Doji found her Forever Home!

It is with very mixed emotions that I tell you Doji has found her forever home!  On one hand, I'm in jubilation that Doji was adopted, but on the other hand... I miss her dearly already.  Her new mom, Tracey, and doggie sister, Jill, took her home today.  I was very sad to see her drive away, but I know she will have a fabulous and very spoiled life with her new family and I am thankful that I could play a small role in delivering her to such a great home.  There's an empty snuggle bed beside me and a little hole in my heart.  I'll miss reaching over the chair to pet her or having her nose magically find my hand whenever it's not occupied. 

But, Doji's adoption means there's room in my house and my heart for another foster dog.  It may take a few weeks before I can get up to West Virginia to pick up the next dog...   in the meantime, keep checking the blog.  More stories of Stacey and other Almost Heaven foster dogs will be shared! 

And while I have your attention, please take a moment to vote for "Almost Heaven" in West Virginia at http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3
 If Almost Heaven receives the highest amount of votes for West Virginia or overall-- they'll receive a grant that will be used to help rescue dogs like Doji and provide for their medical care.  You can also help more directly by donating  through the chipin site at:
http://www.almostheaven-golden-retriever-rescue.org/

This is Stacey on the left. She and our dog Zeus are tired from playing in the snow. She has more energy than Zeus who is two years younger than her. She is loving being around other dogs. She enjoys playing with balls, games of tug of war and just hanging out with people and dogs alike. When she first came to us, she had a hard time getting up and down the stairs and since we only have tile and hard wood floors, she slipped a lot. Now she marches up and down the stairs, and has really gained strength in her hind legs. She also seems to have lost a little weight since we got her due to all the exercise. She has come so far in just two weeks. She is available for adoption though Almost Heaven Golden Retriever Rescue. She is one of the easier Foster dogs we have had here.

Unexpected Issue with Doji

As I've mentioned, baths for dogs are a very regular weekly event around here.  This morning, I had help lifting Doji into the tub.  I didn't need to draw the curtain to "contain" her. She never tried to get out.  Eventually, she just laid down.  This was great except for the fact that I couldn't wash her underside and once I finally gave up, she wouldn't get up.  I drained the water and she still wouldn't get up. Getting up from a laying position isn't really easy for her when she's in her snuggle bed, let alone in a wet bath tub-- even if it does have a non-slip mat.  After a few minutes of trying to encourage her to stand up, I tried bribing her with food.  No luck.  Finally, we had to lift her out of the tub in a laying position!

I've mentioned that she loves her stuffed hedgehog.  Perhaps I was understating it.  She really LOVES this hedgehog.  She takes it into her crate with her.  She tries to take it outside (we have a strict, "no good toys outside" rule).  She takes it to her dinner bowl, and as I sit here now-- it's a few inches from her face as she's curled up in her snuggle bed.  I'm confident that this hedgehog will be by her side for many years to come.  This morning, she woke up around 6:42 (to be exact).  She moved around the room a bit, but I was totally insistent on sleeping in (I realized this week that she just wants me up to pet her, not necessarily has to go out).  I stood my ground, but by 7:20, she realized she could force the issue.  She used her hedgehog... I heard a cacophony of "honks" (or "moo's" as we call them).  It suddenly occurred to me how obnoxious a teenager with a drum set could be!!!!

Doji Does....

Doji:

• LOVES her bone
• LOVES her hedgehog toy even more 
• LOVES to be petted, especially a belly scratch
• is a total foodie (but not aggressive with us or Toby when we're near her food)
• gently and eagerly takes fish oil 4x a day (have I mentioned she LOVES it-- it only took one pill to get her hooked on this doggie crack and now she hobbles into the kitchen at the sound of the bottle opening)
• snores
• follows me from room to room
• sleeps on the floor in my bedroom
• investigates my dinner plate (I eat in the living room), but never takes a taste
• comes when she's called
• has a hard time getting up after she's been sitting awhile and is wobbly on her legs when she just gets up
• gets playful and mouths you (from the lounging position only)
• wags her tail every time you say her name
• happily goes into her crate at the suggestion (often brings the bone OR the hedgehog with her)
• likes to amble around the backyard exploring
• goes "out" three times a day and comes to the door when she's done to be let in (and be with you)
• can usually be found in whatever room you're in
• is a very happy dog
• can't wait to find her furever home and be treated like she deserves:)

Doji's "does not" list

Day 10-- no accidents, no counter surfing, no garbage eating, no barking, no whining, no anxiety, no aggression, no running away, no destruction, no jumping on furniture, no disobeying orders (sit, come, no), no fear of the crackling fireplace, howling wind or beeps.

AND this lovely lady is available for adoption!  She could be your four legged soul mate for many years to come! 

Spa Day for Doji, too!

Doji had surgery to repair her ACL on January 2, so she couldn't have a bath until today.  Phew-- that's a long time for a dog to go bathless in my house!  Toby gets weekly baths to help manage his lion-like mane of golden retriever hair with a Chow Chow undercoat.  That dog can shed!  Doji, on the other hand, really doesn't have that much hair.  I've brushed her a few times and can barely pull any hair off of her.  I brushed her again before her bath today and still not much hair... then it was bath time!  Toby tolerates his bath.  He'll hide under the table at the mention of "bath time"-- so much so that we've abbreviated it to getting his "b" and sometimes just say "spa day" or "shower" to throw him off.  But, he'll hop in the tub and take it like a man.  I was afraid Doji might really NOT like the bath and hurt herself trying to scramble out of the tub.  Why was I worried?!?!  This is Doji we're talking about.  We had to pick her up to put her in the tub, but there was no struggle.  In fact, she didn't move a muscle during the entire bath (shampoo/rinse/conditioner/rinse).  No whining, no shaking, and no attempt at escape.  Post-bath, she LOVED the towel dry and was in quite a good mood! 

I took a trip to Target and Petsmart today.  At Target, I got a few no-slip rugs to provide more "islands" of carpet for her.  She's learning that it's safer and more comfortable to stay on a rug.  At Petsmart, I picked up a few femur bones.  Doji is a bone girl, which probably explains why her teeth are so shiny and white.  Toby's interest in chewing on bones comes and goes.  So much so, that Doji whittled down one of his bones to the point it was flaking off in a week.  I haven't bought him a bone in years-- so that tells you how old that bone is.  After letting her chew on the new bone for an hour, I took it away to save it for another day (probably tomorrow). 

This is Stacey when she returned from the groomers yesterday. She was so happy to get all that extra hair removed. She started chasing her tail around in the yard. She then rolled on her back and kicked her legs up in the hair. What girl doesn't love a makeover???