Pupdates ~ Gracie

The shelter has been one crazy place lately. Dogs coming in, dogs going out, cats everywhere, small animals adopted left right and centre ... Crazy crazy crazy. There has been one constant though and that is Gracie.




After several months, Gracie is still at the shelter. She went out on an adoption and was returned to us within 3 weeks. Now, she is back at the shelter. She came back with a severe bladder infection that included crystals! How painful is that!? So, she went on antibiotics for a few weeks and is now on a special food. The vet says she has to stay on this special food forever ...

When it comes to dogs that are hard to adopt out, Gracie is one of them. She's estimated to be about 6+ years old so she's nearly a "senior", has to stay on medicated food, is NOT good with other dogs, chases cats, is a "talker" and isn't purebred.



On the bright side, Gracie is a cuddler, has nice manners and is a superb fisher-dog! Unfortunately, not many people need a fisher-dog anymore since the invention of supermarkets.

Three Ways to Promote Successful Adoption Listings

I've said it a few times but I'm going to reiterate this point again ... if you are involved in rescue, you will increase adoptions if you promote the animals properly. There are many people out there who are surfing the web in their spare time (at work, on lunch, at home, etc.) ... some of them are looking for new pets. We have to accept that potential adopters are sometimes out there to be found via the internet.


Successfully presenting an adoptable pet is not brain-surgery but there are certainly a few best practices you should use that will help ensure the pet is adopted. Some of these suggestions are courtesy of AdoptAPet.com and Petfinder.com.

Promotion Tip #1 IT'S ALL IN A NAME

Shorter, easy-to-remember names work best. Also, you can use the name field to include a short attractive phrase like: “See My Video!”, “loves kids”, “fully trained”, or any other word or words that call out the best feature of that pet (for example “Molly – Loves Kids!”). Adopters will see that on their search results page, and are more likely to click on your pet!

Promotion Tip #2 THE VIDEO

A picture is worth a thousand words… but nothing captures a pet’s personality like a video! You only need 20 to 30 seconds… you can do it with most phones or digital cameras. Why are most rescues too lazy to make a video?? Probably because their fosters don't take the time to make one. It only takes a few seconds ... maybe even 10 minutes if you include the set up and take down time! *gasp* COME ON FOSTER HOMES! Here is your moment to STAND OUT and SHINE!

Promotion Tip #3 THE PHOTO

Oh dear ... how many times have I said that the rescue posted a terrible picture of a dog? TOO MANY! Rescues ... here’s your chance to make your pet really stand out! So DON'T MUCK IT UP! When a potential adopter does a search on a pet website and looks at the results page, the pet’s photo and name are the first things they see. Research shows that the best eye-catching main photo is a close-up of the pet’s face. Here are a few other suggestions:

~ Take the photo in the brightest light possible. This will hopefully eliminate the flash and will help show the actual contours of the pet rather than showing how shadows collect around them. It will also reduce red-eye.


~ Have the pet wear a bright solid color bandana that compliments the pet (how about a blue bandana for a dog with blue eyes?!?).


~ Place a toy or commonly recognized object (like a tennis ball or telephone) next to the pet to effectively show the pet’s size.


~ Take the photo with grass or a soft solid bright color as the background.  


~ Make dogs run around first so they are panting and look like they are smiling!


~ Hold a treat right above the camera lens to get the pet to look right at you!

Pupdates at the Shelter ~ Traveller

Here's my first installment of Pupdates at the Shelter. At this point, I don't really know where this type of post is going to go so we'll just have to see how it changes!



We currently have 4 dogs at the shelter. Traveller, Penny, Ralph and Gracie. The first three arrived on December 23rd ... Gracie arrived on December 31st. I haven't got picures of all the dogs yet but am working on it. Hopefully I'll have some soon for future pupdates.



Traveller

 This is Traveller the Beagle. He arrived at the shelter December 23rd ... he was one of the very first dogs at the shelter! Traveller is a super friendly little guy who thinks that everyone should love him. He has been recently nutered so he is supposed to be "staying quiet" ... yeah right ... I don't think anyone told him that! He is such a busy guy. While I was at the shelter on Friday, he was climbing the kennel door! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture ... though from that point onwards I have been carrying my camera with me everywhere!



Traveller knows "sit" but that seems to be about all he knows. He's been learning how to stay "off" but that's a challenge ... he's a tiny dancer you see and loves to dance around upright on his hind legs. Traveller is also in the process of learning how to walk nicely on a leash. If he's not pulling to go left, hes tugging right and this makes for very tired volunteers!

 

This is such a happy go lucky guy that I wonder if he takes much seriously? He seems to love everyone and to think that EVERYONE should rub his ears. Who wouldn't love a mug like that?

