See you later ---

We have not taken in a new foster friend for the last week or so, for a couple of reasons.  One of those reasons is that I am headed to St. Louis tomorrow for some surgery on my left eye.  I probably will not be posting for the next week or so.  We are looking forward to recovering and being able to foster once again.

Be sure to check out the upcoming volunteer classes being offered.  You can find information at the Champaign County Humane Society web site.  We have found fostering to be a terrific experience for our family.  It has brought us great joy and some sadness.  Just playing a small part in helping these animals is an extremely rewarding experience.  And obviously -- since we need to take off these weeks for the surgery -- it is a commitment that you can work into your life as it fits.

See you soon

Shadow and Lark

And our two doggie residents?  We've had Shadow several years now.  We adopted him from the Humane Society following the tragic death of our first family dog, Rusty.  Shadow is a mixed up mutt with a lot of spanial in him, which means he is not exactly bright and is extremely affectionate and enthusiasitic.  It took several years, but he finally does respond reliably to a sit command.  He continues to pull horendously on a leash and is NOT a pleasure to walk.  Regrettably we have not worked with him consistently on this problem, it is far too easy to let him have his exercize in our fenced back yard. Unfortuanately, on one walk -- while on a leash with my son who was about 15 at that time -- Shadow spied a squirrel across the street and bolted right into the path of a car.  He broke a rib, punctured a lung, and broke a back leg very near the hip joint.  He did recover, but the cold weather really bothers him.  His out door trips tend to be brief in the winter.  He is very quick about getting his business done, and getting back in the house.
Shadow is the older of our two dogs -- but Lark is the larger.  She is mixture of Lab, German Shepherd, and Husky.   She is a smart girl and has finally grown out of her puppy years and is becoming a very pleasant companion rather than just goof ball.  She enjoys walking, and needs to do so more.  She also pulls -- not as bad as Shadow, but bad enough.  It really is not that the dogs need more training -- we need more training in being more effective and consistent with them on a leash.  The both have good house manners -- but I must admit that I have failed miserably at teaching them good leash behavior.
We got Lark because my youngest son very much wanted a dog of his own.  My husband and I had told him that if he maintained feeding, watering and caring for Shadow independently without being reminded for some period of weeks that I no longer remember, that he could have a dog of his own.  Within a day of being told that my oldest son brought him home an abandoned puppy that he had found.  The puppy turned out to have a chip, had been adopted from the Humane Society, and later dumped out beside the road.  We adoped the puppy, and Judah fully lived up to his agreement.  Unfortunately, that dog was too smart for his good and found a way to push under our fence, was hit by a car and killed.  A few weeks later, my husband found Lark being offered free by a farmer in Indiana and brought him home for Judah.  She was a pretty young puppy at the time;  looking back at the pictures it is  hard to remember how young and small she was.  We did not have a crate that first night and placed her in two laundry baskets wired together.  She made it clear from the outset that she would sleep absolutely anywhere -- anywhere that she could see Judah that is, crate or no crate, but she had to see Judd.  She knew whose dog she was from that first night on.

Mike and Ashes

Mike is pictured with Zippy in the side bar.  He is the cat closest to the front.  Mike is our smart cat.  My brother-in-law  rescued him and his sister from a ditch in Indiana as tiny kittens.  They had been abandoned as coyote food since there was no way they were going to survive.  He and his wife bottle fed them and cared for them, however when their baby was born they did not feel like they could keep them and they came to live with us.
It was the same summer we were catching feral cats and they brought our numbers up to six cats living in the house right then.
When Mike and Ashes came to us, they still were not full grown -- sort of in their teen years.  One day when I went in the kitchen, Ashes was laying under the table, and she looked a little odd.  I leaned down to look at her and realized there was a mouse between her paws.  When she sat up the mouse walked around her in a circle, stopped back in front of her, stood on its hind legs and stretched up to her.  She tipped  her head and touched noses with it, laid back down, and the mouse curled up between her paws.
Now don't get me wrong, I thought this little scene was lovely -- but not in my kitchen.  So I went and got Valiant who was about 8 inches long at this point.  But since he was raised by a wild mama cat, not a human with a bottle he knew exactly what to do with the mouse and was very eager to give Ashes pointers.  Being an intelligent -- although inexperienced -- kitty, she learned quickly.
Ashes eventually went to live with a neighbor, but Mike has stayed on.  He is by far the most intellegent of our crew -- and he knows it.  He is obviously disdainful of the other cats.  He listens -- and I do mean LISTENS -- to classical music and responds to it.  There is one piece by Schoenberg that he has an obvious distaste for.  He believes something lives in the printer and scanner.  He knows what the door knob is for.  He watches television.  He knows he is not allowed in my room, but that the foster animals are.  He sits at the door and looks in at them if we have it open for a moment, although the other cats never even realize anybody is in there. 

