Raisin's Sleepover | Chandra

I've been watching little Raisin on Lysa Blackketter's FB feed ever since she scooped the abandoned demodex puppy up and took her home. Raisin is aptly named...she is wrinkly and kind of blackish brown, where she isn't pink. Her demodex is getting better but she's still a patchy haired fuzzy girl with a few scabs.

Don't tell Raisin that though. She thinks she is just fine, and beautiful. (Which she is.)

Yesterday, we got to bring Raisin home for a sleepover and while I'm writing, she's sleeping beside me on the sofa, in her little polka dot sweater, with her tongue sticking out. Dreaming.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind with her here. Aussie has been great, willing to play and teach Raisin a little bit about being a polite dog. Teddy, however, will have none of it. He stands a few feet away from Raisin and barks at her and absolutely does not want her anywhere near him or Aussie. He's not too thrilled when I play with her either, but he just resorts to the stink eye for that. Mostly he's sulking on the stairs, staring at her with disgust. He has deigned to let her sniff him a few times but that's as far as he's taken it.

Having her here has made me realize just what a perfect match Aussie and Teddy are, and how lucky we got with bringing her home. She played Teddy perfectly...when they met she pretty much ignored him and made him come to her. Then when he sought her out, she quickly set up boundaries with him so that he knew exactly how she expected to be treated. She was sweet about it mostly, but very, very clear. Now he completely trusts her...they wrestle several times a day, with much gnashing of teeth and grabbing of necks, and they know exactly when to pull back and give it a break. They sleep next to each other in front of the fireplace, and she gets to choose which bed she wants first. He gives her little kisses on her ears and her nose. They walk side by side on leash and he doesn't get jealous when we give her attention. It's worked out really, really, well.

Raisin hasn't done anything wrong to deserve Teddy's disdain, she's just a puppy, and that's enough.

But what a delightful puppy she is. Lysa has taught her to sit for everything and the sight of tiny Raisin jumping around like a pink-clad bunny and then quickly sitting is enough to make you melt. The sit and then the sweet gaze into your eyes; she's so proud of herself for that quick sit. She loves her belly rubbed, follows you everywhere, and adores snuggling. She also sleeps all night long in her crate without so much as a whimper. She's going to make someone very, very happy.

Right now, Lysa's got her, but everyone is hoping for someone else to be able to step in and foster little Raisin, or foster-to-adopt (which means all of her medical expenses will be paid by PBSOC) or just adopt her right now. Lysa works full time and that's not the best situation for such a little one. In the meantime, I have a feeling she's going to have several sleepovers with the PBSOC crew in her future. She's just that adorable.

(If you cannot see the video below, please view it HERE.)


Let's get this girl home for Christmas. She'll look pretty cute in an ugly Christmas sweater! And when that hair grows in, watch out, she'll be an absolute beauty.

Update: Raisin found a new foster family very quickly, and they've since become her forever family.

xx

Chandra

Photos by Chloe | Chandra

Today, a little something different. Instead of taking a dog to the river, PBSOC asked us to help out with updating some of the dogs' photos for the website. There have been a ton of dogs coming in and it's awfully difficult for Shannon to keep up with them all. When they don't have one of her beautiful shots, the dogs just have their intake shot from when they first were dropped off at the shelter. You can imagine that the situation doesn't make for the most comfortable or flattering photos.

While Ron walked dogs, Chloe and I set up right outside the barn and play yards, in the drizzle. Neither of us were bright enough to bring rain jackets, so things got a little damp. She took photos and I did my best to lure the dogs' attention to her camera with chicken, a tennis ball and squeaky noises.

Despite the inclement weather, and my mediocre dog luring abilities, Chloe's shots came out beautifully. (And I did get to use my model agent editing skills to PBSOC's advantage!)

So proud of our girl today.

Most of the dogs below are available for adoption...click on their names to go to their PBSOC bios.

Mitzi

Hank

Holstein (Adopted)

Otto (Adopted)

Penelope (Adopted)

Priscilla

Sannie

Saturn

Bolt (Adopted

Eva (Not yet available)

Morgan (In need of a long term foster; click HERE for info)

Please share!

xx

Chandra

Aussie's Adventure | Chandra

Aussie has settled in nicely. She has her favorite places to curl up for a nap, she's made it clear to Teddy when she wants to wrestle and when to leave her be, she's claimed Ron as her own by following him everywhere he goes. She jumps with excitement when we pick up the leashes and wants to play with every dog she meets on walks. She gives us sweet little soft kisses.

