September 27th 2008

Today brought more animals…but no adoptions. Yesterday, we did have one of our dachsund mix puppies go home to Indianapolis, but the yorkie did not work out, so he is still with us. He is soooo cute, so I know he will get adopted quickly. We also have a family coming back on tuesday, they liked two of our adult shepherd mixes, and are going to take some to think about them. That is always a good sign- it shows that the family is not rushing into getting a dog, and wants to make sure whoever they adopt is a good fit. Just as I was getting ready to leave this afternoon, I got a phone call from someone wanting to bring us a dog because they could not afford dog food. I explained to them that we could help with some food until we could make room, and asked if she could hold it over the weekend. She said she could, but that if we didn’t take him, she didn’t know what else to do then “take him out in the country and shoot him.” She said he was depressed from not eating, and he was very skinny. She didn’t know if something was wrong with him, but didn;t have the money to buy dog food for him, let alone take him to the vet. I asked her just to bring him in immediately, which she did. While waiting for her to bring him in, I wasn’t sure what to expect. She arrived quickly and had a very, very skinny chihuahua. He is about 3 years old, and about 5 pounds under weight (when you only weigh 8 pounds, those five pounds are a lot.) He should easily weigh 13-14 pounds, and weighs 8. His ribs are clearly visible, and his spine and hip bones are beginning to show. Another two weeks and he would be emaciated and near death. His name is Mikey, though I have started calling him “Miquel.” He is very sweet, and has quite the appetite! Although we will still have him checked by a vet, I doubt there is anything medically wrong from him; it appears he just hasn’t eaten for a while. He ate a whole can of dog food, plus a plate of boiled chicked breast, and was working on a bowl of dry food when I put him away in his room. While I am glad this owner sought help, I just can’t imagine how she could let it go this far, or how rather than somehow get him food, she would take him out and shoot him. Times are tough right now for people, and I am glad she called us for help, but when you adopt or buy a pet, you are responsible for providing food and care for them.

In other news, ARF’s 2008 Mutt Strutt is October 11th and I hope to see everyone there! This will be a good chance for recent adoptions, past adoptions, and supporters and their 4 legged (and a few 3 legged) friends to come out and have a good time and raise some money for ARF.

September 25th, 2008

Every day, we are asked, begged, and pleaded with to take in animals. Some are strays that people have found. Some are from shelters that are out of space. Others are animals that owners either purcahsed, adopted, or took in one way or another, and now no longer want for themselves, but of course, they do not want them to go to a shelter where euthanasia is used for surplus animals. But the simple fact is we do not have the space or staff to take in every animal we are asked to take. It is hard to explain that to people- sometimes they get mad at us, and let us know it will be our fault if their pet gets put down. As full as ARF is currently, today brought us two new dogs- one was a stray cocker spaniel mix, and the other is an owner surrender black lab mix adolescent dog named Lauren. Lauren especially breaks my heart because she is scared, and not quite sure what she did wrong to end up at ARF. I tried to comfort her, but she is still scared. I know she will come around- she is such a sweet puppy. But I only had a few minutes to spend with her before I had to put her in with her new roomates- Brody, a lab mix about her same age, and two adult shep/collie mixes, Brock and Emperess. They are all three good dogs, and as soon as we have room in the adoption center, Brody, Brock, and Lauren will move over for adoption. (Emperess is one of the dogs that lives at ARF, and she wouldn’t have it any other way! She was adopted once, but would not eat, drink, or even leave their kitchen, and after 3 days, she came back to ARF, which she couldn’t have been happier about!) Back to the stray cocker- we scanned it for a microchip, but of course we couldn’t have been that lucky- and tomorrow we will contact the local shelters to see if owners are searching for it.

On the other hand, it was a good day for adoptions. An australian shepherd mix named Suzette was adopted to a nice family. Her new name is Sadie, and it seems like it will be a good fit. Another dog we had named Heidi, who is a poodle-dachsund mix- went home as well. Her mom was looking at a litter of dachsund mix puppies we have up for adoption, but ended up falling in love with Heidi. Though we are closed tomorrow, we have two families coming up from Indy to meet some dogs, and hopefully our yorkie mix Benji will be going home in the morning, and one of dachsund puppies will be going home in the evening. On Saturday we have a beagle puppy that is scheduled to be picked up, again from a family in Indianapolis.

I suppose that wraps up today’s adventures- this is something I am going to try, to keep our supporters in the loop as to the daily going-on’s at ARF. Please feel free to comment, ask questions, or just tell me what you would like to know about ARF!