In the summer we block off the living room with blankets and put a window air conditioner in the room.  There may or may not be a gate behind the blanket depending on if the ferret is out.   Zippy and Dart act as though it is always there and jump up on the couch to go over it even when it is not there. Jack just runs into the gate.  Mike will carefully pull the cover aside every time and check.

Mike has a very soft purr. You almost have to lay your ear against his body to hear it. But he is very relaxed and affectionate -- loves to rub his chin and head on your arm. He doesn't mind if you are not petting him, he will rub his head on your hand or arm and pet yourself.

Dart's Story

We caught Dart that same summer that we caught Zippy and his family.  In fact it was actually Dart's family that moved into our yard first.  Her mama evidently had her kittens in our garage, or moved them there.  We came home one day and she had brought the litter out to see the world -- probably for the first time.  There was a little boy kitten playing on a stack of lumber in our driveway.  I was able to walk up right behind and pick him up, and though he had never seen a human before he stayed perfectly calm on his trip up into the air -- til he turned and saw me and everything came unglued.  I was doing my best to keep ahold of him, and didn't understand why my husband was yelling and making so much ruckus at the other end of the driveway.  Then I turned -- and saw mama coming for me.  I escaped over the top of a car -- a Valiant -- and retreated to the van.  It took awhile to catch the kitten again inside the van, but eventually we did. 

I had thought that Valiant was old enough to be weened -- but he wasn't .  He ate food fine, and drank well, so I am sure that he had eaten before, but he evidently also still nursed.  Valiant was a very sweet kitten and nearly immediately tamed and became a member of hte family.  But one night soon after he joined us, he was laying in bed with me and kept nuzzling my bare arm.  Finally, he found a nub of fabric in the armpit of my T-shirt where all four seams met -- and that was close enough to a nipple for him.  He nursed quite contendedly for probably 15 minutes and went to sleep.

The day that I caught Valiant, there had been four kittens - but two others disappeared in a manner we don't know.  Probably a bird or some type of predator.  We saw the mama and the last kitten quite often, but this last kitten was very skittish and was not going to be caught so easily as her brother.  I didn't have a live trap yet, so finally we put Valiant in a cat carrier inside the front door, propped the door open, and let him meow.  It wasn't long till his sister came in to find him, and we were able to shut the door behind her.

It immediately became apparent that we had not thought that through well enough, because now we had a wild kitten loose in our house, and she had no intention of us finding her.  We named her Dart -- not for her skittish nature, but because the Dart is the sister car to the Valiant, yet the name suited her very well.  Dart was quite a bit older than Valiant by the time we caught her, and she naver has completely become tame.  I was taking classes at Parkland when she was young, and she would come out of hiding and watch me working at the computer.  It took months, much patience, and many stages but eventually she and I became friends.  She still, after several years, will only be petted by someone when they are sitting at the computer desk.

Dart is an outdoor cat at this point.  When she first was trapped in our house, we eventually got  her confined to one room -- with a litter box -- and she did use it.  Once we believed that she would use the litter box, we let her in the rest of the house, however when she was about two she quit using the litterbox and began using laundry baskets of clothing.  We took her to the vet and had her checked for medical problems, but there were none.  She simply does not like litter.  The vet suggested trying to retrain her by putting her in a crate.  We tried.  She slept in the litterbox and peed on the towell.  The vet suggested that we set up box for her with paper towells and change it often.  However, we have four cats -- and it seemed like this was just going to get confusing for everyone.

