What's in your purse?

If anyone had rifled through my purse on the way home from work the other day they would probably have retreated in horror at its contents. More on item number two later, but can you guess what item number one is?:

Demonstration please Billy...

We visited the other two pooches on our walk and they each got one too. Yum yum.

An eventful weekend

First a couple of belated internet shout-outs and some thanks:

Bilbo and I won a prize in Two Pitties raffle! We have to choose a Silly Buddy collar and I was going to post a shortlist to get some help with the decision but I can't even narrow it down to finalists because they're all just too great. Billy is particularly excited because he thinks he's far too handsome for his boring black collar.

Two One Tail dogs, Howard and Grey, were featured on WGNTV:

(UPDATED: for some reason the video that I embedded disappeared when I published the post so here's a good old-fashioned link instead!)

Then the lovely Two Grad Students and a Pittie made us their "Fabulous Follow" for Saturday. Which is doubly fabulous because they moved this weekend and yet still managed to keep blogging about their NYC adventures. Now that's impressive.

Back in the physical world I kicked the weekend off with drinks at Logan Square Bar and Grill. Seeing as there was a decidedly doggy trend to my plans for the weekend, I couldn't resist trying out a "raging bitch" pale ale which turned out to be delicious

However, it also turned out to be rather strong. I trotted home around 1am and stopped at the store on the way to pick up chicken for some Billy training the next morning. Unfortunately, the raging ale had befuddled me just enough to momentarily forget about the chicken and jump in the shower first. Sniffer dog was not fooled of course and by the time I popped out of the shower, three raw chicken breasts had magically jumped out of the packaging and down his throat. Luckily since he's already on a raw diet this had no ill after-effects!

When my alarm went off at 6am the next morning getting up wasn't the easiest task but I had a PITTIE Party to go to! I was volunteering down at Chicago Animal Care and Control for a very early morning event to showcase their pits for local rescues.

Puppet

I was stationed with a handsome young guy called "Puppet". I imagine the name was probably a little more fitting a few months ago when he was still a pup as, by all accounts, he filled out overnight.

He's an absolute darling and came to Chicago Animal Care and Control as a court case dog last September. He's in the Safe Humane program I wrote about in February, and has been doing a great job with his obedience training.

Puppet works on a new trick

A total of 30 dogs were pulled that morning, 19 of them pitties, which was great morning's work though sadly our boy Puppet wasn't one of them. He'll make someone a fabulous companion eventually but I understand how tricky it can be for rescues to place the energetic boys, especially when they're just so very staffy-looking. He's bright as a button and eager to please so I'm predicting agility or obedience trophies in his future. Luckily, he has Safe Humane on his side so even if it takes a little while he's got a team behind him, and at least he got out of his cage for a morning to run around and snuggle:

(Apologies for the sloppy editing job - this is what happens when I have a crazy weekend and try to catch up in one giant post)

Being the great crew that they are, One Tail at a Time pulled a court case dog into their program that morning and are on the case to find a home for the lovely Widget

After we were done with the open house I hopped on the bus home where I'd originally intended to pick up Bill and head out for a training session on leash manners in the park with the help of doggy buddies Alfred and Bruce. What I omitted to mention earlier was that I'd been woken up at 4am that morning by the sound of elves having a bath in my kitchen. Or, erm, a huge leak in the kitchen ceiling that was making a puddle on the floor! Dogdad picked up Bilbo and monitored the situation so that I could keep my volunteering commitment but I had to skip training, head back to the apartment to see if the ceiling had fallen down and wait for the landlord's son to finally turn the water off.

Hmmm, not so much. About three feet from this burgeoning crack, water was also dribbling down the light fixture over the sink. On the plus side, it was dripping straight into the sink so I didn't have to rummage around for any more buckets. On the other hand, there was water draining down an electrical wire. Luckily the drip stopped by the time I had to leave although not before it managed to double the size of the chasm in the ceiling and short circuit the stove, condemning me to take-out and cheese sandwiches for a week or so.