Traveller has had some people come to look at him but he's often so busy a-rwoo-ing up a storm that people think he's too loud. If that doesn't bother them, then they simply have to take him for a walk and have him tow them up the driveway! So far no one has opted to take Traveller home. I'm sure the right person is out there - it's just a matter of finding them. In the meantime, however, the volunteers at the shelter will be given training how to work with the shelter dogs to resolve some bad manners (like walking on a leash).

Featured Rescue ~ Julius the Bouvier

I've devised a new way to look at petfinder/petango/etc advertisements. It is a scoring system that analyses different aspects of an advertisement. It's important when you are advertising an animal to highlight specific information about it. In fact, a lack of information can actually deter potential adopters. (Let's face it, there are 169,420 dogs out there available for adoption on Petfinder RIGHT NOW so why is the dog you are fostering any better than the next guy? Don't give me the "if they aren't willing to make a phone call then they aren't good adopters" crap ... those aren't the target audience of these ads -- don't EVER forget who your target audience is!) See the bottom of this post for a breakdown of this scoring system.

Today's Featured Rescue is Julius the Bouvier des Flanders (mix). He's approximately 1.5 years old. With a name like Julius, I keep thinking Julius Caesar ... I wondered if that's who he was named

for but couldn't find any info that might suggest this.

This is one of the longest descriptions of an animal I've seen on Petfinder ... it's very informative but it loses points with the organization. The comment about his 110% beauty quotient also lost points (pictures can say a thousand words, no?). I'd like to see the thoughts grouped together in some sort of logical pattern rather than random sentences about the dog. The pictures are great though - and they earn points for that.



Overall, this ad gets 3/3 for pictures, 3/4 for information and 1/3 for organization ... that's a total of 7 out of 10. Not bad but not great.

Pet Advertisement scoring system

10 points

3 for pictures

__________ 1 for more than one picture

__________ 1 for different angles of animal (I don't want to see two identical pictures!)

__________ 1 for good picture quality

4 for information

__________ 1 for information

__________ 1 for quantity

__________ 1 for quality

__________ 1 for no fluffy bunny crap
3 for organization

__________ 1 for easy to read

__________ 1 for grouping your thoughts logically

__________ 1 for the reader being able to pull necessary information out of the ad

Featured Rescue ~ Dublin the Greyhound

Long ago, I started running Featured Rescues every three days but lately I've been lucky to post three per month. That doesn't mean that there are any less dogs out there for adoption ... just that I've been slacking in the posting. I will try to re-start my black dog postings for Mondays and another Featured Rescue sometime throughout the week ...

Today's Featured Rescue is Dublin the Greyhound. Dublin is a black brindle beauty. She is 3.5 years old. The pictures of Dublin on Petfinder aren't that great so I snagged the best one for her post here. Dublin is not cat-safe and she is also toy possessive. From the sounds of it, she will need a little work to become the world's greatest dog (but she will and can get there easily and quickly with the right owner).

Featured Rescue - Nana the Labrador Retriever

Today's featured rescue is Nana. She is a senior lady who needs someone to give her that super-special home where she can live out her life. Nana has a bunch of tricks in her "routine" including sit, shake a paw, lay down and roll over.

Unfortunately she does not seem to enjoy the company of other dogs which means that the shelter is looking for someone with no other dogs to adopt her. Fortunately, she is in a foster home and not in the kennels. I hate to see the older ones in the shelter ... and more so for those who don't like other dogs. It's a great environment to culture a negative behaviour that has been budding.


If you can offer Nana a home, please contact the Guelph Humane Society at •519-824-3091.

Featured Rescue - Fofee the Australian Shepherd mix

I went looking around to find a Red Merle Aussie to feature as today's rescue (spurred by Sweep's story) but when I ran across Fofee, I decided to feature him instead and turn this into a discussion ... I want your opinion.

I'm sure you're saying to yourself "Why would she post an 8 week old puppy? It's easy for them to get adopted" and you're right. However, I wanted to use this as an opportunity to look at different adoption processes and fees.

Fofee is in the care of the Mississauga Humane Society. Their adoption fee for an 8 week old puppy is a whopping $450! Some people might see that and turn and walk away. HOWEVER ... what we have to look at is what is included in this fee? The ad says: which covers 3 boosters, deworming, microchipping and neuter/spay when the puppy is five months old. If you went to an average priced veterinarian, the costs would easily be $600. Keeping that in mind, $450 for an adoption fee doesn't sound too far fetched.