I am a strong believer that cats are not native and do not belong outside -- especially in town.  But finally we opened the door and let Dart out.  She no longer pees on our laundry, and she comes and goes as she pleases. 

Dart has never been able to get along with the other cats.  I don't thing she believes they really are cats with their lap kitty ways.  During the time she is inside, she generally is in my kitchen ceiling.  We had a chimney that we were tearing down in one corner, which left an opening up into the drop ceiling.  She jumps to the base, and just keeps running going up the wall and into the ceiling -- and the other cats know better than to try and follow. 

Eventually, we found an excellent home for Valiant.  He was the first child I had  nursed that grew up and moved away.

Dart is still with us and will be til the end.  The yearly trip to the vet is always traumatic.  She is sort of like a shy baby hiding on my lap with her head tucked beneath my arm.  I am her human and she trusts me completely.  It is a sacred trust not to be taken lightly.

Story of Zippy

And a bit about Dart --
Several years ago our neighborhood had a major problem with feral cats.  A drug house down the block was shut down which had MANY cats living in the walls.  The house really had been inhabitable; it was what is referred to as a Flop House.  After many arrests the remaining 'occupants' disappeared.  The cats ended up completely abandoned and began roaming farther, scavaging more for survival.  I aquired a live trap and began catching cats. The orignial thought was that I would 'find them homes', being very naive about how hard that was and how very many cats there were.  I was able to find a few homes, several others we ended up bringing to the Humane Society and letting them do the job they are so very good at.  Zippy and Dart ended up staying with us forever.
After catching a cat in the live trap, we transferred it to a crate for a few days to become used to humans at least being present.  The day we decided to let Zippy out of the crate for the first time we were on the back porch to have a fairly small space.  Zippy remained hunkered down in the back corner of the crate very quiet as I popped the door open.  He stayed there as I slowly opened it.  Never moved a muscle as we stood and spoke to him quietly.  Then he was not in the crate anymore -- it took a few seconds to even comprehend that he had moved.  But he was now on the ceiling.  There is a small trim board at the top of the wall and Zippy had literally flown from the crate gripped the board, barely the width of one paw and by sheer momentum he managed to circle the entire porch on that board above our heads before dropping to floor.  Zippy eventually became a very affectionate lap kitty, but he kept his name from that first day.
Zippy is a very ugly kitty.  He has major allergies that took us years to finally completely identify.  In the meantime there were times that he bled from every pore of his body, developed large open wounds, and bouts of diarhea and vomiting.  His mother and siblings were all pretty things with a unique pinched up face that we were sure would be able to be adopted and we took them to the Humane Society.  But we kept Zippy.
Zippy is essentially an indoor kitty.  But he does remember his feral roots especially in the spring.  He has been known to sneak out the door -- and take down a squirrel.  It took him several hours, but he never let go and eventually he won.
He is very cold natured- especially when he is having an allergic reaction to something and very much prefers laying on a  human or another cat.  He has a loud irregular pur -- sort of misses a cylinder -- but for him it is perfect.

My first animal friends

I've always loved animals -- and I've always had them with me.  Bo-Bo, pictured in the side bar,  was  a member of the family before I was.  We moved from the country into the city and as every truck load of household goods left, Bo-Bo grew more and more worried.  But when we had him get up in that last load and come with us -- he was one happy dog.  Cindy was my cat -- and my preferred solace.  This picture is when I had the mumps -- but Cindy did not leave me.  Ben was my companion through my teen years.  He and I had many adventures in the pasture behind our house.  And Shawnee was still with me when I married and had my first two babies.

