Happy, Happy, Happy!

 

Meet Happy, a lucky dog who got to stay overnight at Linda’s on Saturday, October 6^th. Linda reports that the name, Happy, definitely suits this adorable lab mix, although she found herself calling her Lovebug.

 

Although shy at first, and reluctant to enter or exit the car or house, once Happy was inside Linda’s home, she went right to work. First on her agenda? Finding that darned bone at the bottom of the toy basket. Nothing like a good chew to help a dog-tired body relax.

 

After a nice meal, it was time to attack the cat bed. Ruff, ruff and a tail wag, and it was hers. Victory so sweet!

 

Fortunately, no cats were harmed in the making of this photo. In fact, no cats were anywhere to be seen during the filming. Small detail in Happy’s mind.

As all beautiful females do, Happy admired her own good looks in the mirror when she passed it, and gave herself kudos with a boisterous woof each time she spotted herself. She definitely thought she was the fairest of them all.  Linda’s cat, Vetti, was not impressed. She watched Happy and Dolly from her perch, knowing full well she is the fairest of all the land. After all, why are cat calls called "cat calls"? They aren’t called dog calls. Silly dog. Cats rule, dogs drool.
 

Happy was undeterred by Vetti’s catitude, and made herself at home. She was a little upset when Linda took Dolly for a short walk in the morning, and hoped it was her turn next as she watched from the window.

 

Sure enough, Linda returned and took Happy for a walk too. But it ended by putting Happy in the car, to take her to her last transport ride which would land at her final destination – a wonderful shelter in the northeast. Thankfully that would be her last car ride until her forever family finds her. Which Happy knows won’t be too long, because she’s the most beautiful and happy dog anyone has ever seen!

 

What's In a Name?

Tullis, Tullis, Tullis.  How does a dog end up with a name likeTullis?  But that’s exactly what happened to this sweetie-pie.  So, I looked it up.  Tullis is a boy’s name that means “significant”, with Tully being the more familiar form of the name.  Tullis was surrendered by her family at the age of about three.  I don’t know about you, but I can excuse them for dubbing her with a name normally designed for a boy.  This little dog is not only significant, she’s going to be very significant to her forever family.  Here’s Tullis’s story.

Sue and Tullis say good-bye.

My friend, Carol, accompanied me on what has become my usual transporting route from Center Valley to somewhere near where I live.   An easy drive.  Tullis arrived with a very nice lady, Sue, but seemed a bit sad to leave her.

Carol reassures Tullis that it will be OK.

But Tullis also appreciated the attention she received from Carol.  So after a short break to potty and get a drink of water, we made the easy exchange and loaded Tullis in the back seat of my car, where she did the right thing by landing on top of the blanket cover I bought a couple months ago.

Tullis didn’t relax too much on our ride.  She spent most of her time standing in the backseat, checking out the scenery on either side of the car, or putting her head on my shoulder or Carol’s.  But pretty much, this trek was uneventful.

What wasn’t uneventful was meeting the family who was going to foster-to-adopt little Tullis.  We parked to await the arrival of her foster mother, Maura.  We had no idea most of the family would arrive to greet her.  Tullis won the lottery!  Here Tullis is with Maura and her three gregarious kids, who were friendly, well-spoken, outgoing and confident.  And so excited to meet Tullis!  The little girl told me she loved her already and thought she was cute.  They told us they already have two dogs at home, and look forward to welcoming Tullis into the family.   I believe their dogs were both border collies with energetic natures, so they looked forward to Tullis’s calmer manner, which they thought would work well.  I later learned that their border collies were also from Almost Home Dog Rescue, the organization for which I drive.  That just makes this family even more fantastic in my mind.

Tullis seemed a little overwhelmed with all the attention, and was distracted with various parking lot activities and smells, but she trotted easily on the leash with her new family.  Carol and I were both thrilled that Tullis had been so lucky to have landed with this wonderful family.  Oh – and Maura told us they would probably change her name.  They’d been thinking about Daisy.  A fine name, really, and certainly cute.  But who knows – maybe Tullis will stick, especially if they read this blog or look up its meaning.  Or maybe Tully.  But if she ends up being called Daisy, I can picture the little girl picking petals off a daisy, reciting “she loves me, she loves me not,” and ending on “she loves me” for sure.  100% sure.
 

Don't Call Me Late for Dinner!

On Saturday, September 9^th, Linda, who has turned out to be SuperWoman of dog rescue, and Dolly, her own rescue dog who has become SuperDog of sleepovers, once again hosted a dog.  You don’t dare call this handsome black canine late for dinner!  Because his name is Early!    Yes, Early! 

Early was a shy pup, scared at first to get into Linda’s car or enter her home.  Fortunately, he soon started to relax.  Here he is with proud doggie-host, Dolly, who poses perfectly for her photo in Linda’s lap, with Jack, the cat, looking on curiously. 

Early turned out to be the perfect house guest, and other than trying to bury his bone under the carpet (hey, he’s a D-O-G!), he did everything right.  He did his business outside, ate well, and didn’t pay much mind to the cats, but most of all he respected Dolly.  Like every dog who has come before him, he too enjoyed the view from the upstairs deck.

 Early’s journey was long, and he arrived with many dogs from South Carolina.  After his overnight at Linda’s in Pennsylvania, he was off to New York in the back of a van with a few other lucky dogs also headed to the same rescuing shelter.  Believe me – it’s so worth the discomfort of being in a cage, squeezed into small spaces of vehicles, to ultimately be alive, getting regular meals, being treated kindly, and finally being safe in either a foster home, or with even better luck, in a forever home.  Freedom is worth sacrifice, and I swear rescue dogs so understand this.  Linda reports she heard from the shelter that Early settled in at his foster home and was getting to know his labrador foster brother.  I wonder if his name turned out to be Lately.