This Karma's Good!

Is this a beautiful dog, or what?  I felt instant Karma when Carol and I picked her up from Molly's Kennels to take her for a walk in the park.  Karma is a two-year old boxer mix, about 40 pounds, who pranced her way through the park with nary a hiss...oops, I mean bark.  She was calm, cool and collected.  Well, maybe not so cool, as it was mid-afternoon, at the height of the heat of the day, and there was plenty of heat.  But Karma never broke a sweat.  Can't say the same for Carol and me.

Karma was alert, as shown by her first picture, upon seeing two dogs with their family arrive at the park.  But she never barked, whined, growled, lunged, got nervous or agitated.  When people passed us, Karma watched, and then went on her merry way.   She was great on the leash, and was friendly to us, and just generally enjoyed herself.

After walking over a mile (did I mention it was hot?), Karma's little tongue was hanging out.  And the most impressive thing happened.  She seemed to know exactly where the car was and led us right to it.  How she knew that, I'll never know.  I doubt she identified it by license plate number, and if you've seen one silver Hyundai, you've seen 'em all.  So I think she has some magical Karma too!  Anyway, she lapped up plenty of water once we got to the car.
 

We decided to enjoy the ambiance outdoors for a little while longer, before returning Karma to Molly's.  We found a picnic bench in the coolness of the shade, and a nice breeze helped refresh us.  We rested for a while, soaking up the park atmosphere.

Karma is gentle, good-natured and delightful.  Maybe you'd like a little magical Karma in your life?  You couldn't go wrong!

Dogs, Dogs Everywhere

Almost Home Dog Rescue held a Meet and Greet at Cutter's Mill Natural Pet Store which is less than a quarter mile from my home, and Carolyn, who organizes the transports and fosters dogs constantly had five puppies and two adult dogs that she was bringing, so I volunteered to help out.



Here's Fay typically introducing herself

I was put in charge of Fay, a cutie pie with high energy and confidence, who loves people and had to inspect everything.  She's a hound dog mix, about 3-1/2 months old.  She kept me hopping!  We walked everywhere, around people, through the legs of people (well, she walked through their legs, while I apologized profusely and worked at getting her leash into my other hand between the person's legs without getting to know them a whole lot better than either of us wanted to).  We were here, there and everywhere.


Puppies - 4 brothers and sisters

The puppies were very popular with those who stopped by.  Everyone wanted to hold them.  They were little fluff balls.

Bandit, who I transported several weeks ago, was also there, still looking for his forever home.  He's such a handsome boy, but it was hard to compete with the puppies!

Bandit

A lot of people stopped to meet the dogs, so it was very busy most of the time.  Lots of questions to answer, lots of begging by children to take a dog or puppy home, and some stern "noes" in response.

But there were people who came to the Meet and Greet to possibly find the perfect dog for them.  One couple applied to foster-to-adopt one of the dogs (sorry, I don't know which one, other than I know it wasn't my Fay, or Bandit), so they will soon be having a home visit and taking care of their new canine friend, and if all works out well, they will be proud new parents.



Buddy and His Fosters

And happily, a mother and daughter who have fostered before for Almost Home decided to become a foster family again, and took Buddy home with them today.  All three look extremely happy about this decision.



Fay in her crate, preparing for a snooze

At the end of the event, two hours later, my little rambunctious Fay finally started to poop out.  Most of the other dogs had long since laid down to sleep or rest, but Fay just kept on going like the Energizer bunny.  But finally, she had worn herself out, and made herself comfortable in the crate she'd arrived in.

At least she had enough sense to find a comfy spot on top of a towel to nap on.  One of the other puppies picked a rather unusual spot to lay his head.


This puppy is not eating!

All in all, it was a fun and successful event.  I noticed the collection jar for contributions to Almost Home was quite full of paper money, and several people seemed very serious about adopting.  Some were directed to Petfinder.com to see more details about their possible new pup.  So I'm keeping my fingers crossed they all find fine homes real soon.
 
 In the meantime, I'm pooped, so I'm going to take a nap -- on my pillow!

