Hero is a wonderful Shiba. He has made himself one of the pack with my 3 other dogs. They all have seemed to iron out all of their issues with each other and are getting along quite nicely. If other dogs are okay with Hero, Hero seems to be okay with them. Hero can still be possessive over his food, but shows no signs of aggression (he just doesn’t want anyone else to eat! LOL). Overall, his physical health seems to be steadily improving. He has gained some weight and is galloping around like a champ. He is such a little lover and craves affection from anyone who will give it to him… VERY sweet:) I’m very proud of this guy!

Posted on May 31st, 2007 by michele
Filed under: Hero | 1 Comment »

Chad is doing really well in foster care and we’re getting a good idea of what his perfect forever home should look like.

For the first week that he was with us, he didn’t show any signs of separation anxiety at all. His previous owners had warned us that he has accidents inside when left alone - even if only for a very short time! For the first four days, he went willingly into his crate when his foster mom had to go to work and seemed perfectly happy when she left and when she returned. However, after a wonderful four day weekend spent at the beach with his foster mom, a friend, and 3 other dogs, he’s now showing signs of anxiety when left alone. He went under the bed once when it was time to go in his crate and had a couple accidents in his crate that day and the next. The good news though is that he and the resident dog have become such good friends already that we’ve decided to stop crating him during the day. Our hope is that when he is free to snuggle with his doggie friend, he won’t be anxious about his human friend being away.

Although Chad is wonderfully well-behaved, healthy, neutered, and up-to-date on all of his vaccinations, he is not available for adoption quite yet. We want to figure out what it will take to avoid his separation anxiety, before we choose a home for him.

Posted on May 30th, 2007 by jenna
Filed under: Chad | No Comments »

Sissy was found wandering around in Huntington Station, NY, in early May. Lucky for her she was found by a real dog lover who took her home and took care of her while searching for her owner. No one ever claimed Sissy, so now she’s in foster care and looking for a new home.

I had the absolute pleasure of fostering Sissy over the Memorial Day weekend while her foster mom was away. We fell in LOVE! Sissy is a sweetheart. She is very quiet and mellow with a gentle personality. She loves her walks, laying on her back for naps and behind the ear scratches. She also likes to relax by the window and enjoy the breeze. By Monday afternoon, she had carved a place in our hearts by curling up next to us for a good rub. She will be spayed this week and after recovery will then be available for adoption. She is currently fostered with 2 Blue Tick Coon Hounds, 12 year old child and an indoor/outdoor cat. She seems to fit in just as well with a full house as with a quiet home as an only dog- she’s so adaptable!

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by zennia
Filed under: Sissy | 11 Comments »

Well, it turns out Ella isn’t as dog friendly as she first appeared to be. In her temp foster the day after we took her in, she got along great with the pack of dogs there. When we first moved her into foster care - with one male resident Shiba - she was a sweetie. The two dogs got along fine… for about a day. A couple days after she got there - after she had time to get comfortable - she started getting aggressive with the resident dog. They’ve been trying to work it out, but the resident dog is miserable now and we’ll probably be moving Ella to another home.

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by jenna
Filed under: Ella | No Comments »

Blueberry is doing great in foster care. He is just about all healed from his neutering and ready for adoption! His foster mom says that his personality has really come alive since his arrival. He’s now eating very well and learning sit, stay & come to name a few. As a testament to his sweet nature, he prefers affection to training treats as his reward. She also reports ‘As he gets more comfortable he feels free to curl up on the chair and strut around when strangers come over!’ And on his walks ‘He just loves other dogs to death and he is so sweet with them.’ Blueberry really will love being in a forever home that will give him lots of affection.

Posted on May 28th, 2007 by zennia
Filed under: Blueberry | No Comments »

Chad recently turned six years old. He is healthy and neutered and VERY sweet. When I went to pick him up, he snuggled up next to me like he’d known me for years. Chad has been very well taken care of… our first foster dog that we know actually had a really good life before coming to us. His owners were very conflicted about giving up such a great dog, but they were afraid their young toddler was going to torment him past his tolerance level and they were very stressed all the time trying to watch Chad and the toddler and keep them apart. Chad wasn’t getting the kind of play time and freedom at home that he had all his life and his owners decided it just wasn’t fair to him.

Chad won’t be available for adoption immediately. We’ve been told he has some separation anxiety issues, so we’re going to take some extra time to evaluate him and decide what the best home situation for him will be. He’s being fostered with a resident dog now and we’re thinking he should be adopted by someone that has a sweet, female dog to keep him company when they can’t be home.

