am not a cussing type of person but I was letting the expletives fly. He hadn’t just run off and was sniffing around the parking area looking all innocent. I knew that he knew I was pissed though because as I’m yelling at him to come to me RIGHT NOW he’s slinking toward me with his head down and ears back … “Uh Oh…Mama is MAD” look on his face.

When he got to me I grabbed his leash (he almost always has a leash on when we drive anywhere) and drag him back to the car where I FORCE him back in (yes…forced…he did not want to get back inside but I AM alpha and he WILL do my bidding!).

He had to sit and wait until I said “ok” before he got out of the car.

I *think* that is when I started breathing again. It took me about 10 minutes to really calm down. One of the trainers told me that if I couldn’t calm down I might as well go home…which is true. He had already forgotten what happened and was excited to work so I had to take some deep breaths and switch my mindset.

But dear Lord in heaven above I was scared. I never in a million years thought he’d do that.

And from now on the windows will only be open a crack!

Her vet is on vacation next week and the week after that she is scheduled for surgery for her little lip growths. They’ve gotten bigger and another one started growing.

I just want her to be healthy and comfortable. I think that she is allergic to something in the house. We aren’t the best house keepers and hubby thinks she gets a lot worse when she’s in our bedroom. It’s super old carpet and of course never completely vacuumed - there’s lots of dust and dog hair trapped in corners and behind dressers.

Can I give a dog something to clear up her nose? Like Benadryl? I don’t want to make her sleepy - she already sleeps a ton. If it stops raining I’m going to take her around the neighborhood … maybe during lunch. I think the fresh air is good for her. She doesn’t walk fast but enjoys sniffing and marking everywhere.

It’s hard to listen to her snorting and trying to get breath … there’s just nothing I can do to help her. It’s so painful to not know how to help my sweet little girl.

What is going on with me? Did I just dream that I wrote it? It wouldn’t surprise me.

Anyway…I’ll be updating on Jazmyn soon. =)

*insert lots of choice curse words here*

Well, the point of the whole post was that I’m sad to think of all the puppy mills seeing dollar signs this coming fall when the movie comes out. You just know that kids who see this are going to want one of these dogs. Which means I’m sure that we will see an influx of abandoned Chihuahuas all over the country at local shelters.

*sigh*