Update on "Eddie"

It's fairly rare that I get any sort of update on the dogs I transport. Some I see have gotten adopted, but I don't hear much about their adoptive families. The three lab mix puppies I transported back in July got adopted pretty quickly, and we just got an update about Eddie, now named Ollie.

Here are a couple of photos of Ollie (aka "Eddie") the pup. He is now around 6 months old, I think, and is a handsome boy. He is very kind, good natured, likes to please humans and occasionally likes to please himself too (such as when he grabbed a plate full of food off the dinner table)! :-D He a...nd the cat are best friends, and the cat likes to sleep on top of Ollie. Ollie's other best friend is "Jack", my brother's dog. Ollie usually sleeps upstairs with my sister and the cat, but when we were all gathered for a family wedding this weekend, Ollie chose to sleep in the guest bedroom with other family members. He is the most mellow dog I have ever seen, and likes to just lie around like "an old hound dog" much of the time. He'll launch himself into play mode occasionally, but is mostly just happy to hang out with everyone.

Transport #39: Truman (aka Dakota)

I cannot resist puppy breath. It's just impossible. And it's even more impossible when that puppy is only about 8 weeks old, fat, and fluffy. Truman is, they believe, a Golden retriever/Chow mix and he certainly seems to have the physical characteristics of both breeds. He does have the spotted tongue, though that's meaningless as a marker for being a Chow mix, but he has plenty of other physical characteristics of the Chow breed.

I headed out to pick up little Truman at 11:30am. It was an absolutely gorgeous day: mid-50s and sunny, just a great day for a drive! The transport was running ahead and so by the time I got there (also 20 minutes ahead), Truman had been walked and done all his business. I got some kisses, a few little puppy bites, and then he was in my car and we were off (after a few pictures). He settled down really well in the car, which I find is typical of puppies. He was almost instantly asleep with his head on the arm rest (so cute!). I had to make one stop on the way through to run into the bathroom. It was a cool day and so he was fine in the car with the windows down a little. When I got back to the car, he had managed to get down off the seat and was stuck behind the passenger's seat, the poor guy. He was just too short to get back up. So I helped him back up and we were on our way.

The rest of the trip was entirely uneventful. We arrived in Liverpool about 25 minutes ahead of time and I knew that the person meeting me was on another transport which was going to make him a little late. So that meant I got to walk Truman around and play with him for a bit.

"Play with him" actually meant having various pieces of clothing and body parts substitute as a tug toy. At varying times he latched onto my pant leg, sneaker, fleece jacket, elbow and fingers. All with puppy teeth. He also pounced on a woman's toes who came up to meet him. Whoops! Crazy little puppy but SO CUTE.

The next transporter showed up just about the time he was supposed to leave and since Truman had been walked, gone to the bathroom, and had some water, he was all set. We got him into his car and off he went, just about 5 minutes late.

Truman is one of the truly lucky ones. He's meeting up with his adoptive family tonight. So he's already going to a great home. Go Truman!

Edited to add: We have heard from his new family and he is settling in nicely. They've decided to name him Dakota.

Transport #38: Geri, Jack, and Precious

This weekend I was away from town and heading back home via one of the common transport routes so it seemed ridiculous for me to have an empty car the whole way home.  I volunteered for a transport early last week and took the last three legs of it.  Of course, I should have known it would never be that simple.  Because, of course, the transport went from two dogs to four rather quickly.  Two I can handle.  Three I can handle if they're not huge dogs.  Four?  The only time I've had four in my car is when most of them are small puppies in a crate.  This transport was for one overweight lab (80 pounds), and three medium sized dogs (30-35 pounds each).  That's just too much for my little Saturn Ion.

In the end, it was agreed that I would take the three smaller dogs as they were going the farthest and I could fit them all the in car.  It meant that I would have three dogs in the car for approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours and I wouldn't make one stop between the pick up and drop off points.

Except, well, I had to make a stop.  I met up with the transport at 9am in the morning and met all of the dogs.  The overweight lab, Lucy, was a huge sweetheart who wanted to play tug with her leash (yikes!) and wanted belly rubs.  She was enthusiastic, but the poor thing was breathing so heavily from just a little bit of exertion that she broke my heart.  I know whomever ends up with her will knock that weight off the poor girl and make her life a little easier.

