Saturday, November 29, 2008

Help with abandoned puppies

12 two week old puppies were abandoned and made it to Homeward on Wednesday night to be given a second chance. These little pups need to be bottle fed every few hours and we are looking for capable foster parents to help us over the next 4-6 weeks. Contact Terri at terri@homewardpet.org if you would like to help.

Friday, November 28, 2008

"My Best Day Ever" by Tigger

From Tigger:

 

Greetings! You’ll never believe the great day I had yesterday!

 

Terri and Jessica came for what I thought was a walk. I LOVE walks! I got so excited they could hardly control me all the way to the parking lot. But instead of heading south, we went over to a red car. I thought maybe they just needed to get something. Maybe extra poop bags? Nope, they were trying to get me to go inside this thing! I can’t remember the last time I rode in a car so I was a little nervous about getting in. They were gentle in coaxing me and I trusted them, so I went ahead and got in. Still, this was unlike anything I have experienced at my home at Homeward.

 

As we drove down the rode, the windows suddenly went down part way and smells began to pour in. I stuck my nose out to get a stronger scent to see what I could recognize. McDonald’s? What’s that? Sure does smell good! I wandered back and forth, trying the left side and the right side to see which had better smells. I was so excited I kept passing gas and the girls kept making screwed up faces. I kinda like the smell myself.

 

Finally, the car stopped. Terri disappeared into the house and came back with two small dogs. I did my best to greet them, but they didn’t seem to think I belonged there. Their hackles were up so I sniffed cautiously. After a few minutes, they didn’t seem to care anymore, so we all went on a long walk.  I LOVE walks! I try not to pull but I can’t help it. There’s so much to see, hear, and smell! Sometimes even taste. Our walk ended in the back yard of the home where they actually took off my leash! Outside! I was free! I ran and explored and smelled. My tail was wagging so much it hurt. Terri got out a ball and threw it for me. I ran and got it and quickly brought it back. I didn’t want her to think I had bad manners, so I dropped it at her feet when she asked. We did this a lot!

 

Suddenly, I heard something. A car door shut. The gate opening. Around the corner came two big dogs. They were as excited to meet me as I was to meet them. The smaller dog was close to my size and her name was Goldie. Her personality is just like mine so we got along famously. The other dog, an oversized Rhodesian Ridgeback, was pretty laid back. She watched us play and it looked like she wanted to join, but just didn’t know how.

 

Goldie and I played for two hours solid! We wrassled, we ran, we chased, we wrassled some more. Her favorite game was having me try to catch her. Man she’s fast! I would get tired and she would bark at me to keep going. We did take a few minutes to lay down under the rhody bush though. I was exhausted and it was getting dark. It was time to go inside. Goldie still wanted to play some, but her mom said no. I just had to lie down. We all ate dinner together and then worked for treats. Frankly, I was so tired that I slept through most of it.

 

Goldie and Safari (the ridgeback) went home. I hated to see them go. I rested a little longer, then Terri took me out for another walk. I did my duty and got business taken care of. On the way back, a rabbit ran in front of our path. I had an urge to chase it but I was really too tired. I came back and slept by the fire till bedtime. Terri took my new bed upstairs and I slept beside her on the floor. I slept all night long!

 

Today, I’m enjoying some more quiet time. I got to play some more ball and we went on a walk. The best part was I found an old tennis ball and have been carrying that around in my mouth all day. Occasionally, I’ll bat it around. Been doing a lot of napping as well.

 

I hope I’ve really shown I am a good dog. I had no accidents. I did everything I was asked. I was never mean. I didn’t beg. And I was never in the way. I’m sad that Terri can’t keep me forever, and I hope I can find my forever home real soon!

 

Miss you,

 

Tigger

 

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Holly now Hollywood

 

 

Dear Homeward Pet Staff and Volunteers,

 

We adopted a one year old cat recently as a pet for our five year old son.  She was called "Holly" at your shelter and my son, Julian Larson, has named her "Hollywood Larson."