I believe in the value of animal friendships -- not just for the humans but for the animals as well.  It  is one of the main reasons we foster.  Animals do have emotions -- they have a lot of love to give and deserve to have that respected.  We enjoy being able to be a part of the respect that the Humane Society gives.  They are caring people and we see them giving of themseves tremendously to treat these animals with respect and dignity.  There is not a happy ending every time -- because animals are mortal.  Yet there are way more happy endings than there would be without these people there caring.

Our own animals:

I'll be volunteering at the shelter for the next few weeks and we'll be taking a break from fostering.  Just for a couple of weeks -- but in the meantime I thought that I would introduce you to our permanant residents.  I've put up some photos and in the next few days you can watch for some posts describing our animals and my experiences at the shelter.

Just a quick rundown --
Bo-Bo -- It all began with Bo-Bo many many years ago.
Shadow -- Picture Odie as a black spaniel -- really happy and really stupid, but we love him.
Jack-- the comic. Jack is partially blind which combined with his playful nature and tendency to consider himself topcat gets him into ridiculous situations. I'll tell you about some of them.
Mike and Zippy -- Mike was abandoned in a ditch as a kitten -- not even weened -- along with his sister Ashes.  Zippy was a feral kitten in our yard we adopted.
Dart -- Dart was also a feral kitten we took in from the neighborhood  along with her brother Valiant and mother Chrysler.  You will enjoy those stories!
Lark-- Lark joined us from a farm in Indiana.  She is now full grown and a true sweet heart.
Fraya-- not pictured yet -- a ferret.  She tries had to be friends with everyone else, but Lark thinks she is a chew toy and the cats just play aloof.  Except for Jack who will play a bit -- but he can't quite figure her out.

More than just a UTI

Topaz and Indigo returned Friday for their check up -- and still have a lot of blood in their urine.  Which means that we are not dealing with just a Urinary Tract Infection after all.  There must be something much worse going on for these wonderful kitties -- but whatever that something is it is it makes them not adoptable.

This is a very sad outcome for two very friendly wonderful cats, yet it is a reality that cannot be escaped not only at the Humane Society but in many pet owners lives.  Our pets can get very sick at times -- with illnesses that we may not be able to rescue them from no matter how much we love them, how much money we have, how much time we can give them, or how friendly, loving and wonderful they are.  It happens at the Humane Society also -- and because of the volume of animals they care for it happens there more often. 

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people who put themselves out so much for these animals.  I have so many people tell me they could never foster because they would just get too attached to the animals.  And I have to respect that.  But these people at the Humane Society care too much about the animals to protect their own emotions and not care for them as much as they are able.  They know that they are going to be hurt and experience loss and pain over and over again -- but that is not a good enough reason to not try to help some.  I have to respect that kind of deep caring as well.  They are unique and wonderful humans.

Topaz is sick again - -

Topaz has started puking again. There had been no puking since I had brought him in to see the folks at the Humane Society until four days ago. He puked during the night and I noticed the next morning that someone drank A LOT of water that night. So I hoped he had just drank too much and made himself ill. This was one of the possibilities that the staff at CCHS has suggested.  But he has puked the next two nights as well, and yesterday he puked three times on my bed while we were gone and again during the night. During the night it was VERY WEIRD because he made an extremely unusual sound before puking. He sounded like a mechanical baby doll crying. Both my husband and I sat right straight up in bed saying "What in the world was THAT?!"  I leaned around to peer in the crate and Topaz was up and began puking at about that moment -- conveniently aimed into the litter box.

Poor Topaz!  I feel so bad for him.

Topaz and Indigo are doing well

Topaz has not thrown up now in at least a week!  Hooray, for Topaz!  Not since we had the long conversation at the Humane Society about what could possibly be the problem.  They are taking the medicine very well, eating and drinking a good amount and just as affectionate and playful as ever.

They spend their days roaming our room, and their nights in the crate which enables us to sleep through the night without frolicing kitties.  During the time we thought Topaz was puking because of stress from the crate, we did leave them out all night long, and they learned not to play on top of us quite easily, but they still like to chase each other about which can get noisy.  Since we decided the crate was not the issue, we have returned to crating them at night.

