More Play Time

This morning Beacon decided to instigate play time. He got everyone riled up. Bella still likes to do her dive across the ground moves. She also likes to go under the dogs as she's playing, especially Haven (as seen here). Haven doesn't like this move of Bella's. Sometimes Haven will just lie down on top of Bella when she does this.

I also took a video. Bella likes to run around from the family room to the livinging room and then into the dining room before coming through the kitchen back to where she started. Sometimes one of our dogs will chase her. Other times they'll just wait for her to return before trying to put on any moves.

Beacon continues to be a loud player. His thing is barking. He'll put on some moves and bark in the background as Haven actually puts the smack down. Haven makes noise but for the most part she's more concerned with finding a way to pin Bella (or any foster dog) to the ground.

Local Animal Rescue Volunteering

Andrew and I have been volunteering with Vicky's Pet Connection for a little over a year. In April 2005 we fostered our first dog for Vicky. Since then we've had 22 different foster dogs through VPC.

Over the course of our volunteering we've picked up various administrative tasks as well. Now we do a little bit of everything. I created a database for their mailing list. I print off labels and put them on newsletters whenever they go out. We've volunteered at adoption events numerous times and have done one-on-one adoptions for many of the dogs we've fostered. I've even helped out with approving dog applications. We also worked on redoing the adoption application.

In recent months we've been taking pictures of cats and dogs. I then put photos and a brief description on Petfinder. The more up to date Petfinder listings are the more likely animals are to get adopted. It's interesting seeing how easy or difficult is it to photograph a cat or a dog. Dogs that we've fostered are a lot easier to photograph because we're with them all of the time.

For the past two weeks I've also been keeping track of online things for Vicky and Nancy (Vicky is the primary dog person and Nancy takes care of the cats). Any online application submissions come to me. I've also been fielding questions received via email. We set up an old fax machine so that I can send applications to Vicky and Nancy. They don't have internet access at home so they rely on volunteers to keep that stuff running. The person who usually takes care of the online stuff is pretty busy this summer so I volunteered to help out.

It has been fun and interesting seeing various sides of running a rescue. There's definitely a lot of work involved and you have to be organized to keep everything running smoothly. Andrew and I have had some ideas to make things even more organized. Some of our ideas have even been put into action. We know that our volunteer work is appreciated by Vicky and Nancy. They're always commenting on how they don't know how they functioned without us. We certainly enjoy volunteering and helping out in any way that we can.

The Cost of Adopting and Owning a Dog

I received a call from the family we were going to show Bella to on Thursday. The wife said that her husband was laid off today and they didn't want to adopt a dog, which I can understand. Hopefully once they get things back on track and figure out their finances they'll consider looking again.

This got me thinking about how much it costs to adopt and own a dog. Andrew and I have kept track of our finances using an Excel spreadsheet since 2001. We have things broken down into categories, one of which is "puppies". So it was easy to go back and see yearly as well as monthly expenses related to the dogs.

Before we even started looking to adopt dogs we did reseach on the start up cost of adopting. We priced crates, food, toys, vet visits for shots, getting a dog fixed, etc. We wanted to know before we adopted approximately how much it would cost to raise a dog or two. We estimated that the first year would cost around $1,000 per dog. This included vet visits, getting fixed, a crate, toys, food, collar, leash, and any other essentials we didn't have becuase this would be our first pet. In 2003 we spent $2,330 on the dogs. This includes a $200 emergency visit to the vet with Beacon shortly after we brought him home.

It definitely is worth your money to adopt from an animal rescue or shelter. And if you adopt a dog old enough to have had all of its shots it's an even better deal. We spent $475 for vaccinations and spay/neuter surgery for the dogs combined by the time they were four months old. The adoption fee for dogs in Vicky's Pet Connection (for which I volunteer) is $150, which includes spay/neuter and age appropriate vaccinations. We had to tack on an additional adoption fee for our dogs of $450 and we got a "buy one get one free" deal.

