Lovely Lily

Lily

 

There's a wonderful, new girl in town!  She's a five year old lab-boxer mix named Lily.  Through no fault of her own, Lily is looking for a new home.

 

Lily's owner was recently incarcerated for embezzlement.  Whenever Lily is on her walk, she looks expectantly at every female who passes, hoping she's come to take her home. 

Lily is looking for someone who not only can give her a new loving home, but can help her attain a slimmer waistline.  At 60 pounds, she's could be considered a plus-size girl.  But she has just the right amount of energy and would slim down quickly with proper diet and daily exercise.  Her foster mother doesn't notice any issues with Lily's behavior and finds her to be sweet and calm.  Lily would do best in a home with no small kids or cats, due to her size.

You can read more about Lily on PetFinder:  http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/25332401?rvp=1    
Or you can contact Andrea.

 

Linda's Dolly

Dolly asked Linda to send me an updated photo of her.  As you may remember, Dolly is the dog Linda adopted when she first got involved in the dog transporting effort.  Dolly has become more beautiful then ever, and has made Linda a proud mama, who enjoys Dolly every single day.

Riley and His Supersonic Smile



What a cute smile!

One of our Almost Home volunteers, Colleen, fosters and cares for dogs who don't necessarily show well at adoption events, due to a variety of reasons.  Maybe they're shy, older or aren't all that great with children.  Because these dogs have a tougher time getting adopted, I am going to feature them occasionally on Underdog Railroad, to give them more exposure, in hopes that you or someone you know might open their home and heart to a wonderful pet.

Please meet Riley, an 18 month old, 16 pound Jack Russell terrier mix. Colleen tells me Riley has just the right amount of energy. He loves to chase balls and play with squeaky tug toys. He walks well on his leash as he enjoys the sights and smells of the great outdoors.  And he's very smart, as you can see in the video below.

Riley is usually cautious when meeting strangers, and prefers they ignore him, which gives him a chance to check them out first. Tasty treats thrown his way, however, can do a lot to persuade him to be your friend.

Once he feels comfortable, Riley is a lovable, fun companion, although he doesn't enjoy being left home alone or being stuck in a crate. He would do best with someone who is home most of the time or has other dogs to keep him company. Riley is a cat person, but small children make him nervous, so a home with older children would work better.

Riley would do super at a dog sport like flyball or agility.  Just click on the video below to watch Riley in action as he proves he's a serious problem-solver too.  Notice his robust tail-wagging!  I hope someone will give Riley the chance to become a valuable family member, who will entertain and delight them.  Please contact me via e-mail if you know anyone who would be interested in learning more about Riley and I will put them in touch with Colleen.

 

Beaten to the Punch

Friday, April 26th, I got word that another transport was arriving on Saturday, so I e-mailed to let the coordinator know I could do my usual Center Valley run.  Within minutes, I got this reply:  Linda is doing it.  My friend, Linda, had snatched this transport right from under my nose!  I really have created a monster.  Now she's stealing my transports.  I have this to say about that:  Harrumph!  I'm stick licking my wounds.  Maybe by next month, I'll get over it.

Anyway, here's the story of Maggie and Lil Bit, the two sweetie pies Linda had the privilege of transporting (darn her! -- oops, I didn't mean that...well, not much).

Sadly, Lil Bit and Maggie ended up in a shelter in the south after their human guardian passed away. 

Maggie

They were two of about 110 dogs, cats and kittens that arrived in two large transport trucks this time.  Linda reports that these two pooches are very sweet and well-trained.  Maggie, the little Pomeranian, who spent a lot of her time standing on her hind legs inside the crate, is 8 years old, and Lil Bit is 6.  They must be adopted together because they are such great friends after all these years.

Linda took on these two little charges by herself this time.  They weren't exactly giant killers, so I thought it would go smoothly.  She had great plans of putting Maggie in the crate, and Lil Bit would ride on the seat beside the crate.