The other three dogs were Jack (a Boxer/beagle mix who was a huge sweetheart), Geri (supposedly a Lab/basset mix -- I see lab and some sort of hound but I'm not sure it's basset), and Precious (another lab mix).  Precious was super calm and very relaxed.  Jack was sweet and just wanted to give you kisses and curl up.  The problem was Geri.  Originally I decided that it would be easiest to put Jack in the front seat as he seemed to be the dog who required the most attention.  I thought the girls would be ok in the back.  Huge mistake.  Precious immediately settled down but Geri could not.  She paced back and forth, kept trying to get in the front seat (both from the middle area and around the left side of my seat, which would never happen).  She irritated Precious who growled at her a couple times.  I was starting to get worried about the two dogs in the back.  I ended up getting off the highway and stopping at a gas station to switch the dogs around.

And here comes the other scary moment of the trip.  In order to do this I had to get two dogs out of the car: Jack and Geri.  I started with Geri who, thankfully, I had on a slip lead as she pulled so hard on the other lead (I had her double-leashed) that she snapped her collar right off.  Phew!  Then I got out Jack.  I was trying to get them situated and into the car when Geri suddenly leapt up, knocked me off balance, ran into Jack's leash and I discovered a problem with slip leashes: they also slip right out of your grasp!  The leash flew out of my hand and suddenly Jack was free.  He didn't race off, thankfully, but instead sort of ran around near me a bit, sniffing and checking things out.  He saw people at the next car over and ran over to them and when they stopped to pet him I was able to step on his leash and capture him.  That had to be my scariest moment ever.  I thought that I would lose him and what a horrible thing that would be.  I was, honestly, starting to get really angry with Geri, though I kept myself in check.  I got her into the front seat and Jack into the back.  I tied Geri up pretty well so she couldn't get into my lap or move much.

And then we were on our way.

Geri finally settled down and I was able to loosen up her leash from where it was tied enough that she was able to curl up and sleep.  Jack and Precious were sound asleep in the back.  I heard only one more growl from Precious when Jack suddenly got up and, as far as I could tell, stepped on her head.  Otherwise the two of them curled up together and slept.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful.  I arrived at the meeting place in good time.  I got out Jack and Geri and we quickly got them into crates in the next car (which belonged to the woman who runs the rescue these three characters were ending up at).  And then, since I hadn't had much time with Precious, I took her out for a little walk around the area.  I pretty much instantly regretted not having her in the front seat.  She was wonderful.  I was trying to get photos of her and at one point sat down on the ground figuring she would wander around and I might get a few.  Nope.  Instead she saw me sit down and immediately jumped into my lap, gave me kisses and leaned heavily on me, trying to roll over in my lap.  She was just the sweetest dog and reminded me a lot of my own: She's a calm, relaxed dog who really likes her own space!  I got the impression pretty quickly that she'd be a great companion for Dahlia.  But alas, no more dogs for me, as we all know!

I was sad to see Precious go.  Jack was sweet but he wouldn't be the dog for me.  Geri was adorable but I was glad to see her off as she drove me a little bit crazy.  I'm sure they'll all find some good homes quickly!


Lucy





Jack





Geri





Precious

Transport #37: Indy (aka Indigo, aka Drama)

Another Aussie, another transport I couldn't resist. You guys know the story by now! This one was for an Aussie they were originally calling Indigo, though the rescue renamed him Drama. The first name didn't seem to fit. He's not indigo. The second name didn't seem fit either. There was nothing "drama" about this dog (except perhaps his dramatic colouring). So some of us ended up calling him Indy instead.

At any rate, I saw some pictures of yesterday's portion of the transport so I knew this dog was going to be absolutely beautiful. There was some concern that he was a bit too thin, but he's not. It's good old standard teenage gawkiness. He'll fill out, but he's only about a year old. He's going to be one big Aussie. I'd bet he'll weigh at least what Dahlia weighs (which is 50 pounds), but might very well weigh 55-60 when he's done growing.

