Crowded House

Mia, Rufus, Jasper and Amelia

Mia and Jasper are still here and both have some personality issues (extreme shyness/fear of new situations) that are going to make it very hard to rehome them. Mia is so terrified of leaving her territory she actually poops on herself if we try to take her anywhere. She will go for walks but if there are too many other people around, she tries to run away and hide. She'd be great for a reclusive person who doesn't want to have to walk a dog, though. Just give her a doggie door to the back yard and another dog to play with and she's fine.

Jasper is a big old love-a-lump and so patient with Rufus constantly jumping on him, humping him, pulling on his ears, etc. But he also has a major prey drive, so we've had to rehome one of our cats and he turns into a snarling beast when someone comes up to the back fence, even if we're there telling him "It's all right! Quiet!" He also anchors himself to the floor if we try to take him for a walk by himself. Like Mia, he only wants to go if the other dogs are going. He'd be another candidate for a lazy owner. He's not real energetic, although he does like a good run around the backyard with the other dogs.

Rufus especially seems anxious with all the other dogs around. He eats slowly and we frequently have to keep the other dogs away from his bowl so he can finish eating. He's also not used to having his toys and bones constantly taken. And having to share Mom and Dad and the bed, NOT COOL.

So we reaaaally hope we can rehome Jasper and Mia soon.

Oh! Before I forget: August Dog Rescue is dissolving, so Jasper and Mia will be available from the Collin County Humane Society (we're still fostering, but for CCHS now). Still, for the next couple of weeks, I think they'll be on the ADR Petfinder page. If you're interested in a homebody, low-maintenance dog, let us know and we'll put you in touch with whichever organization is handling it at the time.

Spread the word and help us all out! :D

Lonely Dog

Over the past few weeks, Rufus has slowly become more and more destructive: a sure sign of boredom and frustration. I've personally lost my only black bra, two pairs of shoes (almost a third pair but I rescued them after losing only part of the heel,) a halter top, many empty soda boxes, pillowcases, a cat bed, a wooden chair, a tv tray, stuffed animals, and who knows what else we simply haven't found the remains of yet. He has also become very recalcitrant on his walks and we've had to cut short our last couple of forays and head back home after Rufus got too unruly and wild. At home, he'd get into everything, bully the cats, nip at us and run out back and bark in order to get us to go outside and see what was up, whereupon he'd try and start a game of chase-me chase-you. We were losing patience and sanity. Obviously there was only one solution.

We got another dog.

Her name is Amelia, but "Emmy" for short, and she's probably got some pit bull or mastiff or both in her. You may notice she looks a bit like Buster, but that's not the reason we chose her. She simply charmed us and had such a good, sweet, playful temperament that we were pretty sure she could keep up with Rufus without being bullied or being a bully to him. If you follow our "Shelter Diaries," you'll have already read about her and her pal Royce. Unfortunately, Royce is still at the shelter and on the urgent list. We'd have taken them both if not for the fact that we've got too many animals as it is.

Rufus is very happy with his new sister and hopefully, she'll be a good influence on him. We'll post photos and video later. In the meantime, here are a couple from her time at the shelter.

It's our first night together and I'm looking forward to seeing her become used to her new home and her new pack. Welcome, Amelia! We love you!

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