Transport #25: Boogie and Stacy

Boogie. What a name for a dog, right? These two Corgi girls (Pembrokes as I've come to find out) were on their way to a new forever home. They're 8-month old sisters and the family adopted the two of them together. This is probably best for poor Stacy. Boogie, the smaller of the two, was outgoing, happy to give you licks and desperate for belly rubs. Stacy, however? Poor little girl was just as nervous as could be.

I picked the girls up in a windswept truck parking lot. The temperature was frigid and the winds were blowing at a decent clip. I was frozen to the core almost as soon as I got out of the car. Boogie and Stacy, however, were just as happy to roam around outside in the cold. Corgis are hardy little dogs and these two were definitely up to breed standard there!

I was a bit worried about getting their crate into my car. Their foster mother, God bless her, couldn't let them go without having a crate for the two of them. A crate. For two 28 pound dogs. This was simply a HUGE crate..one of those airline jobbers. Luckily, someone had disassembled it somewhat and with the two sections tucked into each other, I was able to slide it into my backseat. It became more of a bed than a crate, but it still worked well. After taking some pictures of the transporters with the dogs, we got Boogie up into the crate, where she settled down nicely. Boogie, however, made a beeline for the floor behind the driver's seat. That was fine. She fit down there nicely and it was a little cozy space to tuck herself into in her nervousness. I let her stay there for the entire trip.

The trip was rather uneventful. Boogie settled down nicely in her bed. Stacy settled down nicely on the floor and I didn't hear much out of either of them. Until I decided that stopping to get a milk shake was a good idea. I was incredibly thirsty and running far ahead of schedule, so it seemed like a good plan. While waiting in line, I gave Boogie some attention, let her lick my hands and patted her head. For the rest of the trip, she was wide awake. Sometimes trying to lean over her crate to give me kisses. Sometimes just shifting around a lot.

And then the barking started. And the howling. She spent the last 20-30 minutes of the trip barking and howling on and off. It was cute for a time, but nothing seemed to settle her down, not even the couple Cheerios I tossed back into the crate with her (besides food and the like, they were sent with a box of Cheerios). We finally arrived at exit 35 and after getting them out to walk around a bit, settled back into the car to wait.

And wait...

And wait some more...

The person who was meeting me finally called me to find out when I would arrive. Confused, I told him I was there and we must not be in the same spot. It turned out we weren't.

I was at the exit 35 Holiday Inn.

He was at the exit 37 Holiday Inn.

We had had some e-mail miscommunication apparently. He said exit 35, but meant exit 37. Oops! He high-tailed it out of exit 37 and met me at exit 35. The girls were quickly transferred into his car and they were on their way.

We got the news last night that they were with their new family, who were just utterly thrilled with them.

As always, a few of the pictures I took are below.

Boogie





Stacy





The girls with their new family

Help the Best Friends Animal Society!

Neko Case is donating $5 for every blog post of her new song, People Got a Lotta Nerve, to the Best Friends Animal Society.



You can download the song here: Neko Case: People Got a Lotta Nerve

You can find out more here. Best Friends is a very worthy cause!

Transport #24: Whitney

Ah, my last transport of the year! Whitney was dog #44 for the year and she was a gorgeous little pup. She was a 2-year-old Brittany on her way from a foster home to her forever home. The original transport had been set up for last weekend, but with the horrible weather that cropped up, it got postponed. I hopped on board for one last drive of doggy love for 2008.

I met up with Whitney out in Rochester. She was taller than most Brittanies I had met and her face seemed somewhat longer. I'm pretty sure she was purebred, but she seemed to look just a tad bit different from many of the others I had transported. If left to my own devices, I might have thought she was a mix of Brittany and perhaps Border collie. But either way, the first thing one would really note about Whitney was how skinny she was. I'm not sure how long she was in foster care for. I'm guessing not long before the adoption went through, as this poor girl clearly needed to gaine some serious weight. Her ribs were prominent and you could clearly see her backbone. She made Nonami, of the last transport, look like the picture of perfect doggy health.

Despite her clear need of some good food, Whitney was a love. She was also strong. So incredibly strong that she would pull on the leash, causing her front legs to go up into the air and she would then keep walking on her hind legs. It was pretty amazing to watch, but she was clearly going to be a handful to control. I hope her adopting family has some good strong folks in it!

