Daisy
What a cuddly bulldog Daisy is. She snores and makes all manner of noises. When she came she had sore paws from frostbite. Found as a stray in Quebec, dead of winter, cold and alone. Poor girl has a big C-Section scar, and was probably the mother of at least one litter.
She was adopted by a lovely couple in Etobicoke where she has a very nice bed by a sweet perching window, where she can look out over the neighbourhood. We are so happy for her and her new family.
Goldie
Poor Goldie was a return from a previous adopter who just wasn’t able to give her the life she needed. A lovely dog who just needed to get out there and learn about the world a little. Long walks and persistent corrections solved her on-leash problems. I spent a good amount of time working with her in the dog park because doggie social skills are important. Eventually she was calm around strange dogs and learned some sorely needed communication skills.
When people came to adopt her, I went through one by one all the complaints of the previous owner showing each time that Goldie didn’t have those problems any more. She is now thriving with her new family who are teachers and are giving her the strong guidance she craves.
Filly
Filly was super easy. My first German Shepherd, I had no idea what to expect. By our second walk she somehow managed to tell me she wanted to play catch. We started playing with sticks, then balls, then stuffed toys, and so on. She just loved it and would make miraculous aerobatic catches. So fun. I got strict about how she give the ball back to me, teaching her the command “closer”. Then I made it more difficult telling her to put the ball in various places like in a hole at the dog park. So smart.
She was adopted by one of the directors of the rescue. An inside job I guess. She now lives in Mississauga where she enjoys open spaces and a huge back yard.
Jasper
What a hard luck case. Jasper had cancer, and was previously adopted out while still recovering from surgery. He sadly came back to the rescue after biting a child. We’ll never know why, and weren’t able to recreate a similar aggression. We did see some territorial guarding that I wasn’t able to address, but I did work on his confidence and his ability to just “calm the fuck down”. After a few weeks he began to relax and enjoy the outdoors, instead of always being on alert or hunting for squirrels.
He was adopted by a really great fella who is just like me but with a nicer condo and car. He took to heart everything I said about making sure Jasper isn’t left in a position to make another bad decision. Jasper now enjoys trips to a beautiful lakefront cottage where he gets to run free and chase waves. Apparently he played in the water so much his first day that he was to sore to get up the next morning. He’s a much more fit dog now, with daily jogs with his new best friend.
Ringo
After Jasper, I wanted to try working with a small dog. I was never a huge small dog fan, but then Ringo came into our lives and stole out heart. He was the first foster we got to name ourselves. We chose Ringo because he’s bigger than life but a little Star. Loved everywhere he goes, its hard to understand how he could become homeless. He is a smart little dog, who doesn’t really like to be made to do circus tricks. If you hold out on the treat to long, he would get on the couch and bark us. Which is hilarious and hard to disagree with. Mostly though he’s flat on his back getting belly rubs.
He was quickly adopted by a young couple who will love him and cuddle him and spoil him…well hopefully not to rotten.
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