Once a dog has all of its shots, is fixed, and essential things are puchased like leashes, collars, and beds the cost of owning a dog goes down. We spend about $1,500 a year on our dogs. I'd consider this to be on the high end. Our dogs are fairly spoiled with toys and treats. We've also purchased three sets of beds over the years! Our dogs started off on somewhat cheap dog food as well. We fed them Diamond, which is a decent brand and good cost. In the past year and a half though we've upgraded though. Our yearly dog cost also includes unplanned trips to the vet for sickness and / or injury. We have two leashes, a Gentle Leader, a Halti, two car seatbelts, two kinds of slip collars, and numerous collars for each dog, which also puts our yearly cost to own a dog above the average person.

I'm thinking about writing an article about the start up cost of owning a dog to put on Vicky's webpage. I think it would be interesting for those looking to adopt to see how adopting an animal from a rescue group or shelter will save money in the long run, not to mention help with the overpopulation of unwanted pets.

Play Time

Most evenings the dogs go into play mode shortly before we go to bed. This is good because they're tired and don't complain about going to bed. With Bella Beacon has gotten into the fun.

With the last few foster dogs we've had Haven has become a lot more dominent. She'll play to "win" rather than just play and be too nice to foster dogs. She has developed a pin move where she'll practically squish the foster dog beneath her.

I think Bella is learning some of Haven's moves. In the beginning Bella would just scoot herself along the ground trying to under-cut our dogs as she played. Now she's trying to get on top of Haven as they play. Haven can still win though because she has better moves.

There have been times when Haven has taken her paw and taken Bella out as she's running or leaping. All three dogs get crazy looks in their eyes as they play. They'll take time outs for drinks and in the end collapse on the ground because they're so tired.

Bella's Still Here

Yesterday Andrew and I were at the Humane Society from 11-2 with Vicky. A person from the Animal Shelter was also there. We arrived a little early so we took Bella for a walk around the lake. She seemed to have fun.

At 11 we went into the training room and waited for Vicky to arrive. She was running a little late. Once she got there and we set things up we waited. Vicky had a litter of five puppies, a 10 month old Rat Terrier (Lucky, who I took a picture of for Petfinder), and Bella.

There weren't many people around at all. Most of the people who came into the room were just looking. I'm not sure if people weren't out because it was a nice day or something else. Nothing was adopted!

So we took Bella back home. There was an application waiting for Puck, a black lab mix the same age as Bella. They look like they could be littermates! It turns out Nancy knows these people. Vicky was going to see if they'd be interested in Bella because she's calmer than Puck and would probably do better in a home with a 9 and 5 year old. Vicky called this morning and said that this family wants to look at Puck and Bella so we'll see when they call to set up a meeting and where this possible lead goes.

At least Bella seems to like it here and Beacon and Haven don't seem to mind her. Beacon continues to try and play with her so that's a good sign that he not only is tolerating her but actually likes her.

Thursday I started teaching Bella "sit". She's not completely consistent but she does know the command now. This week I might start with "stay" and "come". She's really smart and learns quickly.

Stop! Digger Time

Since we moved into our house a little over three years ago we've had a resident groundhog. We've named her Digger. Each year we see her babies, which we've named Baby Digger(s).

The mulberry tree along our driveway now has fruit. It's a frequent stop for deer passing through as well as the Baby Diggers. I noticed that one of the babies was at the base of the tree and hopped "into" the base of the tree. I kept mowing not thinking too much of it. I figured that it would run away when I wasn't looking.

By the time I got tot he side of the yard with the tree on it I noticed that the Baby Digger was still there! I guess it was afraid of the mower sound and never left. So I had to go inside and get Andrew and the camera.

Andrew took pictures. At one point he threw in a twig that had some unripe berries on it and got hissed at, as you can see. This Baby Digger stayed here until I was done mowing.

Andrew went back inside. I continued on mowing. As I was going around the box elder tree I saw another Baby Digger! This one didn't have a hiding spot as well as the other. Even though I kept going up and down the yard it stayed there. Since it was staying I once again had to go inside and get Andrew and the camera. As I was going inside I saw a third Baby Digger going into the carport!