I got her into the car easily enough. I've never seen a dog quite so eager to just hop on in and explore. She sniffed around a bit, checked everything out, though unlike Morey (of an earlier transport), she didn't try to eat anything. We finally got on the road and she settled down for a bit.

The scariest moment came when, driving 70mph on the Thruway, she decided she wanted to look out the window. My window. And did so by standing on my legs. This is all well and good as I was able to see out the window, but then she decided to see if she could crawl further into my lap and see out the opposite window. Oh no no no, I don't think so, kiddo! I did what I've done many times before with dogs who are a bit over exuberant about getting into my lap. I tried to shove her off and back onto the other seat. I must have hit a tender spot (perhaps even a rib) because she actually snapped at me. As soon as she did that, however, she immediately retreated to the passenger seat and leaned over to smother my face in kisses. I got the sense that she knew she had done something bad and wanted to make it up to me in the only way she knew how. She clearly didn't hurt me, didn't even touch me with her mouth, so I wasn't terribly worried. I'm sure being as thin as she was made things like pushing against those bones a bit painful. Poor kid.

The rest of the trip was incredibly uneventful. We hit a good stride and booked it back to Syracuse rather quickly. Whitney settled down on the front seat and slept for much of the trip, only occasionally popping her head up to nose my hand for a pat. She was a sweet girl despite our one incident of freaking out.

The handoff went quickly and for once, I was done with a transport a good 20 minutes earlier than scheduled!

A few pics:

Transport #23: Nonami

This transport started out as being one for a deaf Australian Shepherd named Whisper. Her owner was giving her up because she lost her job and found a job as a long-distance trucker. She felt that life would be unfair to her dog. But in the end, she just couldn't do it and decided to give it a chance first. If she needs to give the dog to a rescue, we'll help transport her later. So instead, we picked up and transported a beautiful red merle Aussie from a shelter in Ohio. Little was known about this girl. She had no name (hence "Nonami" -- the name some of us call dogs with no name, pronounced "No-NOM-ee") and no one knew her age. All we knew was that she had a flea bite allergy and "wasn't the prettiest site."

I got the message around 10:50am that the transport was 45 minutes ahead. In a panic, I rushed out the door and off to Rochester. I was most pleased that the roads were completely clear all the way out. I arrived in good time and ended up relaxing for a little while at the meeting place. It turned out that the person meant to write 15 minutes, not 45, but by that time it was too late. I was long gone and had no internet access!

The person finally showed up and the most amusing thing was that she thought I would be later, since they were running a bit ahead, and she walked the dog at a different location (why, I don't know). So it was a quick handoff.

My first impression of this girl, Nonami, was that she was not in any sort of bad shape. She was gorgeous! Too thin, that's for sure (her head looked too big for her skinny body), but otherwise she was absolutely stunning. We only had her out of the car for a few minutes when someone came over to meet her because she was so pretty. She was also just a really nice dog. She leaned against me as a I petted her, easily got into the car, and settled right down in the back after a little exploring.

Like Dahlia, she slept most of the way.

Also like Dahlia, I would have adopted her in a heartbeat! Ah, another one gone and on her way to a new place.

The ride back was fairly uneventful. Nonami slept. I listened to the radio. The roads were dry and clear until I got north of Syracuse. They were wet for most of the way and then as I got near Pulaski (ah, the Tug Hill Plateau) I hit some snow and the roads were covered with a light dusting of snow.

I got into Pulaski and couldn't find the meeting place at first (it was one just picked at random off the internet). I finally found it, got Nonami out of the car and then was greatly disappointed when the next folks showed up right away. Bah! I wanted to spend some time snuggling with that poor girl in the car. And taking pictures. She was really striking and ever so gentle.

She was off to Ontario before I could even blink. I missed her presence in the car on the way home.

Transport #22: Abby, Speckle, and Nesbit

I agreed to help out the Brittany folks yet again. They seem to be the ones most interested in my services and the ones who keep the number of dogs on a transport to a reasonable level. Several of those who have come through my area recently have had 4, 5, or even more dogs. Far too many for my little vehicle. It would be nice to have a large vehicle for transporting, but that won't ever happen. So I limit myself to no more than 3 medium sized dogs, 2 large dogs, one giant dog, or a handful of puppies/little dogs.

