Beautiful Bonney

What can a person do when they know a dog is in an outdoor pen on a day of storms and tornadoes, and the night's forecast is more storms and wind? This is the predicament we had last Friday. We had been notified of a rattie who was pulled from the Humane Society by rescue volunteers, who pulled her to keep her from being put-to-sleep. Because there was no other place for her, she was put in an outdoor tarp-covered pen. She had been there almost a week and I was scheduled to go see her on Saturday morning. But plans changed when hubby and I wondered if she were wet from the day's storms and we couldn't stand the thought of her spending a cold, wet night in that pen. So Friday night we took the hour drive to go get her. She and a friend were dry and sleeping when we pulled up.

She was puzzled on the ride back home. But once "home", she made herself right at home, greeting us and the dogs with friendly tail wags, and immediately jumping up onto the sofa. After a warm bath and towel dry, she settled down for a rest.

Bonney's name is taken from "Bonita" which means 'beautiful'. Even if she's not the most beautiful dog physically, she is beautiful in heart and personality. She's loving, sweet, friendly, and a really great gal. She has a wonderfully happy disposition and is a joy to have around. Little Bonney likes taking on the job of "Lap Dog", filling the vacancy that was opened up when Comet left.

Comet Hits Pay Dirt!

Comet has been adopted! and is now living the good life in Georgia with his new family.

The family drove to Alabama to meet Comet before making a final decision. Comet liked them from the get-go, happily greeting them. As they spent time with him, he went from one to the other, smothering them with kisses, sitting in their laps, and playing tug. He knows good people when he meets them. :-)

New Rattitude's goal, after rescuing and rehabilitating needy ratties, is to find the perfect home for each dog. Sometimes the right fit is an easy find. Other times it takes a while before the "right one" comes along.

This is how it was in Comet's case; it took a while, but the wait was worth it! Comet and his new family are custom-made for each other.

For we foster parents, it is so rewarding when we hand over our little guys to their new families and know that they will be loved and cared for the rest of their lives. This is our paycheck.

Goodbye little Comet! We love you and will miss you, yet are so very happy that you now have a family of your very own.

Photo is of Comet and his new mom Sherry.

Bed Buddies

Well, I'm not so sure Beener would agree to the title of this post. Most of the time, Beener is a loner, preferring to not participate in the canine social happenings that occur throughout the day. Very rarely does he play with any fosters.

Comet is the exception to Beener's "leave me alone" rules . . . Beens will usually play with Comet at least once a day. They will run, romp, and wrestle. But this is at Beener's initiative and on his terms.

Other than that occasional play, he does not like other dogs to be near him where their bodies might actually touch his (oh dear!) or breathe his air. He'll grumble and growl if any dog gets in his space. Most dogs respect his space, but occasionally we have a foster dog who ignores his faux displays of superiority. When Comet came to stay with us, he quickly determined that Beener was full of hot air and had no intention on backing up his warnings. It's interesting to watch these interactions.

Today Beener was lounging in the larger Perla bed which is big enough for two dogs. Comet walked up to the bed with the intention of getting in with Beens. Beens growled and lifted his lip to show Comet his pearly whites. Comet ignored him (as usual) and proceeded to climb into the bed with Beener. Beener looked at me as if pleading me to do something . . . make the little pest go away. Then he sighed a sigh of resignation and now both of them are sleeping contentedly.

You'll never walk alone

With Comet as your companion, you'll never walk alone ever again. He is my constant companion who follows me around most everywhere. If I go into another room, he comes to see what I'm doing and many times offers to help. He loves helping me fold laundry on the bed. In the kitchen he helps me wash dishes as I dirty them and with him around, I never have to pick up any morstles of food I drop on the floor.

Comet even checks on me when I'm in the bathroom. He'll lie on the rug while I take a shower, or stand by me as I dry my hair. These photos show Comet's entrance into the bathroom. (Note: our master bathroom has a curtain for a door; a good privacy screen, but not a effective at stopping curious dogs from entering. :-D

Comet

Comet is our current foster rattie. We've had him two months and are totally smitten by this little guy. He has a happy personality that spreads to those around him. Each morning he arises so happy, like the day will be the best one ever and he's eager to get started on it. He first greets us humans, cause we're the first ones he sees when he comes out from under the blanket (he sleeps in bed with us). Then he jumps down and greets the other dogs with wiggling body, tail wags, and kisses. Then it's outside to go potty. When the door opens for the dogs to come back inside, Comet usually leads the way, running full steam ahead and hopping with glee. Going outside is the best thing ever. Coming back inside is the best thing ever. Humans are the best things ever. Dogs are the best things ever. This is Comet's attitude toward life...that everything is wonderful and he wants to soak up every moment since it's the best one yet.

