This Week’s Featured Adoptable Dogs @ Willamette Humane Society by Martha Russell

Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

I’m back from our short visit to California and am happy to report that we DID see whales! We expected to see Humpbacks and we did. According to the whale watching boat guide, we saw around 25! An added bonus was happening upon five Orcas, as well. While we didn’t get to witness any breaches, we did see lunge feeding which was very exciting. Here are just a few pictures before we move on to talking about dogs.

I will be such a great family dog! My friends here can’t believe I haven’t been adopted yet!

Are you looking for a laid-back, friendly, cheese-loving guy with a great sense of humor? Todd may just be your new best friend. Todd is a three-year-old Lab/Shar-Pei mix who arrived on one of our transfers from Texas. He will make a terrific family dog.

Todd loves everybody. Just ask him! Because he’s a big boy, he should go home with older kids, but what a great pal he will be to them. He walks very well on leash, knows basic commands, takes treats nicely and is very polite.

We spent some quality time with this guy on Sunday and really enjoyed it. First we went out to the big yard to see if Todd liked to play fetch. The answer is YES!

We wanted to see if Todd would then settle down on the platform. Yep! Todd will be a great dog to take camping, the beach, or on any family adventure. Because he can be picky about his dog friends, he will need to meet any possible canine sibling he might have.

Later we went into Mary’s Place to relax. Todd seems to happily adapt to any environment he is in.

Another volunteer sent me these pictures from yesterday in Mary’s Place.

We’re hoping that this wonderful boy will soon be entertaining his forever family.

I may be a senior and newly blind, but I’m learning my way around fast!

Kiki is a twelve-year-old Rat Terrier mix who arrived at the shelter with severe glaucoma which looked quite painful. It was decided the best thing to do was to remove her eyes. She is recovering from the surgery very well and seems to be adapting to being blind. She will follow your voice (or the scent of cheese) and seems to trust that you will look out for her. She was nervous when we took her outside but felt safe in Marianne’s arms.

She seemed to feel more relaxed in Mary’s Place and was willing to explore. While she is shy, she warms up quickly and is a very people-friendly girl.

She likes being petted and doesn’t seem to be at all sensitive to being handled. She is house-trained and takes treats gently, even though she can’t see them.

Because Kiki is learning how to navigate while not being able to see, she would do best with older children in a patient, understanding family who will help her to adjust to her new world.

I’m Barry. I’m looking for an understanding family. 

Barry is a two-year-old Chihuahua mix who has been working with our Behavior Team to help him become less fearful. This little guy had become stressed in his previous home, but has improved a great deal since arriving at WHS.

Barry is waiting for just the right family with kids at least fifteen years old. He will need space, understanding, and patience. But Barry has a big heart and loves attention and play. He has done well with some other small dogs in playgroups and loves to go for walks. And once you have earned his trust, Barry is a snuggler. Volunteer Linda, who is on the Behavior Training Team, brought him into Mary’s Place for some new pictures on Sunday. He proved to be a delightful little poser who also loves cheese.

Barry is hoping his new family comes soon.

Marley is a one-year-old mixed breed dog who is nervous about getting into cars, so volunteer trainers Linda and Jolene were rewarding him on Sunday for bravely jumping in the back of one!

Terry is a three-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix. He loved his time with us in Mary’s Place on Sunday with Megan.

Our sweet Fiona is back. We’re hoping her perfect match will find her soon. Here she is with Christine.

Honey Bear is a three-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix, here with Haylee.

Squidward is a three-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix who our Behavior Team is working with. Here he is with our Behavior and Training Manager, Chelsea. Yep, he gets rewarded during training sessions with his favorite cheese spread!

We saw a couple of WHS alumni on Sunday, which is always a thrill. Kevin and his person were taking a training class and stopped for a quick pic.

Edgar (now Peanut) stopped in to visit with his soon-to-be new brother (announcement coming soon!)

Bo

Bo arrived at WHS in April of 2016, and I wrote this about him in my April 20th post:

“Bo was extremely shy and nervous when he first arrived, but what a difference a few days makes! Today he was much more outgoing and confident. He will need a family who will be patient and understanding, as he is sensitive about handling. He has been an outdoor dog for a while, but would like to be an indoor dog again. Bo is afraid of loud noises, so a calm and quiet home would be best for him.”

I was worried about who would adopt this sweet boy, hoping it would be someone who would help him gain confidence and trust. Bo was adopted three weeks later. Like so many of our adoptions, I assumed I would never hear any more about Bo’s new life.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, this appeared in the comment section of my blog:

“I don’t know if any one will see this but we are the ones who ended up adopting Bo at the end of April of 2016, from the Willamette Humane Society. He has worked out so well as a part of our family and we love him with all of our hearts!!!”

I was thrilled. I immediately wrote back and asked for an update with pictures. Here is the wonderful reply:

“We adopted Bo in April of 2016, one week after having to put down our 16-year-old dog, Hazel. I went with my friend to the Humane Society to look at a dog named Bo, who I had seen on Petfinder. I didn’t seriously expect much to come of it. Not only that, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to adopt another dog so soon after losing one. We were at the Humane Society playing with Bo outside, when all of a sudden he stopped his playing and crawled into my lap like he belonged there. That was it. I put a hold on him and the next day my husband and I went back and adopted him.

Bo came to us with some behavioral issues that are pretty much nonexistent now. It just took some patience. We don’t have kids in the house and it is just my husband and me, so Bo is like our child. He has the run of the house and he has a doggy door that gives him access to the backyard 24/7. While we are at work, Bo sleeps in our bed or on one of our couches. He also sleeps in our bed with us at night. He has an expensive dog bed that he uses on occasion to lie in and play with his collection of chew toys.

Several months ago, we had Bo’s DNA tested and found out that one of his parents was a pure-bred Treeing Walker Coonhound. On the other side was one grandparent who was half Labrador Retriever and half American Staffordshire Terrier. The other grandparent on that side was basically a Heinz 57 mutt. LOL. Bo does have some herding ancestry and sight hound ancestry but they can’t pin point specific breeds at that point. The only time he bays like a hound is when something really excites him, like the Fed Ex guy at the door with a box from CHEWY.

Bo also has some doggy friends that come over or that we go visit. He really loves other dogs, but female dogs tend to bully him or boss him around.

In the late afternoons, when I get home from work, Bo likes to go out with me in the yard when I feed our two chickens and two rabbits. He stands there and supervises. The rabbits are huge Flemish Giant mixes and Bo likes to sniff them through their hutches/cages. I think he thinks they are some type of small dogs. Bo also has a “brother” who is a grand Eclectus parrot. The parrot has an entire room in our house, along with an elderly dove. Bo doesn’t know what to make of the big green talking birdy. We also have two parakeets and a cockatiel. Bo doesn’t mess with them at all, but he does like to bark at the parrot and the parrot squawks back at him. Pretty much all of our animals are rescues.

We love our Bo!!!!!”

I didn’t have to worry about Bo’s future!

On that happy update, that’s it for this week!

Remember, if you see a dog on my blog whom you are interested in meeting, try to make arrangements to get to the Willamette Humane Society soon. Some dogs are adopted more quickly than you might think.

You can reach me at adoptanoregondog14@yahoo.com