So this time it was for three Brittanies. Nesbit was 6 years old, an orange and white boy who was heading. Abby and Speckle were two 10 year old Brittanies (one liver and white, the other black and white) who were going to a forever home in Vermont. It always warms my heart to see these older dogs getting a home.

I arrived in Rochester a little bit after the folks I was going to meet. I misjudged the time a bit this time. I thought I needed to arrive by 2:20pm and it was really 2:10pm and the other folks were moving pretty quickly. I got there about 2:05pm, but they still beat me by about 10-15 minutes. They had already walked the dogs and were waiting in their car for my arrival. I met Nesbit first and I was amazed at his size! He was incredibly tall and much bigger and stronger than most Brittanies. We all looked at him and thought he was the size of a Springer Spaniel, but clearly looked like a Brittany. He was a bit more exuberant than I expected a dog of his age to be. The other Brittanies I've met who were over 3 were much calmer than he was. I got him into the car and wasn't surprised to see him immediately hop up into the front of the car.

Then I met Abby and Speckle. Amusingly, we all had them reversed as to their names. I was sure that Speckles was the little liver and white one was she was quite speckled. But her name tag said Abby on it, so I guess they were reversed. Much like Nesbit, I was amazed at how active they were. Wendy and Pepper, who I had transported before, were much calmer than these two. I got them into the car, got all the paperwork, and then returned to the car to find Abby on the floor of the driver's side seat with her head stuck under the seat. I guess I missed a couple french fries when cleaning and she managed to find them. Amusing. In order to get her into the back seat, I had to drag her out of the car and get her to go to the back seat. Nesbit, who was now on the front driver side had to be physically forced backward onto the passenger seat.

I got in. Shut the door. And though "how on earth am I going to keep them all under control?"

I started up the car and started driving, and as if by magic, they all suddenly settled down, curled up, and slept! I looked in the rearview mirror a few times and saw that Abby and Speckle (who have been together since they were pups, I believe), were curled up together. Everyone say "awww!"

The ride was uneventful from there on out, except for the lake effect snow and wind.

Oh and the next driver calling to tell me he'd be late because he locked his keys in the car. Well, that was unexpected! It turned out that the battery in his car had died. When they jumped it, all the doors immediately locked (I hate those automatically locking doors!) and his keys were in the car at the time. Just great. I didn't have any major plans, but I wanted to get home to my dog!

I arrived at Syracuse and the folks who were there for Nesbit arrived shortly thereafter. It was easy to get him out and on his way.

I decided that, since I had to hang around a bit, I might as well sit in the back seat with Abby and Speckle. I could give them some attention and take some pictures. Well, I found out one thing. Those poor girls were starving for attention. They were all over me as soon as I got in the back with them. I don't know where they came from originally (they were owner turn-ins), but it seems that their emotional needs were a bit neglected. Speckle was also ITCHY. Seriously itchy. She kept itching her ear for a few minutes at a time (when I checked on it, it was clear that she had a hot spot behind it from all the scratching) and then she would roll around on the back seat trying to get some relief. I'm not sure what was causing it. I didn't see any fleas, so maybe it's the food she's eating or some sort of allergies. Either way, I felt bad for the poor girl. Both she and Speckle seemed to have some issues. Their ears were turned funny (matts or just bad breeding, I'm not sure) and both were really tiny for Brittanies. They were nice dogs, but they need some help to get healthier and happier.

The next driver called me and was on his way only about 10 minutes late. We did a quick transfer of the dogs and then he was off.

A few pictures:

Nesbit
(click for a larger image -- whole image did not fit here)




Abby






Speckle








More can be found here.

Free to a good home?

I see ads like this all the time..."free to a good home." I know the people mean well. They need to find a new home for their dogs or cats, sometimes animals that are well past the puppy/kitten phase and therefore harder to place. They feel that if they offer them for free, they're more likely to find someone to take them and take them quickly.

The animal might end up in a great home. But this is not always the case. For anyone considering offering their pet as "free to a good home" or know someone who is considering it, for anyone who has seen one of these ads, please go to this page:

Free To Good Home?