I took some pictures (one seen here) of the box elder Digger and then went to look at the third baby in the carport. I guess from now on if we leave the garage door open we'll have to make sure that we don't have any visitors in there too!

This is the closest I've gotten to any of the Baby Digger we've seen over the years. It'll probably be a long time before I'm this close again.

Around Town with Bella

Last night we took Bella for a walk. The second summer concert by the showboat was going on. We started off at the boat launch. Bella wasn't too interested in getting her feet wet. I think where was too much going on around her.

There were lots of people around and a few dogs. At one point a man with a two year old St. Bernard was standing behind us. His dog wanted to play with Bella. He ended up walking past us and both dogs sniffed. He said that his dog is a big teddy bear and loves playing with smaller dogs. Bella sniffed and got submissive. Andrew and talked about how Haven would have liked playing with a huge dog like that.

We then took Bella and walked along Main Street and then to Richards Park. By the time we got home we walked between two and a half and three miles. Bella was acting tired but as soon as we got in the house she was ready to play with Haven.

Earlier in the day Andrew was doing some hill work. I ended up taking Haven out and she rans a couple hill reps with him. I left and went home without Haven. When I got home and let Bella out of the crate she went running around the hosue checking each room looking for Haven! Bella missed her playmate.

We'll be taking Bella to the Humane Society in the morning. Vicky's going there with a litter of puppies, Bella, and another dog around Bella's age. Hopefully there will be some interest in her!

Updated Chip Picture

One of Vicky's volunteers forwarded me an email. It included an updated picture of Chip. We fostered Chip from Oct. 24 - Nov. 7 last year. He was a 7-8 week old beagle weighing in at 2.5 pounds!

He was adopted by a family who had experience with beagles. While he was with us his eye clouded over. We don't know if it was from trauma or something else. But with some medication the vet thought that he would recover. From the looks of the updated picture he has grown a lot and doesn't have any eye problems.

He doesn't look like the same dog! His eyes now have more brown around them than black. He looks healthy and happy.

Bella's Best Friend

Bella loves Haven. She's always trying to get Haven to play. This morning the two were sleeping next to each other, which is a first. Haven likes playing with foster dogs but doesn't often let them sleep near her. I guess she likes her space unless she's sharing it with Beacon.

Bella and Haven are a lot alike. They like chasing and being chased. They both act a little silly and crazy.

Bella seems to copy what Haven's doing quite a bit. In the evening if we're watching TV Bella will bark at something (and sometimes nothing) and get the other two dogs riled up. Haven does this to Beacon, especially when she wants to move in on a toy he has or take his spot next to us.

Bella's hit and miss as to whether she'll eat her food out of the bowl. Sometimes it takes flicking pieces of food across the floor for her to chase and then eat. Sometimes it takes feeding her from your hand. If you wait long enough she usually will eat on her own out of the bowl but with Beacon and Haven waiting for an opportunity to scavenge we usually try and get Bella to finish her food as quickly as possible. She usually doesn't even start eating until our dogs have finished even though she is given her food first. We've wondered if she purposely waits until they're done because they're both higher in the pecking order.

Splashing in the Pool

Earlier today I had the dogs out playing in the kiddie pool. We were out with all of them a few times over the weekend. It was the first time this year we had the pool out for our dogs. I wonder if this was the first time ever that Bella has been able to play in water.

Bella loves to splash around in the water. She'll "dig" at the water stream as the pool fills us. She'll get frustrated and start barking at it. She also likes to stick her nose under the water and blow bubbles.

When the pool has been empty but still in the backyard all three dogs have stood in the pool and looked at us like they're wondering where the water is. All three of them will run around the yard and then go back into the pool to cool off. If Beacon and Haven are really hot they'll even plop down in the water!

Meet Bella

We picked up Bella at 5:30. Andrew rode his bike to work today so I picked him up and we went out to eat before going to Chow Hound. Bella's owner is moving and can't take Bella with her so she's give her back to Vicky. I think Bella was adopted out when she was a puppy.

