Sounds like you need to get him out of there - for the sake of his health, you see. Get rid of that stupid cat and replace him with a Lab. And maybe a Bodeguero, too
Baby Bodegueros at ADANA yesterday. And I finally tired out Bobo and Messi so much that I was able to get their penmate Ana out for a walk. She's lovely but she really loves to put her front paws on my shoulders and maul me with her tongue. It's a...'memorable' experience. Here she is enjoying some rare sun between the raindrops...
Oh my word, Baby Bodegueros are just the cutest. Ana looks very happy to be out in the sun, I'm glad you managed it!
It was a big walk at ADANA (aka 'far shelter') today. LOTS of volunteers plus people looking to adopt meant a good majority of the dogs got walked. It was also the first fully sunny day in ages, which was lovely. Even the dogs seemed to be in a better mood. First up, Smaug the Podenco. My first time walking him and a real cuddle bug. The more I get to know Podencos, the more I really like them. Smaug checks out the stream by the shelter - usually just rocks, but a real waterway with the recent rains. Cassie surveys the view of the Mediterranean while Nathan grabs her leash. Tiny miniature pincer (minpin) Nathan has been my little cuddle project for a couple weeks now. He used to hide in his house and shiver. The first week I held him he had open wounds in both his ears, runny nose and eyes and pretty much was a little sack of bones. He's looking SO good now and this was his first walk out with me. He wasn't too keen on the big world, but I just picked him up, flipped him on his back and he got a royal ride with the sun on his face and belly. He just closed his eyes and snoozed for the whole way up the hill. Then a bit of an explore on the hill and he made it almost all the way down without wanting another luxury carry. What a doll! Cassie is much more bold and had fun exploring. She's reserved for adoption in the UK, but Nathan still needs his forever home. Any takers? Then there was Messi. I took him out solo today as Bobo almost tore my arm out of it's socket on Friday. However, without Bobo, Messi can sometimes wear his Mastin pants instead of his Labrador pants. This was that day. It was impossible to get him to move forward or back. He just sat. I finally got him back into the shelter and then with another volunteer, we took out the whole pen. The other person had Frank and Ana while I had Messi and Bobo. Messi had no problem walking then, silly boy. Messi's homecheck in Denmark went great and he's set to be flown to Copenhagen on the 26th of April. I will miss this boy dearly and always wonder what would have happened had I been brave enough to adopt him myself. But I'm so happy for him and can already imagine him having a whole neighbourhood of Danish admirers at his beck and call. All hail Messi, future King of Copenhagen! Did you want me to move? I am not amused. And I am telling you, I'm not going. There's no way... no, no, no way...no way I will. (credit to Dream Girls the musical) But still...aren't I looking cute while we're sitting here and not walking?
He's a tiny little thing, maybe around 5-6 lbs.? None of the photos I got of him were very good, mainly because he's fast and he spends most of our time together tucked under my chin. He really just wants to be held. I'll try to get some better ones next time.
It's a good thing that the Tardis is bigger on the inside, if I'm going to be driving all these pups to the UK! I'm a big minpin fan too. No big surprise, I guess, because of their colors, but they are also such sassy little things. I was greatly cheered to see Nathan shout at Messi as we went down the kennel corridor after our walk yesterday. He usually just hides in his kennel and peers out from the dark while his penmates go nuts. A bit of healthy terrier behaviour like verbally threatening a dog roughly 100x bigger than yourself tells me that he's feeling MUCH better.
This thread makes me so happy but so sad at the same time. All those lovely dogs without homes is so heartbreaking. I’m determined our next dog will be a rescue I wish I could take one, it’s just really not the right time and it wouldn’t be fair to them x
I get it 100%. I'm starting to wear out, to be honest. Seeing them in the shelter is much harder on a day-to-day basis than fostering. Fostering is hard at the end when you have to say goodbye. Having to bring them back daily after walkies is tough. Speaking of which, guess who is currently curled up in bed with me? Someone unexpected came home today for a slumber party. And that was after this temporary visitor as well... It has perhaps not been foster kitty Garfield's most peaceful day, but rest assured he is currently in his usual position in his bed, glaring daggers at me (also completely normal).
Quick update to say that Carbon does not care about cats and Garfield does not care about dogs. At least that was my impression. Carbon DOES care about cat toys, but gave them up nicely in exchange for a ball. This summit meeting was a bit of a non-starter, but that's just fine. No kitties (or Labs) were traumatised. Carbon ended up snoozing on the sofa and Garfield stayed safe in his hidey hole but quickly came out to eat, poo and play once the coast was clear. Carbon did very nicely on the way back to the shelter - it was the first time he made it the whole way without trying to jump on my head. I don't know if this is because he's learning or just remembers his "Winnie the Pooh" experience. I was proud of him on the way out, though. He put his elbows on the divider between the two front seats three times. Three times I pulled over, put the car into park and completely ignored him. He got bored, slid back into the back seat and then got yummy treats. The first time took a while, the second time less so and the third time was quite fast. I was worried that I was teaching him to get up on the divider and then get back down, so I started treating only when he was completely in the back seat and very randomly. It seemed to work, but if anyone has better ideas, I'm game. When I got back to the shelter, Paul was laying in the entryway looking punky. Turns out he has heart worm (filaria) and had to have the first of two nasty injections today. It's very painful and makes them feel very poor. They asked me if I could take him home tonight and watch him instead of leaving him on his own. He still doesn't feel himself but he's being an angel. Unlike Carbon, Paul got within a few feet of Garfield and neither batted an eye - Garfield didn't even hide, just sat on the sofa and looked imperious (so the usual). Now Garfield is playing downstairs and Paul is out like a light on my bed. I don't even think I'll crate him - he's not going anywhere and it's not every day you get to cuddle a Bodeguero. I still miss my Toby/ @catrionas ' Alf. Sigh.
That is the gold standard of reactions - YAY! And lol at your overnight guest. Is there any chance you could take him (or Carbon...or Paul AND Carbon) as fosters? If you feel that you're better able to cope emotionally with fosters, then maybe that's where you're best suited?
