Wednesday was the introduction of some new faces, and the confirmation of Murhpy's adoption! I was so ecstatic to see him gone, as he was starting to get really antsy, and needed someone to surround him with the love the volunteers can only give part of the day.
Dominic is a new face at EHS. He is seven months old, and has a similar paw deformity as Carlie (my younger dog). His is his front right paw, and as with my pooch, it doesn't seem to slow him down one bit. He is such a cute, good boy, and I am hoping he finds someone who will ignore that silly paw, and see how eager he is to please and to learn.
Wednesday was a lesson for me in patience and consistency. Kate is a beautiful girl that has had a rough go of it for a little while; she's been through a lot to get to adoptions. I took her out for some time together, and rather than having my arm pulled out of the socket, decided to practice good walking with her. Kate's eagerness to make you happy leads to a dog that self-corrects very well; when she'd pull, I'd stop, tap my leg, and wait. She very quickly learned that I expected her to turn around and come back to me, and was occasionally even treated for doing that. By the end of our time together, I actually had her near to my hip with little pulling. The frustration, though, is that what I do is different from what another volunteer might do, and because they prefer to get the dogs as much interaction as possible, you don't always get to work with the same pup. I let Heather, the leader, know that I thought Kate would be a good candidate for a Gentle Leader, as she was quick to self-correct, and the GL drives that. Sure enough, by the weekend, she'd been given her first lesson.
Also, Wednesday was my chance to get to know the newest "Bubblehead"...Kenya is as big as Zander, and just as affectionate. She is beautiful, but pretty energetic, so we had a good walk before sitting down for snuggles. I was able to get a great picture that captured the "Kenya Bubblehead Element":
I think I am most excited about this because it is now her featured photo on the EHS website...I think it shows her true personality in a way that shelter photos don't always get to do. That challenge of capturing what I find the best in each dog, well, that's been half the adventure. Kenya, for example, was more interested in smothering me with kisses and sitting pretty for treats than letting me get an easy shot of her. However, patience again comes into play, and, as with most of the others, she settles enough for me to grab a shot that really resonates with me.
Friday was a day of simple pleasures. Devon reminded me of these again, as when I took her into Mark's Park, she proceeded to sprint, full-speed ahead, in crazy figure-8s all over. She didn't want to chase anything, she just wanted to run run run, then come in for a few kisses and some pets. Devon has the potential to be a brilliant agility dog, which sounds silly when talking about a pit bull, but she corners like my cattle dog, and flies to the top of the tables and hay bales. I discovered that I could get her running faster and faster by cheering for her, but could also get her to jump up onto one of the stands just by pointing at it.
After heading out for some calm, quiet time, I discovered that Devin loves loves...she settled down rather quickly as soon as I was at her level and rubbing her belly. Simple things...and yet such great peace from them for a lot of these dogs.
I had a little bit of extra time on Friday and ended up going out for a walk with Sunney. Now, Sunney is easily the most muscular dog at EHS. By that, I don't mean the biggest or strongest, but rather, where a lot of the pits are big, strong dogs, Sunney could pass for a body-builder (in the dog world). Her shoulders ripple, and her legs are amazing...I wish I was toned like this pup! She's not underweight at all, she's just an example of what a mostly-healthy, strong pittie sometimes looks like. She also has "freckles" on her tummy and chest, which make her look so silly. Sunney loves belly rubs, and doesn't like going back into the kennel, so we spent a decent amount of time alternating belly rubs and coaxing towards the kennel.
Sunney has been at EHS for over 150 days, and I can say that I'd probably be a little slow to go back to the kennels if that was my story as well. Thankfully, Sunney doesn't seem to hold any type of a grudge about it. She has so much love to give.
Saturday was another fun morning, filled with the anticipation of an outreach event with Polly later in the day. I spent some great time with Boone. Boone is a big boy, and I very quickly discovered that he was not too keen on the thought of a walk...nope, he wanted to sit, have me pet him, and snuggle while he is fed treats. So that's what we did. It actually was slightly challenging to get a good picture of Boone, because every time I stopped petting him, he'd lean farther and farther towards my hand (which was holding my camera), and I finally settled for the compromise of a little bit of my hand in the picture:
I also got to hang out with Paris. I have taken to a bit of a routine with some of the more peppy big dogs; we go to Mark's Park for some running around like crazy, then do a walk, then have some quiet snuggling/petting/treating time before we head back. I quickly discovered with Paris that she would be much happier, as Angus had been, with just Mark's Park time. Paris is a fetching machine...she goes and goes and goes, and not only drops the ball for you, but even does so in a manner so that it rolls to you. However, it was the first time I've actually decided to grab the Chuck-A wand to throw the ball...seemed the dirtier the ball got, the more Paris loved it. I did want to get her settled down before going back, though, so we had a quick walk and sat for a bit. She made sure to bring her ball with her. As you can tell by her tongue, I wasn't kidding about that whole dirty ball thing...she just loved it.
Outreach was great. Again, I don't think the event is as much about specific adoptions, but about visibility into the great dogs that EHS has. Polly spent most of the day playing with Kong toy, and then when the sun hit where we were sitting, she moved herself into my lap...her head was up by my stomach, and she stretched out completely between my legs...and fell asleep. It was great publicity for how amazingly loving pitties can be. A number of folks walked by and stopped to chat about how relaxed she seemed, sprawled across my legs. Yup folks, a real vicious dog indeed...
I got to play with Devon again today, though this time, there was a Jolly Ball in Mark's Park (amazingly with handle in tact!), and turns out Devon is a big fan. So we played...I'd kick the ball, follow her to where she fetched it, let her chew it for a bit, then tell her to leave it, and kick it again. As much exercise for me as for her, I suppose! Devon's version of fetch, while not the norm, was definitely a good start to the day.
Wanted to make sure everyone had a visual for the Jolly Ball...as I said before, they're made for horses (though I've heard horses are generally indifferent to them), and this should give a good size comparison of Devon's head to Jolly Ball.
Abby was a good follow-up to Devon's energy....in a way. I was warmed up, and thankfully so, because Abby was ready to go! I have never seen a dog cover so much of Mark's Park so quickly...she's listed as a Basengi/Shepherd mix, but I'm guessing there's some cattle dog in there as well, as her face can be eerily familiar to Edward's!
You might not see it there, but I bet you will here (if you know Edward, of course):
She just has the ability to keep her tongue in her face :) Abby is a blast...she's young, and has a lot of energy, but I see an amazing jogging partner in her. She loves to play, loves to run, and can squeak a squeaky toy faster than any dog I've ever met. It was exhilarating to watch her bound around Mark's Park. Abby does not avoid any of the structures or hay bales. Rather, she uses them as a part of her ground, or flies directly over them. At one point, she was fetching a squeaky toy, running back to me, and dropping it mid-jump so that it landed at my feet just as she landed on the hay bales next to me. Abby is such a unique girl, and I really hope that she finds a home with someone to run with her, and to throw her squeaky toys until she tires (which could likely be a very long time).
I've mentioned a number of dogs this week, and as usual, links are below. Sorry to have made you wait until the end for this, but Sunney and Boone aren't there...between my time with them and today, they found Fur-Ever homes! I'm so especially excited about that for Sunney.
Dominic
Kate (notice her sitting so pretty with the Gentle Leader on!)
Kenya
Devon
Paris
Polly
Abby
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