We’ve heard from Sally’s (now called Sam) new family! Sam is growing to be a beautiful girl. You can see some recent pictures at her mom’s blog:
http://pseudosisters.tistory.com/category/%EC%82%90%EB%9A%A4%EC%86%8C%EB%85%80/Foster%20home%20diary
The blog is written in Korean, but don’t let that stop you from going over there to have a look at the pictures. English subtitles have been added so you can get some idea of what’s going on.
We love getting updates like this!
I sent a Tweet earlier this week but forgot to post here that Sally and Shiloh were adopted early in the week and have gone to their new homes.
If you or someone you know adopted one of these two pups we’d like to know. We enjoy hearing updates and getting pictures as our foster pups grow up. Adopters, if you’re out there, keep in touch.
This morning we took Sally and Shiloh back to CCHS. They’re on the surgery schedule today, Shiloh will be neutered and Sally will be spayed, have a small hernia repaired, and have her rear dew claws removed. They should be up for adoption when the Shelter opens on Friday.
These are two great pups. If you’re looking for a medium to large size dog they would be worth checking out. They are both very friendly, playful, and enjoy company. They’re quick learners, too.
Our PuppyCam show on ustream has a loyal following of “cyber Aunties.” Shippmom, who watches from her home in Massachusetts, sent the pups an interactive toy. Luckily it arrived in time for Sally and Shiloh to play with it during their last broadcast. To say it was a hit is an understatement. The pups loved it! They played with it for at least a half hour and spent some more time with it later in the evening when we were off the air.
We had 206 viewers stop by to see the last appearance of Sally and Shiloh on PuppyCam. That was a new record for us.
Harriett and I are very grateful to everyone who takes an interest in our foster animals and to those of you who have sent toys and donations to CCHS. We’re only the tip of the iceberg—the people you see with the pups, but there’s an organization behind us to provide medical and other support. Your support of CCHS is very important and worthwhile. We want you to know that 100% of your support and gifts goes toward helping not only our foster animals, but all of the animals at the Shelter. Thank you all. We quite literally couldn’t do this work without you.
We’re scheduled to take Sally and Shiloh back to the shelter on Thursday morning. Their treatment for kennel cough will be over on Wednesday and there’s no reason to think they will not be healthy enough for their spay/neuter surgeries on Thursday. The puppies should be ready for adoption from the Champaign County Humane Society on Friday.
These two have gone from being timid to very friendly, outgoing pups. They are very nice to be around. Shiloh, in particular, has potential to be a lap dog as an adult. They both love contact. They play hard, but they have an “off” switch.
If you or anyone you know is looking for a larger size dog (60 to 70 pounds), these two pups ought to be considered. They are going to make great family pets.
Sally weighs just over 16 pounds, Shiloh just over 20. They are German Shepherd mixed with some type of hound. Both are very good looking, friendly, and playful.
We fully expected Sally and Shiloh to stay at the Shelter on Sunday morning, but when they got they check-in physical the tech heard some abnormal “lung sounds.” The pups have a mild case of kennel cough. It’s not serious, but to prevent it spreading to other animals at the shelter the decision was made to send the pups back home with us and start them on treatments.
So we will have Sally and Shiloh for 10 more days. They’ll be getting Doxycycline twice a day and we’ll hope it’s all cleared up.
It’s especially important for Shiloh. He weighs over 18 pounds and it would be best for his adoption prospects if he were to get back to the shelter before he gets too big.
If you or anyone you know were interested adopting one of these pups and were waiting for them to go back to CCHS, call them and they will arrange for you to meet the pups here.
Popsicle and Sundae have been renamed as Shiloh and Sally. We’ve had them for 10 days and they’ve gotten over their shyness enough to return to the Shelter. The current plan is for them to go back on Sunday morning. They will be checked in and should be available for adoption on Sunday or Monday (call the Shelter for details if you’re interested in one of them).
When the two pups arrived here they jammed themselves into a corner of the puppy room and were very timid about coming out to meet us. It’s important to note that Sally and Shiloh were not abused. They were not socialized properly, but they were not mistreated. A puppy that has been abused is fearful in a different way than a pup that has not had proper socialization.
There’s a small window of opportunity for socializing puppies---the best chance for success is within the first 12 weeks. If the pups do not get proper socialization within that time it can be extremely difficult to correct the resulting problems. Luckily, these two were 8 weeks old and that’s within the window. We were confident we could make progress with them.
One thing we’ve learned over the years is that being taller than the pups makes us very intimidating. Our strategy is to lay flat on the floor, eye-to-eye with the pups, and speak very softly to them. We reach out to touch them and try to make their experience with us as pleasant as possible. Harriett and I each spend time with them so they get used to dealing with men and women.
Puppies are naturally curious and we try to use that to our advantage in getting them to come to see us. It took only a few hours to get Sally and Shiloh to come to us. Within four days they were actively seeking our attention.
I shot some video to show you the transformation that’s possible with a little patience and quiet talk.
Sally and Shiloh are ready to go up for adoption. They’re beautiful puppies and will make fantastic companions.
Harriett just got back from the Shelter with Popsicle and Sundae. They’re Tree Walking Coonhound/German Shepherd mix puppies about 8 weeks old.
Popsicle’s on the left, his sister Sundae is on the right. They’re very frightened and we’ll have them for two weeks or so for socialization. They came in with their 6 brothers and sisters, and while the others were ok to go up for adoption, these two were a little too scared and under socialized to be put on the adoption floor.
There’s a window of opportunity for socializing puppies within the first 12 weeks of their lives. At 8 weeks old, these two are within the window and should come around with frequent handling. We’ll give them a day to settle in and then we’ll start spending time with them.
We’ll have them on PuppyCam beginning Monday morning at 8 am (CDT).
These are foster numbers 1,046 and 1,047 for us.
