On June 5, we just
accepted three more dogs, Bertha, Lady, and Clint and five more cats. We now
have accepted eleven dogs and five cats from Deming. I have mentioned the
other dogs in previous updates: Crosby, Mama Mia, Cupcake, Simon, Lolita, Rita,
Mona, and Dermott. I’ll describe and name the three new dogs. Laurie and our
volunteer, Kristin, are working with all the cats.
Note that all the new animals need time to acclimate to FFAA. They have
new friends to meet. Laurie spends a great deal of time working with each
animal in order to get to know them and determine their needs.
WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW AND RETURNING DOGS
Big Ben
Ben is a very large black Great Dane/Labrador mix. He is quite
friendly. He has lived in several foster homes and has made it to FFAA. He
is a real beauty.
BERTHA
Bertha (from Deming) is a 12 year old Shepherd mix with some arthritis.
She is very sweet. She had a home with the mother (who died) of the woman in
Deming that passed away. So this wonderful, older dog has had two homes and has
now moved to Pie Town.
Bruce
Bruce is special needs due to deformed legs/paws. As with all our
disabled/special needs dogs he is quite sweet. When he was turned in to
Albuquerque Animal Welfare the family said he was ill. No he is not sick but
does have a deformity. He is quite friendly and is welcome to stay here forever
or until some family chooses to give him all the love he deserves in their
home.
Buster
Here we go, another wonderful Pitbull mix. The Pitbulls are such wonderful
dogs. We have had a few adopted but still need more families to step forward.
Laurie is very careful when we do adoptions. We want to place animals in loving
homes that match the dogs temperament and needs along with the family’s
lifestyle.
CLINT
Clint is a 2 year old hound (from Deming). He is just adorable. This is
another breed that needs to be placed in a home with a family that understands
the breed. He will soon be placed up for adoption.
LADY
Lady is 7 to 8 years old and a German Shepherd (from Deming). She has some
vision problems. She likes to get in and out of her pool. Jeannine brought
Lady’s personal pool, a low, metal horse trough. In Deming she most likely used
it most of the year. She is in and out of it here but come winter that won’t be
needed. Lady is a good looking German Shepherd. Let’s hope someone that loves
that breed can work with her and her vision problems.
Shiloh
Shiloh is a Black and Tan Coon Hound. She was adopted as a puppy from here
and just came back to us. We always tell people that if they can’t keep an
animal that we want it back. Shiloh is a beauty and should be adoptable. She
is three years old now. Again, we need to be careful and match her to a perfect
situation. Of course, we always try to make perfect matches. That helps
prevent dogs returning. We always tell the families that we will take back any
animal that isn’t working out. To the animal we just say “Welcome home!”
Winky, the one eyed cat
We accepted Winky from the East Side Shelter in Albuquerque. They didn’t
think she would be adoptable. She had to have her left eye surgically
removed. She is a Domestic Short Hair. Winky is settling in quite nicely and
should be adoptable as special needs.
BIG JOHN ADOPTED Big John is a Great Pyranese and has
moved to a home that has goats and sheep for him to guard. Here is an update
about how it is going.
I got him home without a problem. Walked him from the
car to the animal pens. Red, my Great Pyr/Akbash, came out to investigate and
the two sniffed a bit but weren't pushy with each other. Since the goats and
sheep were on pasture, I put him in the goat pen to start. Let my other dogs out
and they sniffed through the fence while I did some chores. I went back in after
a while and one of the dogs in the house with me went on alert -- I went out to
find him lying on the concrete patio off the deck. I put him back in the pen.
Half an hour later I went out to check on him and he was gone. I scouted around
and called but couldn't find him. I grabbed my working dog and Tuck and I went
out to move livestock back from pasture so I could focus on looking for him.