Lil Bit

Here's Lil Bit riding shotgun in the passenger seat.  The best laid plans...  I'm thinkin' Linda fell under the spell of Lil Bit's sweet, soulful eyes, and he got his way.  Now, if I'd been driving, that would never  have happened.  Yeah, right!

Because this was such a huge transport coming from Kentucky, Linda snapped a few pictures of many of the other animals.  Here's one lucky puppy dog in the arms of its forever mom.  This, of course, is the best scenario of all. 

Also below are photos of a few other lucky passengers who were rescued and going to either foster families or to their forever homes.  The weariness of the long trip is so well worth it.

Cats and Kittens

And by the way, I really do give kudos to Linda, who has become an integral part of the transport operation in Pennsylvania.  It's heartening to know that volunteers are ready, willing and able to help whenever they can.  The more volunteers we have, the more dogs and cats can be saved.

 

Now, if we could only get everyone to spay/neuter their pets, and convince shelters that finding homes for their animals is much better than destroying them! 

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month!

Jackie Got Adopted!

This happy little girl, Jackie, whom my nephew, Eric, and I transported on March 2nd, got adopted.  As you will recall, she went to her foster home with Brian and his very involved neighborhood.  In less than a week, Brian sent me the following e-mail:

I wanted to let you know that Jackie found her furever home with a wonderful family in Ottsville, PA. She has two human sibling brothers, 4 and 9 years old.

I'm all smiles for Jackie, and I'm sure you are too!

Think Big!

Last night, March 9th, Linda picked up Rouge, a bully mix, and took her home where she would spend the night before leaving on another transport this morning for her final rescue destination.  Rouge came with a handful of problems, but proved to be an affectionate, loving dog.

Linda asked that I let everyone know that this transport consisted of 78 dogs and puppies, and 10 cats.  The effort that goes into these transports is just incredible.  Once the dogs are rescued, usually in a southern state or Ohio, they have to get each transport organized, calling for volunteers to transport and/or host a dog overnight, or for foster families to house dogs, cats and puppies until a forever home is found.  And all this is after rescuing a massive number of dogs, getting them checked out by vets, who also volunteer their time and donate medicines and/or neutering, and then loading the animals on their transport vehicles.  It's a monumental task, but the people who do this are totally dedicated and do a tremendous job.  Please let your friends know about these efforts that occur just about every other week, and if anyone is interested in adopting any of these dogs, you can find most of them on www.petfinder.com.  Or contact me or Linda, and we'll get you in touch with the right people.

So, on to Rouge's story.  As you will notice, Rouge has very little fur.  She spent her entire life of about two years chained up outside, totally neglected, nearly starved to death, and ended up with a royal case of mange.

 Fortunately, Rouge was able to relax with her favorite toy, and she soon settled in at Linda's.  But she had a few peculiarties.  She wouldn't walk on any floor other than carpet.  This is often a symptom of a dog who has lived its whole life outside on grass (if they're lucky) or on dirt.  They have never walked on a hard surface, such as a sidewalk or street, and of course never have seen linoleum, hardwood floors or tile.

Rouge also had trouble negotiating the stairs -- because she'd never seen them before.

Linda soon discovered that Rouge loved a particular blanket, so Linda decided to let Rouge enjoy its comfort.

Later, after a long walk and some serious play time, Rouge was ready for a nap.  Linda covered her in the blanket, and then wrapped her up in it.  As you can see, Rouge was feeling quite cozy, and drifted off to  sleep.  You'd never know she was anything other than a contented pet, looking at these pictures.

Rouge was also quite affectionate with Linda, which is truly remarkable too, considering her experience with humans up to this point was pretty dismal, at best.  But she followed Linda around the house, and showered her with kisses every chance she got.

Rouge is now en route to parts further north, but she will always be remembered as a sweet, affectionate dog, whose life has just taken a dramatic turn for the better.  Her fur will grow in, and with a little TLC, she'll soon be sweeping potential adopters off their feet.