 

I've attached a picture of her.  She immediately made herself at home and she and my son quickly became friends.  He feeds her, plays with her, and talks to her.  She sleeps with him at night and follows him around.  Julian calls her his "diamond cat."  He is very proud that he adopted her from a shelter and by doing that, helped save her life.

 

I want to thank you for the time you took to talk to us about an appropriate pet for a young child.  It is an excellent match.  Hollywood is playful, yet calm and fits into our family very well.

 

We also had her check up at Pets Exclusive with Dr. Faith Vaughn.  Pets Exclusive honored the certificate you gave us for a free exam and Dr. Vaughn said she was in very good health and noted that all of her shots and care were up to date. 

 

This was an excellent way to adopt a pet.  Thank you so much!

  Mary

Mocha in his new home!

Hi Laurel,

I am sending a couple pictures of Mocha that you can forward to his prior home.  He's sweet and getting more used to this home (plus me & other big boy kitty) every day.  Thank you for letting me adopt him.

Sincerely,

Debra

 

 

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Happy Tails - Jackson (now Barney)

Hi There,

Here is an update on Jackson who we adopted from you in October. His
name is now Barney Fife Ferguson, Barn for short, Barnabus for long, and
BFF when text messaging. He has adapted nicely and become a wonderful
addition to our family. We weren't sure how he would do with a cat but
he and our cat Lucy have accepted each other and are getting along just
fine.

Barney has such a wonderful temperament. He is sweet, loving, and loves
to play. His favorite game is hide and seek. He sits and waits while
we go hide one of his toys somewhere in the house. Then we go back to
him and say "Okay, find it" and off he goes. It is such a joy to watch
him come prancing back with his toy proud as can be.

He has lots of energy and loves to play with other dogs. He also enjoys
when we go on walks and take his neighbor buddy Mickey (a yellow lab)
with us. His social calendar is quite busy. At the end of a busy day
he likes to curl up on his bed sometimes surrounding himself with a few
toys (you just never know when you might want to play...right?).

Barney Barn Barn makes us laugh to no end and we absolutely LOVE him
!!!!!

Thank you so much for all that you do and for finding him for us.

Sincerely,
Lisa and Thom Ferguson

Nina

Hi,
Nina is doing really well.  I work from home right now, so she sleeps next to me in her dog bed as I work at my computer and she gets lots of walks each day:)  We went to a dog park the other day in the ballard area and then she went with us to Norm's Eatery and Alehouse for dinner with friends.  She did so well! Really good with the other dogs and people.  We had some barking problems when I leave her alone (and even if I'm just in the shower), but I've been trying some training techniques with her and got her a citronella spray collar.  I only had to use it once and haven't had any problems since.  She loves to play with her rope and chase the cat around a little.   She had her free vet appointment at Bothell Pet Hospital the other day and everything is good with her health so far. I've attached a couple pics for you guys.

 Thanks for checking up on her and give me a call or email if you ever want an another update:)

Jenica

Roscoe

Hi all,

Here are some pictures of Roscoe and Kamali. He seems to be very happy here

and is doing well with the cats. He adores the toy box and is our new interior decorator,

by un-stuffing the toys. ~ The Kaetz Family

A Happy Home - Sam

We adopted Sam, formerly Bobo, on September 27th 2008. He had literally
come to Homeward Pet the previous day and had not had a chance to have
his vet check when we saw him on Friday the 26th. He took a real shine
to our 10 year old daughter. Luckily, we were able to make a quick
decision right then that we wanted him or we would have missed out the
next day. If we had not done that or had been late the next day, we
would have missed out on such a great dog! He is truly a dream! He's
very mellow and easy going.
He doesn't whine or bark, loves to play ball and go for walks and just
enjoys being with us. He gets along great with our cat, Maggie,
although she wasn't too sure about him at first. He wags his tail
whenever he sees her and she just tolerates him, as most cats would.

We are very happy to have Sam in our family. It has made having a
"first dog" an easy transition for us. Thanks again, Homeward Pet, for
helping us get a new member for our family.

Susan H.