Today, she got a treat. A trip back to the river. This time with Teddy. Lots of tennis ball chasing, swimming, tail wagging and zoomies. Especially zoomies.

Chloe came along with her camera and I'll just let her pics do the talking for me...

Aussie gearing up to zoom...

Full speed.

Our handsome Ted.

He always finds the big sticks.

Yum.

Treasure.

Pretty girl.

She's not very good at catching tennis balls...this pic is after she missed it.

You can do it girl!

Score!

Biggest dorks ever.

Photos by this lovely girl.

Update: We were the fastest foster fail ever...Aussie has found her forever home...with us! When it's right, it's right.

 xx

 Chandra

We're Fostering Aussie! | Chandra

We did it. We took the leap and brought home our first foster dog.

I am pretty much in heaven.

Aussie & Chloe

Fostering is something I've wanted to do for a very long time, but all the pieces just weren't in place for it to be feasible. And then, suddenly, I was tired of waiting for everything to be perfect and decided to leap first and ask questions later.

We brought Aussie home over the Labor Day holiday to give her a break from the shelter. She's been there two months already, and it's been over a month since we took her out for the river trip and video. Two months too long.

The night before we got her, I couldn't sleep. It really was that childhood Christmas morning thing where your stomach is excited and jittery and your brain is full of chattering monkeys. All I could think about was Aussie and how I so much wanted it to work. I was worried about Teddy...he can be quite the handful and he typically gets jealous when we give other dogs attention. And did I mention he's 80 pounds?

My mom came with me to the shelter to pick up Aussie, and I think she wondered what the hell I was getting myself into. When I took Aussie out of her kennel, she was super excited and jumpy and all the dogs in the kennel row started barking madly. It was loud and chaotic and Aussie was pulling and spinning around. She didn't much resemble the sweet dog I had talked and talked about.

But then, once we were in the car, it all changed. She immediately settled down on the back seat with me, her head in my lap, and went to sleep! That's what she does in cars...curls up and sleeps. It's pretty funny.

Aussie's Freedom Ride!

We stopped the car down the street from our house and took Aussie on a little walk in the park and then had Ron and Teddy come meet us. The dogs sniffed briefly, and then took a walk together, then sniffed each other some more. We all walked into the house together and let them off the leash. More sniffing, some playing, all was well. I was amazed, frankly.

The last few days have been so much fun. I've had a smile on my face just knowing that this sweet dog is out of the shelter for good. Because yes, she's staying here until she finds her permanent home.

She and Teddy have worked out their boundaries, mostly because Aussie is such a brilliant girl with other dogs. Her body language and corrections are immaculate. She knows when to correct, and when to come back gently and apologize. It's great to watch and learn from her. I can see the wheels turning in Teddy's head as he figures it all out. If there is such a thing as an alpha dog, she is certainly it. But she does it in such a subtle way that he has no idea that she's in charge. She's the epitome of a smart leader.

The two of them are going for walks together, wrestling in the family room, sleeping side by side on the sofa, and staying alone in the house when we're gone. We've got two big crates in our dining room and we're working on showing Aussie that the crate isn't a scary place. Teddy's helping with that because he likes his crate and runs right in when you say "kennel."

Ah, sunshine.

We're thrilled to have Aussie here and look forward to spending lots more time with her before she finds her forever home. And believe me, it needs to be a GREAT one or she isn't going!

Aussie in her new collar & tag.

For more info on Aussie, visit her webpage at PB SOC.

And just because she's so darn cute, one last photo...

Aussie and her squirrel.

Update: We were the fastest foster fail ever...Aussie has found her forever home...with us! When it's right, it's right.

xx

Chandra

Aussie | Chandra

There are definitely dogs that we work with that I know will be great for someone else's family, but that I don't necessarily bond with. Maybe they are dog reactive, or have a little too high of a prey drive, or the chemistry is just not there. And then, once in awhile, there are the ones I want to scoop up and never give back. Okay, maybe more than once in awhile...

Jensen. Sydney. Murphy. Jackie. And today, Aussie.

Aussie by Shannon Skalisky.

I cannot tell you just how much I wanted to take this girl home.