At any rate, I headed out his morning and got to Binghamton with about 10 minutes to spare. I saw the other person pull in and drove over to meet her. Upon meeting Indy, the first thing he did was put a paw on my leg and reach up to cover my face in kisses. This was one kissy dog! Everyone got their face washed on transport. He was even more beautiful in person and I immediately set to taking pictures, while still trying to pet him and love on him.

The person I was meeting said he had a reputation as a chewer and so I decided to grab one of the toys I had in my car to give him something to do. As soon as he saw it, his eyes just lit up and he jumped up a bit to get it. I tossed it on the ground and he pounced on it and started to squeak it. Over. And over. And over again. If anyone knows Dahlia, this is exactly what she does. Then he laid down to squeak it and suddenly flung it away from himself and rushed to grab it (unfortunately barreling into my open car door, which didn't faze him at all). I got the impression that perhaps he was used to playing on his own a bit.

After a little bit of playing, I tossed the toy into the car and in Indy went, just as easy as that.

He settled down really well in the car and did a few Dahlia-like things, which I was pretty amused at. He slapped a paw on the arm rest between the seats and grinned up at me. And later during the trip, he rested his face on it and promptly fell asleep. I've renamed it a "snout rest" as it seems to be a good place for that!

Once we arrived in Nedrow, I had about 15 minutes or so to spend with him. I tossed him the toy again and he played with it for a little while. He was utterly adorable with it. This time he ended up rolling over onto his back and chewing it and tossing it around while upside down. Too. Freaking. Cute. I got a ton of pictures of him doing this.

I even pulled out a few treats and got him to sit nicely for a couple portrait pictures. Good dog! It's obvious he doesn't know any commands, but he caught on super quickly, as any good Aussie should!

And then the next people showed up to take him away from me. Oh no! I tried to steal him, but no luck. Drat! I did get some kisses out of my attempt though, so I guess that's good! Indy has now made it safely to Ontario where he'll stay at a foster home until someone adopts him (no doubt quickly!).

Transport #36: Chloe, Max, and Eddie

Being the owner of a formerly unwanted black dog myself, I couldn't possibly resist doing a transport for 3 lab mix puppies. Like my girl, they were headed from a high kill shelter to a rescue in Vermont for a chance at a new life. This transport was slightly different than the other ones I've done to date. The puppies only had their first shots and so we weren't supposed to allow them on the ground. Parvo, you see. It's a deadly disease and a horrible puppy killer, especially shelter puppies. It's possible they could contract it in the shelter, but if they come out of there parvo-free, we want to make sure they're not going to get it on the transport. It's not 100%, but with parvo "better safe than sorry" is a good rule of thumb.

So the trio of puppies, who came with no names but were given various names during the transport, were crated and allowed out only onto towels, tarps, and blankets that were clean and parvo-free.

I met up with the transport here in Syracuse and got my first glimpse of the puppies when the person I was meeting opened up the back of her SUV. The two fluffier puppies reminded me a lot of my dog, except for having darker eyes and radically different ears. Looking at the pictures later I realized exactly how much my girl's eyes stand out. It's not that often you see a black dog with such intense amber eyes!

Ok enough about my dog. Back to PUPPY BREATH! And not just puppy breath, but puppy breath times three.

We first got Max out. Nicknamed Max for "Maximum," he was the least shy and likely to be the most troublesome of the trio. We had been told they were shy and nervous, but little Max was none of the above. He immediately crawled to the edge of the SUV and we brought him down onto the towel. He wanted to run off to explore, but obviously couldn't, so instead, tried to crawl into our laps and eventually ended up on his back getting a big belly rub. Max was one happy puppy.

The second one we got out of the car was the only girl, Chloe. She was a bit shyer than her brother, but very sweet. She gave me kisses immediately upon meeting me and when let down onto the towel, opted to crawl back into the crate sitting next to it. She sat near the front of it and grinned at us, was happy to receive petting, but she definitely seemed to view the crate as a safe space.

