It was interesting to say the least to learn more about the pit bull terrier. I read many books and magazines and certainly learned a lot about behavior and temperament. When it comes to the breed name, the information is a bit confusing….
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I will soon join Lori’s pack downtown to play with all the dogs and go out on adoption events.
KOO-KOO CHANEL
Before the first one, “Ethel,” arrived, I went to purchase a crate for a 5-6 month old pup. Since I never crated a dog before it was a confusing experience to pick one out. I think it’s safe to say that the puppies did much better in crate training than I did, I’m still in crate training, four puppies later!
Billy drove Ethel over to my house, and when she jumped out of the car, it was obvious that her age had been a little miscalculated… She was bigger than my dogs…. probably more like 8-10 months old, so the crate I had purchased was too small. Back to the store in a hurry, to get a bigger one!
This girl came from South LA Shelter and was red listed, due to mange. Lori had her pulled and sent to the hospital for treatment, and then she came straight to my house. Her coat was dull and had spots of hair loss. Ethel quickly settled in with my dogs, and they had the best time playing. After a few days, she started itching again, and I had to take her to the hospital for another Mitaben bath. When I picked her up in the evening, she was exhausted and did not want to play or eat. I got so worried about her that I slept on the couch with her next to me on the floor. I woke up many times to wipe her runny nose. She was back to normal the next day, which was a huge relief!
Ethel’s chocolate brown coat quickly got shiny and beautiful. She became a stunning looking dog! I used to call her “Koo-Koo Chanel”: “Koo-Koo,” because of her sometimes crazy puppy behavior, and “Chanel” since she was so stylish!
On a trip to the Sequoias, I ran into two ladies who admired her and when they heard her story, wanted to adopt her. A few days later back in LA, I delivered Ethel to her new forever home in Manhattan Beach. Yes… I cried on my way back home. Since she was my first foster, it was hard to separate.
But in the evening, my sadness went to happiness when I received an email from her new family with this wonderful photo of her with her NEW name “Zoey”, and her NEW brother, together on her NEW bed 🙂
My dogs are both very sweet and very playful, with a lot of energy. The similarities end there…Someone already mentioned on this blog that you don’t get the dog you want; you get the dog you need, and that is true! Sass turned out to be the opposite from the type of dogs I grew up with: he was very timid as a pup and took time to warm up. He also did not show much affection, so I was convinced after a while that he did not like me much. I was thinking that he would be a great therapy dog as he got older, because he looks like a stuffed animal, and kids love him. Once he turned a year old, his energy level increased dramatically, and it became obvious that therapy work was not his forte. I can picture the IV’s flying….. Agility is his favorite thing!If he gets scared of something, he runs in the opposite direction. Hence the term “flight”.Then came Princess. She, on the other hand, looks a lot more confident, but that is not the case. She gets nervous and anxious if exposed to situations she is not used to. She shows TONS of affection, and her favorite moment is when I lie down next to her on her dog bed for some cuddle time!
The second week of having her, we took a trip to the dog beach. That was a nightmare and the very first time I saw her behave like a lunatic. Sass loves the water and was happily running around off leash. Princess, on leash, was attacking the water. I was flying after her, trying to calm her down, and was completely confused about this outburst of hers. […]
When my labradoodle, Sass, was one year old, it become very obvious that he was the type of dog who needs the company of another canine. I started my search on Petfinder, looking for a dog a little bigger in size. I’m what people would call a “big dog” person, and Sass ended up a small/medium dog once he was done growing. Since he needed a best friend, I thought it would be great idea to go find a dog who was a little bigger, and that way, both of us would be happy!
I found a couple of dogs that I wanted to meet and got a call from DDR quickly after filling out an application. It turned out that the dog I was interested in was already adopted, but I was advised to come down and meet some of the other dogs in their kennel. So I stuck Sass in the car and headed downtown. The first sight of Maya was an instant realization that I had to rethink my big dog plan. She would have crushed Sass….I swear, there is no lab in Sass.
They sent me a poodle, and under all the fur is a skinny little guy with chicken legs!Lori went to get another dog to show me; this one was also big, but very shy, and again, I said “No.” Lori sat down at a table (with her thinking cap on) and suddenly said, “I have this little dog that you might like.” My heart sank ….I still wanted a big dog.
I will never forget the first sight of Princess running towards me in the alley. She has something comical about her look, with her wide chest and big smile. Sass played with her for almost an hour, and they had the best time. I told Lori I wanted to think about it and went home, stubborn…still thinking about a big dog…Later that day, I got a call from another rescue group about a young, black German Shepherd I had requested about. I looked over at Sass and paused for a second before I said, “Thank you for calling back, but we met a great match this morning.” At that moment, it became very obvious to me that the most important thing was to adopt a dog that would be the perfect match for Sass, and I also knew that very same dog would be the perfect dog for me.
Welcome little Princess!