Bothell, WA

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Pictures and an update on Frankie (now Akira)

Hi folks!

Well, it's been about three months since we adopted Akira. She has
learned so much since we brought her home! Most recently, she learned
how to ring a bell when she wants to go outside. We're looking forward
to continuing to teach her new things--she's such an amazing learner.

She loves ice cubes, swimming and playing rope tug. At first, she didn't
really seem to get petting or snuggling. Wow has that changed! She's the
best snuggler around. She's my snuggle alarm clock.

Today we took our first trip to the off leash park near our house (she
finally started coming consistently when I call her, which took some
time--so many fun things to explore after all!). I was nervous that she
might run off and not come back, but it was the exact opposite. She
wouldn't leave my side, even to roll in the dirt! I've never seen her so
shy, she's the alpha with all her regular playmates. It was darling
(felt like the first day of kindergarten), and I look forward to
watching her become the fearless girl I know she is.

Of course, pics of my pretty pretty princess are attached!

Thanks,
Lauren

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Olive helps with computer project!

Just in case her foster wanted to know how she was doing, I've attached a few pics.

Among her favorite activities:  emptying the toy basket; sleeping on the couch; climbing the cat toy & sleeping in the pagoda at the top; watching birdies out the window; and eating from the dry food bowl.

Thanks again for our lovely, perfect-fit cat.

 

 

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Pippi's new home!

 

This is Pippi's, now know as Mavi, new home. She has smoothly slipped into our family routine. Her bio didn't quite do her justice. This girl was completely house trained, following commands and riding calmly in the car in about three days. She is such a find! She runs 3-5 miles daily with my husband or I ,plays well with our friends dogs and behaves beautifully in my mothers house when we visit. We've found her exuberant morning greeting is not quite what my 13 yr old Aussie enjoys, so mornings are a challenge. She has all those wonderful heeler qualities and challenges- loves tennis ball and chasing cyclists. Melissa from Mountain High is helping us with that last item. We're also going to look into flyball.  Right now she's trashing my hardwood floors playing by herself with her toys. None of our soft toys now have any ear, eyes or tails.
Our vet checked her out and she's in excellent health. Still as skinny as a rake despite eating like a horse.Mavi is such a loving girl I can't believe we were lucky enough to discover her the way we did   (Her Petfinder page forwarded through two friends)   Everyone at Homeward was very good to us and we really appreciate that you held her a week for us.   I was afraid someone else would see her potential and take her.

Thanks again

Ursula Nicol


.


 
 

Happy tails - Smudge

 

Smudge came home with me on August 9th  and shortly after became Louis (like the French king).  He was a little timid and unsocialized.  At first he had a little bit of an issue with food/toys and other dogs but I think being around his brother George has helped him with that.  We also have been going to the park to play with other dogs every day.  He was a little on the aggressive side right away and took some training to be a friendly dog.  He still doesn’t really know how to play but he tries more and more every day (he certainly does love to chase birds and squirrels though).  However, at home he and George play all the time.  Up and down the stairs, around the corner, and back and forth.  They’ve really almost developed themselves a little pack.  Looking out for each other at the park and following each other around when off leash.  They’re my boys and Louis is such a little lover.  He loves to curl up and snuggle all the time. 

 

Thank you for Louis.  I’ve attached a handful of pictures of Louis being Louis.  Enjoy.

 

Jacob Nelson

 

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Liam (Ryan) finds a great buddy!

 

Not sure if you remember "Ryan" or not (we named him Liam), but I

> wanted to tell you that he's doing GREAT! He and my other male cat

> (who's 4 years old) are best friends. They are always together, either

> playing, getting into things, looking out the window, or sleeping side

> by side.

> This is a big relief to my female cat, who's 13 and just wants to be

> left alone! Since the boys keep each other occupied, her life has been

> more relaxing.

>

> Liam is still as sweet as can be. He loves to cuddle and purrs really

> loud. He's social but still independent. We have a giant cat tree that

> he likes to climb; he also really likes chasing balls and catnip mice

> around.

>