The third one, who was alternately called Special or Eddie (of the two, I prefer the name Eddie, though I wouldn't name a dog either!), was the shyest of the bunch. Little Eddie (the only smooth-coated puppy of the three), immediately crawled to furthest side of the SUV he would and didn't want to come out. We opted to not stress him out too much (he was showing a lot of whale-eyed looks, tail tucked between his legs), so we put the crate in my car, put the other two pups in, and decided to just bring Eddie right from one vehicle to the other. I lifted the little guy in my arms and he immediately snuggled into me, putting his little head on my shoulder. It was incredibly sweet, but I'm sure he was quite happy to be put back into the crate with his siblings.

For the trip, I left the crate door open to allow them to wander out of it and onto the pillow next to it if they wanted to. No one did until the very end. Every time I glanced back to check on them, they were all laying squished together sound asleep. Puppies are just so cute and these little guys are making me change my mind about getting a puppy someday. Uh oh!

I arrived at the Herkimer exit in good time and decided that this time I was going to get little Eddie, the most scared one out first. I thought he needed a little TLC and a little one on one time. So I got him out of the crate (poor guy was pretty nervous) and picked him up and again he clung to me. I set him down on the tarp and after a moment of looking a bit disoriented, he looked up at me, wagged his little tail and crawled into my lap to give me kisses. Yay! Eventually he ended up upside down for a big ol' belly rub.

There really is nothing more disheartening than seeing a puppy closed down and afraid. He's only about 12 weeks old. What sort of life did he have that made him so scared? On the good side, I think he'll recover quickly and easily if our time together was any indication.

After getting Eddie out for a bit, I put him back in with his siblings and brought out the lovely Miss Chloe. I thought she needed a bit more one on one time than Max, who had plenty at the last stop and seemed to be pretty well adjusted. She snuggled into me and rolled over too. Lots of belly rubs were given that day (I gave belly rubs to three puppies, Dahlia, and the dog down the road, Maggie -- 5 dogs in one day!). In the middle of that, the person meeting me showed up and we made a quick transfer of the crate and puppies into her car (what a challenge that was!). And then she was off.

I really wanted to bring Chloe home with me. She was so sweet and reminded me so much of Miss Dahlia. I'm sure they'll all get amazing homes, but (as often happens) I wish I could have been one of those homes!

Some pictures of the trio follow.

Chloe






Max






Eddie (aka Special)







The group

Transport #35: Betty

It's been far too long since I've done a transport. I always want to do one, but I find every weekend seems to be tied up in something. I think maybe some of it is just wanting to spend time with Dahlia. I work all week and during the school year also disappear some evenings, so my weekends are my Dahlia time. With session every other week, I find it hard to pull myself away from her and do a transport.

But when one comes up for a black dog of a similar size and mix? I couldn't resist. Betty was billed as a lab mix, possibly a purebred. She's definitely not purebred and from the way she moves and the shape of her body and especially her tail, I would guess she's a border collie/lab mix. Whatever she was, she was incredibly sweet! Which is really amazing as Betty's story is quite a sad one. Her people went on vacation for four days and left her tied up outside with no water, no food, and no shelter. She was found suffering from sun stroke and removed from the house. She was taken to a shelter after that where no one wanted her. Luckily someone from the rescue did and so off she was going to Vermont!

I met up with the transport here in Syracuse around 10:30am. I usually take an earlier leg so that I have the rest of my day free, but the transport had 4 dogs on it and I just cannot handle 4 dogs in my little car! At Syracuse, three of the dogs were heading north to Ottawa and one was heading west. I opted to transport the one heading west. Three is still a lot for my little car. And considering the personality of one of the other dogs boy was I happy I only took the one!

When I arrived, I found his huge van already parked there. I knew who I was meeting thanks to the din coming from his car. One dog was barking. And barking. And barking some more. Thankfully it turned out not to be Betty! It was, instead, Mia the pug. Mia was 12 years old. I tried to walk her around but all she did was frantically run around on the end of her leash and bark. And bark. And...well, you get the point. She was a noisy little bugger!