Of course, renting has it's advantages so I made sure the landlord's son had a set of keys (did I mention the landlord was in Ecuador?) and sloped off to see Jane Eyre at the cinema with Dogdad! We discovered a dog bakery nearby, which was rather exciting because they sell freshly-made treats in bulk - bringing me one step closer to Zero Waste! After which it was time for tapas and sangria, yum.

Sunday morning brought the reason for the weekend's jollification, as I turned 31! Which was marked by another early morning as Dogdad and I headed down to Animal Welfare League for a bout of volunteering.

I spent a lot of time with this lovely beagle lady and it was very hard to return her to her cage, though I know she got out for plenty of loving again when the afternoon volunteer crew arrived.

This cutesome pitty puppy was one of four dogs pulled by Alive Rescue, which is just as well as someone was starting to look a bit smitten...

Dogdad originally agreed to come down to AWL only because it was my birthday, and he hasn't wanted to volunteer in the past. However, we hadn't been in the building for ten minutes before he turned to me and said that we should come every week. I know we won't be the only ones returning to help out.

All of that snuggling with shelter pooches only got us to lunchtime at which point I hopped a train to work, did a quick change and hosted a concert. Then another train, some catch-up time with our own dogs and out again for another birthday dinner. Phew.

Oh, and just in case that wasn't enough activity for one weekend, I topped it off by handing in my notice on Monday morning because I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks!

Free puppy love?

Have you thought about fostering?

I've mentioned this in passing before but it's about time it received it's own post. Fostering is one of the most rewarding and direct ways to help dogs in need and can be a great option for people in many different situations to make a real difference. I've adopted and fostered through One Tail at a Time (two separate dogs, I might add!) so I'll talk about their set-up in particular but you'll generally find similar conditions apply with your own local rescue or shelter.

People generally air two main concerns when I bring up the idea of fostering. The first is easy to answer - it doesn't cost anything to foster a dog! One Tail provides food, toys, leash/collar, medications, crate and any other essentials you may need. If, like me, you don't drive, they also have a wonderful network of volunteers who can help out with transport to adoption events, vet visits or a forever home.

Speaking of which, the second concern is falling in love with your foster dog. I'm not going to lie and say that definitely won't happen! There are oodles of "failed fosters" out there who became permanent family dogs, but many more go on to another family and remembering what you have achieved through fostering in the first place helps with sending your foster pup off to a good home.

Billy & his foster sister Pickle

One of the reasons that I became a volunteer with One Tail is because of the great experience that I had adopting from them and the more I get involved, the more I love them! So, to all the bloggers out there, please cross-post some of these dogs that they're currently trying to find fosters for (warning - graphic image below):

Gordon

You may have read about this spunky little chap already and I'll probably write more at a later date. Suffice to say this is the "chemical burns pit puppy" that Trio Animal Foundation and One Tail rescued. He's doing great at the vets and will be ready very soon to go to a caring home to continue his recovery. He'll need a home without stairs as it hurts him to walk up too many. He's a very friendly, loving guy but will have to be carefully monitored if he's with other dogs to make sure he doesn't play too rough while recovering. That will take around 6-8 weeks so he won't be able to be neutered or put up for adoption for at least that long.

Sorry for the graphic image but unfortunately sometimes that's the reality of the situation. He's come such a long way since then but still needs a lot of help. If you can't assist with finding a foster home, Trio are sponsoring his steadily mounting vet bills and donations of any amount would be an enormous help.

*UPDATE*: Gordon has a temporary foster home with one of One Tail's wonderful volunteers but is still looking for a place with fewer stairs and less time home alone.

This friendly German Shepherd girl will be put down this week if foster can't be found. She'll need a home without young children as she's a bit protective about her rawhides but is otherwise a highly adoptable, sweet one-year old.

*UPDATE*: German Shepherd Rescue pulled this girl today (3/25) so she's in the clear!