It describes the many perils of an animal in this situation: from being used as bait for a dog fighting ring, to being used as a breeder in a puppy mill, to being a dog chained up with no room to move.

If you do need to find a new home for an animal, please consider these steps instead:

(1) Decide if you really do need to find a home for an animal. A lot of times people give the "we're moving" reason for rehoming their pets. This is not always necessary. Animals adjust well to moves. You can easily transport them even across country or to a new country and they will adjust quickly. Finding an apartment can be trickier, but it is not an impossibility. The first thing you should always do is to consider keeping your animal(s). You are their home, not the house or town or state or country you live in.

(2) If you absolutely cannot find a way to keep your animal (dog, cat, rabbit, etc.), check with friends and family to see if anyone is interested in adopting it.

(3) Contact local no-kill shelters and rescues to see if someone can take your dog. If your dog is of a specific breed, there are guaranteed to be breed-specific rescues that may be able to take it in. If you are afraid that because your dog is a mutt, you will not find a rescue for it, then I have good news! There are plenty of rescues that are all-breed (including mutts) rescues. Some breed-specific rescues will also take in dogs that are clearly mixed with their breed if they have room. Ask around or look on petfinder.com for nearby rescues.

(4) If you absolutely must post an ad on Craigslist or some other similar place, always ask an adoption fee. Always ask the person questions, set up an interview, maybe even do a home visit. It is your responisbility to ensure that your companion finds that good home. This means asking a lot of questions. If the person is not interested in answering them, then they are not interested in adopting your dog. You can find many adoption applications on the internet. Here is just one that you could use as an example: http://www.adorableadoptables.com/Our_Adoption_Application.html


This certainly takes time, but very few people move so quickly that they can't take a couple weeks to find their animal a good home. Once you know you are moving, set everything in motion and give yourself the time to find a good home for the pet. I notice many ads that sound frantic and I wonder how long those folks knew they were moving before they posted the ad.

Please remember that your pet is a commitment and part of that commitment is always ensuring that the animal has a good life. Do not ever get a dog or a cat if you think you may be the sort to dump it if you have to move.

Transport #21: Abby

My 21st transport of the year was an absolute breeze. It went by a little too fast, in my opinion. Abby was a 10-year-old overweight Brittany who was on her way to her forever home in Maine. I'm all too happy to help out the Brittany folks. They're good people and the dogs are just lovely. I haven't met a Brittany I haven't adored and Abby was no different.

I drove out to Victor this time and met up with the people before me. They arrived about 15 minutes after I did and the transfer was done quickly and easily. Abby was sweet, profuse with kisses, and easy to settle down in the back. She spent about half the trip laying down asleep and the other half with her nose stuck to the crack in the window, taking in all the smells. She was cute to watch.

I arrived in Syracuse in good time and found the next folks already there. I had no time to really get pictures or anything. Abby was loaded into the next car and on her way before we could blink. She's now in her forever home in Maine and going to spend the remainder of her years with some lovely people. I'm sorry I didn't get to know her better, but I'm glad to have been able to help!

A couple of the decent pictures I did get are below.

Transport #20: Bonnie

When a transport for an Aussie came up earlier this week, I jumped on it right away. I won't make any bones about it. I love herding breeds. Border collies, Aussies, even Pulik. Love them all. So it was an easy decision to make. Not that I ever give any real preference to which breeds I help. I don't really care for flat-faced smooshed dogs like pugs, but I was all too happy to help a few when I had a chance some months ago. But I do love my herders!

The transport was a bit of a mess with trying to figure out who, what, when and where. But we managed to get it all together (miraculously!) and I set off to meet up with them at 1:00pm. The previous people had already arrived so getting Bonnie into the car was quick and easy. I was surprised at how small she was. She probably weighed no more than 30 lbs. I'd guess she might have been more of a miniature Aussie than a full sized one.

She was incredibly easy to transport. She fell asleep in the back and partway through the trip I decided it would be a lot of fun to have her up front. I stopped at a parking area and got her up front quickly and easily. She spent the next 20 minutes curling up half on my lap and half in her seat and then finally settling down in the back once more.

Bonnie is a doll...an absolute love. We had a lot of time to get to know each other at the transfer point. We were way ahead and the people after us were quite a bit behind. So Bonnie and I spent a good 45 minutes to an hour just chilling out at the stop in Herkimer.