Tuck had just moved all the stock out of the pasture when I noticed a very large
white and gray dog running along the fenceline on the easement. Since I didn't
recognize the dog, I thought it might be Big John except for the color. Red went
charging over to run the dog off. Tuck and I moved the sheep and goats back to
the pen, sorted everyone into their respective pens and went off looking for Big
John. I can't walk along the fence line the entire way because of the downed
trees, etc. so would have to cut into the fence line periodically to call so he
knew which way I was heading. Got to the back fence line which is barb wire and
he came off the easement and tried giving me the "I can't come through the barb
wire" routine. Since I know the only way he got over to the easement was by
going under the barbwire at the back of the property, I was't buying that. Tuck zapped through over to him and back to
me a couple of times before Big John followed him and crawled under the
fence. Red came up and gave me the "do
you want me to run him off" look and I told Red it was okay (Red had been fine
with him when I was with him, tried to run him off when he was on the other side
of the fence without me, and was fine with letting him back on the property once
I was there.) I took him back to the goat pen. He tried to walk up to the goats
but they kept running. The goats are used to Red and don't react to him at all.
Big John didn't do anything inappropriate but for whatever reason -- his size,
his color (largely dark grey at that point) or simply that he was new -- really
spooked the goats. Since he wasn't trying to chase them, I figured they'd all
settle down and left them. Tuck let me know twice that he was trying to climb
out of the pen. I guess I wasn't paying attention the third time because when I
went out to check on him later, he was gone. That particular area is double
fenced so he had to climb over the goat pen and then the working pen as
well.
He ended up doing patrol with Red -- I heard both
barking on and off all night and he was on Red's dog bed on the deck when I got
up this morning.
I decided I wasn't going to be able to keep him penned
so left him loose with Red when I went to ABQ this morning. He was on the deck
when I got home (Red was with the sheep that had somehow gotten out of the
pasture and were hanging out between the house and the sheep
pen.)
He is, so far, fine with the house dogs and with Red. He
isn't interested in the animals, but at least he isn't trying to chase any, and
he is hanging around. So far, so good. I'd prefer to be able to pen him next to
the livestock so he learns to bond with them, but the only area I have with a
six foot fence is not close to the animal pens and the four foot fencing around
the animal pens won't keep him in. As long as he patrols, staying with the
livestock isn't as critical as Red will do that.
DUSTY ADOPTED
I have included
a couple of photos of the trip and a couple of mom and Dusty on the love seat
from when we got home. The cats came out and met her They felt comfortable
enough to lounge in the living room with all of us. She spent a wee bit of time
exploring the house and the yard. She seems to enjoy Christopher's garden space
and the kitchen but when we came to the living room she was ready to join
us. :)
We are going to
let her rest tonight then tomorrow she will be visiting our local park and
meeting a few of the friendly neighborhood dogs as well as a chance to sniff
around and get familiar a bit more. We will be making the appointment for her
rabies shot tomorrow and then after that getting her city license. Once she has
that we will be introducing her to the smaller dog parks for a bit of
socialization. She seems to be attaching herself to Mom and starting to follow
her a bit more once she was done exploring. I will send you another update in a
day or two with how she is adjusting to walks and city life. Does look like she
will be a wonderful addition to the family. Thank you for recommending such a
perfect match!
Sincerely, Samara
SMILEY ADOPTED
Smiley was adopted and moved to Farmington. This is a nice family with
five children. The dad and two of the daughters came to get Smiley. Such a
nice family. Smiley will go running with the girls. Here is an update: Smiley
is a wonderful pet. He slept in Maysun's bed all night, except for me taking him
outside on two occasions and an early 4 AM walk . He has already taken on guard
duties at the house, by letting the neighbors know of his presence with a little
bark. I don't think the cats approve though, but he leaves them alone. Today we
are going to take a family vote on his new name, which would most likely be
either "Woofy" or "Woof-Woof" as, Banas, our baby refers to him. Who knows,
maybe we will use both. Nevertheless we will be sure to let you know of his
name(s) when we decide. Thank you so much for allowing us to take Smiley home
with us.
CHARLIE THE STANDARD POODLE UPDATE
Here's a pic of Charlie sleeping w\ his rubber chicken. All my friends
& I think I'm the luckiest adopter alive. Many thanks, Lynne. (Note,
Mandy the Kuvasz also has a rubber chicken that she loves. She torments Rhea
and Andrew by squeaking it so much that the chicken gets put up and only given
to Mandy for special, short times of play. I guess I’ll have to look for one
for my three dogs to share.)
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