Anya

Another young, friendly girl, Anya has plenty of energy and is a smart collie-shepherd mix. She's in an open-admission shelter at the moment but if a rescue will commit to saving her they will hold her for another two weeks. So, even if someone can't take her for another week or two, a promise now to do so will save her life.

Phoenix

If my landlord wasn't currently out of the country (not great timing since my kitchen ceiling is LEAKING!) I'd have already called to beg him to let me foster this girl in exchange for some extra rent. This is what the shelter has to say:

I know it's a tough sell, but we have the most wonderful eleven-year-old Pittie here that is just too sweet to euthanize! She came from a home where she lived with a three-year-old child who she was wonderful with. She's been great with every dog she's met here and had didn't even mind the office cat. She's so sad here at the shelter and we don't want to see her live her last days being frightened and confused. She lived in the same home for her entire life and every time a car drives up or the door opens she gets so hopeful and obviously excited, but then is let down every time. Please don't let Angel die here! She's an easy dog and would fit perfectly into any home situation. We will get all her vaccinations up to date and I will personally drive her just about anywhere is she has a rescue to go to!

*UPDATE*: Another rescue is working to pull this lady and if it falls through, One Tail has a back-up foster. Hooray!

We can't save them all, and I promise not to turn this blog into a running tally of rescue sob-stories, but please help me to spread the word this time around!

If you would like to foster please visit One Tail to fill out an application or email annaotat@gmail.com with any questions.

Wordless Wednesday

Bilbo sleeps

And generally with total abandon and loud snores.

If he didn't make so much noise, I'd probably prod him to make sure he's still alive.

Although "dislocated neck" seems to be one of his favorite positions.

Surely that can't be comfortable?

A bit more like it.

Now we're talking

Or even better, test out Buster's new bed before Buster even gets a chance to lie on it! 

If he can get it, Bilbo loves company for a good snooze

Whether it's four-legs

Two-legs

Or a general pile-up!
Of course, however deeply asleep you may think he is, chances are, if there's a hint of food in the air

He's still watching you!

Big dog body, little dog brain

Like many big beasties Bilbo generally thinks he's a 15lb lapdog.

This week he got a chance to show off some more of his little dog skills during a trip to the vet. 

Now, the thing about Bilbo is that he tends to short circuit in exciting situations. Places like petstores, street fairs and vet offices make his brain explode and he becomes a whirly barking machine. We've definitely made progress though; on our very first trip to the vet he thrashed around on the end of the leash like a barking shark. By the end of last summer we'd progressed to doing-as-told in exciting places but with soundtrack included. This week's vet visit was a bit of a milestone as the near constant barking was reduced by a good 60% - we even managed to walk calmly through the door!

But, back to the small dog impression... the few moments that I could count on Billy being calm was when the vet was prodding and poking at him. Apparently that fulfilled his need for attention and barking whirlygig transformed into smiley, waggly, adorable squishnose. Until last August when he decided that having his temperature taken was just NOT ON! This time around temperature wasn't a problem but that needle the vet was brandishing? Luckily, instead of remembering that he's a big scary beastie with HUUUUGE jaws, he flips onto his back, squirms, wriggles, kicks his legs in the air and makes tiny little toy dog squeals and yaps as he tries to escape.

I'm not sure whether it would be more amusing or pitiful, except for the fact that he is just ever so strong and it's mostly plain old difficult. I got a fat lip the first time he did it, helping to keep the monster still. This time, two vet techs sprawled across him on the floor, while his vet whipped in to get a couple of measly drops of blood to do his annual tests.

Of course, the second they were finished he had to go around the room giving everyone kisses and leaving a few last bruises with his whip of a wagtail. Added to the huge strides we made in the noise department, I'm chalking this one up to the win column!

Oh, and we're all cleared for cart pulling so the harness is ordered. Exciting...

We are not amused

Here I am, just having a snooze on the bed, next thing I know you're dribbling smelly wet stuff in my ears. Now you're going to stick that funny tasting brush thing in my mouth. What's next? Water torture in the "bath"? Listen lady, I'm an American, I've got rights...