I scrolled through the web page and found that almost each and every dog had a different adoption fee. Some were as low as $128; some $158; some $198; some $200; some $250; some $300; some $350; some $480!! Holy jumpin'! Talk about all over the board. The only one that seems to include future vet bills is the Aussie puppy. I thought it might have something to do with the age / breed of the animal but after scrolling through, it doesn't seem to be the case. Perhaps it has something to do with the amount of money / time they have put into the dog?? It's hard to say because most of these dogs are in foster homes.

What do you think? Do you think it's right for a shelter to change the adoption fees for each dog?? If not, why? If so, what would the criteria be??

News Reel ~ Burned Dogs Available for Adoption

Back in March 2010, two dogs were set on fire by their owner. 36 year-old Katherine Brotherton faces two felony counts of animal cruelty. Investigators said she doused her family’s two pet dogs with gasoline and set them on fire. Brotherton allegedly claimed the dogs bit her and setting them on fire was the only reasonable thing to do. May Brotherton says her daughter has exhibited schizophrenic behavior in the past month (of March) ... and that she refuses to take her medication.

Sick sick sick. You can't tell me she's not spun. She's not an Asshat ... she's a genuine, bonified CRAZY-MOFO

While there is little help for Brotherton (as an "adult" over the age of majority, it is within her rights to refuse treatment), there is help available for the two dogs. More than 8 months later, they can finally find a new [safe] home.

The Burned dogs [are] healthy again; up for adoption in Johnson County. Jake, a black Labrador mix, and Boomer, a blue heeler, both suffered extensive burns when their owner allegedly set them on fire as a form of punishment.

Featured Rescue Followups September

Today's Featured Rescue Followup will be for September. There's some good news for some of the dogs that have been looking for a home. While I do hope that all the dogs I list are adopted, there are many (many, many, many) more out there that I haven't listed that need a home just as badly.



If you can open your heart and your home to one dog, you can change the course of his/her life forever. You can make a difference.

Featured Rescue - Samwise the Beagle

It's been a while since I posted a Beagle as the featured rescue so when I ran across this guy's description, I thought that I must have been holding out for a guy like him!



Samwise is at the Guelph Humane Society along with at least four other Beagles. He came in as a stray so the shelter has no history on the little guy. He is reportedly loving and gentle but, unfortunately like so many other Beagles out there, a runner. Samwise will need an active home to keep him fit and well exercised.

Featured Rescue - Big Red the Doberman Pinscher

I was driving to work the other day and saw a red Doberman Pinscher running along the side of the road with a 2"x10"x2' in his mouth! It made my day. He was SO proud of himself! Showing off to all the cars what he had. Thanks to him, I thought I'd post a dog similar to him for today's Featured Rescue. I LOVE Doberman Pinschers; I used to think that the only dogs I would ever have "when I grew up" would be Dobies ... I still haven't grown up and I still haven't had a Doberman grace our home. There's still time but I look forward to the day I bring one home.

Meet Big Red, a 3-4 year old male Dobie. Big Red is described as "typical dobie in his personality. He is a big baby, very active, and sensitive." He looks like a good guy. I wonder why he's in rescue?



Big Red is being cared for by All Breed Canine Rescue, London, ON. If you're interested in adding Big Red to your family, please don't hesitate to contact them!

Featured Rescue - Einstein the American Bulldog

Today's Featured Rescue is Einstein the American Bulldog. I went looking for a dog who looked similar to the dog in yesterday's news reel, but then I found this guy and HAD to post him! The SPCA Serving Allegany County states that he looks like Petey from the Little Rascals and that was the deal-maker right there. I LOVED the Little Rascals ... it used to be one of my favourite TV shows; and Petey is the reason why I fell in love with Bully breeds.

The SPCA Serving Allegany County states that Einstein is an escape artist, which is how he earned his name ... now I have to admit that if I had an escape artist of a dog, I would probably go with a name like Houdini or something ... but to each his own.

What do you think? What would you name this guy?

Featured Rescue Followups August

Today's Featured Rescue Followup will be for August. There's some good news for some of the dogs that have been looking for a home. While I do hope that all the dogs I list are adopted, there are many (many, many, many) more out there that I haven't listed that need a home just as badly.



If you can open your heart and your home to one dog, you can change the course of his/her life forever. You can make a difference.

Featured Rescue - Toby Taco Bell the Chihuahua

The Chihuahua ... if ever there was a breed that is misunderstood, it is you. In the midst of the "he's so kyoot" and the "oh look - he's so little" people tend to forget the most obvious one ... "He's a Dog". People get these super cute little guys and don't bother to do ANY training. Come on ... how many of you know of a Chihuahua who does Agility? Or Flyball? Or Rally-O??