Comet was picked up off the streets by Animal Control. How anyone could not look for this great little dog is something I do not understand. It's obvious that he had a home, as he seems quite accustomed to living in a house with people ...he loves being around people and other dogs, and he's housetrained.

Even though he's a little guy (only 10 pounds), he's a brave boy. Nothing much phases or scares him. The first time we put him in a bicycle basket, he wasn't afraid and did not try to jump out. If I stomp my feet and run towards him, he runs straight to me and jumps up wanting to play. He'll eagerly play with whoever will play, be it dogs or people.

See more of Comet at: http://imageenent.com/newrattitude/comet

Good bye sweet Adam

Little Adam went home with his new mom yesterday. It was so wonderful to hand him off to his new mommy and know he's going to be loved and will never again be homeless, lonely, and without anything ever again.

It's a bittersweet time when a foster leaves for their new home. Hugging and kissing them goodbye is the hardest part. Days prior to saying goodbye to one of little guys, I try to absorb as much of them as possible...holding them, hugging, kissing...and trying to give them every ounce of love I have for them. It cannot be done, of course, but nonetheless, I do it every time. And then the time comes to hand them over to someone else. This is a time of tears. But not in front of the dog...I wait until they drive away. The house is a little bit emptier without them. I pick up their bedding and put it in the laundry. I pick up their bowl and wash it. It will be clean and ready when the next dog comes along...

With Adam's leaving, it leaves us with Mattie as our only foster right now. She fits in so well with our ratties Beener and Tex. She's a quiet spirit who gets along with everyone, both canine and human. She doesn't play favorites...she likes men as much as she likes women.

She does have one nemesis...a pesky squirrel who taunts the dogs every day. For some reason the squirrel will stay in the same tree for hours...occasionally running down, then back up the tree, and barking at the dogs. It drives the dogs nuts!! Mattie will sit for hours under the tree watching the the crazy little tree rat, waiting for him to make a wrong move or come too low. She's very good at following his movement up high when he hops from tree to tree. If he ever misses and jump and falls, he'd better hit the ground running 'cause Mattie is waiting on the ground and she'll be hot on his tail!

Mattie

Mattie was dumped at a shelter with her five puppies. The pups were pulled by another rescue but Mattie was left. She spent over a month in the shelter. A volunteer worked diligently to try to find her a place to go because she thought Mattie was too sweet and didn't deserve to die. On the day Mattie was scheduled to be killed, the shelter volunteer pulled her out and got her to a temporary safe place. Despite the fact that we already had one foster, we couldn't leave her, so we brought her home to live with us. Oh, she was so sad those first days; her eyes reflected such a depth of sadness. Yet, she was so sweet and so willing to open herself up to the love we gave her.

Mattie has shown herself to be a truly wonderfully resilient dog...she's friendly to both people and dogs, she's tolerant as only a mother can be as Adam climbs all over her. I wonder if she is thinking of her pups as little Adam crawls and sits on her, and licks her mouth.

Mattie will stand as still as a statue as long as someone's hand is on her petting her. Seems she cannot get enough affection. And she doesn't mind sitting in our laps. Sometimes she'll settle down and sleep...and sometimes she jumps down and goes elsewhere to sleep. It makes me wonder about her past...what living situation did she come from? Was she an outdoor pet? Or indoor? When she first came here, she readily jumped up onto the sofa and chairs, like she was accustomed to using furniture for lounging. And she is completely housetrained which makes me think she's been a house dog. So if she was a house dog....and even if she wasn't a house dog... how could her family just abandon her in the night-deposit of the shelter???

Mattie loves to learn new things, especially when treats are involved! She's eager to learn and very attentive. Since she's getting only limited amount of food due to her weight-loss plan, treats or food of any sort causes great excitement and willingness to do *anything*. I love a food-motivated dog!

It's been so nice seeing Mattie come out of her sadness and embrace life! She can get down-right excited at times...jumping-in-the-air and doing-a-dance excited. This is how life should be for all dogs.