New Arrival!

Well it’s been a few days since my last post!

First off I just want to let you guys know that Turtle Gardens has an Instagram page! So you can follow @turtlegardens for pictures and updates on their dogs!

I also have my own personal Instagram as well which you can follow @julia_muttlvr for updates on my own foster dogs and cats :) 

And as you probably guessed, I am back in Vancouver! :) 

I went from hot, humid, weather back to our wet, rainy one – at least for a day! Then where the heck did all this heat come from! I must have brought it with me from Toronto! – You’re welcome ;)

I was so excited to foster when I got back and Denise and I had been sending e-mails back and forth regarding which dog I was going to get – it seemed to change almost every other day haha! Which I didn’t mind because it was because the other dogs were getting adopted! But then the dog run was cancelled :(  But luckily they managed to find someone who would be able to drive a couple dogs down, so they brought a couple puppies and one “border collie mix” for me! :D Yay!

Here I am expecting a 50lb dog – but they tell me shes a 70lb border collie mix and is under weight – she should be 100lbs they said. I didn’t really think about it at first… which explains why my jaw dropped when I saw her!....

Meet Mattie! My Border Collie Mix foster dog! :D She makes the term “Gentle Giant” seem like an understatement! We are constantly told by everyone she meets that they haven't met a more mellow dog! And neither have I! 

She is a 1.5-2year old Border Collie cross something big - Yvette's educated guess is Great Pyranees! 

She is about 80lbs now and needs to be about 100lbs so we're in the process of getting her weight back up. 

She has not misbehaved in the house and is very sweet! She loves being pet though and will often lean a bit into your legs to remind you to pet her and if you still forget out comes her big paw to paw at you to keep petting her! She does it fairly gently, but she would probably be best suited to a home who does not have super young children, and she may paw and if the child is small she may accidentally scratch them etc without meaning too. But as I said, she is quite gentle so children in grade school should be fine. 

She has a beautiful soft long black coat but it does require a fair amount of brushing (especially in this heat as she's shedding her winter coat) to keep her from shedding too much. She loves to smile with a big open mouth grin and loves to look at you with happy brown eyes! 

She is a big suck and just likes being where the people are! But she is not clingy - just likes to be with her people. if it's hot in the room I'm in or she's sleepy, she'll go lay down somewhere like the hallway and take a nap. Or if I leave the back door open she goes outside and finds a nice cool spot to nap. She'll easily stay there for hours. 

She's a low maintenance girl- she wants to be a companion for sure!

She has a lower energy level as far as I've seen, and is happy with walks during the day but due to the heat they are kept brief and she doesn't mind, she's just happy to be doing whatever I am. 

She is not an excitable girl, she will walk calmly over to you when you come home and will give a few nice happy tail wags, but not overly excited. Same thing with dogs and cats - interested but not excited. And when meeting new people she is polite and friendly. She does not jump up - but does sit and paw sometimes if she wants more pets. 

She is very quiet too - I have not heard a peep from her Even when left alone. No barking, or whining at all. When the door is knocked or even when strangers come into the back yard she just goes up for a quiet, calm hello. She is not scared of strangers and will say hello to anyone, she just wants pets - she's a very friendly girl :)

She ignores cats for the most part, aside from a curious sniff every once in a while - so she'd be fine with a dog savy cat.

She's good with dogs too, does not get excited, and sniffs their bum, does not focus much on their face, and is very calm with her approach. She does not appreciate rude dogs though (but who does?). 

Overall she is a very mellow, loving girl who just wants to be your companion :) 

I can't wait to get to know her even more over the next few weeks :) 

She had some mats in her coat and lots of shed hair stuck under her regular coat and we knew we had to give her a great grooming - so we gave her a "Spa Day"! We brushed her for over 2 hours and got a pile of hair off even bigger than you'll see in her pictures! That was us only 2/3 done! We also gave her two baths! One just to clean her up and make her coat feel better, and one to make her smell like mangoes ;P

BEFORE

She loves brushing

Look at all that hair!

Bath time!

Mid-Shake

Happy Girl!

AFTER!

Mattie with Butterscotch (Golden), Jasper (Tan), Angel (Grey) she was so good with them :)

Mattie poses for a shot with Angel

Rikki and Mattie hanging out sniffing :)

Look how big she is! :D

Her sleeping spot

Happy Puppy!

Her favourite spot when it's hot out!