Hoping for the best on their next check up.  These kitties just need to be healthy to find their forever homes.  They are so affectionate and lovable we are sure they will be perfect match for someone.

Some concern

I took Topaz and Indigo in for their recheck today -- and recieved some worrisome news.  It seems that the Urinary Tract Infection is VERY stubborn and we have brought them back home for THIRD round of Clavimax.  Wow!  These poor kitties.

We had a long conversation about Topaz's problems vomiting, and came to the conclusion to just keep monitoring him.  He continues to gain weight -- I am wondering if they are getting enough exercize closed just in my one room.  But they do seem to dash about it quite well at night.

Another problem is that I was not able to get a urine sample from Indigo this morning.  We assumed that he will need to continue the meds as well as Topaz -- but when I brought him home I thought that I would go ahead and leave him in the crate alone and get a sample from him to verify.  But it is now 11:30 at night and still no urine.  This cannot be good.  He seems healthy in every way though.  He is active, coat shiny, eyes bright, gaining weight (and he doesn't need to) and plenty affectionate.

So come on kitties -- we're doing all we can for you, and now you are really worrying me!  What is the deal here?

Topaz has had some trouble

Topaz has had some trouble since he has been here, and we haven't been able to quite figure it out.  He threw up his first night, and I thought it was probably just stress from the change.  But then he threw up a couple of nights later, and three times the night after that.  We decided that was due to change in food.  But after returning to his regular food, he threw up again.  The episodes had always occured in the crate -- so we decided it was due to stress from being crated at night and we tried leaving him out.  Unfortunately he still threw up.  It doesn't happen every night.  But it still happens.  I've taken him in to the Humane Society once for a check up and he has actually gained weight.  He continues to eat, drink, play and use the litter box normally, we still have these vomiting episodes.  I will be taking him in again, and hopefully we can figure out a cause.

I've posted a picture of Indigo playing his favorite game of 'attack the carrier'.  The cat carrier sits a top the crate, which means it shakes and rattles when Indigo jumps up on top of it.  Indigo is convinced this is done just to play with him.  He  rolls on the carrier to make it rattle, and then jumps up and pounces on it in response.  Perhaps he thinks something is inside of it.

Topaz and Indigo still with us

I took a urine sample in the other day, and UTI still remains -- low grade but still there.  So we have began another round of antibiotics.  These kitties are so affectionate they consider having a pill shoved down their throats just another cuddle though.  Topaz didn't even quit purring this morning, and it was obvious he knew what the drill was as soon as I picked him up and didn't mind a bit.

They continue to use the litter box well, and love playing games.  We have to crate them at night so that we can sleep, but we try to spend some time cuddling and playing during the day.  Judah enjoys doing his homework in the foster room (Randy and I's bedroom).

Our cat, Mike, seems to know these two have stayed a bit longer than usual.  He lays at the door staring at it,  and watches to catch a glimpse of the interlopers when we go through.  They have made eye contact, but nobody ever reacts.   Topaz and Indigo know Mike is out here, and he knows they are in there.  And that seems to be enough for everybody.  Our other cats never pay any attention to the fosters.

Indigo and Topaz doing well

Sorry, that I have not posted recently.  Things  have been a bit hectic around here with lots of flu, my husband recently diagnosed with diabetes, and my uncontrolled glaucoma sending us on trips to St. Louis. 
However, the animals are all doing very well!  Indigo and Topaz have tolerated the pills very well.  They have grown more affectionate every day.  Topaz always mews a greeting as we walk in the room and comes to great us, placing paws on our chest and touching noses.  Indigo is a bit more laid back, but also very sweet. 
They have proven themselves to me, and I trust them enough to give them the run of my bedroom all day -- there has never been a mess out of the litter box, so I think the problem must have totally been medical.  At night we do put them in the crate.  Having them romp and play all over the top of us while we are trying to sleep is just a bit disconcerting.
These kitties are probably nearing the end of their stay with us.   