I also met Jose the Chihuahua. The poor little guy was scared to come out of his crate, but once we got him out, he did just fine. I can honestly say I have never walked a dog that small before! Wow it was like having nothing at the end of my leash! He was cute though and very sweet. When I sat down near him he came over to me and licked my hand with his teeny tiny tongue.

Then I finally got to meet Betty. She hopped out of the van and started slinky around, very nervous at first and seemed rather unsure of herself. She moved like a border collie but very much had a lab head and the lab coat over a much narrower body than you'd see on a lab. Beautiful dog! And so sweet. She immediately warmed up to me and started giving me kisses. I got her into the car and she explored it before quickly settling down in the back to sleep most of the way there.

The trip out to Herkimer was very easy and we arrived in good time. Alas, the person who I was to meet was already there. Most unfortunate! I was hoping to have some time with Betty. Luckily we were ahead of the game so we had a bit of time to get some pictures. Now here's the interesting thing. Betty refused to get out of my car. She just laid there and looked up at us like "uh huh no way I'm staying here thank you very much." I felt bad making her move! She did finally and I walked her around a bit, got a few pictures.

At one point I sat down and she immediately crawled into my lab and leaned against me. Ah Betty! I would have taken her home with me in a heartbeat! Such a pretty and sweet girl. Everyone who met her at the transport spot just loved her and couldn't believe she was homeless. I was very sad to hand her off, but finally I had to part from her and then I was on my way home to my own dog!

Some pictures, of course.

Betty










Jose

Transport #34: Singin' Simon

I think this is the first time in a very long time that I opted to do a transport for a dog that was not an Australian shepherd. I haven't worked for Kim in ages and so when a transport came up for a dog named Simon I decided to jump on board. Judging by his picture, he's a Beagle/Australian Cattle Dog mix. It certainly seems the most likely explanation for his interesting colouring. Gorgeous dog.

While waiting for the transport to begin for me, I got several updates about Simon and the other dogs on transport. This is one of the things I like best about Kim's transports: She really keeps everyone up to date with the progress of the transport and how the dogs were doing. I had several messages about Simon's antics on transport.

he's been barking the entire way since he left. he also tried to chew through his leash while tethered in linda's car.

he also chewed thru two leashes so keep two on him and watch him he's quick!!!!!

And he IS REALLY QUICK chewing the leashes – did his double leash in about 2 seconds while waiting to load.

Noticing a pattern? Simon is a chewer. Big time chewer. I wonder how many leashes he did actually eat through.

At any rate, I was almost to the service area with Tim Horton's where I was going to get a soda, when I got a call from the folks I was meeting, They were running far ahead of the game and were almost to the meeting spot. I wasn't too far from it and so opted to not stop for a snack and headed right to the hotel off exit 46 where we were meeting.

By the time I got there, they had already had Simon out and walked and were ready for him to head out with me. Luckily, someone along the line had thought of getting a chain leash (not a choke chain -- he had a regular collar -- but rather a leash made out of chain!). Smart move! I easily hooked him up in the car and learned quickly that he still had enough room to get in the front of the car.

He spent the first part of the trip jumping from the front to the back, sniffing everything, trying to find any little crumb that might be in the car, and licking my face. He finally settled down in the back with his rawhide chew and alternately chewed and howled. I attempted to sing to him, as they said he liked to be sung to. And it did quiet him down, but when I hit the high notes he cocked his head to the side and howled. I'm not sure if that meant he wanted to participate or he didn't enjoy my singing! ;-)

He did finally settled down and was so sound asleep that I had to wake him up when I stopped.

Now, at this point, we were running nearly an hour ahead. The problem, of course, was that the people meeting me could not get there that early as they were coming from quite a distance away. So I had an hour to kill with Simon. I ended up taking him down to the Onondaga Lake Park and let him walk off some energy and let the hound in him sniff anything and everything his heart desired. He seemed to enjoy that.

I finally met up with the next folks at 1:20pm and he was off to the next meeting spot. Simon was a really nice dog and very handsome. I have no doubt he'll find a home quickly!

(Excuse the blurry spots on some of the photos -- Simon decided that licking my camera was a good idea and I had nothing to clean the lens off with...oops!)