Short and Sweet

Or quick and dirty - however you'd like to see it! Sorry there haven't been many posts lately I've been a busy bee as usual! Right now I'm in Toronto for a National competition! It's very exciting and I'm staying here for a week to see the sights and hang with friends :)

Where is Chuck while I'm here you may ask? Well! He went home to an awesome family before I left :) 

He had 3 fantastic applicants but there is only one Chuck-A-Duck! So I had to make a hard decision and pick one, but it really wasn't me doing most of the picking it was actually Chuck! He really bonded with his new parents at their meet and greet, and I could almost hear an audible *click* when they were together :) His new name is Jack! 

The pick up was funny though! He doesn't usually rush out the door when I open it, he just runs up to the people and starts wiggling for attention! But I didn't see the person unloading the lawn mower next door! But chuck did! So he ran out the door as they were coming in to take him home and he barks at the lawn mower! I ran out and called him back (his recall is very good) but he decided to ignore me, so I went up to him and then he decided he better listen so he ran back up the steps to the house, but as I come over to get him inside he takes off again! This time he knows I'm serious, but he wasn't coming back and that is very odd for him! But then I see him just run to where he usually poops and squat so I ran in and grabbed a bag. And then he walked nicely with me back to the house past the lawn mower like nothing happened lol  little brat knew he had to give me a run on his last day here after he'd been so good the rest of the time! Lol! He's got personality and makes you giggle that's for sure! :) 

His new parents love him and were laughing right along with me! :) he's going to love it there and I can't wait for an update :)

As for what's next... The next dog run is scheduled for the 29th, and ill be taking another pup! So far I don't know who I'm getting! My only requirements are that they're fully housebroken (as I sometimes have 8hour work shifts) so this usually means over 1 year old, and that they are good with other dogs. My dads only requirement is that they are not destructive (his smartphone and blinds found the wrong end of that). But as far as I know that's at least 50%-75% of the dogs on this next run! (The others are younger dogs) so I'm very excited because I have no idea who I'm getting :D! 

I will update you guys when I know more! :) 

Hashtag CuteDogProblems

Now reading the title you may think that I mean problems with Chuck - nope! I mean problems BECAUSE of Chuck! Let me explain...

I usually get dogs that need a little work or guidance or a dog that may take a bit of time to find their perfect home! So because I am going to Toronto in a week I knew that I'd need more of a "quick" foster if possible, so they would likely find their home before I left so I wouldn't end up playing musical dogs and trying to find someone to watch him. But while this is playing out as planned, there were things I didn't count on...

All my other dogs mostly had one application at a time. And it would either be a fit or not. If not we'd keep going until the next one and try again. I've never had a scenario where multiple GOOD applications came in at the same time! And by good I mean good for this particular foster (as some might still be a good applicant for another dog even if not for mine).

Chuck received 3 applicants in a day and a half! And all are great! I talked to all on the phone and still couldn't narrow it down so to meet and greets it went! I have finished all the meet and greets and will have to decide which home will fit him best. I know he would do well in all three homes, but which home/lifestyle would he enjoy the most and thrive in is the question.

Sometimes I wish I could clone them but that would just satisfy me worrying about disappointing the two homes that aren't picked, when there are two awesome dogs out there waiting for those two other homes! So I wouldn't be very nice denying those other dogs a home.

All three homes are great and but are slightly different. So it will be very hard to chose, though I feel my gut pulling towards one applicant in particular, but it's too soon to tell.

In the meantime though I have been having lots of fun with my Chuckie in the meantime :)

Chuck and my dog Rikki 

Rikki and Chuck really like each other because Chuck isn't interested in playing with dogs and Rikki is constantly bugged to play by Cash (TG Alum "Hawkeye") so she enjoys the break that Chuck provides. They hit it off right away!

Chuck also hit it off with Rikki's kitty friend "Baby"

He tries to snuggle as close as possible! Huge bed hog :P

I will repeat ...Bed hog! (But a darn cute one ;P)

Chuck, Chuck, Chuck...Bee?

I'm back! Well... I suppose I never really left the TG foster world, but I took a break during the school year, but now that that school year is over it's time for more foster dog adventures! :)

And though I didn't have a full time foster dog these past few months I kept myself busy with other dog related fun!

As you probably know I do agility with my pup, Rikki, who just turned two in May! :) She loves it and the good treats she gets for doing it ;) but she particularly loves the doggy playtime at the end of class! Her best friend is a standard poodle named Rachel! Rachel will usually be off leash first and come over to Rikki where Rachel "play-bow's" right in front just waiting for us to let Rikki off too - and when we do they go off galavanting with each other!