One of my partners, Lily, spent some time with Chad on Sunday and this is what she said:

"Chad seemed shy, but after a few minutes he suggested we play tug by pushing a stuffed toy on my lap. So I tugged, then he tugged harder, then me, and it was ON. He was sliding across the hardwood floor as I was pulling the toy with him. From one side of the apartment to the other, we were sliding across the floors and it was fun! LOL! When I was tired and dropped the stuffed duck toy, Chad wanted to play again."

More about Chad to come soon!

Posted on May 23rd, 2007 by jenna
Filed under: Chad | 1 Comment »

Ella is less than two years old. Her former owners bought her in a pet store as a Christmas gift for their children in 2005. I guess the cute doggie in the window didn’t meet their expectations though because she mostly lived in the basement and the yard with no contact with other dogs or many people. We were told the problem was food aggression, but we haven’t seen any sign of it with people or other dogs - even when we intentionally tried to provoke her. However, her former owners had small children and we have NOT tested the food aggression theory with small children.

She seems a little unsure about new situations, dogs, and people, but she takes everything in with wide eyes and a sweet disposition. She has a new name and new hope for a life of love and affection.

Ella should probably be in a home without children under 10 years old. She gets along with other dogs. We have not tested her with cats. She will be available for adoption after she has been spayed. We think she’ll make someone a wonderful companion. Stay tuned for more!

Posted on May 22nd, 2007 by jenna
Filed under: Ella | 4 Comments »

Blueberry was a stray on Long Island and came to us from the same shelter as Suzie. The shelter contacted me a day after they found him. They waited 10 days, but no one came for him. He’s been neutered and moved into foster care and he is a sweetie pie. We don’t think he’s quite grown yet. As soon as he’s all healed from being neutered, he’ll be up for adoption to the right home.

We’ve only had Blueberry in foster care for 3 days now, so we’ll be able to tell you a lot more about him soon.

Posted on May 21st, 2007 by jenna
Filed under: Blueberry | 3 Comments »

Suzie is all Shiba when it comes to water.  She walked as far away from the edge of the water as possible on the beach and did not like it at all when we dipped her feet in the water… ok, ok, we picked her up and tossed her in.. She did love romping around in the sand with her brother Tomo and sniffing out all of the new smells the beach had to offer.

She also experienced our favorite dog friendly B&B (The Mill House Inn in East Hampton for anyone interested) for the first time and made herself right at home.  The innkeepers loved her outgoing personality and hearty appetite.  Smoked bacon bits and eggs that found there way off of our plates into the bellies of two lovely Shibas each morning.  They were both passed out cold on our way home from all of the activity and the good food.

Suzie is definitely getting used to her new life and she sure is enjoying it!

Posted on May 16th, 2007 by gloria
Filed under: Suzie | 3 Comments »

Early this Saturday afternoon, Terra and I attended to NYCSR’s second adoption. Bri greeted us at the door of her foster home with wagging and kisses and love. We carried her crate and supplies downstairs, and she gleefully hopped in the car to see where we were going. In less than a month’s time, this girl has been dropped off in a shelter, spayed, picked up by a stranger and driven to a strange city, renamed, and fostered in two different apartments. You wouldn’t know it from her attitude though! Here she was on her way to another new place and just as happy-go-lucky as could be. I can’t stop wondering how anyone could surrender a girl with such an amazing temperament to a shelter!

When we walked up to Carol’s building, she was waiting outside with treats. Bri was perfectly happy to say hello and eat some treats, but she did seem a little like “ok, so what’s up?” Then we went and got her crate out of the car and she knew immediately that we were going inside with Carol. We took Bri and all her stuff up to Carol’s apartment and Bri proceeded to make herself right at home while we chatted and completed paperwork. Carol already had a new bed and a bunch of toys there for her and Bri had a GREAT time slinging a stuffed football around the apartment and chewing on some rawhide sticks.

All in all it was a great experience. When Terra and I left, we knew we were leaving Bri in her perfect forever home. She and Carol are a great match and we think they will be very happy together.

Posted on May 7th, 2007 by jenna
Filed under: Sabrina | 3 Comments »

Hero is doing great:)  He recovered quickly from his surgery and is running around like a champ.  His strength and energy level has continuously improved over the past few weeks.  He is eating a lot and is looking than ever!  He really enjoys long walks and loves meeting new people.  He was at the dog park yesterday and had a wonderful time playing with friends and acting like a goof.  He is such a sweetie!! 

Posted on May 7th, 2007 by michele
Filed under: Hero | 2 Comments »