Because of their small stature, most people don't treat these little guys "like a dog". In fact, I am willing to bet that more than 95% of dog owners out there treat a Chihuahua differently than other breeds. Why? Why not? Don't they deserve to be treated equally? They can bite just as easily as a Pibble ... so why don't people bother? Could it be because they are "so kyoot"? I'll remind you of that next time you have a Chihuahua hanging off you by his teeth.



I believe their size, lack of training and the massive amount of media attention this breed receives accounts for the reason why there are currently over 13,000 Chihuahua's listed on Petfinder.com TODAY!

Today's featured rescue is Toby Taco Bell who is listed with the Mississauga Humane Society. He lived with an elderly couple until, yep - you got it, they moved to assisted living and couldn't take their dog. He has been retraining (behaviour modification) at a foster home for 5 months.



If this story makes you go "Aawww ... how sad ... " then please give your head a shake. Remember, this is a dog. He has been poorly trained and poorly socialized. If he was a Pibble, do you think someone would have given him 5 months worth of retraining?? Certainly not in Ontario - he would have been euthanized immediately after the surrender papers were signed.



Is anyone asking why these people couldn't be bothered to train their dog? No, because they are elderly and are in a home now and "Aawww ... how sad ... " comes out most people's mouths for them too, right? But who suffers in all this? The dog.



Why aren't we making people responsible for their actions? Why is it always the animal who suffers?

Featured Rescue or Guess The Breed? - Tux the Red Mix

Tux is listed on Petango as a "Lancashire Heeler / Mix" however after running a quick Google search on this breed, I just DON'T see the resemblance! Perhaps they know something about the owner?? Or perhaps there is a Lancashire Heeler enthusiast that volunteers at the Orangeville SPCA. Tux is listed as a medium sized, stray. He is reportedly very nervous.

Here's a picture ... what do you think?? Let's do a quick Guess The Breed and see what you guys think! What breed would you guess at being in Tux?

Ready?


SET?!


GO!!!!!




I'm going to guess ... yep, you got it! Kelpie. It's really hard to tell from this angle but he looks like a Kelpie. I'd love to see what his tail looks like or even better -- a picture that is a side profile.

Featured Rescue - Adonis the American Bulldog

I thought I'd start today's Featured Rescue with a little lesson ...



Adonis was the young lover of Aphrodite. He was gored by a wild boar in the hunt and died in the arms of Aphrodite, who came to him when she heard his groans ... He has had multiple roles, and there has been much scholarship over the centuries concerning his meaning and purpose in Greek religious beliefs. He is an annually-renewed, ever-youthful vegetation god, a life-death-rebirth deity whose nature is tied to the calendar. His name is often applied in modern times to handsome youths.

Today's Featured Rescue is named Adonis and a handsome youth he is! Adonis is in the care of Tuscola County Animal Control Shelter which is located in Caro, MI. Adonis is reportedly 2 - 3 years old. The Shelter reports that he is gentle. Here's hoping he finds a wonderful, loving home who will keep him healthy and safe until he is old and grey (and keeps him away from any wild boars).

DDF PSA ~ Adopt A Pet Q&A

Jeff from Adopt-A-Pet.com asked that I share some questions and answers about Pet Adoption with my readers. It is quite different from most of the Q&A's that are published about Pet Adoption because it is written as an interview would be conducted. It is not your normal questions either ... I found it interesting to read and I hope you do too. I have highlighted sentences that I found to be keystones in RED (though normally my comments are red, they aren't today!).

Common Questions About Pet Adoption

Featured Rescue Friday ~ Penny the Yorkshire Terrier (Yorkie)

Happy Friday everyone! I thought I'd post a Featured Rescue today ... There have been a lot of controversy about rescues buying old breeders from puppy mills and whether or not this perpetuates the problem ... I'm not getting into that today or poor Penny would never be Featured!

Penny spent her first 4 years in a wire cage "working" for a puppy mill. When she arrived in rescue she reportedly had "swollen, infected paws, ear infections and a very deep ulcer in her right eye". She has since had surgery to correct her eye and is recovering well. She is friendly with other dogs and ignores cats. Although she likes people well enough, there are some lingering trust issues that the potential adoptive home will have to work out.



If you are interested in offering Penny a home, please contact Marilyns Voice Inc. which is a 501(c) (3) registered non-profit corporation out of Mentor, OH run 100% by volunteers.

Featured Rescue FollowUps - June and July

Today's Featured Rescue Followup will be for June and July. I haven't posted many Featured Rescue posts this summer ... without further ado, here are the Followups.

Adopt-A-Pet website ... a new way of listing shelter dogs

I received an email from a representative of "Adopt-A-Pet.com" recently. I'm sure other bloggers received the same email. The rep requested that I publish a post about the website. After spending some time checking out the site, I agreed. (See below for more info) This will be similar to a Post Exchange.