Also, I have had some boarding doggies here while their parents were away! And I thought I'd share some of the cute photos I took while they were here :)

This is Eshe (pronouned Esh-ah)

And this is my aunts golden retriever, Butterscotch (aka Butters) - he came over for a play date! :)

I also watched over the pups at Denise's daycare while she was away for a couple days! (TG's Sula -now adopted- is in this pic too!)

This is Pasa!

And this brings me to my final pic of my boarders - Pasa was here for a few days after I picked up my newest foster pup, and I think they got along well, but you be the judge.... ;)

Yup - that little guy is my new foster dog, Chuck!

Bringing Chuck home

Chuck is a little under the weather

The first few days he was at my house he was not feeling great :( He was lethargic to the point that you had to attach his leash just to get him up, wouldn't eat or drink and was vomiting :( We thought it could just be the stress, but he was so skinny as it was and we needed to make sure it wasn't something more serious, especially with the vomiting. So off to the vet he went. Dr.Harry said he was quite dehydrated and needed to stay over night for fluids, so he did and they ran a blood test and checked for worms etc. The tests were coming back fine but they ended up needing to keep him there on fluids another night just to be sure. I worried about my little guy :(  So then he finally came back home and he came back to me a much happier pup! He was very happy to see us and started eating and drinking and even wanting to play a bit! 

Back home!

That is why it took me so long to write this blog post - because I wanted to have some time to get to know his true personality!

Yup, I'm a cutie!

Chuck is a terrier mix - we really have no idea what's in there... he kinda looks like a taller longer chihuahua? Sometimes I see some Border Terrier, sometimes I see some pug, sometimes chihuahua - but who knows! He is just an adorable pup! I'm sure you could see in the pics that he is quite skinny. He's 11lbs now but we're helping him gain weight, so he should be around 14lbs or so, which is a great size! He is about 1 year old and is totally house trained.   He is set to be fixed tomorrow, but he hasn't marked anything in the house, even with another dog here. And outdoors he rarely marks anything. 

Cuddles

He has great leash skills and stays at your side or behind  your leg. Occasionally he might prance ahead a little but with little to no pressure on the leash he will step right back in next to you. He does sometimes jump up when excited but is learning to sit before being petted. 

There were kittens at the vet and Chuck wasn't too interested in them, it was more of an "Oh, cats, hmm, neat...where's my people?" than "Omg,omg,omg! CATS!!!" lol - so I think he would do fine with dog savvy- kitties. He also gets along with dogs, but as with many dogs he likes polite greetings. If a dog rushes him too quickly he will move away and tell them he doesn't like that. But once the dog calms down Chuck will walk up and say hi. He hasn't shown much interest in playing with other dogs though, but enjoys their company. But he LOVES people, so I think he would love a place where he had people home most of the day. He is crate trained and is okay being left alone, but he definitely is a dog that loves lots of time with his people. 

He is happy going out on walks and playing in the yard, but is just as happy to cuddle on the couch or chew on an antler while you work at the computer. I'd say he's a low energy dog in the house, and a medium energy dog outside. He doesn't play with toys much in the house, but enjoys antlers and kongs. Outside he loves to play fetch and play with squeaky toys!

Throw Da Ball Pweeze!

Proud Chuck

As we believe he was fed a lot of people food in his life, so he can be picky when it comes to dog food. He so far he's not a fan of kibble, but likes dehydrated raw! And he LOVES chicken!

He is just a super sweet "shadow" dog. We always joke that he sticks so close that we turn around and still don't see him because he turned with you so is behind you again hehe! 

He is going to be a great companion for a lucky family :) 

What I wake up to in the morning

And for giggles I have another story ...

I knew I would be fostering Chuck, and he is my first "small" I've ever fostered! And since I knew Hats off Day was coming up I thought this would be a fun opportunity to use some of the fun doggy clothes that get donated to the rescue! :)

Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that dressing your dogs up everyday is a good idea. It can be hard on a dogs health as they can overheat etc, and body language that the dog is projecting may be misinterpreted by other people and dogs because its being covered by clothes - among other things. But I think that dressing up is fun for people on occasion, and I think that on occasion it can be fun to dress up the pup too! And as long as you take into consideration the heat and the dogs' comfort it can be a good time :) Also, it helps get them noticed while walking around - which can be an asset when your dog is for adoption! 

So anywho, Denise gave me an adorable costume for Chuck to wear at the Hats off Day parade and festival - and he got lots of attention! Everyone commented on how cute and sweet he was ;) He was very well behaved considering there were crowds of people and dogs and noises - and he got lots of treats from dog suppliers there :)

Also, I recently started an Instagram page for Turtle Gardens! So please follow us @turtlegardens for lots of adorable pics and updates! :)

More soon!