Mild Urinary Tract Infections

Seems that our two kitty cats have very mild urinary tract infections.  I picked up some liquid medicine for them today from the Humane Society, but they immediately puked and spat that out all over their crate.  QUITE emphatically and in great general agreement.  So I'll be picking up some pills for them in the morning.

Topaz and Indigo

We seem to be having a trend of blue animals at our house.  Our two new fosters are two cats named Topaz and Indigo (last dog was Saphyre).  My understanding is that these cats come from the same home, and are having some litter box issues.  Our job is to determine if there is a medical problem or a behavioral one.  They seem to using the box well so far, although we are only giving them the run of the room if we are in there watching them.

These cats are very affectionate.  Topaz seems to be a bit more cuddly and Indigo a bit more playful.  I was sitting in the cat room (my bedroom) reading today, letting them wander around and lost track of Topaz.  I called KeeKee in my kitty calling voice and her head popped out of a two inch wide crack in a drawer.  Not sure how she got in there so quietly, because she had quite the squeeze getting out.  And now you know I have a bad habit of not getting my drawers shut all the way. My mom is probably very embarrassed.  It's a lesson she did teach, I just didn't learn it well.  :-)

Indigo is the brown kitty -- with beatiful blue eyes, and Topaz is the black one with greenish brown eyes.

Some words about fostering

We are still waiting on a family for Saphyre -- and for another animal for our family to foster.  My family has taken dogs the last couple of times, and these were not high needs dogs, but they do require some attention.  Our own animals also need their attention -- including our two dogs. 
We knew when we began fostering that our family would only be able to handle a high needs animal once in a great while.  Which is one reason more foster families are needed so badly.  High needs situations do not happen often, but they do happen and these are best spread around amoung lots of willing hands.  I really appreaciate how the staff at the Humane Society are so careful to be sure to only send home an animal that we feel comfortable caring for.
Right now there is another dog which needs heartworm treatment and she will need to be in foster care for about a month, keeping quiet, like we did with Saphyre.  There are also two puppies which need daily physical therapy.  However, the six of us have a lot going on right now, and we are not in a situation to help these wonderful dogs out.  There are several other foster families also -- but the more there are the more the load is spread around. 

Our pretty girl Saphyre still looking for a family

Our pretty girl Saphyre is still waiting for her family at Champaign County Humane Society.  I think that this is my favorite photo of her time with us.  It shows her regalness and yet you can see she is ready to play whenever you are.  The movies at the bottom of the page are a bit dark, but they will give you an introductioin to her. 

Jack, our cat, seems to be doing well.  So he will probably be vacating the crate in the next few days and we will be able to take in another foster.

Saphyre available for adoption

Randy took Saphyre back to the Champaign County Humane Society on Saturday and she has been cleared for adoption!  Hooray -- now just waiting for her family to find her. 

If you are interested in adopting her you can visit the website at http://www.cuhumane.org/ . There are 3 videos of her at the bottom of this page.

Wishing you all the best Saphyre!

As far as our next foster animal, we will need to wait a couple of weeks before bringing another one home.  We have four cats of our own, and one of them has been losing weight.  We are not sure if he has just decided that he doesn't like this special food that we have to buy because another of the cats has severe allergies or if he has developed a health problem.  We have had him checked for diabetes and that came up clear.  So we are going to use the crate for him for a couple of weeks so we can monitor exactly how much he is eating and what his particular deposits in the litter box are.

Saphyre's big day tomorrow

Tomorrow Saphyre will be heading back to the Champaign County Humane Society for her check up -- and hopefully if all is well, she will be returning for adoption.  We have enjoyed her so much while she has stayed here -- and our activity has been severely limited. 

We filmed  an introduction to Saphyre that you can view at the bottom of the page, along with a couple of other videos of her. You will see how sweet she is -- how playful, and yet how eager to please and quiet she can be. She can be lively, active and rowdy -- but is willing to listen to her people say the game is done. She has had to spend quite a bit of time in her crate this last month because of being treated for heart worms and has never once complained about it. I can easliy see her being comfortable living in an apartment, or a house in the country with lots of room to run. She could adapt to a family that works -- or one that has people home all day. She is just eager to give her heart to someone who will love her back forever.