She is a squiggly, sweet, fun loving doll of a dog. Walks great on leash with the sensible harness, is playful but settles down wonderfully when playtime is over, loves other dogs, rides beautifully in the car, is a great size (not too big and not too small), and has an adorable personality. At the river, I found myself thinking, ah, I bet Teddy would really like her and trying to figure out how to convince Ron that one more dog would be great. I picture two big crates in our living room, two dogs piled on the bed with us, two dogs with their heads in our laps...

Unfortunately, my sanity did eventually return and remind me that it's just not the time for us to add a dog to our family.

But this one, I cannot believe she's still at the shelter after more than a month on the adoption floor. I'm not sure why people are passing her by, but hopefully our video will help.

Please do share lovely Aussie and let's get this girl the home she deserves already! She's going to make someone very, very happy.

Update: We were the fastest foster fail ever...Aussie has found her forever home...with us! When it's right, it's right. To read her story, visit HERE  & HERE.

xx

Chandra

How Can You Not Take Them All Home? | Chandra

Whenever I tell people that I volunteer at the shelter, the first thing they say is "How can you not take all the dogs home?" That's an easy answer for me because we have our hands full with our decidedly one-dog-only handsome hunk Teddy, but I have to admit that I fall a little bit in love with each of the dogs I meet.

If I had a different situation, I'd definitely want to foster. I picture our house filled with a rotating line of wonderful dogs, and maybe even a batch of puppies or two, a whole bunch of love to share and pass along. It's a little fantasy I have.

Tracey Schall and her family of five are living out my fantasy. They have opened their home to seven dogs over just the last year, six of whom have gone to their forever homes. They currently have sweet Hailey living with them and are diligently searching for her perfect adopters while teaching this lovely dog what it means to have a real family of her own.

Tracey, who also works as the Executive Director for the March of Dimes, started fostering over a 4th of July holiday...the busiest day of the year for shelters, when dogs panic at the fireworks and escape their yards. The shelter had a glut of little brown chihuahuas. Tracey took one in.

That was it; she fell in love with fostering. Since then, there has been a succession of lucky foster dogs and each and every time one is adopted, it takes a couple of weeks for Tracey to stop crying.

Seven dogs in one year is such an amazing accomplishment. Seven dogs who now are living happy, healthy, well-loved lives because of this family who opens their hearts again and again.

For anyone who is considering fostering, here's a little taste of the difference you can make with a quick look at Tracey's six fosters...

Kind eyed, grateful Bubba now lives in the country with a mama who works from home and spends plenty of time with him.

As Tracey was crying both happy and sad tears about Bubba's adoption, Petunia went home with her. Overweight and desperately needing socialization and love, this poor girl was very confused and showing signs of shelter stress. After time to heal in loving foster care, Petunia was adopted by a wonderful family who sends regular updates on her happy life.

Gracie and Buster, a brother and sister pair, came to Tracey and her family through NorCal Bully Breed Rescue. Buster was adopted by a dear family friend and Gracie went to a Bay Area family. Buster still visits most weekends and helps teach the new foster dogs how to play.

Henry was a 10-week old puppy going downhill quickly at the Rocklin Shelter. He was quite the handful and was adopted by an energetic couple and their dog Bosley. Henry's now a "60 pound hell-on-wheels" big baby and he and Bosley play non-stop. An adoption match made in heaven.

Logan (now Harley) had been at Bradshaw for several months and was too soft for shelter life. He was on the "list" when Delyse asked if Tracey's family would help save him. Brad and Crystle adopted Harley, love him dearly, and still thank Tracey's family for saving their "baby".

While she's fostering, Tracey dreams of opening a dog sanctuary on their El Dorado Hills property, where she can take in dogs who otherwise wouldn't have a chance. While I dream of fostering sometime in the future, we're walking dogs, writing blog posts and making videos. And every single day, so many wonderful people are working so hard to help these dogs.

Dreams keep us all going, but doing what you can, right now, is crucial. If adopting isn't possible for you, think about fostering. If fostering isn't a fit, we'd love to have your help as a volunteer. If that's too much for you right now, please donate and share posts to help us find the perfect families for these dogs.

Whatever you can do, please join us. As much as you'll do for the dogs, they'll give so much more back to you, paid in love.

And slobbery kisses.

xo

Chandra

Update: Hailey has been adopted by the family who also adopted Tracey's last foster dog, Harley. It's a very special Happily Every After!