We met some nice people who were really interested in what I do for these dogs. I got to tell them all about it and they all got to meet Bonnie (who was as good an amabassador for rescue dogs as could be imagined). One of the guys told me they have a puggle, which immediately made me tense up, but then he went on to tell me they got it at the local SPCA (yay!). Another one of the group donates to the Humane Society every month. Another had a cat they had rescued, found as a stray. And yet another told me she would pray for me and Bonnie. Just really nice folks. I enjoyed talking to them all.

Whenever I sat on the ground, Bonnie would immediately crawl into my lap, roll over, and smother me with kisses, and when others came near, she went in between my legs and stayed there for much of the time. When they'd reach out a hand, she'd come out and accept pettings. She really was an incredible dog and so beautiful. She was going off to a new family, so they were very lucky!

The next folks finally arrived and I got Bonnie off with them quickly enough. They had a girl with them who was probably 10 or 12 or so. She asked if Bonnie liked kids and Bonnie responded by jumping up and putting her feet on her. Very gently. I think she likes kids!

I was sad to see her go, but aren't I always?

I took a bunch of pictures. They can all be found here. Here are a few of my favourites:

The Ten Commandments for Pets

I thought this was incredibly beautiful and moving. I think it should, I hope, make people stop and look at their pet and hug them. It's certainly a reminder to cherish your animal, whatever he or she may be.

The Ten Commandments For Pets
by Stan Rawlinson

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don’t be angry with me for long and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainments, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can’t bear to watch. Don’t make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

You can read the original version here.

Transport #19: Sebastian, Willie, and Jett

This transport turned out to be the one that was perhaps the MOST fun I've ever had on a transport. I ended up laughing and giggling and talking to the dogs the entire trip. It started out with an easy drive out to Victor to meet up with the person driving before me. The only problem? We agreed to meet at Chili's and she drove to TJIFriday's because that was where she met someone last. Oops! After a bit of a miscommunication, she pulled into Chili's and we did the handoff. The dogs this time were Willie, a 6 month old Brittany pup, Jett, an 8-month old something (all black, funny ears, no clue what his mix really was), and Sebastian, a 4-year-old Border collie/Brittany mix. We got Willie and Jett out first and the two hadn't had a chance to meet yet. They were hilarious together, bounding over each other and wanting to play. I decided to put the two of them in the back seat together and see how they did. As soon as we got them in, they started to play, jumping on each other in the car. They amused me terribly! Then we got out Sebastian, who was 30 lbs of underweight border collie. I'm almost positive that dog doesn't have a bit of Brittany in him. He looks 100% pure border collie and as a huge border collie lover, I was thrilled. He was just as sweet as could be. I got him up into the front seat without any problem.

Much of the trip was spent laughing at Willie and Jett in the back and petting Sebastian, who decided that my lap was where his head belonged. He didn't try to crawl all the way onto my lap (which he could have). Instead, he put his head, and sometimes his paws, on my thigh and looked up at me with very happy brown eyes. I was in love! Totally. I wanted to bring that dog home with me. He was just so wonderful.

Partway through the trip, I stopped paying attention to Willie and Jett and suddenly found myself with TWO dogs on the front passenger seat. Willie had jumped up there, pushing Sebastian off my lap and against the door. Sebastian looked none too happy but took it ok. Willie crawled around and finally Sebastian had had enough. He crawled OVER Willie and put his head back in my lap! He successfully managed to trap the guy on the seat. He couldn't get back to Jett (who seemed somewhat lonely in the back by this time!). Eventually, after crawling around and Sebastian keeping himself tight to my lap, Willie settled down and fell asleep laying on Sebastian. So. darned. cute.

Jett laid down and relaxed in the back and the last 10 minutes of the trip were quiet in the car.

I really adored those three dogs and especially Sebastian. I really would have taken him home with me if I could have more than one dog. I was none too happy to pass them off, especially since the people after me didn't seem to care about my wanting to say goodbye to the dogs. Ah well. They're off to their foster homes now and I hope they all find wonderful homes!

As always, some pictures! The rest can be found here.

Sebastian





Willie





Jett





More than one dog