Saphyre's outing

Saphyre has to keep quiet because of her heartworm treatment -- but she doesn't have to be bored.  So this weekend when our family was planning an outing, we planned around Saphyre and took her along.  She still had limited walks, but she got to see some sites on those walks, meet some new people, and smell some new smells.  She truly will make a great friend and companion for her new family.  She did very well with lots of people, stayed calm and we actually were able to have her out of her crate longer than we had expected to be able to. 

We don't often hear from our foster friends, but what fun -- this time we did!  These two pups stayed with us earlier in the summer, along with 4 siblings.  They were adopted by friends and get to visit one another regularly.  And when Bowie's family noticed our blog mentioned at the CCHS website, and recognized the pictures, they let us know that Bowie and George are doing well.  Good to hear from you!

A Carefully Monitored Game

We have to keep Saphyre quiet because of the heartworm treatment that she is under, but she is a young active dog who wants to play. We did indulge her in a short game with her rope the other night, being careful not to encourage her running or jumping for it. She has grown to be a great favorite of my son Nate -- who being an active young person himself sympathizes with her plight. The funniest thing, and I could never get a picture of this, was when Nate would let her have the rope, she would immediately whip in a circle with her back to him, sit and peek back over her shoulder at him. So coy, the little tease!

Saphyre and the Kong

We began giving Saphyre a Kong filled with food because she has to spend so much time quietly occupied in her crate. She is very intelligent and grows bored easily -- and then begins licking her paws repeatedly. So the Kong seemed like a great fit for her.
She was very quick to empty it of dry food, and didn't like peanut butter. But she found a light coating of split pea soup absolutely enchanting -- and it made things sticky enough to keep it a puzzle for awhile. She now LOVES the Kong!
We do have to keep the Kong confined to the crate, though. She gets way too active with it in an open room -- too active for a dog on heart worm treatment. She'll be great fun for a family once she can be be active. And we figure keeping the Kong as a crate only treat will help her time spent quiet pass a little better.

Such a good girl

For all of her antics, eagerness, and strength, Saphyre continues to be so genuinely driven to please she is a total joy. She is very well crate trained, and takes no urging to go in at all when asked to. She is quiet while in the crate and content; she will lick her paw repetedly if bored so needs her toys. She sits on command, although she has yet to learn to hold the sit. She has been sleeping out of her crate in our bedroom curled up on the rug beside the bed at night, so content and happy just to be near us, it is hard to believe she is the same circus dog when she first gets outside. But a simple "No" achieves such a contrite face -- if there is not a cat involved, it is easy to see what a loyal and good dog she truly is.

Be sure and check our video of her meeting Isaac this afternoon when he got home from school. It's all the way down at the bottom of the page.

Saphyre will be availbale for adoption at CCHS in another couple of weeks when she completes her heartworm treatment.

Saphyre the Circus Dog

So I took Saphyre out for her QUIET walk this afternoon. She opened my front door and drug me down the steps. She made about three laps around me jumping as high as my head, twisting corkscrews in midair, running to leap again, before I could get ahold of her. Someone needs to explain 'quiet' to Saphyre.

Saphyre doing well

We had Saphyre back at CCHS this afternoon for a check up. She is doing well, and we will just continue balancing giving her attention with keeping her quiet. It was very easy to see that Saphyre loves Heather! She is always friendly and affectionate, but when Heather walked in the room her joy knew no bounds.

Saphyre has arrived

Our new foster came home with us on Saturday when we returned Winston. Saphyre is a big girl -- and strong. She is being treated for heartworms right now, so she will be with us for about a month. And during that time she is to remain quiet, which is quite a task for this young happy dog. She is immediately ready to play and be petted by anyone, just your typical, happy, playful, tongue swinging dog!