Constant Karma

Karma, a beautiful, two-year old boxer mix, has a sweet disposition and enjoys meeting everyone.  Her stub tail wags so fast, you might think it will fly off.  Karma is smart and knows her basic commands.  At 40 pounds, she's svelte and athletic, but has just the right amount of energy to fit into any family.  Little kids make her anxious, however, so she would do best in a home without small children.

Ready for some constant Karma in your life?  Everyone can use some good karma!  She's available for adoption and currently resides at Molly's Kennels.

Reese's Pieces

Reese too is a boxer mix.  He's hoping his family will find him soon.  He's handsome, sweet and a happy-go-lucky boy.  And quite smart too.  He makes friends with other dogs easily, and walks great on his leash.  His favorite pastime is chasing a tennis ball.

 

Reese was in a foster home but they couldn't keep him very long, so he ended up at Molly's Kennels. Scared and nervous at first, Reese has responded to the dedication and training of the owner of Molly's, who is most supportive of the Almost Home rescue dogs, and Reese is finally starting to feel much better about his surroundings.  But, Reese enjoys being around people too much to stay in a kennel.  Could you be the one to bring Reese home for good?  We're sure he'll love you to pieces!

Lil Bit Gets Lucky!

I should probably be posting this in the "Happy Endings" section of my blog, but this story is one of the most gratifying to me personally, so I just had to post it here.

Remember Lil Bit?  If you check out "Older Posts" at the bottom of this blog, you'll read about her recent transport trip with Linda, who drove her and Maggie.  Linda had "beaten me to the punch" for this particular transport.  Maggie went to a foster family, but Lil Bit ended up at Molly's Country Kennel.  She is highlighted in a brief story also just below in this blog.  Kudos to Molly's, as they are a boarding kennel which works closely with Almost Home Dog Rescue (for whom we transport) and provides space for Almost Home dogs who don't have a foster or forever home to go to.

One way to get adoptable dogs in front of potential adopters is to take them to Meet and Greet events that some pet stores sponsor on certain days for various rescue groups.  Almost Home was slated to have a Meet and Greet at Pet Valu on Saturday, and I decided to take Lil Bit in hopes that she'd find her "furever" home.  I arranged to pick her up from Molly's, and after a long drive, we arrived at Pet Valu - late.

Within minutes, Lil Bit drew the attention of Don and DeeDee, who asked a few questions about her.  It soon became apparent that they were seriously considering adopting her, and it turned out they had adopted another Almost Home dog a couple years ago, which meant the application process and home check wouldn't be necessary.  Soon, to my surprise, I had permission from Almost Home to take Lil Bit to Don and DeeDee's home, and provided Lil Bit got along with their other three dogs, I could leave Lil Bit there with her new family.

Lil Bit with
an Almost Home
Rep

DeeDee rode with me, with Lil Bit in the back seat, and Don followed us to their home.  Lil Bit really lucked out.  She has a fenced in yard to play in, and has three brother dogs, Dante, Mayan and Zeppo, to play with.  After everyone was introduced, Lil Bit seemed comfortable and happy, despite Dante's barking at her.  I choose to think that Dante was just super happy to meet her.  Lil Bit didn't seem to care one way or the other.  She was busy sniffing the ground and taking in the sights of her new yard and house.

DeeDee invited me inside so I could see where Lil Bit would sleep, showed me where the dogs' food is kept, and I noticed several dog toys.  It was quite apparent that Don and DeeDee love their dogs.  DeeDee also told me that they would keep Lil Bit's name, as all their dogs have two-syllable names.  So "Lil Bit" was perfect.

I soon bid everyone adieu and left, feeling joyous for Lil Bit -- and happy for me.  My first Meet and Greet, and my dog got adopted!  I have a feeling they'll want me to keep bringing Molly's dogs to Meet and Greets.  But truth be told, I had nothing to do with this successful adoption.  It all had to do with Lil Bit's super sweet nature, cuteness, and adaptability, and how Don and DeeDee opened their hearts to a little girl dog to round out their canine family.  Yippee!!!  And woof woof!