She's a really sweet dog. She reminds us of Haven. They've got similar faces and they both can act goofy. As soon as we got home we took out the kiddie pool and filled it with water. This is the first this year that our dogs have had it out. All three dogs loved splashing around and then chasing each other in the backyard.

Bella's almost nine months old. She likes to play but she also seems pretty laid back too. So far she hasn't tried getting into anything. Hopefully she'll sleep well in the crate overnight. Her previous owner said that she's used to being in a crate.

Pasta Salad

One of the things I did on Sunday while Andrew was out on his long run was make pasta salad. When I was in college I discovered a mozerella pasta salad at Meijer. It's sort of expensive so I don't get it very often. After my attempt to duplicate the Meijer stuff I may never have to buy it again!

I wasn't sure exactly what covered the pasta, olives, tomatoes, and broccoli so I had to guess. I used some red wine vinegarette and italian salad dressings along with a little mayo then added a little garlic salt and onion powder. I didn't use olives and added green peppers and a little onion. I forgot to get mozerella to cube. I finished all that I made by Monday afternoon!

Since we were out last night I had to stop and get ingredients to make more. I forgot broccoli this time
but remembered mozerella. We'll see how long this lasts.

What's a Wigglet?

This probably should have been my first post here! But it's close enough to the beginning.

I had to come up with a user name for this account. The "dogpack" that I had been using wasn't available. I tried things like "lilrunt" and "puppypack" without any luck. Finally it was Andrew who came up with "wigglets".

It goes right along with Andrew using "havybeaks". One of Haven's nicknames is Wiggles. One of Beacon's nicknames is Inlets. Wigglets is created!

A Fluffy Visitor

Although we weren't looking to foster until the end of the week we got a call from Vicky while we were out running errands today. She was at an adoption event at the Humane Society and all of her available puppies were adopted. But she had one who was adopted that needed a place to stay for a short time. I guess the family who adopted her are doing some sporting events today and tomorrow and didn't want to bring her home just to leave her in a crate.

So we've got Fluffy with us. At least I think that's her name! Vicky mentioned that she thought her name was Fluffy but didn't feel to confident. I looked online at the old Petfinder profiles and it does look like we've got Fluffy (at least one of her littermates!).

We got home with Fluffy a little before three and all she has done is sleep! I don't know if she's that laid back or if she's tired from a long day at the Humane Society. Beacon and Haven don't even seem to care about her because she doesn't do anything. She's around 8 or 9 weeks old.

She now holds the record for the shortest length of time we've had a dog! We got her home just before 3 and will be dropping her off around 8:30!!!

Lucky Dog

This is Lucky. Another volunteer with Vicky stopped by so that I could take a picture of him and put his info on Petfinder. Lucky's a neglect / abuse case. Apparently his previous owner sprayed something in his eyes. It's not known what it was but when Vicky first got him his eyes were shut and oozing. The vet didn't know if he would make it. But he has been getting drops in his eyes, can see, and is expected to make a full recovery.

The earliest we will be fostering again is the end of next week. Since we've had so many different dogs recently we wanted to give Beacon and Haven some extra time to "recover". They're a lot more relaxed when it's just the two of them, especially right after a foster dog is adopted.

There's a chance we'll be getting a 30lb dog. He or she is a return. The person or family who has this dog now will be moving in a month or two and either can't or don't want to take the dog with them. A busy schedule doesn't allow for spending much time with the dog.

Of course between now and the end of next week who knows what will be going on with Vicky. She's always having to juggle what dogs are coming in and where they'll be placed.

There has been a string of returned dogs lately. The only good thing about this is that Vicky gets multiple adoption fees for one dog and often gets some supplies that are returned with the dog, which helps offset costs.

Birthday Party

Although we didn't have time to get stuff for the dogs prior to their June 8th birthday, Andrew stopped on his way home from work and got them a big treat and party attire.They were both good sports when it came to taking pictures. Beacon was the best, which surprised me. He didn't try and paw at the hat or mask much at all. And Haven didn't look too sad either! But they were both happy when they finally got their treat and didn't have to wear silly things.