Winston has a family

Good news this morning! We took Winston back to the Humane Society on Saturday -- and he has already been adopted. Yay for Winston and his new family. He is such a sweet boy; I know that he will be such a good addition to a family -- and will keep them laughing at his silly antics.

Thursday

We have all come down with sickness this week, so Winston's outings have shortened somewhat. But Isaac took him down to the ball diamond to play this morning -- you have to see his goofball antics in the video below! This is definitely a favorite past time of Winston's. Goofball craziness. He should be a comedian.

Monday

Winston has been playing with his kong and chew toys all morning, and is now all tuckered out dozing off to sleep at my feet. I couldn't resist and reached down to tickle his belly with one finger as his eyes dropped shut. And he stretches and rolls over farther on his back for a full belly rub -- and closes his eyes. Such a sweetie pie.

Saturday

Took Winston in for his check up today, and it looks like he will be staying with us another week. We are glad to have him, but know that the sooner he can find his Forever Family the better for him. But one more week to get a bit healthier is better for everyone.
Our family space is two adjoining rooms with a large open doorway between. Yesterday, Winston enjoyed laying on the cover layed for him in both rooms, wherever I was sitting. Today, Winston just lays at my feet -- forget the cover. Forever Family -- whoever you are -- you are one lucky family to have this devoted dog.

Be sure to check out the videos of Winston at the bottom of the page.

Thursday

It is hard to choose just one photo of Winston to put up for today. He has grown so at ease and playful. We call him Goofy, with his silly antics, twisting and jumping chasing his kong toy, or playing with his rope.
It is hard to show in a photo just how affectionate, Winston is, so I have posted a video at the bottom of the page. You can see how he loves -- and a bit of how silly he is.
Winston will be due to return to Champaign County Humane Society on Saturday. At the beginning of the week, I really doubted that one week would be sufficient for him to become confident enough to go up for adoption. But Winston will be very ready to meet his new family -- whoever they are -- and go home.

Sunday

Winston went in for a check up this morning and has a new pill that he will be taking. But I was so proud of how brave he was. He slowed at the doors, but only really balked at one -- when we were first entering the building. And he didn't really stop at that one, but went through v-e-r-y slowly.

He is doing well with crate training also. We make sure he spends some time in the crate when we are at home as well as when we are gone, so he just feels like it his own special place. Besides -- that is where his food is. But as you can see in today's picture, he also has his cover to lay on in the front room. Winston is going to make such a good buddy for someone.

Saturday

Winston has had a busy Saturday full of new experiences. He enjoyed his walk this morning, and then he had a break for awhile. He rode in the van with us to visit some friends at their new home, and then another ride later to the golf course to pick up my husband. On that trip we stopped off to visit some other friends. At this place we went inside and he got to be petted by several people. They live upstairs -- which was the one new experience that Winston totally balked at. Everything else he warmed up to in time -- but the stairs were just a no go. I finally carried him up. He did manage to come down them when we were leaving.
We're off for another ride here in minute. He has caught on already that he can expect to go with me when I am leaving -- funny boy. He goes straight to the door when he thinks I am headed out. He loves riding in the van -- although he is not sure about the jump up or down. He rides very quietly.

Our new friend Winston

Winston, a 3 month old pit bull, arrived at our home on Wed. Winston is staying with us for some socialization. He is very timid, and just needs to become comfortable meeting new situations and people confidently.

When Winston arrived Wed, he refused to leave his crate for hours. Taking him outside for a potty break was just tremendously overwhelmiing for him. He could barely get up the courage to stand and pee -- but just lay on the ground with his head between his paws extremely sad, lonely and terrified.

But by today, he is walking out of his crate when we open it -- although tentatively, and this morning he even mustered up the courage to step through the front door into the out doors. He no longer lays outside, but quickly does his business and then sniffs about and does a small version of the pit bull twist and wiggle pounce. If you have ever seen a happy pit bull, you know what I mean.

Winston even went for a walk with me this morning, all the way down to the park, and around it. I stopped in at my credit union, and they invited him in, but that was just one doorway too many for him. We'll stop and visit them next Monday.